Part 26 (1/2)

At the end of five days the first raft was finished to the satisfaction of the boys Even when the platform was croith men it floated clear of the water, and with an ordinary load the platform would be at least a foot above the surface The whole fabric was very strong, for the platfors which were lashed carefully, and no ordinary shock would break up the raft A ses

At the end of a week the second raft also lay completed, and now the boys had to face the so their purpose to Mbopo They took him over to the sacred hut, and Burt pointed to the ivory tusks, with gestures of uprooting them

”Take hi

Corasped the idea that the tusks were to be loaded on the rafts Finally, however, he nodded and the boys drew a breath of relief That they would be obeyed now they had no fear at all, for the pigmies were their devoted slaves in every way, and stood in evident awe of the two boys and especially of ”Mwanzi”

This belief was confirht The pightest opposition, and the boys could see by his gestures that he was describing their desires

”All right,” uttural barks ascended fro, Critch S'pose we can get the stuff loaded up to-ht to,” replied his chuled up with the tusks so the entire tribe left the village and approached the sacred hut of Pongo Under the direction of Mbopo, who tookthe ivory was begun This was difficult, but by evening the last of the great tusks lay in the pile by the river edge All that remained was to load them aboard the rafts

This, however, would be no easy matter, for the tusks were heavy and the balance of the rafts , while Burt attended to getting provisions together for the journey There was dried etables and fruits The boys had a long consultation over loading the ivory, for even with the protection of the dwarfs a raftload of tusks would be too much of an induceth it was settled bya layer of tusks, of which there were thirty-nine in all, on the platforms Fifteen of the tusks had been discarded by the boys as worthless Over the layer of ivory was placed enough dirt to fill in the spaces and hold the tusks steady A top layer of skins co chiefthe journey on the rafts, for the boys held out ”Buburika Mac” at the end of the trip as a bribe, and Mbopo could not resist He selected six warriors for each raft; he and Burt took charge of one and Critch of the other Poles were cut for the ”deckhands,” as Burt nath all was ready

CHAPTER XX

DOWN THE MAKUA

The start was made in the early dawn of a perfect day The whole tribe asse the departure, did not like to lose ”Mwanzi,” for ood will In their turn, Burt and Critch gave away all the small articles they possessed except those which they would absolutely need Their collection of weapons was completed, and Burt carefully wrapped up the rifle with its three precious cartridges in the tarpaulin As the sequel proved, it ell indeed for the boys that they had found the old rifle

Finally all was ready The warriors took their places on board, standing amid the piles of provisions and skins of water, for the boys dared not drink the river water

”Cast off!” shouted Critch, throwing off the vine that bound his raft to the bank Burt followed suit A roll of tom-toms and a loud shout rose from the tribe, which was answered by a shout from the crews Slowly the poles sent the rafts out into ht theht of the village, then a bend swept all away The perilous voyage was begun

Burt's raft followed that of Critch at a distance of fifty feet Neither boytheir efforts to keeping the rafts fro around and around in the current Both floated well above the water, and the pighted with their novel situation

The river was of good size and to the joy of the two boys it continued to flow steadily toward the northwest They floated down between banks of heavy vegetation, but saw no signs of life That night they cah spirits

The next day they received their first sign of the hidden life that filled the great jungles There cah shrill yell from one bank, to which Mbopo replied, and the boys knew that oncethe black dwarfs This was repeated in the afternoon, but even by the aid of their glasses they could not make out who had hailed them

Only once did they round on a hidden shoal The solid raft ran deeply into the mud of the river bottoet her off

For three daysboth boys noticed signs of uneasiness a, before the start, Mbopo approached Critch

”Where Buburika Mac?” he inquired, glancing around as if he expected to find Captain Montenay in their vicinity Critch glanced at Burt