he night. But he felt the effect of lack of
sleep so much and his thoughts were so occupied with the little girl's
illness that a whole flock of guinea-fowl passed close by him in a
trot, one after another, bound for the watering place, and he did not
observe them at all. This happened also because he was continually
praying. He thought of the slaying of Gebhr, Chamis, and the Bedouins,
and lifting his eyes upwards he said with a voice choking with tears:

"I did this for Nell, oh Lord, for Nell! For I could not free her
otherwise; but if it is a sin, punish me, but let her regain her
health."

On the way he met Kali, who had gone to see whether the wicked Mzimu
ate the meat offered to him the previous night. The young negro, loving
the little "bibi," prayed also for her, but he prayed in an entirely
different fashion. He particularly told the wicked Mzimu that if the
"bibi" recovered her health he would bring him a piece of meat every
day, but if she died, though he feared him and though he might
afterwards perish, he would first so flay his hide that the wicked
Mzimu would remember it for ages. He felt greatly encouraged when the
meat deposited the previous night disappeared. It might indeed have
been carried away by some jackal, but the Mzimu might assume the shape
of a jackal.

Kali informed Stas of this propitious incident; the latter, however,
stared at him as if he did not understand him at all and went on
further. Passing a clump of shrubs in which he did not find any
guinea-fowl, he drew nearer the river. Its banks were overgrown with
tall trees from which were suspended like long stockings the nests of
titmice, beautiful little yellow birds with black wings, and also
wasps' nests resembling big roses, but colored like gray
blotting-paper. In one place the river formed an expansion a few score
paces wide, overgrown in part by papyrus. On this expansion aquatic
birds always swarmed. There were storks just like our European storks,
and storks with thick bills ending with a hook, and birds black as
velvet, with legs red as blood, and flamingoes and ibises, and white
spoon-bills with bills like spoons, and cranes with crowns on their
heads, and a multitude of curlews, variegated and gray as mice, flying
quickly back and forth as if they were tiny sylvan sprites on long,
thin, snipe-like legs.

Stas killed two large ducks, beautiful, cinnamon colored, and treading
upon dead butterflies, of which thousands strew