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Updated: May 9, 2025
"The very thing I wish to do," answered Ned. "I will try to get your master to give you your freedom at once; or, if he will not now do so, as soon as we return to the coast." So deeply interested were Ned and his companions in the discovery he had made, that they forgot for a time their fatigue and their thirst. Even Sambroko and young Hassan listened eagerly.
Having consulted Sambroko: "I intend to march northward and then to turn to the east. He tells me that we pass near many villages inhabited by elephant hunters, who are sure to have a good supply of ivory; and as the Arabs have not gone through that part of the country for a long time, we shall obtain it at a moderate price, besides which, the people are likely to prove friendly."
They were expecting the return of the hunters, when Sambroko and Chando were seen rushing at headlong speed towards the camp, where they arrived almost breathless, exclaiming "To arms! to arms! The enemy are upon us. No time to lose; before many minutes they will be here. We saw them coming in this direction." Sayd, on further questioning the two hunters, was convinced that their report was true.
He involuntarily uttered a loud shriek, and endeavoured to draw up his feet. It was answered by a shout from Sambroko and the other blacks; at the same instant he heard a shot. The elephant's trunk was no longer touching him, but the exertion he had made was beyond his strength; his hands relaxed their hold, he felt himself falling. Consciousness, however, did not desert him.
It was of the greatest importance to reach a village, which Sambroko said must be passed before the news of the Arab raid could get there, and at length it came in sight, standing on a knoll surrounded by palisades, above which the roofs of the houses could be seen. As they approached, Sambroko set up a cheerful song announcing that friends were drawing near and desired peace.
Sayd had hitherto borne the delay patiently, but he now again became anxious to proceed. Sambroko, though at first successful, had of late shot but a small quantity of game. At length Sayd ordered a litter to be formed, and directed four of the pagazis to carry Ned, giving their packs to others, who grumbled greatly at the increased weight of their loads.
Leaving his people encamped under the command of Sambroko and Hassan, he accepted an invitation to return on board the "Hope" to Zanzibar to purchase fresh stores for another expedition, and he promised Ned that he would not only never again have anything to do with slave-trading, but, after the experience he had gained, would keep aloof from all those who engaged in that barbarous traffic.
At daybreak Sayd's small caravan commenced its march, Sambroko uttering a farewell shout to their fate companions, who replied by derisive cries. "They may shriek as they like," he observed, "but they will before long change their tone.
"But I must try and help him, for I could not bear to see the poor fellow sink down and die as so many are doing." "There is nothing strange in that," remarked Sambroko. "I once crossed a desert larger than this, and one half our number were left behind; but we got through and returned during the wet season with large cargoes of ivory, and our masters, for I was then a slave, were well content."
Should Sayd or Sambroko fire, the next instant the blacks would be upon them, and the rest of the party, having only their axes or knives, could offer but a feeble resistance. The intruders held their ground in spite of the warning shouts of Sayd and Sambroko.
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