In Any Case, So
Long As He Was With Us, We Must Some Time Get Water - And We Had No
Intention Of Letting Him Escape.
With a rope we secured him and watched
in turn all through the night.
Never were jailers more vigilant, for that black-fellow meant our lives.
He tried all means of escape, and never slept the whole night through. He
would lie still with closed eyes for a time, and then make a sudden
struggle to wrench the rope away from his captor; then stealthily with
his foot he tried to push the rope into the fire; then he started rubbing
it on the rock on which we lay; and last of all his teeth were brought
into use. When my turn came to watch, I pretended to sleep, to see what
he would do, and so discovered all his tricks. I confess that I saw with
delight the evident feelings of thirst that before long overcame him - the
salt beef had done its duty; he had had no water of course, for we had
none to give him, and I felt sure that he would be only too eager in the
morning. Nor was I mistaken; long before daylight he showed signs of
distress, and anxiety to go on, standing up and stretching out his long,
thin arm - "Gabbi" (water), he said, pointing in three different
directions, putting his head back and pointing with his chin, making a
noise something between a grunt and a puff.
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