eyes
fixed upon a mark in the bank. For a few minutes he watched--then he
muttered curses under his breath. The canoe was slowly yet surely
losing ground. He was fully aware that, apart from its damaged
condition, the cumbersome craft stood no possible chance of escape in
the maelstrom-like eddies of the rapids, unless by sheer good fortune
combined with the skill of the two natives the canoe could be made to
avoid the jagged rocks between which the waters of the Kiwa rushed.

Suddenly the German caught sight of a huge teak-tree that, having been
uprooted, was trailing over the banks. It was a faint chance, but von
Gobendorff decided to risk it.

Raising his hand he pointed towards the tree-trunk. Already the roar
of the water made it impossible for the Birwas to hear him speak. The
men nodded and again began to ply their paddles vigorously, keeping
close to the border between the main stream and a back-eddy by this
part of the right bank.

With a quick turn of his broad blade the bowman urged the canoe's bows
diagonally against the mass of timber. Caught by the full force of the
current the dug-out swung round, crashed against the tree and, listing,
was immediately swamped by the inrush of water.

Von Gobendorff leapt to safety. With cat-like agility he swarmed up
the inclined bank. Here he stood and waited, watching the efforts of
the two natives to save themselves.

The bowman had succeeded in getting astride the massive log and was
endeavouring to extricate his companion from the peril that threatened
him, for the other had been thrown out of the canoe and was pinned
between the tree and the side of the water-logged craft.

In spite of the Birwa's most strenuous efforts the trapped man was
unable to extricate himself from the vice-like grip, for edges of the
jagged hole in the canoe's side were pressing hard against his thigh,
while the canoe itself, forced against the tree-trunk by the
swiftly-running current, could not be moved in spite of the combined
efforts of the two blacks.

A third man would have made all the difference. The trapped Birwa
raised his eyes appealingly to the white man, but von Gobendorff
stirred not so much as a little finger.

The Hun, having no further use for the natives, was merely awaiting the
catastrophe that would effectually cover his tracks. Without the need
of further aid from the Birwas he was now within measurable distance of
the Karewenda Hills. Another six h