been away for several weeks. Why he
had not returned sooner, we could not exactly make out, but we
understood that the king of the village, Quagomolo, was very ill, and as
the only large canoes belonged to him, Aboh could not see him to obtain
the one he wished for. Our friends had brought a supply of plantains
and several other things--manioc, sugar-cane, and squashes. There were
provisions enough for us and themselves for several days. Before
commencing the return voyage, they insisted we should cook them and have
a feast.

"We have already had our dinner," said Charley.

"Bery good! but we,--we empty stomach. No good go sea without eat,"
answered Aboh.

By which he let us understand that he and his companions required food,
and were not entirely disinterested in pressing us to have a feast on
the provisions they had brought. On seeing the deer and the ducks we
had shot, their eyes brightened. Aboh and Shimbo were both very good
cooks, and immediately set to work to dress both the venison and the
vegetables. Their only regret was, that we had not some rum to give
them, the taste of which they had acquired from the white traders who
occasionally came up to their village. I should have said that Aboh
gave us a good report of Tom, who was being well treated by the
inhabitants of the village, by whom we also expected to be received in a
friendly manner. Aboh and Shimbo were so long in preparing the viands,
that by the time they announced that all were sufficiently cooked, we
were perfectly ready to fall to. We enjoyed our meal, and as soon as it
was over, Charley proposed that we should start without delay.

The ducks and the venison were carried down to the canoe, as well as the
leopard skin. By the time we had taken our seats, it appeared to us
greatly overloaded; still our black friends were unwilling to leave any
provisions behind. Aboh, pointing to the leopard skin, exclaimed,
"King, him like much;" so that we hoped our gift would be acceptable to
his sable majesty. The day was pretty well advanced, but we hoped to
get across the lake before nightfall. All being ready, our black crew
seizing their paddles, the canoe began to glide across the lake.
Charley took a fifth paddle with which to steer, but he soon found that
the blacks could manage the canoe perfectly well without his assistance.
The heat was so great on the water that we were all thankful to avoid
any unnecessary exertion. The blacks as