A minute later they saw that the canoe was manned by six of their own Loango boys, who made the blades of the paddles flash in the sunlight; and, moreover, they recognized the canoe as the one they had left at Date Palm Island.

Max lifted his voice and shouted from the bank. Whereat the boys ceased to paddle, and regarded them amazed. Then, recognizing their masters, they raised a shout in chorus, and drew in towards the bank.

Had these natives desired proof of the omnipotence of the Fire-gods, they could have wished for nothing more. Had they searched Central Africa from the Equator to the Zambesi, they could have found no two people more wretched-looking and forlorn. Max was utterly exhausted, and so faint that he could scarcely stand. As for Crouch, he might have been mauled by a lion.

One of the boys flung himself upon the ground, then rose to a kneeling position, and lifted his arms as in prayer.

"Master," he cried, "what did we tell you? We warned you of the Fire-gods! We told you the valley was bewitched! We implored you not to go!"

As the boy ran on in the same strain, Crouch gathered himself together, growing purple in the face. With his tattered garments, which resembled ruffled feathers, he looked like an infuriated turkey-cock. And then, without warning, he landed the boy such a kick as lifted him bodily into the air.

"Fire-gods be hanged!" he shouted. "These are jungle marks. If the valley 's bewitched, it's bewitched by thorns. Look here! See for yourselves!" So saying, he lifted his bare leg, in which the thorns were sticking like so many pins in a pin-cushion. "I've seen the Fire-gods," he ran on. "You blithering fools, I've taken tea with 'em. I've doctored one with a dose of medicine, and I've played cards with the other. And I've not done with them, yet--mind that! I'm going back, by Christopher! and there'll be the biggest war-palaver you ever heard of in your lives. Come, get up, and get a move on! But, first, what are you doing here?"

The boys answered that they had come down-stream to shoot hippopotami for food. They said that about a mile farther down the river there was a great grassy bank where many of these animals were to be found. Crouch ordered them to get back into the canoe, saying that as soon as they arrived at the island he would open a case of supplies--bully beef and sardines, of which the Loango boys cherished the empty tins. Also, he promised that in a day or so he would shoot a buffalo, and they would not want for provisions. There was a certain amount of hippo meat in the canoe, and that night Crouch and Max partook of the same food as the boys. It was not until the afternoon of the following day that they arrived at Date Palm Island.

They did not expect Edward Harden for some days. He was still forcing his way towards the Kasai by way of the portage. In the meantime, not only were they glad enough of a rest, but this was altogether essential. It took Crouch some days to rid himself of the thorns which had attached themselves to his skin. He refused all medical assistance from Max; and the wonder of it was, that the wound in his thigh was healing rapidly under his "Bull's Eye treatment." This was wholly incomprehensible to the young medical student, who beheld the theories he had studied at hospital, and on which he had placed such store, dissipated to the winds. In all probability, the fact was that Crouch had such firm belief in his own remedy that his cure was an example of "faith healing"; it is generally admitted in these days that "attitude of mind" affects the health and can even bring about organic changes, for better or for worse. At any rate, in three days he was sufficiently recovered to set forth into the forest of rubber trees on the right bank of the river in search of the buffalo he had promised the boys. Max--although on this occasion he remained in camp--had by now completely recovered his strength.

There were few things they carried with them to the Hidden River of which they had not duplicates at Date Palm Island. Crouch had been able to secure a new suit of clothes, tobacco and another pipe. As for rifles, both Edward and Crouch were experienced explorers, and knew that if a fire-arm was lost or broken, they could not buy a new one in the heart of Africa. They had therefore equipped themselves with a battery of several rifles, including Remingtons, Expresses and Winchester repeaters, besides several shot-guns and revolvers.

On the evening of that day, when he was expecting Crouch's return at any moment, Max walked to the northern extremity of the island. When there, his ears caught the sound of a shot in the forest, on the left bank of the river.

