But, of course, there was no more marching for the party that day, and preparations were at once made for pitching the camp. The first task was to beat the long, dry grass thoroughly, in order to drive away the snake which had bitten the man, or any other snakes which might be lurking therein. But this procedure, while it may possibly have had the desired effect, had also another, by no means desirable; for it was soon discovered that the threshing had aroused the anger of a legion of enormous black ants—fierce, venomous creatures nearly an inch long— which came swarming by thousands up out of holes in the ground, and attacked the intruders with indescribable ferocity. The unfortunate semi-naked Indians instantly scattered in ignominious flight, leaving the two white men to deal with the situation as best they could. And although Earle and Dick were, of course, fully clothed, and their bodies were therefore reasonably well protected, they were both severely bitten before, by setting fire to the grass and allowing it to blaze for a few seconds before beating it out, they were able to put the foe to flight. The burning of the grass, however, revealed the fact that the soil was everywhere honeycombed with holes, into which the creatures had doubtless retreated, ready to sally forth again upon the smallest provocation; therefore, in order to protect themselves from further attack, they cut an immense quantity of grass, strewed it over the central portion of the already burnt area, and burned it over again; after which, the ashes being first swept away with branches, they ventured to go into camp, the Indians slinking back by twos and threes as soon as they perceived that the risk of renewed hostilities was over. As for the two white men, although they bathed their hurts with dilute ammonia as quickly as they could, they both suffered acutely, to such an extent, indeed, that they were both in a high state of fever, bordering on delirium, before midnight. Earle, however, foreseeing what was impending, mixed for himself and Dick a strong draught, which no doubt helped to avert even worse consequences, and by dawn of the following morning the fever was conquered and the sufferers sank into a somewhat troubled sleep, from which the faithful Peter would not permit them to be aroused upon any pretext whatsoever. As for the bitten man, he suffered severely for several hours, the wounded limb swelling to about three times its normal size, while acute pains shot through the whole of his tortured body; but at length these gradually grew less, until he sank into a state of coma which eventually became natural sleep, during which the swollen limb gradually resumed its normal dimensions. When he at length awoke, beyond being troubled with a dazed feeling and, of course, a considerable amount of pain arising from the cauterisation of the wound, he seemed to be little the worse for his adventure; and when at length the party struck camp and resumed their march shortly after mid-day, he was able to hobble along with the rest, although it was found necessary to relieve him of all work during that day.

Such was the first adventure of the party in that terrible forest; but there were others still worse to follow, as they soon found. Nothing very particular, however, befell them on that second day's march, for after their experiences of the previous day they were careful to conduct their march with all due precaution, Inaguy leading the way and industriously beating the grass before him with a long, slender switch, while Dick and Earle, following him on either flank, did likewise. And the wisdom of this method of procedure was manifested a dozen times or more during the afternoon's march by sudden, quick scurrying sounds in the grass immediately ahead, bearing witness to the fact that a lurking snake had been startled and was effecting a hasty retreat.

When at length the time came to pitch camp for the night, the tactics of the previous day were repeated, the grass being thoroughly burnt away over an area spacious enough to accommodate the party. And here again the wisdom of their action was made manifest; for when the ashes were swept up for removal the shrivelled remains of several centipedes and scorpions—some of them of quite unusual size—were found, which would doubtless have given trouble had not the flames rendered them harmless.

It was well on toward mid-afternoon of their third day's march through the forest when the explorers met with their next adventure. The total absence of flowers in this forest has already been remarked upon, but about the time named above it appeared as though this reproach was no longer to apply. For, after pressing through a part where both the timber and the undergrowth had been found thicker than usual, the party entered a wide open glade of considerable extent without a single tree in it. To make up for the absence of trees, however, there were, dotted about here and there in the midst of the long grass, several clumps of perfectly white flowers, ten or a dozen flowers in each clump. And as these clumps of flowers came into view, the whole party halted involuntarily, struck with amazement; for the sight was, beyond all question, the most wonderful that any of them had ever beheld. The blooms, shaped somewhat like the familiar Canterbury bell, were of absolutely gigantic proportions, some certainly not less than six feet in height, exclusive of the short, thick stem, while many were even larger than this. Each clump was surrounded by a kind of spray of still more enormous leaves, each leaf being about twelve feet long by some eight feet broad, lying almost flat upon the grass and forming a complete barricade round the clump. The air was charged with a peculiar but exceedingly pleasant fragrance, which no doubt emanated from these wonderful botanical curiosities; and after a short halt to take in the details of the extraordinary picture, Earle announced his determination to halt for the remainder of the day in the glade, in order that he might examine the flowers at leisure. Accordingly, a wide, clear space in about the centre of the glade was chosen, and preparations for pitching the camp were briskly proceeded with.

The discovery of these gigantic flowers threw Earle into a condition of quite pleasant excitement. He was a man of method, and, as such, had naturally kept a diary of the proceedings of the party from the moment of its departure from New York. Hitherto, however, the diary had been kept solely as a future aid to memory, and for his own individual purposes alone; but now the discovery of what at the moment he believed to be an entirely new species of plant, suddenly inspired him with the ambition to become enrolled in the ranks of those scientific explorers who have become famous by virtue of the remarkable character of their discoveries, and it began to dawn upon him that there were possibilities in this journey of his which might enable him to become one of the immortals of scientific discovery. So elated was he at the prospect that he could not resist the temptation to communicate his hopes to Dick, who, somewhat matter-of-fact individual though he was, nevertheless heartily sympathised with his friend's ambition, and cheerfully undertook to assist in every way possible, if Earle would but indicate the direction in which assistance might be valuable.

"I guess you can help me very shortly then," said Earle. "First of all, I am going to take a photograph from somewhere over there, showing a general view of this glade, with especial reference to the arrangement and distribution of those clusters of gigantic flowers; and when I have done that I propose to select the cluster containing the finest blooms, station myself on one of the leaves—I guess they'll bear my weight easily enough—and stand upright against a flower, so that my figure will serve as a sort of scale by which a correct idea of its size may be conveyed. And that is where you will come in. I shall want you to take the photograph of me as I stand there. I will select the spot from which the photograph is to be taken, and will focus the camera, stop down the lens to the extent required to get satisfactory definition, and generally arrange the picture; and all that you will need to do will be to remove the cap and give the proper exposure when I am ready. The light is not too good, and I intend to use the orange screen, so I guess the exposure will be rather a lengthy one, but I will determine its correct duration by means of the exposure metre; so all that you will have to do will be to remove the cap and carefully note the time. See?"

"Certainly," replied Dick, "and you may depend upon me to carry out your instructions."

The camera—a compact quarter-plate instrument, adapted for use either in the hand or mounted upon a tripod—was routed out, the fact that there were four unexposed films still in it ascertained, and the pair went off together, intent upon taking the proposed photographs.

The determination of the precise position from which to take the first picture was a rather lengthy process, for Earle had the eye of an artist and was anxious that the result should be not only a photograph, but also a picture. A suitable spot was, however, at length found, and the photograph was taken, the correct exposure involving the uncapping of the lens for no less than forty-five seconds. Fortunately, there was no wind, consequently there was no movement, and Earle was sanguine that he had secured a thoroughly satisfactory picture.

Then came the choice of the particular clump of blooms to be photographed at close quarters, with Earle standing in the midst of them to show their enormous size. This was an even more lengthy process than the other; but at length everything was ready, and Earle, leaving Dick standing by the camera, strode across the few yards of intervening space, and proceeded to climb upon one of the monster leaves preparatory to posing himself. He did this by pressing the point of the leaf down to the ground and then stepping on it and walking up its centre, intending to pose himself at the junction of the leaf with its massive stalk, in which position he would be able to stand quite close to the enormous flower which was to be the principal object in the proposed picture.

But when Earle had traversed a little more than half the length of the huge leaf, it suddenly curled up and, to Dick's horror, completely enveloped the adventurous American's form, round which it tightly enfolded itself, while a half-smothered cry for help issued from its folds.

Leaving the camera where it was, Dick rushed forward, drawing his heavy hunting knife from its sheath as he did so, and dashing in, began to hack desperately at the stem of the leaf, believing that if he could sever it from its parent plant, he would be able to deliver his friend from its stifling embrace. But he soon found that, stout as was the blade he was wielding, and strong as was the arm that wielded it, he could do little or nothing against the marvellously tough stem which he was attempting to sever. It was as thick as his own leg and so hard and slippery that the keen blade simply slithered along it instead of biting into it; and realising his helplessness, he rushed out into the open, where he could be seen and heard from the camp, and yelled to Inaguy and Peter to bring axes, and for the rest of the men to bring along machetes.

There was a note of urgency in Dick's stentorian tones which caused all hands instantly to drop what they were doing and rush to his call; but it was nearly ten minutes before the stubborn stalk yielded to the desperate onslaught made upon it; and when at length it drooped to the ground and the party threw themselves upon it, it cost them another arduous five minutes to slit the tough, leather-like fibre of the leaf apart and haul out the imprisoned and, by that time, insensible body of their leader.

By Dick's direction they carried Earle's body to the camp, and, stripping it, laid it upon one of the camp beds already arranged in the tent. This done, Dick carefully examined the inanimate form in search of wounds or other injuries, but found nothing. The heart was beating strongly and steadily, the pulse was firm, though a trifle rapid, and the breathing was somewhat irregular; otherwise Earle's aspect was that of a man plunged in profound sleep. So completely, indeed, was this the case that after Dick had ineffectually striven by every means in his power to arouse his friend, he was fain to leave him as he was, contenting himself by remaining by the side of the bed, keeping his fingers on Earle's pulse so that he might at once become aware of any fluctuations in its beat, and awaiting the moment when a change of some sort should occur.

