Page:Seven Years in South Africa v1.djvu/155

 I came to the conclusion that if matters should not improve, I must turn back again; but when I tried to return I experienced unlooked-for difficulty; I kept sinking lower and lower, till only my chin was above the level of the water. To cry for help was of no avail; the waggon in the encampment was much too far away to allow me to be heard. I became quite aware of the peril of my position, but I had only my own exertions on which to rely. With a violent jerk I flung myself forward, spreading out my arms as if I were swimming; the effort brought my body to the upper surface of the mud, but my chest and mouth were under water. I managed, however, by another spring to extricate one of my legs from the slime; but as I was in imminent danger of being suffocated I had to pause, to raise my head above water to draw breath. There was not an instant to be lost if I were to maintain the advantage I had gamed, and with one desperate effort more I succeeded in liberating my other foot. Happily I had just strength enough left to enable me to grasp the soil of the opposite shore, and ultimately to drag myself on to dry land. My state, both of mind and body, needs no description.

We remained in our halting-place for several days, before proceeding up the Harts River valley on our way to Likatlong.