"Mbopo help," he asserted again. "No fash yerself, lad."
"Thanks, old man," exclaimed Burt. "Is the village near?"
"Pongo," nodded the dwarf, and Burt gave up trying to talk to him.
Now two of the men darted ahead at a fast run. For another half mile they advanced along the river bank. Then the forest ended suddenly.
"Here we are!" cried Critch.
Before them lay a small yam-field, and beyond that the famous village of the white dwarfs. As Captain Montenay had said, it was a very large one. Despite their plight, the boys looked eagerly for the hut of Pongo.
"There she is!" exclaimed Burt, and Critch also gave a cry. Off to their left, almost at the edge of the trees and some distance from the village thorn-zareba, stood a large hut surrounded by something dark gray in the sunset. Their attention was soon drawn away from this, however, for a series of yells went up from the village and out poured the tribe to welcome them.
As nearly as the boys could guess, there were something like three hundred warriors gathered about the gate of the zareba as they came up. Mbopo saluted them with a few words, but his little party held together and pushed through the crowd. Behind the warriors and inside the zareba was a still larger assemblage of women and children. As they passed the gateway, the boys found themselves in the presence of the chief, no doubt the same whom Montenay so disliked, for he was an old and shriveled man whose countenance boded ill for the two captive youths.
Clad in a splendid leopard-skin robe, he was seated on a pile of skins. Ranged behind him was a rank of picked spearmen, larger than most of their fellows, and at one side were a dozen men with tom-toms made of hollow logs. As the party came in sight these men began beating their instruments, sending up a roaring clamor that amazed the two boys.
Mbopo fell on his face before the chief, and the others of the party after him. Only the two white boys remained erect, facing the glittering eyes of the old chief while he listened to Mbopo's recital. At its conclusion he motioned to the latter to rise, and said a few words. The young dwarf replied and seemed to be expostulating, but the chief sprang to his feet in a flame of rage. Raising his arm, he pointed toward the separate hut, and both boys distinctly caught the one word "Pongo." At a sharp command Mbopo and another dwarf jerked the boys and led them away to one of the huts, leaving them inside without a word.