For the country was not
entirely deserted; occasionally they came to scattered kraals, and were
able to obtain provisions from their peaceful inhabitants in return for
some such trifle as an empty cartridge of brass. At first Leonard was
afraid lest Soa should tire, but notwithstanding her years and the
hardships and sufferings which she had undergone, she showed wonderful
endurance--endurance so wonderful that he came to the conclusion that
it was her spirit which supported the frailty of her body, and the
ever-present desire to rescue one whom she loved as a surly dog
sometimes loves its master. However this might be, she pushed forward
with the rest, rarely speaking except to urge them onwards.
On the eighth night of their journey they halted upon the crest of a
high mountain. The moon had set, and it was impossible to go further;
moreover, they were weary with long marching. Wrapping themselves up
in their blankets--for here the air was piercingly cold--they lay down
beneath the shelter of some bushes to sleep till dawn. It was Otter who
woke them. "Look, Baas," he said to Leonard, "we have marched straight.
There below us is the big river, and there far to the right is the sea."
They looked. Some miles from them, across the great plain of bush that
merged gradually into swamp, lay that branch of the Zambesi which they
would reach. They could not see it, indeed, for its face was hid by a
dense cloak of soft white mist that covered it like a cloud.
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