s occasion he had seen the Motombo and the god sitting
together under a tree, each with his arm round the other's neck and
apparently talking "like brothers." With the exception of certain tales
of its almost supernatural cunning, this was all that I could learn
about the god of the Pongos which I have sometimes been tempted to
believe was really a devil hid in the body of a huge and ancient ape.

No, there was one more thing which I quote because it bears out
Babemba's story. It seems that captives from other tribes were sometimes
turned into the forest that the god might amuse itself by killing them.
This, indeed, was the fate to which we ourselves had been doomed in
accordance with the hateful Pongo custom.

Certainly, thought I to myself when she had done, I did a good deed in
sending that monster to whatever dim region it was destined to inhabit,
where I sincerely trust it found all the dead Kalubis and its other
victims ready to give it an appropriate welcome.

After crossing the god's garden, we came to the clearing of the Fallen
Tree, and found the brute's skin pegged out as we had left it, though
shrunken in size. Only it had evidently been visited by a horde of the
forest ants which, fortunately for Hans, had eaten away every particle
of flesh, while leaving the hide itself absolutely untouched, I suppose
because it was too tough for them. I never saw a neater job. Moreover,
these industrious little creatures had devoured the beast itself.
Nothing remained of it except the clean, white bones lying in the exact
position in which we had left the carcase. Atom by atom that marching
myriad army had eaten all and departed on its way into the depths of the
forest, leaving this sign of their passage.

How I wished that we could carry off the huge skeleton to add to my
collection of trophies, but this was impossible. As Brother John said,
any museum would have been glad to purchase it for hundreds of pounds,
for I do not suppose that its like exists in the world. But it was too
heavy; all I could do was to impress its peculiarities upon my mind by
a close study of the mighty bones. Also I picked out of the upper right
arm, and kept the bullet I had fired when it carried off the Kalubi.
This I found had sunk into and shattered the bone, but without
absolutely breaking it.

On we went again bearing with us the god's skin, having first stuffed
the head, hands and feet (these, I mean the hands and feet, had been