Mr. Wallace sprang to his feet and held out his hand.
"Nonsense! Shake, old chap, and forget it!" And the two clasped hands silently, while the boys gave a shout of delight.
"I knew it!" cried Burt joyously, dancing around the two men. "I knew Cap'n Mac was all right! Hurray!"
"I wish you'd take us an' get after them white pigmies, though," put in Critch disconsolately.
"I'd certainly like to get hold of that mummy," asserted Mr. Wallace, his eyes sparkling. "To say nothing of the ankh!"
"An' to say nothin' o' the ivory an' gold," laughed Montenay.
"But," cried Burt excitedly, "why didn't you get after that lion an' kill him? I should ha' thought you'd do that right away!"
"No," and Montenay shook his head. "As I told ye, my nerve was pretty well gone, laddy. The pigmies had guns, but they were old trade-muskets. None o' them except Mbopo, mebbe, would ha' stood up to the lion. That chap Mbopo was a good sort. He stood by me right along, took care o' me when I was sick wi' fever, cured up my wounds, an' learned to speak passable Scots dialect. It was amusin' to hear the boy speak the tongue."
"That feudal business interests me," said Mr. Wallace thoughtfully. "Was this Mbopo a chief?"
"I don't know, rightly," returned the other. "The old witch-doctor was the boss, but Mbopo seemed to be second in charge. The women o' the place cultivated yams an' plantains, while the men hunted. They didn't seem to use poison, like the black dwarfs. That's another queer thing. They had poisoned weapons, right enough, but they got supplies o' the stuff from the blacks. Ye mind, the Wambuti and other black dwarfs are simply parasites on the bigger tribes. Well, these white chaps were parasites on the black dwarfs, near's I could figure it out."