Part 6 (1/2)
”Three o'clock, John Here's a hundred pounds” Mr Wallace peeled off five twenty-pound bank notes and handed theht to buy your outfit, eh?”
”By hall ant brass pots, sar!”
”Good gracious!” exclaimed Burt as the cook withdrew ”You hand out bank notes as if you're made o' money! S'pose the coon'll ever shoith all that wad on him?”
”Show up?” repeated Mr Wallace ”Why, I'd turn over ave it back! He's a blaht more honest than most white men you'll meet down there And nerve! He carriedoccasionally to fight off a bunch of bandits That's the kind of ot,” said Critch ”I thought all coons talked like they do down south”
”You'll get over that pretty quick!” laughed the explorer heartily
”John can use West Coast, cockney, Spanish and half a dozen other accents accordin' to whoo he'll probably fall into French Well, let's trot along to Piccadilly and get ettin' on toward noon”
CHAPTER V
THE CONGO
The boys were now due to receive another surprise When their taxi drew up they ju to see a wonderful store like those of New York Instead they found theave thehed Mr Wallace as he disht!
Doesn't look up to unshop and they found it very different inside Mr
Wallace had no tiuns made, so the clerks measured the boys' shoulders and aruns would be slightly altered and sent on board
Now the party went to the Bo Coone on board their shi+p Mr Wallace ordered three Borroughs and Wellcome medicine cases, specially made up for the West Coast He also procured two hypoderes and a small quantity of Pasteur serums
”We'll probably never need them,” he explained, as they left the store, ”but in case ourto save them Then we have poisoned arrows to consider also If we happened to get into the pigmy country--which I hope on't--it'll take a powerful anti-tetanic serum to kill their poisons”
After a lunch they returned to the Boiven the clerks had been filled and now each of them was measured for the clothes and personal equipment This consumed an hour, after which they took another taxi and went to a caht over the s-picture outfit Burt proe, for when the whole outfit had been sealed up it would be sent down to the steamer like the other supplies
”Tell you what,” he cried, ”we'll get soreat little old pictures!
You let an elephant chase you, Uncle George, while I get a good view and Critch shoots hihed his uncle ”Nothing like that for mine I'd sooner have an elephant after erous animal we'll find in Africa”
”How 'bout rhinoceros?” challenged Critch
”All poppycock,” snorted the explorer ”A rhino can't see ten feet away
He goes by smell He'll usually run away unless he's wounded But a buffalo doesn't wait to be wounded You rouse hio for you Takes more than one bullet to kill him unless you're lucky”
The boys now stocked up with fresh linen for the voyage while Mr
Wallace looked up his own guns, which he usually stored in London They stopped at the Carleton over Sunday and Monday As Burt's father had sales offices in London they secured a large touring car without cost and spent the two days riding about the historic city There were various minor details of their outfits to be attended to on Monday and on Tuesday noon they went aboard the _Benguela_, when she arrived froo and passenger boat and was very co of John Quincy Adaly assured theh, when they went up the gangplank the big negro aiting with his all-eood e and assu a lordly attitude over the stewards ”Very hauspicious day, sar! John t'ink we 'ave very fine trip, sar!”