"
"Very well, my lad. I am glad that is your decision. Tell him, Ugly
Tom, that we will at once move towards Abeokuta with all speed,
and that they had better send out a party of carriers to meet us,
as you may be sure that these men will not go far when they hear
that the Dahomey people are on the warpath. Learn from him exactly
the road we must move by, as if our carriers desert us we shall be
detained till his people come up. How far is it to Abeokuta?"
Ugly Tom learned from the native that it was about forty-five miles.
"Very well," Mr. Goodenough said, "we shall march twenty this
afternoon. Where we halt they will most likely have heard the rumors
of the war, and I expect the carriers will go no farther, so they
must send out to that point."
The Houssa translated the message, and the native, saying, "I
shall be at Abeokuta tonight," kissed the hands of the white men
and started at a trot.
"Wonderful stamina some of these men have," Mr. Goodenough said.
"That man has come forty-five miles at full speed, and is now going
off again as fresh as when he started."
"What speed will he go at?" Frank asked.
"About six miles an hour. Of course he goes faster when he is
running, but he will sometimes break into a walk.
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