"A little before noon we came to a stream which it was necessary to cross by fording. The banks were lined with tall reeds, and Abdul remarked that it was an excellent place for an ambuscade. Hardly had he spoken before an arrow whizzed from the reeds and narrowly missed one of the men who was entering the water preparatory to wading over. Evidently there was trouble in store for us. "Twenty soldiers were sent ahead to clear the way. They advanced slowly, as it was impossible to see any distance among the bushes, and it was quite possible for an enemy to be within a few feet of you without being discovered. [Illustration: ATTACK IN AN AMBUSCADE.] "The natives were not slow to appear, and only a few shots had been fired before a hundred dusky forms were visible, moving rapidly among the tall reeds. Each man carried a spear and a shield, and some had bows and arrows. Luckily they had not yet been able to procure fire-arms, or they might have made our march very uncomfortable. "The rude weapons of the negro were no match for the Remington rifle, and in less than half an hour the space around the ford was cleared of our enemies. The worst feature of the business was the promise it made of delays, and perhaps a good deal of fighting, before we could reach the end of our journey. "One of the negroes was wounded slightly in the foot, which prevented his running away, though the matter was not at all serious. He fell into our hands, and the captain at once sent for an interpreter and questioned the man as to the reason of the attack. "The negro explained that his people, the Shoolis, had recently suffered considerably from the slave-hunters who had come to destroy their villages and carry the prisoners into slavery. Consequently war had been declared against all men coming from Khartoum or Gondokoro under the pretence of buying ivory, and our expedition would not be likely to get to the Victoria Nile without a great deal of trouble. "This was serious news indeed, and as soon as we reached a good place for making a camp we halted and spread the tents. We wanted a spot that could be easily defended in case of attack. In order to protect ourselves we threw up a line of thorn-fences, completely inclosing the camp. There is nothing better than a fence of thorns to hold off these negroes; they wear no clothing, except an antelope-skin over the shoulders, and consequently have a profound respect for the stout thorn that grows in this country, and has a point like that of a darning-needle.