Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/395

 MARKET-DAY. 367 districts to be exchanged for îvory ; whilst the men, who are to be put to hard labour, are despatched to the coast, East and West, whence they are exported to the Spanish colonies, or to the markets of Muscat or Madagascar. To Tom and hîs friends the prospect of being transported to a slave colony was far better than that of being retained in some Central African province, whcre they could hâve no chance of regaining their liberty ; and the moment, to them, was accordingly one of grcat suspense. Altogcther, things turned out for them better than they dared anticipate. They had at least the satisfaction of finding that as yet they were not to be separated. Alvez, of course, had takcn good care to conceal the origin of this cxceptional lot, and their own ignorance of the language thoroughly prevented them from communicating ît ; but the anxiety to secure so valuable a property rendered the compétition for it very keen ; the bidding rose higher and higher, until at length the four men were knocked down to a rich Arab dealer, who purposed in the course of a few days to take them to Lake Tanganyika, and thence to one of the dépôts of Zanzibar. This journey, it is true, would be for 1500 miles across the most unhealthy parts of Central Africa, through districts harassed by internai wars ; and it seemed im- probable that Tom could survive the hardships he must meet ; like poor old Nan, he would succumb to fatigue ; but the brave fellows did not suffer themselves to fear the future, they were only too happy to be still together ; and the chain that bound them one to another was felt to be easier and lighter to bear. Their new master knew that ît was for his own înterest that his purchase should be well taken care of; he looked to make a substantial profit at Zanzibar, and sent them off at once to his own private barracks ; consequently they saw no more of what transpired at Kazonndé.