Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

THE CRUISE OF THE " CASTOR." 79
fasted in sight of it, which of coui^se gave the
Arabs warning and time to get every slave
into the interior, if there were any there.
After
breakfast we landed on the beach in front of
the thickly growing mangroves, and as the
boats grounded some distance out, we had to
wade on shore. Now, our leader was a very
little man, and cared less for the enemy than for
getting wet, and moreover it is very doubtful
had he tried to wade, how far
the water might
have gone towards engulfing him, and as tliis
applied also to others, not taller than he, they
wisely used the shoulders of the tallest men
to mount on, but by some unfortunate accident
or other our brave httle leader had fixed upon
the very tallest of his crew to carry him on
shore, who, whether for his own convenience
or the commander's, had lifted him in the
most unceremonious way possible, and tucked
him under his left arm as he had tucked his
rifle under his right, the commander's head and
shoulders sticking out in front, and his legs
drooping down behind with his knees bent to
keep his feet clear of the water, in which most