[Illustration: "_Gun in hand, I watched for him to swim to the surface of the water._"]
"It is so," shouted Shinshooko and Alapai, in approval of what Rogala had said.
Then we thought it was time to go to sleep. As I looked round, I saw that Ndova was asleep with his head hanging down, and that Andekko was stretched at full length by one of the fires that were burning round our shelters.
ANOTHER EXCURSION--FOOTPRINTS OF GORILLAS (NGINAS)--LISTENING TO THE MONSTERS' ROARING--TWO OF THEM CALLING TO EACH OTHER--THEY GRADUALLY DRAW NEAR TO EACH OTHER AND TO US--THEY MEET AND WE SLEEP IN THE FOREST--SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF THE MALE NGINA--KILLING OF THE NGINA AND HIS MATE
WE were up early, and had all slept well. After our breakfast we started, but before doing so we hid our ladder and also an axe as a precaution in case our abode should be discovered and our ladder stolen.
Shinshooko and Alapai were to visit the traps to see if any game had been caught. Rogala and I were to reconnoitre and see where the game was to be found. Ndova and Andekko remained in the camp.
We had been gone about two hours, and had seen several footprints of gorillas; so we knew that they were in the neighborhood. Suddenly Rogala stopped, and said in a whisper: "Oguizi, listen."
His quick ear had heard a noise far, far away. I listened, and soon heard what I thought was the reverberation of thunder among the hills. The noise seemed to be on our right. Rogala listened attentively, and then whispered "Ngina" (gorilla). The noise was made by a gorilla and was renewed from time to time.
While listening, Rogala's quick sense of hearing caught another noise in the far distance, this time on the left, somewhat similar to the one on the right. He listened attentively and then said, "Ngina." It was another ngina, who was answering the talk of her mate.
Then he whispered to me: "Oguizi, there are two nginas talking to each other, the one on our right is the man ngina, the one on our left is the woman ngina, and she answers him."
They were a few miles from each other, and we were about midway between the two. We followed the path which seemed to be half-way between them, looking at our guns carefully in order to be ready for any emergency.