At once Aleck loped off.  While he was gone Tom told Dick Chester
much concerning himself, and the college student related several
facts in connection with the party to which he belonged.

"There are six of us students," he said.  "We were going to have a
professor from Yale with us, but he got sick at the last moment
and we hired Josiah Crabtree.  I wish we hadn't done it now, for
he has proved more of a hindrance than a help, and his real
knowledge of fauna and flora could be put in a peanut shell, with
room to spare."

"He's a big brag," answered Tom.  "Take my advice and never trust
him too far - or you may be sorry for it."

Presently Aleck came back, with Cujo following.  The brawny
African began at once to examine the footprints along the lake
shore.

"Him been here," he said.  "Him came up dis way.  But him no walk
away."

"Didn't walk away!" ejaculated Tom.

"No.  Udder footprints walk away, but not um Massah Dick."

"I don't understand, Cujo.  Do you think he -- fell into the lake?"

"Perhaps, Massah Tom - or maybe he get into boat."

Tom shook his head.  "I don't know of any boats around here -- do
you?" he asked of Dick Chester.

"No," returned the young man from Yale.  "But the natives living
in the vicinity may have them."

"Perhaps a native dun carry him off," said Aleck.  "He must be
sumwhar, dat am certain."

"Yes, he must be somewhere," repeated Tom sadly.

By this time Sam and Randolph Rover were coming up, and also one
of Dick Chester's friends.  The college students were introduced
to the others by Tom, and then a general hunt began for Dick,
which lasted until the shades of night had fallen.  But poor Dick
was not found, and all wondered greatly what had, become of him.

Tom and the others retired at ten o'clock.  But not to sleep, for
with Dick missing none of the Rovers could close an eye.  "We must
find him in the morning," said Sam.  "We simply must!"  And the
others agreed with him.





CHAPTER XXV

DICK AND THE LION

When poor Dick came to his senses he was lying in a heap on the
decayed leaves at the bottom of the hollow between the rocks.  The
stuff Josiah Crabtree had thrown down still lay on top, of him,
and it was a wonder that he had not been smothered.

"Where in the world am I?" was the first thought which crossed his
confused mind.  He tried to sit up, but found this impossible
until he had scattered the dead leaves and tree branches.  Even
then he was so bewildered that he hardly knew what to do,
excepting to stare around at his strange surroundings.  Slowly the
truth dawned upon him -- how Josiah Crabtree had struck him down
on the lake shore.

"He must have brought me here," he murmured.  "Perhaps he thought
I was dead!"

Although Dick did not know it, he had been at the bottom of the
hollow all evening and all night.  The sun was now up once more,
but it was a day later than he imagined.

The hollow was damp and full of ants and other insects, and as
soon as he felt able the youth got up.  There was a big lump
behind his left ear where the stick had descended, and this hurt
not a little.

"I'll get square with him some day," he muttered, as he tried to
crawl out of the hollow.  "He has more courage to play the villain
than I gave him credit for.  Sometime I'll face him again, and
then things will be different."

It was no easy matter to get out of the hollow.  The sides were
steep and slippery, and four times poor Dick tried, only to slip
back to the bottom.  He was about to try a fifth time, when a
sound broke upon his ears which caused him great alarm.  From only
a short distance away came the muffled roar of a lion.

Dick had never heard, this sound out in the open before, but he
had heard it a number of times at the circus and at the menagerie
in Central Park, New York, and he recognized the roar only too
well.

"A lion!" he thought.  "My gracious!  I trust he isn't coming this
way!"

But he was coming that way, as Dick soon discovered.  A few
seconds of silence were followed by another roar which to, the
alarmed youth appeared to come from almost over his head.  Then
came a low whine, which was kept up for fully a minute, followed
by another roar.  Dick hardly knew what was best -- to remain at
the bottom of the hollow or try to escape to some tree at the top
of the opening.  "If I go up now he may nab me on sight," he
thought dismally.  "Oh, if only I had my -- thank Heaven, I have!"

Dick had felt for his pistol before, to find it gone.  But now he
spotted the glint of the shiny barrel among the leaves.  The
weapon had fallen from his person at the time Crabtree had pitched
him into the hollow.  He reached for it, and to his joy found that
it was fully loaded and ready for use.

Presently he heard the bushes overhead thrust aside, and then came
a half roar, half whine that made him jump.  Looking up, he saw a
lion standing on the edge of the hollow facing him.

The monarch of the forest was holding one of his forepaws up and
now he sat down on his haunches to lick the limb.  Then he set up
another whine and shook the limb painfully.

