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+                         KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+
+
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost
+no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
+under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
+eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+
+
+Title: Ken Ward in the Jungle
+Author: Zane Grey
+Release Date: June 14, 2014 [EBook #45974]
+Language: English
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Cover art]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page 182)]
+
+
+
+
+                                KEN WARD
+                             IN THE JUNGLE
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+                               ZANE GREY
+
+                               AUTHOR OF
+                          THE YOUNG FORESTER,
+                           THE YOUNG PITCHER,
+                         THE YOUNG LION HUNTER,
+                         THE U. P. TRAIL, ETC.
+
+
+
+                              ILLUSTRATED
+
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                            GROSSET & DUNLAP
+                               PUBLISHERS
+
+            Published by Arrangement with Harper & Brothers
+                  Made in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+                 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY HARPER & BROTHERS
+
+                PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+                               *CONTENTS*
+
+CHAP.
+
+      I. The Prize
+     II. The Home of the Tarpon
+    III. An Indian Boatman
+     IV. At the Jungle River
+      V. The First Camp
+     VI. Wilderness Life
+    VII. Running the Rapids
+   VIII. The First Tiger-cat
+     IX. In the White Water
+      X. Lost!
+     XI. An Army of Snakes
+    XII. Catching Strange Fish
+   XIII. A Turkey-Hunt
+    XIV. A Fight with a Jaguar
+     XV. The Vicious Garrapatoes
+    XVI. Field Work of a Naturalist
+   XVII. A Mixed-up Tiger-hunt
+  XVIII. Watching a Runway
+    XIX. Adventures with Crocodiles
+     XX. Treed by Wild Pigs
+    XXI. The Leaping Tarpon
+   XXII. Stricken Down
+  XXIII. Out of the Jungle
+
+
+
+
+                        *KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE*
+
+
+
+                                  *I*
+
+                              *THE PRIZE*
+
+
+"What a change from the Arizona desert!"
+
+The words broke from the lips of Ken Ward as he leaned from the window
+of the train which was bearing his brother and himself over the plateau
+to Tampico in Tamaulipas, the southeastern state of Mexico.  He had
+caught sight of a river leaping out between heavily wooded slopes and
+plunging down in the most beautiful waterfall he had ever seen.
+
+"Look, Hal," he cried.
+
+The first fall was a long white streak, ending in a dark pool; below
+came cascade after cascade, fall after fall, some wide, others narrow,
+and all white and green against the yellow rock.  Then the train curved
+round a spur of the mountain, descended to a level, to be lost in a
+luxuriance of jungle growth.
+
+It was indeed a change for Ken Ward, young forester, pitcher of the
+varsity nine at school, and hunter of lions in the Arizona cañons.  Here
+he was entering the jungle of the tropics.  The rifles and the camp
+outfit on the seat beside his brother Hal and himself spoke of coming
+adventures.  Before them lay an unknown wilderness--the semi-tropical
+jungle.  And the future was to show that the mystery of the jungle was
+stranger even than their imaginings.
+
+It was not love of adventure alone or interest in the strange new forest
+growths that had drawn Ken to the jungle.  His uncle, the one who had
+gotten Ken letters from the Forestry Department at Washington, had been
+proud of Ken’s Arizona achievements. This uncle was a member of the
+American Geographical Society and a fellow of the New York Museum of
+Natural History.  He wanted Ken to try his hand at field work in the
+jungle of Mexico, and if that was successful, then to explore the ruined
+cities of wild Yucatan. If Ken made good as an explorer his reward was
+to be a trip to Equatorial Africa after big game.  And of course that
+trip meant opportunity to see England and France, and, what meant more
+to Ken, a chance to see the great forests of Germany, where forestry had
+been carried on for three hundred years.
+
+In spite of the fact that the inducement was irresistible, and that
+Ken’s father was as proud and eager as Ken’s uncle to have him make a
+name for himself, and that Hal would be allowed to go with him, Ken had
+hesitated.  There was the responsibility for Hal and the absolute
+certainty that Hal could not keep out of mischief.  Still Ken simply
+could not have gone to Mexico leaving his brother at home
+broken-hearted.
+
+At last the thing had been decided.  It was Hal’s ambition to be a
+naturalist and to collect specimens, and the uncle had held out possible
+recognition from the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.  Perhaps he
+might find a new variety of some animal to which the scientists would
+attach his name.  Then the lad was passionately eager to see Ken win
+that trip to Africa.  There had been much study of maps and books of
+travel, science, and natural history.  There had been the most careful
+instruction and equipment for semi-tropical camp life.  The uncle had
+given Ken valuable lessons in map-drawing, in estimating distance and
+topography, and he had indicated any one of several rivers in the jungle
+belt of Mexico. Traversing one hundred miles of unknown jungle river,
+with intelligent observation and accurate reports, would win the prize
+for Ken Ward.  Now the race was on.  Would Ken win?
+
+Presently the train crossed a bridge.  Ken Ward had a brief glance at
+clear green water, at great cypress-trees, gray and graceful with long,
+silvery, waving moss, and at the tangled, colorful banks.  A water-fowl
+black as coal, with white-crested wings, skimmed the water in swift wild
+flight, to disappear up the shady river-lane.  Then the train clattered
+on, and, a mile or more beyond the bridge, stopped at a station called
+Valles.  In the distance could be seen the thatched palm-leaf huts and
+red-tiled roofs of a hamlet.
+
+The boys got out to stretch their legs.  The warm, sweet, balmy air was
+a new and novel thing to them.  They strolled up and down the gravel
+walk, watching the natives.  Hal said he rather liked the looks of their
+brown bare feet and the thin cotton trousers and shirts, but he fancied
+the enormous sombreros were too heavy and unwieldy.  Ken spoke to
+several pleasant-faced Mexicans, each of whom replied: "No sabe, Señor."
+
+The ticket agent at the station was an American, and from the way he
+smiled and spoke Ken knew he was more than glad to see one of his own
+kind.  So, after Ken had replied to many questions about the States, he
+began to ask some of his own.
+
+"What’s the name of the waterfall we passed?"
+
+"Micas Falls," replied the agent.
+
+"And the river?"
+
+"It’s called the Santa Rosa."
+
+"Where does it go?"
+
+The agent did not know, except that it disappeared in the jungle.
+Southward the country was wild.  The villages were few and all along the
+railroad; and at Valles the river swung away to the southwest.
+
+"But it must flow into the Panuco River," said Ken.  He had studied maps
+of Mexico and had learned all that it was possible to learn before he
+undertook the journey.
+
+"Why, yes, it must find the Panuco somewhere down over the mountain,"
+answered the agent.
+
+"Then there are rapids in this little river?" asked Ken, in growing
+interest.
+
+"Well, I guess.  It’s all rapids."
+
+"How far to Tampico by rail?" went on Ken.
+
+"Something over a hundred miles."
+
+"Any game in the jungle hereabouts--or along the Santa Rosa?" continued
+Ken.
+
+The man laughed, and laughed in such a way that Ken did not need his
+assertion that it was not safe to go into the jungle.
+
+Whereupon Ken Ward became so thoughtful that he did not hear the talk
+that followed between the agent and Hal.  The engine bell roused him
+into action, and with Hal he hurried back to their seats.  And then the
+train sped on.  But the beauty of Micas Falls and the wildness of the
+Santa Rosa remained with Ken.  Where did that river go?  How many
+waterfalls and rapids did it have?  What teeming life must be along its
+rich banks!  It haunted Ken.  He wanted to learn the mystery of the
+jungle.  There was the same longing which had gotten him into the wild
+adventures in Penetier Forest and the Grand Cañon country of Arizona.
+And all at once flashed over him the thought that here was the jungle
+river for him to explore.
+
+"Why, that’s the very thing," he said, thinking aloud.
+
+"What’s wrong with you," asked Hal, "talking to yourself that way?"
+
+Ken did not explain.  The train clattered between green walls of jungle,
+and occasionally stopped at a station.  But the thought of the jungle
+haunted him until the train arrived at Tampico.
+
+Ken had the name of an American hotel, and that was all he knew about
+Tampico. The station was crowded with natives.  Man after man accosted
+the boys, jabbering excitedly in Mexican.  Some of these showed brass
+badges bearing a number and the word _Cargodore_.
+
+"Hal, I believe these fellows are porters or baggage-men," said Ken.
+And he showed his trunk check to one of them.  The fellow jerked it out
+of Ken’s hand and ran off. The boys ran after him.  They were relieved
+to see him enter a shed full of baggage.  And they were amazed to see
+him kneel down and take their trunk on his back.  It was a big trunk and
+heavy.  The man was small and light.
+
+"It ’ll smash him!" cried Hal.
+
+But the little _cargodore_ walked off with the trunk on his back.  Then
+Ken and Hal saw other _cargodores_ packing trunks.  The boys kept close
+to their man and used their eyes with exceeding interest.  The sun was
+setting, and the square, colored buildings looked as if they were in a
+picture of Spain.
+
+"Look at the boats--canoes!" cried Hal, as they crossed a canal.
+
+Ken saw long narrow canoes that had been hollowed out from straight
+tree-trunks.  They were of every size, and some of the paddles were
+enormous.  Crowds of natives were jabbering and jostling each other at a
+rude wharf.
+
+"Look back," called Hal, who seemed to have a hundred eyes.
+
+Ken saw a wide, beautiful river, shining red in the sunset.  Palm-trees
+on the distant shore showed black against the horizon.
+
+"Hal, that’s the Panuco.  What a river!"
+
+"Makes the Susquehanna look like a creek," was Hal’s comment.
+
+The _cargodore_ led the boys through a plaza, down a narrow street to
+the hotel.  Here they were made to feel at home.  The proprietor was a
+kindly American.  The hotel was crowded, and many of the guests were
+Englishmen there for the tarpon-fishing, with sportsmen from the States,
+and settlers coming in to take up new lands.  It was pleasant for Ken
+and Hal to hear their own language once more.  After dinner they sallied
+forth to see the town.  But the narrow dark streets and the blanketed
+natives stealing silently along were not particularly inviting.  The
+boys got no farther than the plaza, where they sat down on a bench.  It
+was wholly different from any American town.  Ken suspected that Hal was
+getting homesick, for the boy was quiet and inactive.
+
+"I don’t like this place," said Hal.  "What ’d you ever want to drag me
+way down here for?"
+
+"Humph! drag you?  Say, you pestered the life out of me, and bothered
+Dad till he was mad, and worried mother sick to let you come on this
+trip."
+
+Hal hung his head.
+
+"Now, you’re not going to show a streak of yellow?" asked Ken.  He knew
+how to stir his brother.
+
+Hal rose to the attack and scornfully repudiated the insinuation.  Ken
+replied that they were in a new country and must not reach conclusions
+too hastily.
+
+"I liked it back up there at the little village where we saw the green
+river and the big trees with the gray streamers on them," said Hal.
+
+"Well, I liked that myself," rejoined Ken. "I’d like to go back there
+and put a boat in the river and come all the way here."
+
+Ken had almost unconsciously expressed the thought that had been forming
+in his mind.  Hal turned slowly and looked at his brother.
+
+"Ken, that ’d be great--that’s what we came for!"
+
+"I should say so," replied Ken.
+
+"Well?" asked Hal, simply.
+
+That question annoyed Ken.  Had he not come south to go into the jungle?
+Had he come with any intention of shirking the danger of a wild trip?
+There was a subtle flattery in Hal’s question.
+
+"That Santa Rosa River runs through the jungle," went on Hal.  "It flows
+into the Panuco somewhere.  You know we figured out on the map that the
+Panuco’s the only big river in this jungle.  That’s all we want to know.
+And, Ken, you know you’re a born boatman.  Why, look at the rapids we’ve
+shot on the Susquehanna.  Remember that trip we came down the Juniata?
+The water was high, too.  Ken, you can take a boat down that Santa
+Rosa!"
+
+"By George!  I believe I can," exclaimed Ken, and he thrilled at the
+thought.
+
+"Ken, let’s go.  You’ll win the prize, and I’ll get specimens.  Think
+what we’d have to tell Jim Williams and Dick Leslie when we go West next
+summer!"
+
+"Oh, Hal, I know--but this idea of a trip seems too wild."
+
+"Maybe it wouldn’t be so wild."
+
+In all fairness Ken could not deny this, so he kept silent.
+
+"Ken, listen," went on Hal, and now he was quite cool.  "If we’d
+promised the Governor not to take a wild trip I wouldn’t say another
+word.  But we’re absolutely free."
+
+"That’s why we ought to be more careful. Dad trusts me."
+
+"He trusts you because he knows you can take care of yourself, and me,
+too.  You’re a wonder, Ken.  Why, if you once made up your mind, you’d
+make that Santa Rosa River look like a canal."
+
+Ken began to fear that he would not be proof against the haunting call
+of that jungle river and the flattering persuasion of his brother and
+the ever-present ambition to show his uncle what he could do.
+
+"Hal, if I didn’t have you with me I’d already have made up my mind to
+tackle this river."
+
+That appeared to insult Hal.
+
+"All I’ve got to say is I’d be a help to you--not a drag," he said, with
+some warmth.
+
+"You’re always a help, Hal.  I can’t say anything against your
+willingness.  But you know your weakness.  By George! you made trouble
+enough for me in Arizona.  On a trip such as this you’d drive me crazy."
+
+"Ken, I won’t make any rash promises. I don’t want to queer myself with
+you. But I’m all right."
+
+"Look here, Hal; let’s wait.  We’ve only got to Tampico.  Maybe such a
+trip is impracticable--impossible.  Let’s find out more about the
+country."
+
+Hal appeared to take this in good spirit. The boys returned to the hotel
+and went to bed.  Hal promptly fell asleep.  But Ken Ward lay awake a
+long time thinking of the green Santa Rosa, with its magnificent
+moss-festooned cypresses.  And when he did go to sleep it was to dream
+of the beautiful waterfowl with the white-crested wings, and he was
+following it on its wild flight down the dark, mysterious river-trail
+into the jungle.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *II*
+
+                        *THE HOME OF THE TARPON*
+
+
+Hal’s homesickness might never have been in evidence at all, to judge
+from the way the boy, awakening at dawn, began to talk about the Santa
+Rosa trip.
+
+"Well," said Ken, as he rolled out of bed, "I guess we’re in for it."
+
+"Ken, will we go?" asked Hal, eagerly.
+
+"I’m on the fence."
+
+"But you’re leaning on the jungle side?"
+
+"Yes, kid--I’m slipping."
+
+Hal opened his lips to let out a regular Hiram Bent yell, when Ken
+clapped a hand over his mouth.
+
+"Hold on--we’re in the hotel yet."
+
+It took the brothers long to dress, because they could not keep away
+from the window. The sun was rising in rosy glory over misty lagoons.
+Clouds of creamy mist rolled above the broad Panuco.  Wild ducks were
+flying low.  The tiled roofs of the stone houses gleamed brightly, and
+the palm-trees glistened with dew.  The soft breeze that blew in was
+warm, sweet, and fragrant.
+
+After breakfast the boys went out to the front and found the hotel lobby
+full of fishermen and their native boatmen.  It was an interesting
+sight, as well as a surprise, for Ken and Hal did not know that Tampico
+was as famous for fishing as it was for hunting.  The huge rods and
+reels amazed them.
+
+"What kind of fish do these fellows fish for?" asked Hal.
+
+Ken was well enough acquainted with sport to know something about
+tarpon, but he had never seen one of the great silver fish. And he was
+speechless when Hal led him into a room upon the walls of which were
+mounted specimens of tarpon from six to seven feet in length and half as
+wide as a door.
+
+"Say, Ken!  We’ve come to the right place.  Those fishermen are all
+going out to fish for such whales as these here."
+
+"Hal, we never saw a big fish before," said Ken.  "And before we leave
+Tampico we’ll know what it means to hook tarpon."
+
+"I’m with you," replied Hal, gazing doubtfully and wonderingly at a fish
+almost twice as big as himself.
+
+Then Ken, being a practical student of fishing, as of other kinds of
+sport, began to stroll round the lobby with an intent to learn. He
+closely scrutinized the tackle.  And he found that the bait used was a
+white mullet six to ten inches long, a little fish which resembled the
+chub.  Ken did not like the long, cruel gaff which seemed a necessary
+adjunct to each outfit of tackle, and he vowed that in his fishing for
+tarpon he would dispense with it.
+
+Ken was not backward about asking questions, and he learned that
+Tampico, during the winter months, was a rendezvous for sportsmen from
+all over the world.  For the most part, they came to catch the leaping
+tarpon; the shooting along the Panuco, however, was as well worth while
+as the fishing. But Ken could not learn anything about the Santa Rosa
+River.  The _tierra caliente_, or hot belt, along the curve of the Gulf
+was intersected by small streams, many of them unknown and unnamed.  The
+Panuco swung round to the west and had its source somewhere up in the
+mountains.  Ken decided that the Santa Rosa was one of its headwaters.
+Valles lay up on the first swell of higher ground, and was distant from
+Tampico some six hours by train.  So, reckoning with the meandering
+course of jungle streams, Ken calculated he would have something like
+one hundred and seventy-five miles to travel by water from Valles to
+Tampico. There were Indian huts strung along the Panuco River, and fifty
+miles inland a village named Panuco.  What lay between Panuco and
+Valles, up over the wild steppes of that jungle, Ken Ward could only
+conjecture.
+
+Presently he came upon Hal in conversation with an American boy, who at
+once volunteered to show them around.  So they set out, and were soon
+becoming well acquainted.  Their guide said he was from Kansas; had been
+working in the railroad offices for two years; and was now taking a
+vacation.  His name was George Alling. Under his guidance the boys spent
+several interesting hours going about the city. During this walk Hal
+showed his first tendency to revert to his natural bent of mind.  Not
+for long could Hal Ward exist without making trouble for something.  In
+this case it was buzzards, of which the streets of Tampico were full.
+In fact, George explained, the buzzards were the only street-cleaning
+department in the town.  They were as tame as tame turkeys, and Hal
+could not resist the desire to chase them.  And he could be made to stop
+only after a white-helmeted officer had threatened him.  George
+explained further that although Tampico had no game-laws it protected
+these buzzard-scavengers of the streets.
+
+The market-house at the canal wharf was one place where Ken thought Hal
+would forget himself in the bustle and din and color. All was so strange
+and new.  Indeed, for a time Hal appeared to be absorbed in his
+surroundings, but when he came to a stall where a man had parrots and
+racoons and small deer, and three little yellow, black-spotted
+tiger-cats, as George called them, then once more Ken had to take Hal in
+tow.  Outside along the wharf were moored a hundred or more canoes of
+manifold variety.  All had been hewn from solid tree-trunks.  Some were
+long, slender, graceful, pretty to look at, and easy to handle in
+shallow lagoons, but Ken thought them too heavy and cumbersome for fast
+water.  Happening just then to remember Micas Falls, Ken had a momentary
+chill and a check to his enthusiasm for the jungle trip.  What if he
+encountered, in coming down the Santa Rosa, some such series of cascades
+as those which made Micas Falls!
+
+It was about noon when George led the boys out to the banks of the broad
+Panuco. Both Hal and Ken were suffering from the heat.  They had removed
+their coats, and were now very glad to rest in the shade.
+
+"This is a nice cool day," said George, and he looked cool.
+
+"We’ve got on our heavy clothes, and this tropic sun is new to us,"
+replied Ken.  "Say, Hal--"
+
+A crash in the water near the shore interrupted Ken.
+
+"Was that a rhinoceros?" inquired Hal.
+
+"Savalo," said George.
+
+"What’s that?"
+
+"Silver king.  A tarpon.  Look around and you’ll see one break water.
+There are some fishermen trolling down-stream.  Watch. Maybe one will
+hook a fish presently.  Then you’ll see some jumping."
+
+It was cool in the shade, as the brothers soon discovered, and they
+spent a delightful hour watching the river and the wild fowl and the
+tarpon.  Ken and Hal were always lucky.  Things happened for their
+benefit and pleasure.  Not only did they see many tarpon swirl like bars
+of silver on the water, but a fisherman hooked one of the great fish not
+fifty yards from where the boys sat. And they held their breath, and
+with starting eyes watched the marvelous leaps and dashes of the tarpon
+till, as he shot up in a last mighty effort, wagging his head, slapping
+his huge gills, and flinging the hook like a bullet, he plunged back
+free.
+
+"Nine out of ten get away," remarked George.
+
+"Did you ever catch one?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sure."
+
+"Hal, I’ve got to have some of this fishing," said Ken.  "But if we
+start at it now--would we ever get that jungle trip?"
+
+"Oh, Ken, you’ve made up your mind to go!" exclaimed Hal, in glee.
+
+"No, I haven’t," protested Ken.
+
+"Yes, you have," declared Hal.  "I know you."  And the whoop that he had
+suppressed in the hotel he now let out with good measure.
+
+Naturally George was interested, and at his inquiry Ken told him the
+idea for the Santa Rosa trip.
+
+"Take me along," said George.  There was a note of American spirit in
+his voice, a laugh on his lips, and a flash in his eyes that made Ken
+look at him attentively.  He was a slim youth, not much Hal’s senior,
+and Ken thought if ever a boy had been fashioned to be a boon comrade of
+Hal Ward this George Alling was the boy.
+
+"What do you think of the trip?" inquired Ken, curiously.
+
+"Fine.  We’ll have some fun.  We’ll get a boat and a mozo--"
+
+"What’s a mozo?"
+
+"A native boatman."
+
+"That’s a good idea.  I hadn’t thought of a boatman to help row.  But
+the boat is the particular thing.  I wouldn’t risk a trip in one of
+those canoes."
+
+"Come on, I’ll find a boat," said George.
+
+And before he knew it George and Hal were leading him back from the
+river.  George led him down narrow lanes, between painted stone houses
+and iron-barred windows, till they reached the canal.  They entered a
+yard where buzzards, goats, and razor-back pigs were contesting over the
+scavenger rights. George went into a boat-house and pointed out a long,
+light, wide skiff with a flat bottom. Ken did not need George’s praise,
+or the shining light in Hal’s eyes, or the boat-keeper’s importunities
+to make him eager to try this particular boat.  Ken Ward knew a boat
+when he saw one.  He jumped in, shoved it out, rowed up the canal,
+pulled and turned, backed water, and tried every stroke he knew.  Then
+he rested on the oars and whistled.  Hal’s shout of delight made him
+stop whistling.  Those two boys would have him started on the trip if he
+did not look sharp.
+
+"It’s a dandy boat," said Ken.
+
+"Only a peso a day, Ken," went on Hal. "One dollar Mex--fifty cents in
+our money. Quick, Ken, hire it before somebody else gets it."
+
+"Sure I’ll hire the boat," replied Ken; "but Hal, it’s not for that
+Santa Rosa trip.  We’ll have to forget that."
+
+"Forget your grandmother!" cried Hal. And then it was plain that he
+tried valiantly to control himself, to hide his joy, to pretend to agree
+with Ken’s ultimatum.
+
+Ken had a feeling that his brother knew him perfectly, and he was
+divided between anger and amusement.  They returned to the hotel and
+lounged in the lobby.  The proprietor was talking with some Americans,
+and as he now appeared to be at leisure he introduced the brothers and
+made himself agreeable.  Moreover, he knew George Alling well.  They
+began to chat, and Ken was considerably annoyed to hear George calmly
+state that he and his new-found friends intended to send a boat up to
+Valles and come down an unknown jungle river.
+
+The proprietor laughed, and, though the laugh was not unpleasant,
+somehow it nettled Ken Ward.
+
+"Why not go?" he asked, quietly, and he looked at the hotel man.
+
+"My boy, you can’t undertake any trip like that."
+
+"Why not?" persisted Ken.  "Is there any law here to prevent our going
+into the jungle?"
+
+"There’s no law.  No one could stop you. But, my lad, what’s the sense
+of taking such a fool trip?  The river here is full of tarpon right now.
+There are millions of ducks and geese on the lagoons.  You can shoot
+deer and wild turkey right on the edge of town. If you want tiger and
+javelin, go out to one of the ranches where they have dogs to hunt with,
+where you’ll have a chance for your life.  These tigers and boars will
+kill a man. There’s all the sport any one wants right close to Tampico."
+
+"I don’t see how all that makes a reason why we shouldn’t come down the
+Santa Rosa," replied Ken.  "We want to explore--map the river."
+
+The hotel man seemed nettled in return.
+
+"You’re only kids.  It ’d be crazy to start out on that wild trip."
+
+It was on Ken’s lips to mention a few of the adventures which he
+believed justly gave him a right to have pride and confidence in his
+ability.  But he forbore.
+
+"It’s a fool trip," continued the proprietor. "You don’t know this
+river.  You don’t know where you’ll come out.  It’s wild up in that
+jungle.  I’ve hunted up at Valles, and no native I ever met would go a
+mile from the village.  If you take a mozo he’ll get soaked with canya.
+He’ll stick a knife in you or run off and leave you when you most need
+help.  Nobody ever explored that river.  It ’ll likely be full of
+swamps, sandbars, bogs.  You’d get fever.  Then the crocodiles, the
+boars, the bats, the snakes, the tigers!  Why, if you could face these
+you’d still have the ticks--the worst of all.  The ticks would drive men
+crazy, let alone boys. It’s no undertaking for a boy."
+
+The mention of all these dangers would have tipped the balance for Ken
+in favor of the Santa Rosa trip, even if the hint of his callowness had
+not roused his spirit.
+
+"Thank you.  I’m sure you mean kindly," said Ken.  "But I’m going to
+Valles and I’ll come down that jungle river."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *III*
+
+                          *AN INDIAN BOATMAN*
+
+
+The moment the decision was made Ken felt both sorry and glad.  He got
+the excited boys outside away from the critical and anxious proprietor.
+And Ken decided it was incumbent upon him to adopt a serious and
+responsible manner, which he was far from feeling.  So he tried to be as
+cool as Hiram Bent, with a fatherly interest in the two wild boys who
+were to accompany him down the Santa Rosa.
+
+"Now, George, steer us around till we find a mozo," said Ken.  "Then
+we’ll buy an outfit and get started on this trip before you can say Jack
+Robinson."
+
+All the mozos the boys interviewed were eager to get work; however, when
+made acquainted with the nature of the trip they refused point blank.
+
+"Tigre!" exclaimed one.
+
+"Javelin!" exclaimed another.
+
+The big spotted jaguar of the jungle and the wild boar, or peccary, were
+held in much dread by the natives.
+
+"These natives will climb a tree at sight of a tiger or pig," said
+George.  "For my part I’m afraid of the garrapatoes and the pinilius."
+
+"What ’re they?" asked Hal.
+
+"Ticks--jungle ticks.  Just wait till you make their acquaintance."
+
+Finally the boys met a _mozo_ named Pepe, who had often rowed a boat for
+George. Pepe looked sadly in need of a job; still he did not ask for it.
+George said that Pepe had been one of the best boatmen on the river
+until _canya_, the fiery white liquor to which the natives were
+addicted, had ruined his reputation.  Pepe wore an old sombrero, a
+cotton, shirt and sash, and ragged trousers. He was barefooted.  Ken
+noted the set of his muscular neck, his brawny shoulders and arms, and
+appreciated the years of rowing that had developed them.  But Pepe’s
+haggard face, deadened eyes, and listless manner gave Ken pause.  Still,
+Ken reflected, there was never any telling what a man might do, if
+approached right.  Pepe’s dejection excited Ken’s sympathy.  So Ken
+clapped him on the shoulder, and, with George acting as interpreter,
+offered Pepe work for several weeks at three pesos a day.  That was more
+than treble the _mozo’s_ wage.  Pepe nearly fell off the canal bridge,
+where he was sitting, and a light as warm and bright as sunshine flashed
+into his face.
+
+"Si, Señor--Si, Señor," he began to jabber, and waved his brown hands.
+
+Ken suspected that Pepe needed a job and a little kind treatment.  He
+was sure of it when George said Pepe’s wife and children were in want.
+Somehow Ken conceived a liking for Pepe, and believed he could trust
+him.  He thought he knew how to deal with poor Pepe.  So he gave him
+money, told him to get a change of clothes and a pair of shoes, and come
+to the hotel next day.
+
+"He’ll spend the money for canya, and not show up to-morrow," said
+George.
+
+"I don’t know anything about your natives, but that fellow will come,"
+declared Ken.
+
+It appeared that the whole American colony in Tampico had been
+acquainted with Ken Ward’s project, and made a business to waylay the
+boys at each corner.  They called the trip a wild-goose chase.  They
+declared it was a dime-novel idea, and could hardly take Ken seriously.
+They mingled astonishment with amusement and concern.  They advised Ken
+not to go, and declared they would not let him go.  Over and over again
+the boys were assured of the peril from ticks, bats, boars, crocodiles,
+snakes, tigers, and fevers.
+
+"That’s what I’m taking the trip for," snapped Ken, driven to
+desperation by all this nagging.
+
+"Well, young man, I admire your nerve," concluded the hotel man.  "If
+you’re determined to go, we can’t stop you.  And there’s some things we
+would like you to find out for us.  How far do tarpon run up the Panuco
+River?  Do they spawn up there? How big are the new-born fish?  I’ll
+furnish you with tackle and preserved mullet, for bait.  We’ve always
+wondered about how far tarpon go up into fresh water.  Keep your eye
+open for signs of oil.  Also look at the timber.  And be sure to make a
+map of the river."
+
+When it came to getting the boat shipped the boys met with more
+obstacles.  But for the friendly offices of a Texan, an employee of the
+railroad, they would never have been able to convince the native
+shipping agent that a boat was merchandise.  The Texan arranged the
+matter and got Ken a freight bill.  He took an entirely different view
+of Ken’s enterprise, compared with that of other Americans, and in a
+cool, drawling voice, which somehow reminded Ken of Jim Williams, he
+said:
+
+"Shore you-all will have the time of your lives.  I worked at Valles for
+a year. That jungle is full of game.  I killed three big tigers.
+You-all want to look out for those big yellow devils.  One in every
+three will jump for a man.  There’s nothing but shoot, then.  And the
+wild pigs are bad. They put me up a tree more than once. I don’t know
+much about the Santa Rosa. Its source is above Micas Falls.  Never heard
+where it goes.  I know it’s full of crocodiles and rapids.  Never saw a
+boat or a canoe at Valles.  And say--there are big black snakes in the
+jungle.  Look out for them, too. Shore you-all have sport a-comin’."
+
+Ken thanked the Texan, and as he went on up-street, for all his sober
+thoughtfulness, he was as eager as Hal or George.  However, his position
+as their guardian would not permit any show of extravagant enthusiasm.
+
+Ken bought blankets, cooking utensils, and supplies for three weeks.
+There was not such a thing as a tent in Tampico.  The best the boys
+could get for a shelter was a long strip of canvas nine feet wide.
+
+"That ’ll keep off the wet," said Ken, "but it won’t keep out the
+mosquitoes and things."
+
+"Couldn’t keep ’em out if we had six tents," replied George.
+
+The remainder of that day the boys were busy packing the outfit.
+
+Pepe presented himself at the hotel next morning an entirely different
+person.  He was clean-shaven, and no longer disheveled.  He wore a new
+sombrero, a white cotton shirt, a red sash, and blue trousers.  He
+earned a small bundle, a pair of shoes, and a long _machete_.  The
+dignity with which he approached before all the other _mozos_ was not
+lost upon Ken Ward.  A sharp scrutiny satisfied him that Pepe had not
+been drinking.  Ken gave him several errands to do. Then he ordered the
+outfit taken to the station in Pepe’s charge.
+
+The boys went down early in the afternoon. It was the time when the
+_mozos_ were returning from the day’s tarpon-fishing on the river, and
+they, with the _cargodores_, streamed to and fro on the platform.  Pepe
+was there standing guard over Ken’s outfit.  He had lost his fame among
+his old associates, and for long had been an outsider.  Here he was in
+charge of a pile of fine guns, fishing-tackle, baggage, and supplies--a
+collection representing a fortune to him and his simple class. He had
+been trusted with it.  It was under his eye.  All his old associates
+passed by to see him there.  That was a great time for Pepe.  He looked
+bright, alert, and supremely happy.  It would have fared ill with
+thieves or loafers who would have made themselves free with any of the
+articles under his watchful eye.
+
+The train pulled out of Tampico at five o’clock, and Hal’s "We’re off!"
+was expressive.
+
+The railroad lay along the river-bank, and the broad Panuco was rippling
+with the incoming tide.  If Ken and Hal had not already found George to
+be invaluable as a companion in this strange country they would have
+discovered it then.  For George could translate Pepe’s talk, and explain
+much that otherwise would have been dark to the brothers.  Wild ducks
+dotted the green surface, and spurts showed where playful _ravalo_ were
+breaking water.  Great green-backed tarpon rolled their silver sides
+against the little waves.  White cranes and blue herons stood like
+statues upon the reedy bars.  Low down over the opposite bank of the
+river a long line of wild geese winged its way toward a shimmering
+lagoon.  And against the gold and crimson of the sunset sky a flight of
+wild fowl stood out in bold black relief.  The train crossed the Tamesi
+River and began to draw away from the Panuco.  On the right, wide
+marshes, gleaming purple in the darkening light, led the eye far beyond
+to endless pale lagoons.  Birds of many kinds skimmed the weedy flats.
+George pointed out a flock of aigrets, the beautiful wild fowl with the
+priceless plumes.  Then there was a string of pink flamingoes, tall,
+grotesque, wading along with waddling stride, feeding with heads under
+water.
+
+"Great!" exclaimed Ken Ward.
+
+"It’s all so different from Arizona," said Hal.
+
+At Tamos, twelve miles out of Tampico, the train entered the jungle.
+Thereafter the boys could see nothing but the impenetrable green walls
+that lined the track.  At dusk the train reached a station called Las
+Palmas, and then began to ascend the first step of the mountain.  The
+ascent was steep, and, when it was accomplished, Ken looked down and
+decided that step of the mountain was between two and three thousand
+feet high.  The moon was in its first quarter, and Ken, studying this
+tropical moon, found it large, radiant, and a wonderful green-gold. It
+shed a soft luminous glow down upon the sleeping, tangled web of jungle.
+It was new and strange to Ken, so vastly different from barren desert or
+iron-ribbed cañon, and it thrilled him with nameless charm.
+
+The train once more entered jungle walls, and as the boys could not see
+anything out of the windows they lay back in their seats and waited for
+the ride to end.  They were due at Valles at ten o’clock, and the
+impatient Hal complained that they would never get there.  At length a
+sharp whistle from the engine caused Pepe to turn to the boys with a
+smile.
+
+"Valles," he said.
+
+With rattle and clank the train came to a halt.  Ken sent George and
+Pepe out, and he and Hal hurriedly handed the luggage through the open
+window.  When the last piece had been passed into Pepe’s big hands the
+boys made a rush for the door, and jumped off as the train started.
+
+"Say, but it’s dark," said Hal.
+
+As the train with its lights passed out of sight Ken found himself in
+what seemed a pitchy blackness.  He could not see the boys. And he felt
+a little cold sinking of his heart at the thought of such black nights
+on an unknown jungle river.
+
+IV
+
+AT THE JUNGLE RIVER
+
+Presently, as Ken’s eyes became accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of chattering natives, with wide
+sombreros on their heads and blankets over their shoulders, moved round
+the little stone station.  Visitors were rare in Valles, as was
+manifested by the curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile of luggage.
+
+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for the night," said Ken to
+George.
+
+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon was lost in the crowd.
+Awhile after, as Ken was making up his mind they might have to camp on
+the station platform, a queer low ’bus drawn by six little mules creaked
+up. Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and began to stow the
+luggage away in the ’bus. Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The soft voices of natives greeted
+their passing.
