ouldn't carry any men an' that ivory on one, 'less we made
it almighty big."

"The river wouldn't stand for a very big one," suggested Critch. "Go an'
get a bunch o' the men, Burt. We might as well pitch in right now."

Burt nodded and returned up the path, leaving Critch to inspect the
trees growing at the edge of the river. He returned with a score of men,
all of whom brought their little axes. They looked wonderingly at the
two boys.

"Here's a good tree," declared Critch, pointing to one about two feet
through. "We'll take an axe an' show 'em how to do it."

Shedding their upper garments, for the place was by no means cool, the
boys fell to work on the tree. The pigmies comprehended at once, and
also went to work on three other trees picked out by the boys. The
latter, having started things satisfactorily, flung themselves down in
the shade and directed operations.

When the first tree was about to fall, they showed the dwarfs how to
make it fall toward the stream, so that it lay half in the water. There
seemed to be no crocodiles in the river, the men splashing about without
fear. Then Burt took a spear and measured a straight section of the
trunk for three spear-lengths, or fifteen feet. While Critch saw that
this was lopped and cut rightly, Burt visited the other workers.

All this, however, was not done in a few moments. The axes of the
pigmies were keen, but they were also very small. No sooner had the work
begun than the whole tribe came down from the village to look on with
wondering interest, and Mbopo shortly after arrived also.

It was well into the afternoon before the four trees were down, and not
until noon of the next day were they cut into the proper lengths and
trimmed. Finally, however, the logs lay end to end in the shape of a
square, in the shallow water. Burt now explained to Mbopo that these
were to be fastened together. The young chief comprehended at once, and
with strips of tough hides had the first part of the raft completed by
nightfall.

The abundance of help lightened the work wonderfully, as the other
warriors learned the work. They went at it like children, laughing and
playing continually, until the two white boys wondered how they could
ever have stood in fear of these pranking dwarfs who were so full of fun
and laughter.

At the end of five days the first raft was finished to the satisfaction
of the boys. Even when the platform was crowded with men it floated
clear of the