EDWARD HARDEN'S MAP OF THE COUNTRY OF THE FIRE-GODS.
From that tree-top the broad course of the Kasai had been visible, its gleaming waters showing here and there, white in the sunlight, to the north and to the east. To the north-west, the course of the Hidden River lay comparatively straight to the mangrove swamp where it joined the larger stream. The rapids began three miles or so below Hippo Pool, and there, according to M'Wané, the river was foaming white. Lower still, it entered the Long Ravine, where great bare cliffs rose upright on either side, and at the end of which was the waterfall of which the Fans had spoken. On some days, when the wind was from the north, they could hear the dull roar of the cataract, like thunder in the distance.
To the south-west, above the tree-tops of the forest, M'Wané had been able to observe the crest-line of the red granite hills which enclosed the station of Makanda. Almost due south, from out of the midst of the forest, like a giant in a stubble-field, a great mountain towered into the sky. On the northern slopes of this mountain the Fan chief had been able to discern a little village, lying like a bird's nest in a declivity, thousands of feet above the dark, inhospitable forest. One night, by firelight, on the banks of Hippo Pool, Edward Harden drew the map on a piece of cartridge paper, though many of the features thus shown were not filled in until further facts had come to light.
Their plan of campaign was evolved in the fertile mind of Crouch, though Max, and even Edward, made several suggestions which the little sea-captain was only too glad to accept. They named the mountain Solitude Peak, and it seemed probable that it was in this direction that the creek found its source.
They desired, if possible, to reach Makanda without the knowledge of Cæsar and his Arabs. They did not doubt that they would be able to overlook the stockade from some eminence in the eastern granite hill. Now, since it was two and a half days' journey up the river, it would take them months to force their way through the jungle to the south. They decided, therefore, to follow Observation Creek to its source, which, they hoped, would be somewhere in the vicinity of the mountain. There they might be able to glean some knowledge at the native village which M'Wané had seen in the distance. At any rate, they would be able to survey the surrounding country, and take the most accessible route in the direction of Makanda.
However, neither Crouch nor Harden was the man to undertake anything rashly. Each knew that in Cæsar they had an adversary who was not to be despised. Before they set forth upon their expedition, they decided to secure more ammunition and supplies from Date Palm Island, and for this purpose it was decided that Edward Harden should return to the Kasai with M'Wané and the Fans.
Accordingly, the next day the explorer set out, following the route of their old portage along Observation Creek, and thence through the jungle to the left bank of the great river opposite Date Palm Island. Edward thought that he would be able to persuade the Loango boys to carry the "loads" back to the base-camp at Hippo Pool. Then, if they still feared to remain in the valley of the Hidden River, they could return to the Kasai. That night, Crouch and Max were the only two who remained at the little camp at Hippo Pool.
The next three days were by no means idle. Game had to be shot in the forest; there was cooking to be done; they even carried the canoe ashore and repaired a small leak which had been sprung in her bows. Moreover, Crouch insisted that one or other of them should always be on watch. With a good fire burning throughout the night, they had little to fear from wild beasts. Even the leopard, which is a far more courageous animal than the lion, must be well-nigh starving before it dares to approach a camp-fire. What Crouch feared most was a raid on the part of Cæsar. He knew enough of the tall Portuguese to suspect that the man would not stay idle whilst the three Englishmen remained in the valley of the Hidden River. In one of the many canoes they had seen tied up to the river bank at Makanda, Cæsar could shoot down-stream in the space of a few hours. There was therefore not an hour of the day or night that one or the other of them was not seated on the river-bank, rifle in hand, with his eyes turned towards the southern extremity of Hippo Pool.
Three days passed, and nothing of importance occurred. It was on the third night that something happened which was so much in the nature of a mystery as to be fully in keeping with the character of the whole valley and the rumours they had heard. Though Captain Crouch had only one eye, that eye was as the eye of a lynx; and the matter in question is all the more worthy to relate, since the event first occurred by night, when Crouch himself was on guard.
That day Max had shot his first buffalo, about half a mile from camp, on the southern side of Observation Creek. The meat had been cut into steaks, and one of these was cooked that night for breakfast in the morning. Crouch relieved Max on sentry at twelve o'clock, with the intention of keeping watch till daybreak. As Max turned over to go to sleep, he distinctly remembered having seen the buffalo-steak on a tin plate, a few inches from the fire. In the morning this steak was gone.