+
+Valles appeared to be about a mile from the station, and as they entered
+the village Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here and there a
+more pretentious habitation of stone.  At length the driver halted
+before a rambling house, partly stone and partly thatch.  There were no
+lights; in fact, Ken did not see a light in the village.  George told
+the boys to take what luggage each could carry and follow the guide.
+Inside the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The boys bumped into
+things and fell over each other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed to a kind of loft, where the
+moonlight streamed in at the open sides.
+
+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal, who had struggled with a heavy
+load of luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to fetch up the remainder
+of the outfit.  Ken thought it best to stand still until he knew just
+where he was.  But Hal and George began moving about in the loft.  It
+was very large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full of objects.  Hal
+jostled into something which creaked and fell with a crash.  Then
+followed a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and a scuffling
+about.
+
+"Hal, what ’d you do?" called Ken, severely.
+
+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward. "One thing--I busted my shin."
+
+"He knocked over a bed with some one sleeping in it," said George.
+
+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon soothed the injured feelings of
+the native who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then led the boys to
+their cots, which were no more than heavy strips of canvas stretched
+over tall frameworks.  They appeared to be enormously high for beds.
+Ken’s was as high as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.
+
+"Say, I’ll never get up into this thing," burst out Hal.  "These people
+must be afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why are these cots so
+high?"
+
+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and all that from sleeping with the
+natives," answered George.  "Besides, the higher you sleep in Mexico the
+farther you get from creeping, crawling things."
+
+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on the floor, but George’s remark
+had persuaded him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most awkward to climb
+into.  Ken tried several times without success, and once he just escaped
+a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good vault he finally landed in the
+center of his canvas.  From there he listened to his more
+
+
+
+
+                                  *IV*
+
+                         *AT THE JUNGLE RIVER*
+
+
+Presently, as Ken’s eyes became accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of chattering natives, with wide
+sombreros on their heads and blankets over their shoulders, moved round
+the little stone station.  Visitors were rare in Valles, as was
+manifested by the curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile of luggage.
+
+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for the night," said Ken to
+George.
+
+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon was lost in the crowd.
+Awhile after, as Ken was making up his mind they might have to camp on
+the station platform, a queer low ’bus drawn by six little mules creaked
+up. Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and began to stow the
+luggage away in the ’bus. Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The soft voices of natives greeted
+their passing.
+
+Valles appeared to be about a mile from the station, and as they entered
+the village Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here and there a
+more pretentious habitation of stone.  At length the driver halted
+before a rambling house, partly stone and partly thatch.  There were no
+lights; in fact, Ken did not see a light in the village.  George told
+the boys to take what luggage each could carry and follow the guide.
+Inside the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The boys bumped into
+things and fell over each other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed to a kind of loft, where the
+moonlight streamed in at the open sides.
+
+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal, who had struggled with a heavy
+load of luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to fetch up the remainder
+of the outfit.  Ken thought it best to stand still until he knew just
+where he was.  But Hal and George began moving about in the loft.  It
+was very large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full of objects.  Hal
+jostled into something which creaked and fell with a crash.  Then
+followed a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and a scuffling
+about.
+
+"Hal, what ’d you do?" called Ken, severely.
+
+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward. "One thing--I busted my shin."
+
+"He knocked over a bed with some one sleeping in it," said George.
+
+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon soothed the injured feelings of
+the native who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then led the boys to
+their cots, which were no more than heavy strips of canvas stretched
+over tall frameworks.  They appeared to be enormously high for beds.
+Ken’s was as high as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.
+
+"Say, I’ll never get up into this thing," burst out Hal.  "These people
+must be afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why are these cots so
+high?"
+
+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and all that from sleeping with the
+natives," answered George.  "Besides, the higher you sleep in Mexico the
+farther you get from creeping, crawling things."
+
+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on the floor, but George’s remark
+had persuaded him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most awkward to climb
+into.  Ken tried several times without success, and once he just escaped
+a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good vault he finally landed in the
+center of his canvas.  From there he listened to his more unfortunate
+comrades.  Pepe got into his without much difficulty.  George, however,
+in climbing up, on about the fifth attempt swung over too hard and
+rolled off on the other side.  The thump he made when he dropped jarred
+the whole loft.  From the various growls out of the darkness it
+developed that the loft was full of sleepers, who were not pleased at
+this invasion.  Then Hal’s cot collapsed, and went down with a crash.
+And Hal sat on the flattened thing and laughed.
+
+"Mucho malo," Pepe said, and he laughed, too.  Then he had to get out
+and put up Hal’s trestle bed.  Hal once again went to climbing up the
+framework, and this time, with Pepe’s aid, managed to surmount it.
+
+"George, what does Pepe mean by _mucho malo_?" asked Hal.
+
+"Bad--very much bad," replied George.
+
+"Nix--tell him nix.  This is fine," said Hal.
+
+"Boys, if you don’t want to sleep yourselves, shut up so the rest of us
+can," ordered Ken.
+
+He liked the sense of humor and the good fighting spirit of the boys,
+and fancied they were the best attributes in comrades on a wild trip.
+For a long time he heard a kind of shuddering sound, which he imagined
+was Hal’s cot quivering as the boy laughed.  Then absolute quiet
+prevailed, the boys slept, and Ken felt himself drifting.
+
+When he awakened the sun was shining through the holes in the thatched
+roof. Pepe was up, and the other native sleepers were gone.  Ken and the
+boys descended from their perches without any tumbles, had a breakfast
+that was palatable--although even George could not name what they
+ate--and then were ready for the day.
+
+Valles consisted of a few stone houses and many thatched huts of bamboo
+and palm. There was only one street, and it was full of pigs, dogs, and
+buzzards.  The inhabitants manifested a kindly interest and curiosity,
+which changed to consternation when they learned of the boys’ project.
+Pepe questioned many natives, and all he could learn about the Santa
+Rosa was that there was an impassable waterfall some few kilometers
+below Valles.  Ken gritted his teeth and said they would have to get
+past it.  Pepe did not encounter a man who had ever heard of the
+headwaters of the Panuco River.  There were only a few fields under
+cultivation around Valles, and they were inclosed by impenetrable
+jungle.  It seemed useless to try to find out anything about the river.
+But Pepe’s advisers in the village told enough about _tigre_ and
+_javelin_ to make Hal’s hair stand on end, and George turn pale, and Ken
+himself wish they had not come.  It all gave Ken both a thrill and a
+shock.
+
+There was not much conversation among the boys on the drive back to the
+station. However, sight of the boat, which had come by freight, stirred
+Ken with renewed spirit, and through him that was communicated to the
+others.
+
+The hardest task, so far, developed in the matter of transporting boat
+and supplies out to the river.  Ken had hoped to get a handcar and haul
+the outfit on the track down to where the bridge crossed the Santa Rosa.
+But there was no hand-car.  Then came the staggering information that
+there was no wagon which would carry the boat, and then worse still in
+the fact that there was no road. This discouraged Ken; nevertheless he
+had not the least idea of giving up.  He sent Pepe out to tell the
+natives there must be some way to get the outfit to the river.
+
+Finally Pepe found a fellow who had a cart. This fellow claimed he knew
+a trail that went to a point from which it would be easy to carry the
+boat to the river.  Ken had Pepe hire the man at once.
+
+"Bring on your old cart," said the irrepressible Hal.
+
+That cart turned out to be a remarkable vehicle.  It consisted of a
+narrow body between enormously high wheels.  A trio of little mules was
+hitched to it.  The driver willingly agreed to haul the boat and outfit
+for one _peso_, but when he drove up to the platform to be surrounded by
+neighbors, he suddenly discovered that he could not possibly accommodate
+the boys.  Patiently Pepe tried to persuade him.  No, the thing was
+impossible.  He made no excuses, but he looked mysterious.
+
+"George, tell Pepe to offer him five pesos," said Ken.
+
+Pepe came out bluntly with the inducement, and the driver began to
+sweat.  From the look of his eyes Ken fancied he had not earned so much
+money in a year.  Still he was cunning, and his whispering neighbors
+lent him support.  He had the only cart in the village, and evidently it
+seemed that fortune had come to knock at least once at his door.  He
+shook his head.
+
+Ken held up both hands with fingers spread. "Ten pesos," he said.
+
+The driver, like a crazy man, began to jabber his consent.
+
+The boys lifted the boat upon the cart, and tied it fast in front so
+that the stern would not sag.  Then they packed the rest of the outfit
+inside.
+
+Ken was surprised to see how easily the little mules trotted off with
+such a big load. At the edge of the jungle he looked back toward the
+station.  The motley crowd of natives were watching, making excited
+gestures, and all talking at once.  The driver drove into a narrow
+trail, which closed behind him.  Pepe led on foot, brushing aside the
+thick foliage.  Ken drew a breath of relief as he passed into the cool
+shade.  The sun was very hot.  Hal and George brought up the rear,
+talking fast.
+
+The trail was lined and overgrown with slender trees, standing very
+close, making dense shade.  Many birds, some of beautiful coloring,
+flitted in the branches.  In about an hour the driver entered a little
+clearing where there were several thatched huts. Ken heard the puffing
+of an engine, and, looking through the trees, he saw the railroad and
+knew they had arrived at the pumping-station and the bridge over the
+Santa Rosa.
+
+Pepe lost no time in rounding up six natives to carry the boat.  They
+did not seem anxious to oblige Pepe, although they plainly wanted the
+money he offered.  The trouble was the boat, at which they looked
+askance. As in the case with the driver, however, the weight and
+clinking of added silver overcame their reluctance.  They easily lifted
+the boat upon their shoulders.  And as they entered the trail, making a
+strange procession in the close-bordering foliage, they encountered two
+natives, who jumped and ran, yelling: "La diable!  La diable!"
+
+"What ails those gazabos?" asked Hal.
+
+"They’re scared," replied George.  "They thought the boat was the
+devil."
+
+If Ken needed any more than had already come to him about the wildness
+of the Santa Rosa, he had it in the frightened cries and bewilderment of
+these natives.  They had never seen a boat.  The Santa Rosa was a
+beautiful wild river upon which boats were unknown.  Ken had not hoped
+for so much. And now that the die was cast he faced the trip with
+tingling gladness.
+
+"George and Hal, you stay behind to watch the outfit.  Pepe and I will
+carry what we can and follow the boat.  I’ll send back after you," said
+Ken.
+
+Then as he followed Pepe and the natives down the trail there was a deep
+satisfaction within him.  He heard the soft rush of water over stones
+and the mourning of turtledoves. He rounded a little hill to come
+abruptly upon the dense green mass of river foliage.  Giant
+cypress-trees, bearded with gray moss, fringed the banks.  Through the
+dark green of leaves Ken caught sight of light-green water.  Birds rose
+all about him. There were rustlings in the thick underbrush and the whir
+of ducks.  The natives penetrated the dark shade and came out to an
+open, grassy point.
+
+The Santa Rosa, glistening, green, swift, murmured at Ken’s feet.  The
+natives dropped the boat into the water, and with Pepe went back for the
+rest of the outfit.  Ken looked up the shady lane of the river and
+thought of the moment when he had crossed the bridge in the train.
+Then, as much as he had longed to be there, he had not dared to hope it.
+And here he was!  How strange it was, just then, to see a large black
+duck with white-crested wings sweep by as swift as the wind!  Ken had
+seen that wild fowl, or one of his kind, and it had haunted him.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *V*
+
+                            *THE FIRST CAMP*
+
+
+In less than an hour all the outfit had been carried down to the river,
+and the boys sat in the shade, cooling off, happily conscious that they
+had made an auspicious start.
+
+It took Ken only a moment to decide to make camp there and the next day
+try to reach Micas Falls.  The mountains appeared close at hand, and
+were so lofty that, early in the afternoon as it was, the westering sun
+hung over the blue summits.  The notch where the Santa Rosa cut through
+the range stood out clear, and at most it was not more than eighteen
+miles distant.  So Ken planned to spend a day pulling up the river, and
+then to turn for the down-stream trip.
+
+"Come, boys, let’s make camp," said Ken.
+
+He sent Pepe with his long _machete_ into the brush to cut fire-wood.
+Hal he set to making a stone fireplace, which work the boy rather prided
+himself upon doing well.  Ken got George to help him to put up the strip
+of canvas.  They stretched a rope between two trees, threw the canvas
+over it, and pegged down the ends.
+
+"Say, how ’re we going to sleep?" inquired Hal, suddenly.
+
+"Sleep?  Why, on our backs, of course," retorted Ken, who could read
+Hal’s mind.
+
+"If we don’t have some hot old times keeping things out of this tent,
+I’m a lobster," said George, dubiously.  "I’m going to sleep in the
+middle."
+
+"You’re a brave boy, George," replied Ken.
+
+"Me for between Ken and Pepe," added Hal.
+
+"And you’re twice as brave," said Ken. "I dare say Pepe and I will be
+able to keep things from getting at you."
+
+Just as Pepe came into camp staggering under a load of wood, a flock of
+russet-colored ducks swung round the bend.  They alighted near the shore
+at a point opposite the camp. The way George and Hal made headers into
+the pile of luggage for their guns gave Ken an inkling of what he might
+expect from these lads.  He groaned, and then he laughed. George came up
+out of the luggage first, and he had a .22-caliber rifle, which he
+quickly loaded and fired into the flock.  He crippled one; the others
+flew up-stream.  Then George began to waste shells trying to kill the
+crippled duck.  Hal got into action with his .22. They bounced bullets
+off the water all around the duck, but they could not hit it.
+
+Pepe grew as excited as the boys, and he jumped into the boat and with a
+long stick began to pole out into the stream.  Ken had to caution George
+and Hal to lower their guns and not shoot Pepe.  Below camp and just
+under the bridge the water ran into a shallow rift.  The duck got onto
+the current and went round the bend, with Pepe poling in pursuit and
+George and Hal yelling along the shore.  When they returned a little
+later, they had the duck, which was of an unknown species to Ken.  Pepe
+had fallen overboard; George was wet to his knees; and, though Hal did
+not show any marks of undue exertion, his eyes would have enlightened
+any beholder.  The fact was that they were glowing with the excitement
+of the chase. It amused Ken.  He felt that he had to try to stifle his
+own enthusiasm.  There had to be one old head in the party.  But if he
+did have qualms over the possibilities of the boys to worry him with
+their probable escapades, he still felt happy at their boundless life
+and spirit.
+
+It was about the middle of the afternoon, and the heat had become
+intense.  Ken realized it doubly when he saw Pepe favoring the shade.
+George and Hal were hot, but they appeared to be too supremely satisfied
+with their surroundings to care about that.
+
+During this hot spell, which lasted from three o’clock until five, there
+was a quiet and a lack of life around camp that surprised Ken.  It was
+slumberland; even the insects seemed drowsy.  Not a duck and scarcely a
+bird passed by.  Ken heard the mourning of turtle-doves, and was at once
+struck with the singular deep, full tone. Several trains crossed the
+bridge, and at intervals the engine at the pumping-tank puffed and
+chugged.  From time to time a native walked out upon the bridge to stare
+long and curiously at the camp.
+
+When the sun set behind the mountain a hard breeze swept down the river.
+Ken did not know what to make of it, and at first thought there was
+going to be a storm.  Pepe explained that the wind blew that way every
+day after sunset.  For a while it tossed the willows, and waved the
+Spaniard’s-beard upon the cypresses.  Then as suddenly as it had come it
+died away, taking the heat with it.
+
+Whereupon the boys began to get supper.
+
+"George, do you know anything about this water?" asked Ken.  "Is it
+safe?"
+
+George supposed it was all right, but he did not know.  The matter of
+water had bothered Ken more than any other thing in consideration of the
+trip.  This river-water was cool and clear; it apparently was safe. But
+Ken decided not to take any chances, and to boil all the water used.
+All at once George yelled, "Canvasbacks!" and made a dive for his gun.
+Ken saw a flock of ducks swiftly winging flight up-stream.
+
+"Hold on, George; don’t shoot," called Ken.  "Let’s go a little slow at
+the start."
+
+George appeared to be disappointed, though he promptly obeyed.
+
+Then the boys had supper, finding the russet duck much to their taste.
+Ken made a note of Pepe’s capacity, and was glad there were prospects of
+plenty of meat.  While they were eating, a group of natives gathered on
+the bridge.  Ken would not have liked to interpret their opinion of his
+party from their actions.
+
+Night came on almost before the boys were ready for it.  They
+replenished the camp-fire, and sat around it, looking into the red blaze
+and then out into the flickering shadows.  Ken thought the time
+propitious for a little lecture he had to give the boys, and he
+remembered how old Hiram Bent had talked to him and Hal that first night
+down under the great black rim-wall of the Grand Cañon.
+
+"Well, fellows," began Ken, "we’re started, we’re here, and the trip
+looks great to me. Now, as I am responsible, I intend to be boss. I want
+you boys to do what I tell you.  I may make mistakes, but if I do I’ll
+take them on my shoulders.  Let’s try to make the trip a great success.
+Let’s be careful.  We’re not game-hogs.  We’ll not kill any more than we
+can eat.  I want you boys to be careful with your guns.  Think all the
+time where you’re pointing them.  And as to thinking, we’d do well to
+use our heads all the time. We’ve no idea what we’re going up against in
+this jungle."
+
+Both boys listened to Ken with attention and respect, but they did not
+bind themselves by any promises.
+
+Ken had got out the mosquito-netting, expecting any moment to find it
+very serviceable; however, to his surprise it was not needed.  When it
+came time to go to bed, Hal and George did not forget to slip in between
+Pepe and Ken.  The open-sided tent might keep off rain or dew, but for
+all the other protection it afforded, the boys might as well have slept
+outside.  Nevertheless they were soon fast asleep.  Ken awoke a couple
+of times during the night and rolled over to find a softer spot in the
+hard bed.  These times he heard only the incessant hum of insects.
+
+When he opened his eyes in the gray morning light, he did hear something
+that made him sit up with a start.  It was a deep booming sound,
+different from anything that he had ever heard.  Ken called Pepe, and
+that roused the boys.
+
+"Listen," said Ken.
+
+In a little while the sound was repeated, a heavy "boo-oom! ...
+boo-oom!"  There was a resemblance to the first strong beats of a
+drumming grouse, only infinitely wilder.
+
+Pepe called it something like "_faisan real_."
+
+"What’s that?" asked Hal.
+
+The name was as new to Ken as the noise itself.  Pepe explained through
+George that it was made by a huge black bird not unlike a turkey.  It
+had a golden plume, and could run as fast as a deer.  The boys rolled
+out, all having conceived a desire to see such a strange bird.  The
+sound was not repeated. Almost immediately, however, the thicket across
+the river awoke to another sound, as much a contrast to the boom as
+could be imagined.  It was a bird medley.  At first Ken thought of
+magpies, but Pepe dispelled this illusion with another name hard to
+pronounce.
+
+"Chicalocki," he said.
+
+And that seemed just like what they were singing.  It was a sharp, clear
+song--"Chic-a-lock-i ... chic-a-lock-i," and to judge from the full
+chorus there must have been many birds.
+
+"They’re a land of pheasant," added George, "and make fine pot-stews."
+
+The _chicalocki_ ceased their salute to the morning, and then, as the
+river mist melted away under the rising sun, other birds took it up.
+Notes new to Ken burst upon the air. And familiar old songs thrilled
+him, made him think of summer days on the Susquehanna--the sweet carol
+of the meadow-lark, the whistle of the quail, the mellow, sad call of
+the swamp-blackbird.  The songs blended in an exquisite harmony.
+
+"Why, some of them are our own birds come south for the winter,"
+declared Hal.
+
+"It’s music," said Ken.
+
+"Just wait," laughed George.
+
+It dawned upon Ken then that George was a fellow who had the mysterious
+airs of a prophet hinting dire things.
+
+Ken did not know what to wait for, but he enjoyed the suggestion and
+anticipated much.  Ducks began to whir by; flocks of blackbirds alighted
+in the trees across the river.  Suddenly Hal jumped up, and Ken was
+astounded at a great discordant screeching and a sweeping rush of
+myriads of wings. Ken looked up to see the largest flock of birds he had
+ever seen.
+
+"Parrots," he yelled.
+
+Indeed they were, and they let the boys know it.  They flew across the
+river, wheeled to come back, all the time screeching, and then they
+swooped down into the tops of the cypress-trees.
+
+"Red-heads," said George.  "Just wait till you see the yellow-heads!"
+
+At the moment the red-heads were quite sufficient for Ken.  They broke
+out into a chattering, screaming, cackling discordance. It was plainly
+directed at the boys.  These intelligent birds were curious and
+resentful. As Pepe put it, they were scolding.  Ken enjoyed it for a
+full half-hour and reveled in the din.  That morning serenade was worth
+the trip.  Presently the parrots flew away, and Ken was surprised to
+find that most of the other birds had ceased singing.  They had set
+about the business of the day--something it was nigh time for Ken to
+consider.
+
+Breakfast over, the boys broke camp, eager for the adventures that they
+felt to be before them.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *VI*
+
+                           *WILDERNESS LIFE*
+
+
+"Now for the big job, boys," called Ken. "Any ideas will be welcome, but
+don’t all talk at once."
+
+And this job was the packing of the outfit in the boat.  It was a study
+for Ken, and he found himself thanking his lucky stars that he had
+packed boats for trips on rapid rivers.  George and Hal came to the fore
+with remarkable advice which Ken was at the pains of rejecting.  And as
+fast as one wonderful idea emanated from the fertile minds another one
+came in.  At last Ken lost patience.
+
+"Kids, it’s going to take brains to pack this boat," he said, with some
+scorn.
+
+And when Hal remarked that in that case he did not see how they ever
+were going to pack the boat, Ken drove both boys away and engaged Pepe
+to help.
+
+The boat had to be packed for a long trip, with many things taken into
+consideration. The very best way to pack it must be decided upon and
+thereafter held to strictly.  Balance was all-important; comfort and
+elbow-room were not to be overlooked; a flat surface easy to crawl and
+jump over was absolutely necessary.  Fortunately, the boat was large and
+roomy, although not heavy.  The first thing Ken did was to cut out the
+narrow bow-seat.  Here he packed a small bucket of preserved mullet,
+some bottles of kerosene and _canya_, and a lantern.  The small, flat
+trunk, full of supplies, went in next.  Two boxes with the rest of the
+supplies filled up the space between the trunk and the rowing-seat.  By
+slipping an extra pair of oars, coils of rope, the ax, and a few other
+articles between the gunwales and the trunk and boxes Ken made them fit
+snugly.  He cut off a piece of the canvas, and, folding it, he laid it
+with the blankets lengthwise over the top. This made a level surface,
+one that could be gotten over quickly, or a place to sleep, for that
+matter, and effectually disposed of the bow half of the boat.  Of course
+the boat sank deep at the bow, but Ken calculated when they were all
+aboard their weight would effect an even balance.
+
+The bags with clothing Ken put under the second seat.  Then he arranged
+the other piece of canvas so that it projected up back of the stern of
+the boat.  He was thinking of the waves to be buffeted in going stern
+first down-stream through the rapids.  The fishing-tackle and guns he
+laid flat from seat to seat.  Last of all he placed the ammunition on
+one side next the gunwale, and the suit-case carrying camera, films,
+medicines, on the other.
+
+"Come now, fellows," called Ken.  "Hal, you and George take the second
+seat.  Pepe will take the oars.  I’ll sit in the stern."
+
+Pepe pushed off, jumped to his place, and grasped the oars.  Ken was
+delighted to find the boat trim, and more buoyant than he had dared to
+hope.
+
+"We’re off," cried Hal, and he whooped. And George exercised his already
+well-developed faculty of imitating Hal.
+
+Pepe bent to the oars, and under his powerful strokes the boat glided
+up-stream.  Soon the bridge disappeared.  Ken had expected a long, shady
+ride, but it did not turn out so. Shallow water and gravelly rapids made
+rowing impossible.
+
+"Pile out, boys, and pull," said Ken.
+
+The boys had dressed for wading and rough work, and went overboard with
+a will.  Pulling, at first, was not hard work.  They were fresh and
+eager, and hauled the boat up swift, shallow channels, making nearly as
+good time as when rowing in smooth water. Then, as the sun began to get
+hot, splashing in the cool river was pleasant.  They passed little
+islands green with willows and came to high clay-banks gradually wearing
+away, and then met with rocky restrictions in the stream-bed.  From
+round a bend came a hollow roar of a deeper rapid.  Ken found it a
+swift-rushing incline, very narrow, and hard to pull along.  The margin
+of the river was hidden and obstructed by willows so that the boys could
+see very little ahead.
+
+When they got above this fall the water was deep and still.  Entering
+the boat again, they turned a curve into a long, beautiful stretch of
+river.
+
+"Ah! this ’s something like," said Hal.
+
+The green, shady lane was alive with birds and water-fowl.  Ducks of
+various kinds rose before the boat.  White, blue, gray, and speckled
+herons, some six feet tall, lined the low bars, and flew only at near
+approach. There were many varieties of bitterns, one kind with a purple
+back and white breast. They were very tame and sat on the overhanging
+branches, uttering dismal croaks. Everywhere was the flash and glitter
+and gleam of birds in flight, up and down and across the river.
+
+Hal took his camera and tried to get pictures.
+
+The strangeness, beauty, and life of this jungle stream absorbed Ken.
+He did not take his guns from their cases.  The water was bright green
+and very deep; here and there were the swirls of playing fish.  The
+banks were high and densely covered with a luxuriant foliage.  Huge
+cypress-trees, moss-covered, leaned half-way across the river. Giant
+gray-barked ceibas spread long branches thickly tufted with aloes,
+orchids, and other jungle parasites.  Palm-trees lifted slender stems
+and graceful broad-leaved heads. Clumps of bamboo spread an enormous
+green arch out over the banks.  These bamboo-trees were particularly
+beautiful to Ken. A hundred yellow, black-circled stems grew out of the
+ground close together, and as they rose high they gracefully leaned
+their bodies and drooped their tips.  The leaves were arrowy, exquisite
+in their fineness.
+
+He looked up the long river-lane, bright in the sun, dark and still
+under the moss-veiled cypresses, at the turning vines and blossoming
+creepers, at the changeful web of moving birds, and indulged to the
+fullest that haunting sense for wild places.
+
+"Chicalocki," said Pepe, suddenly.
+
+A flock of long-tailed birds, resembling the pheasant in body, was
+sailing across the river.  Again George made a dive for a gun. This one
+was a sixteen-gage and worn out. He shot twice at the birds on the wing.
+Then Pepe rowed under the overhanging branches, and George killed three
+_chicalocki_ with his rifle.  They were olive green in color, and the
+long tail had a brownish cast. Heavy and plump, they promised fine
+eating.
+
+"Pato real!" yelled Pepe, pointing excitedly up the river.
+
+Several black fowl, as large as geese, hove in sight, flying pretty low.
+Ken caught a glimpse of wide, white-crested wings, and knew then that
+these were the birds he had seen.
+
+"Load up and get ready," he said to George.  "They’re coming fast--shoot
+ahead of them."
+
+How swift and powerful they were on the wing!  They swooped up when they
+saw the boat, and offered a splendid target.  The little sixteen-gage
+rang out.  Ken heard the shot strike.  The leader stopped in midair,
+dipped, and plunged with a sounding splash. Ken picked him up and found
+him to be most beautiful, and as large and heavy as a goose. His black
+feathers shone with the latent green luster of an opal, and the pure
+white of the shoulder of the wings made a remarkable contrast.
+
+"George, we’ve got enough meat for to-day, more than we can use.  Don’t
+shoot any more," said Ken.
+
+Pepe resumed rowing, and Ken told him to keep under the overhanging
+branches and to row without splashing.  He was skilled in the use of the
+oars, so the boat glided along silently.  Ken felt he was rewarded for
+this stealth.  Birds of rare and brilliant plumage flitted among the
+branches.  There was one, a long, slender bird, gold and black with a
+white ring round its neck.  There were little yellow-breasted
+kingfishers no larger than a wren, and great red-breasted kingfishers
+with blue backs and tufted heads.  The boat passed under a leaning
+ceiba-tree that was covered with orchids.  Ken saw the slim, sharp head
+of a snake dart from among the leaves.  His neck was as thick as Ken’s
+wrist.
+
+"What kind of a snake, Pepe?" whispered Ken, as he fingered the trigger
+of George’s gun.  But Pepe did not see the snake, and then Ken thought
+better of disturbing the silence with a gunshot.  He was reminded,
+however, that the Texan had told him of snakes in this jungle, some of
+which measured more than fifteen feet and were as large as a man’s leg.
+
+Most of the way the bank was too high and steep and overgrown for any
+animal to get down to the water.  Still there were dry gullies, or
+arroyos, every few hundred yards, and these showed the tracks of
+animals, but Pepe could not tell what species from the boat.  Often Ken
+heard the pattering of hard feet, and then he would see a little cloud
+of dust in one of these drinking-places. So he cautioned Pepe to row
+slower and closer in to the bank.
+
+"Look there! lemme out!" whispered Hal, and he seemed to be on the point
+of jumping overboard.
+
+"Coons," said George.  "Oh, a lot of them.  There--some young ones."
+
+Ken saw that they had come abruptly upon a band of racoons, not less
+than thirty in number, some big, some little, and a few like tiny balls
+of fur, and all had long white-ringed tails.  What a scampering the big
+ones set up!  The little ones were frightened, and the smallest so tame
+they scarcely made any effort to escape.  Pepe swung the boat in to the
+bank, and reaching out he caught a baby racoon and handed it to Hal.
+
+"Whoop!  We’ll catch things and tame them," exclaimed Hal, much
+delighted, and he proceeded to tie the little racoon under the seat.
+
+"Sure, we’ll get a whole menagerie," said George.
+
+So they went on up-stream.  Often Ken motioned Pepe to stop in dark,
+cool places under the golden-green canopy of bamboos. He was as much
+fascinated by the beautiful foliage and tree growths as by the wild
+life. Hal appeared more taken up with the fluttering of birds in the
+thick jungle, rustlings, and soft, stealthy steps.  Then as they moved
+on Ken whispered and pointed out a black animal vanishing in the
+thicket.  Three times he caught sight of a spotted form slipping away in
+the shade.  George saw it the last time, and whispered: "Tiger-cat!
+Let’s get him."
+
+"What’s that, Ken, a kind of a wildcat?" asked Hal.
+
+"Yes."  Ken took George’s .32-caliber and tried to find a way up the
+bank.  There was no place to climb up unless he dragged himself up
+branches of trees or drooping bamboos, and this he did not care to
+attempt encumbered with a rifle.  Only here and there could he see over
+the matted roots and creepers. Then the sound of rapids put hunting out
+of his mind.
+
+"Boys, we’ve got Micas Falls to reach," he said, and told Pepe to row
+on.
+
+The long stretch of deep river ended in a wide, shallow, noisy rapid.
+Fir-trees lined the banks.  The palms, cypresses, bamboos, and the
+flowery, mossy growths were not here in evidence.  Thickly wooded hills
+rose on each side.  The jungle looked sear and yellow.
+
+The boys began to wade up the rapid, and before they had reached the
+head of it Pepe yelled and jumped back from where he was wading at the
+bow.  He took an oar and began to punch at something in the water, at
+the same time calling out.
+
+"Crocodile!" cried George, and he climbed in the boat.  Hal was not slow
+in following suit.  Then Ken saw Pepe hitting a small crocodile, which
+lashed out with its tail and disappeared.
+
+"Come out of there," called Ken to the boys. "We can’t pull you
+up-stream."
+
+"Say, I don’t want to step on one of those ugly brutes," protested Hal.
+
+"Look sharp, then.  Come out."
+
+Above the rapid extended a quarter-mile stretch where Pepe could row,
+and beyond that another long rapid.  When the boys had waded up that it
+was only to come to another.  It began to be hard work.  But Ken kept
+the boys buckled down, and they made fair progress.  They pulled up
+through eighteen rapids, and covered distance that Ken estimated to be
+about ten miles.  The blue mountain loomed closer and higher, yet Ken
+began to have doubts of reaching Micas Falls that day.
+
+Moreover, as they ascended the stream, the rapids grew rougher.
+
+"It ’ll be great coming down," panted Hal.
+
+Finally they reached a rapid which had long dinned in Ken’s ears.  All
+the water in the river rushed down on the right-hand side through a
+channel scarcely twenty feet wide. It was deep and swift.  With the aid
+of ropes, and by dint of much hard wading and pulling, the boys got the
+boat up.  A little farther on was another bothersome rapid.  At last
+they came to a succession of falls, steps in the river, that barred
+farther advance up-stream.
+
+Here Ken climbed up on the bank, to find the country hilly and open,
+with patches of jungle and palm groves leading up to the mountains.
+Then he caught a glint of Micas Falls, and decided that it would be
+impossible to get there.  He made what observations he could, and
+returned to camp.
+
+"Boys, here’s where we stop," said Ken. "It ’ll be all down-stream now,
+and I’m glad."
+
+There was no doubt that the boys were equally glad.  They made camp on a
+grassy bench above a foam-flecked pool. Ken left the others to get
+things in shape for supper, and, taking his camera, he hurried off to
+try to get a picture of Micas Falls.  He found open places and by-paths
+through the brushy forest.  He saw evidences of forest fire, and then
+knew what had ruined that part of the jungle.  There were no birds.  It
+was farther than he had estimated to the foothill he had marked, but,
+loath to give up, he kept on and finally reached a steep, thorny ascent.
+Going up he nearly suffocated with heat. He felt rewarded for his
+exertions when he saw Micas Falls glistening in the distance. It was
+like a string of green fans connected by silver ribbons.  He remained
+there watching it while the sun set in the golden notch between the
+mountains.
+
+On the way back to camp he waded through a flat overgrown with coarse
+grass and bushes. Here he jumped a herd of deer, eight in number.  These
+small, sleek, gray deer appeared tame, and if there had been sufficient
+light, Ken would have photographed them.  It cost him an effort to
+decide not to fetch his rifle, but as he had meat enough in camp there
+was nothing to do except let the deer go.
+
+When he got back to the river Pepe grinned at him, and, pointing to
+little red specks on his shirt, he said:
+
+"Pinilius."
+
+"Aha! the ticks!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+They were exceedingly small, not to be seen without close scrutiny.
+They could not be brushed off, so Ken began laboriously to pick them
+off.  Pepe and George laughed, and Hal appeared to derive some sort of
+enjoyment from the incident.
+
+"Say, these ticks don’t bother me any," declared Ken.
+
+Pepe grunted; and George called out, "Just wait till you get the big
+fellows--the garrapatoes."
+
+It developed presently that the grass and bushes on the camp-site
+contained millions of the ticks.  Ken found several of the larger
+ticks--almost the size of his little finger-nail--but he did not get
+bitten.  Pepe and George, however, had no such good luck, as was
+manifested at different times.  By the time they had cut down the bushes
+and carried in a stock of fire-wood, both were covered with the little
+pests.  Hal found a spot where there appeared to be none, and here he
+stayed.
+
+Pepe and George had the bad habit of smoking, and Ken saw them burning
+the ticks off shirt-sleeves and trousers-legs, using the fiery end of
+their cigarettes.  This feat did not puzzle Ken anything like the one
+where they held the red point of the cigarettes close to their naked
+flesh.  Ken, and Hal, too, had to see that performance at close range.
+
+"Why do you do that?" asked Ken.
+
+"Popping ticks," replied George.  He and Pepe were as sober as judges.
+
+The fact of the matter was soon clear to Ken.  The ticks stuck on as if
+glued.  When the hot end of the burning cigarette was held within a
+quarter of an inch of them they simply blew up, exploded with a pop.
+Ken could easily distinguish between the tiny pop of an exploding
+_pinilius_ and the heavier pop of a _garrapato_.