Hour after hour dragged its slow length along and still the American lay plunged deep in that strange slumber, the only changes in his condition being that from time to time his pulse and his heart quickened their beats and his breath came more heavily, as though the sleeper laboured under some strong excitement; until at length, about eleven o'clock, when the camp was wrapped in silence and all its members, except Dick, fast asleep, Earle suddenly opened his eyes and stared first at the lantern and then at Dick, with a puzzled and distinctly annoyed expression. At length he exclaimed:

"Hello, Dick! What the mischief are you sitting there for, looking as glum as an owl? And why on earth did you wake me? Man alive, I—"

"I didn't wake you," answered Dick, "but, all the same, I am profoundly thankful to see you awake once more, and apparently in the possession of all your senses. Do you remember what happened to you?"

"You bet I do!" answered Earle emphatically. "Shall I ever forget it? Why, man, I've been in Elysium. I've been—oh! dash it all, there are no words to describe the delights of the last few—Say! how long have I been asleep?"

Dick looked at his watch. "Getting well on for eight hours," he answered.

"Eight hours!" reiterated Earle, in tones of intense disgust. "Only eight hours, did you say? Why, man alive, if what you say be true, in those measly eight hours I have lived years of joy and delight unspeakable. I have beheld scenes of unearthly indescribable beauty; I have participated in pageants glorious and magnificent beyond conception; I have—oh! what's the use? If I were to talk from now until doomsday I couldn't even begin to convey to your gross mind the most feeble and shadowy notion of the joys and delights which have been mine."

He spoke rapidly in tones of feverish excitement, and his eyes were almost as luminous as those of King Cole, who sat up on his haunches, alert and quivering, on the other side of the pallet.

"Look here, old chap," said Dick anxiously, "easy on. Don't get excited, whatever you do. Your adventure of this afternoon has given you a rather bad shaking up. You've had a pretty severe shock, both mental and physical, if I'm any judge, and it looks to me very much as though you are going to be ill. Better let me mix you a soothing draught, hadn't you? Just tell me what ingredients to take, and how much of each, and I'll mix them in a brace of shakes—"

But by the time that Dick got thus far, Earle had begun to talk again, loudly and excitedly, and was sitting up on the pallet, waving his arms wildly. And when Dick attempted to force him back into a reclining position the American suddenly developed a kind of frenzy, seizing Cavendish by the throat and doing his utmost to throttle him, while King Cole, sorely puzzled at such extraordinary behaviour on the part of his two especial friends, snarled angrily and bolted out of the tent into the velvety star-lit darkness.

So violent did Earle become, and such extraordinary strength did he develop under the influence of the delirium which had now seized him that Dick was compelled in self-defence to shout for help; and presently Peter, Inaguy, and some three or four others came rushing in, and, under the impression that the two leaders were fighting, separated them. But a few hurried words of explanation from Cavendish "put them wise" to the situation, and while by main force they restrained Earle from rising and rushing naked into the night, Dick routed out the medicine chest and, hurriedly consulting the pages of the accompanying book of instructions, prepared a strong sleeping draught, which, among them, they compelled the now violently crazy patient to swallow.

But it was nearly an hour before the potion became fully effective, and even then Earle's sleep was fitful and disturbed, his semi-coherent mutterings showing that his mind was still unhinged. To be brief, the outbreak of delirium was followed by a period of extreme weakness and profound dejection, during which the patient lost all memory of his splendid dream, and, at least temporarily, of several other things as well, so that nearly a fortnight elapsed before Earle was again well enough for the party to resume their journey.

It was while Earle was still an invalid, and before their march was resumed, that on a certain occasion, while Dick was sitting at his bedside, he besought the latter to tell him exactly what had happened on the memorable afternoon which witnessed their arrival in the glade, he apparently having forgotten everything about it. With some reluctance, after much earnest entreaty, Dick consented; and after he had related all, Earle became very thoughtful for some time. At length, however, he looked up and said:

"Yes; I am beginning to remember; it is all coming back to me—the occurrences of that afternoon, I mean. I suppose you haven't attempted to develop that negative giving the general view of the glade, have you?"

"Not I," answered Dick, "I've had too many other things to think about. But I'll do so to-night, if you like."

"I wish you would, old chap," said Earle. "If my suspicion is correct, that negative should be peculiarly interesting, and I should like it developed before we leave here, in order that if it should be imperfect, we may take another, as well as a near view of one of the clumps of blooms. By the way, did you ever happen to have heard of the Death Flower?"

"N-o, I can't say that I have," answered Dick. "Is there such a flower?"

"So it is said," responded Earle. "I remember having read somewhere of such a flower, which, it is asserted, blooms in a certain island in the Pacific. The flower is said to be big enough to allow a man to stand upright in it; but if anyone chances to be so ill-advised as to try the experiment, the experimenter falls asleep, lulled to slumber by the peculiar fragrance of the flower, and is at once favoured with the most glorious dreams, in the midst of which the flower closes its petals and suffocates him. Now, that was very much my own experience, except that I was enveloped by the leaf instead of the flower; you dug me out instead of leaving me to die; and my gorgeous dream came afterwards—at least, so I suppose—instead of while I was enveloped. It will be exceedingly interesting if it should prove that the flowers in this glade are Death Flowers, for I believe it has hitherto been understood that they flourish only in one spot in the world, namely, that small island in the Pacific, the name of which I have for the moment forgotten."

Accordingly, as soon as it was dark that night, Dick lighted the ruby lamp and proceeded very carefully to develop the precious negative, which proved to be absolutely flawless, to Earle's great delight. And on the following morning, at Earle's urgent request, Dick took out the camera and photographed at close quarters the identical clump of flowers that had so nearly proved fatal to his friend, taking care to include in the picture the severed stem and the shredded leaf which had done the mischief. And this negative also proved eminently satisfactory.

As they sat together, on that particular afternoon, examining the two negative films, Earle suddenly looked up and remarked:

"That is three times that you have saved my life, Dick; and if I have not said anything about it up to the present, you mustn't think that I am not profoundly grateful to you—"

"Oh, yes, of course, I know, old chap," interrupted Dick, who had an intense dislike to being effusively thanked for any little service that it might be in his power to render a friend. "Please oblige me by saying no more about it. At the same time, let me remark that I have not the slightest notion of what you are talking about. How do you reason it out that I've saved your life three times? I only know of—"

"Three times, I said; and three times I mean," returned Earle. "The first time was when the Everest sank; the second time was when you got me out of the fatal embrace of that enveloping leaf; and the third time was when you gave me that draught that sent me to sleep while I was delirious. For now that I am again in my right mind, and the danger is all over, I may as well admit that, while the delirium held me, the paramount idea in my mind was to get away from you, by hook or by crook, slip away to the flowers, and throw myself upon another leaf, so that I might enjoy a repetition of those glorious dreams and sensations that I told you of. In which case, of course, I should have died. So there you are."

"Thanks!" said Dick grimly. "I'm glad you have told me, for I shall now know exactly what to do, if anything similar should happen."

Earle's strength was slow to return to him, for there were two adverse influences with which to contend, one being the depressing influence of the forest itself in the midst of which they were encamped, while the other was the total absence of game, which necessitated their falling back upon the stock of canned and preserved food provided for such an emergency, in order to sustain the invalid and restore him to perfect health. At length, however, Earle pronounced himself so far convalescent as to be capable of resuming the march; and one morning the party broke camp and continued their journey. The length of the marches was of course greatly curtailed, especially during the first two or three days, to fit them to the diminished powers of the invalid, and at the expiration of that time the party were fortunate enough to pass into a belt of forest of a totally different character, where game was again to be found, and from that moment Earle's progress toward complete recovery was rapid.



CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE GREAT SWAMP AND ITS WEIRD DENIZENS.

It was on the eleventh day after the resumption of their march that, quite early in the afternoon, they finally emerged from the forest and found themselves upon the edge of a swamp, which stretched away ahead and on either side of them as far as the eye could reach, except that, in the extreme distance, and in the direction in which they wished to travel, there was the suggestion of firm and somewhat hilly ground which might be about thirty miles distant.

"Gee!" ejaculated Earle, as the party came to a halt by the margin of the morass-like expanse, "this promises to be a corker, Dick. Eh, what? Guess we'll have to go into camp for a bit, and explore. I don't at all like the notion of attempting to force our way across that swamp, if there is a method of working round it—as of course there is if we are prepared to travel far enough. This reminds me of Florida, where I once spent a month shooting 'gators—and other things. I guess there'll be all the 'gators we want in there, to say nothing of snakes, mosquitos, scorpions, centipedes, and other 'varmint.' No; I guess we'll go round, if we can; and if we can't, we must make dugouts, and effect the crossing in them. We'll never be able to do it any other way."

It was indeed a formidable-looking barrier, this vast expanse of swamp, that stretched itself, mile after mile, right athwart the party's course, and its aspect was as dreary and depressing as one could well imagine. All along its margin the soil was soft, boggy and treacherous, to such an extent, indeed, that while making a preliminary investigation of the ground before definitely deciding upon a location for the camp, Dick suddenly sank in to above his knees, and only succeeded in extricating himself with the utmost difficulty, assisted though he was by Earle and some half a dozen Indians, who formed themselves into a human chain and dragged him out by main force.

The entire expanse of swamp appeared to be level, with the exception of a few very trifling elevations here and there, and seemed to consist of boggy soil covered with a rank growth of coarse grass, reeds, and stunted bush, sparsely dotted here and there with a few gnarled and unwholesome-looking trees, the whole intersected by a labyrinth of canals filled with stagnant water, which wound hither and thither in a most purposeless and bewildering fashion. That insect life abounded there was manifest at the most cursory glance, for great clouds of midges or flies could be seen hovering in the air in every direction, while Earle's surmise as to the presence of alligators was abundantly confirmed by the frequent roaring of the creatures. The forest seemed to grow close up to the margin of the swamp everywhere, a mere narrow strip of open ground some twenty to thirty yards wide, dividing the two.

