Edmund had already chosen the fellows who were to accompany us, and among
them were two of the smiths besides Juba. In all they were eight. How he
succeeded in persuading them I do not know, but not the slightest
objection was apparent on their part, or on the part of their compatriots
in the caverns. We were all ready at the predetermined time, and the
scene at our departure was a strange one.
At least five hundred natives had assembled in a furry crowd around the
entrance to the caverns to see us off. When we started, the fellows on
the sleds, being unused to the motion, clung together like so many
awkward white bears taking a ride in the circus. Their friends stood
about the ill-omened sacrificial altar, waving their long arms, while
their huge eyes goggled in the starlight.
Jack, in a burst of enthusiasm, fired four or five parting shots from his
pistol. As the reports crashed through the heavy air, you should have
seen the crowd vanish down the hole! The sight made me wince, for they
must have gone down like a cataract, all heaped together. But they were
tough, and I trust no heads were broken. The effect on the eight fellows
on the sleds came near being disastrous.
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