+
+"But, boy, while you’re taking time to do that, half a dozen other ticks
+can bite you!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+"Sure they can," replied George.  "But if they get on me I’ll kill ’em.
+I don’t mind the little ones--it’s the big boys I hate."
+
+On the other hand, Pepe seemed to mind most the _pinilius_.
+
+"Say, from now on you fellows will be Garrapato George and Pinilius
+Pepe."
+
+"Pretty soon you’ll laugh on the other side of your face," said George.
+"In three days you’ll be popping ticks yourself."
+
+Just then Hal let out a yell and began to hunt for a tick that had bit
+him.  If there was anything that could bother Hal Ward it was a crawling
+bug of some kind.
+
+"I’ll have to christen you too, brother," said Ken, gurgling with mirth.
+"A very felicitous name--Hollering Hal!"
+
+Despite the humor of the thing, Ken really saw its serious side.  When
+he found the grass under his feet alive with ticks he cast about in his
+mind for some way to get rid of them.  And he hit upon a remedy.  On the
+ridge above the bench was a palm-tree, and under it were many dead palm
+leaves.  These were large in size, had long stems, and were as dry as
+tinder.  Ken lighted one, and it made a flaming hot torch.  It did not
+take him long to scorch all the ticks near that camp.
+
+The boys had supper and enjoyed it hugely. The scene went well with the
+camp-fire and game-dinner.  They gazed out over the foaming pool, the
+brawling rapids, to the tufted palm-trees, and above them the dark-blue
+mountain.  At dusk Hal and George were so tired they went to bed and at
+once dropped into slumber.  Pepe sat smoking before the slumbering fire.
+
+And Ken chose that quiet hour to begin the map of the river, and to set
+down in his note-book his observations on the mountains and in the
+valley, and what he had seen that day of bird, animal, and plant life in
+the jungle.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *VII*
+
+                          *RUNNING THE RAPIDS*
+
+
+Some time in the night a yell awakened Ken.  He sat up, clutching his
+revolver. The white moonlight made all as clear as day.  Hal lay deep in
+slumber.  George was raising himself, half aroused.  But Pepe was gone.
+
+Ken heard a thrashing about outside. Leaping up he ran out, and was
+frightened to see Pepe beating and clawing and tearing at himself like a
+man possessed of demons.
+
+"Pepe, what’s wrong?" shouted Ken.
+
+It seemed that Pepe only grew more violent in his wrestling about.  Then
+Ken was sure Pepe had been stung by a scorpion or bitten by a snake.
+
+But he was dumfounded to see George bound like an apparition out of the
+tent and begin evolutions that made Pepe’s look slow.
+
+"Hey, what’s wrong with you jumping-jacks?" yelled Ken.
+
+George was as grimly silent as an Indian running the gantlet, but Ken
+thought it doubtful if any Indian ever slapped and tore at his body in
+George’s frantic manner.  To add to the mystery Hal suddenly popped out
+of the tent.  He was yelling in a way to do justice to the name Ken had
+lately given him, and, as for wild and whirling antics, his were simply
+marvelous.
+
+"Good land!" ejaculated Ken.  Had the boys all gone mad?  Despite his
+alarm, Ken had to roar with laughter at those three dancing figures in
+the moonlight.  A rush of ideas went through Ken’s confused mind. And
+the last prompted him to look in the tent.
+
+He saw a wide bar of black crossing the moonlit ground, the grass, and
+the blankets. This bar moved.  It was alive.  Bending low Ken descried
+that it was made by ants. An army of jungle ants on a march!  They had
+come in a straight line along the base of the little hill and their
+passageway led under the canvas.  Pepe happened to be the first in line,
+and they had surged over him.  As he had awakened, and jumped up of
+course, the ants had begun to bite.  The same in turn happened to George
+and then Hal.
+
+Ken was immensely relieved, and had his laugh out.  The stream of ants
+moved steadily and quite rapidly, and soon passed from sight.  By this
+time Pepe and the boys had threshed themselves free of ants and into
+some degree of composure.
+
+"Say, you nightmare fellows!  Come back to bed," said Ken.  "Any one
+would think something had really happened to you."
+
+Pepe snorted, which made Ken think the native understood something of
+English.  And the boys grumbled loudly.
+
+"Ants!  Ants as big as wasps!  They bit worse than helgramites,"
+declared Hal.  "Oh, they missed you.  You always are lucky. I’m not
+afraid of all the old jaguars in this jungle.  But I can’t stand biting,
+crawling bugs.  I wish you hadn’t made me come on this darn trip."
+
+"Ha!  Ha!" laughed Ken.
+
+"Just wait, Hal," put in George, grimly. "Just wait.  It’s coming to
+him!"
+
+The boys slept well the remainder of the night and, owing to the break
+in their rest, did not awaken early.  The sun shone hot when Ken rolled
+out; a creamy mist was dissolving over the curve of the mountain-range;
+parrots were screeching in the near-by trees.
+
+After breakfast Ken set about packing the boat as it had been done the
+day before.
+
+"I think we’ll do well to leave the trunk in the boat after this, unless
+we find a place where we want to make a permanent camp for a while,"
+said Ken.
+
+Before departing he carefully looked over the ground to see that nothing
+was left, and espied a heavy fish-line which George had baited, set, and
+forgotten.
+
+"Hey, George, pull up your trot-line. It looks pretty much stretched to
+me.  Maybe you’ve got a fish."
+
+Ken happened to be busy at the boat when George started to take in the
+line.  An exclamation from Pepe, George’s yell, and a loud splash made
+Ken jump up in double-quick time.  Hal also came running.
+
+George was staggering on the bank, leaning back hard on the heavy line.
+A long, angry swirl in the pool told of a powerful fish. It was likely
+to pull George in.
+
+"Let go the line!" yelled Ken.
+
+But George was not letting go of any fish-lines.  He yelled for Pepe,
+and went down on his knees before Pepe got to him.  Both then pulled on
+the line.  The fish, or whatever it was at the other end, gave a mighty
+jerk that almost dragged the two off the bank.
+
+"Play him, play him!" shouted Ken. "You’ve got plenty of line.  Give him
+some."
+
+Hal now added his weight and strength, and the three of them, unmindful
+of Ken’s advice, hauled back with might and main. The line parted and
+they sprawled on the grass.
+
+"What a sockdologer!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+"I had that hook baited with a big piece of duck meat," said George.
+"We must have been hooked to a crocodile.  Things are happening to us."
+
+"Yes, so I’ve noticed," replied Ken, dryly. "But if you fellows hadn’t
+pulled so hard you might have landed that thing, whatever it was.  All
+aboard now.  We must be on the move--we don’t know what we have before
+us."
+
+When they got into the boat Ken took the oars, much to Pepe’s surprise.
+It was necessary to explain to him that Ken would handle the boat in
+swift water.  They shoved off, and Ken sent one regretful glance up the
+river, at the shady aisle between the green banks, at the white rapids,
+and the great colored dome of the mountain.  He almost hesitated, for he
+desired to see more of that jungle-covered mountain.  But something
+already warned Ken to lose no time in the trip down the Santa Rosa.
+There did not seem to be any reason for hurry, yet he felt it necessary.
+But he asked Pepe many questions and kept George busy interpreting names
+of trees and flowers and wild creatures.
+
+Going down-stream on any river, mostly, would have been pleasure, but
+drifting on the swift current of the Santa Rosa and rowing under the
+wonderful moss-bearded cypresses was almost like a dream.  It was too
+beautiful to seem real.  The smooth stretch before the first rapid was
+short, however, and then all Ken’s attention had to be given to the
+handling of the boat.  He saw that George and Pepe both expected to get
+out and wade down the rapids as they had waded up. He had a surprise in
+store for them.  The rapids that he could not shoot would have to be
+pretty bad.
+
+"You’re getting close," shouted George, warningly.
+
+With two sweeps of the oars Ken turned the boat stern first down-stream,
+then dipped on the low green incline, and sailed down toward the waves.
+They struck the first wave with a shock, and the water flew all over the
+boys.  Pepe was tremendously excited; he yelled and made wild motions
+with his hands; George looked a little frightened.  Hal enjoyed it.
+Whatever the rapid appeared to them, it was magnificent to Ken; and it
+was play to manage the boat in such water.  A little pull on one oar and
+then on the other kept the stern straight down-stream.  The channel he
+could make out a long way ahead. He amused himself by watching George
+and Pepe.  There were stones in the channel, and the water rose angrily
+about them.  A glance was enough to tell that he could float over these
+without striking.  But the boys thought they were going to hit every
+stone, and were uneasy all the time.  Twice he had to work to pass
+ledges and sunken trees upon which the current bore down hard.  When Ken
+neared one of these he dipped the oars and pulled back to stop or lessen
+the momentum; then a stroke turned the boat half broadside to the
+current.  That would force it to one side, and another stroke would turn
+the boat straight.  At the bottom of this rapid they encountered a long
+triangle of choppy waves that they bumped and splashed over.  They came
+through with nothing wet but the raised flap of canvas in the stern.
+
+Pepe regarded Ken with admiring eyes, and called him _grande mozo_.
+
+"Shooting rapids is great sport," proclaimed George.
+
+They drifted through several little rifts, and then stopped at the head
+of the narrow chute that had been such a stumbling-block on the way up.
+Looked at from above, this long, narrow channel, with several S curves,
+was a fascinating bit of water for a canoeist. It tempted Ken to shoot
+it even with the boat. But he remembered the four-foot waves at the
+bottom, and besides he resented the importunity of the spirit of daring
+so early in the game.  Risk, and perhaps peril, would come soon enough.
+So he decided to walk along the shore and float the boat through with a
+rope.
+
+The thing looked a good deal easier than it turned out to be.  Half-way
+through, at the narrowest point and most abrupt curve, Pepe
+misunderstood directions and pulled hard on the bow-rope, when he should
+have let it slack.
+
+The boat swung in, nearly smashing Ken against the bank, and the
+sweeping current began to swell dangerously near the gunwale.
+
+"Let go!  Let go!" yelled Ken.  "George, make him let go!"
+
+But George, who was trying to get the rope out of Pepe’s muscular hands,
+suddenly made a dive for his rifle.
+
+"Deer! deer!" he cried, hurriedly throwing a shell into the chamber.  He
+shot downstream, and Ken, looking that way, saw several deer under the
+firs on a rocky flat.  George shot three more times, and the bullets
+went "spinging" into the trees.  The deer bounded out of sight.
+
+When Ken turned again, water was roaring into the boat.  He was being
+pressed harder into the bank, and he saw disaster ahead.
+
+"Loosen the rope--tell him, George," yelled Ken.
+
+Pepe only pulled the harder.
+
+"Quick, or we’re ruined," cried Ken.
+
+George shouted in Spanish, and Pepe promptly dropped the rope in the
+water. That was the worst thing he could have done.
+
+"Grab the rope!" ordered Ken, wildly. "Grab the bow!  Don’t let it swing
+out!  Hal!"
+
+Before either boy could reach it the bow swung out into the current.
+Ken was not only helpless, but in a dangerous position. He struggled to
+get out from where the swinging stern was wedging him into the bank, but
+could not budge.  Fearing that all the outfit would be lost in the
+river, he held on to the boat and called for some one to catch the rope.
+
+George pushed Pepe head first into the swift current.  Pepe came up,
+caught the rope, and then went under again.  The boat swung round and,
+now half full of water, got away from Ken.  It gathered headway.  Ken
+leaped out on the ledge and ran along with the boat. It careened round
+the bad curve and shot down-stream.  Pepe was still under water.
+
+"He’s drowned!  He’s drowned!" cried George.
+
+Hal took a header right off the ledge, came up, and swam with a few
+sharp strokes to the drifting boat.  He gained the bow, grasped it, and
+then pulled on the rope.
+
+Ken had a sickening feeling that Pepe might be drowned.  Suddenly Pepe
+appeared like a brown porpoise.  He was touching bottom in places and
+holding back on the rope. Then the current rolled him over and over. The
+boat drifted back of a rocky point into shallow water.  Hal gave a haul
+that helped to swing it out of the dangerous current. Then Pepe came up,
+and he, too, pulled hard. Just as Ken plunged in the boat sank in two
+feet of water.  Ken’s grip, containing camera, films, and other
+perishable goods, was on top, and he got it just in time.  He threw it
+out on the rocks.  Then together the boys lifted the boat and hauled the
+bow well up on the shore.
+
+"Pretty lucky!" exclaimed Ken, as he flopped down.
+
+"Doggone it!" yelled Hal, suddenly.  And he dove for the boat, and
+splashed round in the water under his seat, to bring forth a very limp
+and drenched little racoon.
+
+"Good! he’s all right," said Ken.
+
+Pepe said "Mucho malo," and pointed to his shins, which bore several
+large bumps from contact with the rocks in the channel.
+
+"I should say mucha malo," growled George.
+
+He jerked open his grip, and, throwing out articles of wet clothing--for
+which he had no concern--he gazed in dismay at his whole store of
+cigarettes wet by the water.
+
+"So that’s all you care for," said Ken, severely.  "Young man, I’ll have
+something to say to you presently.  All hands now to unpack the boat."
+
+Fortunately nothing had been carried away. That part of the supplies
+which would have been affected by water was packed in tin cases, and so
+suffered no damage.  The ammunition was waterproof.  Ken’s Parker
+hammerless and his 351 automatic rifle were full of water, and so were
+George’s guns and Hal’s.  While they took their weapons apart, wiped
+them, and laid them in the sun, Pepe spread out the rest of the things
+and then baled out the boat. The sun was so hot that everything dried
+quickly and was not any the worse for the wetting.  The boys lost
+scarcely an hour by the accident.  Before the start Ken took George and
+Pepe to task, and when he finished they were both very sober and quiet.
+
+Ken observed, however, that by the time they had run the next rapid they
+were enjoying themselves again.  Then came a long succession of rapids
+which Ken shot without anything approaching a mishap.  When they drifted
+into the level stretch Pepe relieved him at the oars.  They glided
+down-stream under the drooping bamboo, under the silken streamers of
+silvery moss, under the dark, cool bowers of matted vine and blossoming
+creepers. And as they passed this time the jungle silence awoke to the
+crack of George’s .22 and the discordant cry of river fowl.  Ken’s guns
+were both at hand, and the rifle was loaded, but he did not use either.
+He contented himself with snapping a picture here and there and watching
+the bamboo thickets and the mouths of the little dry ravines.
+
+That ride was again so interesting, so full of sound and action and
+color, that it seemed a very short one.  The murmur of the water on the
+rocks told Ken that it was time to change seats with Pepe.  They drifted
+down two short rapids, and then came to the gravelly channels between
+the islands noted on the way up.  The water was shallow down these
+rippling channels; and, fearing they might strike a stone, Ken tumbled
+out over the bow and, wading slowly, let the boat down to still water
+again.  He was about to get in when he espied what he thought was an
+alligator lying along a log near the river. He pointed it out to Pepe.
+
+That worthy yelled gleefully in Mexican, and reached for his _machete_.
+
+"Iguana!" exclaimed George.  "I’ve heard it’s good to eat."
+
+The reptile had a body about four feet long and a very long tail.  Its
+color was a steely blue-black on top, and it had a blunt, rounded head.
+
+Pepe slipped out of the boat and began to wade ashore.  When the iguana
+raised itself on short, stumpy legs George shot at it, and missed, as
+usual.  But he effectually frightened the reptile, which started to
+climb the bank with much nimbleness.  Pepe began to run, brandishing his
+long _machete_.  George plunged into the water in hot pursuit, and then
+Hal yielded to the call of the chase.  Pepe reached the iguana before it
+got up the bank, aimed a mighty blow with his _machete_, and would
+surely have cut the reptile in two pieces if the blade had not caught on
+an overhanging branch.  Then Pepe fell up the bank and barely grasped
+the tail of the iguana.  Pepe hauled back, and Pepe was powerful.  The
+frantic creature dug its feet in the clay-bank and held on for dear
+life.  But Pepe was too strong.  He jerked the iguana down and flung it
+square upon George, who had begun to climb the bank.
+
+George uttered an awful yell, as if he expected to be torn asunder, and
+rolled down, with the reptile on top of him.  Ken saw that it was as
+badly frightened as George. But Hal did not see this.  And he happened
+to have gained a little sand-bar below the bank, in which direction the
+iguana started with wonderful celerity.  Then Hal made a jump that Ken
+believed was a record.
+
+Remarkably awkward as that iguana was, he could surely cover ground with
+his stumpy legs.  Again he dashed up the bank.  Pepe got close enough
+once more, and again he swung the _machete_.  The blow cut off a piece
+of the long tail, but the only effect this produced was to make the
+iguana run all the faster. It disappeared over the bank, with Pepe
+scrambling close behind.  Then followed a tremendous crashing in the dry
+thickets, after which the iguana could be heard rattling and tearing
+away through the jungle. Pepe returned to the boat with the crestfallen
+boys, and he was much concerned over the failure to catch the big
+lizard, which he said made fine eating.
+
+"What next?" asked George, ruefully, and at that the boys all laughed.
+
+"The fun is we don’t have any idea what’s coming off," said Hal.
+
+"Boys, if you brave hunters had thought to throw a little salt on that
+lizard’s tail you might have caught him," added Ken.
+
+Presently Pepe espied another iguana in the forks of a tree, and he
+rowed ashore. This lizard was only a small one, not over two feet in
+length, but he created some excitement among the boys.  George wanted
+him to eat, and Hal wanted the skin for a specimen, and Ken wanted to
+see what the lizard looked like close at hand.  So they all clamored for
+Pepe to use caution and to be quick.
+
+When Pepe started up the tree the iguana came down on the other side,
+quick as a squirrel.  Then they had a race round the trunk until Pepe
+ended it with a well-directed blow from his _machete_.
+
+Hal began to skin the iguana.
+
+"Ken, I’m going to have trouble preserving specimens in this hot place,"
+he said.
+
+"Salt and alum will do the trick.  Remember what old Hiram used to say,"
+replied Ken.
+
+Shortly after that the boat passed the scene of the first camp, and then
+drifted under the railroad bridge.
+
+Hal and George, and Pepe too, looked as if they were occupied with the
+same thought troubling Ken--that once beyond the bridge they would
+plunge into the jungle wilderness from which there could be no turning
+back.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *VIII*
+
+                         *THE FIRST TIGER-CAT*
+
+
+The Santa Rosa opened out wide, and ran swiftly over smooth rock.  Deep
+cracks, a foot or so wide, crossed the river diagonally, and fish darted
+in and out.
+
+The boys had about half a mile of this, when, after turning a hilly
+bend, they entered a long rapid.  It was a wonderful stretch of river to
+look down.
+
+"By George!" said Ken, as he stood up to survey it.  "This is great!"
+
+"It’s all right _now_," added George, with his peculiar implication as
+to the future.
+
+"What gets me is the feeling of what might be round the next bend," said
+Hal.
+
+This indeed, Ken thought, made the fascination of such travel.  The
+water was swift and smooth and shallow.  There was scarcely a wave or
+ripple.  At times the boat stuck fast on the flat rock, and the boys
+would have to get out to shove off.  As far ahead as Ken could see
+extended this wide slant of water.  On the left rose a thick line of
+huge cypresses all festooned with gray moss that drooped to the water;
+on the right rose a bare bluff of crumbling rock.  It looked like blue
+clay baked and cracked by the sun.  A few palms fringed the top.
+
+"Say, we can beat this," said Ken, as for the twentieth time the boys
+had to step out and shove off a flat, shallow place.  "Two of you in the
+bow and Pepe with me in the stern, feet overboard."
+
+The little channels ran every way, making it necessary often to turn the
+boat.  Ken’s idea was to drift along and keep the boat from grounding by
+an occasional kick.
+
+"Ken manages to think of something once in a while," observed Hal.
+
+Then the boat drifted down-stream, whirling round and round.  Here Pepe
+would drop his brown foot in and kick his end clear of a shallow ledge;
+there George would make a great splash when his turn came to ward off
+from a rock; and again Hal would give a greater kick than was necessary
+to the righting of the boat.  Probably Hal was much influenced by the
+fact that when he kicked hard he destroyed the lazy equilibrium of his
+companions.
+
+It dawned upon Ken that here was a new and unique way to travel down a
+river.  It was different from anything he had ever tried before.  The
+water was swift and seldom more than a foot deep, except in diagonal
+cracks that ribbed the river-bed.  This long, shut-in stretch appeared
+to be endless.  But for the quick, gliding movement of the boat, which
+made a little breeze, the heat would have been intolerable.  When one of
+Hal’s kicks made Ken lurch overboard to sit down ludicrously, the cool
+water sent thrills over him.  Instead of retaliating on Hal, he was glad
+to be wet.  And the others, soon discovering the reason for Ken’s
+remarkable good-nature, went overboard and lay flat in the cool ripples.
+Then little clouds of steam began to rise from their soaked clothes.
+
+Ken began to have an idea that he had been wise in boiling the water
+which they drank. They all suffered from a parching thirst. Pepe scooped
+up water in his hand; George did likewise, and then Hal.
+
+"You’ve all got to stop that," ordered Ken, sharply.  "No drinking this
+water unless it’s boiled."
+
+The boys obeyed, for the hour, but they soon forgot, or deliberately
+allayed their thirst despite Ken’s command.  Ken himself found his
+thirst unbearable.  He squeezed the juice of a wild lime into a cup of
+water and drank that.  Then he insisted on giving the boys doses of
+quinine and anti-malaria pills, which treatment he meant to continue
+daily.
+
+Toward the lower part of that rapid, where the water grew deeper, fish
+began to be so numerous that the boys kicked at many as they darted
+under the boat.  There were thousands of small fish and some large ones.
+Occasionally, as a big fellow lunged for a crack in the rock, he would
+make the water roar.  There was a fish that resembled a mullet, and
+another that Hal said was some kind of bass with a blue tail.  Pepe
+chopped at them with his _machete_; George whacked with an oar; Hal
+stood up in the boat and shot at them with his .22 rifle.
+
+"Say, I’ve got to see what that blue-tailed bass looks like," said Ken.
+"You fellows will never get one."
+
+Whereupon Ken jointed up a small rod and, putting on a spinner, began to
+cast it about.  He felt two light fish hit it.  Then came a heavy shock
+that momentarily checked the boat.  The water foamed as the line cut
+through, and Ken was just about to jump off the boat to wade and follow
+the fish, when it broke the leader.
+
+"That was a fine exhibition," remarked the critical Hal.
+
+"What’s the matter with you?" retorted Ken, who was sensitive as to his
+fishing abilities.  "It was a big fish.  He broke things."
+
+"Haven’t you got a reel on that rod and fifty yards of line?" queried
+Hal.
+
+Ken did not have another spinner, and he tried an artificial minnow, but
+could not get a strike on it.  He took Hal’s gun and shot at several of
+the blue-tailed fish, but though he made them jump out of the water like
+a real northern black-bass, it was all of no avail.
+
+Then Hal caught one with a swoop of the landing net.  It was a beautiful
+fish, and it did have a blue tail.  Pepe could not name it, nor could
+Ken classify it, so Hal was sure he had secured a rare specimen.
+
+When the boat drifted round a bend to enter another long, wide, shallow
+rapid, the boys demurred a little at the sameness of things.  The bare
+blue bluffs persisted, and the line of gray-veiled cypresses and the
+strange formation of stream-bed.  Five more miles of drifting under the
+glaring sun made George and Hal lie back in the boat, under an
+improvised sun-shade.  The ride was novel and strange to Ken Ward, and
+did not pall upon him, though he suffered from the heat and glare.  He
+sat on the bow, occasionally kicking the boat off a rock.
+
+All at once a tense whisper from Pepe brought Ken round with a jerk.
+Pepe was pointing down along the right-hand shore. George heard, and,
+raising himself, called excitedly: "Buck!  buck!"
+
+Ken saw a fine deer leap back from the water and start to climb the side
+of a gully that indented the bluff.  Snatching up the .351 rifle, he
+shoved in the safety catch.  The distance was far--perhaps two hundred
+yards--but without elevating the sights he let drive.  A cloud of dust
+puffed up under the nose of the climbing deer.
+
+"Wow!" yelled George, and Pepe began to jabber.  Hal sprang up, nearly
+falling overboard, and he shouted: "Give it to him, Ken!"
+
+The deer bounded up a steep, winding trail, his white flag standing, his
+reddish coat glistening.  Ken fired again.  The bullet sent up a white
+puff of dust, this time nearer still. That shot gave Ken the range, and
+he pulled the automatic again--and again.  Each bullet hit closer.  The
+boys were now holding their breath, watching, waiting.  Ken aimed a
+little firmer and finer at the space ahead of the deer--for in that
+instant he remembered what the old hunter on Penetier had told him--and
+he pulled the trigger twice.
+
+The buck plunged down, slipped off the trail, and, raising a cloud of
+dust, rolled over and over.  Then it fell sheer into space, and whirled
+down to strike the rock with a sodden crash.
+
+It was Ken’s first shooting on this trip, and he could not help adding a
+cry of exultation to the yells of his admiring comrades.
+
+"Guess you didn’t plug him!" exclaimed Hal Ward, with flashing eyes.
+
+Wading, the boys pulled the boat ashore. Pepe pronounced the buck to be
+very large, but to Ken, remembering the deer in Coconino Forest, it
+appeared small.  If there was an unbroken bone left in that deer, Ken
+greatly missed his guess.  He and Pepe cut out the haunch least crushed
+by the fail.
+
+"There’s no need to carry along more meat than we can use," said George.
+"It spoils overnight.  That’s the worst of this jungle, I’ve heard
+hunters say."
+
+Hal screwed up his face in the manner he affected when he tried to
+imitate old Hiram Bent.  "Wal, youngster, I reckon I’m right an’ down
+proud of thet shootin’.  You air comin’ along."
+
+Ken was as pleased as Hal, but he replied, soberly: "Well, kid, I hope I
+can hold as straight as that when we run up against a jaguar."
+
+"Do you think we’ll see one?" asked Hal.
+
+"Just you wait!" exclaimed George, replying for Ken.  "Pepe says we’ll
+have to sleep in the boat, and anchor the boat in the middle of the
+river."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"To keep those big yellow tigers from eating us up."
+
+"How nice!" replied Hal, with a rather forced laugh.
+
+So, talking and laughing, the boys resumed their down-stream journey.
+Ken, who was always watching with sharp eyes, saw buzzards appear, as if
+by magic.  Before the boat was half a mile down the river buzzards were
+circling over the remains of the deer.  These birds of prey did not fly
+from the jungle on either side of the stream.  They sailed, dropped down
+from the clear blue sky where they had been invisible.  How wonderful
+that was to Ken!  Nature had endowed these vulture-like birds with
+wonderful scent or instinct or sight, or all combined.  But Ken believed
+that it was power of sight which brought the buzzards so quickly to the
+scene of the killing.  He watched them circling, sweeping down till a
+curve in the river hid them from view.
+
+And with this bend came a welcome change. The bluff played out in a
+rocky slope below which the green jungle was relief to aching eyes.  As
+the boys made this point, the evening breeze began to blow.  They
+beached the boat and unloaded to make camp.
+
+"We haven’t had any work to-day, but we’re all tired just the same,"
+observed Ken.
+
+"The heat makes a fellow tired," said George.
+
+They were fortunate in finding a grassy plot where there appeared to be
+but few ticks and other creeping things.  That evening it was a little
+surprise to Ken to realize how sensitive he had begun to feel about
+these jungle vermin.
+
+Pepe went up the bank for fire-wood.  Ken heard him slashing away with
+his _machete_. Then this sound ceased, and Pepe yelled in fright.  Ken
+and George caught up guns as they bounded into the thicket; Hal started
+to follow, likewise armed.  Ken led the way through a thorny brake to
+come suddenly upon Pepe.  At the same instant Ken caught a glimpse of
+gray, black-striped forms slipping away in the jungle.  Pepe shouted out
+something.
+
+"Tiger-cats!" exclaimed George.
+
+Ken held up his finger to enjoin silence. With that he stole cautiously
+forward, the others noiselessly at his heels.  The thicket was lined
+with well-beaten trails, and by following these and stooping low it was
+possible to go ahead without rustling the brush.  Owing to the gathering
+twilight Ken could not see very far.  When he stopped to listen he heard
+the faint crackling of dead brush and soft, quick steps.  He had not
+proceeded far when pattering footsteps halted him.  Ken dropped to his
+knee.  The boys knelt behind him, and Pepe whispered. Peering along the
+trail Ken saw what he took for a wildcat.  Its boldness amazed him.
+Surely it had heard him, but instead of bounding into the thicket it
+crouched not more than twenty-five feet away.  Ken took a quick shot at
+the gray huddled form.  It jerked, stretched out, and lay still.  Then a
+crashing in the brush, and gray streaks down the trail told Ken of more
+game.
+
+"There they go.  Peg away at them," called Ken.
+
+George and Hal burned a good deal of powder and sent much lead whistling
+through the dry branches, but the gray forms vanished in the jungle.
+
+"We got one, anyway," said Ken.
+
+He advanced to find his quarry quite dead. It was bigger than any
+wildcat Ken had ever seen.  The color was a grayish yellow, almost
+white, lined and spotted with black. Ken lifted it and found it heavy
+enough to make a good load.
+
+"He’s a beauty," said Hal.
+
+"Pepe says it’s a tiger-cat," remarked George.  "There are two or three
+kinds besides the big tiger.  We may run into a lot of them and get some
+skins."
+
+It was almost dark when they reached camp.  While Pepe and Hal skinned
+the tiger-cat and stretched the pelt over a framework of sticks the
+other boys got supper.  They were all very hungry and tired, and pleased
+with the events of the day.  As they sat round the camp-fire there was a
+constant whirring of water-fowl over their heads and an incessant hum of
+insects from the jungle.
+
+"Ken, does it feel as wild to you here as on Buckskin Mountain?" asked
+Hal.
+
+"Oh yes, much wilder, Hal," replied his brother.  "And it’s different,
+somehow.  Out in Arizona there was always the glorious expectancy of
+to-morrow’s fun or sport.  Here I have a kind of worry--a feeling--"
+
+But he concluded it wiser to keep to himself that strange feeling of
+dread which came over him at odd moments.
+
+"It suits me," said Hal.  "I want to get a lot of things and keep them
+alive.  Of course, I want specimens.  I’d like some skins for my den,
+too.  But I don’t care so much about killing things."
+
+"Just wait!" retorted George, who evidently took Hal’s remark as a
+reflection upon his weakness.  "Just wait!  You’ll be shooting pretty
+soon for your life."
+
+"Now, George, what do you mean by that?" questioned Ken, determined to
+pin George down to facts.  "You said you didn’t really know anything
+about this jungle. Why are you always predicting disaster for us?"
+
+"Why?  Because I’ve heard things about the jungle," retorted George.
+"And Pepe says wait till we get down off the mountain. He doesn’t _know_
+anything, either.  But it’s his instinct--Pepe’s half Indian.  So I say,
+too, wait till we get down in the jungle!"
+
+"Confound you!  Where are we now?" queried Ken.
+
+"The real jungle is the lowland.  There we’ll find the tigers and the
+crocodiles and the wild cattle and wild pigs."
+
+"Bring on your old pigs and things," replied Hal.
+
+But Ken looked into the glowing embers of the camp-fire and was silent.
+When he got out his note-book and began his drawing, he forgot the worry
+and dread in the interest of his task.  He was astonished at his memory,
+to see how he could remember every turn in the river and yet not lose
+his sense of direction.  He could tell almost perfectly the distance
+traveled, because he knew so well just how much a boat would cover in
+swift or slow waters in a given time.  He thought he could give a fairly
+correct estimate of the drop of the river.  And, as for descriptions of
+the jungle life along the shores, that was a delight, all except trying
+to understand and remember and spell the names given to him by Pepe.
+Ken imagined Pepe spoke a mixture of Toltec, Aztec, Indian, Spanish, and
+English.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *IX*
+
+                          *IN THE WHITE WATER*
+
+
+Upon awakening next morning Ken found the sun an hour high.  He was
+stiff and sore and thirsty.  Pepe and the boys slept so soundly it
+seemed selfish to wake them.
+
+All around camp there was a melodious concourse of birds.  But the
+parrots did not make a visit that morning.  While Ken was washing in the
+river a troop of deer came down to the bar on the opposite side.  Ken
+ran for his rifle, and by mistake took up George’s .32.  He had a
+splendid shot at less than one hundred yards.  But the bullet dropped
+fifteen feet in front of the leading buck.  The deer ran into the deep,
+bushy willows.
+
+"That gun’s leaded," muttered Ken.  "It didn’t shoot where I aimed."
+
+Pepe jumped up; George rolled out of his blanket with one eye still
+glued shut; and Hal stretched and yawned and groaned.
+
+"Do I have to get up?" he asked.
+
+"Shore, lad," said Ken, mimicking Jim Williams, "or I’ll hev to be
+reconsiderin’ that idee of mine about you bein’ pards with me."
+
+Such mention of Hal’s ranger friend brought the boy out of his lazy bed
+with amusing alacrity.
+
+"Rustle breakfast, now, you fellows," said Ken, and, taking his rifle,
+he started off to climb the high river bluff.
+
+It was his idea to establish firmly in mind the trend of the
+mountain-range, and the relation of the river to it.  The difficulty in
+mapping the river would come after it left the mountains to wind away
+into the wide lowlands.  The matter of climbing the bluff would have
+been easy but for the fact that he wished to avoid contact with grass,
+brush, trees, even dead branches, as all were covered with ticks.  The
+upper half of the bluff was bare, and when he reached that part he soon
+surmounted it.  Ken faced south with something of eagerness.
+Fortunately the mist had dissolved under the warm rays of the sun,
+affording an unobstructed view. That scene was wild and haunting, yet
+different from what his fancy had pictured.  The great expanse of jungle
+was gray, the green line of cypress, palm, and bamboo following the
+southward course of the river.  The mountain-range some ten miles
+distant sloped to the south and faded away in the haze. The river
+disappeared in rich dark verdure, and but for it, which afforded a
+water-road back to civilization, Ken would have been lost in a dense
+gray-green overgrowth of tropical wilderness.  Once or twice he thought
+he caught the faint roar of a waterfall on the morning breeze, yet could
+not be sure, and he returned toward camp with a sober appreciation of
+the difficulty of his enterprise and a more thrilling sense of its
+hazard and charm.
+
+"Didn’t see anything to peg at, eh?" greeted Hal.  "Well, get your teeth
+in some of this venison before it’s all gone."
+
+Soon they were under way again, Pepe strong and willing at the oars.
+This time Ken had his rifle and shotgun close at hand, ready for use.
+Half a mile below, the river, running still and deep, entered a shaded
+waterway so narrow that in places the branches of wide-spreading and
+leaning cypresses met and intertwined their moss-fringed foliage. This
+lane was a paradise for birds, that ranged from huge speckled cranes,
+six feet high, to little yellow birds almost too small to see.
+
+Black squirrels were numerous and very tame.  In fact, all the creatures
+along this shaded stream were so fearless that it was easy to see they
+had never heard a shot. Ken awoke sleepy cranes with his fishing-rod and
+once pushed a blue heron off a log. He heard animals of some species
+running back from the bank, out could not see them. All at once a soft
+breeze coming up-stream bore a deep roar of tumbling rapids.  The
+sensation of dread which had bothered Ken occasionally now returned and
+fixed itself in his mind.  He was in the jungle of Mexico, and knew not
+what lay ahead of him.  But if he had been in the wilds of unexplored
+Brazil and had heard that roar, it would have been familiar to him.  In
+his canoe experience on the swift streams of Pennsylvania Ken Ward had
+learned, long before he came to rapids, to judge what they were from the
+sound. His attention wandered from the beautiful birds, the moss-shaded
+bowers, and the overhanging jungle.  He listened to the heavy, sullen
+roar of the rapids.
