Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/506

 a raft oq which once again thcy could drift down the strcain. The question that prcsscd for immédiate settle- ment was which bank ît should bc. Ilcre, on the left bank, would be the grcater risk of encountcring the ncgro cscort of Ncgoro, while as to the farther shore they could not tell y/hat obstacles it might présent. Altof^tlicr Mrs. Weidon advocated trying the other side, but Dick insisted upon crossing first by himsclf to ascertain whether an advance by that route were really practicable. " The river is oiily about loo yards wide," he urged ; " 1 can soon get across. I shall leave Hercules to look after you ail." Mrs. Wcldon demurred for a whîle, but Dîck seemed resolute, and as he promised to takc his gun and not to attempt to land if hc saw the least symptom of danger, shc at last consentcd, but with so much reluctancc that cven after he had entered the canoë she said, — " l think, Dick, it would bc really better for us ail to go togethcr." " No, Mrs. Wcldon, indeed, no ; I am sure it is best for me to go alone ; I shall be back in an hour." " If it must be so, it must," said the lady. "Keep a sharp look-out, Hercules!" cried the youth cheerily, as he pushed off from the land. The strcngth of the carrent was by no means violent, but quite enough to makc the direction of Dick's course somewhat oblique. The roar of the cataract reverberated în his ears, and the spray, wafted by the westerly wind, brushed lightly past his face, and hc shuddered as hc fclt how near they must hâve becn to destruction if he had relaxed his watch throughout the night, It took him hardly a quarter of an hour to reach the opposite bank, and he was just preparing to land when there arose a tremendous shout from about a dozen natives, who, rushing forward, bcgan to tear away the canopy of grass with which the canoë was covcred. Dick's horror was great. It would hâve been greater still if he had known that they were cannibals. They were the natives settled at the lacustrine village higher up the