Page:In Desert and Wilderness (Sienkiewicz, tr. Drezmal).djvu/312

 304 Stas repeated that the sick girl was Nell, the daughter of Mr. Rawlinson, one of the directors of the Canal; that she already had suffered from two attacks of fever and must die if he did not obtain quinine to prevent the third.

"Two attacks—that is bad!" answered the unknown. "But I can give you as much quinine as you want. I have several jars of it which are of no use to me now."

Speaking thus, he ordered little Nasibu to hand him a big tin box, which apparently was a small traveling drug store; he took out of it two rather large jars filled with a powder and gave them to Stas.

"This is half of what I have. It will last you for a year even."

Stas had a desire to shout from sheer delight, so he began to thank him with as much rapture as if his own life were involved.

The unknown nodded his head several times, and said:

"Good, good, my name is Linde; I am a Swiss from Zurich. Two days ago I met with an accident. A wart-hog wounded me severely."

Afterwards he addressed the lad:

"Nasibu, fill my pipe."

Then he said to Stas:

"In the night-time the fever is worse and my mind becomes confused. But a pipe clears my thoughts. Truly, did you say that you had escaped from dervish captivity and are hiding in the jungle? Is it so?"

"Yes, sir. I said it."

"And what do you intend to do?"

"Fly to Abyssinia."

"You will fall into the hands of the Mahdists; whose divisions are prowling all along the boundary."

"We cannot, however, undertake anything else."

"Ah, a month ago I could still have given you aid.