The road had been fairly level heretofore, but now it grew steep and uneven, and less than a mile had been covered when we had to walk our horses with care, for fear of breaking some of the beasts' legs and ruining them.
"I'd like to know how far away we are from Rulukoa," said Oliver, as we halted for a rest. "I thought we would arrive there before this."
"Hark!" I cried, holding up my hand. "I hear a shouting in the distance."
"So do I," answered Dan. "There must be a settlement of some sort just around the bend."
We mounted once more, and went on. The bend in question was less than fifty yards away, and on reaching it, we found ourselves on a slight elevation. Beyond was a long hollow, at the upper end of which flowed a mountain torrent, backed up by a waterfall. In the center of the hollow was a village consisting of about two score of thatched huts and half as many common board buildings.
In front of the village there was a bare stretch of ground, in the center of which four poles had been planted, holding up a platform made of a huge flat rock. On the top of this rock a bonfire blazed merrily. On the ground, in a circle about the poles, blazed another fire. Around the lower fire were assembled fully a score and a half of native men, fantastically dresssed, and each
