They grinned and shifted delightedly.
"S'pose bushmen _kai-kai_ along you?" he queried.
"No fear," answered their spokesman, one Koogoo, a strapping,
thick-lipped Ethiopian-looking man. "S'pose Poonga-Poonga boy _kai-kai_
bush-boy?"
Sheldon shook his head, laughing, and dismissed them, and went to
overhaul the dunnage-room for a small shelter tent for Joan's use.
CHAPTER XXIV--IN THE BUSH
It was quite a formidable expedition that departed from Berande at break
of day next morning in a fleet of canoes and dinghies. There were Joan
and Sheldon, with Binu Charley and Lalaperu, the eight Tahitians, and the
ten Poonga-Poonga men, each proud in the possession of a bright and
shining modern rifle. In addition, there were two of the plantation
boat's-crews of six men each. These, however, were to go no farther than
Carli, where water transportation ceased and where they were to wait with
the boats. Boucher remained behind in charge of Berande.
By eleven in the morning the expedition arrived at Binu, a cluster of
twenty houses on the river bank. And from here thirty odd Binu men
accompanied them, armed with spears and arrows, chattering and grimacing
with delight at the warlike array. The long quiet stretches of river
gave way to swifter water, and progress was slower and more dogged.
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