hours they swept along the rapidly widening river without
any sign of a foe. Toward noon the stream swept around in a great bend,
and as Burt stared ahead he caught a wild shout from Critch.

"There she is!" and the red-haired boy danced around and waved his arms
back at the other raft. "The Makua, Burt!"

Sweeping around with the current, Burt saw ahead of them two or three
scattered islands. Beyond these was the sheen of water, and he could
plainly see that their river formed a juncture with another and much
larger stream. As he was staring down the river there came a sudden yell
from his men.

"Zwengi!"

Whirling around, Burt saw them pointing to the right bank. At the same
instant a yell of alarm went up from Critch's raft. It was answered by
another shout from the right bank, and Burt saw three long canoes
putting out, with a crowd of savage warriors pouring into others. He
saw instantly that they had only one chance.

"Make for the island!" he shouted to Critch. "Land and hold them off!"

Critch waved his hand, and both boys set the men to work frantically,
trying to guide the unwieldy craft toward an island that rose straight
ahead of them. Burt unwrapped the rifle, but did not wish to use it
until he had to.

With a dozen paddlers in each, the big war canoes shot out across the
river to head off the first raft. Now, the bows used by the white
pigmies were larger than those of any other tribe the boys had seen.
They were fully as long as the men themselves and of great strength.
Burt saw Critch say something to Mbopo and take the pole from one of his
men. Instantly he followed suit, directing the man he relieved to shoot
at two of the following canoes which were heading toward them. As he did
so a flight of arrows came over the water, all but one falling short,
the one rebounding from the wet logs without sticking.

As Burt's man caught up his bow, the boy saw Mbopo and another warrior
loose their shafts from the first raft. The arrows, driven by the full
force of those tremendous bows, easily reached to the canoes. The bowman
in the first canoe gave a yell and dropped his paddle; as he did so, the
man behind him threw up his arms and fell back, overturning the canoe.
At this instant Burt's man shot, and although his arrow missed, the
pursuing canoes instantly ceased their approach and sheered off,
paddling down ahead of the rafts.

Their plan was evident. By reaching the islands ahead of the two rafts,