A fairly satisfactory site for the camp having at length been found, Earle and Dick, armed with rifle and automatic, and each accompanied by an Indian carrying a machete, set off in opposite directions to explore the margin of the swamp, in the hope of discovering a spot from which a promising start to cross might be made; while King Cole, quite unable to decide which of his masters he would accompany, finally laid down with his head between his paws and whined pitifully, refusing to be comforted by anybody.

Warned by his recent mishap, Dick was careful to give the treacherous margin of the swamp a wide berth. The route he was pursuing led about due south; and for nearly an hour he pursued his way at a good brisk pace, uneventfully and without finding anything like that of which he was in search. Eventually, however, he arrived at a point where the edge of the forest abruptly receded toward the east, leaving a wide expanse of bare soil, beyond which, at a distance of a short quarter of a mile, the swamp again appeared, stretching away limitlessly toward the south and east. Apparently, the only thing to do was to follow the northerly margin of solid ground, which seemed to trend away in a westerly direction, the direction namely in which Earle wished to travel, and this Dick accordingly did. He followed this course for about half an hour, finding the tongue of firm ground which he was traversing vary in width, from time to time, from several yards to, in places, merely enough for a man conveniently to walk upon, while it twisted hither and thither in the most erratic fashion, although on the whole it continued to push its way steadily westward toward the heart of the swamp. Then, glancing at the declining sun, he decided that he must retrace his steps if he desired to get back to camp before dark.

Thus far, the afternoon's journey had been wholly uneventful, excepting for the persistent attacks of the myriads of mosquitoes and flies which swarmed in great clouds about the two adventurers to such an extent that there were times when they were compelled to halt and beat the pests off their bodies. But now they had something else than flies and mosquitoes to think about, for they had scarcely progressed a quarter of a mile on their return when, as they approached a spot where the firm soil narrowed to a mere causeway, scarcely two feet in width, Dick, who was leading, suddenly became aware of a strange and formidable-looking creature squatting at the far extremity of the causeway, apparently awaiting their approach.

As his eyes fell upon it Cavendish came to a halt so suddenly that the Indian in his rear cannoned into him, nearly knocking him into the black water alongside.

"Steady, Moquit!" exclaimed Dick, addressing his follower in the Indian tongue, in which he was rapidly acquiring a considerable degree of proficiency. "Look ahead, Moquit. What is that thing? Have you ever seen anything like it before?"

"Never, master," answered Moquit, staring with bulging eyes at the apparition, which in its turn was staring back at them. "I like it not. Toqui preserve us!"—(Toqui was the name of Moquit's most revered god)—"it looks like a slayer of men. Had not master better destroy it with his fire tube, lest it cross over and devour us?"

"I do not think we need greatly fear that," answered Dick, holding his rifle in readiness nevertheless. "The causeway is too narrow for the brute to cross. What, in the name of Fortune, can the beast be?" he concluded in his own tongue.

He might well wonder; for never in his life before had he seen such a creature, either alive, dead, or even in a picture. And yet—stay! As he looked at the thing more intently, there seemed to gradually float into his memory a hazy sort of recollection that he had seen a picture or representation of the creature which squatted there stolidly some thirty yards before him.

According to Cavendish's own subsequent description, which was confirmed in every particular by Moquit, the general impression conveyed was that of a gigantic frog, as big as an ox, but with several important modifications, one of which was that its capacious mouth was furnished with a most formidable set of sharp, curved, dagger-like teeth, of which the observers gained an excellent view, since the creature opened its mouth several times. It was a quadruped; that is to say, it was provided with four legs, but while its front legs were so short as to be little more than rudimentary, its hind legs were as long and apparently as powerful, proportionately, as those of a kangaroo. And, like a kangaroo, it was provided with a long tail, as thick at the root as its own body, tapering away to a blunt point. Indeed, as Dick remarked, he could scarcely describe the creature better than by likening it to what he conceived might be the appearance of a cross between a frog and a kangaroo. It had a pair of big, staring eyes, its toes were armed with long, murderous-looking claws, and its brownish-yellow skin was mottled all over with wart-like protuberances.

For fully five minutes, Dick supposes, he stood intently studying the peculiarities of the extraordinary creature, animated much more by curiosity than by any sense of fear, for he had somehow fully persuaded himself that the beast would not hazard the passage of that narrow causeway, while in any case a shot or two from the U.M.C. Remington, which the young Englishman carried, would of a surety put an end to the creature's career. Then, as Dick still stood watching and perhaps waiting for developments of some sort, the great brute suddenly rose upon its hind legs and, uttering a curious squealing sound, launched itself into the air with a terrific spring which Cavendish saw with consternation would bring the beast right upon him. Quick and unexpected as was the action, however, it did not take Dick wholly by surprise; on the contrary, as though by instinct, he threw up the muzzle of his rifle, pressed the trigger, and heard the bullet thud as it struck the leaping body. A loud, horrible scream escaped the brute as the bullet smote it. It writhed in mid-air, and that writhe caused it to fall into the water instead of landing upon Dick's body, as it must otherwise have done. It fell with a terrific splash which drenched Dick and Moquit, and still writhing with pain, instantly turned, with the evident intention of climbing out and attacking the two men. But by this time Dick had begun to realise the dangerous character of the creature, and, rapidly levelling his rifle again, shot it through the head as it laid its two front paws upon the bank preparatory to climbing out. With a moaning gasp, the great body relaxed and slowly settled back into the water, where it presently turned over on its back and floated, dead. Less than a minute later, while Dick and Moquit still stood staring in amazement at the weird creature, there came a sudden, violent swirling in the black water, and the heads of some six or seven enormous alligators appeared round the body. The great jaws of the reptiles opened, and the carcass was violently dragged hither and thither as the huge saurians tugged fiercely at it. Dick did not wait to see the issue of the struggle, but skipped nimbly across the causeway, with Moquit close upon his heels, and made the best of his way back to camp, where he found Earle already anxiously awaiting him.

"Well," demanded the American, as Cavendish came within hail, "have you met with any luck? I was beginning to feel a bit uneasy about you, for we seem to have struck a rather dangerous streak of country here."

"What!" exclaimed Dick. "Have you, too, been meeting with adventures, then?"

"Of a sort, yes; though nothing worth speaking about," answered Earle. "Simply met the biggest python I've ever seen; and as the beggar seemed in a quarrelsome humour and spoiling for a fight, I shot him. And you? I sort of gather from your last remark that you have met with an adventure of some sort. Is that so?"

"You bet!" answered Dick, who was almost unconsciously adopting many of Earle's expressive idioms. And he proceeded to relate in detail the occurrences of the afternoon.

"Gee!" exclaimed Earle, when his companion had finished. "That sounds interesting. I wonder what the brute can have been." (He was referring to the strange beast which Dick had shot). "Do you think you could draw a picture of him?"

"Oh yes, after a fashion," answered Dick, who was really rather clever with his pencil and brush in an amateurish fashion. "He was something like this." And, whipping out his pocket-book, he rapidly produced a very spirited pencil sketch of the unknown creature.

"Gee!" repeated Earle, studying the sketch. "Say, Dick, this is intensely interesting. The thing looks absolutely new to me. And yet— I don't quite know. Seems to me that I've somewhere seen something a bit like it before—"

"That's what I thought," said Dick; "though I'm quite prepared to swear that I never before saw the actual thing itself. I should have remembered it if I had."

"Y-e-s, I guess you would," returned Earle, still thoughtfully considering the sketch. At length he returned the book to Dick, remarking:

"Then you think there is just a possibility that we may be able to cross the swamp by way of that tongue of firm ground that you explored this afternoon? In that case, I guess we'll try it. We may succeed; and if we do, it will save us a long journey round; for I was unable to find the northern end of the swamp this afternoon, although, before turning back I climbed the highest tree in the neighbourhood and carefully searched the whole of the visible country through my Goertz prismatics. We will try that tongue of land of yours to-morrow, Dick. And as for the flies and things, I guess we can beat them by enveloping our heads in gauze veils and wearing gloves. I brought some green gauze along expressly to meet such a contingency. Learned the wrinkle in Africa, where the flies and mosquitoes used to drive me pretty nearly crazy."

An hour after sunrise on the following morning found the expedition en route, and in due time it reached the tongue of firm ground which Dick had discovered during the preceding afternoon. Here the two leaders enveloped their heads, helmets and all, in capacious veils of green gauze which Earle had produced during the preceding evening.

Earle was in exceptionally high spirits that morning. The story of Dick's encounter with the strange beast had intensely interested him, for he was by way of being a naturalist, as well as a good many other things, and he was naturally eager to get a sight of another creature of the same species. Then a view at close quarters of the swamp added further to his excitement, for even then, in the dazzling glare of the morning sun, there was a certain suggestion of weirdness and uncanniness about the place that appealed very strongly to his imagination. To young, prosaic Dick Cavendish, a sailor pure and simple, whose only knowledge of science was that connected with navigation, the swamp was just—well, a swamp, and nothing more; but, to Earle's higher scientific intelligence it was an absorbingly interesting mystery. For they had scarcely penetrated it to the depth of a mile before the American began to be aware that the character of his surroundings was undergoing a subtle change, the herbage underfoot, the rushes that edged the lagoons and water channels, the plants that here and there in wide patches hid the surface of the water, the ferns that decked the banks of the water-courses, were all new and strange to him; and this, in conjunction with Dick's adventure here, less than twenty-four hours ago, generated within him a thrilling conviction that he was on the brink of great and important discoveries.

Presently Dick turned to him and said, pointing: "You see where the ground narrows away to a mere ridge, ahead there? It was just on this side of it that the queer beast was squatting when I first caught sight of him."