"He has hurt that paw," thought Dick.  "Wonder if he sees me?"

Yes, he did see, just at that instant, and started back in
astonishment.  Then his face took on a fierce look and he gave a
roar which could be heard for miles around.

Crack! It was the report of Dick's pistol, but the youth was
nervous, and the bullet merely glanced along the lion's body,
doing little or no damage.  The beast roared again, then crouched
down and prepared to leap upon the youth.

But the wounded forepaw was a hindrance to the lion's movements,
and he began to crawl along the hollow's edge, seeking a better
point from which to make a leap.

Then Dick's pistol spoke up a second time.

This shot was a far better one, and the bullet passed directly
through the knee-joint of the lion's left forepaw.  He was now
wounded in both fore limbs, and set up a roar which seemed to
fairly make the jungle tremble.  Twice he started to leap down
into the hollow, but each time retreated to shake one wounded limb
after another into the air with whines of pain and distress.

As soon as the great beast reappeared once more Dick continued his
firing.  Soon his pistol was empty, but the lion had not been hit
again.  In nervous haste the lad started to re-load only to find
that his cartridge box was empty.

"Get out!" he yelled at the lion, and threw a stone at the beast.
But the lion was now determined to descend into the hollow, and
paused only to calculate a sure leap to the boy's head.

But that pause, brief as it was, was fatal to the calculations of
the monarch of the jungle.  From his rear came two shots in rapid
succession, each hitting him in a vulnerable portion of his body.
He leaped up into the air, rolled over on the edge of the hollow,
and then came down, head first, just grazing Dick's arm, and
landing at the boy's feet, stone dead.

"Hurrah!  I reckon I hit him!" came in Tom Rover's voice.

"And so did I," came from Randolph Rover.

"But he has disappeared."

"This way, Tom!" cried Dick, with all the strength he could
command.  He was shaking like a reed in the wind and all of the
color had deserted his face.

"It's Dick!" ejaculated Tom.  "I told you that I had heard several
pistol shots."

Soon Tom and Mr. Rover presented themselves at the top of the
hollow, followed by Aleck and Cujo.  The latter procured a rope
made of twisted vines, and by this Dick was raised up without much
difficulty.





CHAPTER XXVI

THE LAST OF JOSIAH CRABTREE

All listened intently to the story Dick had to tell, and he had
not yet finished when Dick Chester presented himself, having been
attracted to the vicinity by the roars of the lion and the various
pistol and gun shots.

"This Crabtree must certainly be as bad as you represent," he
said.  "I will have a talk with him when I get back to our camp."

"It won't be necessary for you to talk to him," answered Dick
grimly.  "If you'll allow me, I'll do the talking."

"All right," grinned the Yale student.  "Do, as you please.  We
are a getting tired of him."

Chester and Cujo descended into the hollow to examine the lion.
There was a bullet in his right foreleg which Chester proved had
come from his rifle.  "He must be the beast Frank Rand and I fired
at from across the lake.  Probably he had his home in the hollow
and limped over to it during the night."

"In that case you are entitled to your fair share of the meat --
if you wish any," said Randolph Rover with a smile.  "But I think
the pelt goes to Tom, for he fired the shot that was really
fatal."  And that skin did go to Tom, and lies on his parlor floor
at home today.

"Several of the students from Yale had been out on a long tour the
afternoon before, in the direction, of the mountain, and they had
reported meeting several natives who had seen King Susko.  He was
reported to have but half a dozen of his tribe with him, including
a fellow known as Poison Eye.

"That's a bad enough title for anybody," said Sam with a shudder.
"I suppose his job is to poison their enemies if they can't
overcome them in regular battle."

"Um tell de thruf," put in Cujo.  "Once de Mimi tribe fight King
Susko, and whip him.  Den Susko send Poison Eye to de Mimi camp.
Next day all drink-water get bad, an' men, women, an' children die
off like um flies."

"That's cheerful information," said Tom.

"And why didn't they slay the poisoner?"

"Eberybody 'fraid to touch him - 'fraid he be poisoned."

"I'd run my chances -- providing I had a knife or a club,"
muttered Tom.

"Or a pistol," finished Sam.  "Such rascals are not fit to live."

Dick, as can readily be imagined, was hungry, and before the party
started back for the lake, the youth was provided with some food
which Aleck had very thoughtfully carried with him.

It was learned that the two parties were encamped not far apart,
and Dick Chester said he would bring his friends to, see them
before the noon hour was passed.

