I scarcely felt it at the time, but
afterwards the eye withered. Or perhaps it was a spear or a knife that
struck me in the eye, I do not know. I paddled till I lost my senses
and always that wind blew. The last thing that I remember was the
sound of the canoe being driven by the gale through reeds. When I woke
up again I found myself near a shore, to which I waded through the
mud, scaring great crocodiles. But this must have been some days
later, for now I was quite thin. I fell down upon the shore, and there
some of our people found me and nursed me till I recovered. That is
all."
"And quite enough too," I said. "Now answer me. How far was the town
from the place where you were captured in Mazitu-land?"
"A whole day's journey in the canoe, Macumazana. I was captured in the
morning early and we reached the harbour in the evening at a place
where many canoes were tied up, perhaps fifty of them, some of which
would hold forty men."
"And how far was the town from this harbour?"
"Quite close, Macumazana.
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