Crouch's voice was lifted in a shout. "Run for your life!" he cried.

Together they went floundering through the mire. They had to run the gauntlet for a distance of little more than a hundred paces; but, by reason of the nature of the ground, their progress was necessarily slow, and before they had gained the cover afforded by the jungle, several bullets had whistled past them, and Crouch was limping badly.

"Are you hurt?" asked Max.

"Hit in the leg," said the little captain, as if it were a trifle. "There 're no bones broken, but I'm bleeding like a pig."

"Let me look at it," said Max. "The artery may be cut."

They were now well screened by trees. It was impossible that any one could come upon them unawares. Max took his knife from his pocket, ripped open the seam of the captain's trousers, and examined the wound. The artery was untouched, but there was an ugly wound in the thigh, which had evidently been made by an enormously heavy bullet.

"CÆsar's elephant-gun," said Crouch. "By Christopher, I'll make him pay for this!"

"Are you sure of that?" said Max.

"Yes," said Crouch. "I caught sight of something white moving among the trees. I knew at once that CÆsar was there with his Arabs."

Meanwhile, with quick fingers, Max was folding his handkerchief lengthwise for a bandage.

"Wait a bit," said Crouch. "I'll soon stop that flow of blood. I've a special remedy of my own." Whereupon he produced his tobacco-pouch; and before Max could stop it, he had taken a large plug of his vile, black tobacco, dipped it into a puddle of water, and thumbed the lot into the open wound, as a man charges a pipe.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed Max, with memories of his hospital days. "You'll get septic poisoning! You can't do that!"

Crouch looked up. There was a twinkle in his only eye.

"So much for science," said he. "When you get back to London, you can tell the doctors they're wrong. If it amuses 'em to play with antiseptics--and they're fond of the smell of carbolic--they're welcome to do what they like. As for me, I've used this remedy for twenty years, and I'm not inclined to try another."

Max looked worried. He was convinced that Crouch would die of blood-poisoning, and was beginning to wonder how, in that benighted, tropical forest, he was going to amputate the captain's leg.

"Don't you fret," said Crouch, tying the bandage himself. "Maybe, one brand of tobacco's not so good as another. It's my belief that if they cut off your head, you could stick it on again with Bull's Eye Shag." By then he had got to his feet. "Come on," said he; "this man won't let us get away if he can help it. Follow me."

So saying, he plunged into the jungle, and though he was now limping like a lame dog, it was all Max could do to keep up with him.

Time and again he dived through what had looked like impenetrable thickets. He seemed to know by instinct where to go. He avoided quagmires. He sprang over fallen trees. He wormed his way through creepers, the branches of which were thick as ropes.

Frequently he stopped to listen, and sometimes placed his ear to the ground.

"They're after us!" he cried once. He pulled out his compass and looked at it. "We must get back to the canoe," he said. "The river's to the east."

Soon after they struck what to all intents and purposes was a path. It was, in fact, the "run" of some wild animals, and doubtless led to the place where they were in the habit of drinking. It was no more than two feet across; and about four feet from the ground the undergrowth from either side met in a kind of roof; so that they found themselves in a tunnel, along which, if they stooped sufficiently, they were able to make good headway.

Suddenly Crouch, who was still leading, stopped dead, and held his rifle at the ready. Max stopped, too, and listened.

Something was moving in the jungle. They heard distinctly a quick, panting sound, coming nearer and nearer.

"There!" cried Crouch. "Shoot!"

He pointed down the tunnel, in the direction they had come. Max turned, and beheld the head of a great beast thrust through the leaves of some creeping plant that bound the trunks of two trees together in a kind of lattice-work.

It is unfortunate that the mind cannot retain a complete recollection of scenes that have momentarily impressed us. Most of us, when asked to describe in every detail even the most familiar objects, fall very short of the mark. How much more so must this be the case when we look upon something for no longer than a second, and then it is no more.

Max will never forget that moment. He remembers the main features of the scene, but there were a thousand and one details, which impressed him at the time, that he is no longer able to remember.

The semi-darkness of the jungle; the moist ground whereon he stood, where multi-coloured orchids showed like little evil faces in the twilight; the tangled undergrowth; and in places, like peep-holes through which the daylight streamed, the shadows of the tall trees towering high above. The scene, in its luxury and darkness, stood for all that is savage, for all that is Africa--the country where the white man ventures at his peril. And if anything were needed to complete this strong suggestion of the wild, it was the great head and white, gleaming fangs of the unknown beast which, half invisible, seemed as if it were the unholy spirit of the place. On the spur of the moment, Max lifted his rifle and fired.

"Well done!" cried Crouch, who brushed past his elbow.

