Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 1.djvu/400

 word, any place that might serve as shelter for any human being. How often did he look up at the sky! He hoped to see the "Victoria," and though he had vainly sought her all the day, that did not diminish his confidence in his master; he must have had great firmness of character to accept the situation so philosophically. Hunger now began to unite with fatigue, for a diet of roots, the marrow of the arbutus, from which "melé" is made, or the fruit of the trees do not refresh a man; and yet, according to his estimate, he had traversed a thousand miles to the west. His body bore the marks of the thorns and prickly reeds, through which he had pushed his way, and his wounded and bleeding feet rendered his progress very painful. But still he could fight against his sufferings, and, as evening set in, he determined to pass the night on the borders of the lake.

There he had to submit to the bites of myriads of insects. Flies, mosquitoes, ants, half an inch long, swarmed around him. At the end of two hours Joe had not a rag of clothing left, the insects had devoured everything. This was a terrible night, which brought no sleep to the weary traveler. All this time the boars, the wild oxen, the ajorib, a sort of rhinoceros and equally dangerous, raged in the copses and beneath the waters of the lake. This concert of wild beasts was kept up into the middle of the night. Joe did not dare to move. His determination and patience scarcely held out under such circumstances.

At length day dawned. Joe rose hurriedly, and judge of his horror when he perceived that he had unwittingly shared his bed with an enormous frog, about five inches broad, a monstrous disgusting reptile, which kept staring at Joe with its great round eyes. Joe felt his heart beat, and distaste lending him strength, he ran away as hard as he could and plunged into the lake. This bath assuaged the itching that tormented him, and having munched some leaves, he resumed his route with an obstinacy and persistence for which he could not account; he was no longer conscious of his actions, but, nevertheless, he was aware of the existence of a power within him superior to despair.

Now the pangs of hunger began to assail him, and he was obliged to tie a band of weed around his body. Fortunately his thirst could be quenched at every step, and