ut which way had she gone since
she stopped here?

Would she go on down the river, that she might thus bring herself
nearer her own Grabritin, or would she have sought to search for us
upstream, where she had seen us last?

I had hailed Taylor, and sent him across the river to take in Delcarte,
that the two might join me and discuss my discovery and our future
plans.

While waiting for them, I stood looking out over the river, my back
toward the woods that stretched away to the east behind me. Delcarte
was just stepping into the launch upon the opposite side of the stream,
when, without the least warning, I was violently seized by both arms
and about the waist--three or four men were upon me at once; my rifle
was snatched from my hands and my revolver from my belt.

I struggled for an instant, but finding my efforts of no avail, I
ceased them, and turned my head to have a look at my assailants. At
the same time several others of them walked around in front of me, and,
to my astonishment, I found myself looking upon uniformed soldiery,
armed with rifles, revolvers, and sabers, but with faces as black as
coal.

8

Delcarte and Taylor were now in mid-stream, coming toward us, and I
called to them to keep aloof until I knew whether the intentions of my
captors were friendly or otherwise. My good men wanted to come on and
annihilate the blacks. But there were upward of a hundred of the
latter, all well armed, and so I commanded Delcarte to keep out of
harm's way, and stay where he was till I needed him.

A young officer called and beckoned to them. But they refused to come,
and so he gave orders that resulted in my hands being secured at my
back, after which the company marched away, straight toward the east.

I noticed that the men wore spurs, which seemed strange to me. But
when, late in the afternoon, we arrived at their encampment, I
discovered that my captors were cavalrymen.

In the center of a plain stood a log fort, with a blockhouse at each of
its four corners. As we approached, I saw a herd of cavalry horses
grazing under guard outside the walls of the post. They were small,
stocky horses, but the telltale saddle galls proclaimed their calling.
The flag flying from a tall staff inside the palisade was one which I
had never before seen nor heard of.

We marched directly into the compound, where the company was dismissed,
with the exception of a guard of four privates, who escorted me in th