He was, however, a little consoled when I pointed out
to him that there were no hot pots at hand, and, so far as I knew, no
fire to heat them in. As for poor Leo, after turning restlessly for
hours, he had, to my deep thankfulness, at last dropped off into a sleep
or stupor, I do not know which, so there was no need to blindfold him.
The blindfolding was performed by binding a piece of the yellowish linen
whereof those of the Amahagger who condescended to wear anything in
particular made their dresses, tightly round the eyes. This linen I
afterwards discovered was taken from the tombs, and was not, as I had at
first supposed, of native manufacture. The bandage was then knotted at
the back of the head, and finally brought down again and the ends bound
under the chin to prevent its slipping. Ustane was, by the way, also
blindfolded, I do not know why, unless it was from fear that she should
impart the secrets of the route to us.
This operation performed we started on once more, and soon, by the
echoing sound of the footsteps of the bearers and the increased noise
of the water caused by reverberation in a confined space, I knew that
we were entering into the bowels of the great mountain.
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