Colin soon discovered that the warriors who had escorted Tiny and himself were only a small portion of the Makoh'lenga fighting men. News of the expected arrival of the two white men had already been communicated by means of the peculiar sound-producing instrument, and every man capable of bearing arms had turned out to greet the returning members of the expedition and their captives.
The chums had the unusual experience of being carried slowly along the front of the quadruple line of warriors, yet they were treated with absolute respect, and neither by word or gesture did the Makoh'lenga do anything to offend their involuntary guests.
The inspection over, Colin and Tiny were carried to the raised mound where the Chief had taken his stand. A gong sounded a single, low-pitched note, and the Chief held up a mysterious amulet, uttering a few words which were, of course, unintelligible to the lads.
Instantly every warrior bent and laid his spear on the ground. Then every hand was raised aloft, and a full-throated chorus broke from hundreds of lips. It sounded like a paean in honour of the restoration of the sacred amulet to the Makoh'lenga.
Then, in the stillness that succeeded the roar of voices, the Chief made a sign with his golden staff. Instantly the ranks broke, and in a few minutes the place was practically deserted, every man hurrying to his own quarters, save for a few warriors in personal attendance upon the head of the remarkable and mysterious tribe.
To one of these attendants the Chief gave some instructions. The man, a magnificent specimen of humanity, although a good two inches shorter than his chief, saluted and signed to Colin and Tiny to accompany him.
Five minutes later the lads found themselves in one of the houses, where a meal of roast lamb, maize, bread, and several varieties of vegetables awaited them.
A native youth appeared with a large earthenware basin filled with water and a couple of rough cotton cloths. Without any preliminaries, this copper-coloured valet washed the chums' faces and hands, ignoring Tiny's attempt to perform his own ablutions.
Then the native youth looked puzzled. It was part of the ceremony to wash the feet of the guests, but the fact that Colin and Tiny wore laced boots and pig-skin leggings worried him as to how to proceed. Finally he seized hold of Sinclair's feet and placed them in the bowl of water and gravely washed and dried the leather foot-gear.
Desmond, seeing that his turn was coming next, took the precaution of removing his leggings and boots, but the result upset both his calculations and those of his valet. The latter, who had never before seen a human foot encased in hide, imagined that the white man was performing some act of magic. He started to his feet, upset the bowl, and with a look of amazement took to his heels and disappeared.