The first was the complete absence of wind which must have raised waves that might have swamped me and would at any rate have wetted the rifle.

The second was that there was no fear of my losing my path for in the mouth of the cave I could see the glow of the fires which burned on either side of the Motombo's seat.

They served the same purpose to me as did the lamp of the lady called Hero to her lover Leander when he swam the Hellespont to pay her clandestine visits at night.

But he had something pleasant to look forward to, whereas I----! Still, there was another point in common between us.

Hero, if I remember right, was a priestess of the Greek goddess of love, whereas the party who waited me was also in a religious line of business.