"That so?" responded Earle, coming to a sudden standstill. "Halt there, men; don't advance another step until I tell you," he ordered, wheeling round and holding up his hand.

"Now then, Dick," he continued, "you and I will go forward, carefully examining the soil for footprints. Perhaps, if we are in luck, we may succeed in finding an impression, though I am afraid the ground is rather too dry—stay, what is this?"

Stretching out his hand to stay Dick's incautious advance, Earle went down on one knee and carefully examined a faint impression on the ground. It consisted of a slight depression in the thin dust overlaying the hard earth, practically circular in shape and about the size of the palm of a man's hand, and beyond it, at a distance of about three feet six inches, there were three somewhat deeper impressions, about a foot apart, such as might be made by the sharp claws of an animal.

"I guess this looks very much as though it might be one of the footprints of your friend," remarked Earle, after he had intently studied the impression for a full minute or more; "but it is very imperfect and indistinct; not nearly clear enough to be satisfactory. Let's go on a bit; perhaps we may find others. If not, we'll come back and examine this again. Go carefully, old chap, and if you see any other marks, don't tread on them, for goodness' sake."

Crouching low and advancing a single step at a time, as they carefully scanned the ground before them, the two friends had covered a distance of some five yards when they came upon two more impressions, a little more distinctly marked than the first. They were about six feet apart, but in line athwart the path, and suggested the idea of having been made by the landing of the creature upon the ground after a forward jump. These, too, Earle carefully examined before proceeding, and then the two friends went on to the spot where Dick had seen the thing squatting. And here, the soil being considerably more moist and clayey, they found, to Earle's intense delight, some half a dozen deep and perfectly clear imprints, only two of which had been partially obliterated by the feet of Dick and Moquit on their return after killing the beast. The imprints somewhat resembled those of a thick-toed bird, but were immensely larger than the spoor of any known bird, measuring exactly three feet nine and a quarter inches from the back of the heel to the front of the middle claw—which seemed to be some six inches longer than the two others—and two feet two inches across from one outer claw to the other; the indent showing that the middle claw was fourteen inches long.

"Gosh!" exclaimed Earle excitedly, as he rose to his full height after having made a careful figured drawing of the impression in his pocket-book—"what would I not give for enough plaster of paris to make a cast of that footprint! Guess it will make some of the professors at home sit up and take notice when they see this drawing in the book, which I mean to publish when I get back. Most of 'em won't believe it, I expect. They'll denounce it as a traveller's tale. Hold on, though, I'll take a photograph—two or three photographs—of the impressions; perhaps that will convince them. You shall stand just there, Dick, and I'll include you in one of the pictures, to act as a sort of scale."

The photographs were duly taken; and then Earle expressed the utmost anxiety to secure the carcass of the creature itself. But, as Dick reminded his companion, the creature had no sooner been killed than it became a prey to several alligators of formidable size, therefore any attempt to fish up the remains from the bottom of the canal would be certain to result in failure. And when Dick, pressing home his point, inquired whether Earle proposed to dive to the bottom in search of the body, the American reluctantly admitted that even his scientific ardour was scarcely equal to the adoption of such a course. The march was therefore resumed, after about an hour's delay, Earle consoling himself with the hope that one specimen of the unknown monster having been found in the swamp, others might also exist there, and they might be fortunate enough to encounter one or more of them.

Naturally, the party's rate of travelling was slow; for not only was Earle now constantly engaged in searching the ground for further "sign" of creatures possibly peculiar to the swamp, but halts were frequently being called while suspicious indications were carefully investigated; consequently when the mid-day halt was at length called, it was estimated that the party had not penetrated the swamp to a distance of more than some six or seven miles as the crow flies, though, of course, they had actually traversed a distance nearly half as much again. But, even so, Earle was quite satisfied with what had been done so far; while there was still no sign of a break in the continuity of the firm soil upon which they had been travelling.

The camp was pitched at a point where it widened out until there was fully a hundred yards of it between the two stretches of water to right and left, while on the right hand, or northern side of this wide space, the canal-like watercourse had given place to a sort of lagoon, nearly a mile long by about half that width. The water in this lagoon was much cleaner and more wholesome-looking than that in the canals, yet Earle considered that it would be unwise to use it for drinking purposes; he therefore selected a spot and set a couple of Indians to work to dig a pit in search of water, which he expected to find at a depth of two or three feet, such water to be first filtered and then boiled before use. And while the digging was proceeding, Earle and Dick took up a position on the summit of a low knoll a few yards away, and examined their surroundings through their prismatic glasses.

Suddenly Dick turned to his companion and pointed.

"I say, Earle," he exclaimed, "what sort of an anima is that? Surely it is not a wild boar, though it looks a bit like the pictures I have seen of them."

"Where?" demanded Earle, who had been looking in another direction. "Oh! I see," he continued, catching sight of the creature at which Dick was pointing, and which was standing at the edge of a little strip of beach, about a quarter of a mile away, on the opposite side of the water.

The two raised their glasses to their eyes and proceeded to watch the animal, which seemed to have a desire to drink, but was debating within itself the question of how far it would be prudent to enter the water even as far as would be necessary to enable it to do so. It was standing quite still, staring down into the water, and thus afforded an excellent opportunity for careful inspection.

"N-o," answered Earle slowly, after he had studied the appearance of the creature for nearly a minute—"it certainly is not a boar, though it is not altogether unlike one. But it is too big for a boar. Looks to me more like a hyaena—though of course I know there are no such creatures in this country. Also it is far too big to be a hyaena—unless it is an entirely new species. And the thing has tusks, just like a wild boar. Now, what the mischief can it be? It is rather too far off for a dead shot, or I would have a try at it; but it would be a pity to merely wound it and scare it away. Say! is there any way of getting across to the other side, short of swimming?"

"I'm afraid not," answered Dick. "And after what I saw yesterday I wouldn't give a farthing for the chance of anybody who should attempt to swim in these waters."

Dick still had his glasses to his eyes as he spoke; and even as the last words left his lips he had an impression of something stealthily moving in the long herbage some distance to the rear of the strange animal which they were watching. He was about to direct Earle's attention to the circumstance when, from the spot where he had observed the stealthy movement, a great body rose into the air with a tremendous leap and hurtling through the intervening space, descended fair and square upon the body of the creature standing by the water's edge.

"Gee-rusalem!" shouted Earle, as the harsh scream of the stricken animal pealed out on the stagnant air. "See that, Cavendish?"

"Sure!" responded Dick. "Take particular notice of that last brute, Earle; for as sure as my name is Cavendish, it is another of the same kind that I killed yesterday."

"My revered ancestors! You don't say so!" gasped Earle. "Sure?"

"Absolutely certain," averred Dick.

"But—but—man alive—" stammered Earle in his excitement, "you told me that the thing you shot yesterday was a sort of cross between a frog and a kangaroo, and that beast doesn't suggest at all that sort of idea to me. What a ferocious beast it is! He is literally tearing the other poor brute to pieces."

"Yes," agreed Dick. "And I am just now beginning to understand what a narrow squeak I had yesterday. For that fellow is exactly like the thing I killed yesterday, though, now that I see him broadside-on, the resemblance, whether to a frog or a kangaroo, is not so strong as it was when I was facing him. But there are the same long, powerful hind legs, the same almost invisible front ones, the same gaping mouth filled with strong, dagger-like teeth, the same long, thick, pointed tail—in short, the same creature from stem to stern."

"But the head of that thing is more like an alligator's than a frog's," objected Earle. "And then, look at that serrated arrangement of the skin—I suppose it is—from the back of the head to the extremity of the tail. You never said anything about that."

"No," admitted Dick, "I believe I didn't; but the other thing had it, all the same. I remember noticing it, now that you call my attention to it. I tell you that the two creatures are identical in every respect, except that this one looks to be a bit bigger than the other. Do you happen to know what the thing is called?"

"N-o, I am not sure that I do," answered Earle, "but I'll find out as soon as ever I get back to New York. I shall remember the appearance of the beast all right, now that I've actually seen it, and I guess there will be somebody who can tell me. Say! Dick, I wouldn't have missed this sight for a thousand dollars; and I'd give ten thousand to get the skin and skeleton of the brute. If I could but secure them, I'd go straight back to New York at once, and leave Manoa for another time. Isn't there any way by which we could get across that insignificant strip of water?"

"Not without a boat or a raft of some sort, I'm afraid," answered Dick. "And there is nothing hereabout from which we could construct even the most elementary sort of raft. Besides, before we could put anything together, even if we had the material, the brute would be gone. See, he has almost gorged the whole of his prey already."

"I've a mind to try a shot at him—and I will, too," said Earle. "Hi, there, Peter, bring me my point-three-five Remington and some cartridges. Hurry, you black angel! Perhaps if the brute is very savage, and we can attract his attention, or hurt him a bit, he may take it into his head to attack us. He could jump across the stream a little lower down, easily enough. Or he may be a swimmer. He looks a good deal more like a reptile than a beast, anyhow."

Peter, the black cook, came running up at this juncture with the Remington, and Earle, snatching it from him, quickly adjusted the back sight and throwing himself prone upon the ground, took careful aim at the formidable-looking brute, which had ceased to feed and was now squatting on its haunches, facing toward the two men. A few seconds of suspense and the rifle flashed, the hum of the bullet was heard, and then a thud as it struck. Coincident with the thud of the bullet, the great body sprang high into the air, a loud, blood-curdling scream pealed out, and then, with a succession of prodigious leaps, it disappeared among the rank herbage.

The result was a bitter disappointment for Earle, who declared that he would not move from the spot until he had satisfied himself that it was impossible to cross to the other side of the water. But, short of swimming, there was no means of crossing, for there was nothing wherewith to make a raft of even the most flimsy description. This fact being at length conclusively established, the march was resumed immediately after the conclusion of the mid-day meal.

