Now we shall not die of hunger, and we shall not be
shot, and we shall not be drowned, at least none of those things will
happen to me. But there are twenty-one other things that may finish
us, as I have lost the charms to ward them off. Thus----"
"Oh! stop your rubbish," I said, and fell again into the depths of my
uncomfortable reflections. After this I, too, went to sleep. When I
woke it was past midday and the wind was falling. However, it held
while we ate some food we had brought with us, after which it died
away altogether, and the Pongo people took to their paddles. At my
suggestion we offered to help them, for it occurred to me that we
might just as well learn how to manage these paddles. So six were
given to us, and Komba, who now I noted was beginning to speak in a
somewhat imperious tone, instructed us in their use. At first we made
but a poor hand at the business, but three or four hours' steady
practice taught us a good deal. Indeed, before our journey's end, I
felt that we should be quite capable of managing a canoe, if ever it
became necessary for us to do so.
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