第80章

On24thJunewestartedat6。5A。M。，andafteramarchofsevenmiles，duringwhichwewereundisturbed，wearrivedattheoldcampofSuleiman’scompanyatFoweeraontheVictoriaNile，wherewehadexpectedtofindshelterandgoodhouses。

Everythinghadbeendestroyedbyfire！Nothingremainedbutblackenedashes。

CHAPTERXXIII

BUILDASTOCKADEATFOWEERA。

MYlossesfromthe8thJunetothe24thhadbeentenkilledandelevenwounded。Everyofficerandsoldierhadthoroughlydonehisduty，havingdisplayedadmirablecoolnessandcourageuponmanytryingoccasions。

Nonebutblacktroopscouldhaveenduredthemarchofabouteightymileswithheavyweightsupontheirheads，inadditiontotheirusualaccoutrements。

Iatoncesettoworktobuildanewstation，andwiththeoldwoodthathadformedthefenceofSuleiman’szareeba，Icommencedadefensivearrangement。

Therewasverylittleheavytimberthatwasadaptedforastockade。I

thereforeformedaprotectionbysinkingdeepintheground，atintervalsofthreefeet，twostrongpostsaboutsevenfeetabovethesurface。Theseuprighttimbers，standingoppositetoeachotheratadistanceofaboutteninches，werefilledwithlongpoleslaidoneovertheotherhorizontally。Attwocornersofthesquarefortwereflankingworksofthesameconstruction，whichwouldsweepeachfaceofthedefence。

Inafewdaysmymenhadcompletedastrongandneatstockadearoundanumberofsmalltemporaryhutswhichformedournewstation。

Havingthushousedmytroops，itwasnecessarytoprepareforthefuture。IfullyexpectedthatMajorAbdullahhadfallenintothesnarepreparedforhimbyKabbaRega：thusIshouldhavenootherforcetorelyupon，exceptthefewmenthatnowformedmysmallbuttoughlittleparty。IfsoterribleacalamityshouldhaveoccurredasthedestructionofAbdullah’sdetachment，Ishouldnotonlyhavelostmymen，butI

shouldbecomeshortofammunition；asmystoresandarmswouldhavefallenintothehandsoftheenemy。Thisdoubtcausedmemuchgraveanxiety。

ItwasstrangethatwehadnotreceivedsomecommunicationfromRionga，whoseislandwasonlyfifteenorsixteenmilesabovestreamfromFoweera。Oursideoftheriverappearedtobequiteuninhabited，andsimplyconsistedoftheinterminablegrovesofbananas，thathadbelongedtotheinhabitantsatatimewhenthedistricthadbeenthicklypopulated。

TheVictoriaNile，oppositetheFoweerastation，wasabout500yardswide。Atthisseasontheriverwasfull。Thehutsthatwehaderectedonthenorthside，uponourarrivalfromFatiko，hadbeendestroyedbythenatives。Thisdidnotlookasthoughmuchfriendshipexisted。

UponhearingourdrumsandbuglesonthedayofourarrivalatFoweera，afewnativeshadcometothehighrockopposite，andhadcommenced，bawlingconversation，andthatwasonlyslightlyunderstoodbyoneofourwomenandMoloditheMadi。

MolodiknewRionga，ashehadvisitedhimataformertime，togetherwithapartyofAbouSaood’speople。HisveryslightknowledgeofthelanguagewassufficienttoexplaintothenativesacrosstheriverthatIwishedtocommunicatewithRionga。

Thepeopleonthenorthhappenedt

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节