"I don't believe be will bring Josiah Crabtree," said Tom.  "I
reckon Crabtree will take good care to keep out of sight."

Tom was right.  When Chester came over with his friends he said
that the former teacher of Putnam Hall was missing, having left
word that he was going around the lake to look for a certain
species of flower which so far they had been unable to add to
their specimens.

"But he will have to come back," said the Vale student.  "He has
no outfit with which to go it alone."

He was right.  Crabtree put in an appearance just before the sun
set over the jungle to the westward.  He presented a most woebegone
appearance, having fallen into a muddy swamp on his face.

"I -- I met with an -- an unfortunate accident," he said to
Chester. "I fell into the - ahem -- mud, and it was only with
great difficulty that I managed to - er -- to extricate myself."

"Josiah Crabtree, you didn't expect to see me here, did you?" said
Dick sternly, as he stepped forward.  And then the others of his
party also came out from where they had been hiding in the brush.

The former teacher of Putnam Hall started as if confronted by a
ghost.

"Why - er -- where did you come from, Rover?" he faltered.

"You know well enough where I came from, Josiah Crabtree," cried
Dick wrathfully.  "You dropped me into the hollow for dead, didn't
you!"

"Why, I - er - that - is --" stammered Crabtree; but could
actually go no further.

"Don't waste words on him, Dick," put in Tom.  "Give him the
thrashing he deserves."

"Thrashing!" gasped Crabtree.

"Yes, thrashing," replied Dick.  "If we were in America I would
have you locked up.  But out here we must take the law into our
own hands.  I am going to thrash you to the very best of my
ability, and after that, if I meet you again I'll --I'll -"

"Dun shoot him on sight," suggested Aleck.

"You shall not touch me!" said the former teacher with a shiver.
"Chester - Rand - will you not aid me against this - er -- savage
young brute?"

"Don't you call Dick a brute," put in Sam.

"If there is any brute here it is you, and everyone in our party
will back up what I say."

"Mr. Crabtree, I have nothing to say in this matter," said Dick
Chester.  "It would seem that your attack on Rover was a most
atrocious one, and out here you will have to take what punishment
comes."

"But you will help me, won't you, Rand?" pleaded the former
teacher, nervously.

"No, I shall stand by Chester," answered Rand.

"And will you, too, see me humiliated?" asked Crabtree, turning to
the other Yale students.  "I, the head of your expedition into
equatorial Africa!"

"Mr. Crabtree, we may as well come to an understanding," said one
of the students, a heavyset young man named Sanders.  "We hired
you to do certain work for us, and we paid you well for that work.
Since we left America you have found fault with nearly everything,
and in a good many instances which I need not recall just now you
have not done as you agreed.  You are not the learned scientist
you represented yourself to be -- instead, if we are to believe
our newly made friends here, you are a pretender, a big sham, and
a brute in the bargain.  This being so, we intend to dispense with
your services from this day forth.  We will pay you what is coming
to you, give you your share of our outfit, and then you can go
your way and we will go ours.  We absolutely want nothing more to
do with you."

This long speech on Sanders' part was delivered amid a deathlike
silence.  As the student went on, Josiah Crabtree bit his lip
until the blood came.  Once his baneful eyes fairly flashed fire
at Sanders and then at Dick Rover, but then they fell to the
ground.

"And so you - ahem -- throw me off," he said, drawing a long
breath.  "Very well.  But I demand all that is coming to me."

"You shall have every cent."

"And a complete outfit, so that I can make my way back to the
coast."

"All that is coming to you -- no more and no less," said Sanders
firmly.

"But he shan't go without that thrashing!" cried Dick, and
catching up a long whip he had had Cujo cut for him he leaped upon
Josiah Crabtree and brought down the lash with stinging effect
across the former teacher's face, leaving a livid mark that
Crabtree was doomed to wear to the day of his death.  "There you
are! And there is another for the way you treated Stanhope, and
another for what you did to Dora, and one for Tom, and another for
Sam, and another --"

"Oh! oh! let up!  The boy will kill me!" shrieked Crabtree, trying
to run away.  "Don't -- I will be cut to pieces!  Don't!  don't!"
And as the lash came down over his head, neck, and shoulders, he
danced madly around in pain.  At last he broke for cover and
disappeared, not to show himself again until morning, when he
called Chester to him, asked for and received, what was coming to
him, and departed, vowing vengeance on the Rovers and all of the
others.