+
+"That water sounds different," remarked George.
+
+"Grande," said Pepe, with a smile.
+
+"Pretty heavy, Ken, eh?" asked Hal, looking quickly at his brother.
+
+But Ken Ward made his face a mask, and betrayed nothing of the grim
+nature of his thought.  Pepe and the boys had little idea of danger, and
+they had now a blind faith in Ken.
+
+"I dare say we’ll get used to that roar," replied Ken, easily, and he
+began to pack his guns away in their cases.
+
+Hal forgot his momentary anxiety; Pepe rowed on, leisurely; and George
+lounged in his seat.  There was no menace for them in that dull,
+continuous roar.
+
+But Ken knew they would soon be in fast water and before long would drop
+down into the real wilderness.  It was not now too late to go back up
+the river, but soon that would be impossible.  Keeping a sharp lookout
+ahead, Ken revolved in mind the necessity for caution and skilful
+handling of the boat. But he realized, too, that overzealousness on the
+side of caution was a worse thing for such a trip than sheer
+recklessness.  Good judgment in looking over rapids, a quick eye to pick
+the best channel, then a daring spirit--that was the ideal to be striven
+for in going down swift rivers.
+
+Presently Ken saw a break in the level surface of the water.  He took
+Pepe’s place at the oars, and, as usual, turned the boat stern first
+down-stream.  The banks were low and shelved out in rocky points.  This
+relieved Ken, for he saw that he could land just above the falls.  What
+he feared was a narrow gorge impossible to portage round or go through.
+As the boat approached the break the roar seemed to divide itself,
+hollow and shallow near at hand, rushing and heavy farther on.
+
+Ken rowed close to the bank and landed on the first strip of rock.  He
+got out and, walking along this ledge, soon reached the fall. It was a
+straight drop of some twelve or fifteen feet.  The water was shallow all
+the way across.
+
+"Boys, this is easy," said Ken.  "We’ll pack the outfit round the fall,
+and slide the boat over."
+
+But Ken did not say anything about the white water extending below the
+fall as far as he could see.  From here came the sullen roar that had
+worried him.
+
+Portaging the supplies around that place turned out to be far from easy.
+The portage was not long nor rugged, but the cracked, water-worn, rock
+made going very difficult. The boys often stumbled.  Pepe fell and broke
+open a box, and almost broke his leg. Ken had a hard knock.  Then, when
+it came to carrying the trunk, one at each corner, progress was
+laborious and annoying.  Full two hours were lost in transporting the
+outfit around the fall.
+
+Below there was a wide, shelving apron, over which the water ran a foot
+or so in depth. Ken stationed Pepe and the boys there, and went up to
+get the boat.  He waded out with it.  Ken saw that his end of this
+business was going to be simple enough, but he had doubts as to what
+would happen to the boys.
+
+"Brace yourselves, now," he yelled.  "When I drop her over she’ll come
+a-humming. Hang on if she drags you a mile!"
+
+Wading out deeper Ken let the boat swing down with the current till the
+stern projected over the fall.  He had trouble in keeping his footing,
+for the rock was slippery.  Then with a yell he ran the stern far out
+over the drop, bore down hard on the bow, and shoved off.
+
+The boat shot out and down, to alight with a heavy souse.  Then it
+leaped into the swift current.  George got his hands on it first, and
+went down like a ninepin.  The boat floated over him.  The bow struck
+Hal, and would have dragged him away had not Pepe laid powerful hands on
+the stern.  They waded to the lower ledge.
+
+"Didn’t ship a bucketful," said Hal. "Fine work, Ken."
+
+"I got all the water," added the drenched and dripping George.
+
+"Bail out, boys, and repack, while I look below," said Ken.
+
+He went down-stream a little way to take a survey of the rapids.  If
+those rapids had been back in Pennsylvania, Ken felt that he could have
+gone at them in delight.  If the jungle country had been such that
+damage to boat or supplies could have been remedied or replaced, these
+rapids would not have appeared so bad.  Ken walked up and down looking
+over the long white inclines more than was wise, and he hesitated about
+going into them. But it had to be done.  So he went back to the boys.
+Then he took the oars with gripping fingers.
+
+"George, can you swim?" he asked.
+
+"I’m a second cousin to a fish," replied George.
+
+"All right.  We’re off.  Now, if we upset, hang to the boat, if you can,
+and hold up your legs.  George, tell Pepe."
+
+Ken backed the boat out from the shore. To his right in the middle of
+the narrow river was a racy current that he kept out of as long as
+possible.  But presently he was drawn into it, and the boat shot
+forward, headed into the first incline, and went racing smoothly down
+toward the white waves of the rapids.
+
+This was a trying moment for Ken.  Grip as hard as he might, the
+oar-handles slipped in his sweaty hands.
+
+The boys were yelling, but Ken could not hear for the din of roaring
+waters.  The boat sailed down with swift, gliding motion.  When it
+thumped into the back-lash of the first big waves the water threshed
+around and over the boys.  Then they were in the thick of rush and roar.
+Ken knew he was not handling the boat well.  It grazed stones that
+should have been easy to avoid, and bumped on hidden ones, and got half
+broadside to the current.  Pepe, by quick action with an oar, pushed the
+stern aside from collision with more than one rock.  Several times Ken
+missed a stroke when a powerful one was needed.  He passed between
+stones so close together that he had to ship the oars.  It was all rapid
+water, this stretch, but the bad places, with sunken rocks, falls, and
+big waves, were strung out at such distances apart that Ken had time to
+get the boat going right before entering them.
+
+Ken saw scarcely anything of the banks of the river.  They blurred in
+his sight. Sometimes they were near, sometimes far. The boat turned
+corners where rocky ledges pointed out, constricting the stream and
+making a curved channel.  What lay around the curve was always a
+question and a cause for suspense.  Often the boat raced down a chute
+and straight toward a rocky wall. Ken would pull back with all his
+might, and Pepe would break the shock by striking the wall with his oar.
+
+More than once Pepe had a narrow escape from being knocked overboard.
+George tried to keep him from standing up.  Finally at the end of a long
+rapid, Pepe, who had the stern-seat, jumped up and yelled.  Ken saw a
+stone directly in the path of the boat, and he pulled back on the oars
+with a quick, strong jerk.  Pepe shot out of the stern as if he had been
+flung from a catapult.  He swam with the current while the boat drifted.
+He reached smooth water and the shore before Ken could pick him up.
+
+It was fun for everybody but Ken.  There were three inches of water in
+the boat.  The canvas, however, had been arranged to protect guns,
+grips, and supplies.  George had been wet before he entered the rapids,
+so a little additional water did not matter to him. Hal was almost as
+wet as Pepe.
+
+"I’m glad that’s past," said Ken.
+
+With that long rapid behind him he felt different.  It was what he had
+needed.  His nervousness disappeared and he had no dread of the next
+fall.  While the boys bailed out the boat Ken rested and thought.  He
+had made mistakes in that rapid just passed. Luck had favored him.  He
+went over the mistakes and saw where he had been wrong, and how he could
+have avoided them if he had felt right.  Ken realized now that this was
+a daredevil trip.  And the daredevil in him had been shut up in dread.
+It took just that nervous dread, and the hard work, blunders and
+accidents, the danger and luck, to liberate the spirit that would make
+the trip a success.  Pepe and George were loud in their praises of Ken.
+But they did not appreciate the real hazard of the undertaking, and if
+Hal did he was too much of a wild boy to care.
+
+"All aboard," called George.
+
+Then they were on their way again.  Ken found himself listening for
+rapids.  It was no surprise to hear a dull roar round the next bend.
+His hair rose stiffly under his hat. But this time he did not feel the
+chill, the uncertainty, the lack of confidence that had before weakened
+him.
+
+At the head of a long, shallow incline the boys tumbled overboard, Ken
+and Hal at the bow, Pepe and George at the stern. They waded with the
+bow up-stream.  The water tore around their legs, rising higher and
+higher.  Soon Pepe and George had to climb in the boat, for the water
+became so deep and swift they could not wade.
+
+"Jump in, Hal," called Ken.
+
+Then he held to the bow an instant longer, wading a little farther down.
+This was ticklish business, and all depended upon Ken.  He got the stern
+of the boat straight in line with the channel he wanted to run, then he
+leaped aboard and made for the oars. The boat sped down.  At the bottom
+of this incline was a mass of leaping green and white waves.  The blunt
+stern of the boat made a great splash and the water flew over the boys.
+They came through the roar and hiss and spray to glide into a mill-race
+current.
+
+"Never saw such swift water!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+This incline ended in a sullen plunge between two huge rocks.  Ken saw
+the danger long before it became evident to his companions.  There was
+no other way to shoot the rapid.  He could not reach the shore.  He must
+pass between the rocks.  Ken pushed on one oar, then on the other, till
+he got the boat in line, and then he pushed with both oars.  The boat
+flew down that incline.  It went so swiftly that if it had hit one of
+the rocks it would have been smashed to kindling wood.  Hal crouched
+low.  George’s face was white.  And Pepe leaned forward with his big
+arms outstretched, ready to try to prevent a collision.
+
+Down! down with the speed of the wind! The boat flashed between the
+black stones. Then it was raised aloft, light as a feather, to crash
+into the back-lashers.  The din deafened Ken; the spray blinded him.
+The boat seemed to split a white pall of water, then, with many a
+bounce, drifted out of that rapid into little choppy waves, and from
+them into another long, smooth runway.
+
+Ken rested, and had nothing to say.  Pepe shook his black head.  Hal
+looked at his brother.  George had forgotten his rifle.  No one spoke.
+
+Soon Ken had more work on hand.  For round another corner lay more fast
+water. The boat dipped on a low fall, and went down into the midst of
+green waves with here and there ugly rocks splitting the current.  The
+stream-bed was continually new and strange to Ken, and he had never seen
+such queer formation of rocks.  This rapid, however, was easy to
+navigate.  A slanting channel of swift water connected it with another
+rapid.  Ken backed into that one, passed through, only to face another.
+And so it went for a long succession of shallow rapids.
+
+A turn in the winding lane of cypresses revealed walls of gray, between
+which the river disappeared.
+
+"Aha!" muttered Ken.
+
+"Ken, I’ll bet this is the place you’ve been looking for," said Hal.
+
+The absence of any roar of water emboldened Ken.  Nearing the head of
+the ravine, he stood upon the seat and looked ahead.  But Ken could not
+see many rods ahead.  The ravine turned, and it was the deceiving turns
+in the river that he had feared.  What a strange sensation Ken had when
+he backed the boat into the mouth of that gorge!  He was forced against
+his will. Yet there seemed to be a kind of blood-tingling pleasure in
+the prospect.
+
+The current caught the boat and drew it between the gray-green walls of
+rock.
+
+"It’s coming to us," said the doubtful George.
+
+The current ran all of six miles an hour. This was not half as fast as
+the boys had traveled in rapids, but it appeared swift enough because of
+the nearness of the overshadowing walls.  In the shade the water took on
+a different coloring.  It was brown and oily.  It slid along silently.
+It was deep, and the swirling current suggested power.  Here and there
+long, creeping ferns covered the steep stone sides, and above ran a
+stream of blue sky fringed by leaning palms. Once Hal put his hands to
+his lips and yelled: "Hel-lo!"  The yell seemed to rip the silence and
+began to clap from wall to wall.  It gathered quickness until it clapped
+in one fiendish rattle.  Then it wound away from the passage, growing
+fainter and fainter, and at last died in a hollow echo.
+
+"Don’t do that again," ordered Ken.
+
+He began to wish he could see the end of that gorge.  But it grew
+narrower, and the shade changed to twilight, and there were no long,
+straight stretches.  The river kept turning corners.  Quick to note the
+slightest change in conditions, Ken felt a breeze, merely a zephyr, fan
+his hot face.  The current had almost imperceptibly quickened. Yet it
+was still silent.  Then on the gentle wind came a low murmur.  Ken’s
+pulse beat fast.  Turning his ear down-stream, he strained his hearing.
+The low murmur ceased. Perhaps he had imagined it.  Still he kept
+listening.  There!  Again it came, low, far away, strange.  It might
+have been the wind in the palms.  But no, he could not possibly persuade
+himself it was wind.  And as that faint breeze stopped he lost the sound
+once more.  The river was silent, and the boat, and the boys--it was a
+silent ride.  Ken divined that his companions were enraptured. But this
+ride had no beauty, no charm for him.
+
+There!  Another faint puff of wind, and again the low murmur!  He
+fancied it was louder.  He was beginning to feel an icy dread when all
+was still once more.  So the boat drifted swiftly on with never a gurgle
+of water about her gunwales.  The river gleamed in brown shadows.  Ken
+saw bubbles rise and break on the surface, and there was a slight rise
+or swell of the water toward the center of the channel.  This bothered
+him. He could not understand it.  But then there had been many other
+queer formations of rock and freaks of current along this river.
+
+The boat glided on and turned another corner, the sharpest one yet.  A
+long, shadowy water-lane, walled in to the very sides, opened up to
+Ken’s keen gaze.  The water here began to race onward, still wonderfully
+silent. And now the breeze carried a low roar.  It was changeable yet
+persistent.  It deepened.
+
+Once more Ken felt his hair rise under his hat.  Cold sweat wet his
+skin.  Despite the pounding of his heart and the throb of his veins, his
+blood seemed to clog, to freeze, to stand still.
+
+That roar was the roar of rapids.  Impossible to go back!  If there had
+been four sets of oars, Ken and his comrades could not row the heavy
+boat back up that swift, sliding river.
+
+They must go on.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *X*
+
+                                *LOST!*
+
+
+"Ken, old man, do you hear that?" questioned Hal, waking from his
+trance.
+
+George likewise rose out of his lazy contentment.  "Must be rapids," he
+muttered. "If we strike rapids in this gorge it’s all day with us.  What
+did I tell you!"
+
+Pepe’s dark, searching eyes rested on Ken.
+
+But Ken had no word for any of them. He was fighting an icy numbness,
+and the weakness of muscle and the whirl of his mind.  It was thought of
+responsibility that saved him from collapse.
+
+"It’s up to you, old man," said Hal, quietly.
+
+In a moment like this the boy could not wholly be deceived.
+
+Ken got a grip upon himself.  He looked down the long, narrow lane of
+glancing water. Some hundred yards on, it made another turn round a
+corner, and from this dim curve came the roar.  The current was hurrying
+the boat toward it, but not fast enough to suit Ken. He wanted to see
+the worst, to get into the thick of it, to overcome it.  So he helped
+the boat along.  A few moments sufficed to cover that gliding stretch of
+river, yet to Ken it seemed never to have an end.  The roar steadily
+increased.  The current became still stronger.  Ken saw eruptions of
+water rising as from an explosion beneath the surface. Whirlpools raced
+along with the boat.  The dim, high walls re-echoed the roaring of the
+water.
+
+The first thing Ken saw when he sailed round that corner was a widening
+of the chasm and bright sunlight ahead.  Perhaps an eighth of a mile
+below the steep walls ended abruptly. Next in quick glance he saw a
+narrow channel of leaping, tossing, curling white-crested waves under
+sunlighted mist and spray.
+
+Pulling powerfully back and to the left Ken brought the boat alongside
+the cliff. Then he shipped his oars.
+
+"Hold hard," he yelled, and he grasped the stone.  The boys complied,
+and thus stopped the boat.  Ken stood up on the seat.  It was a bad
+place he looked down into, but he could not see any rocks.  And rocks
+were what he feared most.
+
+"Hold tight, boys," he said.  Then he got Pepe to come to him and sit on
+the seat. Ken stepped up on Pepe’s shoulders and, by holding to the
+rock, was able to get a good view of the rapid.  It was not a rapid at
+all, but a constriction of the channel, and also a steep slant.  The
+water rushed down so swiftly to get through that it swelled in the
+center in a long frothy ridge of waves.  The water was deep.  Ken could
+not see any bumps or splits or white-wreathed rocks, such as were
+conspicuous in a rapid.  The peril here for Ken was to let the boat hit
+the wall or turn broadside or get out of that long swelling ridge.
+
+He stepped down and turned to the white-faced boys.  He had to yell
+close to them to make them hear him in the roar.
+
+"I--can--run--this--place.  But--you’ve got--to help.  Pull--the
+canvas--up higher in the stern--and hold it."
+
+Then he directed Pepe to kneel in the bow of the boat with an oar and be
+ready to push off from the walls.
+
+If Ken had looked again or hesitated a moment he would have lost his
+nerve.  He recognized that fact.  And he shoved off instantly.  Once the
+boat had begun to glide down, gathering momentum, he felt his teeth
+grind hard and his muscles grow tense.  He had to bend his head from
+side to side to see beyond the canvas George and Hal were holding round
+their shoulders.  He believed with that acting as a buffer in the stern
+he could go pounding through those waves. Then he was in the middle of
+the channel, and the boat fairly sailed along.  Ken kept his oars
+poised, ready to drop either one for a stroke.  All he wanted was to
+enter those foaming, tumultuous waves with his boat pointed right.  He
+knew he could not hope to see anything low down after he entered the
+race.  He calculated that the last instant would give him an opportunity
+to get his direction in line with some object.
+
+Then, even as he planned it, the boat dipped on a beautiful glassy
+incline, and glided down toward the engulfing, roaring waves.  Above
+them, just in the center, Ken caught sight of the tufted top of a
+palm-tree.  That was his landmark!
+
+The boat shot into a great, curling, back-lashing wave.  There was a
+heavy shock, a pause, and then Ken felt himself lifted high, while a
+huge sheet of water rose fan-shape behind the buffer in the stern.
+Walls and sky and tree faded under a watery curtain. Then the boat shot
+on again; the light came, the sky shone, and Ken saw his palm-tree. He
+pulled hard on the right oar to get the stern back in line.  Another
+heavy shock, a pause, a blinding shower of water, and then the downward
+rush!  Ken got a fleeting glimpse of his guiding mark, and sunk the left
+oar deep for a strong stroke.  The beating of the waves upon the
+upraised oars almost threw him out of the boat.  The wrestling waters
+hissed and bellowed.  Down the boat shot and up, to pound and pound, and
+then again shoot down.  Through the pall of mist and spray Ken always
+got a glimpse, quick as lightning, of the palm-tree, and like a demon he
+plunged in his oars to keep the boat in line.  He was only dimly
+conscious of the awfulness of the place.  But he was not afraid.  He
+felt his action as being inspirited by something grim and determined.
+He was fighting the river.
+
+All at once a grating jar behind told him the bow had hit a stone or a
+wall.  He did not dare look back.  The most fleeting instant of time
+might be the one for him to see his guiding mark.  Then the boat lurched
+under him, lifted high with bow up, and lightened.  He knew Pepe had
+been pitched overboard.
+
+In spite of the horror of the moment, Ken realized that the lightening
+of the boat made it more buoyant, easier to handle.  That weight in the
+bow had given him an unbalanced craft.  But now one stroke here and one
+there kept the stern straight.  The palm-tree loomed higher and closer
+through the brightening mist.  Ken no longer felt the presence of the
+walls.  The thunderous roar had begun to lose some of its volume. Then
+with a crash through a lashing wave the boat raced out into the open
+light.  Ken saw a beautiful foam-covered pool, down toward which the
+boat kept bumping over a succession of diminishing waves.
+
+He gave a start of joy to see Pepe’s black head bobbing in the choppy
+channel.  Pepe had beat the boat to the outlet.  He was swimming easily,
+and evidently he had not been injured.
+
+Ken turned the bow toward him.  But Pepe did not need any help, and a
+few more strokes put him in shallow water.  Ken discovered that the
+boat, once out of the current, was exceedingly loggy and hard to row.
+It was half full of water.  Ken’s remaining strength went to pull
+ashore, and there he staggered out and dropped on the rocky bank.
+
+The blue sky was very beautiful and sweet to look at just then.  But Ken
+had to close his eyes.  He did not have strength left to keep them open.
+For a while all seemed dim and obscure to him.  Then he felt a
+dizziness, which in turn succeeded to a racing riot of his nerves and
+veins.  His heart gradually resumed a normal beat, and his bursting
+lungs seemed to heal.  A sickening languor lay upon him.  He could not
+hold little stones which he felt under his fingers.  He could not raise
+his hands.  The life appeared to have gone from his legs.
+
+All this passed, at length, and, hearing Hal’s voice, Ken sat up.  The
+outfit was drying in the sun; Pepe was bailing out the boat; George was
+wiping his guns; and Hal was nursing a very disheveled little racoon.
+
+"You can bring on any old thing now, for all I care," said Hal.  "I’d
+shoot Lachine Rapids with Ken at the oars."
+
+"He’s a fine boatman," replied George. "Weren’t you scared when we were
+in the middle of that darned place?"
+
+"Me?  Naw!"
+
+"Well, I was scared, and don’t you forget it," said Ken to them.
+
+"You were all in, Ken," replied Hal. "Never saw you so tuckered out.
+The day you and Prince went after the cougar along that cañon
+precipice--you were all in that time.  George, it took Ken six hours to
+climb out of that hole."
+
+"Tell me about it," said George, all eyes.
+
+"No stories now," put in Ken.  "The sun is still high.  We’ve got to be
+on our way.  Let’s look over the lay of the land."
+
+Below the pool was a bold, rocky bluff, round which the river split.
+What branch to take was a matter of doubt and anxiety to Ken.  Evidently
+this bluff was an island. It had a yellow front and long bare ledges
+leading into the river.
+
+Ken climbed the bluff, accompanied by the boys, and found it covered
+with palm-trees. Up there everything was so dry and hot that it did not
+seem to be jungle at all.  Even the palms were yellow and parched.  Pepe
+stood the heat, but the others could not endure it.  Ken took one long
+look at the surrounding country, so wild and dry and still, and then led
+the way down the loose, dusty shelves.
+
+Thereupon he surveyed the right branch of the river and followed it a
+little distance. The stream here foamed and swirled among jagged rocks.
+At the foot of this rapid stretched the first dead water Ken had
+encountered for miles.  A flock of wild geese rose from under his feet
+and flew down-stream.
+
+"Geese!" exclaimed Ken.  "I wonder if that means we are getting down
+near lagoons or big waters.  George, wild geese don’t frequent little
+streams, do they?"
+
+"There’s no telling where you’ll find them in this country," answered
+George.  "I’ve chased them right in our orange groves."
+
+They returned to look at the left branch of the river.  It was open and
+one continuous succession of low steps.  That would have decided Ken
+even if the greater volume of water had not gone down on this left side.
+As far as he could see was a wide, open river running over little
+ledges.  It looked to be the easiest and swiftest navigation he had come
+upon, and so indeed it proved.  The water was swift, and always dropped
+over some ledge in a rounded fall that was safe for him to shoot.  It
+was great fun going over these places.  The boys hung their feet over
+the gunwales most of the time, sliding them along the slippery ledge or
+giving a kick to help the momentum.  When they came to a fall, Ken would
+drop off the bow, hold the boat back and swing it straight, then jump
+in, and over it would go--souse!
+
+There were so many of these ledges, and they were so close together,
+that going over them grew to be a habit.  It induced carelessness.  The
+boat drifted to a brow of a fall full four feet high.  Ken, who was at
+the bow. leaped off just in time to save the boat.  He held on while the
+swift water surged about his knees.  He yelled for the boys to jump. As
+the stern where they sat was already over the fall it was somewhat
+difficult to make the boys vacate quickly enough.
+
+"Tumble out!  Quick!" bawled Ken.  "Do you think I’m Samson?"
+
+Over they went, up to their necks in the boiling foam, and not a second
+too soon, for Ken could hold the boat no longer.  It went over smoothly,
+just dipping the stern under water.  If the boys had remained aboard,
+the boat would have swamped.  As it was, Pepe managed to catch the rope,
+which Ken had wisely thrown out, and he drifted down to the next ledge.
+Ken found this nearly as high as the last one.  So he sent the boys
+below to catch the boat.  This worked all right.  The shelves slanted
+slightly, with the shallow part of the water just at the break of the
+ledge.  They passed half a dozen of these, making good time, and before
+they knew it were again in a deep, smooth jungle lane with bamboo and
+streamers of moss waving over them.
+
+The shade was cool, and Ken settled down in the stern-seat, grateful for
+a rest.  To his surprise, he did not see a bird.  The jungle was asleep.
+Once or twice Ken fancied he heard the tinkle and gurgle of water
+running over rocks.  The boat glided along silently, with Pepe rowing
+leisurely, George asleep, Hal dreaming.
+
+Ken watched the beautiful green banks. They were high, a mass of
+big-leafed vines, flowering and fragrant, above which towered the jungle
+giants.  Ken wanted to get out and study those forest trees.  But he
+made no effort to act upon his good intentions, and felt that he must
+take the most of his forestry study at long range.  He was reveling in
+the cool recesses under the leaning cypresses, in the soft swish of
+bearded moss, and the strange rustle of palms, in the dreamy hum of the
+resting jungle, when his pleasure was brought to an abrupt end.
+
+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe.
+
+George woke up with a start.  Hal had been jarred out of his day-dream,
+and looked resentful.  Ken gazed about him with the feeling of a man
+going into a trance, instead of coming out of one.
+
+The boat was fast on a mud-bank.  That branch of the river ended right
+there.  The boys had come all those miles to run into a blind pocket.
+
+Ken’s glance at the high yellow bank, here crumbling and bare, told him
+there was no outlet.  He had a sensation of blank dismay.
+
+"Gee!" exclaimed Hal, softly.
+
+George rubbed his eyes; and, searching for a cigarette, he muttered:
+"We’re lost!  I said it was coming to us.  We’ve got to go back!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XI*
+
+                          *AN ARMY OF SNAKES*
+
+
+For a moment Ken Ward was utterly crushed under the weight of this
+sudden blow.  It was so sudden that he had no time to think; or his mind
+was clamped on the idea of attempting to haul the boat up that long,
+insurmountable series of falls.
+
+"It ’ll be an awful job," burst out Hal.
+
+No doubt in the mind of each boy was the same idea--the long haul,
+wading over slippery rocks; the weariness of pushing legs against the
+swift current; the packing of supplies uphill; and then the toil of
+lifting the heavy boat up over a fall.
+
+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and he groaned. That was significant, coming
+from a _mozo_, who thought nothing of rowing forty miles in a day.
+
+"Oh, but it’s tough luck," cried Ken. "Why didn’t I choose the right
+branch of this pesky river?"
+
+"I think you used your head at that," said Hal.  "Most of the water came
+down on this side.  Where did it go?"
+
+Hal had hit the vital question, and it cleared Ken’s brain.
+
+"Hal, you’re talking sense.  Where did that water go?  It couldn’t all
+have sunk into the earth.  We’ll find out.  We won’t try to go back.  We
+_can’t_ go back."
+
+Pepe shoved off the oozy mud, and, reluctantly, as if he appreciated the
+dilemma, he turned the boat and rowed along the shore. As soon as Ken
+had recovered somewhat he decided there must be an outlet which he had
+missed.  This reminded him that at a point not far back he had heard the
+tinkle and gurgle of unseen water flowing over rocks.
+
+He directed Pepe to row slowly along the bank that he thought was the
+island side. As they glided under the drooping bamboos and silky
+curtains of moss George began to call out: "Low bridge!  Low bridge!"
+For a boy who was forever voicing ill-omened suggestions as to what
+might soon happen he was extraordinarily cheerful.
+
+There were places where all had to lie flat and others where Pepe had to
+use his _machete_.  This disturbed the _siesta_ of many aquatic birds,
+most of which flew swiftly away.  But there were many of the
+gray-breasted, blue-backed bitterns that did not take to flight.  These
+croaked dismally, and looked down upon the boys with strange, protruding
+eyes.
+
+"Those darn birds ’ll give me the willies," declared Hal.  "George, you
+just look like them when you croak about what’s coming to us."
+
+"Just wait!" retorted George.  "It ’ll come, all right.  Then I’ll have
+the fun of seeing you scared silly."
+
+"What!  You’ll not do anything of the kind!" cried Hal, hotly.  "I’ve
+been in places where such--such a skinny little sap-head as you--"
+
+"Here, you kids stop wrangling," ordered Ken, who sensed hostilities in
+the air.  "We’ve got trouble enough."
+
+Suddenly Ken signaled Pepe to stop rowing.
+
+"Boys, I hear running water.  Aha!  Here’s a current.  See--it’s making
+right under this bank."
+
+Before them was a high wall of broad-leaved vines, so thick that nothing
+could be seen through them.  Apparently this luxuriant canopy concealed
+the bank.  Pepe poked an oar into it, but found nothing solid.
+
+"Pepe, cut a way through.  We’ve got to see where this water runs."
+
+It was then that Ken came to a full appreciation of a _machete_.  He had
+often fancied it a much less serviceable tool than an ax. Pepe flashed
+the long, bright blade up, down, and around, and presently the boat was
+its own length in a green tunnel.  Pepe kept on slashing while Ken poled
+the boat in and the other boys dumped the cut foliage overboard. Soon
+they got through this mass of hanging vine and creeper.  Much to Ken’s
+surprise and delight, he found no high bank, but low, flat ground,
+densely wooded, through which ran a narrow, deep outlet of the river.
+
+"By all that’s lucky!" ejaculated Ken.
+
+George and Hal whooped their pleasure, and Pepe rubbed his muscular
+hands.  Then all fell silent.  The deep, penetrating silence of that
+jungle was not provocative of speech. The shade was so black that when a
+ray of sunlight did manage to pierce the dense canopy overhead it
+resembled a brilliant golden spear.  A few lofty palms and a few clumps
+of bamboo rather emphasized the lack of these particular species in this
+forest. Nor was there any of the familiar streaming moss hanging from
+the trees.  This glen was green, cool, dark.  It did not smell exactly
+swampy, but rank, like a place where many water plants were growing.
+
+[Illustration: KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE]
+
+The outlet was so narrow that Ken was not able to use the oars.  Still,
+as the current was swift, the boat went along rapidly.  He saw a light
+ahead and heard the babble of water.  The current quickened, and the
+boat drifted suddenly upon the edge of an oval glade, where the hot sun
+beat down.  A series of abrupt mossy benches, over which the stream slid
+almost noiselessly, blocked further progress.
+
+The first thing about this glade that Ken noted particularly, after the
+difficulties presented by the steep steps, was the multitude of snakes
+sunning themselves along the line of further progress.
+
+"Boys, it ’ll be great wading down there, hey?" he queried.
+
+Pepe grumbled for the first time on the trip.  Ken gathered from the
+native’s looks and speech that he did not like snakes.
+
+"Watch me peg ’em!" yelled Hal, and he began to throw stones with
+remarkable accuracy.  "Hike, you brown sons-of-guns!"
+
+George, not to be outdone, made a dive for his .22 and began to pop as
+if he had no love for snakes.  Ken had doubts about this species.  The
+snakes were short, thick, dull brown in color, and the way they slipped
+into the stream proved they were water-snakes.  Ken had never read of a
+brown water-moccasin, so he doubted that these belonged to that
+poisonous family.  Anyway, snakes were the least of his troubles.
+
+"Boys, you’re doing fine," he said.  "There are about a thousand snakes
+there, and you’ve hit about six."
+
+He walked down through the glade into the forest, and was overjoyed to
+hear once more the heavy roar of rapids.  He went on.  The timber grew
+thinner, and light penetrated the jungle.  Presently he saw the gleam of
+water through the trees.  Then he hurried back.
+
+"All right, boys," he shouted.  "Here’s the river."
+
+The boys were so immensely relieved that packing the outfit round the
+waterfalls was work they set about with alacrity.  Ken, who had on his
+boots, broke a trail through the ferns and deep moss.  Pepe, being
+barefoot, wasted time looking for snakes.  George teased him.  But Pepe
+was deadly serious. And the way he stepped and looked made Ken
+thoughtful.  He had made his last trip with supplies, and was about to
+start back to solve the problem of getting the boat down, when a hoarse
+yell resounded through the sleeping jungle.  Parrots screeched, and
+other birds set up a cackling.
+
+Ken bounded up the slope.
+
+"Santa Maria!" cried Pepe.
+
+Ken followed the direction indicated by Pepe’s staring eyes and
+trembling finger. Hanging from a limb of a tree was a huge black-snake.
+It was as thick as Ken’s leg. The branch upon which it poised its neck
+so gracefully was ten feet high, and the tail curled into the ferns on
+the ground.
+
+"Boys, it’s one of the big fellows," cried Ken.
+
+"Didn’t I tell you!" yelled George, running down for his gun.
+
+Hal seemed rooted to the spot.  Pepe began to jabber.  Ken watched the
+snake, and felt instinctively from its sinister looks that it was
+dangerous.  George came running back with his .32 and waved it in the
+air as he shot.  He was so frightened that he forgot to aim.  Ken took
+the rifle from him.
+
+"You can’t hit him with this.  Run after your shotgun.  Quick!"
+
+But the sixteen-gage was clogged with a shell that would not eject.
+Ken’s guns were in their cases.
+
+"Holy smoke!" cried George.  "He’s coming down."
+
+The black-snake moved his body and began to slide toward the tree-trunk.
+
+Ken shot twice at the head of the snake. It was a slow-swaying mark hard
+to hit. The reptile stopped and poised wonderfully on the limb.  He was
+not coiled about it, but lay over it with about four feet of neck
+waving, swaying to and fro.  He watched the boys, and his tongue, like a
+thin, black streak, darted out viciously.
+
+Ken could not hit the head, so he sent a bullet through the thick part
+of the body. Swift as a gleam the snake darted from the limb.
+
+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe, and he ran off.
+
+"Look out, boys," shouted Ken.  He picked up Pepe’s _machete_ and took
+to his heels.  George and Hal scrambled before him. They ran a hundred
+yards or more, and Ken halted in an open rocky spot.  He was angry, and
+a little ashamed that he had run.  The snake did not pursue, and
+probably was as badly frightened as the boys had been.  Pepe stopped
+some distance away, and Hal and George came cautiously back.
+
+"I don’t see anything of him," said Ken. "I’m going back."
+
+He walked slowly, keeping a sharp outlook, and, returning to the glade,
+found blood-stains under the tree.  The snake had disappeared without
+leaving a trail.
+
+"If I’d had my shotgun ready!" exclaimed Ken, in disgust.  And he made a
+note that in the future he would be prepared to shoot.
+
+"Wasn’t he a whopper, Ken?" said Hal. "We ought to have got his hide.
+What a fine specimen!"
+
+"Boys, you drive away those few little snakes while I figure on a way to
+get the boat down."
+
+"Not on your life!" replied Hal.
+
+George ably sustained Hal’s objection.
+
+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and then added a loud "No" in English.
+
+"All right, my brave comrades," rejoined Ken, scornfully.  "As I’ve not
+done any work yet or taken any risks, I’ll drive the snakes away."
+
+With Pepe’s _machete_ he cut a long forked pole, trimmed it, and, armed
+with this weapon, he assaulted the rolls and bands and balls of brown
+snakes.  He stalked boldly down upon them, pushed and poled, and even
+kicked them off the mossy banks.  Hal could not stand that, and
+presently he got a pole and went to Ken’s assistance.
+
+"Who’s hollering now?" he yelled to George.
+
+Whereupon George cut a long branch and joined the battle.  They whacked
+and threshed and pounded, keeping time with yells. Everywhere along the
+wet benches slipped and splashed the snakes.  But after they were driven
+into the water they did not swim away. They dove under the banks and
+then stretched out their pointed heads from the dripping edge of moss.
+
+"Say, fellows, we’re making it worse for us," declared Ken.  "See, the
+brown devils won’t swim off.  We’d better have left them on the bank.
+Let’s catch one and see if he’ll bite."