About an hour before sunset that day, they were rather unexpectedly brought to a halt by finding themselves on a small peninsula of some five acres in extent, thrusting itself forward into a great lagoon, the waters of which stretched away on either hand for many miles, while in the direction toward which they wished to travel, the nearest point of land was distant about a mile and a half. After surveying their surroundings for some time, the two leaders agreed that it was too late in the day to retrace their steps across the narrow isthmus by which they had arrived and seek some other route; the camp was therefore pitched on the south-westerly slope of the peninsula, quite close to a little strip of sandy beach, with a background consisting of a hummock some fifteen feet high crowned by an extensive clump of strange-looking shrubs, the nature of which Earle was anxious to investigate.

The day had been overpoweringly hot, the sun blazing down upon them unintermittently out of a cloudless sky; but now, while the camp was being pitched, a thin haze began insidiously to overspread the blue, while away toward the south-west a great bank of slatey blue cloud appeared above the ridge of the distant hills, working up against the wind and seeming to portend a thunderstorm.

Now that they had come to a halt, the leaders mutually confessed to a feeling of great fatigue, while the listless manner in which the Indians were going about their duties showed that they, too, were longing for an opportunity to rest their weary limbs. Earle flung himself down upon the short moss-like turf bordering the strip of beach and gazed longingly at the rippling waters of the lagoon as they sparkled in the slanting rays of the declining sun. Unlike the turbid, black and almost stagnant water in the canals which they had been passing during the day's march, the tiny wavelets which rippled in upon the adjacent beach were crystal clear, and gave off the fresh, wholesome smell of pure water; and when, a little later, Earle rose languidly to his feet, and advancing a few paces to the water's edge, scooped up a handful of the liquid and tasted it, he expressed the opinion that it was quite wholesome enough for drinking purposes.

"And it is deliciously cool, too," he remarked to Dick. "For two pins I would strip and have a swim."

"Not if I know it, my friend," retorted Dick. "I grant you that the water looks almost irresistibly tempting, and I have no doubt that a swim would be amazingly refreshing—if we could only be sure of going in and coming out again unharmed. But who knows what dangers may be lurking beneath that sparkling surface? The place may be swarming with alligators, for aught that we know, and—"

"Why, you surely don't mean to say that you are afraid, Dick?"

"No, I don't," returned Dick, "and if there were any real necessity to do so, I would not hesitate a moment to plunge in and swim across to the other side. But when one knows that there is a possibility of being seized and pulled down by an alligator, I contend that it would be folly to risk one's life merely for the pleasure of a swim. I once saw a man seized by a shark. We were becalmed in the Indian Ocean, and the fellow determined to avail himself of the opportunity to go overboard and indulge in the luxury of a salt-water bath; so he got a chum to go up into the foretopmast crosstrees and have a look round. The chum signalled all clear, and the would-be bather slipped surreptitiously over the bows, passed along the martingale stays, dropped quietly into the water, and struck out. And before he had swum three strokes a shark darted from under the ship's bottom and—that was the end of him. No, sir—look there! See that swirl? That means something big—an alligator, or a big fish of some sort, which is as likely as not to be dangerous. No; no swimming for me—or for you, either, thank you. But it wouldn't be at all a bad idea to have our portable bath-tubs set up on the sand, and have a good dip in them."



CHAPTER EIGHT.

A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE GREAT SWAMP.

With the setting of the sun, the gentle zephyr of a breeze that had been blowing all day dropped, and the night fell, close and suffocatingly hot. A young moon hung low over the western horizon, but the bank of thunder cloud was rising fast, and by the time that the two friends had finished their evening meal, the silver sickle of the moon had become effaced, as had the stars, by the thickening of the veil of haze which had been gradually over-spreading the heavens.

So close and breathless was the atmosphere that the two friends declared the interior of the tent to be insupportable, they therefore walked down to near the inner margin of the beach and flung themselves down upon the curious moss-like turf, to indulge in their usual after-dinner chat and watch the gathering of the storm that now seemed inevitable, while Earle smoked. For a wonder, there were neither flies, mosquitoes, nor midges on this little peninsula; there was therefore nothing but the excessive heat and the closeness of the atmosphere to interfere with their comfort. The Indians were camped on the summit of the mound, grouped as usual round a small fire, the materials for which they had collected during the day's march, and were conversing in low tones, while they, too, smoked. King Cole, who had dined luxuriously and to repletion upon a big bustard-like bird which Earle had shot an hour or two earlier, crouched at the feet of his two masters, purring contentedly.

The conversation between the two friends, which was of a desultory and discursive character, ebbed and flowed in unison with the interest of the speakers, and was punctuated with many spells of silence while the two gazed dreamily out across the glass-like surface of the lagoon, indistinguishable now in the velvet blackness, save when a faint flicker of sheet lightning momentarily illuminated it. At the beginning the night was intensely still and silent; there was not even the customary hum of insects or rolling clatter of frogs to accentuate the silence, under the influence of which the white men first, and finally the Indians, fell silent. Then the fatigue consequent upon the day's toil began to make itself felt, and after a somewhat longer spell of silence than usual, Earle allowed his body to settle back luxuriously upon the soft sward and soon gave audible evidence that he was fast asleep, whereupon Dick promptly followed his companion's example.

Their sleep was, however, destined to be of brief duration. They were both by this time so thoroughly accustomed to the ordinary nocturnal sounds of the wild that, although so fully aware of them as to be able instantly to detect anything unusual in their character, and to start up awake in a moment if the unusual note seemed to portend danger, they could still sleep soundly and refreshingly through them all. But the nocturnal sounds of this particular night were of so startling a character that sleep soon became an impossibility.

They began with a low, melancholy, distant howl which, while it penetrated the consciousness of the sleepers, failed to disturb them, because its remoteness was a guarantee against imminent danger, and nothing less than imminent danger now had the power to chase sleep from those seasoned wanderers. Nor were the howls any more effective as disturbers of the party's rest after several repetitions in varying keys. But when a weird, unearthly, blood-curdling scream rang out upon the startled air it awoke the entire party upon the instant, though the sound seemed to emanate from a considerable distance.

"What the dickens was that?" demanded Dick, sitting up and instinctively groping for his rifle.

"Give it up," returned Earle. "No, I don't though," he quickly added. "I guess it's that thing I shot at and wounded during the mid-day halt, or another of the same species."

"Y-e-s, very possibly," agreed Dick. "Look at King Cole. What is the matter with him now, I wonder?"

By the declining light of the fire on the summit of the hillock the panther could be seen, in a half-standing, half-crouching attitude, a few paces away, staring intently out across the black water, his black fur all a-bristle, and his body visibly quivering with either excitement or fear.

"King—King Cole, come here, sir! What's the matter with you, anyway?" called Earle. And the animal at once turned and crept cowering to the feet of the pair, his eyes glowing like a pair of green lamps, and his lips drawn into a silent snarl.

That the weird cry was not repeated in no wise detracted from its startling character; but although profound silence followed, it did not remain long unbroken, for a few minutes later there came the sound as of great wings sweeping hither and thither. And scarcely had this sound died away when it was succeeded by others—low moans, sighs, whistlings, grunts, bellowings, rustlings, splashings—some from a considerable distance, others apparently close at hand; some obviously from the land to the rear of the party, and others quite as obviously from the water in their front. And, most disturbing consideration of all, every one of them was absolutely unfamiliar, therefore in some vague, undefinable fashion, the more alarming. This effect was quickly made manifest by the agitated murmurings of the Indians, and the haste with which they replenished the dying fire, heaping on fuel with such a lavish hand that, for the space of a few yards all round the blaze, the light was almost as brilliant as that of day.

"Gee!" exclaimed Earle, as the weird sounds multiplied on all sides, "what would I not give for a full moon and a clear sky, just now. Bet your life, Dick, there are some very queer scenes being enacted all round us at this moment, had we but light to reveal them. I have come to the conclusion that this swamp is unique in many respects. By some freak of nature, things here are entirely different from what they are elsewhere. Even the vegetation is new and strange to me; and I am convinced that it is also the home of many forms of animal life unknown elsewhere. The exasperating part of the whole thing is that most of the creatures inhabiting it seem to be of nocturnal habit, hiding themselves during the day, and only emerging into the open at night. Just listen now to the hubbub of sound all about us. Why, the place must be fairly teeming with life! And, by a perverse combination of circumstances, we can see nothing of it—Ah! thank goodness, the lightning is becoming more vivid. I would give a good round sum for a real first-class thunderstorm; and, by ginks! I believe we are going to have it."

It seemed quite probable, for as though in response to Earle's ardently expressed desire, a brilliant flash of sheet lightning flickered out of the now rapidly rising bank of cloud over the distant hills, illumining the landscape for the fraction of a second, during which a momentary glimpse was afforded of certain strange forms dotting the waters of the lagoon; but the illumination was too brief to leave anything more than the most vague impression of those forms upon the retina of the observers. The glimpse, however, transient as it was, revealed enough to stimulate their interest and curiosity to the highest pitch, and the two friends, with their rifles grasped ready for instant action, sprang to their feet and stood eagerly awaiting further revelation with the next flash of lightning, while the Indians, cowering round the roaring fire on the summit of the knoll, were visibly suffering the extremity of terror.

