nd Kua-ko.

It was a great shock to meet him in the wood, but I had no time to
reflect just then. I only remembered that I had deeply offended him and
his people, that they probably looked on me as an enemy, and would
think little of taking my life. It was too late to attempt to escape by
flight; I was spent with my long journey and the many privations I had
suffered, while he stood there in his full strength with a deadly weapon
in his hand.

Nothing was left but to put a bold face on, greet him in a friendly way,
and invent some plausible story to account for my action in secretly
leaving the village.

He was now standing still, silently regarding me, and glancing round
I saw that he was not alone: at a distance of about forty yards on my
right hand two other dusky forms appeared watching me from the deep
shade.

"Piake!" I cried, advancing three or four steps.

"You have returned," he answered, but without moving. "Where from?"

"Riolama."

He shook his head, then asked where it was.

"Twenty days towards the setting sun," I said. As he remained silent I
added: "I heard that I could find gold in the mountains there. An old
man told me, and we went to look for gold."

"What did you find?"

"Nothing."

"Ah!"

And so our conversation appeared to be at an end. But after a few
moments my intense desire to discover whether the savages knew aught of
Rima or not made me hazard a question.

"Do you live here in the forest now?" I asked.

He shook his head, and after a while said: "We come to kill animals."

"You are like me now," I returned quickly; "you fear nothing."

He looked distrustfully at me, then came a little nearer and said: "You
are very brave. I should not have gone twenty days' journey with no
weapons and only an old man for companion. What weapons did you have?"

I saw that he feared me and wished to make sure that I had it not in
my power to do him some injury. "No weapon except my knife," I replied,
with assumed carelessness. With that I raised my cloak so as to let him
see for himself, turning my body round before him. "Have you found my
pistol?" I added.

He shook his head; but he appeared less suspicious now and came close up
to me. "How do you get food? Where are you going?" he asked.

I answered boldly: "Food! I am nearly starving. I am going to the
village to see if the women have got any meat in the pot, and to tell
Runi all I have done since I left him."

He looked at me kee