Part 18 (1/2)
The others nodded agree In the shadows no creature moved Afar off some bird cried mournfully like a lost soul condereen solitudes No other sound ca forest mosquitoes, to which they now had becouides, they ht as well have been alone Yet they knew the Brazilians were not far away, threading the n of danger
At length a long soft whistle sounded in the bush ahead Any Indian hunter hearing that sound would straightway have begun scanning the high branches, for the liquid call was that of thetrio knew it for Pedro's signal that all was clear At once they slid their canoe to shore, lifted its bow to a fir the shadows, quietly advanced in squad column
A few steps, and they halted suddenly and whirled A voice had spoken just behind the leisurely between the root buttresses of a huge tree, Lourenco looked up at theth of hi him
”Of what use are your eyes, comrades?” he chaffed ”In the bush one should see in all directions at once You were looking at that patch of sunlight just ahead, yes? But danger lurks in the shadows, not in the glaring light”
Without awaiting an answer, he arose and took the lead At the edge of the s for the right place,” he added then ”Look around Do you see anything?”
Swiftly they scrutinized the gap left by the fall of a great tree whose gigantic trunk had bludgeoned weaker trees away in its crushi+ng descent
Seeing nothing unusual, they then peered around them Tim suddenly snapped up his rifle
”Holler tree there--and a man in it! Hey! come out o' there!”
”Your eyes improve,” Lourenco coun as Pedro, grinning, came out of his concealment
”That is the tree of the Raposa,” Lourenco went on ”The lightning flashi+ng in from above showed us the man But now, senhores, I think we must traain
There is no trace of hi to the hollow tree, he peered about inside it The cavity was al a hammock in, but it was empty of any indication of habitation, hue--that was all
”No sign anywhere around here, eh?” queried McKay
”We have found none We shall look farther, but I have small hope If you senhores will make the camp this time we shall start at once and stay out until dark Build no fire until we return And if you hear the call of the mutum, pay no attention to it; we may use it to locate each other if we separate, and also perhaps as a decoy Any wildthat call would seek the birdKeep quiet and be on guard”
”Right Go ahead”
The bushmen turned at once and stole away The others returned to the canoes, transported the necessary duffle to the base of the hollow tree, ainst the trunk to smoke, watch, and wait Several ti in the distance Then caap crawled steadily eastward Knowlton tested the feed of his autoht with the Peruvians, he had kept carefully oiled and free frohtest speck of rust Tio, eyes and ears alert--a useless activity, but one which provided an outlet for his restless energy McKay let his gaze rove over the s the contours of the towering trunks, the prone giant whose fall had opened the hole in the leafy roof, the parasitical vines twined about other trees, the thin, outflung buttresses supporting the s to occupy his vision So limned on his brain did the scene become that after a time he could close his eyes and see it in every iht have been two hours after Pedro and Lourenco had departed--the shadows had grownthat he was being watched He glanced at his co at hi with hands clasped around updrawn knees, was dozing Tius The captain's eyes searched the short vistas all about, spying nothing new Still the feeling persisted Then all at once his roaaze stopped, became fixed on a point soh-barked red-brown tree, and froround, projected a blackish bole McKay was very sure the protuberance had not been there before He had stared steadily at that tree more than once, and its shape was quite clear in his rowth now revealed for the first ti sun slant, or--
For ain, rose directly in McKay's line of sight, yawned silently, swung his gun to his shoulder, and began another slow parade of his self-appointed post When he had stepped aside McKay looked again for the puzzling bole
It was gone
With a bound the captain was up and dashi+ng toward the tree, drawing his pistol as he ran But within three strides he went down A tough vine, unnoticed on the ground, looped snakily around one ankle and threw hiun flew fro sound flitted past, followed by a srunt fro, McKay kicked his foot loose and heaved himself up Empty handed, he continued his rush for the tree But when he reached it he found nothing behind it If anything had been there it noas gone, and the vacant shadows beyond were as inscrutable as ever
Feet padded behind him and Tim and Knowlton halted on either side A , and Tiain! If ye take a tumble in my line o' fire, for the love o' Mike stay down till I shoot! I come so near drillin' ye when ye hopped up that I'ht now”