Kwanu said. “Then the whole country will share in the mineral wealth of East Ngombia.”
During luncheon at the Ministry they discussed Tom’s plans for the highway project.
“I intend to make a survey flight over the whole jungle,” Tom said. “But first I’d like to make a trip into the bush to see the terrain.”
Kwanu nodded. “I shall have a guide and porters ready for you by tomorrow morning at Im-bolu,” he promised. “That village is on the outskirts of the rain forest.”
Later the Americans said good-by to their hosts
IVORY IDOL 53
and split up for a tour of the city. Tom and Bud strolled through the native market.
The scene throbbed with color and excitement in the glaring African sunlight. Men, dark-skinned and stalwart, milled about in flowing, brilliantly patterned togas with one shoulder bare. The women were clad in saronglike garments of printed calico, their heads swathed in gaudy kerchiefs. Some carried naked infants, slung papoose style, on their backs. Others balanced trays of food or merchandise atop their heads.
“I guess those trays must be the Ngombian version of supermarket shopping carts,”
Bud joked.
Some merchants displayed their wares in wooden booths; others had their goods laid out on the ground on raffia mats or banana leaves. Hunks of raw meat, kola nuts, rice, yams, corn, and a variety of fruits and vegetables were offered for the customer’s inspection. Constant bargaining went on in a bedlam of high-spirited chatter.
Presently the boys stopped in front of a wood-carver’s stall to select some souvenirs. A moment later Tom gasped and clutched Bud’s arm.