The day’s rest apparently did little to relieve Mrs. Arkwright’s
sufferings. On the following day she allowed herself to be put upon the
mule, but after the first hour the beasts were stopped and she was taken
off it. During that hour they had travelled hardly over half a league.
At that time she so sobbed and moaned that Arkwright absolutely feared
that she would perish in the forest, and he implored the guides to use
the poles which they had prepared. She had declared to him over and over
again that she felt sure that she should die, and, half-delirious with
weariness and suffering, had begged him to leave her at the last hut.
They had not yet come to the flat ground over which a litter might be
carried with comparative ease; but nevertheless the men yielded, and she
was placed in a recumbent position upon blankets, supported by boughs of
trees. In this way she went through that day with somewhat less of
suffering than before, and without that necessity for self-exertion
which had been worse to her than any suffering.
There were places between that and the river at which one would have
said that it was impossible that a litter should be carried, or even
impossible that a mule should walk with a load on his back. But still
they went on, and the men carried their burden without complaining. Not
a word was said about money, or extra pay;--not a word, at least by
them; and when Arkwright was profuse in his offer, their leader told him
that they would not have done it for money. But for the poor suffering
Señora they would make exertions which no money would have bought from
them.
On the next day about noon the post did pass them, consisting of three
strong men carrying great weights on their backs, suspended by bands
from their foreheads. They travelled much quicker than our friends, and
would reach the banks of the river that evening. In their ordinary
course they would start down the river close upon daybreak on the
following day; but, after some consultation with the guides, they agreed
to wait till noon. Poor Mrs. Arkwright knew nothing of hours or of any
such arrangements now, but her husband greatly doubted their power of
catching this mail despatch. However, it did not much depend on their
exertions that afternoon. Their resting-place was marked out for them,
and they could not go beyond it, unless indeed they could make the whole
journey, which was impossible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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