"
"Did you try to get to the island?" I asked.
"Yes, Allan. That is, I went to the edge of the reeds which lie at the
end of a long slope of plain, where the lake begins. Here I stopped
for some time catching butterflies and collecting plants. One night
when I was camped there by myself, for none of my men would remain so
near the Pongo country after sunset, I woke up with a sense that I was
no longer alone. I crept out of my tent and by the light of the moon,
which was setting, for dawn drew near, I saw a man who leant upon the
handle of a very wide-bladed spear which was taller than himself, a
big man over six feet two high, I should say, and broad in proportion.
He wore a long, white cloak reaching from his shoulders almost to the
ground. On his head was a tight-fitting cap with lappets, also white.
In his ears were rings of copper or gold, and on his wrists bracelets
of the same metal. His skin was intensely black, but the features were
not at all negroid. They were prominent and finely-cut, the nose being
sharp and the lips quite thin; indeed of an Arab type.
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