Part 5 (1/2)
When all was quiet the Jaguar again resumed her upward journey while Myla slumbered on in blissful ignorance of the proximity of her deadly enemy.
As the gloom deepened numbers of the nocturnal feeders began to arrive.
First of all came the kinkajous, beautiful creatures of the weasel family, with glossy brown fur and long, prehensile tails. In some respects they resembled monkeys. They were alert and active but silent as the very shadows.
The gray night monkeys put in their appearance soon after in a twittering, nervous band, s.n.a.t.c.hed their food furtively, and departed without loss of time.
When the great cura.s.sows reached the spot it was with a rush of wings that startled all the other creatures to the point of panic. They were elegant birds, almost the size of turkeys, of a glossy, jet black color and having beautiful crests of curled feathers. As they ate, they flapped heavily from branch to branch and emitted low, groaning calls.
Myla heard their coming and trembled as with an ague. It was not her first experience with the cura.s.sows but previously she had paid scant attention to them from the security of her perch in the spiny palm tree.
Now it was a different matter. She was alone in a strange country and the uncanny noises all around her terrified her and made her flesh creep, and finally the nerve-racking commotion became unbearable. She arose and silently started back toward the bridge across the windfall.
Suma could not suppress a cough of disappointment and rage as the monkey slipped out of her reach. The one opportunity she had watched and waited for was gone. And, Warruk, hearing his mother's voice, replied with a wail of despair. As for Myla, the realization of her narrow escape had the same effect upon her that an exploding fire cracker would have produced. She cast caution to the winds and dashed away with a burst of speed that made the branches shake as if agitated by a heavy wind.
The Jaguar quickly slid to the ground and raced along underneath the fleeing monkey. As the latter neared the windfall Suma suddenly seemed to divine her intentions and sped on ahead, crossed the creeper-covered barrier and started up the tree the branches of which formed the far side of the aerial bridge. She had just time enough to crouch on the thick b.u.t.t of a limb that overhung the pa.s.sageway when the rustling of the leaves announced the arrival of Myla. A dark form emerged from the wall of trees opposite her and ran nimbly onto the swaying bridge. Suma waited with bated breath and blazing eyes as her claws crept out of their sheathes. Onward came the shadow-like figure, all unsuspicious of the vengeful fury that lay in wait; and when the monkey reached the border of her own country and, as she thought, safety, a lightning blow from a monstrous, claw-armed paw smote her from above and sent her hurtling to the cus.h.i.+on of creepers below.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Suma waited with bated breath and blazing eyes]
Suma followed her in a prodigious leap, unmindful of her own safety.
And scarcely had Myla landed with a thud when the Jaguar was upon her--not to continue the a.s.sault but to rescue the whining Warruk who lay on the bed of leaves several feet away. She seized her cub by the nape of the neck, as a cat carries her kitten and without a moment's pause dashed away into the forest.
As for Myla, the blow had stunned her; and when her senses slowly returned she wondered where she was and how she happened to be there. It came to her in a flash. A moment later she was painfully dragging herself up into the branches after which she slowly made her way back toward the foothills, glad to be rid of the surly Warruk and firmly resolved thereafter to pursue her own life in the treetops and to let the denizens of the lower world pursue theirs without interference from her.
Suma crossed the windfall a short distance from the scene of the encounter and headed toward the east. Throughout the greater part of that night she travelled, impelled by a mad desire to put as much distance as possible between herself and the region infested with the meddlesome monkeys. Also, a mysterious something in the air told her that the time for her journey to the lowlands had arrived. And, when at last the shrieking parrot flocks overhead and the dull, gray light in front of her, bravely struggling through the mist, foretold the coming of day she stopped and carefully deposited her burden on the leaves.
There followed a minute inspection, much fondling and purring and other evidences of glad rejoicing over the reunion.
Warruk was none the worse for his experience except that he had lost some of his plumpness; and he had developed such a strong dislike of monkeys that it boded ill for the members of that tribe in the future.
At last there came the day when the rising sun vanquished the sullen mists that had so persistently hugged the earth and all the world breathed in the glad fragrance of the morning and revelled in the light and warmth; and gave thanks for its deliverance from the clutches of Siluk, the Storm-G.o.d. For, the months of rain had been full of gloom; the days dark and cheerless, the nights chill and dreary beyond measure.