A moment later they found themselves kneeling on either side of the prostrate and lifeless figure of Gyp.

"There lies our thief," said Crouch; "and the thief's master 's not so far away."

Max felt profoundly sorry in his heart that he had killed so magnificent a creature. If the dog had hunted them, she had been told to do so by her master. The only crime which could be laid to the account of the Great Dane was obedience to CÆsar.

They remained by the body of the dog no longer than a few seconds, and after that they pushed on upon their way, still following the course of the tunnel, or "run." At length, when least they expected it, they found themselves at the water's edge, at the place where the rapids were inordinately swift.

The water foamed and swirled upon its way, lashing the banks, forming little whirlpools in mid-stream, and bounding in waves over the trunks of trees which had fallen into the river.

"Sit down," said Crouch. "There's no hurry. We may as well talk matters out."

Max looked at his companion. Now that they were in the sunlight, he was able to see Crouch's face. He was alarmed to notice that the little captain looked haggard and drawn. His lips were pressed together, as though he were in pain, and his only serviceable eye was puckered and screwed up. Seeing Max's anxiety, he did his best to smile.

"The Bull's Eye 's beginning to work," said he.

"How do you mean?" asked Max.

"After a bit it begins to smart. It smarts for about three days, and then the blamed thing's healed. Sit down, my boy. This man CÆsar annoys me. I want to think it out."

They seated themselves at the river bank, and Crouch kept an ear towards the jungle, in order to be warned if any one should approach.

"What about the canoe?" asked Max.

"It's up-stream," said the other, with a nod of the head. "If we work our way along the bank, we can't miss it. To tell you the truth, I want a rest; I feel queer. And, besides, I want to think."

Max asked him what was on his mind.

"CÆsar," said he. "I should like to know how the man managed to get here." Then he went on, thinking aloud, as was his custom. "There may be a path through the jungle; but I doubt if even then he would have been able to come this distance on foot. And yet his canoe never passed Hippo Pool, or we should have seen it--that's sure enough." Then, on a sudden, he slapped his knee. "By Christopher," he cried, "I have it! I remember!"

"You remember what?" asked Max.

"About half-way between the Pool and Makanda I remember seeing the entrance of a little back-water, on the left bank of the river. That back-water probably rejoins the river somewhere about here. It's all as plain as a pikestaff. He has come north by the back-water, which accounts for us not having seen him pass through Hippo Pool. The end of that back-water is either between here and the place where we left the canoe, or else farther down-stream. Come," said Crouch, "we'll get the better of this rascal. Perhaps, for once, Fortune will play into our hands."

He struggled to his feet, but immediately turned pale, and was obliged to support himself against the trunk of a tree.

"I feel mighty dizzy," he said. "I've lost a deal of blood."

"You had better stay here," said Max; "I'll work along the bank until I find the canoe, and then come back to you. I don't like leaving you, but there's nothing else to be done. Perhaps the canoe is not far away."

"It's farther than you think," said Crouch; "that tunnel took us almost due north. Besides, I can tell by the water. The rapids are pretty strong; we can't be far from the ravine."

"Will we be able to paddle against it, do you think?" asked Max.

Crouch looked at the river.

"Yes," said he. "My arms are all right, though I've gone wrong in the leg. You get off, and come back here as quickly as you can. If you see CÆsar, shoot."

At that Max set off alone. He soon found it impossible to make any progress on the actual bank of the river, since here, by reason of the moisture that was in the ground, the vegetation was so dense and tangled that a weasel would have found some difficulty in making any headway. He soon found, however, that by moving about thirty yards from the river bank, he could make his way southward with tolerable ease. From time to time he forced his way to the river's edge, and looked both up-stream and down, to note if he could see any sign of the canoe.

The sun was in the mid-heavens, and the heat intense. The jungle was alive with sounds. The evening before there had been a heavy shower of rain, and now the vapour rose like steam, and the moisture dropped from the trees. To his left he could hear the roar of the rapids as the river plunged upon its way, and this served to guide him, making it possible for him to hold his course parallel to the river bank. He was followed by a swarm of insects that droned and buzzed in his ears. The perspiration fell from his forehead in great drops, and frequently he found himself caught and held fast by strong, hook-like thorns.

Presently the forest opened. It was like coming out of a darkened room into the light. For a moment he was unable to see. During that moment he fancied he heard a sound quite near to him--a sound of something that moved. Looking about him, he discovered that he was standing in long reeds which reached almost to his chest. To his right, the trees of the forest were extended in a kind of avenue, and at their feet was a narrow, swiftly-flowing stream.

He had discovered CÆsar's back-water. Moreover, he had discovered CÆsar's canoe, for there it was, its bows just visible, peeping through the reeds.