Now, since Crouch had landed on the other side, there could be no question as to whence came this shot; and in a few minutes Max had run to the canoe, jumped in and paddled to the bank. There, he picked up his rifle and fired twice into the air.

Almost immediately his two shots were answered, and there came a second answer--from Crouch on the northern bank. A quarter of an hour later, Max, who had hastened forward on the line of the portage, had grasped the hand of his uncle, who was amazed to see him.

Crouch returned at nightfall. He had killed his buffalo, far in the interior of the forest, and the following morning the boys set out to cut it up. That night the three friends were seated around the camp-fire on Date Palm Island. Edward's journey had been uneventful, except that one of his Fan attendants had been mauled badly by a wounded leopard.

It was Max who related the story of all that had happened since his uncle left Hippo Pool. The big man listened in silence; and when the story was ended he said nothing, and never once did he look at Crouch. He knew the captain far too well to thank him. With old friends who have been through thick and thin together, who have stood side by side throughout many a danger, words are at a discount--a kind of mutual understanding exists between them that makes conversation a sheer waste of time. Still, though Edward said nothing, Max knew well enough that he thanked the little, wizened captain in his heart, and was conscious of the debt he owed him.

They remained on the island for another week, and it took them all that time to persuade a dozen of the boys to accompany them upon the portage in the capacity of carriers. It was only on the understanding that they would not be asked to embark upon the dreaded river of the "Fire-gods" that, at last, they consented to go.

Indeed, this time, they had no intention of advancing as far as the river. They proposed to follow the portage to Observation Creek, and thence to strike up-stream, due south, until they found a suitable camping-ground. Here they would establish their base, sending the boys back to the island with orders to wait for their return.

The Loango boys could be trusted; most of them had faithfully served either Crouch or Edward in the past. Besides, they were a thousand miles from their home, and dared not make the passage of the Congo by themselves, because of the hostile tribes that, in those days, abounded to the east of Stanley Falls. When Crouch and Edward Harden were on the river their reputation went before them; their friends came forth to meet them--grinning cannibals with necklaces of monkeys' teeth suspended round their necks, and little else besides by way of clothing--and their enemies, those who had broken their faith with Harden or fallen foul of Crouch, deserted their villages and took to the jungle, to let the two great white men pass, whose fame had reached to the very heart of the continent, and who, it was said, were spoken of even by the pigmies who lived in the dark, unknown country west of the Lakes.

When they set out with their carriers for Observation Creek, the three Europeans were sanguine of success, and even the four Fans (the one who had been injured by the leopard had been left behind on the island) shared their expectations. The riddle of the valley was yet unsolved. The Portuguese still guarded well his secret. In his fortress by the river, encompassed upon every hand by the dark, inhospitable jungle, he had every reason to think himself secure. Moreover, he had cause to believe that both Max and Crouch were dead--the former drowned at the cataract, the latter lost in the jungle. Half the victory is gained when one can take one's adversary by surprise. CÆsar had lost Gyp, his most accomplished scout. He might patrol the river, but he would find no trace of the Englishmen from Makanda to the rapids. He might search their old camp at Hippo Pool, where he would find, perhaps, a box of ammunition, cooking utensils and a few days' provisions--to say nothing of Crouch's case of glass eyes--but he would gain no clue to the fact that his enemies had returned to the valley.

From their base camp on Observation Creek they had decided to move up-stream towards the mountain. They hoped to make friends with the natives of the Pambala village that M'WanÉ had seen in the distance. Thence they could approach Makanda from the east.

Each time they traversed the portage progress was more easy. It was no longer necessary to cut a way through the thickets with bill-hooks and axes, and to "blaze" the trees. Besides, they were now familiar with the road, knew where to look for water and the bitter roots of wild manioc, or cassava--from which tapioca is manufactured--and upon which, to a large degree, they were obliged to subsist in the jungle. Also they no longer carried a canoe.

