Issuing from the village with Ferrier, he made his way to the cultivated fields, which, lying on the sheltered slopes of the hill, were more fertile than might have been expected at such a height above sea-level. Much of the harvesting had been done: he had already noticed that the shambas were filled to overflowing with muhindi and pumpkins. But the banana-trees were weighed down with huge clusters of ripening fruit, and acres of the soil were covered with beans and sweet potatoes. He could provision the safari for the whole of the homeward journey, and yet make a scarcely sensible inroad upon the resources of the people. He had no scruples in taking as much as he needed, or rather as much as the men could carry; by all the rules of war it would be letting the village off lightly. Accordingly he lost no time in setting the men to get as much of the native produce together as would furnish full loads for the men who were not already burdened. This would inevitably diminish their marching power; but on the other hand they must carry plenty of food with them if they meant to reach home. While the men were engaged in this task, an idea occurred to Ferrier. "I say, John, why not go down the river on rafts?" he said. "We should get along much faster, and be less likely to meet Juma, who is sure to know a short cut, and won’t stick to the river as we did." "A jolly good notion! Wait a bit, though. What about the rapids? They nearly did for me, and loaded rafts would stand a worse chance than I did, wouldn’t they?" "That’s where I come in, old chap. I’ve shot the rapids on the St. Lawrence; these rapids aren’t a patch on the Roches Fendues. I didn’t do it by myself, of course; an old fellow named Baptiste Le Sueur managed the pole; but I saw it all, and I bet I could navigate those little affairs by the fort." "I’ll be hanged if we don’t try it, then. We can make a better job of it than Bill and I did. By the way, where is the old fellow? I haven’t seen him since we came into the village." "Nor have I. He won’t be far off. Let us set about it at once. Two large rafts, I think: it’ll take some time to cut enough timber." "We needn’t wait for that. We’ll dismantle some of the huts. The natives can easily build new ones when we are gone, and I’d like to give them a little trouble after all they have given us." "Capital! Come on then. The sooner we get them done the better." Returning to the village, they set all the men to work who were not engaged in the fields. In a short time a large number of poles from the huts lay on the ground ready to be lashed together, and a quantity of bast being found, there was no lack of material for the lashings. Those of the men who had been porters and were expert in manipulating ropes were entrusted with this work, the two white men superintending them and making sure that the knots were firm.