down dead the moment
they felt the puncture of the whizzing javelins.

The Professor was at the head of the strange procession bearing the
boat on their shoulders. Like his companions, he moved with a springy,
elastic step, for he had received the most striking proof possible of
the friendship of Ziffak, and he foresaw the dazzling results that were
to flow from such an alliance.

Had this remarkable savage been disposed to play them false, no better
opportunity could have been given than that which occurred a few
minutes before. All he had to do was to arrive on the spot a minute
later: the Aryks would have left nothing for him except to view the
dead bodies of the whites and their servants.

As for Jared Long, the doubter, he was willing to admit that he had
made a grevious error of judgment. Had he thought that Ziffak
suspected his misgivings, he would have taken the fellow's hand, and
humbly begged his pardon.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE JOURNEY'S END.

The explorers, bearing the canoe with the luggage upon their shoulders,
ascended at a steady gait the western bank of the Xingu. The cleared
space which they had noticed on both sides of the river, caused by the
furious overflow, continued, so that the progress was comparatively
easy.

The din of the rapids was so loud that they could not have heard each
other, except by shouting at the top of their voices, for which there
was no call, since even Bippo and Pedros were now able to read the full
meaning of the extraordinary incidents of the night.

Ashman looked around and ascertained that Ziffak was not bearing them
company. None of the savages were in sight, though all would have been
as eager as tigers to rend the white men to shreds had such permission
been given.

The absence of the great leader caused no uneasiness on the part of any
one of our friends. Strange indeed, would it have been had they felt
any distrust of him after his late interference.

The sun appeared while the party were still pushing forward. The sky
was as clear as on the preceding day, and, though the temperature was
quite warm, it was not unpleasantly so. Several causes contributed to
the delightful coolness which renders the Matto Grosso one of the most
attractive regions on the globe. The abundance of water, the endless
stretch of forest, with few llanos of any extent, and, above all, the
elevation of the plateau produce a moderation of temperature not met
with in the l