In consequence, they reached the Creek in four and a half days. After halting for an hour, they continued their journey to the south, turning to the left from the route which led direct to Hippo Pool. They followed the course of the stream till sunset, and then camped for the night. Another day's march brought them to an open place by the side of the Creek, where the ground was too rocky for vegetation to flourish. They had been conscious throughout the day's journey of going up-hill, and this was doubtless the foot of one of the spurs of the mountain they wished to gain. It was here they decided to camp.

They pitched their tent, and gathered a supply of firewood in the forest. The water of the stream was clear and good to drink. They were much pestered by insects of all descriptions, but this is inevitable in the heart of an equatorial forest, and not even the smoke of Crouch's tobacco served to keep away the millions of flies, mosquitoes and ants, to say nothing of less disagreeable companions, such as the most gorgeous butterflies and gigantic dragon-flies and moths.

The following day the Loango boys departed upon their return journey to the Kasai. As had been the case before, they showed great eagerness to return. It seems that they could not rid their minds of the tales they had heard of the Fire-gods, and neither Crouch nor Edward could persuade them that the valley was not haunted by evil spirits.

During the days that followed the party suffered from want of meat. They had deemed it advisable not to shoot. Though they were still some distance from Makanda, there was always a chance that CÆsar and his Arabs were somewhere abroad in the forest, and they did not wish the man to suspect that they had returned. In the forest they found nothing to eat but manioc, and a continual diet of the tubers of this peculiar plant is somewhat monotonous and is apt to set up a kind of blood poisoning, to which some people are more liable than others. Edward, whose large carcass required a considerable amount of nourishment, began to suffer from some kind of bilious fever.

After a day's rest they set out upon their southward journey. Day by day as they progressed, the nature of the vegetation changed. The forest trees became thinner and not so large. The atmosphere became cooler and more rarefied. The slope grew steeper and steeper, until at last they were confronted by a sharp, rocky bluff which enclosed the jungle like a wall. They followed this to the left, and came presently to a gully, a dried-up watercourse, up which it was possible to climb. At the top they found themselves upon a hillock--one of those bare, flat-topped eminences which are scattered throughout the whole continent of Africa. Hence it was possible to obtain a bird's-eye view of the country.

To the north, as far as the eye could reach, extended the forest through which they had passed. About twenty miles to the eastward they could see the Kasai above Date Palm Island. To the west there was no sign of the Hidden River, which, being narrower and flowing in a direction almost due south to north, was hidden among the trees. To the south a magnificent panorama was extended to their view. The foreground fell away in a valley which, to some extent, had been given over to cultivation; and beyond, in rugged majesty, arose Solitude Peak. The great mountain towered into the sky, its crest wrapped in clouds; and over the valley hung a thin blue mist, above which some great bird of prey hung like a gnat, with outstretched wings, in the very midst of space.

It was Max who was the first to see the village, half-way up the mountain slope, lying--as M'WanÉ had described it--like a bird's nest in the forked branches of a tree. He pointed it out to his companions, and then the party began to descend into the valley, one behind the other in single file, following a track which had been made by elephants. An elephant trail can never be mistaken; however hard the ground, the imprints of their great feet remain, and they have a habit of tearing branches from the trees as they pass, not so much for food, as from pure love of destruction.

It took them several hours to cross the valley, and then they began the steep ascent of the mountain. Suddenly M'WanÉ, who was leading, came to an abrupt standstill, and stood upon a sharp pinnacle of rock, pointing to the east. There was something noble in his dark, savage figure, standing upright, straight as a larch, in the midst of these wild surroundings. A moment later he was joined by the two Hardens and Crouch.

There, in the distance, they could discern the broad waters of the lake before Makanda. They could see the granite hills, which were red in the glow of the setting sun. They could see, also, the narrow gorge in the south, and far in the distance was a great range of undiscovered mountains. As they looked, a sound issued from the valley, which, like a long peal of distant thunder, rolled away to the north upon the wind, echoing through the forest.