e raft, and when it came near enough for me to catch hold of I
found this poor fellow lying in the bottom. Nothing else was in the
canoe, not even a paddle. Just before you came I was talking to him. I
know a little of the language, and he managed to tell me that he belongs
to Oko Sam's tribe of Gallas. His name is Bildad, and he is the same
native who was pursued into the cavern by the Abyssinians."

"But how did he get away from the serpent?" asked Forbes.

"I don't know," replied Canaris. "When he gets a little stronger I will
find out. I gave him some food and he devoured it like a wild beast. He
was terribly afraid we would kill him, and I could hardly make him
believe otherwise."

"And what have _you_ discovered?" exclaimed Sir Arthur, who was bursting
with impatience. "Must we die in this horrible place or is there hope of
escape?"

Chutney hurriedly related their adventures and the great discovery that
had been made.

"Yes," he concluded fervently, "we have every reason to hope. If all
goes well we shall resume our journey down the river in a few hours."

"Chutney," cried the colonel solemnly, "I fear you are deceiving us and
yourself with false hopes. The outlet of the lake is found, it is true,
and by means of this rope we can reach it, but how are we to travel on
down the river? Can you carry this raft over the cliff yonder?"

"Yes," said Guy, with a confident smile. "I can take the raft over the
rocks. It can be taken apart, and one by one the logs can be hauled to
the top of the cliff and let down on the other side. To put it together
again will prove no difficult matter."

"A splendid plan, Chutney," cried the colonel. "I retract what I said.
And how about the canoe? Can we take that along also?"

"Yes," answered Guy, "we will take it with us on the raft. It may prove
of use; but the raft, I think, will be safer for us to travel on. And
now let us set about the task without losing any time. The
transportation of the raft will be a difficult and arduous undertaking."

"The first thing in order is to get Bildad to the top of the cliff,"
said Canaris.

This was not accomplished without some difficulty, for the poor fellow
was in a pitiable state of weakness; but finally, by putting a noosed
rope under his arms, Chutney and the colonel, who had gone up ahead,
drew him in safety to the top and placed him on a couple of rugs.

Then one by one the bags of provisions, the torches, the paddles, and
th