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For an instant I was dumbfounded. Had the report come from down-river, I

should have instantly thought that one of my own men had fired. But coming

from up-river it puzzled me considerably. Who could there be with firearms in

primitive England other than we of the Coldwater?

Victory was directly behind me, and I motioned for her to lie down, as I did,

behind the bush from which I had been upon the point of firing at the antelope.

We could see that the buck was quite dead, and from our hiding place we waited

to discover the identity of his slayer when the latter should approach and claim

his kill.

We had not long to wait, and when I saw the head and shoulders of a man appear

above the crest of the knoll, I sprang to my feet, with a heartfelt cry of joy, for it

was Delcarte.

At the sound of my voice, Delcarte half raised his rifle in readiness for the attack

of an enemy, but a moment later he recognized me, and was coming rapidly to

meet us. Behind him was Snider. They both were astounded to see me upon the

north bank of the river, and much more so at the sight of my companion.

Then I introduced them to Victory, and told them that she was queen of England.

They thought, at first, that I was joking. But when I had recounted my

adventures and they realized that I was in earnest, they believed me.

They told me that they had followed me inshore when I had not returned from the

hunt, that they had met the men of the elephant country, and had had a short

and one-sided battle with the fellows. And that afterward they had returned to

the launch with a prisoner, from whom they had learned that I had probably been

captured by the men of the lion country.

With the prisoner as a guide they had set off up-river in search of me, but had

been much delayed by motor trouble, and had finally camped after dark a half

mile above the spot where Victory and I had spent the night. They must have

passed us in the dark, and why I did not hear the sound of the propeller I do not

know, unless it passed me at a time when the lions were making an unusually

earsplitting din upon the opposite side.

Taking the antelope with us, we all returned to the launch, where we found

Taylor as delighted to see me alive again as Delcarte had been. I cannot say

truthfully that Snider evinced much enthusiasm at my rescue.

Taylor had found the ingredients for chemical fuel, and the distilling of them had,

with the motor trouble, accounted for their delay in setting out after me.

The Lost Continent