Then, while the two friends stood together awaiting the coming of another lightning flash, with King Cole quivering and shivering at their feet, a huge shape, elusively revealed in the flickering firelight, slowly emerged from the intense darkness overshadowing the lagoon, ponderously splashing through the shallows toward the beach—and toward the two white men, a pair of enormous eyes, glistening in the uncertain light of the flames, being all that could be distinctly seen. The thing—whatever it may have been—was not more than ten yards distant when first seen, and there was a gleam of such deadly malignancy in those two glistening eyes, and a suggestion of such implacable purpose in the ponderous movement of the imperfectly seen bulk, that Earle and Dick, taken completely unawares by its sudden appearance, incontinently flung up their rifles and fired, at the precise moment that King Cole, utterly demoralised by the weird apparition, sprang to his feet and fled, snarling, to the rear. The two rifles spoke as one, and instantly following the whip-like reports, the double clap of the bullets was heard—not a dull sound like that of a bullet striking yielding flesh, but a sharp crack, suggesting the impingement of lead upon unyielding bone; there was a frightful bellowing roar, a terrific splash, the spray of which flew over and far beyond the two white men, and the thing was gone.

"Well, 'shiver my timbers!' as you sailors are supposed to remark," exclaimed Earle in tones of ineffable disgust. "If that doesn't beat the band! Oh, Dick Cavendish—and Wilfrid Earle, you—you twenty-volume unabridged fools, why on earth couldn't you have waited another two or three seconds before shootin' and so have made sure of getting the brute? Kick me, Dick, and I'll kick you, for we both deserve it! It was the chance of a lifetime, and we flung it away by being over-eager. I'm ashamed of you, Dick—and a blamed sight more ashamed of myself; for I am an old hand at this sort of thing, while you are comparatively fresh at it, and therefore there is some sort of excuse for you, while there is none for me."

"But we hit him," remonstrated Dick. "What more do you want?"

"Hit him!" retorted Earle, disgustedly. "Of course we hit him; we couldn't help hitting him. He was as big as a house! But, my gentle boy, that wasn't enough. We wanted to kill him, so that we might have a chance to see what he looked like. Hit him! Yes; we hit him on his skull, and the blows sounded as though his head was encased in five-inch Harveyized armour plate! If we had waited five seconds longer, we should have had a good view of him and been able to shoot him through the heart—if he happens to possess such an organ."

"That's all very fine," retorted Dick. "But I'll bet that if we had waited the extra five seconds, you would still have aimed to hit him fair between the eyes—as I did."

"Well—yes, I guess I should," returned Earle, his vexation suddenly evaporating. "As a matter of fact, that is the precise spot I aimed at. And as you say that you did also, we will hope that one at least of our bullets got home, and that to-morrow morning, we shall find him floating dead out there in the offing waiting to be inspected. Anyway, there is no sense in crying over spilt milk; and who knows what chances may still be in store for us. And now, Dick, while your memory is still fresh, have the goodness to describe to me exactly the impression left upon your mind by what you saw. Gee! what a time the inhabitants of this swamp seem to be having. The row is growing worse than ever."

Dick dutifully responded to his friend's request, but alas! his description amounted to very little more than the bald statement that the thing struck him as possessing a body about as bulky as an elephant, standing upon disproportionately short legs; that the eyes were as big round as dinner-plates; that they glared with a most unholy malevolence; and that they were spaced about thirty inches apart. These details, such as they were, corresponded with the impression produced upon Earle, who forthwith proceeded to jot down the meagre facts in his notebook by the light of the fire.

Meanwhile the "row," as Earle had observed, seemed to be growing worse than ever, and it was presently added to by the low mutterings of distant thunder, the precursor of what threatened to be a thunderstorm of unusual violence. The flickering of sheet lightning became more frequent, while occasional flashes of forked lightning emanating from a point low down upon the south-western horizon, began to light up the surroundings for a fraction of a second with their transient glare. Soon low moaning sounds became fitfully audible far aloft, and little scurrying gusts of hot wind came sweeping across the lagoon, causing the fire on the knoll to roar and blaze with sudden intensity, while the sparks flew far inland.

"Stand by the topsail halliards!" remarked Dick, with a grin. "We are going to have it hot and heavy in a minute or two, or I'm a Dutchman!" And the words were hardly out of his mouth when, with a shrieking roar, the tempest swooped down upon them, and they abruptly sat down, to avoid being swept off their feet, while the blazing embers of the fire, snatched up by the wind, went whirling far and wide. At the same instant a flash of blindingly vivid lightning leapt from the zenith and seemed to strike the waters of the lagoon only a few yards away, while simultaneously there came a crash of thunder that caused their ears to ring and tingle, and effectually deafened them for several minutes. This was the outburst of the storm, which thereafter raged with indescribable fury for a full hour, the lightning incessantly flashing all round the little knoll with such dazzling brilliancy that the entire landscape, almost to its uttermost confines, was nearly as fully revealed as at noonday, while the thunder crashed and rattled and boomed with a nerve-shattering violence that effectually drowned all other sounds. And, to add still further to the weird impressiveness of the scene, the storm had scarcely been raging ten minutes when the swamp was seen to be on fire in several places immediately to leeward of the knoll, the dry herbage having been undoubtedly kindled by the flying embers and sparks of the fire, which had been completely swept away by the wind. For the first half-hour of its duration the storm was a dry one, that is to say, it was unaccompanied by rain; and while the tempest raged about them Dick and Earle lay prone, side by side, watching the marvellous scene revealed by the incessant lightning flashes. And Earle afterwards confided to Dick—and, still later, to many others—that what he then beheld more than repaid him for all that the entire journey cost him, not only in money, but also in toil and privation. For although the flickering of the lightning and its almost blinding vividness were by no means conducive to accuracy of observation, he saw enough to fully confirm his previous conviction that the swamp was the habitat of several forms of life hitherto unknown and unsuspected by naturalists. True, most of the creatures seen were apparently amphibious, their forms only partially revealed as they sported or fought in the waters of the lagoon; but transient glimpses were occasionally caught of others roaming about the patches of dry ground; while all were too distant for the watchers to obtain any very clear impression of their shapes and proportions. Then the wind and the lightning suddenly ceased, pitchy darkness fell upon the scene, and the rain descended in such a deluge as is known only to those who have dwelt in the tropics, lasting until within half-an-hour of sunrise.

The appearance of the sun was hailed with feelings of unqualified delight by the entire party, for not only did the remaining clouds vanish with his uprising, but he brought what was, for once, welcome warmth with him, to the relief of the drenched and thoroughly chilled occupants of the camp, who had lain exposed for hours to the pitiless pelting of the rain—Dick and Earle suffering equally with the rest, the wind having temporarily wrecked their tent. They felt that a hot breakfast would have been indescribably welcome that morning; but such a meal was impossible, for the rain had saturated everything and rendered a fire out of the question; they were consequently obliged to content themselves with cold viands, which they consumed in haste, for they had the prospect of a busy day before them.

The problem which confronted them was, how were they to transport themselves and their belongings across the lagoon? For it was on the opposite side of it that their road lay, and if they would proceed, only two alternatives seemed open to them; one to find some means by which they could ferry themselves across, while the other was to pass round one or the other of the extremities of the lagoon. And this last meant the retracing of their steps for a considerable distance, with the prospect of a long march to follow, the lagoon extending to right and left as far as the eye could see.

It was at this crisis that Huanami, one of the bearers, a Peruvian half-breed, came to the rescue with a suggestion. During the march of the previous day, this man, it appeared, had taken note of vast quantities of a particular kind of reed growing some three or four miles back, upon the opposite side of a canal-like watercourse, along the margin of which the party had been travelling, and he was of opinion that those reeds could be used in the construction of excellent balsas, if they could only be got at. And he believed that it would be possible to get at them if the white lords would permit him and two or three of his comrades to go still further back to a point where, on the near side of the canal, he had noted a sufficient growth of reeds to construct a single balsa of a capacity which would enable him to float himself across the canal to the opposite side, where the reeds were growing in profusion. The suggestion found immediate favour with the "white lords," for it appeared to indicate the shortest way out of the difficulty; and orders were at once given to carry it into effect.

But Earle made one important modification in Huanami's proposal. After the experiences of the previous day—and, still more, of the past night—he was not at all disposed to permit two or three unarmed men to retrace their steps, unaccompanied, with the possibility that they might be set upon and destroyed by some unknown monster inhabitant of the swamp; he therefore gave orders for the entire party to countermarch, and five minutes later they were under way.

Somewhere about an hour later they reached the spot where the rushes grew on the opposite side of the canal; and it was at once apparent that there was a sufficiency to meet the requirements of the party; while at a further distance of about a mile they came to a bed containing enough rashes to construct a balsa capable of supporting a single man, or possibly two men. Huanami cut one of the rushes for Earle's inspection, and dividing it up into short lengths, showed that it was a bamboo-like growth, hollow in structure and divided into a series of watertight compartments by partitions occurring at every notch, rendering it exceedingly light and buoyant. The average length of the rushes was about twelve feet, but by a kind of interlacing system a raft, or balsa, of almost any required dimensions could be constructed.

No time was lost by the party in getting to work upon the first balsa, Huanami cutting great quantities of long, tough bents and plaiting them up into a kind of rope, while the rest of the Indians cut the reeds. It was necessary for them to get into the water to do this; but luckily, the reeds first attacked grew in shallow water, only up to the men's knees, and while they all worked together, shouting and splashing vigorously the while, Dick and Earle, armed with repeating rifles, mounted guard on the bank, holding themselves ready to open fire upon any marauding alligator or other creature that might threaten to interrupt the work. No interruption occurred, however, and in less than an hour the reeds were all cut and the construction of the first balsa was begun. Huanami proved himself an adept in the art of balsa construction, and when noon arrived, and with it the hour for the mid-day meal, the first balsa was complete and ready for service, including a pair of paddles, also ingeniously made of reeds.

