e, almost loathsome, state.

"Look, Dean," cried Mark, shrinking with disgust, which he overcame
directly, and handing his rifle to his cousin he went down on one knee,
with three or four of the little tribe looking on, wonderingly, but all
with a grave, solemn seriousness of aspect, while Mark took out a
handkerchief from his breast and spread it tenderly over the fearful
festering wound.

"Isn't it horrible!" he said, turning up his head to speak to his
cousin, but encountering the bent over face of the illaka looking on
approvingly.

"Good--boy," he said solemnly. "Mark good."

The last traces of the look of disgust passed from Mark's face, and he
laughed merrily at the black.

"I say, Dean, I have lost my handkerchief, but I have got a good
character. But, poor little beggar, that will kill him. Still, I
shouldn't have liked to have missed seeing these people. Who would ever
have thought there were any like them in the world!"

"It makes up for our being scared," said Dean quietly; "but I didn't
like seeing this. It was so horrible. There, there's no occasion to be
afraid of their bows and arrows now."

"I wasn't before," said Mark, "after seeing how cool Mak was amongst
them. Now then, we want to go. Waggon--dinner;" and the boy pointed
with his rifle, which had just been handed to him by his cousin.

Mak nodded as if he fully understood, and shouldering his spear he
marched back to the little circus, now followed by an increasing train
of the pigmies, whose eyes gazed at their visitors with a sort of
reverence; and Mark noted that the sinew strings of their little bows
were slackened as they followed them amongst the trees and out to the
edge of the forest, which seemed to offer no obstacle to Mak, who would
probably have found it without difficulty, though in this case a couple
of the tiny blacks trotted before them and then stopped at the very
edge, to gaze wistfully after them till they were out of sight.

"Why, boys," cried Sir James, "where have you been? We should have been
quite alarmed, only we knew that you had Mak with you."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

THE DOCTOR PLAYS SURGEON.

"You were more frightened than hurt, boys," said the doctor, after
listening to their account, "and but for our guide your adventure might
have turned out badly."

"A horrible experience," said Sir James, shaking his head. "I don't
care how brave a man may be; there are times when he completely loses
his nerv