They sat down on the sloping bank, close to a little hut belonging to some of the native fishermen, and studied the picture which was unfolded to their eyes. The river at the falls was not more than five or six hundred feet in width, and the passage of the water was barred by several islands, which recalled to the youths the broken sheet of water at Niagara. "We will call the big one in the centre Goat Island," said Frank, "and try to think we are looking at Niagara again." "That's all right," replied his cousin; "but what shall we do with the other two islands? They must have names of their own, or they'll feel slighted." Frank thought a moment, and then suggested the names of Mary and Effie. Fred assented, and thus the islands at Ripon Falls received their appellations in honor of two young ladies who were far away. But it is doubtful if future geographers will recognize them, and thus far the names have not appeared on any chart of the lakes of Central Africa. While the conversation was going on the youths were busy with their sketch-books, and soon had creditable pictures of the falls; then they watched the fish leaping the cataract, and the natives securing them with spears. [Illustration: A GROUP OF HIPPOPOTAMI.] Every little while the head of a hippopotamus was seen rising in the water below the falls, and Frank thought it would be a nice thing to get out the rifles and have a hunt for this noble game. With the Doctor's consent, he took a shot at one of the huge fellows, but with no better luck than to see his bullet strike the water about six inches from the mark. As far as the hippo was concerned it was a timely warning, which he heeded by disappearing immediately. Abdul said the place was a good one for crocodiles, and that the natives were very cautious about venturing into the water. Once in a while it happened that a fishing-boat was overturned; and if it was well out in the river at the time of the accident, the unfortunate natives were seized by these terrible scourges of the Nile before they could reach the shore. "We are about forty miles a little north of east from M'tesa's palace," said Abdul; "and if there was a good road we could easily get back in a couple of days. But the country is marshy, with a very thick growth of bushes, so that travelling is slow and disagreeable. There used to be a good supply of game through this region, but it has been killed off to quite an extent since the king came into possession of rifles and shot-guns in place of the old weapons of Africa. "Elephants were formerly very troublesome here, and the natives were unable to protect their banana plantations from their ravages. A herd of wild elephants may wander all around a plantation, and if they have never tasted bananas a very slight fence will keep them off; but when the taste for this food has been created they seem unwilling to live on anything else, and will run great risks to obtain it."