the
boat. It was still hardly light when they shot the boat into the narrow
mouth of the creek, though as they rested on their paddles and looked
back, the gloom surrounding this narrow and foetid strip of water was
deeper when compared with the prospect offered by the river.

"At last," said Dick. "We are here in safety, and still there is no
sign of the enemy. Where is Meinheer? Shall we have trouble in finding
him?"

"Perhaps a little," was the answer. "He wanders here and there in
search of food, and to keep watch lest these Ashanti men should come to
the neighbourhood."

"Halt!" whispered Dick, suddenly, for he thought he saw a dark object on
the bank. "Look there! Is that some one watching us? There! He has
moved away."

They came to a sudden stop, while each peered into the jungle. The
native lifted his head to listen, while his white companion stretched
out his hand for his rifle and took it across his knees.

"Perhaps a beast of the forest, chief. It was not a man, of that I feel
sure. Let us press on, for we might still be seen from the main channel
of the river, and see how light it is getting."

Once more they plunged their paddles into the water and sent the boat
ahead, though Dick, who sat in the stern, kept his eyes on the forest.
His suspicious were aroused, and he was now keenly alert, for he felt
almost sure that he had actually seen a man. Then, too, something told
him that they were being watched.

"That was a call, too," he said to himself suddenly, as the note of a
bird came to his ear. "Of course it may have been all right, but I
don't half like it."

He eased his sword in its sheath, and felt for his revolver, which of
late he had carried suspended to his shoulder and between his coat and
his shirt. There it was out of the way and out of sight, while he found
that he could lay hold of it instantly. In fact, it was an excellent
position, for whether in a boat or ashore, the weapon, placed where it
was, did not strike against objects when he sat down or moved rapidly.
A little later the bend in this stagnant creek came into view, and there
was the place where the boats had been secured when he was at the mine.
He could see the dark surface of the sluggish stream as it issued from
the jungle, and though he peered amidst the trees there was not a man or
beast to be seen.

"In a few minutes it will be lighter," said the native. "Then we will
land and search. Perhaps the c