"In a friendly country?" asked Kennedy.
"Not altogether; at a pinch, if the 'Victoria' fail us, we must gain some French settlement. But if we can hold on for a couple of hundred miles, we shall arrive at the east coast comfortably."
"And that will be the end of it," said Joe. "So much the worse. If it were not for the telling of it, I should never wish to put foot on earth again. Do you think people will believe us, sir?"
"Who knows, my brave Joe? However, there is one indisputable fact. Thousands of people witnessed our departure from one side of Africa, and thousands will see us descend on the other."
"In that case it will be difficult to doubt our having crossed the continent."
"Ah, sir," replied Joe, with a deep sigh, "I shall often regret that golden ore. Look what weight it would have given to our narratives. A grain of gold for each auditor, I should have had a pretty big crowd to listen to and even to admire me."
CHAPTER XLI
HIGH MOUNTAINS
On the 27th of May, at 9 A. M., the country presented a new aspect. The long slopes rose into hills which promised mountains. It was necessary to cross the chain which separated the basins of the Niger and Senegal, and determine the fall of the waters to the Gulf of Guinea or Cape Verd.
As far as Senegal the country is reported as dangerous. Doctor Ferguson knew that, from the reports of his predecessors they had suffered a thousand privations and encountered a thousand dangers amongst these barbarians. The deadly climate carried off the majority of Mungo Park's companions. Ferguson was therefore more than ever decided not to set foot upon this inhospitable soil.
But he had not a moment's rest. The "Victoria" was settling down in a most unmistakable manner. It became necessary to throw out a number of articles more or less
