The natives now all crowded around us, making many strange gestures,
which we did not understand. Some of them bowed low, others prostrated
themselves; on the whole these seemed like marks of respect, and it
occurred to me that they regarded us as superior beings of some sort.
It was evident that there was nothing like hostility in their minds.
At the same time, the closer survey which I now made of them filled me
with renewed horror; their meagre frames, small, watery, lack-lustre
eyes, hollow, cavernous sockets, sunken cheeks, protruding teeth,
claw-like fingers, and withered skins, all made them look more than
ever like animated mummies, and I shrank from them involuntarily, as
one shrinks from contact with a corpse.

Agnew, however, was very different, and it was evident that he felt no
repugnance whatever. He bowed and smiled at them, and shook hands with
half a dozen of them in succession. The hand-shaking was a new thing
to them, but they accepted it in a proper spirit, and renewed their
bows and prostrations. After this they all offered us their lances.
This certainly seemed like an act of peace and good-will. I shook my
head and declined to touch them; but Agnew accepted one of them, and
offered his rifle in return. The one to whom he offered it refused to
take it. He seemed immensely gratified because Agnew had taken his
lance, and the others seemed disappointed at his refusal to take
theirs. But I felt my heart quake as I saw him offer his rifle, and
still more when he offered it to one or two others, and only regained
my composure as I perceived that his offer was refused by all.

They now made motions to us to follow, and we all set forth together.

"My dear More," said Agnew, cheerily, "they're not a bad lot. They