I thought
every minute I should come up with the brute; but his wounds ceased to
bleed, and in the confusion of the numerous tracks which scored all the
forest we lost our own.

Much disappointed at this, I now proposed to make for the track we came
by in the morning, and follow it down into camp; but this luxury was not
destined to be our lot that night, for the rain had obliterated all our
footprints of the morning, and we passed the track, mistaking it for the
run of wild beasts. It struck me we had done so; but say what I would,
the boys thought they knew better; and the consequence was that, after
wandering for hours no one knew where--for there was no sun to guide
us--I pulled up, and swore I would wait for the stars, else it might be
our fate to be lost in the wilderness, which I did not much relish. We
were all at this time "hungry as hunters," and beginning to feel very
miserable from being wet through. What little ammunition I had left I
fired off as signals, or made tinder of to get up a fire, but the
wood would not burn. In this hapless condition the black boys began
murmuring, wishing to go on, pretending, though both held opposite
views, that each knew the way; for they thought nothing could be worse
than their present state of discomfort.

Night with its gloom was then drawing on, heightened by thunder and
lightning, which set in all around us. At times we thought we heard
musketry in camp, knowing that Grant would be sure to fire signals
for us; and doubtless we did so, but its sound and the thunder so much
resembled one another that we distrusted our ears. At any rate, the
boys mistook the west for the east; and as I thought they had done so, I
stood firm to one spot, and finally lay down with them to sleep upon
the cold wet ground, where we slept pretty well, being only disturbed
occasionally by some animals sniffing at our feet. As the clouds broke
towards morning, my obstinate boys still swore that west was east, and
would hardly follow me when tracking down Venus; next up rose the moon
and then followed the sun, when, as good luck would have it, we struck
on the track, and walked straight into camp.

Here every one was in a great state of excitement: Grant had been making
the men fire volleys. The little sheikh was warmly congratulatory as
he spoke of the numbers who had strayed away and had been lost in that
wilderness; whilst Bombay admitted he thought we should turn up again
if I did not list