He held his breath, and, as the seconds passed, began wondering whether there was a possibility after all of successfully following the footsteps of his friend.
He was encouraged by the sounds of the deafening tumult from the front of the house.

The Murhapas had swarmed into the front-room, proving that they had decided upon making the very rush of which the defenders stood in such dread.
This, although only a momentary diversion, was immeasurably in favor of the daring attempt of the flying fugitive.
Lest the reader may pronounce the escape of these two white men incredible, we hasten to explain that which, if left unexplained, would warrant such disbelief on the part of our friends.
The individual who gave the wild scheme an ending that otherwise it never could have had, was Ziffak, the head chieftain of the Murhapas.
He proved to be the all-potent factor in the terrible problem.
From what has been related about these strange inhabitants of the Matto Grosso, it need not be said that they were too cunning, if left to themselves, to allow a door to stand open for their intended victims to escape, after penning them in such a trap.
Ziffak was the shrewdest member of the Murhapa tribe and much more fitted to be its ruler than King Haffgo.

After bidding good-bye to the lovers, he hastened back to the middle of the village, where he arrived after the first disastrous repulse given his people by Professor Grimcke.
It took the fellow but a few moments to grasp the situation.

He told no one of the death of Burkhardt, but busied himself in learning precisely how matters stood.

Had he dared to do so, he would have ordered a cessation of the attack, but the latter was made by the direct orders of King Haffgo, and Ziffak was not the chieftain to butt his head against a stone wall, by an open defiance of his royal brother's authority.
The assault was under the direction of Waggaman himself.