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Herb had been following Sheeta and carrying Coral through the jungle for over a
hour after their escape from the Gotta Boogy Tribe. Later Coral had woke up
enough to walk but he still had to support her and help her along Coral was
suffering a mild case of shock.
"Sheeta can we stop awhile? I am exhausted, pleaded Grandpa. And I am worried
about Coral she has not fully recovered yet, I suspect she needs to sit down and
get her bearings back.



"Yes Herb," said Sheeta in her peculiar way of talking. "This is a good place to rest."
'She sounded almost French Herb thought to himself.'



"I was rather hoping for a fire for my poor wife. She really is not well, I have
never seen her like this but then again we have never been in this type of
situation before. He helped her sit down on a nearby log.



"You have done well Herb. You and your wife are very strong." She gave
kinda of a purring sound after she said this. It made Herb smile. He suddenly
understood how baby kittens must feel when they hear their mother purr
to them it must give them strength. Herb was strengthened and thankful that
things were getting better.

"I can hear the river near by, where are we Herb?" Coral asked sleepily and
started to look around.



"That's because we are close to the river Coral." Sheeta gave the same
sort of purring sound as she said Coral's name.



"You must be Sheeta, Coral said softly. You seem nice but I really hate this dream,
can I please wake up now?"



"Yes Coral, you will wake up soon, but first you must go back to sleep,
we leave when the last star has faded."



Before sunrise Sheeta had them on a trail to the river. It was pitch black
slippery and full of unknown hidden dangers but somehow Sheeta guided
them through the jungle safely.



They followed Sheeta while the sun slowly rose and finally found themselves at
the edge of a steep river bank. They could see a small section of the river that
diverted off from the main river kind of like a circle driveway off of the main road.
It was well hidden, beautiful and resembled a small lagoon.



"This is where we shall say good bye for a little while. I have bought you a boat,
you shall make your final escape on the river. You do know how to row a boat don't
you Herb?"




"A boat?" asked Grandpa while trying to catch his breath and watch his step,
they were up fairly high on the edge of a steep cliff overlooking the small lagoon.
"Yes Sheeta,I do know how to row a boat."
Grandpa searched the other side of the river bank and spotted a large
wash tub tied to the bank and floating on the river.



The large wash tub looked like it floated well, and might even hold both
him and Coral for a little while in calm water.




But they were not headed for calm waters.



"No way am I getting in that thing," Coral stated as she caught sight of the
craft floating in the water.




"Sheeta are we both to fit into that wash tub and escape down the river?"
Grandpa asked her calmly.



"Whashh tub? I have a boat for you Herb, do you not see it?" And then Sheeta
looked in the direction he and Coral were looking.



"Oh no Herb, that would never hold you and your wife, you are both
very thin but that will not take you on the river. Look to the other
side, I have hidden it in the reeds.



Herb and Coral were very tired but found themselves delighted when they
spotted the boat that Sheeta had obtained for them.



It took nearly an hour to get down to the river bank and to the boat. Sheeta
had it well hidden and the jungle was thick.
They could tell that it was a very well made boat, the type of
craftsmanship rarely seen anymore.



Once they got close to the boat, Herb and Coral got more excited about their
final escape.
"Wow! Sheeta this is amazing whoever made this craft must be a
master of his trade." Grandpa said and admired the boat.




"You can always take the wash tub if you wish Herb. I did buy that
to give my future children a bath in. You are so silly to think that I would
send you down the river in a Large wash tub..Haa haa.. haaaahhh haa!!
What a silly old man you are, imagine going down the river in that little
washtub. " Sheeta continued to laugh and poke fun at Herb.



"Oh alright! Herb roared. "It's not like I have not had a bit to deal with lately anyone can make a mistake!"



For the first time in months Coral laughed.



"I am glad to see that you have come back to us Coral. You and your husband
love eachother. Hang on to that, it has brought you this far. Now together
you must face the river. It is your only escape in your condition. You are both
very week from captivity but Love is the strongest power. Keep your
love and escape."



The calm waters of the small lagoon were very deceiving as to what the river
was really like.




