entire party with all they could eat at a single meal.

His next step was to start a fire, and prepare the coals for broiling.
This was a simple task, and was completed before his friends finished
their naps.

No pleasanter awakening could have come to them than that of opening
their eyes and finding their breakfast awaiting their keen appetites.
They fell to with a will, and, though saddened by the loss of two of
their number, were filled with a strange delight at the prospect of
their visit to the enchanted land.

The boat was launched, but there was not enough wind to make it worth
while to spread the sail, which had often proven of such assistance,
but the four pairs of arms swung the paddles with a vigor that sent the
craft swiftly against the current. The Professor disposed of himself
in the boat so that he slept while the others were at work.

Naturally the craft was kept as close to the bank as possible, so as to
gain the benefit of the sluggish current. The trees having been swept
from the margin of the Xingu, an open space was before the explorers
throughout the entire distance.

Despite the glowing expectations of the party, there was enough in the
prospect before them to cause serious thought. Long and Ashman
consulted continually and saw that it would not do to felicitate
themselves with the belief that all danger was at an end.

Two facts must be well weighed. Waggaman and Burkhardt were inimical
to them. Whether they could be won over even to neutrality could not
be determined until they were seen. For the present they must be
classed as dangerous enemies.

Was it unreasonable to suspect that their influence with the terrible
King Haffgo would prove superior to that of Ziffak? If so, what hope
was there of the escape of the explorers after once intrusting
themselves within the power of the tyrant?

But the immediate question which faced our friends was, whether it
would do for them to reveal themselves to the Murhapas without again
seeing their native friend. They deemed it probable that he had pushed
on to the village, with the expectation of reaching it ahead of them
and thus preparing the way for their reception.

This, however, was but a pretty theory which was as liable to be wrong
as right. At any rate, Ziffak must reach his home ahead of or
simultaneously with the whites. The latter continued using their
paddles with steady vigor, until near noon, when they knew that
considera