Year, 1864; but I felt sure that should I be long delayed, the boat
would return without me, as the people would be afraid to remain alone
at Gondokoro after the other boats had quitted.
In our present weak state another year of Central Africa without quinine
appeared to warrant death. It was a race against time; all was untrodden
ground before us, and the distance quite uncertain. I trembled for my
wife, and weighed the risk of another year in this horrible country
should we lose the boats. With the self-sacrificing devotion that she
had shown in every trial, she implored me not to think of any risks on
her account, but to push forward and discover the lake - that she had
determined not to return until she had herself reached the "M'wootan
N'zige."
I now requested Kamrasi to allow us to take leave, as we had not an hour
to lose. In the coolest manner he replied, "I will send you to the lake
and to Shooa, as I have promised, but YOU MUST LEAVE YOUR WIFE WITH ME!"
At that moment we were surrounded by a great number of natives, and my
suspicions of treachery at having been led across the Kafoor River
appeared confirmed by this insolent demand.
