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my raft by shifting too rapidly from one side to the other. The water
then became much deeper, and I leaned over so far in order to get the
bloom rod to the bottom that I had to stay still, leaning on the rod for
a few seconds. Then, when I lifted up the rod from the ground, the
current was too much for me and I found myself being carried down the
rapid. Everything in a second flew past me, and I had no more control
over the raft; neither can I remember anything except hurry, and noise,
and waters which in the end upset me. But it all came right, and I found
myself near the shore, not more than up to my knees in water and pulling
my raft to land, fortunately upon the left bank of the river, which was
the one I wanted. When I had landed I found that I was about a mile, or
perhaps a little less, below the point from which I started. My swag was
wet upon the outside, and I was myself dripping; but I had gained my
point, and knew that my difficulties were for a time over. I then lit my
fire and dried myself; having done so I caught some of the young ducks
and sea-gulls, which were abundant on and near the river-bed, so that I
had not only a good meal, of which I was in great want, having had an
insufficient diet from the time that Chowbok left me, but was also well
provided for the morrow.

I thought of Chowbok, and felt how useful he had been to me, and in how
many ways I was the loser by his absence, having now to do all sorts of
things for myself which he had hitherto done for me, and could do
infinitely better than I could. Moreover, I had set my heart upon making
him a real convert to the Christian religion, which he had already
embraced outwardly, though I cannot think that it had taken deep root in
his impenetrably stupid nature. I used to catechise him by our camp
fire, and explain to him the mysteries of the Trinity and of original
sin, with which I was myself familiar, having been the grandson of an
archdeacon by my mother's side, to say nothing of the fact that my father
was a clergyman of the English Church. I was therefore sufficiently
qualified for the task, and was the more inclined to it, over and above
my real desire to save the unhappy creature from an eternity of torture,
by recollecting the promise of St. James, that if any one converted a
sinner (which Chowbok surely was) he should hide a multitude of sins. I
reflected, therefore, that the conversion of Chowbok might in some degree
compensate for irregularities and short-comings in my own previous life,
the remembrance of which had been more than once unpleasant to me during
my recent experiences.

Indeed, on one occasion I had even gone so far as to baptize him, as well
as I could, having ascertained that he had certainly not been both
christened and baptized, and gathering (from his telling me that he had
received the name William from the missionary) that it was probably the
first-mentioned rite to which he had been subjected.

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