“Yes, you are right, colonel,” put in Sir Arthur, with a touch of his old pomposity; “the government shall know how its representative was delivered from the hands of these impious fiends. But bless me, I don’t see that we are so much better off, after all. How are we going to get out of this beastly hole?”
“And what has become of Momba, and Captain Waller, and the Hindoos?” exclaimed Forbes, who had suddenly recollected the missing members of the party.
“Lost—all lost,” replied the colonel sadly. “They were sold to a distant tribe in the interior two days after we arrived at the village. You see our condition. They have made us work from sunrise to sunset. We fell ill, and, being of use no longer, they deliberately tried to starve us to death. It was horrible, horrible!”
“It was a diabolical outrage,” interrupted Sir Arthur. “The whole civilized world will shudder when it knows that the governor of Zaila was fed on tainted meat and spoiled rice, and very little of that, too. If England fails to resent this outrage, I’ll cast off my allegiance to the crown, sir, and become a citizen of some other country. I will, by Jove!”
Sir Arthur might have gone on indefinitely with the tale of his grievances, but Guy cut him short by calling general attention to their present grave situation.
The supply of provisions was at once overhauled, and the inspection proved very satisfactory.
Six large bags had been loaded on the camels. Two of these held jerked beef, probably buffalo or deer meat, one contained rice, another a peculiar kind of hard cakes made from native corn, and the two remaining were filled to the top with dates and figs.
“We are assured of food for some time to come,” said Guy; “that is one consolation. I wish I could feel as certain of light. We have two lamps, and to supply these two big flasks of palm oil, not nearly enough, however, to last us on a long journey. When that is gone, I don’t know what we shall do.”
“When we stop, for rest we shall have to do without light,” suggested Melton. “If we find any places to stop,” he added.
“It’s beastly chilly in here,” observed Sir Arthur, with a shiver. “Two days in a hole like this will give us all rheumatism.”