+
+He tried to pick up one on his pole, but it slipped off.  George fished
+after another. Hal put the end of his stick down inside the coil of
+still another and pitched it.  The brown, wriggling, wet snake shot
+straight at the unsuspecting George, and struck him and momentarily
+wound about him.
+
+"Augrrh!" bawled George, flinging off the reptile and leaping back.
+"What ’d you do that for?  I’ll punch you!"
+
+"George, he didn’t mean it," said Ken. "It was an accident.  Come on,
+let’s tease that fellow and see if he’ll bite."
+
+The snake coiled and raised his flat head and darted a wicked tongue out
+and watched with bright, beady eyes, but he did not strike.  Ken went as
+close as he thought safe and studied the snake.
+
+"Boys, his head isn’t a triangle, and there are no little pits under his
+eyes.  Those are two signs of a poisonous snake.  I don’t believe this
+fellow’s one."
+
+"He’ll be a dead snake, b’ gosh," replied George, and he fell to
+pounding it with his pole.
+
+"Don’t smash him.  I want the skin," yelled Hal.
+
+Ken pondered on the situation before him.
+
+"Come, the sooner we get at this the better," he said.
+
+There was a succession of benches through which the stream zigzagged and
+tumbled. These benches were rock ledges over which moss had grown fully
+a foot thick, and they were so oozy and slippery that it was no easy
+task to walk upon them.  Then they were steep, so steep that it was
+remarkable how the water ran over them so smoothly, with very little
+noise or break.  It was altogether a new kind of waterfall to Ken.  But
+if the snakes had not been hidden there, navigation would have presented
+an easier problem.
+
+"Come on boys, alongside now, and hold back," he ordered, gripping the
+bow.
+
+Exactly what happened the next few seconds was not clear in his mind.
+There was a rush, and all were being dragged by the boat. The glade
+seemed to whizz past.  There were some sodden thumps, a great splashing,
+a check--and lo! they were over several benches.  It was the quickest
+and easiest descent he had ever made down a steep waterfall.
+
+"Fine!" ejaculated George, wiping the ooze from his face.
+
+"Yes, it was fine," Ken replied.  "But unless this boat has wings
+something ’ll happen soon."
+
+Below was a long, swift curve of water, very narrow and steep, with a
+moss-covered rock dividing the lower end.  Ken imagined if there was a
+repetition of the first descent the boat would be smashed on that rock.
+He ordered Pepe, who was of course the strongest, to go below and jump
+to the rock.  There he might prevent a collision.
+
+Pepe obeyed, but as he went he yelled and doubled up in contortions as
+he leaped over snakes in the moss.
+
+Then gently, gingerly the boys started the boat off the bench, where it
+had lodged. George was at the stern, Ken and Hal at the bow.  Suddenly
+Hal shrieked and jumped straight up, to land in the boat.
+
+"Snakes!" he howled.
+
+"Give us a rest!" cried Ken, in disgust.
+
+The boat moved as if instinct with life. It dipped, then--_wheeze!_ it
+dove over the bench.  Hal was thrown off his feet, fell back on the
+gunwale, and thence into the snaky moss.  George went sprawling face
+downward into the slimy ooze, and Ken was jerked clear off the bench
+into the stream. He got his footing and stood firm in water to his
+waist, and he had the bow-rope coiled round his hands.
+
+"Help!  Help!" he yelled, as he felt the dragging weight too much for
+him.
+
+If Ken retarded the progress of the boat at all, it was not much.
+George saw his distress and the danger menacing the boat, and he leaped
+valiantly forward.  As he dashed down a slippery slant his feet flew up
+higher than where his head had been; he actually turned over in the air,
+and fell with a great sop.
+
+Hal had been trying to reach Ken, but here he stopped and roared with
+laughter.
+
+Despite Ken’s anger and fear of snakes, and his greater fear for the
+boat, he likewise had to let out a peal of laughter.  That tumble of
+George’s was great.  Then Ken’s footing gave way and he went down.  His
+mouth filled with nasty water, nearly strangling him.  He was almost
+blinded, too.  His arms seemed to be wrenched out of their sockets, and
+he felt himself bumping over moss-covered rocks as soft as cushions.
+Slimy ropes or roots of vegetation, that felt like snakes, brushed his
+face and made him cold and sick.  It was impossible to hold the boat any
+longer.  He lodged against a stone, and the swift water forced him upon
+it.  Blinking and coughing, he stuck fast.
+
+Ken saw the boat headed like a dart for the rock where Pepe stood.
+
+"Let ’er go!" yelled Ken.  "Don’t try to stop her.  Pepe, you’ll be
+smashed!"
+
+Pepe acted like a man determined to make up for past cowardice.  He made
+a great show of brave intentions.  He was not afraid of a boat.  He
+braced himself and reached out with his brawny arms.  Ken feared for the
+obstinate native’s life, for the boat moved with remarkable velocity.
+
+At the last second Pepe’s courage vanished. He turned tail to get out of
+the way.  But he slipped.  The boat shot toward him and the blunt stern
+struck him with a dull thud. Pepe sailed into the air, over the rock,
+and went down cleaving the water.
+
+The boat slipped over the stone as easily as if it had been a wave and,
+gliding into still water below, lodged on the bank.
+
+Ken crawled out of the stream, and when he ascertained that no one was
+injured he stretched himself on the ground and gave up to mirth.  Pepe
+resembled a drowned rat; Hal was an object to wonder at; and George, in
+his coating of slime and with strings of moss in his hair, was the
+funniest thing Ken had ever seen.  It was somewhat of a surprise to him
+to discover, presently, that the boys were convulsed with fiendish glee
+over the way he himself looked.
+
+By and by they recovered, and, with many a merry jest and chuckle of
+satisfaction, they repacked the boat and proceeded on their way.  No
+further obstacle hindered them. They drifted out of the shady jungle
+into the sunlit river.
+
+In half a mile of drifting the heat of the sun dried the boys’ clothes.
+The water was so hot that it fairly steamed.  Once more the boat entered
+a placid aisle over which the magnificent gray-wreathed cypresses bowed,
+and the west wind waved long ribbons of moss, and wild fowl winged
+reluctant flight.
+
+Ken took advantage of this tranquil stretch of river to work on his map.
+He realized that he must use every spare moment and put down his
+drawings and notes as often as time and travel permitted.  It had dawned
+on Ken that rapids and snakes, and all the dangers along the river, made
+his task of observation and study one apt to be put into eclipse at
+times.  Once or twice he landed on shore to climb a bluff, and was
+pleased each time to see that he had lined a comparatively true course
+on his map.  He had doubts of its absolute accuracy, yet he could not
+help having pride in his work.  So far so good, he thought, and hoped
+for good-fortune farther down the river.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XII*
+
+                        *CATCHING STRANGE FISH*
+
+
+Beyond a bend in the river the boys came upon an island with a narrow,
+shaded channel on one side, a wide shoal on the other, and a group of
+huge cypresses at the up-stream end.
+
+"Looks good to me," said Hal.
+
+The instant Ken saw the island he knew it was the place he had long been
+seeking to make a permanent camp for a few days. They landed, to find an
+ideal camping site. The ground under the cypresses was flat, dry, and
+covered with short grass.  Not a ray of sunlight penetrated the foliage.
+A pile of driftwood had lodged against one of the trees, and this made
+easy the question of fire-wood.
+
+"Great!" exclaimed Ken.  "Come on, let’s look over the ground."
+
+The island was about two hundred yards long, and the lower end was
+hidden by a growth of willows.  Bursting through this, the boys saw a
+weedy flat leading into a wide, shallow back-eddy.  Great numbers of
+ducks were sporting and feeding.  The stones of the rocky shore were
+lined with sleeping ducks. Herons of all colors and sizes waded about,
+or slept on one leg.  Snipe ran everywhere. There was a great squawking
+and flapping of wings.  But at least half the number of waterfowl were
+too tame or too lazy to fly.
+
+Ken returned to camp with his comrades, all highly elated over the
+prospects.  The best feature about this beautiful island was the absence
+of ticks and snakes.
+
+"Boys, this is the place," said Ken.  "We’ll hang up here for a while.
+Maybe we won’t strike another such nice place to stay."
+
+So they unloaded the boat, taking everything out, and proceeded to pitch
+a camp that was a delight.  They were all loud in expressions of
+satisfaction.  Then Pepe set about leisurely peeling potatoes; George
+took his gun and slipped off toward the lower end of the island; Hal
+made a pen for his racoon, and then more pens, as if he meant to capture
+a menagerie; and Ken made a comfortable lounging-bed under a cypress.
+He wanted to forget that nagging worry as to farther descent of the
+river, and to enjoy this place.
+
+"Bang!" went George’s sixteen-gage.  A loud whirring of wings followed,
+and the air was full of ducks.
+
+"Never touched one!" yelled Hal, in taunting voice.
+
+A flock of teal skimmed the water and disappeared up-stream.  The shot
+awakened parrots in the trees, where for a while there was clamor.  Ken
+saw George wade out into the shoal and pick up three ducks.
+
+"Pot-shot!" exclaimed Hal, disgustedly. "Why couldn’t he be a sport and
+shoot them on the fly?"
+
+George crossed to the opposite shore and, climbing a bare place, stood
+looking before him.
+
+"Hey, George, don’t go far," called Ken.
+
+"Fine place over here," replied George, and, waving his hand, he passed
+into the bushes out of sight.
+
+Ken lay back upon his blanket with a blissful sense of rest and
+contentment.  Many a time he had lain so, looking up through the broad
+leaves of a sycamore or the lacy foliage of a birch or the delicate
+crisscross of millions of pine needles.  This overhead canopy, however,
+was different.  Only here and there could he catch little slivers of
+blue sky.  The graceful streamers of exquisite moss hung like tassels of
+silver.  In the dead stillness of noonday they seemed to float curved in
+the shape in which the last soft breeze had left them.  High upon a
+branch he saw a red-headed parrot hanging back downward, after the
+fashion of a monkey.  Then there were two parrots asleep in the fork of
+a branch. It was the middle of the day, and all things seemed tired and
+sleepy.  The deep channel murmured drowsily, and the wide expanse of
+river on the other side lapped lazily at the shore.  The only other
+sound was the mourning of turtle-doves, one near and another far away.
+Again the full richness, the mellow sweetness of this song struck Ken
+forcibly. He remembered that all the way down the river he had heard
+that mournful note.  It was beautiful but melancholy.  Somehow it made
+him think that it had broken the dreamy stillness of the jungle noonday
+long, long ago. It was sweet but sad and old.  He did not like to hear
+it.
+
+Ken yielded to the soothing influence of the hour and fell asleep.  When
+he awoke there was George, standing partially undressed and very soberly
+popping ticks.  He had enlisted the services of Pepe, and, to judge from
+the remarks of both, they needed still more assistance.
+
+"Say, Garrapato George, many ticks over there?"
+
+"Ticks!" shouted George, wildly, waving his cigarette.  "Millions of
+’em!  And there’s--ouch!  Kill that one, Pepe.  Wow! he’s as big as a
+penny.  There’s game over there. It’s a flat with some kind of berry
+bush. There’s lots of trails.  I saw cat-tracks, and I scared up wild
+turkeys--"
+
+"Turkeys!" Ken exclaimed, eagerly.
+
+"You bet.  I saw a dozen.  How they can run!  I didn’t flush them.  Then
+I saw a flock of those black and white ducks, like the big fellow I
+shot.  They were feeding.  I believe they’re Muscovy ducks."
+
+"I’m sure I don’t know, but we can call them that."
+
+"Well, I’d got a shot, too, but I saw some gray things sneaking in the
+bushes.  I thought they were pigs, so I got out of there quick."
+
+"You mean javelin?"
+
+"Yep, I mean wild pigs.  Oh!  We’ve struck the place for game.  I’ll bet
+it’s coming to us."
+
+When George anticipated pleasurable events he was the most happy of
+companions.  It was good to look forward.  He was continually expecting
+things to happen; he was always looking ahead with great eagerness. But
+unfortunately he had a twist of mind toward the unfavorable side of
+events, and so always had the boys fearful.
+
+"Well, pigs or no pigs, ticks or no ticks, we’ll hunt and fish, and see
+all there is to see," declared Ken, and he went back to his lounging.
+
+When he came out of that lazy spell, George and Hal were fishing.
+George had Ken’s rod, and it happened to be the one Ken thought most of.
+
+"Do you know how to fish?" he asked.
+
+"I’ve caught tarpon bigger’n you," retorted George.
+
+That fact was indeed too much for Ken, and he had nothing to do but risk
+his beloved rod in George’s hands.  And the way George swung it about,
+slashed branches with it, dropped the tip in the water, was exceedingly
+alarming to Ken.  The boy would break the tip in a minute.  Yet Ken
+could not take his rod away from a boy who had caught tarpon.
+
+There were fish breaking water.  Where a little while before the river
+had been smooth, now it was ruffled by _ravalo_, gar, and other fish
+Pepe could not name.  But George and Hal did not get a bite.  They tried
+all their artificial flies and spoons and minnows, then the preserved
+mullet, and finally several kinds of meat.
+
+"Bah! they want pie," said Hal.
+
+For Ken Ward to see little and big fish capering around under his very
+nose and not be able to hook one was exasperating.  He shot a small
+fish, not unlike a pickerel, and had the boys bait with that.  Still no
+strike was forthcoming.
+
+This put Ken on his mettle.  He rigged up a minnow tackle, and, going to
+the lower end of the island, he tried to catch some minnows.  There were
+plenty of them in the shallow water, but they would not bite. Finally
+Ken waded in the shoal and turned over stones.  He found some snails
+almost as large as mussels, and with these he hurried back to the boys.
+
+"Here, if you don’t get a bite on one of these I’m no fisherman," said
+Ken.  "Try one."
+
+George got his hands on the new bait in advance of Hal and so threw his
+hook into the water first.  No sooner had the bait sunk than he got a
+strong pull.
+
+"There!  Careful now," said Ken.
+
+George jerked up, hooking a fish that made the rod look like a
+buggy-whip.
+
+"Give me the rod," yelled Ken, trying to take it.
+
+"It’s my fish," yelled back George.
+
+He held on and hauled with all his might. A long, finely built fish,
+green as emerald, split the water and churned it into foam. Then,
+sweeping out in strong dash, it broke Ken’s rod square in the middle.
+Ken eyed the wreck with sorrow, and George with no little disapproval.
+
+"You said you knew how to fish," protested Ken.
+
+"Those split-bamboo rods are no good," replied George.  "They won’t hold
+a fish."
+
+"George, you’re a grand fisherman!" observed Hal, with a chuckle.  "Why,
+you only dreamed you’ve caught tarpon."
+
+Just then Hal had a tremendous strike. He was nearly hauled off the
+bank.  But he recovered his balance and clung to his nodding rod.  Hal’s
+rod was heavy cane, and his line was thick enough to suit.  So nothing
+broke. The little brass reel buzzed and rattled.
+
+"I’ve got a whale!" yelled Hal.
+
+"It’s a big gar--alligator-gar," said George. "You haven’t got him.
+He’s got you."
+
+The fish broke water, showing long, open jaws with teeth like saw-teeth.
+It threshed about and broke away.  Hal reeled in to find the hook
+straightened out.  Then George kindly commented upon the very skilful
+manner in which Hal had handled the gar. For a wonder Hal did not reply.
+
+By four o’clock, when Ken sat down to supper, he was so thirsty that his
+mouth puckered as dry as if he had been eating green persimmons.  This
+matter of thirst had become serious.  Twice each day Ken had boiled a
+pot of water, into which he mixed cocoa, sugar, and condensed milk, and
+begged the boys to drink that and nothing else. Nevertheless Pepe and
+George, and occasionally Hal, would drink unboiled water.  For this meal
+the boys had venison and duck, and canned vegetables and fruit, so they
+fared sumptuously.
+
+Pepe pointed to a string of Muscovy ducks sailing up the river.  George
+had a good shot at the tail end of the flock, and did not even loosen a
+feather.  Then a line of cranes and herons passed over the island.  When
+a small bunch of teal flew by, to be followed by several canvasbacks,
+Ken ran for his shotgun.  It was a fine hammerless, a hard-shooting gun,
+and one Ken used for grouse-hunting.  In his hurry he grasped a handful
+of the first shells he came to and, when he ran to the river-bank, found
+they were loads of small shot.  He decided to try them anyhow.
+
+While Pepe leisurely finished the supper Ken and George and Hal sat on
+the bank watching for ducks.  Just before the sun went down a hard wind
+blew, making difficult shooting.  Every few moments ducks would whir by.
+George’s gun missed fire often, and when it did work all right, he
+missed the ducks.  To Ken’s surprise he found the load of small shot
+very deadly.  He could sometimes reach a duck at eighty yards. The
+little brown ducks and teal he stopped as if they had hit a stone wall.
+He dropped a canvasback with the sheer dead plunge that he liked.  Ken
+thought a crippled duck enough to make a hunter quit shooting. With six
+ducks killed, he decided to lay aside his gun for that time, when Pepe
+pointed down the river.
+
+"Pato real," he said.
+
+Ken looked eagerly and saw three of the big black ducks flying as high
+as the treetops and coming fast.  Snapping a couple of shells in the
+gun, Ken stood ready.  At the end of the island two of the ducks wheeled
+to the left, but the big leader came on like a thunderbolt.  To Ken he
+made a canvasback seem slow.  Ken caught him over the sights of the gun,
+followed him up till he was abreast and beyond; then, sweeping a little
+ahead of him, Ken pulled both triggers.  The Muscovy swooped up and
+almost stopped in his flight while a cloud of black feathers puffed away
+on the wind.  He sagged a little, recovered, and flew on as strong as
+ever. The small shot were not heavy enough to stop him.
+
+"We’ll need big loads for the Muscovies and the turkeys," said George.
+
+"We’ve all sizes up to BB’s," replied Ken. "George, let’s take a walk
+over there where you saw the turkeys.  It’s early yet."
+
+Then Pepe told George if they wanted to see game at that hour the thing
+to do was to sit still in camp and watch the game come down to the river
+to drink.  And he pointed down-stream to a herd of small deer quietly
+walking out on the bar.
+
+"After all the noise we made!" exclaimed Ken.  "Well, this beats me.
+George, we’ll stay right here and not shoot again to-night.  I’ve an
+idea we’ll see something worth while."
+
+It was Pepe’s idea, but Ken instantly saw its possibilities.  There were
+no tributaries to the river or springs in that dry jungle, and, as
+manifestly the whole country abounded in game, it must troop down to the
+river in the cool of the evening to allay the hot day’s thirst.  The
+boys were perfectly situated for watching the dark bank on the channel
+side of the island as well as the open bars on the other.  The huge
+cypresses cast shadows that even in daylight effectually concealed them.
+They put out the camp-fire and, taking comfortable seats in the folds of
+the great gnarled roots, began to watch and listen.
+
+The vanguard of thirsty deer had prepared Ken for something remarkable,
+and he was in no wise disappointed.  The trooping of deer down to the
+water’s edge and the flight of wild fowl up-stream increased in
+proportion to the gathering shadows of twilight.  The deer must have got
+a scent, for they raised their long ears and stood still as statues,
+gazing across toward the upper end of the island.  But they showed no
+fear.  It was only when they had drunk their fill and wheeled about to
+go up the narrow trails over the bank that they showed uneasiness and
+haste.  This made Ken wonder if they were fearful of being ambushed by
+jaguars. Soon the dark line of deer along the shore shaded into the
+darkness of night.  Then Ken heard soft splashes and an occasional
+patter of hard hoofs.  The whir of wings had ceased.
+
+A low exclamation from Pepe brought attention to interesting
+developments closer at hand.
+
+"Javelin!" he whispered.
+
+On the channel side of the island was impenetrable pitchy blackness.
+Ken tried to pierce it with straining eyes, but he could not even make
+out the shore-line that he knew was only ten yards distant.  Still he
+could hear, and that was thrilling enough.  Everywhere on this side,
+along the edge of the water and up the steep bank, were faint tickings
+of twigs and soft rustlings of leaves.  Then there was a continuous
+sound, so low as to be almost inaudible, that resembled nothing Ken
+could think of so much as a long line of softly dripping water.  It
+swelled in volume to a tiny roll, and ended in a sharp clicking on rocks
+and a gentle splashing in the water. A drove of _javelin_ had come down
+to drink. Occasionally the glint of green eyes made the darkness all the
+more weird.  Suddenly a long, piercing wail, a keen cry almost human,
+quivered into the silence.
+
+"Panther!" Ken whispered, instantly, to the boys.  It was a different
+cry from that of the lion of the cañon, but there was a strange wild
+note that betrayed the species.  A stillness fell, dead as that of a
+subterranean cavern.  Strain his ears as he might, Ken could not detect
+the slightest sound.  It was as if no _javelin_ or any other animals had
+come down to drink.  That listening, palpitating moment seemed endless.
+What mystery of wild life it meant, that silence following the cry of
+the panther!  Then the jungle sounds recommenced--the swishing of water,
+the brushing in the thicket, stealthy padded footsteps, the faint
+snapping of twigs. Some kind of a cat uttered an unearthly squall. Close
+upon this the clattering of deer up the bank on the other side rang out
+sharply. The deer were running, and the striking of the little hoofs
+ceased in short order.  Ken listened intently.  From far over the bank
+came a sound not unlike a cough--deep, hoarse, inexpressibly wild and
+menacing.
+
+"Tigre!" cried Pepe, gripping Ken hard with both hands.  He could feel
+him trembling.  It showed how the native of the jungle-belt feared the
+jaguar.
+
+Again the cough rasped out, nearer and louder this time.  It was not a
+courage-provoking sound, and seemed on second thought more of a growl
+than a cough.  Ken felt safe on the island; nevertheless, he took up his
+rifle.
+
+"That’s a tiger," whispered George.  "I heard one once from the porch of
+the Alamitas hacienda."
+
+A third time the jaguar told of his arrival upon the night scene.  Ken
+was excited, and had a thrill of fear.  He made up his mind to listen
+with clearer ears, but the cough or growl was not repeated.
+
+Then a silence set in, so unbroken that it seemed haunted by the echoes
+of those wild jungle cries.  Perhaps Ken had the haunting echoes in
+mind.  He knew what had sent the deer away and stilled the splashings
+and creepings.  It was the hoarse voice of the lord of the jungle.
+
+Pepe and the boys, too, fell under the spell of the hour.  They did not
+break the charm by talking.  Giant fireflies accentuated the ebony
+blackness and a low hum of insects riveted the attention on the
+stillness.  Ken could not understand why he was more thoughtful on this
+trip than he had ever been before.  Somehow he felt immeasurably older.
+Probably that was because it had seemed necessary for him to act like a
+man, even if he was only a boy.
+
+The black mantle of night lifted from under the cypresses, leaving a
+gloom that slowly paled.  Through the dark foliage, low down over the
+bank, appeared the white tropical moon.  Shimmering gleams chased the
+shadows across the ripples, and slowly the river brightened to a silver
+sheen.
+
+A great peace fell upon the jungle world. How white, how wild, how
+wonderful!  It only made the island more beautiful and lonely.  The
+thought of leaving it gave Ken Ward a pang.  Almost he wished he were a
+savage.
+
+And he lay there thinking of the wild places that he could never see,
+where the sun shone, the wind blew, the twilight shadowed, the rain
+fell; where the colors and beauties changed with the passing hours;
+where a myriad of wild creatures preyed upon each other and night never
+darkened but upon strife and death.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIII*
+
+                            *A TURKEY-HUNT*
+
+
+Upon awakening in the early morning Ken found his state one of huge
+enjoyment.  He was still lazily tired, but the dead drag and ache had
+gone from his bones. A cool breeze wafted the mist from the river,
+breaking it up into clouds, between which streamed rosy shafts of
+sunlight.  Wood-smoke from the fire Pepe was starting blew fragrantly
+over him.  A hundred thousand birds seemed to be trying to burst their
+throats.  The air was full of music.  He lay still, listening to this
+melodious herald of the day till it ceased.
+
+Then a flock of parrots approached and circled over the island,
+screeching like a band of flying imps.  Presently they alighted in the
+cypresses, bending the branches to a breaking-point and giving the trees
+a spotted appearance of green and red.  Pepe waved his hand toward
+another flock sweeping over.
+
+"Parrakeets," he said.
+
+These birds were a solid green, much smaller than the red-heads, with
+longer tails.  They appeared wilder than the red-heads, and flew higher,
+circling the same way and screeching, but they did not alight.  Other
+flocks sailed presently from all directions.  The last one was a cloud
+of parrots, a shining green and yellow mass several acres in extent.
+They flew still higher than the parrakeets.
+
+"Yellow-heads!" shouted George.  "They’re the big fellows, the talkers.
+If there ain’t a million of ’em!"
+
+The boys ate breakfast in a din that made conversation useless.  The
+red-heads swooped down upon the island, and the two unfriendly species
+flew back and forth, manifestly trying to drive the boys off.  The mist
+had blown away, the sun was shining bright, when the myriad of parrots,
+in large and small flocks, departed to other jungle haunts.
+
+Pepe rowed across the wide shoal to the sand-bars.  There in the soft
+ooze, among the hundreds of deer-tracks, Ken found a jaguar-track larger
+than his spread hand. It was different from a lion-track, yet he could
+not distinguish just what the difference was. Pepe, who had accompanied
+the boys to carry the rifles and game, pointed to the track and said,
+vehemently:
+
+"Tigre!" He pronounced it "tee-gray."  And he added, "Grande!"
+
+"Big he certainly is," Ken replied.  "Boys, we’ll kill this jaguar.
+We’ll bait this drinking-trail with a deer carcass and watch to-night."
+
+Once upon the bank, Ken was surprised to see a wide stretch of
+comparatively flat land.  It was covered with a low vegetation, with
+here and there palm-trees on the little ridges and bamboo clumps down in
+the swales. Beyond the flat rose the dark line of dense jungle.  It was
+not clear to Ken why that low piece of ground was not overgrown with the
+matted thickets and vines and big trees characteristic of other parts of
+the jungle. They struck into one of the trails, and had not gone a
+hundred paces when they espied a herd of deer.  The grass and low bushes
+almost covered them.  George handed his shotgun to Pepe and took his
+rifle.
+
+"Shoot low," said Ken.
+
+George pulled the trigger, and with the report a deer went down, but it
+was not the one Ken was looking at, nor the one at which he believed
+George had aimed.  The rest of the herd bounded away, to disappear in a
+swale. Wading through bushes and grass, they found George’s quarry, a
+small deer weighing perhaps sixty pounds.  Pepe carried it over to the
+trail.  Ken noted that he was exceedingly happy to carry the rifles.
+They went on at random, somehow feeling that, no matter in what
+direction, they would run into something to shoot at.
+
+The first bamboo swale was alive with _chicalocki_.  Up to this time Ken
+had not seen this beautiful pheasant fly in the open, and he was
+astonished at its speed.  It would burst out of the thick bamboo, whir
+its wings swiftly, then sail.  That sail was a most graceful thing to
+see.  George pulled his 16-gage twice, and missed both times.  He had
+the beginner’s fault--shooting too soon. Presently Pepe beat a big cock
+_chicalocki_ out of the bush.  He made such a fine target, he sailed so
+evenly, that Ken simply looked at him over the gun-sights and followed
+him till he was out of sight.  The next one he dropped like a plummet.
+Shooting _chicalocki_ was too easy, he decided; they presented so fair a
+mark that it was unfair to pull on them.
+
+George was an impetuous hunter.  Ken could not keep near him, nor coax
+or command him to stay near.  He would wander off by himself.  That was
+one mark in his favor: at least he had no fear.  Pepe hung close to Ken
+and Hal, with his dark eyes roving everywhere.  Ken climbed out on one
+side of the swale, George on the other.  Catching his whistle, Ken
+turned to look after him.  He waved, and, pointing ahead, began to stoop
+and slip along from bush to bush.  Presently a flock of Muscovy ducks
+rose before him, sailed a few rods, and alighted.  Then from right under
+his feet labored up great gray birds.  Wild geese!  Ken recognized them
+as George’s gun went _bang_!  One tumbled over, the others wheeled
+toward the river. Ken started down into the swale to cross to where
+George was, when Pepe touched his arm.
+
+"Turkeys!" he whispered.
+
+That changed Ken’s mind.  Pepe pointed into the low bushes ahead and
+slowly led Ken forward.  He heard a peculiar low thumping.  Trails led
+everywhere, and here and there were open patches covered with a scant
+growth of grass.  Across one of these flashed a bronze streak, then
+another and another.
+
+"Shoot!  Shoot!" said Pepe, tensely.
+
+Those bronze streaks were running turkeys! The thumpings were made by
+their rapidly moving feet!
+
+"Don’t they flush--fly?" Ken queried of Pepe.
+
+"No--no--shoot!" exclaimed he, as another streak of brown crossed an
+open spot.  Ken hurriedly unbreached his gun and changed the light
+shells for others loaded with heavy shot.  He reached the edge of a bare
+spot across which a turkey ran with incredible swiftness.  He did not
+get the gun in line with it at all.  Then two more broke out of the
+bushes.  Run!  They were as swift as flying quail.  Ken took two
+snap-shots, and missed both times.  If any one had told him that he
+would miss a running turkey at fifty feet, he would have been insulted.
+But he did not loosen a feather.  Loading again, he yelled for George.
+
+"Hey, George--turkeys!"
+
+He whooped, and started across on the run.
+
+"Gee!" said Hal.  "Ken, I couldn’t do any worse shooting than you.  Let
+me take a few pegs."
+
+Ken handed over the heavy gun and fell back a little, giving Hal the
+lead.  They walked on, peering closely into the bushes. Suddenly a
+beautiful big gobbler ran out of a thicket, and then stopped to stretch
+out his long neck and look.
+
+"Shoot--hurry!" whispered Ken.  "What a chance!"
+
+"That’s a tame turkey," said Hal.
+
+"Tame!  Why, you tenderfoot!  He’s as wild as wild.  Can’t you see
+that?"
+
+Ken’s excitement and Pepe’s intense eagerness all at once seemed
+communicated to Hal. He hauled up the gun, fingered the triggers
+awkwardly, then shot both barrels.  He tore a tremendous hole in the
+brush some few feet to one side of the turkey.  Then the great bird ran
+swiftly out of sight.
+
+"Didn’t want to kill him sitting, anyhow," said Hal, handing the gun
+back to Ken.
+
+"We want to eat some wild turkey, don’t we?  Well, we’d better take any
+chance. These birds are game, Hal, and don’t you forget that!"
+
+"What’s all the shooting?" panted George, as he joined the march.
+
+Just then there was a roar in the bushes, and a brown blur rose and
+whizzed ahead like a huge bullet.  That turkey had flushed. Ken watched
+him fly till he went down out of sight into a distant swale.
+
+"Pretty nifty flier, eh?" said George. "He was too quick for me."
+
+"Great!" replied Ken.
+
+There was another roar, and a huge bronze cannon-ball sped straight
+ahead.  Ken shot both barrels, then George shot one, all clean misses.
+Ken watched this turkey fly, and saw him clearer.  He had to admit that
+the wild turkey of the Tamaulipas jungle had a swifter and more
+beautiful flight than his favorite bird, the ruffled grouse.
+
+"Walk faster," said George.  "They’ll flush better.  I don’t see how I’m
+to hit one.  This goose I’m carrying weighs about a ton."
+
+The hunters hurried along, crashing through the bushes.  They saw turkey
+after turkey. _Bang!_ went George’s gun.
+
+Then a beautiful sight made Ken cry out and forget to shoot.  Six
+turkeys darted across an open patch--how swiftly they ran!--then rose in
+a bunch.  The roar they made, the wonderfully rapid action of their
+powerful wings, and then the size of them, their wildness and noble
+gameness made them the royal game for Ken.
+
+At the next threshing in the bushes his gun was leveled; he covered the
+whistling bronze thing that shot up.  The turkey went down with a crash.
+Pepe yelled, and as he ran forward the air all about him was full of
+fine bronze feathers.  Ken hurried forward to see his bird.  Its
+strength and symmetry, and especially the beautiful shades of bronze,
+captivated his eye.
+
+"Come on, boys--this is the greatest game I ever hunted," he called.
+
+Again Pepe yelled, and this time he pointed. From where Ken stood he
+could not see anything except low, green bushes.  In great excitement
+George threw up his gun and shot. Ken heard a squealing.
+
+"Javelin!  Javelin!" yelled Pepe, in piercing alarm.
+
+George jerked a rifle from him and began to shoot.  Hal pumped his .22
+into the bushes. The trampling of hard little hoofs and a cloud of dust
+warned Ken where the javelin were.  Suddenly Pepe broke and fled for the
+river.
+
+"Hyar, Pepe, fetch back my rifle," shouted Ken, angrily.
+
+Pepe ran all the faster.
+
+George turned and dashed away yelling: "Wild pigs!  Wild pigs!"
+
+"Look out, Ken!  Run!  Run!" added Hal; and he likewise took to his
+heels.
+
+It looked as if there was nothing else for Ken to do but to make tracks
+from that vicinity. Never before had he run from a danger which he had
+not seen; but the flight of the boys was irresistibly contagious, and
+this, coupled with the many stories he had heard of the _javelin_, made
+Ken execute a sprint that would have been a record but for the hampering
+weight of gun and turkey.  He vowed he would hold on to both, pigs or no
+pigs; nevertheless he listened as he ran and nervously looked back
+often.  It may have been excited imagination that the dust-cloud
+appeared to be traveling in his wake.  Fortunately, the distance to the
+river did not exceed a short quarter of a mile. Hot, winded, and
+thoroughly disgusted with himself, Ken halted on the bank.  Pepe was
+already in the boat, and George was scrambling aboard.
+
+"A fine--chase--you’ve given--me," Ken panted.  "There’s nothing--after
+us."
+
+"Don’t you fool yourself," returned George, quickly.  "I saw those pigs,
+and, like the ass I am, I blazed away at one with my shotgun."
+
+"Did he run at you?  That’s what I want to know?" demanded Ken.
+
+George said he was not certain about that, but declared there always was
+danger if a wounded _javelin_ squealed.  Pepe had little to say; he
+refused to go back after the deer left in the trail.  So they rowed
+across the shoal, and on the way passed within a rod of a big crocodile.
+
+"Look at that fellow," cried George.  "Wish I had my rifle loaded.  He’s
+fifteen feet long."
+
+"Oh no, George, he’s not more than ten feet," said Ken.
+
+"You don’t see his tail.  He’s a whopper. Pepe told me there was one in
+this pool. We’ll get him, all right."
+
+They reached camp tired out, and all a little ruffled in temper, which
+certainly was not eased by the discovery that they were covered with
+ticks.  Following the cue of his companions, Ken hurriedly stripped off
+his clothes and hung them where they could singe over the camp-fire.
+There were broad red bands of _pinilius_ round both ankles, and reddish
+patches on the skin of his arms.  Here and there were black spots about
+the size of his little finger-nail, and these were _garrapatoes_.  He
+picked these off one by one, rather surprised to find them come off so
+easily. Suddenly he jumped straight up with a pain as fierce as if it
+had been a puncture from a red-hot wire.
+
+Pepe grinned; and George cried:
+
+"Aha! that was a garrapato bite, that was! You just wait!"
+
+George had a hundred or more of the big black ticks upon him, and he was
+remorselessly popping them with his cigarette.  Some of them were biting
+him, too, judging from the way he flinched.  Pepe had attracted to
+himself a million or more of the _pinilius_, but very few of the larger
+pests.  He generously came to Ken’s assistance.  Ken was trying to pull
+off the _garrapato_ that had bitten a hole in him.  Pepe said it had
+embedded its head, and if pulled would come apart, leaving the head
+buried in the flesh, which would cause inflammation.  Pepe held the
+glowing end of his cigarette close over the tick, and it began to squirm
+and pull out its head.  When it was free of the flesh Pepe suddenly
+touched it with the cigarette, and it exploded with a pop.  A difficult
+question was: Which hurt Ken the most, the burn from the cigarette or
+the bite of the tick?  Pepe scraped off as many _pinilius_ as would
+come, and then rubbed Ken with _canya_, the native alcohol.  If this was
+not some kind of vitriol, Ken missed his guess.  It smarted so keenly he
+thought his skin was peeling off.  Presently, however, the smarting
+subsided, and so did the ticks.
