sh to the ground. The blacks set up a shout of triumph.

"Take care, sirs, a bite from those big teeth would not be pleasant,"
exclaimed Tom, as he saw Harry and me rushing forward.

The creature, however, made no movement, and the blacks coming up,
turned it over without ceremony and thrust the end of their spears into
its eyes to show that it was dead. They then began singing and dancing
around it in triumph, as they would round the body of a dead human
enemy, indeed, even now I could scarcely persuade myself that the
creature had not something human in it. It was not until very many
years afterwards that I ascertained that this man ape, as I have called
it, was what is now known as the gorilla. When I afterwards described
it in England, no one would believe that it was of the size I have
mentioned, and I got credit for indulging in travellers' tales.

The natives at once skinned the beast and then cut the body into pieces,
which they afterwards cooked and ate with great gusto. None of us,
however, could persuade ourselves to touch it.

We later in the day killed three elephants, much in the way I have
before described, and early next morning our party, carrying the skin of
the ape and the elephants' tusks, with large quantities of meat,
returned to the village.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

OUR AUDIENCE WITH THE KING--THE FALL OF A COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF--
UNSATISFACTORY TERMINATION OF OUR INTERVIEW--IN DESPAIR WE WANDER ALONG
THE RIVER BANK--PLANS FOR ESCAPE--MAKING PADDLES--KENDO'S WIFE IGUMA
UNDERTAKES TO ASSIST US--ARRIVAL OF THE FETISH DOCTOR--HE HAS RECOURSE
TO THE "BLACK ART OF MAGIC," AND DENOUNCES SHIMBO, IGUMA, AND OTHERS, AS
THE CAUSE OF THE QUEEN'S DEATH--CRUEL SACRIFICE OF SHIMBO--FLIGHT OF
IGUMA AND HER HUSBAND, WITH WHOM WE EFFECT OUR ESCAPE--ON THE LAKE--
CHARLEY AND I MISS OUR COMPANIONS IN THE DARKNESS--ON DAYLIGHT RETURNING
WE FIND OURSELVES NEAR THE SHORE--WE ARE SURPRISED BY NATIVES AND
ATTACKED--REPULSE OF THE ENEMY--BRAVERY OF IGUMA.

In the course of the morning we reached our house, which we had left in
charge of Shimbo. We had the satisfaction of finding that none of our
knapsacks had been touched. We invited Caspar to join us, which he,
poor fellow, was very glad to do. Nothing had been seen of Jansen; we
supposed that he had either thrown himself into the river, or been
seized by a wild beast. We were surprised to find that the witch-doctor
had not yet arrived, and therefore hoped tha