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We generally carried a stout piece of cord with us, ready for any emergency, and this cord, about ten yards long and a little thicker than clothes-line, my uncle now untwisted from his waist, where he had worn it like a belt, and calling Ebo's attention to it he laid it out upon the ground.
The Landers, fearful of being detained by Mansolah until the rainy season, acted on Ebo's advice, and said nothing about the Niger, but merely spoke of the death of their fellow-countryman at Boussa twenty years before, adding that the King of England had sent them to the sultan of Yaourie to recover his papers.
"Why, you young dog, what eyes you have! you got all the luck." "Oh no, uncle," I said laughing; "I shot with Ebo's eyes." "Then next time I'll do the same," he said. "But let's go and shoot some more," I said excitedly. "No, Nat, we shall get no more of these to-day. I suppose it will only be by hiding in the darkness beneath the trees they frequent that we shall have any success.
Five or ten minutes must have elapsed, and then once more Ebo's arm glided over my shoulder and rested there, while I laid my cheek against it, and gazed in quite another direction now till I fancied I saw what he was pointing at, but which looked like nothing but a dark spot high up amongst the twigs; in fact, when I did make it out I felt sure that it was a nest.
The flash from my gun seemed to cut the blackness, and the report went echoing away amongst the trees; then there was a sharp rustling noise, and a dull, quick thud, and I was about to spring forward and seek for what I had shot, but Ebo's arms closed round me and held me fast.
At both of these places we made many expeditions, collecting both birds and insects, some of them being very lovely; but there was a want of novelty about them, my uncle said, the ground having been so often visited before. And at last we sailed south again to Ebo's island, finding all our stores and specimens quite safe and sound, and spending a few days in sunning and repacking them.
In due time we sailed to Ebo's island, where we found that the captain of the prahu on board which we had come, had been, and sailed once more, so that it would be months before we could see him again.
So tremendous and so true were Ebo's thrusts that I saw another great black go down, and a couple more run yelling back towards the dense cover from which they had come; but Ebo was in a very critical position. My uncle was heavy, and the black had hard work to drag him over the sand towards the boat, and keep his enemies at bay.
Ebo's motions said as plainly as could be: "There is nobody here but ourselves," and as if to satisfy us he led the way to a high hill about a mile away, from whence we had a splendid view all but in one direction, where there lay a clump of mountains. Look which way we would there was nothing but rich plain and dense jungle, with occasional patches of park-like land.
That was evidently Ebo's intentions, for he cut up the silvery fish into scraps for bait, and then signing to us to help him, we launched the canoe, paddled out half a mile, and then threw over a couple of lines, Ebo showing his teeth with delight as he drew in quickly a couple of good-sized mullet-looking fish, a couple more, and another soon coming to my line.
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