+
+Hal, who by far was the most sensitive one in regard to the crawling and
+biting of the jungle pests, had been remarkably fortunate in escaping
+them.  So he made good use of his opportunity to poke fun at the others,
+particularly Ken.
+
+George snapped out: "Just wait, Hollering Hal!"
+
+"Don’t you call me that!" said Hal, belligerently.
+
+Ken eyed his brother in silence, but with a dark, meaning glance.  It
+had occurred to Ken that here in this jungle was the only place in the
+world where he could hope to pay off old scores on Hal.  And plots began
+to form in his mind.
+
+They lounged about camp, resting in the shade during the hot midday
+hours.  For supper they had a superfluity of meat, the waste of which
+Ken deplored, and he assuaged his conscience by deciding to have a taste
+of each kind.  The wild turkey he found the most toothsome, delicious
+meat it had ever been his pleasure to eat.  What struck him at once was
+the flavor, and he could not understand it until Pepe explained that the
+jungle turkey lived upon a red pepper. So the Tamaulipas wild turkey
+turned out to be doubly the finest game he had ever shot.
+
+All afternoon the big crocodile sunned himself on the surface of the
+shoal.
+
+Ken wanted a crocodile-skin, and this was a chance to get one; but he
+thought it as well to wait, and kept the boys from wasting ammunition.
+
+Before sundown Pepe went across the river and fetched the deer carcass
+down to the sandbar, where the jaguar-trail led to the water.
+
+At twilight Ken stationed the boys at the lower end of the island,
+ambushed behind stones.  He placed George and Pepe some rods below his
+own position.  They had George’s .32 rifle, and the 16-gage loaded with
+a solid ball.  Ken put Hal, with the double-barreled shotgun, also
+loaded with ball, some little distance above.  And Ken, armed with his
+automatic, hid just opposite the deer-trails.
+
+"Be careful where you shoot," Ken warned repeatedly.  "Be cool--think
+quick--and aim."
+
+Ken settled down for a long wait, some fifty yards from the deer
+carcass.  A wonderful procession of wild fowl winged swift flight over
+his head.  They flew very low. It was strange to note the difference in
+the sound of their flying.  The cranes and herons softly swished the
+air, the teal and canvasbacks whirred by, and the great Muscovies
+whizzed like bullets.
+
+When the first deer came down to drink it was almost dark, and when they
+left the moon was up, though obscured by clouds.  Faint sounds rose from
+the other side of the island. Ken listened until his ears ached, but he
+could hear nothing.  Heavier clouds drifted over the moon.  The deer
+carcass became indistinct, and then faded entirely, and the bar itself
+grew vague.  He was about to give up watching for that night when he
+heard a faint rustling below.  Following it came a grating or crunching
+of gravel.
+
+Bright flares split the darkness--_crack! crack!_ rang out George’s
+rifle, then the heavy _boom! boom!_ of the shotgun.
+
+"There he is!" yelled George.  "He’s down--we got him--there’s two!
+Look out!"
+
+_Boom!  Boom!_ roared the heavy shotgun from Hal’s covert.
+
+"George missed him!  I got him!" yelled Hal.  "No, there he goes--Ken!
+Ken!"
+
+Ken caught the flash of a long gray body in the hazy gloom of the bar
+and took a quick shot at it.  The steel-jacketed bullet scattered the
+gravel and then hummed over the bank.  The gray body moved fast up the
+bank.  Ken could just see it.  He turned loose the little automatic and
+made the welkin ring.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIV*
+
+                        *A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR*
+
+
+When the echoes of the shots died away the stillness seemed all the
+deeper.  No rustle in the brush or scuffle on the sand gave evidence of
+a wounded or dying jaguar. George and Hal and Pepe declared there were
+two tigers, and that they had hit one. Ken walked out upon the stones
+till he could see the opposite bar, but was not rewarded by a sight of
+dead game.  Thereupon they returned to camp, somewhat discouraged at
+their ill luck, but planning another night-watch.
+
+In the morning George complained that he did not feel well.  Ken told
+him he had been eating too much fresh meat, and that he had better be
+careful.  Then Ken set off alone, crossed the river, and found that the
+deer carcass was gone.  In the sand near where it had lain were plenty
+of cat-tracks, but none of the big jaguar.  Upon closer scrutiny he
+found the cat-tracks to be those of a panther. He had half dragged, half
+carried the carcass up one of the steep trails, but from that point
+there was no further trace.
+
+Ken struck out across the fiat, intending to go as far as the jungle.
+Turtle-doves fluttered before him in numberless flocks. Far to one side
+he saw Muscovy ducks rising, sailing a few rods, then alighting.  This
+occurred several times before he understood what it meant.  There was
+probably a large flock feeding on the flat, and the ones in the rear
+were continually flying to get ahead of those to the fore.
+
+Several turkeys ran through the bushes before Ken, but as he was
+carrying a rifle he paid little heed to them.  He kept a keen lookout
+for _javelin_.  Two or three times he was tempted to turn off the trail
+into little bamboo hollows; this, however, owing to a repugnance to
+ticks, he did not do.  Finally, as he neared the high moss-decked wall
+of the jungle, he came upon a runway leading through the bottom of a
+deep swale, and here he found tiger-tracks.
+
+Farther down the swale, under a great cluster of bamboo, he saw the
+scattered bones of several deer.  Ken was sure that in this spot the
+lord of the jungle had feasted more than once.  It was an open hollow,
+with the ground bare under the bamboos.  The runway led on into dense,
+leafy jungle.  Ken planned to bait that lair with a deer carcass and
+watch it during the late afternoon.
+
+First, it was necessary to get the deer. This might prove bothersome,
+for Ken’s hands and wrists were already sprinkled with _pinilius_, and
+he certainly did not want to stay very long in the brush.  Ken imagined
+he felt an itching all the time, and writhed inside his clothes.
+
+"Say, blame you! bite!" he exclaimed, resignedly, and stepped into the
+low bushes. He went up and out of the swale.  Scarcely had he reached a
+level when he saw a troop of deer within easy range.  Before they winded
+danger Ken shot, and the one he had singled out took a few bounds, then
+fell over sideways.  The others ran off into the brush. Ken remembered
+that the old hunter on Penetier had told him how seldom a deer dropped
+at once.  When he saw the work of the soft-nose .351 bullet, he no
+longer wondered at this deer falling almost in his tracks.
+
+"If I ever hit a jaguar like that it will be all day with him," was
+Ken’s comment.
+
+There were two things about hunting the jaguar that Ken had been bidden
+to keep in mind--fierce aggressiveness and remarkable tenacity of life.
+
+Ken dragged the deer down into the bamboo swale and skinned out a
+haunch.  Next to wild-turkey meat, he liked venison best. He was glad to
+have that as an excuse, for killing these tame tropical deer seemed like
+murder to Ken.  He left the carcass in a favorable place and then
+hurried back to camp.
+
+To Ken’s relief, he managed to escape bringing any _garrapatoes_ with
+him, but it took a half-hour to rid himself of the collection of
+_pinilius_.
+
+"George, ask Pepe what’s the difference between a garrapato and a
+pinilius," said Ken.
+
+"The big tick is the little one’s mother," replied Pepe.
+
+"Gee! you fellows fuss a lot about ticks," said Hal, looking up from his
+task.  He was building more pens to accommodate the turtles, snakes,
+snails, mice, and young birds that he had captured during the morning.
+
+Pepe said there were few ticks there in the uplands compared to the
+number down along the Panuco River.  In the lowlands where the cattle
+roamed there were millions in every square rod.  The under side of every
+leaf and blade of grass was red with ticks.  The size of these pests
+depended on whether or not they got a chance to stick to a steer or any
+beast. They appeared to live indefinitely, but if they could not suck
+blood they could not grow. The _pinilius_ grew into a _garrapato_, and a
+_garrapato_ bred a hundred thousand _pinilius_ in her body.  Two
+singular things concerning these ticks were that they always crawled
+upward, and they vanished from the earth during the wet season.
+
+Ken soaked his Duxbax hunting-suit in kerosene in the hope that this
+method would enable him to spend a reasonable time hunting.  Then, while
+the other boys fished and played around, he waited for the long, hot
+hours to pass.  It was cool in the shade, but the sunlight resembled the
+heat of fire.  At last five o’clock came, and Ken put on the damp suit.
+Soaked with the oil, it was heavier and hotter than sealskin, and before
+he got across the river he was nearly roasted. The evening wind sprang
+up, and the gusts were like blasts from a furnace.  Ken’s body was
+bathed in perspiration; it ran down his wrists, over his hands, and wet
+the gun. This cure for ticks--if it were one--was worse than their
+bites.  When he reached the shade of the bamboo swale it was none too
+soon for him.  He threw off the coat, noticing there were more ticks
+upon it than at anytime before.  The bottom of his trousers, too, had
+gathered an exceeding quantity.  He brushed them off, muttering the
+while that he believed they liked kerosene, and looked as if they were
+drinking it.  Ken found it easy, however, to brush them off the wet
+Duxbax, and soon composed himself to rest and watch.
+
+The position chosen afforded Ken a clear view of the bare space under
+the bamboos and of the hollow where the runway disappeared in the
+jungle.  The deer carcass, which lay as he had left it, was about a
+hundred feet from him.  This seemed rather close, but he had to accept
+it, for if he had moved farther away he could not have commanded both
+points.
+
+Ken sat with his back against a clump of bamboos, the little rifle
+across his knees and an extra clip of cartridges on the ground at his
+left.  After taking that position he determined not to move a yard when
+the tiger came, and to kill him.
+
+Ken went over in mind the lessons he had learned hunting bear in
+Penetier Forest with old Hiram Bent and lassoing lions on the wild
+north-rim of the Grand Cañon.  Ken knew that the thing for a hunter to
+do, when his quarry was dangerous, was to make up his mind beforehand.
+Ken had twelve powerful shells that he could shoot in the half of twelve
+seconds.  He would have been willing to face two jaguars.
+
+The sun set and the wind died down. What a relief was the cooling shade!
+The little breeze that was left fortunately blew at right angles to the
+swale, so that there did not seem much danger of the tiger winding Ken
+down the jungle runway.
+
+For long moments he was tense and alert. He listened till he thought he
+had almost lost the sense of hearing.  The jungle leaves were
+whispering; the insects were humming. He had expected to hear myriad
+birds and see processions of deer, and perhaps a drove of _javelin_.
+But if any living creatures ventured near him it was without his
+knowledge. The hour between sunset and twilight passed--a long wait;
+still he did not lose the feeling that something would happen.  Ken’s
+faculties of alertness tired, however, and needed distraction.  So he
+took stock of the big clump of bamboos under which lay the deer carcass.
+
+It was a remarkable growth, that gracefully drooping cluster of slender
+bamboo poles.  He remembered how, as a youngster, not many years back,
+he had wondered where the fishing-poles came from.  Here Ken counted one
+hundred and sixty-nine in a clump no larger than a barrel.  They were
+yellow in color with black bands, and they rose straight for a few
+yards, then began to lean out, to bend slightly, at last to droop with
+their abundance of spiked leaves.  Ken was getting down to a real,
+interested study of this species of jungle growth when a noise startled
+him.
+
+He straightened out of his lounging position and looked around.  The
+sound puzzled him. He could not place its direction or name what it was.
+The jungle seemed strangely quiet. He listened.  After a moment of
+waiting he again heard the sound.  Instantly Ken was as tense and
+vibrating as a violin string.  The thing he had heard was from the lungs
+of some jungle beast.  He was almost ready to pronounce it a cough.
+Warily he glanced around, craning his neck.  Then a deep, hoarse growl
+made him whirl.
+
+There stood a jaguar with head up and paw on the deer carcass.  Ken
+imagined he felt perfectly cool, but he knew he was astounded. And even
+as he cautiously edged the rifle over his knee he took in the beautiful
+points of the jaguar.  He was yellow, almost white, with black spots.
+He was short and stocky, with powerful stumpy bow-legs.  But his head
+most amazed Ken.  It was enormous. And the expression of his face was so
+singularly savage and wild that Ken seemed to realize instantly the
+difference between a mountain-lion and this fierce tropical brute.
+
+The jaguar opened his jaws threateningly. He had an enormous stretch of
+jaw.  His long, yellow fangs gleamed.  He growled again.
+
+Not hurriedly, nor yet slowly, Ken fired.
+
+He heard the bullet strike him as plainly as if he had hit him with a
+board.  He saw dust fly from his hide.  Ken expected to see the jaguar
+roll over.  Instead of that he leaped straight up with a terrible roar.
+Something within Ken shook.  He felt cold and sick.
+
+When the jaguar came down, sprawled on all fours, Ken pulled the
+automatic again, and he saw the fur fly.  Then the jaguar leaped forward
+with a strange, hoarse cry. Ken shot again, and knocked the beast flat.
+He tumbled and wrestled about, scattering the dust and brush.  Three
+times more Ken fired, too hastily, and inflicted only slight wounds.
+
+In reloading Ken tried to be deliberate in snapping in the second clip
+and pushing down the rod that threw the shell into the barrel. But his
+hands shook.  His fingers were all thumbs, and he fumbled at the breech
+of the rifle.
+
+In that interval, if the jaguar could have kept his sense of direction,
+he would have reached Ken.  But the beast zigzagged; he had lost his
+equilibrium; he was hard hit.
+
+Then he leaped magnificently.  He landed within twenty-five feet of Ken,
+and when he plunged down he rolled clear over.  Ken shot him through and
+through.  Yet he got up, wheezing blood, uttering a hoarse bellow, and
+made again at Ken.
+
+Ken had been cold, sick.  Now panic almost overpowered him.  The rifle
+wabbled. The bamboo glade blurred in his sight.  A terrible dizziness
+and numbness almost paralyzed him.  He was weakening, sinking, when
+thought of life at stake lent him a momentary grim and desperate spirit.
+
+Once while the jaguar was in the air Ken pulled, twice while he was
+down.  Then the jaguar stood up pawing the air with great spread claws,
+coughing, bleeding, roaring. He was horrible.
+
+Ken shot him straight between the wide-spread paws.
+
+With twisted body, staggering, and blowing bloody froth all over Ken,
+the big tiger blindly lunged forward and crashed to earth.
+
+Then began a furious wrestling.  Ken imagined it was the death-throes of
+the jaguar. Ken could not see him down among the leaves and vines;
+nevertheless, he shot into the commotion.  The struggles ceased.  Then a
+movement of the weeds showed Ken that the jaguar was creeping toward the
+jungle.
+
+Ken fell rather than sat down.  He found he was wringing wet with cold
+sweat.  He was panting hard.
+
+"Say, but--that--was--awful!" he gasped. "What--was--wrong--with me?"
+
+He began to reload the clips.  They were difficult to load for even a
+calm person, and now, in the reaction, Ken was the farthest removed from
+calm.  The jaguar crept steadily away, as Ken could tell by the swaying
+weeds and shaking vines.
+
+"What--a hard-lived beast!" muttered Ken. "I--must have shot--him all to
+pieces.  Yet he’s getting away from me."
+
+At last Ken’s trembling fingers pushed some shells in the two clips, and
+once more he reloaded the rifle.  Then he stood up, drew a deep, full
+breath, and made a strong effort at composure.
+
+"I’ve shot at bear--and deer--and lions out West," said Ken.  "But this
+was different. I’ll never get over it."
+
+How close that jaguar came to reaching Ken was proved by the blood
+coughed into his face.  He recalled that he had felt the wind of one
+great sweeping paw.
+
+Ken regained his courage and determination. He meant to have that
+beautiful spotted skin for his den.  So he hurried along the runway and
+entered the jungle.  Beyond the edge, where the bushes made a dense
+thicket, it was dry forest, with little green low down.  The hollow gave
+place to a dry wash.  He could not see the jaguar, but he could hear him
+dragging himself through the brush, cracking sticks, shaking saplings.
+
+Presently Ken ran across a bloody trail and followed it.  Every little
+while he would stop to listen.  When the wounded jaguar was still, he
+waited until he started to move again.  It was hard going.  The brush
+was thick, and had to be broken and crawled under or through.  As Ken
+had left his coat behind, his shirt was soon torn to rags.  He peered
+ahead with sharp eyes, expecting every minute to come in sight of the
+poor, crippled beast.  He wanted to put him out of agony. So he kept on
+doggedly for what must have been a long time.
+
+The first premonition he had of carelessness was to note that the
+shadows were gathering in the jungle.  It would soon be night.  He must
+turn back while there was light enough to follow his back track out to
+the open.  The second came in shape of a hot pain in his arm, as keen as
+if he had jagged it with a thorn.  Holding it out, he discovered to his
+dismay that it was spotted with _garrapatoes_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XV*
+
+                       *THE VICIOUS GARRAPATOES*
+
+
+At once Ken turned back, and if he thought again of the jaguar it was
+that he could come after him the next day or send Pepe. Another vicious
+bite, this time on his leg, confirmed his suspicions that many of the
+ticks had been on him long enough to get their heads in.  Then he was
+bitten in several places.
+
+Those bites were as hot as the touch of a live coal, yet they made Ken
+break out in dripping cold sweat.  It was imperative that he get back to
+camp without losing a moment which could be saved.  From a rapid walk he
+fell into a trot.  He got off his back trail and had to hunt for it.
+Every time a tick bit he jumped as if stung.  The worst of it was that
+he knew he was collecting more _garrapatoes_ with almost every step.
+When he grasped a dead branch to push it out of the way he could feel
+the ticks cling to his hand.  Then he would whip his arm in the air,
+flinging some of them off to patter on the dry ground.  Impossible as it
+was to run through that matted jungle, Ken almost accomplished it.  When
+he got out into the open he did run, not even stopping for his coat, and
+he crossed the flat at top speed.
+
+It was almost dark when Ken reached the river-bank and dashed down to
+frighten a herd of drinking deer.  He waded the narrowest part of the
+shoal.  Running up the island he burst into the bright circle of
+camp-fire. Pepe dropped a stew-pan and began to jabber. George dove for
+a gun.
+
+"What’s after you?" shouted Hal, in alarm.
+
+Ken was so choked up and breathless that at first he could not speak.
+His fierce aspect and actions, as he tore off his sleeveless and ragged
+shirt and threw it into the fire, added to the boys’ fright.
+
+"Good Lord! are you bug-house, Ken?" shrieked Hal.
+
+"_Bug-house!  Yes!_" roared Ken, swiftly undressing.  "Look at me!"
+
+In the bright glare he showed his arms black with _garrapatoes_ and a
+sprinkling of black dots over the rest of his body.
+
+"Is that all?" demanded Hal, in real or simulated scorn.  "Gee! but
+you’re a brave hunter.  I thought not less than six tigers were after
+you."
+
+"I’d rather have six tigers after me," yelled Ken.  "You little
+freckle-faced redhead!"
+
+It was seldom indeed that Ken called his brother that name.  Hal was
+proof against any epithets except that one relating to his freckles and
+his hair.  But just now Ken felt that he was being eaten alive.  He was
+in an agony, and he lost his temper.  And therefore he laid himself open
+to Hal’s scathing humor.
+
+"Never mind the kid," said Ken to Pepe and George.  "Hurry now, and get
+busy with these devils on me."
+
+It was well for Ken that he had a native like Pepe with him.  For Pepe
+knew just what to do.  First he dashed a bucket of cold water over Ken.
+How welcome that was!
+
+"Pepe says for you to point out the ticks that ’re biting the hardest,"
+said George.
+
+In spite of his pain Ken stared in mute surprise.
+
+"Pepe wants you to point out the ticks that are digging in the deepest,"
+explained George.  "Get a move on, now."
+
+"What!" roared Ken, glaring at Pepe and George.  He thought even the
+native might be having fun with him.  And for Ken this was not a funny
+time.
+
+But Pepe was in dead earnest.
+
+"Say, it’s impossible to tell _where_ I’m being bitten most!  It’s all
+over!" protested Ken.
+
+Still he discovered that by absolute concentration on the pain he was
+enduring he was able to locate the severest points.  And that showed him
+the soundness of Pepe’s advice.
+
+"Here--this one--here--there....  Oh! here," began Ken, indicating
+certain ticks.
+
+"Not so fast, now," interrupted the imperturbable George, as he and Pepe
+set to work upon Ken.
+
+Then the red-hot cigarette-tips scorched Ken’s skin.  Ken kept pointing
+and accompanying his directions with wild gestures and exclamations.
+
+"Here....  Oo-oo!  Here....  Wow!  Here.... Ouch!--that one stung!
+Here....  _Augh_! Say, can’t you hurry?  Here! ... Oh! that one was in a
+mile!  Here....  _Hold on_! You’re burning a hole in me! ... George,
+you’re having fun out of this.  Pepe gets two to your one."
+
+"He’s been popping ticks all his life," was George’s reasonable protest.
+
+"Hurry!" cried Ken, in desperation. "George, if you monkey round--fool
+over this job--I’ll--I’ll punch you good."
+
+All this trying time Hal Ward sat on a log and watched the proceedings
+with great interest and humor.  Sometimes he smiled, at others he
+laughed, and yet again he burst out into uproarious mirth.
+
+"George, he wouldn’t punch anybody," said Hal.  "I tell you he’s all in.
+He hasn’t any nerve left.  It’s a chance of your life. You’ll never get
+another.  He’s been bossing you around.  Pay him up.  Make him holler.
+Why, what’s a few little ticks?  Wouldn’t phase me!  But Ken Ward’s such
+a delicate, fine-skinned, sensitive, girly kind of a boy! He’s too nice
+to be bitten by bugs.  Oh dear, yes, yes! ... Ken, why don’t you show
+courage?"
+
+Ken shook his fist at Hal.
+
+"All right," said Ken, grimly.  "Have all the fun you can.  Because I’ll
+get even with you."
+
+Hal relapsed into silence, and Ken began to believe he had intimidated
+his brother.  But he soon realized how foolish it was to suppose such a
+thing.  Hal had only been working his fertile brain.
+
+"George, here’s a little verse for the occasion," said Hal.
+
+    "There was a brave hunter named Ken,
+    And he loved to get skins for his den,
+    Not afraid was he of tigers or pigs,
+    Or snakes or cats or any such things,
+    But one day in the jungle he left his clothes,
+    And came hollering back with _garrapatoes_."
+
+
+"Gre-at-t-t!" sputtered Ken.  "Oh, brother mine, we’re a long way from
+home, I’ll make you crawl."
+
+Pepe smoked, and wore out three cigarettes, and George two, before they
+had popped all the biting ticks.  Then Ken was still covered with them.
+Pepe bathed him in _canya_, which was like a bath of fire, and soon
+removed them all.  Ken felt flayed alive, peeled of his skin, and
+sprinkled with fiery sparks.  When he lay down he was as weak as a sick
+cat. Pepe said the _canya_ would very soon take the sting away, but it
+was some time before Ken was resting easily.
+
+It would not have been fair to ask Ken just then whether the prize for
+which he worked was worth his present gain.  _Garrapatoes_ may not seem
+important to one who simply reads about them, but such pests are a
+formidable feature of tropical life.
+
+However, Ken presently felt that he was himself again.
+
+Then he put his mind to the serious problem of his note-book and the
+plotting of the island.  As far as his trip was concerned, Cypress
+Island was an important point. When he had completed his map down to the
+island, he went on to his notes.  He believed that what he had found out
+from his knowledge of forestry was really worth something.  He had seen
+a gradual increase in the size and number of trees as he had proceeded
+down the river, a difference in the density and color of the jungle, a
+flattening-out of the mountain range, and a gradual change from rocky to
+clayey soil.  And on the whole his note-book began to assume such a
+character that he was beginning to feel willing to submit it to his
+uncle.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XVI*
+
+                      *FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST*
+
+
+That night Ken talked natural history to the boys and read extracts from
+a small copy of Sclater he had brought with him.
+
+They were all particularly interested in the cat tribe.
+
+The fore feet of all cats have five toes, the hind feet only four.
+Their claws are curved and sharp, and, except in case of one species of
+leopard, can be retracted in their sheaths. The claws of the great cat
+species are kept sharp by pulling them down through bark of trees.  All
+cats walk on their toes.  And the stealthy walk is due to hairy pads or
+cushions.  The claws of a cat do not show in its track as do those of a
+dog.  The tongues of all cats are furnished with large papillæ. They are
+like files, and the use is to lick bones and clean their fur.  Their
+long whiskers are delicate organs of perception to aid them in finding
+their way on their night quests.  The eyes of all cats are large and
+full, and can be altered by contraction or expansion of iris, according
+to the amount of light they receive. The usual color is gray or tawny
+with dark spots or stripes.  The uniform tawny color of the lion and the
+panther is perhaps an acquired color, probably from the habit of these
+animals of living in desert countries.  It is likely that in primitive
+times cats were all spotted or striped.
+
+Naturally the boys were most interested in the jaguar, which is the
+largest of the cat tribe in the New World.  The jaguar ranges from
+northern Mexico to northern Patagonia. Its spots are larger than those
+of the leopard. Their ground color is a rich tan or yellow, sometimes
+almost gold.  Large specimens have been known nearly seven feet from
+nose to end of tail.
+
+The jaguar is an expert climber and swimmer.  Humboldt says that where
+the South American forests are subject to floods the jaguar sometimes
+takes to tree life, living on monkeys.  All naturalists agree on the
+ferocious nature of jaguars, and on the loudness and frequency of their
+cries.  There is no record of their attacking human beings without
+provocation.  Their favorite haunts are the banks of jungle rivers, and
+they often prey upon fish and turtles.
+
+The attack of a jaguar is terrible.  It leaps on the back of its prey
+and breaks its neck.  In some places there are well-known scratching
+trees where jaguars sharpen their claws.  The bark is worn smooth in
+front from contact with the breasts of the animals as they stand up, and
+there is a deep groove on each side.  When new scars appear on these
+trees it is known that jaguars are in the vicinity.  The cry of the
+jaguar is loud, deep, hoarse, something like _pu, pu, pu_.  There is
+much enmity between the panther, or mountain-lion, and the jaguar, and
+it is very strange that generally the jaguar fears the lion, although he
+is larger and more powerful.
+
+Pepe had interesting things to say about jaguars, or _tigres_, as he
+called them.  But Ken, of course, could not tell how much Pepe said was
+truth and how much just native talk.  At any rate, Pepe told of one
+Mexican who had a blind and deaf jaguar that he had tamed.  Ken knew
+that naturalists claimed the jaguar could not be tamed, but in this
+instance Ken was inclined to believe Pepe. This blind jaguar was
+enormous in size, terrible of aspect, and had been trained to trail
+anything his master set him to.  And Tigre, as he was called, never
+slept or stopped till he had killed the thing he was trailing. As he was
+blind and deaf, his power of scent had been abnormally developed.
+
+Pepe told of a fight between a huge crocodile and a jaguar in which both
+were killed.  He said jaguars stalked natives and had absolutely no
+fear.  He knew natives who said that jaguars had made off with children
+and eaten them.  Lastly, Pepe told of an incident that had happened in
+Tampico the year before. There was a ship at dock below Tampico, just on
+the outskirts where the jungle began, and one day at noon two big
+jaguars leaped on the deck.  They frightened the crew out of their wits.
+George verified this story, and added that the jaguars had been chased
+by dogs, had boarded the ship, where they climbed into the rigging, and
+stayed there till they were shot.
+
+"Well," said Ken, thoughtfully, "from my experience I believe a jaguar
+would do anything."
+
+The following day promised to be a busy one for Hal, without any time
+for tricks. George went hunting before breakfast--in fact, before the
+others were up--and just as the boys were sitting down to eat he
+appeared on the nearer bank and yelled for Pepe. It developed that for
+once George had bagged game.
+
+He had a black squirrel, a small striped wildcat, a peccary, a
+three-foot crocodile, and a duck of rare plumage.
+
+After breakfast Hal straightway got busy, and his skill and knowledge
+earned praise from George and Pepe.  They volunteered to help, which
+offer Hal gratefully accepted. He had brought along a folding canvas
+tank, forceps, knives, scissors, several packages of preservatives, and
+tin boxes in which to pack small skins.
+
+His first task was to mix a salt solution in the canvas tank.  This was
+for immersing skins.  Then he made a paste of salt and alum, and after
+that a mixture of two-thirds glycerin and one-third water and carbolic
+acid, which was for preserving small skins and to keep them soft.
+
+And as he worked he gave George directions on how to proceed with the
+wildcat and squirrel skins.
+
+"Skin carefully and tack up the pelts fur side down.  Scrape off all the
+fat and oil, but don’t scrape through.  To-morrow when the skins are dry
+soak them in cold water till soft.  Then take them out and squeeze dry.
+I’ll make a solution of three quarts water, one-half pint salt, and one
+ounce oil of vitriol.  Put the skins in that for half an hour.  Squeeze
+dry again, and hang in shade. That ’ll tan the skin, and the moths will
+never hurt them."
+
+When Hal came to take up the duck he was sorry that some of the
+beautiful plumage had been stained.
+
+"I want only a few water-fowl," he said. "And particularly one of the
+big Muscovies. And you must keep the feathers from getting soiled."
+
+It was interesting to watch Hal handle that specimen.  First he took
+full measurements. Then, separating the feathers along the breast, he
+made an incision with a sharp knife, beginning high up on breast-bone
+and ending at tail.  He exercised care so as not to cut through the
+abdomen.  Raising the skin carefully along the cut as far as the muscles
+of the leg, he pushed out the knee joint and cut it off.  Then he
+loosened the skin from the legs and the back, and bent the tail down to
+cut through the tail joint.  Next he removed the skin from the body and
+cut off the wings at the shoulder joint.  Then he proceeded down the
+neck, being careful not to pull or stretch the skin.  Extreme care was
+necessary in cutting round the eyes.  Then, when he had loosened the
+skin from the skull, he severed the head and cleaned out the skull.  He
+coated all with the paste, filled the skull with cotton, and then
+immersed them in the glycerin bath.
+
+The skinning of the crocodile was an easy matter compared with that of
+the duck.  Hal made an incision at the throat, cut along the middle of
+the abdomen all the way to the tip of the tail, and then cut the skin
+away all around the carcass.  Then he set George and Pepe to scraping
+the skin, after which he immersed it in the tank.
+
+About that time Ken, who was lazily fishing in the shade of the
+cypresses, caught one of the blue-tailed fish.  Hal was delighted.  He
+had made a failure of the other specimen of this unknown fish.  This one
+was larger and exquisitely marked, being dark gold on the back, white
+along the belly, and its tail had a faint bluish tinge.  Hal promptly
+killed the fish, and then made a dive for his suitcase.  He produced
+several sheets of stiff cardboard and a small box of water-colors and
+brushes.  He laid the fish down on a piece of paper and outlined its
+exact size. Then, placing it carefully in an upright position on a box,
+he began to paint it in the actual colors of the moment.  Ken laughed
+and teased him.  George also was inclined to be amused.  But Pepe was
+amazed and delighted.  Hal worked on unmindful of his audience, and,
+though he did not paint a very artistic picture, he produced the vivid
+colors of the fish before they faded.
+
+His next move was to cover the fish with strips of thin cloth, which
+adhered to the scales and kept them from being damaged.  Then he cut
+along the middle line of the belly, divided the pelvic arch where the
+ventral fins joined, cut through the spines, and severed the fins from
+the bones.  Then he skinned down to the tail, up to the back, and cut
+through caudal processes.  The vertebral column he severed at the base
+of the skull.  He cleaned and scraped the entire inside of the skin, and
+then put it to soak.
+
+"Hal, you’re much more likely to make good with Uncle Jim than I am,"
+said Ken. "You’ve really got skill, and you know what to do.  Now, my
+job is different.  So far I’ve done fairly well with my map of the
+river. But as soon as we get on level ground I’ll be stumped."
+
+"We’ll cover a hundred miles before we get to low land," replied Hal,
+cheerily.  "That’s enough, even if we do get lost for the rest of the
+way.  You’ll win that trip abroad, Ken, never fear, and little Willie is
+going to be with you."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XVII*
+
+                        *A MIXED-UP TIGER-HUNT*
+
+
+Next morning Hal arose bright as a lark, but silent, mysterious, and
+with far-seeing eyes.  It made Ken groan in spirit to look at the boy.
+Yes, indeed, they were far from home, and the person did not live on the
+earth who could play a trick on Hal Ward and escape vengeance.
+
+After breakfast Hal went off with a long-handled landing-net, obviously
+to capture birds or fish or mice or something.
+
+George said he did not feel very well, and he looked grouchy.  He
+growled around camp in a way that might have nettled Ken, but Ken,
+having had ten hours of undisturbed sleep, could not have found fault
+with anybody.
+
+"Garrapato George, come out of it.  Cheer up," said Ken.  "Why don’t you
+take Pinilius Pepe as gun-bearer and go out to shoot something?  You
+haven’t used up much ammunition yet."
+
+Ken’s sarcasm was not lost upon George.
+
+"Well, if I do go, I’ll not come running back to camp without some
+game."
+
+"My son," replied Ken, genially, "if you should happen to meet a jaguar
+you’d--you’d just let out one squawk and then never touch even the high
+places of the jungle.  You’d take that crazy .32 rifle for a
+golf-stick."
+
+"Would I?" returned George.  "All right."
+
+Ken watched George awhile that morning. The lad performed a lot of weird
+things around camp.  Then he bounced bullets off the water in vain
+effort to locate the basking crocodile. Then he tried his hand at
+fishing once more. He could get more bites than any fisherman Ken ever
+saw, but he could not catch anything.
+
+By and by the heat made Ken drowsy, and, stretching himself in the
+shade, he thought of a scheme to rid the camp of the noisy George.
+
+"Say, George, take my hammerless and get Pepe to row you up along the
+shady bank of the river," suggested Ken.  "Go sneaking along and you’ll
+have some sport."
+
+George was delighted with that idea.  He had often cast longing eyes at
+the hammerless gun.  Pepe, too, looked exceedingly pleased. They got in
+the boat and were in the act of starting when George jumped ashore.  He
+reached for his .32 and threw the lever down to see if there was a shell
+in the chamber. Then he proceeded to fill his pockets with ammunition.
+
+"Might need a rifle," he said.  "You can’t tell what you’re going to see
+in this unholy jungle."
+
+Whereupon he went aboard again and Pepe rowed leisurely up-stream.
+
+"Be careful, boys," Ken called, and composed himself for a nap.  He
+promptly fell asleep.  How long he slept he had no idea, and when he
+awoke he lay with languor, not knowing at the moment what had awakened
+him.  Presently he heard a shout, then a rifle-shot.  Sitting up, he saw
+the boat some two hundred yards above, drifting along about the edge of
+the shade.  Pepe was in it alone.  He appeared to be excited, for Ken
+observed him lay down an oar and pick up a gun, and then reverse the
+performance.  Also he was jabbering to George, who evidently was out on
+the bank, but invisible to Ken.
+
+"Hey, Pepe!" Ken yelled.  "What ’re you doing?"
+
+Strange to note, Pepe did not reply or even turn.
+
+"Now where in the deuce is George?" Ken said, impatiently.