When at the conclusion of the meal the balsa came to be tried, it was found to possess buoyancy enough to carry two men safely and comfortably; the return march along the bank to the spot where the remainder of the fleet was to be built was therefore immediately commenced, the builder and his load of impedimenta proceeding by water at the same time. The balsa, it may here be explained, was a very simple affair indeed, consisting merely of a flat bundle of reeds, firmly bound together in such a way as to form a sort of raft. The one already built was about ten feet long and about five feet broad, by about a foot in depth; but while strong enough for its purpose, it was, after all, very light, and quite capable of being capsized should an enterprising alligator take it into his head to attack it; during the short march to the big reed bed, therefore, Dick and Earle decided that the next balsa should be constructed of a capacity to accommodate the entire party, and therefore be heavy and bulky enough to resist anything short of a concerted attack by a herd of alligators. The construction of such a craft was of course a somewhat formidable undertaking, though the other Indians showed themselves apt pupils of Huanami, and the task was only completed when the sun had already disappeared and darkness was closing down upon the scene.

On the following morning the voyage across the lagoon was begun immediately after breakfast, and accomplished not only without mishap but without adventure of any kind; for, strangely enough, not one of the creatures which had been observed disporting themselves in the water during the preceding night was now visible; indeed, so far as appearances went, there might not even have been so much as a fish in the lagoon. A sharp look-out was maintained for the beast that had been shot at during the night, but neither alive or dead was anything seen of him. One fact, however, was established during the passage across, and that was, that the depth of water in the lagoon was far greater than had hitherto been suspected, a depth of no less than thirty fathoms being found nearly all the way across except quite close to the margin.

The journey across consumed close upon two hours, for the balsa, while buoyant enough to support the whole party and their belongings, was, from the very character of her construction, unwieldy and difficult to propel; but she arrived safely at last on the south-western shore of the lagoon. Then a number of canal-like channels being found penetrating the firm ground, as on the side already traversed, the question arose whether the journey should be resumed on foot, or an attempt should be made to continue it on the balsa, through the medium of the water channels. Dick was of opinion that the latter would be the more expeditious way, it being far easier for the Indians to tow the balsa loaded with all the belongings of the party, than it would be for them to carry their loads as heretofore; and this plan was accordingly adopted.

Unfortunately, perhaps, they were obliged to abandon the balsa about mid-afternoon, the water channel abruptly coming to an end, and thus necessitating a return to their original mode of travel.

Earle was profoundly disappointed that during practically the entire day's journey none of the denizens of the swamp had chosen to reveal themselves, for he had all the naturalist's enthusiasm for the discovery of new and strange creatures, and was especially anxious to secure a specimen of the "cross between a frog and a kangaroo" seen and shot by Dick, and, later, shot at by himself; but, so far as appearances went, the part of the swamp which they were now traversing might be tenantless. At length, however, just as the day's journey was drawing to a close, a bit of luck came his way. For while he and Dick were glancing about them in search of a suitable spot upon which to camp for the night, an animal suddenly made its appearance in the open, not more than fifty yards away, and Earle instantly flung up his rifle and shot it. It was as big as a donkey and resembled a hare in every respect, except that it had ears shaped like those of a mouse, while its coat was of short hair instead of fur. It was entirely new to Earle, and he was much gratified at securing it, as were the others of the party, for its flesh proved to be very juicy and palatable.

Their next adventure occurred during the afternoon of the following day. They had just passed beyond the confines of the swamp, and were travelling over somewhat rising ground toward a line of forest stretching right athwart their path, when, during a temporary halt, which Dick was utilising to scan the surrounding country through his field-glasses, he caught a momentary glimpse of what he imagined to be Indians, moving stealthily about among the boles of the trees, apparently reconnoitring the party. He directed Earle's attention to them, and after an eager search with his glasses, the American also caught sight of them, and agreed with Dick that their movements were suspicious, and that it would be wise to be prepared for a sudden attack. They loaded their repeating rifles, each stuck a pair of automatic pistols in his belt, and when the march was resumed, went on ahead, accompanied by Inaguy, with the object of establishing a parley with the strangers.

But when, some ten minutes later, they arrived at the outskirts of the forest, there was no sign of them, and no response to Inaguy's repeated calls in several different Indian dialects. It was not only a puzzling but also a disconcerting circumstance; for the failure of the strangers to reply seemed to indicate a hostile disposition; and for the party to plunge into the depths of the forest with a band of hostile Indians dogging their footsteps, or perhaps preparing to ambush them, seemed to Earle the opposite of good generalship; after considering the matter, therefore, it was decided to camp for the remainder of the day, at a sufficient distance from the forest to render a surprise attack impossible, and there await developments.

This was done, and for about an hour after the camp was pitched, sentinels being posted about halfway between it and the border of the forest to give timely notice of a threatened attack, nothing happened.

Then one of the sentinels shouted that there were people moving among the trees, upon which Dick and Earle, fully armed, moved out to reconnoitre, with King Cole as usual at their heels.

The sentinel was right, as the pair ascertained immediately that they brought their field-glasses to bear upon the part of the forest indicated by the Indian. The undergrowth, consisting mostly of bushes and shrubs, was fairly dense, rendering it impossible to see beyond a yard or two into the forest, but by diligent and patient search the two leaders were able to discern certain dark objects, which they identified as heads, moving hither and thither, and pausing from time to time to peer out at them through parted boughs. Then suddenly a frightful roar was heard, immediately taken up and answered by many others, the bushes swayed as heavy bodies irresistibly forced a way through them, and some twenty monstrous figures bounded into the open and came charging down upon the little group, emitting loud, savage roars as they came, with the foam flying from their champing jaws.

"G-r-r-eat Caesar's ghost!" exclaimed Earle in amazement, as the creatures broke cover; "what have we here, anyway? Whatever they may be, they are certainly not human. And savage—they're as full of gall as a wagon-load of catamounts! This is where we have to shoot to kill, Dick, and don't you forget it. We can't begin too soon either, so get busy, my lad. Darn that Indian! he's scooted. Well, I guess he's better out of the way after all."

Earle might well be excused for the astonishment he betrayed at the sight of the enemy. As he had said, they were certainly not human; they were, in fact, gigantic apes, somewhat resembling gorillas in their general appearance, though considerably bigger, their stature being, on Earle's first hasty estimate, quite six feet. They were covered with rather long, coarse, shaggy hair, of so dark a brown as to appear almost black, the hair of the head and face being much longer than on the rest of the body. Their arms were immensely long in proportion to their lower limbs; from their build they appeared to be endowed with amazing strength, a suggestion which was fully confirmed by the consummate ease with which they flourished boughs of trees of formidable size with which they had armed themselves.

They came charging down upon the two white men and the now madly raging King Cole in a series of long bounds, springing from the ground and landing upon it with both feet together, each leap being accompanied by a deep, bellowing roar, the volume of which testified to immense power of lung, while their small, deeply set eyes blazed with fury.

"Shoot from the wings, inward," ordered Earle, "then we shall not waste two bullets upon the same beast. You begin with the one on your extreme left."

As Earle spoke he threw up his rifle, and pressing the trigger, neatly dropped the beast on the extreme right of the advancing line, while Dick brought down his mark with a broken leg. But these casualties had not the slightest effect upon the others, who continued their charge without the smallest sign of a check.

"Keep cool and shoot straight," admonished Earle, as his rifle spoke a second time and another foe crashed to earth with a .35 soft-nosed bullet through his brain. Dick, on the other hand, very much less hardened than Earle for such a nerve-trying experience as this, grew a little flurried, and caught his next mark in the shoulder, shattering the bone and goading the beast to a condition of absolutely maniacal fury, but failing to stop him until he had sent a bullet through the brute's lungs, when he halted, coughing up a torrent of blood. And so matters proceeded until the two men had emptied their Remingtons, the ten shots accounting for seven dead and two put hors de combat.

There was no time to reload, for the monsters still continued the charge, apparently quite unconscious of, or supremely indifferent to, what had happened to their companions; the two men therefore dropped their empty rifles, and each whipped a seven-shot Colt automatic from his belt, and continued his fusillade. Those Colt pistols were formidable weapons, of .45 calibre, at close quarters quite as effective as the rifles; and before the beasts succeeded in closing, all but four were down.

Of those four, King Cole tackled one, launching himself like an arrow at the creature's throat, with a low snarl of concentrated rage, and sinking his fangs deeply in the muscular, hairy neck, the claws of his two fore feet firmly gripping the huge shoulders of the beast while the strong claws of his powerful hind feet tore open the abdomen and practically disembowelled his adversary. And as the pair went down, roaring, snarling, and fighting desperately, Earle thrust the muzzle of his Colt into the yawning jaws of another and sent the heavy bullet crashing upward through the brute's skull at the precise instant that the powerful jaws snapped like a trap upon the barrel of the weapon.

Meanwhile, the remaining two hurled themselves upon Dick. One of them he shot clean through the heart as the brute sprang upon him, and although there can be no doubt that the creature instantly died, the momentum of his spring was sufficient to dash the lad to the ground and send his pistol flying. And before he could regain his feet or draw his remaining pistol, the last survivor was upon him, with a ponderous club upraised to dash out the youngster's brains. Like lightning the blow fell; but instinctively and without premeditation Dick just managed to dodge it; and such was the force of the blow that the club snapped short off in the brute's great hairy hand. And now the knowledge of boxing that the young sailor had aforetime somewhat painfully acquired, came to his aid, for as his ferocious antagonist crouched over him, his great tusks bared and dripping foam, while the little eyes burnt red with deadly hate, Dick threw his whole strength into a right-hander, which caught the beast fair and square on the point of the chin with a crash that sent the head violently back and caused the vertebrae of the neck to crack, following up the blow with a punch in the wind that fairly knocked the beast out of time for the moment. That moment proved sufficient to save Cavendish's life, for it afforded him time to whip the remaining pistol from his belt and discharge it full in the brute's face as it gathered itself together for what would in all probability have proved a fatal leap, so far as Dick was concerned.



CHAPTER NINE.

THE SCULPTURED ROCKS.