"He will remember you for that, Dick," said Sam, when the affair
was over.  "He will be your enemy for life."

"Let him be -- I am not afraid of him," responded the elder
brother.





CHAPTER XXVII

THE JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAIN

By noon of the day following the Rover expedition was on its way
to the mountain said to be so rich in gold.  The students from
Yale went with them.

"It's like a romance, this search after your father," said Chester
to Dick.  "I hope you find him.  You can rest assured that our
party will do all we can for you.  Specimen hunting is all well
enough, but man hunting is far more interesting."

"I would like to go on a regular hunt for big game some day," said
Tom.  He had already mentioned Mortimer Blaze to the Yale
students.

"Yes, that's nice -- if you are a crack shot, like Sanders.  He
can knock the spots from a playing card at a hundred yards."

"Maybe he's a Western boy," laughed Sam.

"He is.  His father owns a big cattle ranch there, and Sanders
learned to shoot while rounding up cattle.  He's a tip-top
fellow."

They had passed over a small plain and were now working along a
series of rough rocks overgrown with scrub brush and creeping
vines full of thorns.  The thorns stuck everybody but Cujo, who
knew exactly how to avoid them.

"Ise dun got scratched in 'steen thousand places," groaned Aleck.
"Dis am worse dan a bramble bush twice ober, by golly!"

For two days the united expeditions kept on their way up the
mountain side,  which sloped gradually at its base, the steeper
portion still being several days' journey distant.

During these days they shot several wild animals including a
beautiful antelope, while Sam caught a monkey.  But the monkey bit
the boy in the shoulder, and Sam was glad enough to get rid of the
mischievous creature.

On the afternoon of the second day Cujo, who was slightly in
advance of the others, called a halt.

"Two men ahead ob us, up um mountain," he said.  "Cujo Vink one of
dern King Susko."

"I hope it is!" cried Dick quickly.

The discovery was talked over for a few minutes, and it was
decided that Cujo should go ahead, accompanied by Randolph Rover
and Dick.  The others were to remain on guard for anything which
might turn up.

Dick felt his heart beat rapidly as he advanced with his uncle and
the African guide through the tangle of thorns and over the rough
rocks.  He felt that by getting closer to King Susko, he was also
getting closer to the mystery which surrounded his father's
disappearance.

"Dar him am!" whispered Cujo, presently.  "See, da is gwine up
into a big hole in de side ob de mountain?"

"Can you make out if it is Susko or not?"

"Not fo' certain, Massah Dick.  But him belong to de Burnwo tribe,
an' de udder man too."

"If they are all alone it will be an easy matter to capture them,"
said Randolph Rover.  "All told, we are twelve to two."

"They have disappeared into the cave." Cried Dick a minute later.
"Come on, and we'll soon know something worth knowing, I feel
certain of it."

Cujo now asked that he be allowed to proceed alone, to make
certain that no others of the Burnwo tribe were in the vicinity.

"We must be werry careful," he said.  "Burnwos kill eberybody wot
da find around here if not dare people."

"Evidently they want to keep the whole mountain of gold to
themselves," observed Dick.  "All right, Cujo, do as you think
best -- I know we can rely upon you."

After this they proceeded with more care than ever-along a rocky
edge covered with loose stones.  To one side was the mountain, to
the other a sheer descent of several hundred feet, and the
footpath was not over a yard wide.

"A tumble here would be a serious matter," said Randolph Rover.
"Take good care, Dick, that you don't step on a rolling stone."

But the ledge was passed in safety, and in fifteen minutes more
they were close to the opening is the side of the mountain.  It
was an irregular hole about ten feet wide and twice as high.  The
a rocks overhead stuck out for several yards, and from these hung
numerous vines, forming a sort of Japanese curtain over the
opening.

While the two Rovers waited behind a convenient rock, Cujo crawled
forward on his hand and knees into the cave.  They waited for ten
minutes, just then it seemed an hour, but he did not reappear.

"He is taking his time," whispered Dick.

"Perhaps something has happened to him," returned Randolph Rover.
"I do not like this oppressive silence.  Have your pistol ready
for use.  We may need our weapons."

"I've had my pistol ready all along," answered the boy, exhibiting
the weapon.  "That encounter with the lion taught me a lesson.  If
Cujo -- What's that?"

Dick broke off short, for a sound on the rocks above the cave
entrance had reached his ears.  Both gazed in the direction, but
could see nothing.

"What alarmed you?" asked Randolph Rover hurriedly.

