One of them shouted to the people not to run away, as no harm was intended, and to indicate that their intentions were not hostile, both the soldiers placed their guns on the ground and held up their empty hands. This caused the fugitives to pause; and, after some parleying, they were convinced of the pacific intentions of their visitors, and signified their willingness to return, provided they received a certain number of beads and hatchets as a token of friendship. A few beads and other trinkets had been brought along from the steamer, but no hatchets. This circumstance was explained, and led to farther parleying, and finally to the establishment of friendly relations all round. The people came back to their village, the presents were delivered, and in a little while everything was harmonious. [Illustration: LAKE FISHES OF CENTRAL AFRICA.] Then the natives offered presents in return. They had very little to give, as they live entirely by fishing, and their gifts were limited to the products of the lake. Several fishes were brought forward, one of them an enormous fellow, weighing little if anything less than two hundred pounds, and having quite a resemblance to the sturgeon of American waters. One fish was evidently of the perch family, and another was a near relation of the bull-head, or cat-fish, of the United States. The natives said it lived in the mud at the bottom of the lake, and was caught with a long line baited with a piece of another fish, or with a large worm that abounded in the soil back of their village. One of the fishes was said to live entirely on vegetable food, and his jaws were equipped with teeth not unlike those of a sheep. The abundance of vegetable matter in the lake evidently gave these specimens of the finny tribe an easy life of it, as they could never be at a loss for their dinners. As a result they were large and fat, and their shape did not indicate either speed or power. "They don't have everything their own way," said the Doctor as Fred was examining the specimen. "Everything in nature has its uses, and these vegetable-eating fishes probably furnish the bulk of the food for their more voracious companions. If it were not so they would soon fill the lake, as they would have no kind of struggle for existence. But the other fishes pursue and devour them, so that their numbers are kept within proper limits. "Probably the crocodiles find them good eating, and when they fail to secure any prey on land the water furnishes them with a support." [Illustration: A FISHERMAN READY FOR WORK.]