Story 4--Chapter III.
Water was found in the bed of what had once been a running river. The men eagerly rushed forward, and lapped up the refreshing liquid, followed by the horses and oxen. It was with difficulty that those yoked to the waggon could be restrained from dragging it in with them, so eager were they to quench their burning thirst.
The party here encamped, for there were all things requisite—water, grass, and wood.
Masiko now knew where he was, and he urged his companions to fill all their water-skins, for this pool would soon be dried up, and they had a wide desert track to traverse before they could reach the country of the Makololo.
The next morning, having secured as much water as they could carry, the party proceeded on their journey.
Day after day they travelled on, often suffering greatly from thirst and hunger, and dreading the loss of more of the cattle.
At length a stream of running water was crossed flowing to the east, and the caravan reached the borders of a dense forest, through which a path had to be cut with axes. Beyond it, far off in the east, hills were seen rising out of the plain.
Several ruined villages were passed, the plantations near them overrun with weeds and brushwood; while many skeletons of their unhappy inhabitants lay scattered about, telling plainly how they had been attacked by their cruel foes before they had time to escape, and had been remorselessly slaughtered, while the remainder probably had been carried off into slavery.
Such scenes met their sight day after day through what otherwise would have been a smiling country.