CHAPTER XXVI.
IN THE WILD FOREST.—HOSTILE TRIBES.—AN INTRENCHED CAMP.—FORAYS FOR PROVISIONS.
I am in the midst of the densest and wildest part of the forest, situated not far from the Ashankolo Mountains.
Who are these three wild-looking men that are with me?
They are Querlaouen, Malaouen, and Gambo.
What are we doing seated on the ground, each one of us seeming so thoughtful?
We are holding a grand council.
The country to which we have come is a very dangerous one, for war is raging in the Ashankolo land; and though the Ovenga River lies between us and the Ashankola people, and though we are at a good distance from them, we do not feel safe. They might come to hunt in this very region. The Bakalais of the Ovenga were at war with them, or rather the Ashankolo had declared war against the people of the Ovenga, and had killed two men a few weeks before belonging to the village of a chief called Anguilai.
We ran the chance of being killed at night when asleep if these fellows discovered where we were; and during the day they might lie in ambush for us, or they might go and fetch a great number of people to attack us.