"Oh no!" replied the correspondent. "It's not quite so bad as that, I hope. Unless I'm very much mistaken, those small bushes growing on the banks have their roots set in clay and not in sand. Clay is an excellent leak-stopper. I don't think we need fear a surprise visit from our late hostile friends, the Arabs; but we must take due precautions. While Gerald and I are plugging the hole, you, Hugh, had better go ashore and mount guard."
So saying, Reeves headed the boat towards the left bank, or the opposite one to that on which the Arabs had appeared. As the craft drew away from the middle of the stream the current became much less rapid, and by the time her bow grounded there was hardly any motion in the water at all. If anything, there was a slight eddy upstream.
As the correspondent had suggested, the soil on the banks was composed of clay, of a dark slate colour. While Hugh patrolled the bank, his comrades dug up lumps of the viscous earth with their knives and dumped them down on the hole. The actual aperture was less than two inches in diameter, but the planking had been fractured for nearly a foot on all sides of it. A few lumps were sufficient to check the inflow completely, but Reeves insisted on placing more clay over the weak spot, till a layer nearly a foot thick lay evenly over the damaged part.
"That's a good job done," said the correspondent. "A few hours' sun will bake the stuff as hard as a brick. It will serve as a hearth to light our fire upon."
"Then we don't require the stone," said Gerald, looking at the slab that did duty for cooking purposes.
"Don't we, by Jove!" exclaimed Reeves. "I think we do. Do you know how we were nearly smashed up?"
"By running on a rock, I suppose."
"Exactly! But why could I not avoid it, as I did the others? I'll tell you. The continual scraping over the rocky bed of the river chafed through the rope holding our anchor. We've still got most of the rope; this stone must be our new anchor."
For the next seven days the voyage continued almost without incident. On the eighth day the travellers found themselves on a vast lake, caused by the expansion of the river. So shallow was it that on several occasions the boat stuck hard and fast almost beyond sight of land; but by all hands jumping overboard and lightening the craft they contrived to get her off.
Just before sunset the boat stuck again, this time about three miles from the lower end of the lake; and in spite of the crew's hardest exertions she obstinately refused to budge. They tried to lessen her draught by placing her cargo all on one side, and then in the bow, in case she drew more aft than forward, but all to no purpose.