Niger

With sleep-heavy eyes he roused Alexander to
horseback again.
They came to a village, Koomikoomi. Watkins,
one of the sick who had managed to straggle in,
died here. The rain had cleared i it always
cleared at this season for a space of eleven days,
the blacks told Mungo. The sun shone on a
fragrant earth. As the caravan resumed its way,
they were almost c blinded with the pollen of the
male flowers It was the 15th of August.
Presently the weather broke and the rain again
descended, despite the confident assertions of the
weather-prophets in Koomikoomi. Alexander was
now carried in a hammock by four negroes whom
Mungo had hired for the purpose. The shrivelled-
faced ailing soldiers who survived, straggled far up
and down "the trail, but none perished that day, all
attaining by evening, except Scott, the town of
Doombila. For a little Mungo mislaid worry over
his non-appearance in greeting a negro who came
forward with a grin on his face. It was impossible :
but it was no other than Karfa Taura, the slave
merchant who had rescued him at Kamalia in the
first expedition and taken him down to the coast.
He had met many old acquaintances in his journey
up from the Gambia, but the meeting with Karfa
seemed to wipe away the years as nothing else.
The slaver offered to help him forward to Sego,
and Mungo gratefully accepted the offer.
Night fell, but there was still no sign of Scott.
Mungo sent back messengers to look for him, and
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