My
Abyssinian lad, Amarn, was only just in time to escape, as he had been
endeavouring to support the van on the impending side when it suddenly
capsised, and he would have been flattened like a black-edged mourning
envelope had he not actively sprung out of the way.
All hands set about righting the ship--which was upon her beam-ends, and
the wheels uppermost. The first thing necessary was to discharge cargo;
this we quickly effected, as there were doors in front and behind, and
the numerous packages were soon piled upon the wayside. No sooner was
the van empty, than my dogs, who had been watching the operation in
bewilderment, jumped in, and no inducement would persuade them to quit
the comfortable vehicle, which they supposed had been specially cleared
for their convenience; the doors were accordingly shut, and they were
locked up. We now passed ropes beneath the van, and secured the ends to
the bottom of the wheels, which rested upon the ground; the other ends
were thrown over the cap-roof and manned, while the rest of the party
endeavoured to raise the van bodily. All working together, we righted it
immediately, the astonished dogs were liberated, and we soon replaced
the contents. I sent a messenger to Arshia to purchase if possible a
piece of wood sufficiently long to form a pole, and in the meantime I
employed my tools and myself in splicing the broken pole sufficiently to
enable us to creep a little nearer to the village, as we were far from
water.
Pages:
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134