The pulse of life ran high in antic.i.p.ation of the joyous days to follow.
The birds, bubbling over with the sheer joy of living raised their voices in a swelling chorus and flashed their gorgeous colors as they hopped and flitted through the thick foliage bedecked with myriads of drops of water that scintillated like the rarest of gems. Their ranks had been augmented during the period of enforced seclusion and numbers of their young lacking the grace and brilliant hues of their elders viewed the new world with bright eyes as they learned the manifold lessons of life upon which their existence depended.
Monkeys howled with a tinge of cheerfulness in their hoa.r.s.e voices; squirrels whisked their plume-like tails and barked at the swaying, sparkling leaves; tapirs wandered out into the open places; and the sinuous, scale-covered bodies of snakes glided from their hiding-places under the rotting leaves and prostrate tree-trunks and sought the splashes of sunlight for a reviving bask in the warm rays.
Amidst such scenes Suma led her cub through the region of forest growth, keeping with a fixed purpose to the direction that would take them to the vast open country where life and living were more worth while. They travelled in a leisurely manner either by day or by night, as suited their fancy and rested on a slanting tree-trunk if one was conveniently available and if not, at the foot of some giant of the jungle, or in the seclusion of a bamboo thicket.
Food was abundant although it required almost constant effort to secure enough to supply the two for the reason that only the smaller animals were stalked--for Warruk's benefit--so that he might become a successful hunter, learning his lessons step by step. But, when at last they reached the forest's end and the boundless reaches of papyrus marshes, pampas and tree islands lay before them Suma did not hesitate to slay whatever came within her reach. Warruk was always an interested spectator from some nearby point of concealment.
It was at the edge of one of the marshes that the cub saw his first deer. Suma had sensed his presence and stood tense and alert while the cub, a few feet in her wake, gazed at the fringe of swaying reeds in the tops of which black birds with red heads sat and trilled a cheery warble. Suddenly the stems parted and the head of a deer, crowned with wide-spreading antlers appeared framed in the ma.s.s of green. Warruk was fascinated by the sight of the magnificent animal which seemed to challenge them and expected his mother to hurl herself upon it and bring it down so that he could feel the joy of possessing it and of examining it at closer range. But Suma did nothing of the kind; she stood like an inanimate thing as the moments pa.s.sed, knowing well that the deer's curiosity would cause it to draw nearer; that would be the time for the spring. But Warruk did not know this. He waited as long as he could and then bounded to his mother's side with an inquisitive whine. The spell was broken. The deer turned and vanished with a crackling of reeds and the splash of water; in a moment it was safe in the depths of the marsh.
Suma knew better than to follow; she merely bestowed a look of disgust upon her young and moved away.
That very afternoon Warruk's very existence was threatened. His mother had penetrated into the papyrus a short distance the more fully to investigate a promising scent while he waited without. A spotted form, very like his mother but of much smaller size, darted from the reeds not ten yards away and stood eyeing him. Warruk did not like the other creature's looks and said so in a low growl, but instead of moving away it advanced a few steps and made an ugly grimace. How dared the impudent thing affect such boldness! The cub was accustomed to seeing much larger animals beat a hasty retreat upon the approach of himself and his mother and somehow he had gained the impression that he might be at least partly the cause of their temerity. But this stranger actually threatened him. In resentment he rushed blindly forward until the ocelot, for such it was, also charged and bowled him over with a swift stroke of its paw. He regained his feet with difficulty and screaming with pain and fright darted back towards the reeds. Suma heard the cry of distress and charged out of the dense cover with a snarl, but the ocelot had antic.i.p.ated her coming and in a graceful leap to one side disappeared in the papyrus.
After that Warruk was content to leave the larger creatures to his mother; but the smaller ones such as the cavies and opossums he dealt with mercilessly and swiftly; in fact, Suma urged him to such a course and often watched from some nearby point of vantage while he conducted the stalk and launched the attack. Then she walked up to him and rewarded dexterity with deep purrs and penalized failure with cutting indifference or unmistakable chidings.
Life in the low country for the two wanderers was simply a succession of pleasant days and nights with just enough adventure to make it interesting. They never lingered long in one place and by gradual stages their journeying took them further and further away from the forested foothills and nearer to the great arteries that poured their waters into the system of the mighty Amazon.