common with the rest of the fauna of Caprona the first law of

nature as they seemed to understand it was to kill--kill--kill.

And so it was that Bradley had no desire to follow up the little

stream toward the pool near which were sure to be the caves of

some savage tribe, but fortune played him an unkind trick, for

the pool was much closer than he imagined, its southern end

reaching fully a mile south of the point at which they crossed

the stream, and so it was that after forcing their way through a

tangle of jungle vegetation they came out upon the edge of the

pool which they had wished to avoid.

Almost simultaneously there appeared south of them a party of

naked men armed with clubs and hatchets. Both parties halted as

they caught sight of one another. The men from the fort saw

before them a hunting party evidently returning to its caves or

village laden with meat. They were large men with features

closely resembling those of the African Negro though their

skins were white. Short hair grew upon a large portion of their

limbs and bodies, which still retained a considerable trace of

apish progenitors. They were, however, a distinctly higher type

than the Bo-lu, or club-men.

Bradley would have been glad to have averted a meeting; but as he

desired to lead his party south around the end of the pool, and

as it was hemmed in by the jungle on one side and the water on

the other, there seemed no escape from an encounter.

On the chance that he might avoid a clash, Bradley stepped

forward with upraised hand. "We are friends, " he called in the

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