Jack Howard was unable, at that moment, to render Van any assistance, as he had caught the girl in his arms to keep her from falling to the ground.
By the time he had gently deposited her upon the ground the four scoundrels were lost in the mazes of the forest, and Van was struggling to his feet in a dazed manner.
The whole thing took place in less than a minute, and by the time the mate and the rest of those belonging to the camp reached the scene, it was all over.
The mate and Prof. Drearland conducted Van back to camp, followed by Jack, who carried the unconscious girl in his arms.
They had scarcely reached it when they heard the hurried splashing of oars, which told them that Doc Clancy and his crowd had taken to their boat and were proceeding up the river.
By the aid of a little brandy Jack Howard managed to bring his fair charge out of her faint, and when her eyes rested upon the kindly faces about her a sigh of relief left the girl's lips.
She explained how she came to be in the clutches of the rascally men in a very few words.
She was from the little town of Cooloo, where she had always lived. Her parents were natives of Cape Town, but since her earliest infancy had lived on the banks of the Congo River.
Her father made his living by hunting and trapping, and had started with a boat load of skins down the river, to a trading station a few miles from its mouth.
The girl, who gave her name as Masie Langford, accompanied her father on his trip.