Of course such a multitude travelled very slowly, as may well be believed when it is said that they had about 1500 palanquins in the host, for there was not a wheeled vehicle in Madagascar at that time. The soldiers were formed in five divisions; one carrying the tents, one the cooking apparatus and spears, and one the guns and sleeping-mats. The other two had always to be in readiness for any service required about the Queen. The camp was divided into four parts; the Queen being in the middle, in a blue tent, surrounded, wherever she halted for the night, by high palisades, and near to this was pitched a tent containing the idols of the royal family. The tent of the Prime Minister, with the Malagasy flag, was pitched to the north of that of the Queen. East, west, and south, were occupied by other high officers of State, and among the latter was the tent of our friends, Mark, Hockins, and Ebony.
“Now,” said the first of these, as he sat in the door of the tent one evening after supper, watching the rich glow of sunshine that flooded a wide stretch of beautiful country in front of him, “this would be perfect felicity if only we had freedom to move about at our own pleasure and hunt up the treasures in botany, entomology, etcetera, that are scattered around us.”
“True, Massa,” returned Ebony, “it would be perfik f’licity if we could forgit de poor Christ’ns in chains an’ pris’ns.”
“Right, Ebony, right. I am selfishly thinking only of myself at the present moment. But let us hope we may manage to do these poor Christians good before we leave the land.”
“I don’t think, myself, that we’ll get much fun out o’ this trip,” remarked Hockins. “You see the Queen’s too fond o’ your physickin’ and of my tootootlin’ to part with us even for a day at a time. If we was like Ebony, now, we might go where we liked an’ no one ud care.”
“Ob course not,” replied the negro, promptly, “peepil’s nebber anxious about whar wise men goes to; it’s on’y child’in an’ stoopid folk dey’s got to tink about. But why not ax de Queen, massa, for leabe ob absence to go a-huntin’?”
“Because she’d be sure to refuse,” said Mark. “No, I see no way out of this difficulty. We are too useful to be spared!”
But Mark was wrong. That very night he was sent for by the Prime Minister, and as he passed the Secretary’s tent he called him out to act as interpreter. On reaching the tent on the north side they found Rainiharo doubled up on his mat and groaning in agony.
“What’s wrong?” demanded the doctor.
“Everything!” replied the patient.