+
+The hollow crack of George’s .32 was a reply to the question.  Ken heard
+the singing of a bullet.  Suddenly, _spou!_ it twanged on a branch not
+twenty feet over his head, and then went whining away.  He heard it tick
+a few leaves or twigs.  There was not any languor in the alacrity with
+which Ken put the big cypress-tree between him and up-stream.  Then he
+ventured to peep forth.
+
+"Look out where you’re slinging lead!" he yelled.  He doubted not that
+George had treed a black squirrel or was pegging away at parrots.  Yet
+Pepe’s motions appeared to carry a good deal of feeling, too much, he
+thought presently, for small game.  So Ken began to wake up thoroughly.
+He lost sight of Pepe behind a low branch of a tree that leaned some
+fifty yards above the island. Then he caught sight of him again.  He was
+poling with an oar, evidently trying to go up or down--Ken could not
+tell which.
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  George’s .32 spoke twice more, and the bullets both
+struck in the middle of the stream and ricochetted into the far bank
+with little thuds.
+
+Something prompted Ken to reach for his automatic, snap the clip in
+tight, and push in the safety.  At the same time he muttered George’s
+words: "You can never tell what’s coming off in this unholy jungle."
+
+Then, peeping out from behind the cypress, Ken watched the boat drift
+down-stream. Pepe had stopped poling and was looking closely into the
+thick grass and vines of the bank.  Ken heard his voice, but could not
+tell what he said.  He watched keenly for some sight of George.  The
+moments passed, the boat drifted, and Ken began to think there was
+nothing unusual afoot.  In this interval Pepe drifted within
+seventy-five yards of camp.  Again Ken called to ask him what George was
+stalking, and this time Pepe yelled; but Ken did not know what he said.
+Hard upon this came George’s sharp voice:
+
+"Look out, there, on the island.  Get behind something.  I’ve got him
+between the river and the flat.  He’s in this strip of shore brush.
+There!"
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!  Bullets hummed and whistled all about the
+island.  Ken was afraid to peep out with even one eye.  He began to
+fancy that George was playing Indian.
+
+"Fine, Georgie!  You’re doing great!" he shouted.  "You couldn’t come
+any closer to me if you were aiming at me.  What is it?"
+
+Then a crashing of brush and a flash of yellow low down along the bank
+changed the aspect of the situation.
+
+"Panther! or jaguar!" Ken ejaculated, in amaze.  In a second he was
+tight-muscled, cold, and clear-witted.  At that instant he saw George’s
+white shirt about the top of the brush.
+
+"Go back!  Get out in the open!" Ken ordered.  "Do you hear me?"
+
+"Where is he?" shouted George, paying not the slightest attention to
+Ken.  Ken jumped from behind the tree, and, running to the head of the
+island, he knelt low near the water with rifle ready.
+
+"Tigre!  Tigre!  Tigre!" screamed Pepe, waving his arms, then pointing.
+
+George crashed into the brush.  Ken saw the leaves move, then a long
+yellow shape. With the quickness of thought and the aim of the
+wing-shot, Ken fired.  From the brush rose a strange wild scream.
+George aimed at a shaking mass of grass and vines, but, before he could
+fire, a long, lean, ugly beast leaped straight out from the bank to drop
+into the water with a heavy splash.
+
+Like a man half scared to death Pepe waved Ken’s double-barreled gun.
+Then a yellow head emerged from the water.  It was in line with the
+boat.  Ken dared not shoot.
+
+"Kill him, George," yelled Ken.  "Tell Pepe to kill him."
+
+George seemed unaccountably silent.  But Ken had no time to look for
+him, for his eyes were riveted on Pepe.  The native did not know how to
+hold a gun properly, let alone aim it.  He had, however, sense enough to
+try.  He got the stock under his chin, and, pointing the gun, he
+evidently tried to fire.  But the hammerless did not go off. Then Pepe
+fumbled at the safety-catch, which he evidently remembered seeing Ken
+use.
+
+The jaguar, swimming with difficulty, perhaps badly wounded, made right
+for the boat. Pepe was standing on the seat.  Awkwardly he aimed.
+
+_Boom_!  He had pulled both triggers.  The recoil knocked him backward.
+The hammerless fell in the boat, and Pepe’s broad back hit the water;
+his bare, muscular legs clung to the gunwale, and slipped loose.
+
+He had missed the jaguar, for it kept on toward the boat.  Still Ken
+dared not shoot.
+
+"George, what on earth is the matter with you?" shouted Ken.
+
+Then Ken saw him standing in the brush on the bank, fussing over the
+crazy .32.  Of course at the critical moment something had gone wrong
+with the old rifle.
+
+Pepe’s head bobbed up just on the other side of the boat.  The jaguar
+was scarcely twenty feet distant and now in line with both boat and man.
+At that instant a heavy swirl in the water toward the middle of the
+river drew Ken’s attention.  He saw the big crocodile, and the great
+creature did not seem at all lazy at that moment.
+
+George began to scream in Spanish.  Ken felt his hair stiffen and his
+face blanch.  Pepe, who had been solely occupied with the jaguar, caught
+George’s meaning and turned to see the peril in his rear.
+
+He bawled his familiar appeal to the saints. Then he grasped the gunwale
+of the boat just as it swung against the branches of the low-leaning
+tree.  He vaulted rather than climbed aboard.
+
+Ken forgot that Pepe could understand little English, and he yelled:
+"Grab an oar, Pepe.  Keep the jaguar in the water.  Don’t let him in the
+boat."
+
+But Pepe, even if he had understood, had a better idea.  Nimble, he ran
+over the boat and grasped the branches of the tree just as the jaguar
+flopped paws and head over the stern gunwale.
+
+Ken had only a fleeting instant to get a bead on that yellow body, and
+before he could be sure of an aim the branch weighted with Pepe sank
+down to hide both boat and jaguar.  The chill of fear for Pepe changed
+to hot rage at this new difficulty.
+
+Then George began to shoot.
+
+_Spang_!
+
+Ken heard the bullet hit the boat.
+
+"George--wait!" shouted Ken.  "Don’t shoot holes in the boat.  You’ll
+sink it."
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!
+
+That was as much as George cared about such a possibility.  He stood on
+the bank and worked the lever of his .32 with wild haste. Ken plainly
+heard the spat of the bullets, and the sound was that of lead in contact
+with wood.  So he knew George was not hitting the jaguar.
+
+"You’ll ruin the boat!" roared Ken.
+
+Pepe had worked up from the lower end of the branch, and as soon as he
+straddled it and hunched himself nearer shore the foliage rose out of
+the water, exposing the boat. George kept on shooting till his magazine
+was empty.  Ken’s position was too low for him to see the jaguar.
+
+Then the boat swung loose from the branch and, drifting down, gradually
+approached the shore.
+
+"Pull yourself together, George," called Ken.  "Keep cool.  Make sure of
+your aim. We’ve got him now."
+
+"He’s mine!  He’s mine!  He’s mine! Don’t you dare shoot!" howled
+George.  "I got him!"
+
+"All right.  But steady up, can’t you? Hit him once, anyway."
+
+Apparently without aim George fired.  Then, jerking the lever, he fired
+again.  The boat drifted into overhanging vines.  Once more Ken saw a
+yellow and black object, then a trembling trail of leaves.
+
+"He’s coming out below you.  Look out," yelled Ken.
+
+George disappeared.  Ken saw no sign of the jaguar and heard no shot or
+shout from George.  Pepe dropped from his branch to the bank and caught
+the boat.  Ken called, and while Pepe rowed over to the island, he got
+into some clothes fit to hunt in.  Then they hurried back across the
+channel to the bank.
+
+Ken found the trail of the jaguar, followed it up to the edge of the
+brush, and lost it in the weedy flat.  George came out of a patch of
+bamboos.  He looked white and shaky and wild with disappointment.
+
+"Oh, I had a dandy shot as he came out, but the blamed gun jammed again.
+Come on, we’ll get him.  He’s all shot up.  I bet I hit him ten times.
+He won’t get away."
+
+Ken finally got George back to camp.  The boat was half full of water,
+making it necessary to pull it out on the bank and turn it over. There
+were ten bullet-holes in it.
+
+"George, you hit the boat, anyway," Ken said; "now we’ve a job on our
+hands."
+
+Hal came puffing into camp.  He was red of face, and the sweat stood out
+on his forehead.  He had a small animal of some kind in a sack, and his
+legs were wet to his knees.
+
+"What was--all the--pegging about?" he asked, breathlessly.  "I expected
+to find camp surrounded by Indians."
+
+"Kid, it’s been pretty hot round here for a little.  George and Pepe
+rounded up a tiger. Tell us about it, George," said Ken.
+
+So while Ken began to whittle pegs to pound into the bullet-holes,
+George wiped his flushed, sweaty face and talked.
+
+"We were up there a piece, round the bend. I saw a black squirrel and
+went ashore to get him.  But I couldn’t find him, and in kicking round
+in the brush I came into a kind of trail or runway.  Then I ran plumb
+into that darned jaguar.  I was so scared I couldn’t remember my gun.
+But the cat turned and ran.  It was lucky he didn’t make at me. When I
+saw him run I got back my courage. I called for Pepe to row down-stream
+and keep a lookout.  Then I got into the flat.  I must have come down a
+good ways before I saw him.  I shot, and he dodged back into the brush
+again.  I fired into the moving bushes where he was.  And pretty soon I
+ventured to get in on the bank, where I had a better chance.  I guess it
+was about that time that I heard you yell.  Then it all happened. You
+hit him!  Didn’t you hear him scream? What a jump he made!  If it hadn’t
+been so terrible when your hammerless kicked Pepe overboard, I would
+have died laughing. Then I was paralyzed when the jaguar swam for the
+boat.  He was hurt, for the water was bloody.  Things came off quick, I
+tell you. Like a monkey Pepe scrambled into the tree. When I got my gun
+loaded the jaguar was crouched down in the bottom of the boat watching
+Pepe.  Then I began to shoot.  I can’t realize he got away from us.
+What was the reason you didn’t knock him?"
+
+"Well, you see, George, there were two good reasons," Ken replied.  "The
+first was that at that time I was busy dodging bullets from your rifle.
+And the second was that you threatened my life if I killed your jaguar."
+
+"Did I get as nutty as that?  But it was pretty warm there for a
+little....  Say, was he a big one?  My eyes were so hazy I didn’t see
+him clear."
+
+"He wasn’t big, not half as big as the one I lost yesterday.  Yours was
+a long, wiry beast, like a panther, and mean-looking."
+
+Pepe sat on the bank, and while he nursed his bruises he smoked.  Once
+he made a speech that was untranslatable, but Hal gave it an
+interpretation which was probably near correct.
+
+"That’s right, Pepe.  Pretty punk tiger-hunters--mucho punk!"
+
+
+
+
+                                *XVIII*
+
+                          *WATCHING A RUNWAY*
+
+
+"I’ll tell you what, fellows," said Hal.  "I know where we _can_ get a
+tiger."
+
+"We’ll get one in the neck if we don’t watch out," replied George.
+
+Ken thought that Hal looked very frank and earnest, and honest and
+eager, but there was never any telling about him.
+
+"Where?" he asked, skeptically.
+
+"Down along the river.  You know I’ve been setting traps all along.
+There’s a flat sand-bar for a good piece down.  I came to a little gully
+full of big tracks, big as my two hands.  And fresh!"
+
+"Honest Injun, kid?" queried Ken.
+
+"Hope to die if I’m lyin’," replied Hal. "I want to see somebody kill a
+tiger.  Now let’s go down there in the boat and wait for one to come to
+drink.  There’s a big log with driftwood lodged on it.  We can hide
+behind that."
+
+"Great idea, Hal," said Ken.  "We’d be pretty safe in the boat.  I want
+to say that tigers have sort of got on my nerves.  I ought to go over in
+the jungle to look for the one I crippled.  He’s dead by now.  But the
+longer I put it off the harder it is to go.  I’ll back out yet....
+Come, we’ll have an early dinner. Then to watch for Hal’s tiger."
+
+The sun had just set, and the hot breeze began to swirl up the river
+when Ken slid the boat into the water.  He was pleased to find that it
+did not leak.
+
+"We’ll take only two guns," said Ken, "my .351 and the hammerless, with
+some ball-cartridges.  We want to be quiet to-night, and if you fellows
+take your guns you’ll be pegging at ducks and things.  That won’t do."
+
+Pepe sat at the oars with instructions to row easily.  George and Hal
+occupied the stern-seats, and Ken took his place in the bow, with both
+guns at hand.
+
+The hot wind roared in the cypresses, and the river whipped up little
+waves with white crests.  Long streamers of gray moss waved out over the
+water and branches tossed and swayed.  The blow did not last for many
+minutes.  Trees and river once more grew quiet.  And suddenly the heat
+was gone.
+
+As Pepe rowed on down the river, Cypress Island began to disappear round
+a bend, and presently was out of sight.  Ducks were already in flight.
+They flew low over the boat, so low that Ken could almost have reached
+them with the barrel of his gun.  The river here widened.  It was full
+of huge snags.  A high, wooded bluff shadowed the western shore.  On the
+left, towering cypresses, all laced together in dense vine and moss
+webs, leaned out.
+
+Under Hal’s direction Pepe rowed to a pile of driftwood, and here the
+boat was moored. The gully mentioned by Hal was some sixty yards
+distant.  It opened like the mouth of a cave.  Beyond the cypresses
+thick, intertwining bamboos covered it.
+
+"I wish we’d gone in to see the tracks," said Ken.  "But I’ll take your
+word, Hal."
+
+"Oh, they’re there, all right."
+
+"I don’t doubt it.  Looks great to me! That’s a runway, Hal....  Now,
+boys, get a comfortable seat, and settle down to wait. Don’t talk.  Just
+listen and watch. Remember, soon we’ll be out of the jungle, back home.
+So make hay while the sun shines.  Watch and listen!  Whoever sees or
+hears anything first is the best man."
+
+For once the boys were as obedient as lambs.  But then, Ken thought, the
+surroundings were so beautiful and wild and silent that any boys would
+have been watchful.
+
+There was absolutely no sound but the intermittent whir of wings.  The
+water-fowl flew by in companies--ducks, cranes, herons, snipe, and the
+great Muscovies.  Ken never would have tired of that procession.  It
+passed all too soon, and then only an occasional water-fowl swept
+swiftly by, as if belated.
+
+Slowly the wide river-lane shaded.  But it was still daylight, and the
+bank and the runway were clearly distinguishable.  There was a
+moment--Ken could not tell just how he knew--when the jungle awakened.
+It was not only the faint hum of insects; it was a sense as if life
+stirred with the coming of twilight.
+
+Pepe was the first to earn honors at the listening game.  He held up a
+warning forefinger.  Then he pointed under the bluff. Ken saw a doe
+stepping out of a fringe of willows.
+
+"Don’t move--don’t make a noise," whispered Ken.
+
+The doe shot up long ears and watched the boat.  Then a little fawn
+trotted out and splashed in the water.  Both deer drank, then seemed in
+no hurry to leave the river.
+
+Next moment Hal heard something downstream and George saw something
+up-stream. Pepe again whispered.  As for Ken, he saw little dark shapes
+moving out of the shadow of the runway.  He heard a faint trampling of
+hard little hoofs.  But if these animals were _javelin_--of which he was
+sure--they did not come out into the open runway.  Ken tried to catch
+Pepe’s attention without making a noise; however, Pepe was absorbed in
+his side of the river.  Ken then forgot he had companions.  All along
+the shores were faint splashings and rustlings and crackings.
+
+A loud, trampling roar rose in the runway and seemed to move backward
+toward the jungle, diminishing in violence.
+
+"Pigs running--something scared ’em," said George.
+
+"S-s-s-sh!" whispered Ken.
+
+All the sounds ceased.  The jungle seemed to sleep in deep silence.
+
+Ken’s eyes were glued to the light patch of sand-bank where it merged in
+the dark of the runway.  Then Ken heard a sound--what, he could not have
+told.  But it made his heart beat fast.
+
+There came a few pattering thuds, soft as velvet; and a shadow, paler
+than the dark background, moved out of the runway.
+
+With that a huge jaguar loped into the open. He did not look around.  He
+took a long, easy bound down to the water and began to lap.
+
+Either Pepe or George jerked so violently as to make the boat lurch.
+They seemed to be stifling.
+
+"Oh, Ken, don’t miss!" whispered Hal.
+
+Ken had the automatic over the log and in line.  His teeth were shut
+tight, and he was cold and steady.  He meant not to hurry.
+
+The jaguar was a heavy, squat, muscular figure, not graceful and
+beautiful like the one Ken had crippled.  Suddenly he raised his head
+and looked about.  He had caught a scent.
+
+It was then that Ken lowered the rifle till the sight covered the
+beast--lower yet to his huge paws, then still lower to the edge of the
+water.  Ken meant to shoot low enough this time.  Holding the rifle
+there, and holding it with all his strength, he pressed the trigger
+once--twice.  The two shots rang out almost simultaneously.  Ken
+expected to see this jaguar leap, but the beast crumpled up and sank in
+his tracks.
+
+Then the boys yelled, and Ken echoed them.  Pepe was wildly excited, and
+began to fumble with the oars.
+
+"Wait!  Wait, I tell you!" ordered Ken.
+
+"Oh, Ken, you pegged him!" cried Hal. "He doesn’t move.  Let’s go
+ashore.  What did I tell you?  It took me to find the tiger."
+
+Ken watched with sharp eyes and held his rifle ready, but the huddled
+form on the sand never so much as twitched.
+
+"I guess I plugged him," said Ken, with unconscious pride.
+
+Pepe rowed the boat ashore, and when near the sand-bar he reached out
+with an oar to touch the jaguar.  There was no doubt about his being
+dead.  The boys leaped ashore and straightened out the beast.  He was
+huge, dirty, spotted, bloody, and fiercely savage even in death.  Ken’s
+bullets had torn through the chest, making fearful wounds.  Pepe
+jabbered, and the boys all talked at once.  When it came to lifting the
+jaguar into the boat they had no slight task.  The short, thick-set body
+was very heavy.  But at last they loaded it in the bow, and Pepe rowed
+back to the island.  It was still a harder task to get the jaguar up the
+high bank.  Pepe kindled a fire so they would have plenty of light, and
+then they set to work at the skinning.
+
+What with enthusiasm over the stalk, and talk of the success of the
+trip, and compliments to Ken’s shooting, and care of the skinning, the
+boys were three hours at the job.  Ken, remembering Hiram Bent’s
+teachings, skinned out the great claws himself.  They salted the pelt
+and nailed it up on the big cypress.
+
+"You’d never have got one but for me," said Hal.  "That’s how I pay you
+for the tricks you’ve played me!"
+
+"By George, Hal, it’s a noble revenge!" cried Ken, who, in the warmth
+and glow of happiness of the time, quite believed his brother.
+
+Pepe went to bed first.  George turned in next.  Ken took a last look at
+the great pelt stretched on the cypress, and then he sought his
+blankets.  Hal, however, remained up.  Ken heard him pounding stakes in
+the ground.
+
+"Hal, what ’re you doing?"
+
+"I’m settin’ my trot-lines," replied Hal, cheerfully.
+
+"Well, come to bed."
+
+"Keep your shirt on, Ken, old boy.  I’ll be along presently."
+
+Ken fell asleep.  He did not have peaceful slumbers.  He had been too
+excited to rest well.  He would wake up out of a nightmare, then go to
+sleep again.  He seemed to wake suddenly out of one of these black
+spells, and he was conscious of pain.  Something tugged at his leg.
+
+"What the dickens!" he said, and raised on his elbow.  Hal was asleep
+between George and Pepe, who were snoring.
+
+Just then Ken felt a violent jerk.  The blankets flew up at his feet,
+and his left leg went out across his brother’s body.  There was a
+string--a rope--something fast round his ankle, and it was pulling hard.
+It hurt.
+
+"Jiminy!" shouted Ken, reaching for his foot.  But before he could reach
+it another tug, more violent, pulled his leg straight out. Ken began to
+slide.
+
+"What on earth?" yelled Ken.  "Say! Something’s got me!"
+
+The yells and Ken’s rude exertions aroused the boys.  And they were
+frightened.  Ken got an arm around Hal and the other around George and
+held on for dear life.  He was more frightened than they.  Pepe leaped
+up, jabbering, and, tripping, he fell all in a heap.
+
+"Oh! my leg!" howled Ken.  "It’s being pulled off.  Say, I can’t be
+dreaming!"
+
+Most assuredly Ken was wide awake.  The moonlight showed his bare leg
+sticking out and round his ankle a heavy trot-line.  It was stretched
+tight.  It ran down over the bank. And out there in the river a
+tremendous fish or a crocodile was surging about, making the water roar.
+
+Pepe was trying to loosen the line or break it.  George, who was always
+stupid when first aroused, probably imagined he was being mauled by a
+jaguar, for he loudly bellowed. Ken had a strangle-hold on Hal.
+
+"Oh!  _Oh_!  _Oh-h-h_!" bawled Ken.  Not only was he scared out of a
+year’s growth; he was in terrible pain.  Then his cries grew
+unintelligible.  He was being dragged out of the tent.  Still he clung
+desperately to the howling George and the fighting Hal.
+
+All at once something snapped.  The tension relaxed.  Ken fell back upon
+Hal.
+
+"Git off me, will you?" shouted Hal. "Are you c-c-cr-azy?"
+
+But Hal’s voice had not the usual note when he was angry or impatient.
+He was laughing so he could not speak naturally.
+
+"Uh-huh!" said Ken, and sat up.  "I guess here was where I got it.  Is
+my leg broken? What came off?"
+
+Pepe was staggering about on the bank, going through strange motions.
+He had the line in his hands, and at the other end was a monster of some
+land threshing about in the water.  It was moonlight and Ken could see
+plainly.  Around the ankle that felt broken was a twisted loop of
+trot-line.  Hal had baited a hook and slipped the end of the trot-line
+over Ken’s foot.  During the night the crocodile or an enormous fish had
+taken the bait.  Then Ken had nearly been hauled off the island.
+
+Pepe was doing battle with the hooked thing, whatever it was, and Ken
+was about to go to his assistance when again the line broke.
+
+"Great!  Hal, you have a nice disposition," exclaimed Ken.  "You have a
+wonderful affection for your brother.  You care a lot about his legs or
+his life.  Idiot!  Can’t you play a safe trick?  If I hadn’t grabbed you
+and George, I’d been pulled into the river. Eaten up, maybe!  And my
+ankle is sprained. It won’t be any good for a week.  You are a bright
+boy!"
+
+And in spite of his laughter Hal began to look ashamed.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIX*
+
+                      *ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES*
+
+
+The rest of that night Ken had more dreams; and they were not pleasant.
+He awoke from one in a cold fright.
+
+It must have been late, for the moon was low.  His ankle pained and
+throbbed, and to that he attributed his nightmare.  He was falling
+asleep again when the clink of tin pans made him sit up with a start.
+Some animal was prowling about camp.  He peered into the moonlit
+shadows, but could make out no unfamiliar object.  Still he was not
+satisfied; so he awoke Pepe.
+
+Certainly it was not Ken’s intention to let Pepe get out ahead;
+nevertheless he was lame and slow, and before he started Pepe rolled out
+of the tent.
+
+"Santa Maria!" shrieked Pepe.
+
+Ken fumbled under his pillow for a gun. Hal raised up so quickly that he
+bumped Ken’s head, making him see a million stars.  George rolled over,
+nearly knocking down the tent.
+
+From outside came a sliddery, rustling noise, then another yell that was
+deadened by a sounding splash.  Ken leaped out with his gun, George at
+his elbow.  Pepe stood just back of the tent, his arms upraised, and he
+appeared stunned.  The water near the bank was boiling and bubbling;
+waves were dashing on the shore and ripples spreading in a circle.
+
+George shouted in Spanish.
+
+"Crocodile!" cried Ken.
+
+"Si, si, Señor," replied Pepe.  Then he said that when he stepped out of
+the tent the crocodile was right in camp, not ten feet from where the
+boys lay.  Pepe also said that these brutes were man-eaters, and that he
+had better watch for the rest of the night.  Ken thought him, like all
+the natives, inclined to exaggerate; however, he made no objection to
+Pepe’s holding watch over the crocodile.
+
+"What’d I tell you?" growled George. "Why didn’t you let me shoot him?
+Let’s go back to bed."
+
+In the morning when Ken got up he viewed his body with great curiosity.
+The ticks and the cigarette burns had left him a beautifully tattoed
+specimen of aborigine.  His body, especially his arms, bore hundreds of
+little reddish scars--bites and burns together.  There was not, however,
+any itching or irritation, for which he made sure he had to thank Pepe’s
+skill and the _canya_.
+
+George did not get up when Ken called him.  Thinking his sleep might
+have been broken, Ken let him alone a while longer, but when breakfast
+was smoking he gave him a prod.  George rolled over, looking haggard and
+glum.
+
+"I’m sick," he said.
+
+Ken’s cheerfulness left him, for he knew what sickness or injury did to
+a camping trip. George complained of aching bones, headache and cramps,
+and showed a tongue with a yellow coating.  Ken said he had eaten too
+much fresh meat, but Pepe, after looking George over, called it a name
+that sounded like _calentura_.
+
+"What’s that?" Ken inquired.
+
+"Tropic fever," replied George.  "I’ve had it before."
+
+For a while he was a very sick boy.  Ken had a little medicine-case, and
+from it he administered what he thought was best, and George grew easier
+presently.  Then Ken sat down to deliberate on the situation.
+
+Whatever way he viewed it, he always came back to the same thing--they
+must get out of the jungle; and as they could not go back, they must go
+on down the river.  That was a bad enough proposition without being
+hampered by a sick boy.  It was then Ken had a subtle change of feeling;
+a shade of gloom seemed to pervade his spirit.
+
+By nine o’clock they were packed, and, turning into the shady channel,
+soon were out in the sunlight saying good-by to Cypress Island.  At the
+moment Ken did not feel sorry to go, yet he knew that feeling would come
+by and by, and that Cypress Island would take its place in his memory as
+one more haunting, calling wild place.
+
+They turned a curve to run under a rocky bluff from which came a muffled
+roar of rapids. A long, projecting point of rock extended across the
+river, allowing the water to rush through only at a narrow mill-race
+channel close to the shore.  It was an obstacle to get around. There was
+no possibility of lifting the boat over the bridge of rock, and the
+alternative was shooting the channel.  Ken got out upon the rocks, only
+to find that drifting the boat round the sharp point was out of the
+question, owing to a dangerously swift current.  Ken tried the depth of
+the water--about four feet.  Then he dragged the boat back a little
+distance and stepped into the river.
+
+"Look!  Look!" cried Pepe, pointing to the bank.
+
+About ten yards away was a bare shelf of mud glistening with water and
+showing the deep tracks of a crocodile.  It was a slide, and manifestly
+had just been vacated.  The crocodile-tracks resembled the imprints of a
+giant’s hand.
+
+"Come out!" yelled George, and Pepe jabbered to his saints.
+
+"We’ve got to go down this river," Ken replied, and he kept on wading
+till he got the boat in the current.  He was frightened, of course, but
+he kept on despite that.  The boat lurched into the channel, stern
+first, and he leaped up on the bow.  It shot down with the speed of a
+toboggan, and the boat whirled before he could scramble to the oars.
+What was worse, an overhanging tree with dead snags left scarce room to
+pass beneath.  Ken ducked to prevent being swept overboard, and one of
+the snags that brushed and scraped him ran under his belt and lifted him
+into the air.  He grasped at the first thing he could lay hands on,
+which happened to be a box, but he could not hold to it because the boat
+threatened to go on, leaving him kicking in midair and holding up a box
+of potatoes.  Ken clutched a gunwale, only to see the water swell
+dangerously over the edge.  In angry helplessness he loosened his hold.
+Then the snag broke, just in the nick of time, for in a second more the
+boat would have been swept away.  Ken fell across the bow, held on, and
+soon drifted from under the threshing branches, and seized the oars.
+
+Pepe and George and Hal walked round the ledge and, even when they
+reached Ken, had not stopped laughing.
+
+"Boys, it wasn’t funny," declared Ken, soberly.
+
+"I said it was coming to us," replied George.
+
+There were rapids below, and Ken went at them with stern eyes and set
+lips.  It was the look of men who face obstacles in getting out of the
+wilderness.  More than one high wave circled spitefully round Pepe’s
+broad shoulders.
+
+They came to a fall where the river dropped a few feet straight down.
+Ken sent the boys below.  Hal and George made a detour.  But Pepe jumped
+off the ledge into shallow water.
+
+"_Ah-h!_" yelled Pepe.
+
+Ken was becoming accustomed to Pepe’s wild yell, but there was a note in
+this which sent a shiver over him.  Before looking, Ken snatched his
+rifle from the boat.
+
+Pepe appeared to be sailing out into the pool.  But his feet were not
+moving.
+
+Ken had only an instant, but in that he saw under Pepe a long, yellow,
+swimming shape, leaving a wake in the water.  Pepe had jumped upon the
+back of a crocodile.  He seemed paralyzed, or else he was wisely
+trusting himself there rather than in the water. Ken was too shocked to
+offer advice.  Indeed, he would not have known how to meet this
+situation.
+
+Suddenly Pepe leaped for a dry stone, and the energy of his leap carried
+him into the river beyond.  Like a flash he was out again, spouting
+water.
+
+Ken turned loose the automatic on the crocodile and shot a magazine of
+shells.  The crocodile made a tremendous surge, churning up a slimy
+foam, then vanished in a pool.
+
+"Guess this ’ll be crocodile day," said Ken, changing the clip in his
+rifle.  "I’ll bet I made a hole in that one.  Boys, look out below."
+
+Ken shoved the boat over the ledge in line with Pepe, and it floated to
+him, while Ken picked his way round the rocky shore.  The boys piled
+aboard again.  The day began to get hot.  Ken cautioned the boys to
+avoid wading, if possible, and to be extremely careful where they
+stepped.  Pepe pointed now and then to huge bubbles breaking on the
+surface of the water and said they were made by crocodiles.
+
+From then on Ken’s hands were full.  He struck swift water, where rapid
+after rapid, fall on fall, took the boat downhill at a rate to afford
+him satisfaction.  The current had a five or six mile speed, and, as Ken
+had no portages to make and the corrugated rapids of big waves gave him
+speed, he made by far the best time of the voyage.
+
+The hot hours passed--cool for the boys because they were always wet.
+The sun sank behind a hill.  The wind ceased to whip the streamers of
+moss.  At last, in a gathering twilight, Ken halted at a wide, flat rock
+to make camp.
+
+"Forty miles to-day if we made an inch!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+The boys said more.
+
+They built a fire, cooked supper, and then, weary and silent, Hal and
+George and Pepe rolled into their blankets.  But Ken doggedly worked an
+hour at his map and notes.  That hard forty miles meant a long way
+toward the success of his trip.
+
+Next morning the mists had not lifted from the river when they shoved
+off, determined to beat the record of yesterday.  Difficulties beset
+them from the start--the highest waterfall of the trip, a leak in the
+boat, deep, short rapids, narrows with choppy waves, and a whirlpool
+where they turned round and round, unable to row out.  Nor did they get
+free till Pepe lassoed a snag and pulled them out.
+
+About noon they came to another narrow chute brawling down into a deep,
+foamy pool. Again Ken sent the boys around, and he backed the boat into
+the chute; and just as the current caught it he leaped aboard.  He was
+either tired or careless, for he drifted too close to a half-submerged
+rock, and, try as he might, at the last moment he could not avoid a
+collision.
+
+As the stern went hard on the rock Ken expected to break something, but
+was surprised at the soft thud with which he struck. It flashed into his
+mind that the rock was moss-covered.
+
+Quick as the thought there came a rumble under the boat, the stern
+heaved up, there was a great sheet-like splash, and then a blow that
+splintered the gunwale.  Then the boat shunted off, affording the
+astounded Ken a good view of a very angry crocodile.  He had been
+sleeping on the rock.
+
+The boys were yelling and crowding down to the shore where Ken was
+drifting in. Pepe waded in to catch the boat.
+
+"What was it hit you, Ken?" asked Hal.
+
+"Mucho malo," cried Pepe.
+
+"The boat’s half full of water--the gunwale’s all split!" ejaculated
+George.
+
+"Only an accident of river travel," replied Ken, with mock nonchalance.
+"Say, Garrapato, _when_, about _when_ is it coming to me?"
+
+"Well, if he didn’t get slammed by a crocodile!" continued George.
+
+They unloaded, turned out the water, broke up a box to use for repairs,
+and mended the damaged gunwale--work that lost more than a good hour.
+Once again under way, Ken made some interesting observations.  The river
+ceased to stand on end in places; crocodiles slipped off every muddy
+promontory, and wide trails ridged the steep clay-banks.
+
+"Cattle-trails, Pepe says," said George. "Wild cattle roam all through
+the jungle along the Panuco."
+
+It was a well-known fact that the rancheros of Tamaulipas State had no
+idea how many cattle they owned.  Ken was so eager to see if Pepe had
+been correct that he went ashore, to find the trails were, indeed, those
+of cattle.
+
+"Then, Pepe, we must be somewhere near the Panuco River," he said.
+
+"Quien sabe?" rejoined he, quietly.
+
+When they rounded the curve they came upon a herd of cattle that
+clattered up the bank, raising a cloud of dust.
+
+"Wilder than deer!" Ken exclaimed.
+
+From that point conditions along the river changed.  The banks were no
+longer green; the beautiful cypresses gave place to other trees, as
+huge, as moss-wound, but more rugged and of gaunt outline; the flowers
+and vines and shady nooks disappeared.  Everywhere wide-horned steers
+and cows plunged up the banks.  Everywhere buzzards rose from gruesome
+feasts.  The shore was lined with dead cattle, and the stench of
+putrefying flesh was almost unbearable.  They passed cattle mired in the
+mud, being slowly tortured to death by flies and hunger; they passed
+cattle that had slipped off steep banks and could not get back and were
+bellowing dismally; and also strangely acting cattle that Pepe said had
+gone crazy from ticks in their ears.  Ken would have put these miserable
+beasts out of their misery had not George restrained him with a few
+words about Mexican law.
+
+A sense of sickness came to Ken, and though he drove the feeling from
+him, it continually returned.  George and Hal lay flat on the canvas,
+shaded with a couple of palm leaves; Pepe rowed on and on, growing more
+and more serious and quiet.  His quick, responsive smile was wanting
+now.
+
+By way of diversion, and also in the hope of securing a specimen, Ken
+began to shoot at the crocodiles.  George came out of his lethargy and
+took up his rifle.  He would have had to be ill indeed, to forswear any
+possible shooting; and, now that Ken had removed the bar, he forgot he
+had fever. Every hundred yards or so they would come upon a crocodile
+measuring somewhere from about six feet upward, and occasionally they
+would see a great yellow one, as large as a log.  Seldom did they get
+within good range of these huge fellows, and shooting from a moving boat
+was not easy.  The smaller ones, however, allowed the boat to approach
+quite close.  George bounced many a .32 bullet off the bank, but he
+never hit a crocodile.  Ken allowed him to have the shots for the fun of
+it, and, besides, he was watching for a big one.
+
+"George, that rifle of yours is leaded.  It doesn’t shoot where you
+aim."
+
+When they got unusually close to a small crocodile George verified Ken’s
+statement by missing his game some yards.  He promptly threw the
+worn-out rifle overboard, an act that caused Pepe much concern.
+
+Whereupon Ken proceeded to try his luck. Instructing Pepe to row about
+in the middle of the stream, he kept eye on one shore while George
+watched the other.  He shot half a dozen small crocodiles, but they
+slipped off the bank before Pepe could get ashore.  This did not appear
+to be the fault of the rifle, for some of the reptiles were shot almost
+in two pieces.  But Ken had yet to learn more about the tenacity of life
+of these water-brutes. Several held still long enough for Ken to shoot
+them through, then with a plunge they went into the water, sinking at
+once in a bloody foam.  He knew he had shot them through, for he saw
+large holes in the mud-banks lined with bits of bloody skin and bone.
