The forest was much quieter to-night than on the previous night; indeed, with the exception of a few civets, genets and lemurs, and one or two nocturnal birds, there was little stirring in our vicinity, and, as hour after hour passed, my watch became gradually relaxed. First I leaned my elbow on one of the roots of the tree, then I rested my head on my arm and immediately began to doze, and I must then have fallen into a deep sleep, for when I again opened my eyes it was broad daylight, and I perceived two men standing at a little distance regarding my companion and me with singular and intense interest. At first I was considerably startled, but a second glance showed that they were evidently natives of the district, and by their tall lion-skin caps and long guns I could tell that they were hunters. But they seemed more startled by our appearance than I was by theirs, for they stood motionless, craning forward with an expression of horrified curiosity that made me wonder what appearance I presented, until I happened to glance at Bukári, when I, too, started with a shock of horror. For the Moshi’s face, forbidding at all times, was contorted with a most horrid grimace--a fixed, sardonic, diabolical grin. I recoiled and stared in amazement as he lay, stiff and stark, with clenched fists, his eyebrows raised, his forehead wrinkled, and his mouth pulled down at the corners until every tooth in his head was visible, and I supposed that he was troubled by some frightful dream. But even as I gazed, his features relaxed, his hands opened, and he uttered a deep groan. “What is it, Bukári?” I asked. “Art thou in pain?” His lips parted, showing his tightly clenched teeth, as if he would speak, but instantly his hands closed, his limbs stiffened, and again that awful grin spread over his face, giving him the most grotesquely frightful aspect. I leaned over and took his hand, but his arm was as immovably rigid as that of a wooden image, and when I laid my hand upon his body it felt as hard and unyielding as though it were modelled in bronze. And as I looked at him more closely, at his stiffened arms and legs, his starting muscles and corded throat, I could see that every part of his body was vibrating with a fine, almost imperceptible tremor, and in a flash I realised the dreadful truth. It was tetanus. The subtle poison had found its way in through his untended wound, and its effects had burst with the fury of a tornado on his exhausted body. The two hunters, who had stood staring like frightened children, drew gradually nearer, so I addressed them in Hausa; but they shook their heads, and after talking together for a minute or two, they turned and disappeared among the trees.