t anxiously watching.

"Put on your coats," he muttered.

Again there came the whine, then the sound of an animal scrambling,
and next the patter of feet.

"A dog," whispered Venning.

"I advise keeping on," said Compton.

"And I," replied Mr. Hume, "advise that we have something to eat.
Will you serve us, Venning?"

They ate hungrily, for through the day they had been too much
excited to think of food. And as they feasted their eyes were on the
move, and their ears on the stretch. Their manoeuvre had apparently
succeeded, for the canoes were all beating up towards the fires
under the belief that the Okapi had kept on, and there was no
suspicious movement by the people on the shore. So they remained
where they were, keeping themselves in position by holding on to
the branches. To the boys it was a weird scene, with the blood-red
glow on the waters and the sense of vastness and of wildness. They
were not afraid, but they could not help a feeling of weariness, and
they edged nearer the hunter for the comfort of his presence. For a
long time they watched, sitting silent; and by-and-by the fires on
the islands died down one by one, until only the flare on the bank
remained as a beacon to those on the river. Then the sound of
paddling drew near again.

Again the whine came from behind the screen of trees, and there was
a rustling among the branches.

Taking a bit of the dried meat he had been eating, Mr. Hume tossed
it through the leaves. There came a sniff, a snap of the jaws, and a
whimper. The hunter shifted his rifle till it pointed through the
boughs.

"Peace," said a low voice. "It is Muata and his beast. They hunt me
yet."

"Us also, O chief!"

The canoes came rushing in. Already some of the crews had landed
near the fire; but others were coming down-stream, hugging the banks
for safety, or, maybe, having a last look for the Englishmen.

"It is Muata!" cried Venning, in a joyous whisper. "Muata and his
jackal. What luck!"

"S-sh!"

A canoe went by some distance out, after it another, and as they
swept into the darkness, a third announced its presence, coming more
slowly and closer in. While it was nearly opposite the hiding the
howl of the jackal rose from out the bush, wringing a startled
exclamation from the two boys by its suddenness.

"What devil's noise is that?" sang out a voice they recognized as
that of the Belgian officer.

A sharp order was given, the paddles ceased, and the canoe,