And now followed a race down the river after the slave-drivers and their chest of rubies. The three canoes which had been carried from the Hidden River, were embarked on the Kasai. The slaves who had acted as porters on the journey were given the option of finding their own way back to their villages or going down to the Congo in the canoes. There was never the slightest doubt that the majority would choose the former course. Half their number had come from the Pambala village on the slopes of Solitude Peak, and a score from other villages farther to the south-west. In all there were only five who desired to journey to the Congo, and these were men whom Cæsar had captured in the land of the Bakutu.
The current of the river was so swift that the four canoes shot down-stream at a great velocity with little help from the paddles. On the upper reaches of the great river, rapids and waterfalls were frequent, and at such times it was necessary to carry the canoe to unbroken water. At each portage they found traces of Cæsar and his Arabs. Once the camp-fire of the Portuguese was still alight, and soon after that, on rounding a point, they came in sight of a canoe.
They thought at first that they had overtaken Cæsar, but they were doomed to be disappointed. With the aid of their fieldglasses they ascertained that the canoe was coming towards them, working slowly up-stream against the force of the current.
They were still more surprised when they recognised, seated in the stern of this canoe, the white solar topee and the black coat of a European. A few minutes later Crouch was within hail.
"Who are you?" he asked, with both hands to his mouth.
And the answer came back in the accent of Aberdeen: "James Mayhew, of the Scottish Missionary Society."
That, indeed, was so. This man alone, attended only by a few native servants, was forcing his way in the absolute Unknown, in order to bring the enlightenment of Christian knowledge into the depths of an endless forest, inhabited by cannibals and dwarfs. They had time only to congratulate the missionary upon his courage, and to wish him every success. Crouch gave Mr. Mayhew directions as to how to reach the Hidden Valley, and told him that, if he found his way to Solitude Peak and said that he had come from the "White Wizard," he would find many converts among the liberated slaves and the people of the village.
On being asked whether he had seen the Portuguese and his Arabs on the river, the Missionary answered that he had passed them not an hour ago. The Arabs had been paddling furiously, as if their lives depended upon their reaching the Congo with as little delay as possible. As for the Portuguese, he had been lying as if sick, in the body of the canoe, with his head propped against a great ironbound chest.
Crouch waited to hear no more. Waving his hand to the Missionary, he gave orders for the journey to continue.
That evening, they expected to arrive at Cæsar's camp, but by midnight they had come to the conclusion that the man was resolved to push on without halting for food.