me to time to kiss it, and
hug it to his breast, and ending by making belief to load it. Then
dropping on one knee, he drew trigger, uttered a sharp ejaculation to
simulate a report, and then crouching behind a block of stone he went
through the loading movements again, advanced, retreated, advanced
again, shading his eyes with one hand, and then dropped flat on his
chest and crawled out of sight behind a heap of stones.

"Well, has he done?" said Dean, in a whisper.

Mark held up his hand, and directly after the black reappeared from
quite another direction, raising himself slowly from behind another
block of stone, resting an imaginary rifle upon the top, before taking
aim again and firing, dropping out of sight, but only to reappear once
more and repeat his tactics, after which he sprang up, waving the
fancied weapon and went through what was meant for a dance of triumph
over the death of an enemy.

This ended as it were one part of his performance, but it was only to be
followed directly after by the careful handling and petting of the
rifle, which he bore now in his arms to where the pigmy was still
watching his every movement and looking more excited than the big black,
as he leaned forward, his face full of animation and his eyes sparkling,
while Mak seemed to be expatiating in silence upon all the merits of the
wonderful weapon that he had secured.

He pointed here and pointed there, and then seemed to be laying it upon
a stone and drawing back to admire it, stepping backward for some
distance, approaching it again, patting it from end to end, and then
going back to the pigmy, to touch him on the back and point at the top
of the stone.

This done, he took hold of his little black companion's spear, stuck it
up in the sand, smiling at it with contempt, and then toppled it over
with a kick, before snatching the pigmy's bow and arrow, pointing at
them with his face screwed up in token of disgust, before throwing these
with similar expressions of contempt to that with which he had treated
the spear, some little distance away upon the ground.

Then he paused to rest his cheek upon his left hand and stood gazing
with a ridiculous look of sublime satisfaction at the top of the stone
with its suppositious rifle, towards which he advanced upon the tips of
his toes, pretended to lift it off, and bore it once more to the pigmy,
laid it before him and knelt down to begin talking to him in a low,
smothered tone.

I