"'Sir,' said he to the Scotchman, 'in doubting my
statements, you have grossly affronted me; in believing
the thing to be impossible, you have been egregiously
mistaken; and, in proof thereof, you will now eat this
beef-steak raw, or you will give me instant satisfaction!'
The Scotchman had a wholesome dread of the brawny
traveller, and DID eat the steak, although not without a
good many wry faces. Thereupon, with the utmost coolness,
James Bruce added: 'Even admitting, sir, that the
thing were untrue, you will, at least, no longer maintain
that it is impossible.'"
"Well put in!" said Joe, "and if the Scotchman
found it lie heavy on his stomach, he got no more than he
deserved. If, on our return to England, they dare to
doubt what we say about our travels--"
"Well, Joe, what would you do?"
"Why, I'll make the doubters swallow the pieces of
the balloon, without either salt or pepper!"
All burst out laughing at Joe's queer notions, and thus
the day slipped by in pleasant chat. With returning
strength, hope had revived, and with hope came the courage
to do and to dare. The past was obliterated in the
presence of the future with providential rapidity.
Joe would have been willing to remain forever in this
enchanting asylum; it was the realm he had pictured in
his dreams; he felt himself at home; his master had to
give him his exact location, and it was with the gravest
air imaginable that he wrote down on his tablets fifteen
degrees forty-three minutes east longitude, and eight degrees
thirty-two minutes north latitude.
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