THE FIRE-GODS
A Tale of the Congo
By
CAPTAIN CHARLES GILSON
Author of "Submarine U93," "The Mystery of Ah Jim," and other Stories.
ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE SOPER
LONDON
"THE BOY'S OWN PAPER" OFFICE
4, Bouverie Street
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Submarine U93. A Tale of the Great War by Sea.
The Mystery of Ah Jim. A Tale of the East.
On Secret Service. A Tale of German Spies.
A Motor Scout in Flanders. A Tale of the Bombardment of Antwerp.
The Race Round the World. A Tale of the Motor Spirit of the Future.
The Pirate Aeroplane. A Tale of the Kingdom of Asmalia.
The Lost Island. A Tale of a Chinese Secret Society.
The Lost Column. A Tale of the Boxer Rebellion in China.
Across the Cameroons. A Tale of the Germans in West Africa.
The Spy. A Tale of the Peninsular War.
The Sword of Freedom. A Tale of the English Revolution.
The Lost Empire. A Tale of the Napoleonic Wars.
In the Power of the Pygmies. A Tale of Central Africa.
In Arms for Russia. A Tale of the Great War.
The Pirate Yacht. A Tale of Southern Seas.
The Sword of Deliverance. A Tale of the Balkan War.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I--THE EXPLORERS' CLUB
CHAPTER II--ON THE KASAI
CHAPTER III--THE WHITE WIZARD
CHAPTER IV--THE HIDDEN RIVER
CHAPTER V--THE STOCKADE
CHAPTER VI--CROUCH ON THE WAR-PATH
CHAPTER VII--THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN
CHAPTER VIII--LEAVE TO QUIT
CHAPTER IX--A THIEF BY NIGHT
CHAPTER X--THE BACK-WATER
CHAPTER XI--IN THE LONG RAVINE
CHAPTER XII--WHEN HOPE DIES OUT
CHAPTER XIII--BACK TO THE UNKNOWN
CHAPTER XIV--"BLACK IVORY"
CHAPTER XV--CHOLERA
CHAPTER XVI--THE OPEN CHEST
CHAPTER XVII--THE TABLES TURNED
CHAPTER XVIII--FREEDOM
CHAPTER XIX--THE PHANTOM CANOE
CHAPTER XX--THE RATS ESCAPE
CHAPTER XXI--BACK AT THE "EXPLORERS'"
ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR
BY GEORGE SOPER
"Max leaned forward to examine the face of the rock; and as he did so, he was seized suddenly from behind" . . . Frontispiece
"Crouch's fist rang out upon his chin like a pistol-shot, and he went over backwards into the mud"
"The Great Dane sprang straight at the throat of the young Englishman"
"The lash of the whip rose and fell, until Cæsar shrieked for mercy"
THE FIRE-GODS
CHAPTER I--THE EXPLORERS' CLUB
The Explorers' Club no longer exists. To-day, as a matter of fact, it is a tea-shop in Old Bond Street--a small building, wedged between two greater ones, a fashionable milliner's and a famous Art Establishment. Towards the end of the last century, in what is known as the mid-Victorian era, the Explorers' Club was in the heyday of its glory.