"Man, it's the truth!" There could be no doubt of Captain Mac's sincerity as he leaned forward and met the American's gaze. There was more than sincerity in his eyes. There was an appeal for belief, a conviction, that won over the others instantly. "The truth! But that's only the least of it."
"And your proofs?" inquired Mr. Wallace crisply.
"Proofs enough," rejoined the other, more calmly, "in their time. I didn't take much stock in the Arabic stuff, but I thought I'd take a shot at it. I sent half o' the boys back wi' the ivory and a plausible story o' how we came to get so much. Then I asked the rest if they'd go with me.
"After the way we'd wiped up Yusuf, they were ready for anythin'. After all was fixed up we started, fifty boys an' me. We worked down slowly from the high country, takin' it easy an' gatherin' in spoils as we went. Finally we got down to the jungle an' touched the edge o' the pigmy country. Then it began.
"We had no trouble till we started inquirin' through some o' the pigmies that come in to trade. As soon as we asked about their white relations the camp emptied like a flash. The last little deevil out turned an' put an arrow through one o' my boys.
"It was just a massacre, man. The boys were fair ragin' at the way they were shot down, and I pushed 'em ahead fast. We went through that jungle like a whirlwind. Finally there were only seven boys left, an' they refused to go any farther. Didn't do 'em any good, for the next day the pigmies rushed us. I was pretty well played out by that time, as ye can judge. When the smoke blew away five o' my boys were laid out, and I was tied up with the other two. If I hadn't been so obstinate about pushin' on we might ha' pulled out.
"However, we put a good face on it. They treated us fine, but kept us on the jump for a week, movin' from place to place through the jungle. For another week we were stuck in one o' them pigmy villages. Queerly enough, they hadn't touched a thing belongin' to us except the guns an' chop-boxes an' general camp stuff.
"'Bout the end o' the second week they routed us out early one mornin', highly excited. When we got outside we found the whole village squattin' around ten new chaps, who were armed wi' trade-guns and seemed to boss things pretty general. But what struck me was that while they were of the same size as the rest, they were white."
"White!" exclaimed Mr. Wallace again. His thin cheeks were dashed with color, and his brilliant eyes showed that he no longer doubted the truth of Montenay's story. The latter nodded quietly.
"Not white like us," he continued, "but as white as an Arab or thereabouts. Their faces showed more intelligence than those o' the blacks, an' they seemed to be overlords o' the—"