"I heard a rustling in the bushes up there perhaps, though, it was
only a bird or some small animal."

"I can see nothing, Dick."

"Neither can I; but I am certain -- Out of sight, Uncle Randolph,
quick!"

Dick caught his uncle by the arm, and both threw themselves flat
behind the rocks.  Scarcely had they gone down than two spears
came whizzing forward, one hitting the rocks and the other sailing
over their heads and burying itself in a tree trunk several yards
away.  They caught a glance of two natives on the rocks over them,
but with the launching of the spears the Africans disappeared.





CHAPTER XXVIII

KING SUSKO

"My gracious, this is getting at close range!" burst out Dick,
when he could catch his breath again.  "Uncle Randolph, they meant
to kill us!"

"Indeed they did, Dick.  And this is no safe place for stopping.
We must retreat."

"But Cujo --?"

"He must be cautioned."  Randolph Rover raised his voice.  "Cujo!
Cujo!  They have discovered us!  Take care that they do not spear
you."

No reply came back to this call, which was several times repeated.
Then came a crash, as a big stone was hurled down, to split into a
score of pieces on the rock which sheltered them.

"They mean to dislodge us," said Dick.  "If they would only show
themselves -"

He stopped, for he had seen one of the Bumwos peering over a mass
of short brush directly over the cave entrance.  Taking hasty aim
with his pistol be fired.

A yell of pain followed, proving that the African had been hit.
But the Bumwo was not seriously wounded, and soon he sent another
stone at them, this time hitting Randolph Rover on the leg.

"Oh!" gasped Dick's uncle, and drew up that member with a wry
face.

"Did he hurt you much, Uncle Randolph?"

"He hurt me enough.  You villain, take that!"  And now the man
fired, but the bullet flew wide of its mark, for Randolph Rover
had practiced but little with firearms.

They now thought it time to retreat, and, watching their chance,
they ran from the rocks to the trees beyond.  While they were
exposed another spear was sent after them, cutting its way through
Mr. Rover's hat brim and causing that gentleman to turn as pale as
a sheet.

"A few inches closer and it would have been my head!" he
ejaculated.  "This is growing too warm for comfort.  Perhaps we
had better rejoin the others, Dick."

"Cujo!  Cujo!  Where are you?" cried the boy once more.  But as
before no answer came back.

The shots had alarmed the others of the expedition, and all were
hurrying along the rocky ledge when Randolph Rover and Dick met
them.

"We must turn back!" exclaimed Randolph Rover.  "If you go ahead
we may be caught in an ambush.  The Bumwos have discovered our
presence and mean to kill us if they can!"

Suddenly a loud, deep voice broke upon them, coming from the rocks
over the cave entrance.

"White men must leave this mountain!" cried the voice.  "This
country belongs to the Bumwos.  White man has no right here!  Go!
Go before it is too late!"

"Who is that who speaks?" demanded Randolph Rover.

"I am King Susko, chief of the Bumwos."

"Will you come and have a talk with us?"

"No want to talk.  Want the white man to leave," answered the
African chief, talking in fairly good English.

"We do not wish to quarrel with you, King Susko; but you will find
it best for you if you will grant us an interview," went on
Randolph Rover.

"The white man must go away from this mountain.  I will not talk
with him," replied the African angrily.

"Do you know why we are here?"

"To rob the Bumwos of their gold."

"No; we are looking for a lost man, one who came to this country
years ago and one who was your prisoner --"

"The white man is no longer here -- he went home long time ago."

"We do not believe you!" cried Tom.  "You have him a prisoner, and
unless you deliver him up you shall suffer dearly for it."

This threat evidently angered the African chief greatly, for
suddenly a spear was launched at the boy, which pierced Tom's
shoulder.

As Tom went down, a shout went up from the rocks, and suddenly a
dozen or more Bumwos appeared, shaking their spears and acting as
if they meant to rush down on the party below without further
warning.





CHAPTER XXIX

THE VILLAGE ON THE MOUNTAIN

"Tom is wounded!" shouted Sam.  He ran to his brother, to find the
blood flowing freely over Tom's shoulder.  "Is it bad?" he asked.

"I -- I guess not," answered Tom with a gasp of pain.  Then, as
full of pluck as usual, Tom raised his pistol and fired, hitting
one of the Bumwos in the breast and sending him to the rear,
seriously wounded.

It was evident that Cujo had been mistaken and that there were far
more of their enemies around the mountain than they had
anticipated.  From behind the Rover expedition a cry arose,
telling that more of the natives were coming from that direction.