"Bravo! Dick, old chap," exclaimed Earle, turning to his friend, with one hand outstretched in offered help while the other grasped a smoking pistol—"well fought! Are you hurt at all?"

"N-o, I think not," replied Dick, a little doubtfully, as with the help of the other's proffered hand he scrambled to his feet. "That fellow, there"—pointing to the body of the ape that had hurled him to the ground—"pretty nearly knocked the wind out of me, while the other did his level best to dash my brains out, and I've barked my knuckles rather badly against his chin; but otherwise I think I'm all right, thanks. And you?"

"I?" returned Earle. "Oh, I'm as right as rain. Say, Dick, that was something like a scrap at the last. What? Guess if it hadn't been for old King Cole, we'd have been in rather a tight place. Look at the beggar. Ugh! he is not pleasant to look at when he's real riled, is he? He has brought off his kill all right, and I guess we'd better leave him to it a bit. I believe I don't particularly want to interfere with him just now. Let's draw off a bit and have a look at one of those dead brutes out yonder. I rather want to examine one; for I guess this is an entirely new species of monkey."

"They look to me very much like gorillas," remarked Dick.

"They do," agreed Earle. "But, all the same, they are not gorillas. There are no gorillas on this continent, so far as is known. The gorilla is, I believe, peculiar to Africa. And these creatures, though they certainly somewhat resemble gorillas in a general way, have certain points of difference, the most important of which is the shape of the skull, while another is their much greater bulk. I have shot several gorillas; but I never saw one to come near any of these brutes in point of size. By the way, where is the one you stopped with a broken leg? We may as well put him out of his misery."

The creature in question was nowhere to be seen; but they eventually got upon his trail and followed him up to the border of the forest, into which he had evidently retreated; and they came to the conclusion that, as he had contrived to get thus far, they would leave him alone and give him a chance to recover. Then they found one of the dead apes, and Earle subjected the carcass to a long and exhaustive examination, making copious notes and discoursing learnedly meanwhile, though it is to be feared that his remarks and explanations left Dick but little the wiser. It was close upon sunset when at length they returned to the camp, where they were shortly afterward joined by King Cole, once more calm and in his right mind.

They took the precaution to surround the camp with a circle of fires that night, to ward off a possible attack, posting a sentinel at each fire for the double purpose of keeping it going and maintaining a watch.

The belt of forest which the explorers entered on the following day proved to be of no very great extent, the passage through it occupying but a day and a half. Emerging from it, the party crossed a splendid savannah, abounding in game, chiefly of the antelope variety, and large birds somewhat resembling bustard, the tameness of which seemed to indicate that man was practically unknown to them, while it enabled them to replenish their larder with the utmost ease. This savannah extended for a distance of about ten miles, and terminated among the foothills of a range of mountains of very moderate height stretching right athwart the path of the explorers. Among those foothills the party pitched their camp at the end of the day's journey.

The next day's march conducted them into country the character of which was different from any hitherto traversed by them. It was exceedingly rugged and broken, treeless, the soil covered with a short, rich grass, which would have rendered it ideal as grazing country, dotted here and there with small clumps of bush, some of which were fruit-bearing, while at frequent intervals great outcrops of metamorphic rock were met with, which time and weather had in many cases wrought into extraordinary shapes.

It was near noon when the party entered a narrow ravine bordered on either side by vertical sandstone cliffs of about a hundred feet high, and here they came to a halt and pitched their camp; for no sooner had they fairly entered the ravine than they found themselves confronted by a splendid example of those extraordinary sculptured rocks which have excited the wonder and admiration of the few travellers in South America who have been fortunate enough to find them.

In the present case the sculptured rock consisted of a stretch of sandstone cliff about two hundred and fifty feet in length by about a hundred feet in height, practically vertical, the entire surface of which was covered with panels presenting a series of pictures portraying what appeared to be a genealogical record of certain customs and ceremonies, mostly of a religious character, of some gone and forgotten race of people. The work was executed in fairly high relief, and the drawing of the figures, of which there were thousands on the entire sculptured surface, evidenced artistic ability of a truly remarkable character, including a considerable knowledge of perspective. The panels portraying religious ceremonies indicated that the sun and fire were, or symbolised, the principal deities worshipped; and there was abundant evidence that human sacrifice was common. All this was, of course, absorbingly interesting to Earle, as was the light which the sculptures threw upon the personal appearance and costumes of the people portrayed. If the artist—or artists, for there must have been thousands of them to have produced such a magnificent and colossal piece of work—could be believed, the departed race boasted some exceptionally fine examples of male and female beauty, while the costumes bore more than a casual resemblance to those pictured on the ancient monuments of Egypt. Earle announced with finality that he intended to remain in camp on the spot, not only until he had minutely and exhaustively examined the sculptures, but also until he had photographed them as a whole and some separately. That probably meant at least a week's sojourn where they then were.

The proposed arrangement suited Dick Cavendish admirably, for the prolonged halt appealed to him as something very much in the nature of a holiday, especially when Earle declared that he would need no assistance in his photographic operations, so that Dick would be free to amuse himself in any way he pleased. Dick was rapidly becoming as keen a naturalist, in a way, as Earle; once or twice, during the morning's march, he had observed some particularly gorgeous butterflies flitting about, and he promised himself that he would spend at least a portion of his sojourn in the ravine in an endeavour to secure a few specimens. There was one duty, however, which he at once recognised must fall upon him, which was the supply of the camp with meat, and accordingly, upon the conclusion of the mid-day meal, when Earle started to get his photographic gear ready for the campaign among the sculptures, Dick took his rifle and, accompanied by two of the Indians, proceeded up the ravine in search of game. The country rapidly became wilder and more picturesque as they went, to such an extent indeed that Dick quickly made up his mind to pay it another and more leisurely visit; and after about an hour's tramp, which carried him into a labyrinth of rocks, he got a splendid shot at a creature strongly resembling a bighorn, which he neatly bowled over and with it triumphantly returned to camp.

On the fourth morning of the party's sojourn in the ravine, Dick, accompanied as usual by two Indians, set out, immediately after breakfast, in search of meat for the day. Game was not particularly plentiful in that region, but the lad preferred to take his chance of finding something in his accustomed haunts, rather than tramp all the way back to the savannah, and accordingly he proceeded, as usual, right up the ravine, until he arrived at a point where a branch route led off toward the left. Hitherto he had not tried his luck in that particular direction, but he decided to do so now; and after about half an hour's tramp, upon surmounting the crest of a ridge, he found himself looking down into a small circular basin, surrounded by rocky cliffs, the bottom of which was a smooth, grassy plain, in which, as luck would have it, several antelopes were grazing. The nearest of these, a fine fat buck to all appearance, was at least a thousand yards away, which was much too long a shot for Dick to risk; and he therefore set out to stalk the animal, leaving the Indians where they were to follow as soon as the buck should fall.

There were clumps of bush growing quite close up to the base of the encircling cliffs, offering admirable cover for stalking, as well as a certain amount of shelter from the sun's scorching rays, and of these Dick gladly availed himself, ultimately succeeding in bringing down the buck with a three-hundred yard shot. Then, while waiting for the Indians to come and break up the quarry, the young man flung himself down in the shadow of a clump of bush to rest.

Stretched there at length in the cool, lush grass, with the great wall of sandstone cliff towering before him, it gradually dawned upon Dick that the enormous mass of rock upon which he was gazing must be that upon the opposite face of which were those wonderful sculptured pictures which Earle was doubtless at that moment busily engaged in photographing, and the thought caused him to regard the cliff with some interest. There were no sculptures upon it, but as Dick allowed his gaze to wander over the face of the cliff his quick eye detected a sort of crack some twenty feet above the surface of the ground, out of which, as he lay regarding it, there came fluttering one of those splendid butterflies, a specimen or two of which he was so eager to obtain; and he at once made up his mind that as soon as the Indians had broken up the buck and carried it away, he would explore that crack, which looked wide enough to allow him to squeeze his body through, and access to which seemed possible by way of a number of narrow ridges and projections in the face of the rock. Accordingly, as soon as the Indians had done their work and departed—Dick having informed them that he proposed to remain in the basin for a while and examine it thoroughly—he slung his rifle over his shoulder and started to climb the rock, reaching the crack with but little difficulty.

He found that the aperture was considerably larger than it had appeared to be when viewed from below and squeezed through it with ease, to find himself in the mouth of what looked like a cave, the dimensions of which, however, it was not possible to ascertain, for within a couple of yards of the entrance he found himself in darkness. But he saw enough to stimulate his curiosity and determine him to see more; and with this object he descended to the plain and, hunting about among the bushes, soon secured a sufficiency of dry twigs and branches to serve as torches. With these and a bit of dry moss he returned to the aperture in the face of the cliff, where, before entering, he ignited the moss with the aid of a powerful burning-glass which he habitually carried about in his pocket, and then, blowing the moss into flame, kindled one of his torches.

At first sight the cave appeared to be of very circumscribed dimensions, being only just high enough for Dick to stand upright in it, while he could touch both its sides at the same moment with his outstretched hands. But it extended back toward the heart of the cliff, and as the lad cautiously groped his way inward the crack gradually widened until at length he found himself traversing a spacious tunnel, piercing steadily deeper and deeper into the heart of the cliff. Determined now to see the full extent of the cave, and beginning to wonder whether perchance it pierced right through the rock, Dick pushed steadily on, oblivious of the fact that his stock of torches was rapidly diminishing; and when at length this fact was forced upon his attention by the necessity to kindle the last torch, it was far too late for him to think of returning, and feeling by this time convinced that there must surely be another outlet at no great distance, he set his teeth and pushed on, hoping to reach that other outlet before his last torch should be consumed. But the hope was vain, for in less than ten minutes Dick found himself in profound darkness, with still no indication of any other outlet than that by which he had entered.