It was a mild attack, and quinine and Sally Rebecca soon pulled me through; but it left me weak and depressed for many days. To add to my depression, the others experienced a spell of very bad luck in the jungle. The gorillas had apparently "got the wind up," as Gran'pa said. They not only avoided our cages, but even migrated from the whole of the surrounding country. Negroes went out reconnoitering, hoping to discover their line of retreat; the cages were moved by aeroplane to spots fifty or sixty miles further inland; and the hangar was transferred to a new aerodrome. By these means we managed to capture another eight gorillas, making a grand total of eleven (not counting the one lost in transit). Already the first two of the six months dry season had nearly passed. "This will never do," I said to Gran'pa, who had just returned from spending the day in Libreville. "Even if we maintain the same rate of capture we can't collect more than thirty or forty before the wet season sets in." I was sitting on the veranda of our bungalow, overlooking the deep blue Bay of Corisco. It was evening, and from the shore came the sound of negro merriment. "You'll be able to join us again next week," said Gran'pa. "I hope for better luck then. . . ." "That's very nice of you!" "Besides, we now have half the neighboring tribes searching for new hunting grounds. These blacks will do anything for a trip in a 'plane. It gives them a big social status, you know--like a knighthood in your country." Molly and Sally Rebecca entered. "Hello, Mollikins!" greeted Gran'pa. "Been for a swim?" "Rather!" cried Molly. "It was lovely!" "The water's like silk to-night," corroborated Sally Rebecca. "I do wish I could swim--instead of wading. . . . How are you feeling, George?" "Not so bad for a youngster," I said, contrasting my own jaded condition with that of Gran'pa's fiancée. (There was no doubt that the active, open-air life and Gran'pa's system of physical jerks had greatly improved her health and vitality). "_I_ think Daddy looks _heaps_ better," asserted Molly, standing and viewing me with her feet apart. "So I am, my dear! Who wouldn't be, with two such companions as you girls?" The girl of seventy blushed and the girl of twelve laughed good-humoredly--the old and the modern way of taking a compliment. Then Stringer and Dr. Croft entered. They had just come back from the jungle, and looked a little jaded and despondent. "Any luck today?" I asked. "None!" answered Croft, briefly. "But we've news--of a sort. Old Nchago says that he's discovered a fresh hunting ground, and has seen, or heard, upwards of a dozen male and female gorillas." "Ah!" exclaimed Gran'pa, with a quick glance at his beloved. "I'm glad there's a chance of getting a lady gorilla or two. I was beginning to lose heart. . . ." "They'll take some catching," I said. "If we could pursue the ladies, instead of trying to _lure_ them . . . up to the gas-works. . . ."