"We are being hemmed in," said Dick Chester nervously.  "Perhaps
we had better retreat."

"No, let us make a stand," came from Rand.  "I think a concerted
volley from our pistols and guns will check their movements."

"Dat's de talk!" cried Aleck.  "Give it to 'em hot!"

It was decided to await the closer approach of the Bumwos, and
each of the party improved the next minute in seeing to it that
his weapon was ready for use.

Suddenly a blood-curdling yell arose on the sultry air, and the
Bumwos were seen to be approaching from two directions, at right
angles to each other.

"Now then, stand firm!" cried Dick Rover, and began to fire at one
of the approaching forces.

The fight that followed was, however, short and full of
consternation to the Africans.  One of the parties was led by King
Susko himself, and the chief had covered less than half the
distance to where the Americans stood when a bullet from Tom
Rover's pistol reached him, wounding him in the thigh and causing
him to pitch headlong on the grass.

The fall of the leader made the Africans set up a howl of dismay,
and instead of keeping up the fight they gathered around their
leader.  Then, as the Americans continued to fire, they picked
King Susko up and ran off with him.  A few spears were hurled at
our friends, but the whole battle, to use Sam's way of summing up
afterward, was a regular "two-for-a-cent affair."  Soon the Bumwos
were out of sight down the mountain side.

The first work of our friends after they had made certain that the
Africans had really retreated, was to attend to Tom's wound and
the bruise Randolph Rover had received from the stone.  Fortunately
neither man nor boy was seriously hurt, although Tom carries the
mark of the spear's thrust to this day.

"But I don't care," said Tom.  "I hit old King Susko, and that was
worth a good deal, for it stopped the battle.  If the fight had
kept on there is no telling how many of us might have been
killed."

While the party was deliberating about what to do next, Cujo
reappeared.

"I go deep into de cabe when foah Bumwos come on me from behind,"
he explained.

"Da fight an' fight an' knock me down an' tie me wid vines, an'
den run away.  But I broke loose from de vines an' cum just as
quick as could run.  Werry big cabe dat, an' strange waterfall in
de back."

"Let us explore the cave," said Dick.  "Somebody can remain on
guard outside."

Some demurred to this, but the Rover boys could, not be held back,
and on they went, with Aleck with them.  Soon Randolph Rover
hobbled after them, leaving Cujo and the college students to
remain on the watch.

The cave proved to be a large affair, running all of half a mile
under the mountain.  There were numerous holes in the roof,
through which the sun shone down, making the use of torches
unnecessary.  To one side was a deep and swiftly flowing stream,
coming from the waterfall Cujo had mentioned, and disappearing
under the rocks near the entrance to the cavern.

"Gold, true enough!" shouted Dick, as he gazed on the walls of the
cave.  "Am I not right, Uncle Randolph?"

"You are, Dick; this is a regular cave of gold, and no mistake.
No wonder King Susko wanted to keep us away!"

Soon the waterfall was gained.  It was a fascinating scene to
watch the sparkling sheet as it thundered downward a distance of
fully a hundred feet.  At the bottom was a pool where the water
was lashed into a milky foam which went swirling round and round.

"Look!  Look!  The ghost!" suddenly cried Sam, and pointed into
the falling water.  "Oh, Uncle Randolph, did you ever see anything
like it?" and he gave a shiver.

"There are no such things as ghosts, Sam," replied his uncle.  "I
see nothing."

"Stand here and look," answered Sam, and his uncle did as
requested. Presently from out of the mist came the form of a man -
the likeness of Randolph Rover himself!

"It is nothing but an optical illusion, Sam, such as are produced
by some magicians on the theater stage.  The sun comes down
through yonder hole and reflects your image on the wet rock, which
in turn reflects the form on the sheet of water."

"Gracious!  And that must be the ghost the natives believe in,"
answered Sam.  "I'm glad you explained it.  I can tell you I was
startled."

"Here is a path leading up past the waterfall," said Dick, who had
been making an investigation.  "Let us see what is beyond."

"Take care of where you go," warned Randolph Rover.  "There may be
some nasty pitfall there."

"I'll keep my eyes open," responded Dick.

He ascended the rocks, followed by Sam, while the others brought
up in the rear.  Up over the waterfall was another cave, long and
narrow.  There was now but little light from overhead, but far in
the distance could be seen a long, narrow opening, as if the
mountain top had been, by some convulsion of nature, split in
half.

"We are coming into the outer world again!" cried Dick, and ran
forward.  "Well, I never!" he ejaculated.

