It seemed as if they had struck a land in which the inhabitants
lived an ideal life, surrounded as they were by every comfort and
necessity that one could imagine; but that even they were distressed
by the raids of enemies transpired when the boys' guide, whose name
they had learned by this time was Umbashi, pointed to the west in
which the setting sun was now kindling a ruddy glow and said:

"Sometime elephant come--then much trouble."

Of the full significance of those words, however, neither boy
dreamed as, after a supper of fresh corn, bitter melon, stewed deer
meat and a dessert formed of some sort of custard they sank to sleep
on their couches of skins, spread for them by Umbashi's direction in
a vacant dwelling in the cliff face.

Their slumber senses carried them back to New York and Billy was in
the midst of escorting Umbashi in full war paint through the office
of the New York Planet, followed by hordes of joshing reporters and
inquisitive office boys, who wanted to know whether he'd match his
dusky friend to fight Jim Jeffries, when he was awakened by Umbashi
himself, who in a few words told him it was morning and time to get
up and dress swiftly, as the King of the Flying Men wanted to see
him and his young companion at once.




CHAPTER XVI

FOOLING AN ARAB CHIEF