"Better than that," laughed Mr. Wallace. "He'll take charge of your blacks and get real work out of 'em. Do you mean what you said about going up the Aruwimi?"
"Aye." Montenay nodded. "We'll talk that over later. Ye'll be wantin' yer mosquito nets, so better bring the stuff down to the Belgique. We'll sleep on board her to-night."
As they had stayed at the hotel the night before, the boys had not been troubled much by the insects. They were much more worried by the quantities of quinine that Mr. Wallace insisted on their taking. When Burt had protested at taking ten grains all at once his uncle had laughed.
"Nonsense! I'm running this trip! Why, it's nothing unusual for men to take seventy and eighty grains out here. So put it down and shut up or I'll send you back home!"
They found the Belgique to be a small but comfortable little steamer manned by a crew of a dozen blacks and a Swiss pilot. The Benguela came up the river that afternoon and the smaller steamer was placed alongside her. By special arrangement with the customs people the boxes belonging to Mr. Wallace were slung right out to the deck of La Belgique. Here John was in charge of the blacks and under his heavy-handed rule the cases were rapidly stowed away.
Mr. Wallace and the boys got out all their personal equipment at once. The heat was intense and the boys naturally suffered from it greatly at first, although the two older men did not seem to mind it in the least. By the next afternoon their loading was completed and the Belgique headed upstream without further delay.
Their five days' trip got the boys inured to the heat somewhat. They never tired of watching the tropical forest on either bank of the river and the strange craft that plied around them. Although there were many other steamers and State launches as well as trading companies' boats, there was no lack of dugouts and big thirty-foot canoes laden with merchandise from the trading posts. The two explorers lay back in their canvas chairs and recounted their experiences in strange lands, while the boys listened eagerly as they watched their new surroundings.
The water-maker, as John called it, was installed the first day out. The boys found their cook to be all that Mr. Wallace had stated and more, while Captain Montenay was so delighted that he laughingly offered John exorbitant wages to desert the American, but in vain. The Belgique made stops for wood only and after four days they arrived at the mile-wide mouth of the Aruwimi River.
On the fifth day they arrived at Yambuya, just below the great cataracts which stopped further navigation. Here the two experienced explorers unloaded the chop-boxes, tents and other supplies and proceeded to make arrangements for hiring bearers. This was accomplished through the local chief with the aid of the government representative, who was an Italian. Indeed, the boys found that not only were Belgians and French employed all through the country, but men of every nationality, from "remittance men" of England to Swiss and Cubans.
After a two days' delay at Yambuya the caravan was formed. It consisted of one hundred Bantu porters under the directions of a head-chief who spoke French fairly well, as do many of the natives. Besides the porters there were tent boys, skinners, gun-bearers and cooks to the number of thirty. Captain Montenay spoke Bantu to some extent and all the orders were given by him direct while the river trip was continued.