For beyond the opening was a small plain, covered with short grass
and surrounded on every side by jagged rocks which arose to the
height of fifty or sixty feet.  In the center of the plain were a
number of native huts, of logs thatched with palm.





CHAPTER XXX

FINDING THE LONG-LOST

"A village!" said Randolph Rover.  "And not a soul in sight."

"There are several women and children," returned Tom, pointing to
one of the huts.  "I guess the men went away to fight us."

"Probably you are right, Tom.  Let us investigate, but with
caution."

As they advanced, the women and children set up a cry of alarm,
which was quickly taken up in several of the other huts.

"Go away, white men; don't touch us!" cried one old woman.

"Have the white men come at last?" cried a voice in the purest
English.  "Thank God!  Help me!  Help!"

"It is my brother's voice!" gasped Randolph Rover.  "Anderson!
Anderson!  We have come to save you!"

"Father!" came from the three Rover boys, and they rushed off in
all haste toward the nut from which the welcome cry had proceeded.

Anderson Rover was found in the center of the hut, bound fast by a
heavy iron chain to a post set deeply into the ground.  His face
was haggard and thin and his beard was all of a foot and a half
long, while his hair fell thickly over his shoulders.  He was
dressed in the merest rags, and had evidently suffered much from
starvation and from other cruel treatment.

"My sons!" he gasped, as the boys appeared.  "Do I see aright, or
is it only another of those wild dreams that have entered my brain
lately?"

"Father; poor father!" burst out Dick, and hugged his parent
around the neck.

"It's no dream, father; we are really here," put in Tom, as he
caught one of the slender hands, while Sam caught the other.

"How thin you are!" said Sam.  And then he added tenderly: "But
we'll take good care of you, now we have found you."

"And Randolph!" murmured Anderson Rover, as the brother came up.
"Oh, thank God!  Thank God, for this!" and the tears began to
flow down his cheeks.  "How long I have waited!  Many a time I
thought to give up in despair!"

"We came as soon as we got that message you sent," answered Dick.
"But that was long after you had sent it."

"And is the sailor, Converse, safe?"

"No; the sailor is dead."

"Too bad -- he was the one friend I had here."

"And King Susko has kept you a prisoner all this while?" asked
Randolph Rover.

"Yes; and he has treated me shamefully in the bargain.  He
imagined I knew all of the secrets of this mountain, of a gold
mine of great riches, and he would not let me go; but, instead,
tried to wring the supposed secret from me by torture."

"We will settle accounts with him some day," muttered Dick.  "It's
a pity Tom didn't kill him."

The native women and children were looking in at the doorway
curiously, not knowing what to say or do.  Turning swiftly, Dick
caught one by the arm.

"The key to the lock," he demanded, pointing to the lock on the
iron chain which bound Anderson Rover.  "Give it to me."

But the woman shook her head, and pointed off in the distance.

"King Susko has the key," explained Anderson Rover.  "You will
have to break the chain,"  And this was at last done, although not
without great difficulty.

In the meantime the natives were ordered to prepare a meal for
Anderson Rover and all of the others, and Cujo was called that he
might question the Africans in their own language.

The meal was soon forthcoming, the Bumwo women fearing that they
would be slaughtered if they did not comply with the demands of
the whites.  To make sure that the food had not been poisoned,
Dick made several of the natives eat portions of each dish. This
made Cujo grin.  "Um know a good deal," he remarked.

"Cujo was goin' to tell Dick to do dat."

"I am glad the women and children are here," said Randolph Rover.
"We can take them with us when we leave and warn King Susko that
if he attacks us we will kill them.  I think he will rather let us
go than see all of the women and children slaughtered."

While they ate, Anderson Rover told his story, which is far too
long to insert here.  He had found a gold mine further up the
country and also this mountain of gold, but had been unable to do
anything since King Susko had made him and the sailor prisoners.
During his captivity he had suffered untold cruelties, but all
this was now forgotten in the joy of the reunion with his brother
and his three sons.

It was decided that the party should leave the mountain without
delay, and Cujo told the female natives to get ready to move.  At
this they set up a loud protest, but it availed them nothing, and
they soon quieted down when assured that no harm would befall them
if they behaved.





CHAPTER XXXI

HOME AGAIN -- CONCLUSION

Nightfall found the entire expedition, including the women and
children, on the mountain side below the caves.  As the party went
down the mountain a strict watch was kept for the Bumwo warriors,
and just as the sun was setting, they were discovered in camp on
the trail to the northwest.

