We had left the business of cutting my bonds almost too late.

In the darkness of the bush the strips of hide could only be felt for, and my Kaffir had a woefully blunt knife.
Reims are always tough to sever, and mine had to be sawn through.

Soon my arms were free, and I was plucking at my other bonds.

The worst were those on my ankles below the horse's belly.

The Kaffir fumbled away in the dark, and pricked my beast so that he reared and struck out.