wore leggings in
addition, so that they seemed to have on what are now termed
knickerbockers. Peterkin, however, had no coat. He preferred a stout
grey flannel shirt hanging down to his knees and belted round his waist
in the form of a tunic. Our tastes in headdress were varied. Jack wore
a pork-pie cap; Peterkin and I had wide-awakes. My facetious little
companion said that I had selected this species of hat because I was
always more than half asleep! Being peculiar in everything, Peterkin
wore his wide-awake in an unusual manner--namely, turned up at the back,
down at the front, and curled very much up at the sides.

We were so filled with admiration of Jack's magnificent beard and
moustache, that Peterkin and I had resolved to cultivate ours while in
Africa; but I must say that, as I looked at Peterkin's face, the
additional hair was not at that time an improvement, and I believe that
much more could not have been said for myself. The effect on my little
comrade was to cause the lower part of his otherwise good-looking face
to appear extremely dirty.

"I wonder," said Peterkin, after a long silence, "if we shall reach the
niggers' village in time for the hunt to-morrow. I fear that we have
spent too much time in this wild-goose chase."

"Wild-goose chase, Peterkin!" I exclaimed. "Do you call hunting the
gorilla by such a term?"

"_Hunting_ the gorilla? no, certainly; but _looking_ for the gorilla in
a part of the woods where no such beast was ever heard of since Adam was
a schoolboy--"

"Nay, Peterkin," interrupted Jack; "we are getting very near to the
gorilla country, and you must make allowance for the enthusiasm of a
naturalist."

"Ah! we shall see where the naturalist's enthusiasm will fly to when we
actually do come face to face with the big puggy."

"Well," said I, apologetically, "I won't press you to go hunting again;
I'll be content to follow."

"Press me, my dear Ralph!" exclaimed Peterkin hastily, fearing that he
had hurt my feelings; "why, man, I do but jest with you--you are so
horridly literal. I'm overjoyed to be pressed to go on the maddest
wild-goose chase that ever was invented. My greatest delight would be
to go gorilla-hunting down Fleet Street, if you were so disposed.--But
to be serious, Jack, do you think we shall be in time for the
elephant-hunt to-morrow?"

"Ay, in capital time, if you don't knock up."

"What! _I_ knock up! I've a good mind to knock you down for su