The suggestion may be made that he might not have been slow, but that our appetites might have been so fast that he seemed slow.
The cook usually picks out a likely porter to help him, or a _toto_, which means "little boy" in Swahili.

There are always a lot of boys who go along, unofficially, just for the fun and the food of the trip.

They are not hired, but go as stowaways, and for the first few days out remain much in the background.

Gradually they appear more and more until all chance of their being sent back has disappeared, and then they become established members of the party.

They carry small loads and help brighten up the camp.