three felt a deep attachment for him. They would have faced any danger
in his behalf, but the time had passed for that, and they could only
mourn the loss of such a valuable comrade.

"But what about this story that Bippo tells?"

Before a reply could be made, the native approached, with his peculiar
grin.

"How you cross riber?--why you come back 'gin? Why you no stay ober
dere when we hurry to go to you?"

"Bippo, you are mistaken," replied the Professor, with all the
earnestness at his command. "We went up this side of the stream, and
have not been on the other side since dark. When we came back and saw
that you were not in the camp, we thought you had all been killed."

The native grinned more than ever, and shook his head.

"De Purfes'r funny man--he make laugh." And he walked back to his
companions with an unshakeable belief in the story given to Fred Ashman
when he dashed in such excitement from the wood.

"Bippo believes what he has told us," said Long, who had studied the
fellow closely; "and it follows that he and the others _did_ see a
couple of white men."

"I imagined," remarked Grimcke with something like regret in his tones,
"that we were the first of our race to reach this spot; but it is hard
in these days to find any place on the globe where some white person