"We will send out a flag of truce," said Randolph Rover.  "Cujo
can talk to them."

This was done, and presently a tall Bumwo under chief came out in
a plain to hold a mujobo, or "law talk."

In a few words Cujo explained the situation, stating that they now
held in bondage eighteen women and children, including King
Susko's favorite wife Afgona.  If the whites were allowed to pass
through the country unharmed until they, reached the village of
Kwa, where the Kassai River joins the Congo, they would release
all of the women and children at that point and they could go back
to rejoin their husbands and fathers.  If, on the other hand, the
expedition was attacked the whites would put all of those in
bondage to instant death.

It is not likely that this horrible threat would have been put
into execution. As Dick said when relating the particulars of the
affair afterward.  "We couldn't have done such a terrible thing,
for it would not have been human."  But the threat had the desired
effect, and in the morning King Susko, who was now on a sick bed,
sent word that they should go through unmolested.

And go through they did, through jungles and over plains, across
rivers and lakes and treacherous swamps, watching continually for
their enemies, and bringing down many a savage beast that showed
itself.  On the return they fell in with Mortimer Blaze, and he,
being a crack shot, added much to the strength of their command.

At last Kwa was reached, and here they found themselves under the
protection of several European military organizations.  The native
women and children were released, much to their joy, and my
readers can rest assured that these Africans lost no time in
getting back to that portion of the Dark Continent which they
called home.

From Kwa to Boma the journey was comparatively easy.  At Stanley
Pool they rested for a week, and all in the party felt the better
for it.

"Some day I will go back and open up the mines I have discovered,"
said Anderson Rover.  "But not now.  I want to see my own dear
native land first."

At Boma news awaited them.  Josiah Crabtree had turned up and been
joined by Dan Baxter, and both had left for parts unknown.

"I hope we never see them again," said Dick, and his brothers said
the same.

An American ship was in port, bound for Baltimore, and all of our
party, including the Yale students, succeeded in obtaining passage
on her for home.  The trip was a most delightful one, and no days
could have been happier than those which the Rover boys spent
grouped around their lather listening to all he had to tell of the
numerous adventures which had befallen him since he had left home.
A long letter was written to Captain Townsend, telling of the
finding of Anderson Rover, and the master of the Rosabel was,
later on, sent a gift of one hundred dollars for his goodness to
the Rovers.

Of course Anderson Rover was greatly interested in what his sons
had been doing and was glad to learn that they were progressing so
finely at Putnam Hall.

"We will let Arnold Baxter drop," he said.

"He is our enemy, I know; but just now we will let the law take
its course for the rascality he practiced in Albany."

"All right, father," answered Dick.  "We can afford to let him
drop, seeing how well things have terminated for ourselves."

"And how happy we are going to be," chimed in Sam.

"And how rich -- when father settles up that mining claim in the
West," put in Tom.

Here I must bring to a finish the story of the Rover boys'
adventures in the jungles of Africa.  They had started out to find
their father, and they had found him, and for the time being all
went well.

The home-coming of the Rovers was the occasion of a regular
celebration at Valley Brook farm.  The neighbors came in from far
and wide and with them several people from the city who in former
years had known Anderson Rover well.

It was a time never to be forgotten, and the celebration was kept
up for several days.  Captain Putnam was there, and with him came
Frank, Fred, Larry, and several others.  The captain apologized
handsomely to Aleck for the way he had treated the colored man.

"I wish I had been with you," said Fred.  "You Rover boys are
wonders for getting around.  Where will you go next?"

"I think we'll go West next," answered Dick.  "Father wants to
look up his mining interests, you know.  We are going to ask him
to take us along."  They did go west, and what adventures they had
will be related in a new volume, entitled "The Rover Boys Out West;
or, The Search for a Lost Mine."

"But we are coming back to Putnam Hall first," added Tom.  "Dear
old Putnam Hall!  I thought of it even in the heart of Africa!"

"And so did I," put in Sam.  "I'll tell you, fellows, it's good
enough to roam around, but, after all, there is no place like
home."

And with this truthful remark from the youngest Rover, let us
close this volume, kind reader, hoping that all of us may meet
again in the next book of the series, to be entitled, "The Rover
Boys Out West; or, The Search for a Lost Mine."  In this story all
of our friends will once more play important parts, and we will
learn what the Baxters, father and son, did toward wresting the
Rover Boys' valuable mining property from them.  But for the time
being all went well, and so good-by.

The End