H. Rider Haggard 
The People of the Mist (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) 

First published in 1894, The People of the Mist is the tale of a British adventurer, Leonard Outram, who seeks wealth in the wilds of Africa, finds an unlikely romance, and discovers a lost race that possesses fabulous jewels.  But before our hero can achieve his worldly goals, he becomes ensnared in a power-struggle between a monarch and the priesthood of a giant crocodile god of this mysterious land.

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