Part 23 (1/2)
”Who would send it to him?” put in dick ”His father is still in jail”
”Perhaps he got Muot, Mumps is away”
There was no time to discuss the situation further, for they were to start early on the following , and there were yet a dozen siven attention All were busy, and it was not until after eleven that evening that they turned in
The day for the departure froht and clear, and Cujo appeared with his assistants while they were still eating breakfast
”Werry good day for uood ”
”You can't do any too well for me,” answered dick ”I hope our expedition into the interior is both short and successful”
At eight o'clock they were off At first they had thought to go on horseback; but this was abandoned by the advice of the native, who declared that horses would provethan a help in e,” he explained ”No clio on foot an' make better tihhich for several roves of tropical growth, paloes, and the like, with enormous vines festooned froreat variety, of ferns and mosses, the horound was black and wherever turned up gave forth a sickly odor of decayed vegetation
”That is regular fever territory,” explained Randolph Rover
”Boys, do not sleep on the ground if you can possibly avoid it I sincerely trust that none of us take the tropical fever”
”If I feel it coood dose of quinine,”
declared Toood supply of that valuable drug
Two days traveling passed without special incident On one side of the highas the broad river, which glinted like molten lead in the sunshi+ne They could not travel very close to its bank, for here the ground was uncertain Once Saet a better view of the stream, and, before Cujo noticed it, found himself up to his knees in a lue
”Hi! help est Rover, and all of the party turned, to behold hiot stuck in de o to Sam's assistance, when Cujo called him back
”Must be werry careful,” said the native ”Ground bad over dare--lose life if urn don't have a care Wait fo' me” And he approached Sarew like so h to throw the youth the end of a rope he carried The pull that, followed nearly took Sam's arms out by the sockets; but the boy was saved, to return to the others of the party with an experience which was destined to be very useful to him in, the future
”It will teachafter this,”
he declared ”Why, that bog looked alround over here!”
”Tropical places are all full of just such treacherous swamps,”
returned Randolph Rover ”It will be wise for all of us to ree territory and that we must have our eyes and ears wide open”
At half-past eleven they came to a halt for dinner The sun was now alh to seek the shelter of a nu in front of a--native hostelry
”We will rest here until two o'clock,” said Mr Rover ”It is all out of the question to travel in the heat of the day, as we did yesterday, in such a climate as this Even the natives cannot stand that”
They found the hostelry presided over by a short, fat native who scarcely spoke a word of English But he could speak French, and Mr Rover spoke to hie, while Cujo carried on a talk in the native tongue The midday repast was cooked over a fire built between several stones The boys watched the cooking process with interest and were surprised to find, when it caood They had antelope steak and a generous supply of native bread, and pure cocoa, which Toood as chocolate
After the rass ha the wayside inn, if such iteach other stories, while the Rovers dozed away, lulled to sleep by the war