His progress was now very slow. The bush was thick and close, thorny
plants and innumerable creepers continually barred his way, and the
necessity for constantly looking up through the trees to catch a
glimpse of the sun, which was his only guide, added to his difficulty.
At length, when his watch told him it was eleven o'clock, he came
to a standstill, the sun being too high overhead to serve him as a
reliable guide. He had now been walking for nearly six hours, and
he was utterly worn out and exhausted, having had no food since
his midday meal on the previous day. He was devoured with thirst,
having merely rinsed his mouth in the black and poisonous water
of the swamps he had crossed. His sleepless night, too, had told
on him. He was bathed in perspiration, and for the last hour had
scarcely been able to drag his feet along.
He now lay down at the foot of a great tree, and for three or four
hours slept heavily. When he awoke he pursued his journey, the sun
serving as a guide again. In two hours' time he had got upon higher
ground. The brushwood was less dense, and he again turned his face
to the north, and stepped forward with renewed hopes.
It was late in the afternoon when he came upon a native path.
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