e was so excited and nervous about his
sister that he almost broke down.

"Do you think I'd better go back to his boat and apologize?" he asked
humbly. "Say, I'd feel like a dog if anything happened to Ray."

"You can apologize later," counselled Dick. "What we have to do now is
paddle for dear life and as soon as we reach the camp to put up the
best fight there is in us."

Both Dick and Dan seized a paddle and added their efforts to those of
the boatmen.

It was hot work.

The humid air of the jungle weighed upon them like a blanket of steam.
Their bodies were dripping and it was hard to breathe.

Most of the time they were in the shade of the huge trees, but once in
a while the canoe darted into a patch of sunshine and then the rays of
the afternoon sun beat down upon them fiercely.

The Taharans minded the humidity and so did the Gorols, while Dick and
Dan were terribly fagged, but the black men did not seem to notice it.
Their ebony-like bodies were wet with perspiration, but they seemed
cheerful and eager. Only the command of the Mahatma kept them from
breaking into song.

The boys looked into the jungle on both sides and saw that it was
densely tangled with hanging vines. Here and there a clump of bamboo
made a barrier that only a hatchet could cut through; elsewhere the
forest was overgrown with small trees forcing their way to the
sunlight, and among them could be seen the stealthy shapes of wild
beasts.

"Hope we don't run into leopards or lions," said Dan. "It's going to
be tough to fight the tribesmen, and we don't want to be clawed by wild
animals before the scrap begins."

"That's a chance we have to take."

"You said it! Hey!----Look at that! Duck for your life!"

From a near-by branch, a long sinuous object like a giant creeper,
suddenly swung toward them. It showed a murderous head, with wide open
jaws and a tongue that darted angrily.

"Great snakes!" shouted Dan, striking at it with his paddle.

But the canoe had darted past the danger before the scaly monster could
attack and Dan breathed more easily.

"Look there in the shadows," said Dick. "Elephants, as I'm alive!"

"And whoppers!" cried Dan. "Say, I never saw them that big before.
Not even in a circus!"

"They are dangerous to fool with," Dick remarked. "I would hate to be
in front of that old bull if he started to charge."

The biggest elephant in the herd seemed the size of a freight car as he
calmly reached in