Finally all was ready. The warriors took their places on board, standing amid the piles of provisions and skins of water, for the boys dared not drink the river water.
"Cast off!" shouted Critch, throwing off the vine that bound his raft to the bank. Burt followed suit. A roll of tom-toms and a loud shout rose from the tribe, which was answered by a shout from the crews. Slowly the poles sent the rafts out into mid-stream, where the current caught them and swept them down. For half a mile they remained in sight of the village, then a bend swept all away. The perilous voyage was begun.
Burt's raft followed that of Critch at a distance of fifty feet. Neither boy made any effort to increase the speed of the craft, confining their efforts to keeping the rafts from turning around and around in the current. Both floated well above the water, and the pigmies were highly delighted with their novel situation.
The river was of good size and to the joy of the two boys it continued to flow steadily toward the northwest. They floated down between banks of heavy vegetation, but saw no signs of life. That night they camped on an island and the party seemed in high spirits.
The next day they received their first sign of the hidden life that filled the great jungles. There came a high shrill yell from one bank, to which Mbopo replied, and the boys knew that once more they were among the black dwarfs. This was repeated in the afternoon, but even by the aid of their glasses they could not make out who had hailed them.
Only once did they meet with trouble. This occurred when Critch ran aground on a hidden shoal. The solid raft ran deeply into the mud of the river bottom and it took the efforts of both crews to get her off.
For three days more they floated down the river, but on the third evening both boys noticed signs of uneasiness among the pigmies. In the morning, before the start, Mbopo approached Critch.
"Where Buburika Mac?" he inquired, glancing around as if he expected to find Captain Montenay in their vicinity. Critch glanced at Burt.
"Him down there," and he waved his hand downstream. Mbopo looked doubtfully around.
"Mbopo no like vera good," was his reply. "Him Zwengi pretty quick."