try
to which she was going. He told her how it was covered with thick bush
and forest; how swift, mud-coloured rivers came out of mysterious lands
which had never been seen by white men; how the sun shone like a
furnace-fire, and how sudden hurricanes of rain and wind came and swept
away huts and uprooted trees. He described the wild animals he had
seen--huge hippopotami and crocodiles in the creeks; elephants,
leopards, and snakes in the forests; and lovely hued birds that flashed
in the sunlight--until her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed as they
had done in the old days when she listened to the stories told by her
mother.

[Illustration: FROM DUNDEE TO CALABAR.]

Within a week the steamer had passed out of the grey north, and was
gliding through a calm sea beneath a blue and sunny sky. By and by Mary
was seeking cool corners under the awning, and listening lazily to the
swish of the waves from the bows and watching golden sunsets and big
bright stars. Sometimes she saw scores of flying-fish hurry-scurrying
over the shining surface, and at night the prow of the vessel went
flashing through water that sparkled like diamonds.

By and by came the hot smell of Africa, long lines of surf rolling on
lonely shores, white fortresses that spoke of the old slave days, and
little port towns, half-hidden amongst trees, where she got her first
glimpses of the natives, and was amused at the din they made as they
came off to the steamer, fearless of the sharks that swarmed in the
water. It was all strange and unreal to the Scottish weaver-girl.

[Illustration]

And when, after a month, the vessel came to the Calabar River and
steamed through waters crowded with white cranes and pelicans, and past
dark mangrove swamps and sand-banks where the crocodiles lay sunning
themselves, and islands gay with parrots and monkeys, up to Duke Town,
the queer huddle of mud huts amongst the palm trees that was to be her
home, she was excited beyond telling. For at last that wonderful dream
of hers, which she had cherished through so many long years, had come
true, and so wonderful was it that it seemed to be still only a dream
and nothing more.

Clear above the river and the town, like a lighthouse on a cliff, stood
the Mission where "Daddy" and "Mammy" Anderson, two of its famous
pioneers, lived, and with them Mary stayed until she knew something
about the natives and her work. She felt very happy; she loved the
glowing sunshine, the go