Here a startling surprise awaited them. Among the rugs lay a dark-skinned savage, half naked and frightfully emaciated, while on the end of the raft rested a canoe much worn and battered.
"What on earth does this mean?" exclaimed Chutney. "Where did you get that fellow? Is he dead?"
"No, he lives," replied Canaris. "I heard a strange cry out on the lake. That was the time I fired my rifle. Then I saw this canoe drifting toward the raft, and when it came near enough for me to catch hold of I found this poor fellow lying in the bottom. Nothing else was in the canoe, not even a paddle. Just before you came I was talking to him. I know a little of the language, and he managed to tell me that he belongs to Oko Sam's tribe of Gallas. His name is Bildad, and he is the same native who was pursued into the cavern by the Abyssinians."
"But how did he get away from the serpent?" asked Forbes.
"I don't know," replied Canaris. "When he gets a little stronger I will find out. I gave him some food and he devoured it like a wild beast. He was terribly afraid we would kill him, and I could hardly make him believe otherwise."
"And what have you discovered?" exclaimed Sir Arthur, who was bursting with impatience. "Must we die in this horrible place or is there hope of escape?"
Chutney hurriedly related their adventures and the great discovery that had been made.
"Yes," he concluded fervently, "we have every reason to hope. If all goes well we shall resume our journey down the river in a few hours."
"Chutney," cried the colonel solemnly, "I fear you are deceiving us and yourself with false hopes. The outlet of the lake is found, it is true, and by means of this rope we can reach it, but how are we to travel on down the river? Can you carry this raft over the cliff yonder?"
"Yes," said Guy, with a confident smile. "I can take the raft over the rocks. It can be taken apart, and one by one the logs can be hauled to the top of the cliff and let down on the other side. To put it together again will prove no difficult matter."