d singing when we showed up.
When Mbopo went through the gate and got into the firelight the bunch
stopped all of a sudden. Then they saw the two boys with the _ankh_. The
tom-toms quit work and everybody went down on their noses. Before they
had a chance to look up I fixed things right.

"I had Mbopo stand on that pile of skins. The _ankh_ and mummy-case were
set down right in front of him. I stood alongside him and took old
Ta-En-User, setting him on his feet natural-like. About half the crowd
was looking up by this time. They couldn't understand what was up till
I nodded to Mbopo and he began to speak.

"Well, sir, he hadn't said more'n about ten words, pointing to the
_ankh_ and the mummy, before them dwarfs let a howl out of 'em like they
were all struck by lightning."

"Yes," broke in Burt, "I heard that. It sure sounded awful."

"I reckon they _felt_ kind of awful," grinned Critch contentedly. "I was
scared stiff at first, honest. It seemed so blamed foolish, Burt, to
trot out a mummy and a hunk of gold and set up as a god on the strength
of it! I soon got over being scared, though. I could be chief o' that
tribe right now if I wanted to!

"Mbopo went on explaining how you happened to be all dried up that way.
The crowd turned several degrees whiter while he was talking. It made me
feel pretty mean for a minute to think o' them grown men an' women
knuckling down that way to me. Then I got another idea.

"I set Ta down gentle and reached out for Mbopo's hand. It scared him,
but he was game. I led him forward a step, then picked up the _ankh_ an'
stood it on end. When I took Mbopo's hand again his knees were shaking,
but I grinned at him and placed his hand on the loop. When he found that
nothing happened he just swelled up, an' looked at me so grateful and
plumb happy that I couldn't keep from laughing. The crowd stared, but
when they saw Mbopo standing there proud and confident, they hollered
out their kind o' cheer--two sharp little barks."

"Heard that too," nodded Burt. "Whew, I'd like to have seen all that,
Critch! But didn't you get any sleep at all?"

"You bet I did!" was the reply. "Just as soon as I got things settled
that way Mbopo made another speech. Then I got him to understand that I
wanted some place to sleep. He had a fellow take me to an elegant big
hut. There were lots of skins and stuff in there and I went to sleep
right off. I was pretty near dead. I woke up at sunrise and got some
ban