Herb and Coral took a moment to pray for a safe journey, the calm lapping of the
water against the boat seemed to be in harmony with the prayers they sent up
to the Almighty.



"It is time to go now, you need a good head start to get away from the clutches
of the Gotta Boogy Tribe, Sheeta told them. They will be after you more than ever.
You must travel the river all day until it is dark. Then go to the right hand side
of the river, tie your boat to a tree and sleep in the boat. Do not
get out of the boat for any reason or the Ghost Tribe will get you. As soon as
it is light you must leave. Take nothing from that place and leave nothing in
that place."




Sheeta busied herself getting the boat ready for launch.



Soon Herb and Coral were getting into the well made wooden boat.
"OK, stay in boat, Sleep in the boat, pee over the side of the
boat closest to the river if needed. Do Not get out of the boat
or the Ghost Tribe will get us, got ya. Coral said aloud to Sheeta as settled
into her seat and grabbed an oar. "I will be staying in the boat. Does the
Ghost Tribe have a beautiful Queen leading them?"
"Oh no she is quiet hideous, Sheeta explained, and they are known
to be cannibals. So sleep very lightly; if they catch you there will be little
to nothing I can do to save you."
"When can we get out of the boat?" Herb asked.
At the end of the second day when the sun is setting you will be out of
the Ghost Tribe's territory. You must keep moving and get through it quickly."



Sheeta held the boat still in the water as Herb and Coral settled in.



Once they were settled in Sheeta showed them the bundles stashed
in the boat containing food and other things. Sheeta also gave Herb a
very sharp knife.



"The 5th of day traveling on this river will bring you to the Village of Danalla,
you can send me a letter to its post office, you must put on the envelope
"Attention Sheeta Fan". This will alert my friend and she will get me the
message. I will be waiting to meet the Leopard Man of Scotland. " Sheeta said
dreamily.
After all was said and done, Herb and Coral thanked Sheeta for all of her help.
And promised to be in touch with her soon when they had made it out of Africa
and able to send word.



"Well my dear, Herb addressed his wife, are you ready to go home?"



"Home?" Coral said with a question in her voice. Yes, I want to go HOME.



"Here we go!" grunted Herb with a big stroke of his paddle. Sheeta gave
them a big push.



They quickly were drawn into the current of the river.



The river grabbed a hold of the sturdy wooden boat with its aggressive grip
and sucked it out from the shelter of the quiet lagoon. The current was very
fast and deep. Soon they were out in the river.




Herb and Coral were both "White Water Rapid Experts" and could clearly see
that they were in for one wild ride.



"Well honey, do you think we can make it through this?" Coral asked and
prepared for the fast water approaching, feeling the boat speeding up and
getting pulled into the current.



"As long as you are with me my love, I am willing to give it my best,"
and he used his oar to steer them along out into the more swiftly
moving river.



The well made wooden boat was fully in the current of the river, the sound of
rushing water was getting louder.

"Coral, I want you to know that I am so glad I met you in college. I was so
thrilled when you said yes to our first date. I was sure you were my one and
only from the first moment I laid eyes on you at school."

"Your just saying that cause you know its true." Chided Coral, she grabbed
her oar and made ready for the fast white water ahead of them.



"I'm going to write a book about this when we get home you know." said Coral.




"Yes, and I know its going to be a Best Seller to!" Herb shouted back to Coral;
the sound of the approaching white water now a light roar.



"I am sure Queen Hepsha will want a copy signed by you." Coral said suddenly
feeling onry and mean.



"As a matter of fact I am sure Queen Hepsha would love a signed copy of
your book." Herb said back sharply.



A small creek entered the river as they passed and the boat shot forward
faster down the river.




"Yeah Im sure she would like all the part's underlined in red that
describe you and her fulfilling the prophesy!" said Coral with a sour tone.



"WHAT ?" exclaimed Grandpa, Are you seriously going to bring
that up right now? Do you really think I liked being the personal private
sex, slave of a very attractive African Queen?"



{Oops sorry out of room. Please see "part 30 cont." for the end of this part..smile..}