ehow, and I am giddy."

Mr. Goodenough felt his pulse.

"You have got your first touch of fever," he said. "I wonder you've been
so long without it. You had better lie down at once."

A quarter of an hour afterwards Frank was seized with an overpowering
heat, every vein appearing to be filled with liquid fire; but his skin,
instead of being, as usual, in a state of perspiration, was dry and
hard.

"Now, Frank, sit up and drink this. It's only some mustard and salt and
water. I have immense faith in an emetic."

The draught soon took its effect. Frank was violently sick, and the
perspiration broke in streams from him.

"Here is a cup of tea," Mr. Goodenough said; "drink that and you will
find that there will be little the matter with you in the morning."

Frank awoke feeling weak, but otherwise perfectly well. Mr. Goodenough
administered a strong dose of quinine, and after he had had his
breakfast he felt quite himself again.

"Now," Mr. Goodenough said, "we will go up to the factories and mission
and try and find a really good servant. Everything depends upon that."

In a short time an engagement was made with a negro of the name of
Ostik. He was a Mpongwe man, that being the name of the tribe on the
coast. He spoke English fairly, as well as two or three of the native
languages. He had before made a journey some distance into the interior
with a white traveler. He was a tall and powerfully built negro, very
ugly, but with a pleasant and honest face. Frank felt at once that he
should like him.

"You quite understand," Mr. Goodenough explained, "we are going through
the Fan country, far into the interior. We may be away from the coast
for many months."

"Me ready, sar," the man answered with a grin. "Mak no odds to Ostik. He
got no wife, no piccanniny. Ostik very good cook. Master find good grub;
he catch plenty of beasts."

"You're not afraid, Ostik, because it is possible we may have trouble on
the way?"

"Me not very much afraid, massa. You good massa to Ostik he no run away
if fightee come; but no good fight whole tribe."

"I hope not to have any fighting at all, Ostik; but as I have got six
Houssas with me who will all carry breech loading guns, I think we
should be a match for a good sized tribe, if necessary."

Ostik looked thoughtful. "More easy, massa, go without Houssas," he
said. "Black man not often touch white traveler."

"No, Ostik, that is true; but I must take with me trade goods for p