With what remained of daylight we sat down to make our meal off the yam, which I cut evenly into two parts, falling upon my half with the avidity of starvation; but Bukári, who usually ate like a wolf, made so little progress with his portion, that, when I was crunching the last fragment of rind, he had barely scooped out half the mealy inside. “Is thy stomach too proud for yam now thou hast tasted meat?” I asked. “It is not my stomach that is proud,” he replied with a discontented growl. “I can hardly get my mouth open. My jaws are as stiff as the lock of a rusty musket; they have had too little to do lately.” It was dark before he had finished eating, and even then he had not cleaned out the yam; but tucking the remainder under his arm, announced that he was ready. By this time I was feeling quite fresh and lively, and ready for such a night march as would fairly take us out of reach of the fetish-men; but Bukári plodded on in a dejected, spiritless manner that caused me some anxiety. My attempts to keep up a cheerful conversation met with but short and gruff responses, and presently he announced that his jaws were too stiff for talking, and relapsed into complete silence. So we trudged on through the darkness, for the sky was overcast and the forest dense, speaking not a word, and travelling at but a poor pace, until nearly midnight, when Bukári suddenly halted. “What is it?” I asked. “Art thou tired?” “I am weak,” he replied, “and my limbs feel as if they were made of wood. I can go no farther to-night.” He spoke in a thick, strange voice through his clenched teeth, and was evidently feeling ill. It was most unfortunate that he should break down just now, but there was no help for it, so I led the way off the road for a short distance, literally feeling my way through the thick undergrowth, until I felt the butt of a tree, and by this we sat down to wait for the approach of day. When we had sat for some time in silence--for Bukári was evidently disinclined for conversation--my companion remarked huskily that it was needless for us both to watch; and he thereupon stretched himself on the ground and appeared to fall asleep.