+
+"There’s one," said George, pointing.  "Let’s get closer, so we can grab
+him.  He’s got a good piece to go before he reaches the water."
+
+Pepe rowed slowly along, guiding the boat a little nearer the shore.  At
+forty feet the crocodile raised up, standing on short legs, so that all
+but his tail was free of the ground. He opened his huge jaws either in
+astonishment or to intimidate them, and then Ken shot him straight down
+the throat.  He flopped convulsively and started to slide and roll.
+When he reached the water he turned over on his back, with his feet
+sticking up, resembling a huge frog.  Pepe rowed hard to the shore, just
+as the crocodile with one last convulsion rolled off into deeper water.
+Ken reached over, grasped his foot, and was drawing it up when a sight
+of cold, glassy eyes and open-fanged jaws made him let go. Then the
+crocodile sank in water where Pepe could not touch bottom with an oar.
+
+"Let’s get one if it takes a week," declared George.  The lad might be
+sick, but there was nothing wrong with his spirit.  "Look there!" he
+exclaimed.  "Oh, I guess it’s a log.  Too big!"
+
+They had been unable to tell the difference between a crocodile and a
+log of driftwood until it was too late.  In this instance a long,
+dirty-gray object lay upon a low bank. Despite its immense size, which
+certainly made the chances in favor of its being a log, Ken determined
+this time to be fooled on the right side.  He had seen a dozen logs--as
+he thought--suddenly become animated and slip into the river.
+
+"Hold steady, Pepe.  I’ll take a crack at that just for luck."
+
+The distance was about a hundred yards, a fine range for the little
+rifle.  Resting on his knee, he sighted low, under the gray object, and
+pulled the trigger twice.  There were two spats so close together as to
+be barely distinguishable.  The log of driftwood leaped into life.
+
+"Whoop!" shouted Hal.
+
+"It’s a crocodile!" yelled George.  "You hit--you hit!  Will you listen
+to that?"
+
+"Row hard, Pepe--pull!"
+
+He bent to the oars, and the boat flew shoreward.
+
+The huge crocodile, opening yard-long jaws, snapped them shut with loud
+cracks.  Then he beat the bank with his tail.  It was as limber as a
+willow, but he seemed unable to move his central parts, his thick bulk,
+where Ken had sent the two mushroom bullets. _Whack_!  _Whack_!
+_Whack_!  The sodden blows jarred pieces from the clay-bank above him.
+Each blow was powerful enough to have staved in the planking of a ship.
+All at once he lunged upward and, falling over backward, slid down his
+runway into a few inches of water, where he stuck.
+
+"Go in above him, Pepe," Ken shouted. "Here--  Heavens!  What a
+monster!"
+
+Deliberately, at scarce twenty feet, Ken shot the remaining four shells
+into the crocodile.  The bullets tore through his horny hide, and blood
+and muddy water spouted up. George and Pepe and Hal yelled, and Ken kept
+time with them.  The terrible lashing tail swung back and forth almost
+too swiftly for the eye to catch.  A deluge of mud and water descended
+upon the boys, bespattering, blinding them and weighing down the boat.
+They jumped out upon the bank to escape it. They ran to and fro in
+aimless excitement. Ken still clutched the rifle, but he had no shells
+for it.  George was absurd enough to fling a stone into the blood-tinged
+cloud of muddy froth and spray that hid the threshing leviathan.
+Presently the commotion subsided enough for them to see the great
+crocodile lying half on his back, with belly all torn and bloody and
+huge claw-like hands pawing the air.  He was edging, slipping off into
+deeper water.
+
+"He’ll get away--he’ll get away!" cried Hal.  "What ’ll we do?"
+
+Ken racked his brains.
+
+"Pepe, get your lasso--rope him--rope him!  Hurry! he’s slipping!"
+yelled George.
+
+Pepe snatched up his lariat, and, without waiting to coil it, cast the
+loop.  He caught one of the flippers and hauled tight on it just as the
+crocodile slipped out of sight off the muddy ledge.  The others ran to
+the boat, and, grasping hold of the lasso with Pepe, squared away and
+began to pull.  Plain it was that the crocodile was not coming up so
+easily. They could not budge him.
+
+"Hang on, boys!" Ken shouted.  "It’s a tug-of-war."
+
+The lasso was suddenly jerked out with a kind of twang.  Crash! went
+Pepe and Hal into the bottom of the boat.  Ken went sprawling into the
+mud, and George, who had the last hold, went to his knees, but valiantly
+clung to the slipping rope.  Bounding up, Ken grasped it from him and
+wound it round the sharp nose of the bowsprit.
+
+"Get in--hustle!" he called, falling aboard. "You’re always saying it’s
+coming to us. Here’s where!"
+
+George had hardly got into the boat when the crocodile pulled it off
+shore, and away it went, sailing down-stream.
+
+"Whoop!  All aboard for Panuco!" yelled Hal.
+
+"Now, Pepe, you don’t need to row any more--we’ve a water-horse," Ken
+added.
+
+But Pepe did not enter into the spirit of the occasion.  He kept calling
+on the saints and crying, "Mucho malo."  George and Ken and Hal,
+however, were hilarious.  They had not yet had experience enough to know
+crocodiles.
+
+Faster and faster they went.  The water began to surge away from the bow
+and leave a gurgling wake behind the stern.  Soon the boat reached the
+middle of the river where the water was deepest, and the lasso went
+almost straight down.
+
+Ken felt the stern of the boat gradually lifted, and then, in alarm, he
+saw the front end sinking in the water.  The crocodile was hauling the
+bow under.
+
+"Pepe--your machete--cut the lasso!" he ordered, sharply.  George had to
+repeat the order.
+
+Wildly Pepe searched under the seat and along the gunwales.  He could
+not find the _machete_.
+
+"Cut the rope!" Ken thundered.  "Use a knife, the ax--anything--only cut
+it--and cut it quick!"
+
+Pepe could find nothing.  Knife in hand, Ken leaped over his head,
+sprawled headlong over the trunk, and slashed the taut lasso just as the
+water began to roar into the boat.  The bow bobbed up as a cork that had
+been under.  But the boat had shipped six inches of water.
+
+[Illustration: KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE
+TAUT LASSO]
+
+"Row ashore, Pepe.  Steady, there.  Trim the boat, George."
+
+They beached at a hard clay-bank and rested a little before unloading to
+turn out the water.
+
+"Grande!" observed Pepe.
+
+"Yes; he was big," assented George.
+
+"I wonder what’s going to happen to us next," added Hal.
+
+Ken Ward looked at these companions of his and he laughed outright.
+"Well, if you all don’t take the cake for nerve!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XX*
+
+                          *TREED BY WILD PIGS*
+
+
+Pepe’s long years of _mozo_ work, rowing for tarpon fishermen, now stood
+the boys in good stead.  All the hot hours of the day he bent steadily
+to the oars.  Occasionally they came to rifts, but these were not
+difficult to pass, being mere swift, shallow channels over sandy bottom.
+The rocks and the rapids were things of the past.
+
+George lay in a kind of stupor, and Hal lolled in his seat.  Ken,
+however, kept alert, and as the afternoon wore on began to be annoyed at
+the scarcity of camp-sites.
+
+The muddy margins of the river, the steep banks, and the tick-infested
+forests offered few places where it was possible to rest, to say nothing
+of sleep.  Every turn in the widening river gave Ken hope, which
+resulted in disappointment.  He found consolation, however, in the fact
+that every turn and every hour put him so much farther on the way.
+
+About five o’clock Ken had unexpected good luck in shape of a small
+sand-bar cut off from the mainland, and therefore free of cattle-tracks.
+It was clean and dry, with a pile of driftwood at one end.
+
+"Tumble out, boys," called Ken, as Pepe beached the boat.  "We’ll pitch
+camp here."
+
+Neither Hal nor George showed any alacrity. Ken watched his brother; he
+feared to see some of the symptoms of George’s sickness. Both lads,
+however, seemed cheerful, though too tired to be of much use in the
+pitching of camp.
+
+Ken could not recover his former good spirits.  There was a sense of
+foreboding in his mind that all was not well, that he must hurry, hurry.
+And although George appeared to be holding his own, Hal healthy enough,
+and Pepe’s brooding quiet at least no worse, Ken could not rid himself
+of gloom.  If he had answered the question that knocked at his mind he
+would have admitted a certainty of disaster.  So he kept active, and
+when there were no more tasks for that day he worked on his note-book,
+and then watched the flight of wild fowl.
+
+The farther down the river the boys traveled the more numerous were the
+herons and cranes and ducks.  But they saw no more of the beautiful
+_pato real_, as Pepe called them, or the little russet-colored ducks, or
+the dismal-voiced bitterns.  On the other hand, wild geese were common,
+and there were flocks and flocks of teal and canvasbacks.
+
+Pepe, as usual, cooked duck.  And he had to eat it.  George had lost his
+appetite altogether.  Hal had lost his taste for meat, at least.  And
+Ken made a frugal meal of rice.
+
+"Boys," he said, "the less you eat from now on the better for you."
+
+It took resolution to drink the cocoa, for Ken could not shut out
+remembrance of the green water and the shore-line of dead and decaying
+cattle.  Still, he was parched with thirst; he had to drink.  That night
+he slept ten hours without turning over.  Next morning he had to shake
+Pepe to rouse him.
+
+Ken took turns at the oars with Pepe. It was not only that he fancied
+Pepe was weakening and in need of an occasional rest, but the fact that
+he wanted to be occupied, and especially to keep in good condition. They
+made thirty miles by four o’clock, and most of it against a breeze.  Not
+in the whole distance did they pass half a dozen places fit for a camp.
+Toward evening the river narrowed again, resembling somewhat the Santa
+Rosa of earlier acquaintance.  The magnificent dark forests crowded high
+on the banks, always screened and curtained by gray moss, as if to keep
+their secrets.
+
+The sun was just tipping with gold the mossy crests of a grove of giant
+ceibas, when the boys rounded a bend to come upon the first ledge of
+rocks for two days.  A low, grassy promontory invited the eyes searching
+for camping-ground.  This spot appeared ideal; it certainly was
+beautiful.  The ledge jutted into the river almost to the opposite
+shore, forcing the water to rush through a rocky trough into a great
+foam-spotted pool below.
+
+They could not pitch the tent, since the stony ground would not admit
+stakes, so they laid the canvas flat.  Pepe went up the bank with his
+_machete_ in search of firewood.  To Ken’s utmost delight he found a
+little spring of sweet water trickling from the ledge, and by digging a
+hole was enabled to get a drink, the first one in more than a week.
+
+A little later, as he was spreading the blankets, George called his
+attention to shouts up in the woods.
+
+"Pepe’s treed something," Ken said.  "Take your gun and hunt him up."
+
+Ken went on making a bed and busying himself about camp, with little
+heed to George’s departure.  Presently, however, he was startled by
+unmistakable sounds of alarm. George and Pepe were yelling in unison,
+and, from the sound, appeared to be quite a distance away.
+
+"What the deuce!" Ken ejaculated, snatching up his rifle.  He snapped a
+clip in the magazine and dropped several loaded clips and a box of extra
+shells into his coat pocket. After his adventure with the jaguar he
+decided never again to find himself short of ammunition. Running up the
+sloping bank, he entered the forest, shouting for his companions.
+Answering cries came from in front and a little to the left.  He could
+not make out what was said.
+
+Save for drooping moss the forest was comparatively open, and at a
+hundred paces from the river-bank were glades covered with thickets and
+long grass and short palm-trees. The ground sloped upward quite
+perceptibly.
+
+"Hey, boys, where are you?" called Ken.
+
+Pepe’s shrill yells mingled with George’s shouts.  At first their
+meaning was unintelligible, but after calling twice Ken understood.
+
+"Javelin!  Go back!  Javelin!  We’re treed! Wild pigs!  Santa Maria!
+Run for your life!"
+
+This was certainly enlightening and rather embarrassing.  Ken remembered
+the other time the boys had made him run, and he grew hot with anger.
+
+"I’ll be blessed if I’ll run!" he said, in the pride of conceit and
+wounded vanity.  Whereupon he began to climb the slope, stopping every
+few steps to listen and look.  Ken wondered what had made Pepe go so far
+for fire-wood; still, there was nothing but green wood all about.
+Walking round a clump of seared and yellow palms that rustled in the
+breeze, Ken suddenly espied George’s white shirt.  He was in a scrubby
+sapling not fifteen feet from the ground.  Then Ken espied Pepe, perched
+in the forks of a ceiba, high above the thickets and low shrubbery. Ken
+was scarcely more than a dozen rods from them down the gradual slope.
+Both saw him at once.
+
+"Run, you Indian!  Run!" bawled George, waving his hands.
+
+George implored Ken to fly to save his precious life.
+
+"What for? you fools!  I don’t see anything to run from," Ken shouted
+back.  His temper had soured a little during the last few days.
+
+"You’d better run, or you’ll have to climb," replied George.  "Wild
+pigs--a thousand of ’em!"
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Right under us.  There!  Oh, if they see you!  Listen to this."  He
+broke off a branch, trimmed it of leaves, and flung it down.  Ken heard
+a low, trampling roar of many hard little feet, brushings in the
+thicket, and cracking of twigs.  As close as he was, however, he could
+not see a moving object. The dead grass and brush were several feet
+high, up to his waist in spots, and, though he changed position several
+times, no _javelin_ did he see.
+
+"You want to look out.  Say, man, these are wild pigs--boars, I tell
+you!  They’ll kill you!" bellowed George.
+
+"Are you going to stay up there all night?" Ken asked, sarcastically.
+
+"We’ll stay till they go away."
+
+"All right, I’ll scare them away," Ken replied, and, suiting action to
+word, he worked the automatic as fast as it would shoot, aiming into the
+thicket under George.
+
+Of all the foolish things a nettled hunter ever did that was the worst.
+A roar answered the echoes of the rifle, and the roar rose from every
+side of the trees the victims were in. Nervously Ken clamped a fresh
+clip of shells into the rifle.  Clouds of dust arose, and strange little
+squeals and grunts seemed to come from every quarter.  Then the grass
+and bushes were suddenly torn apart by swift gray forms with glittering
+eyes.  They were everywhere.
+
+"_Run_!  _Run_!" shrieked George, high above the tumult.
+
+For a thrilling instant Ken stood his ground and fired at the bobbing
+gray backs.  But every break made in the ranks by the powerful shells
+filled in a flash.  Before that vicious charge he wavered, then ran as
+if pursued by demons.
+
+The way was downhill.  Ken tripped, fell, rolled over and over, then,
+still clutching the rifle, rose with a bound and fled.  The javelin had
+gained.  They were at his heels. He ran like a deer.  Then, seeing a low
+branch, he leaped for it, grasped it with one hand, and, crooking an
+elbow round it, swung with the old giant swing.
+
+Before Ken knew how it had happened he was astride a dangerously swaying
+branch directly over a troop of brownish-gray, sharp-snouted,
+fiendish-eyed little peccaries.
+
+Some were young and sleek, others were old and rough; some had little
+yellow teeth or tusks, and all pointed their sharp noses upward, as if
+expecting him to fall into their very mouths.  Feeling safe, once more
+Ken loaded the rifle and began to kill the biggest, most vicious
+_javelin_.  When he had killed twelve in twelve shots, he saw that
+shooting a few would be of no avail.  There were hundreds, it seemed,
+and he had scarcely fifty shells left.  Moreover, the rifle-barrel grew
+so hot that it burnt his hands.  Hearing George’s yell, he replied,
+somewhat to his disgust:
+
+"I’m all right, George--only treed.  How ’re you?"
+
+"Pigs all gone--they chased you--Pepe thinks we can risk running."
+
+"Don’t take any chances," Ken yelled, in answer.
+
+"Hi!  Hi!  What’s wrong with you gazabos?" came Hal’s yell from down the
+slope.
+
+"Go back to the boat," shouted Ken.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"We’re all treed by javelin--wild pigs."
+
+"I’ve got to see that," was Hal’s reply.
+
+Ken called a sharp, angry order for Hal to keep away.  But Hal did not
+obey.  Ken heard him coming, and presently saw him enter one of the
+little glades.  He had Ken’s shotgun, and was peering cautiously about.
+
+"Ken, where are you?"
+
+"Here!  Didn’t I tell you to keep away? The pigs heard you--some of them
+are edging out there.  Look out!  Run, kid, run!"
+
+A troop of _javelin_ flashed into the glade. Hal saw them and raised the
+shotgun.
+
+_Boom_!  He shot both barrels.
+
+The shot tore through the brush all around Ken, but fortunately beneath
+him.  Neither the noise nor the lead stopped the pugnacious little
+peccaries.
+
+Hal dropped Ken’s hammerless and fled.
+
+"Run faster!" yelled George, who evidently enjoyed Hal’s plight.
+"They’ll get you! Run hard!"
+
+The lad was running close to the record when he disappeared.
+
+In trying to find a more comfortable posture, so he could apply himself
+to an interesting study of his captors, Ken made the startling discovery
+that the branch which upheld him was splitting from the tree-trunk.  His
+heart began to pound in his breast; then it went up into his throat.
+Every move he made--for he had started to edge toward the tree--widened
+the little white split.
+
+"Boys, my branch is breaking!" he called, piercingly.
+
+"Can’t you get another?" returned George.
+
+"No; I daren’t move!  Hurry, boys!  If you don’t scare these brutes off
+I’m a goner!"
+
+Ken’s eyes were riveted upon the gap where the branch was slowly
+separating from the tree-trunk.  He glanced about to see if he could not
+leap to another branch.  There was nothing near that would hold him.  In
+desperation he resolved to drop the rifle, cautiously get to his feet
+upon the branch, and with one spring try to reach the tree.  When about
+to act upon this last chance he heard Pepe’s shrill yell and a crashing
+in the brush. Then followed the unmistakable roar and crackling of fire.
+Pepe had fired the brush--no, he was making his way toward Ken, armed
+with a huge torch.
+
+"Pepe, you’ll fire the jungle!" cried Ken, forgetting what was at stake
+and that Pepe could not understand much English.  But Ken had been in
+one forest-fire and remembered it with horror.
+
+The _javelin_ stirred uneasily, and ran around under Ken, tumbling over
+one another.
+
+When Pepe burst through the brush, holding before him long-stemmed palm
+leaves flaring in hissing flames, the whole pack of pigs bowled away
+into the forest at breakneck speed.
+
+Ken leaped down, and the branch came with him.  George came running up,
+his face white, his eyes big.  Behind him rose a roar that Ken thought
+might be another drove of pigs till he saw smoke and flame.
+
+"Boys, the jungle’s on fire.  Run for the river!"
+
+In their hurry they miscalculated the location of camp and dashed out of
+the jungle over a steep bank, and they all had a tumble. It was
+necessary to wade to reach the rocky ledge.
+
+Ken shook hands with Pepe.
+
+"George, tell him that was a nervy thing to do.  He saved my life, I do
+believe."
+
+"You fellows did a lot of hollering," said Hal, from his perch in the
+boat.
+
+"Say, young man, you’ve got to go back after my gun.  Why didn’t you do
+what I told you?  Foolish, to run into danger that way!" declared Ken,
+severely.
+
+"You don’t suppose I was going to overlook a chance to see Ken Ward
+treed, do you?"
+
+"Well, you saw him, and that was no joke. But I wish Pepe could have
+scared those pigs off without firing the jungle."
+
+"Pepe says it ’ll give the ticks a good roasting," said George.
+
+"We’ll have roast pig, anyway," added Ken.
+
+He kept watching the jungle back of the camp as if he expected it to
+blow up like a powder-mine.  But this Tamaulipas jungle was not Penetier
+Forest.  A cloud of smoke rolled up; there was a frequent roaring of dry
+palms; but the green growths did not burn. It was not much of a
+forest-fire, and Ken concluded that it would soon burn out.
+
+So he took advantage of the waning daylight to spread out his map and
+plot in the day’s travel.  This time Hal watched him with a quiet
+attention that was both flattering and stimulating; and at the
+conclusion of the task he said:
+
+"Well, Ken, we’re having sport, but we’re doing something
+more--something worth while."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XXI*
+
+                          *THE LEAPING TARPON*
+
+
+Just before dark, when the boys were at supper, a swarm of black
+mosquitoes swooped down upon camp.
+
+Pepe could not have shown more fear at angry snakes, and he began to
+pile green wood and leaves on the fire to make a heavy smoke.
+
+These mosquitoes were very large, black-bodied, with white-barred wings.
+Their bite was as painful as the sting of a bee.  After threshing about
+until tired out the boys went to bed.  But it was only to get up again,
+for the mosquitoes could bite through two thicknesses of blanket.
+
+For a wonder every one was quiet.  Even George did not grumble.  The
+only thing to do was to sit or stand in the smoke of the campfire.  The
+boys wore their gloves and wrapped blankets round heads and shoulders.
+They crouched over the fire until tired of that position, then stood up
+till they could stand no longer.  It was a wretched, sleepless night
+with the bloodthirsty mosquitoes humming about like a swarm of bees.
+They did not go away until dawn.
+
+"That’s what I get for losing the mosquito-netting," said Ken, wearily.
+
+Breakfast was not a cheerful meal, despite the fact that the boys all
+tried to brace up.
+
+George’s condition showed Ken the necessity for renewed efforts to get
+out of the jungle. Pepe appeared heavy and slow, and, what was more
+alarming, he had lost his appetite.  Hal was cross, but seemed to keep
+well.  It was hard enough for Ken to persuade George and Pepe to take
+the bitter doses of quinine, and Hal positively refused.
+
+"It makes me sick, I tell you," said Hal, impatiently.
+
+"But Hal, you ought to be guided by my judgment now," replied Ken,
+gently.
+
+"I don’t care.  I’ve had enough of bitter pills."
+
+"I ask you--as a favor?" persisted Ken, quietly.
+
+"No!"
+
+"Well, then, I’ll have to make you take them."
+
+"Wha-at?" roared Hal.
+
+"If necessary, I’ll throw you down and pry open your mouth and get Pepe
+to stuff these pills down your throat.  There!" went on Ken, and now he
+did not recognize his own voice.
+
+Hal looked quickly at his brother, and was amazed and all at once
+shaken.
+
+"Why, Ken--" he faltered.
+
+"I ought to have made you take them before," interrupted Ken.  "But I’ve
+been too easy.  Now, Hal, listen--and you, too, George.  I’ve made a bad
+mess of this trip. I got you into this jungle, and I ought to have taken
+better care of you, whether you would or not.  George has fever.  Pepe
+is getting it.  I’m afraid you won’t escape.  You all _would_ drink
+unboiled water."
+
+"Ken, that’s all right, but you can get fever from the bites of the
+ticks," said George.
+
+"I dare say.  But just the same you could have been careful about the
+water.  Not only that--look how careless we have been.  Think of the
+things that have happened!  We’ve gotten almost wild on this trip.  We
+don’t realize.  But wait till we get home.  Then we’ll hardly be able to
+believe we ever had these adventures.  But our foolishness, our
+carelessness, must stop right here.  If we can’t profit by our lucky
+escapes yesterday--from that lassoed crocodile and the wild pigs--we are
+simply no good.  I love fun and sport. But there’s a limit.  Hal,
+remember what old Hiram told you about being foolhardily brave. I think
+we have been wonderfully lucky. Now let’s deserve our good luck.  Let’s
+not prove what that Tampico hotel-man said. Let’s show we are not just
+wild-goose-chasing boys.  I put it to you straight.  I think the real
+test is yet to come, and I want you to help me.  No more tricks.  No
+more drinking unboiled water.  No more shooting except in self-defense.
+We must not eat any more meat.  No more careless wandering up the banks.
+No chances.  See?  And fight the fever.  Don’t give up.  Then when we
+get out of this awful jungle we can look back at our adventures--and,
+better, we can be sure we’ve learned a lot.  We shall have accomplished
+something, and that’s learning.  Now, how about it?  Will you help me?"
+
+"You can just bet your life," replied George, and he held out his hand.
+
+"Ken, I’m with you," was Hal’s quiet promise; and Ken knew from the way
+the lad spoke that he was in dead earnest.  When it came to the last
+ditch Hal Ward was as true as steel.  He took the raw, bitter quinine
+Ken offered and swallowed it without a grimace.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed Ken.  "Now, boys, let’s pack.  Hal, you let your
+menagerie go. There’s no use keeping your pets any longer. George, you
+make yourself a bed on the trunk, and fix a palm-leaf sun-shelter.  Then
+lie down."
+
+When the boat had been packed and all was in readiness for the start,
+George was sound asleep.  They shoved off into the current. Pepe and Ken
+took turns at the oars, making five miles an hour.
+
+As on the day before, they glided under the shadows of the great
+moss-twined cypresses, along the muddy banks where crocodiles basked in
+the sun and gaunt cattle came down to drink.  Once the boat turned a
+bushy point to startle a large flock of wild turkeys, perhaps
+thirty-five in number.  They had been resting in the cool sand along the
+river.  Some ran up the bank, some half-dozen flew right over the boat,
+and most of them squatted down as if to evade detection.  Thereafter
+turkeys and ducks and geese became so common as to be monotonous.
+
+About one o’clock Ken sighted a thatched bamboo and palm-leaf hut on the
+bank.
+
+"Oh, boys, look! look!" cried Ken, joyfully.
+
+Hal was as pleased as Ken, and George roused out of his slumber.  Pepe
+grinned and nodded his head.
+
+Some naked little children ran like quail. A disheveled black head
+peeped out of a door, then swiftly vanished.
+
+"Indians," said George.
+
+"I don’t care," replied Ken, "they’re human beings--people.  We’re
+getting somewhere."
+
+From there on the little bamboo huts were frequently sighted.  And soon
+Ken saw a large one situated upon a high bluff.  Ken was wondering if
+these natives would be hospitable.
+
+Upon rounding the next bend the boys came unexpectedly upon a connecting
+river. It was twice as wide as the Santa Rosa, and quite swift.
+
+"Tamaulipas," said Pepe.
+
+"Hooray! boys, this is the source of the Panuco, sure as you’re born,"
+cried Ken.  "I told you we were getting somewhere."
+
+He was overcome with the discovery.  This meant success.
+
+"Savalo!  Savalo!" exclaimed Pepe, pointing.
+
+"Tarpon!  Tarpon!  What do you think of that?  ’Way up here!  We must be
+a long distance from tide-water," said George.
+
+Ken looked around over the broad pool below the junction of the two
+rivers.  And here and there he saw swirls, and big splashes, and then
+the silver sides of rolling tarpon.
+
+"Boys, seeing we’ve packed that can of preserved mullet all the way, and
+those thundering heavy tackles, let’s try for tarpon," suggested Ken.
+
+It was wonderful to see how the boys responded.  Pepe was no longer slow
+and heavy.  George forgot he was sick.  Hal, who loved to fish better
+than to hunt, was as enthusiastic as on the first day.
+
+"Ken, let me boss this job," said George, as he began to rig the
+tackles.  "Pepe will row; you and Hal sit back here and troll. I’ll make
+myself useful.  Open the can. See, I hook the mullet just back of the
+head, letting the bar come out free.  There!  Now run out about forty
+feet of line.  Steady the butt of the rod under your leg.  Put your left
+hand above the reel.  Hold the handle of the reel in your right, and
+hold it hard.  The drag is in the handle.  Now when a tarpon takes the
+bait, jerk with all your might. Their mouths are like iron, and it’s
+hard to get a hook to stick."
+
+Pepe rowed at a smooth, even stroke and made for the great curve of the
+pool where tarpon were breaking water.
+
+"If they’re on the feed, we’ll have more sport than we’ve had yet," said
+George.
+
+Ken was fascinated, and saw that Hal was going to have the best time of
+the trip.  Also Ken was very curious to have a tarpon strike. He had no
+idea what it would be like.  Presently, when the boat glided among the
+rolling fish and there was prospect of one striking at any moment, Ken
+could not subdue a mounting excitement.
+
+"Steady now--be ready," warned George.
+
+Suddenly Hal’s line straightened.  The lad yelled and jerked at the same
+instant.  There came a roar of splitting waters, and a beautiful silver
+fish, longer than Hal himself, shot up into the air.  The tarpon shook
+himself and dropped back into the water with a crash.
+
+Hal was speechless.  He wound in his line to find the bait gone.
+
+"Threw the hook," said George, as he reached into the can for another
+bait.  "He wasn’t so big.  You’ll get used to losing ’em. There! try
+again."
+
+Ken had felt several gentle tugs at his line, as if tarpon were rolling
+across it.  And indeed he saw several fish swim right over where his
+line disappeared in the water.  There were splashes all around the boat,
+some gentle swishes and others hard, cutting rushes. Then his line
+straightened with a heavy jerk.  He forgot to try to hook the fish;
+indeed, he had no time.  The tarpon came half out of the water, wagged
+his head, and plumped back.  Ken had not hooked the fish, nor had the
+fish got the bait.  So Ken again let out his line.
+
+The next thing which happened was that the boys both had strikes at the
+same instant. Hal stood up, and as his tarpon leaped it pulled him
+forward, and he fell into the stern-seat.  His reel-handle rattled on
+the gunwale. The line hissed.  Ken leaned back and jerked. His fish did
+not break water, but he was wonderfully active under the surface.  Pepe
+was jabbering.  George was yelling.  Hal’s fish was tearing the water to
+shreds.  He crossed Ken’s fish; the lines fouled, and then slacked. Ken
+began to wind in.  Hal rose to do likewise.
+
+"Gee!" he whispered, with round eyes.
+
+Both lines had been broken.  George made light of this incident, and
+tied on two more leaders and hooks and baited afresh.
+
+"The fish are on the feed, boys.  It’s a cinch you’ll each catch one.
+Better troll one at a time, unless you can stand for crossed lines."
+
+But Ken and Hal were too eager to catch a tarpon to troll one at a time,
+so once more they let their lines out.  A tarpon took Hal’s bait right
+under the stern of the boat.  Hal struck with all his might.  This fish
+came up with a tremendous splash, drenching the boys. His great,
+gleaming silver sides glistened in the sun.  He curved his body and
+straightened out with a snap like the breaking of a board, and he threw
+the hook whistling into the air.
+
+Before Hal had baited up, Ken got another strike.  This fish made five
+leaps, one after the other, and upon the last threw the hook like a
+bullet.  As he plunged down, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the misty
+spray.
+
+"Hal, do you see that rainbow?" cried Ken, quickly.  "There’s a sight
+for a fisherman!"
+
+This time in turn, before Ken started to troll, Hal hooked another
+tarpon.  This one was not so large, but he was active.  His first rush
+was a long surge on the surface. He sent the spray in two streaks like a
+motor-boat.  Then he sounded.
+
+"Hang on, Hal!" yelled George and Ken in unison.
+
+Hal was bent almost double and his head was bobbing under the strain.
+He could not hold the drag.  The line was whizzing out.
+
+"You got that one hooked," shouted George.  "Let go the reel--drop the
+handle. Let him run."
+
+He complied, and then his fish began a marvelous exhibition of lofty
+tumbling.  He seemed never to stay down at all.  Now he shot up, mouth
+wide, gills spread, eyes wild, and he shook himself like a wet dog.
+Then he dropped back, and before the boys had time to think where he
+might be he came up several rods to the right and cracked his gills like
+pistol-shots.  He skittered on his tail and stood on his head and
+dropped flat with a heavy smack.  Then he stayed under and began to tug.
+
+"Hang on, now," cried George.  "Wind in.  Hold him tight.  Don’t give
+him an inch unless he jumps."
+
+This was heartbreaking work for Hal.  He toiled to keep the line in.  He
+grew red in the face.  He dripped with sweat.  He panted for breath.
+But he hung on.
+
+Ken saw how skilfully Pepe managed the boat.  The _mozo_ seemed to know
+just which way the fish headed, and always kept the boat straight.
+Sometimes he rowed back and lent his help to Hal.  But this appeared to
+anger the tarpon, for the line told he was coming to the surface.  Then,
+as Pepe ceased to let him feel the weight of the boat, the tarpon sank
+again.  So the battle went on round and round the great pool.  After an
+hour of it Hal looked ready to drop.
+
+"Land him alone if you can," said Ken. "He’s tiring, Hal."
+
+"I’ll--land him--or--or bust!" panted Hal.
+
+"Look out, now!" warned George again. "He’s coming up.  See the line.
+Be ready to trim the boat if he drops aboard.  _Wow!_"
+
+The tarpon slipped smoothly out of the water and shot right over the bow
+of the boat. Quick-witted George flung out his hand and threw Hal’s rod
+round in time to save the line from catching.  The fish went down, came
+up wagging his head, and then fell with sullen splash.
+
+"He’s done," yelled George.  "Now, Hal, hold him for all you’re worth.
+Not an inch of line!"
+
+Pepe headed the boat for a sandy beach; and Hal, looking as if about to
+have a stroke of apoplexy, clung desperately to the bending rod.  The
+tarpon rolled and lashed his tail, but his power was mostly gone.
+Gradually he ceased to roll, until by the time Pepe reached shore he was
+sliding wearily through the water, his silvery side glittering in the
+light.
+
+The boat grated on the sand.  Pepe leaped out.  Then he grasped Hal’s
+line, slipped his hands down to the long wire leader, and with a quick,
+powerful pull slid the tarpon out upon the beach.
+
+"Oh-h!" gasped Hal, with glistening eyes. "Oh-h!  Ken, just look!"
+
+"I’m looking, son, and don’t you forget it."
+
+The tarpon lay inert, a beautiful silver-scaled creature that looked as
+if he had just come from a bath of melted opals.  The great dark eyes
+were fixed and staring, the tail moved feebly, the long dorsal fin
+quivered.
+
+He measured five feet six inches in length, which was one inch more than
+Hal’s height.
+
+"Ken, the boys back home will never believe I caught him," said Hal, in
+distress.
+
+"Take his picture to prove it," replied Ken.
+
+Hal photographed his catch.  Pepe took out the hook, showing, as he did
+so, the great iron-like plates in the mouth of the fish.
+
+"No wonder it’s hard to hook them," said Ken.
+
+Hal certainly wanted his beautiful fish to go back, free and little
+hurt, to the river. But also he wanted him for a specimen.  Hal
+deliberated.  Evidently he was considering the labor of skinning such a
+huge fish and the difficulty of preserving and packing the hide.
+
+"Say, Hal, wouldn’t you like to see me hook one?" queried Ken,
+patiently.
+
+That brought Hal to his senses.
+
+"Sure, Ken, old man, I want you to catch one--a big one--bigger than
+mine," replied Hal, and restored the fish to the water.
+
+They all watched the liberated tarpon swim wearily off and slip down
+under the water.
+
+"He’ll have something to tell the rest, won’t he?" said George.
+
+In a few minutes the boat was again in the center of the great pool
+among the rolling tarpon.  Ken had a strike immediately. He missed.
+Then he tried again.  And in a short space of time he saw five tarpon in
+the air, one after the other, and not one did he hook securely.  He got
+six leaps out of one, however, and that was almost as good as landing
+him.
+
+"There ’re some whales here," said George.
+
+"Grande savalo," added Pepe, and he rowed over to where a huge fish was
+rolling.
+
+"Oh, I don’t want to hook the biggest one first," protested Ken.
+
+Pepe rowed to and fro.  The boys were busy trying to see the rolling
+tarpon.  There would be a souse on one side, then a splash on the other,
+then a thump behind.  What with trying to locate all these fish and
+still keep an eye on Ken’s line the boys almost dislocated their necks.
+
+Then, quick as a flash, Ken had a strike that pulled him out of his seat
+to his knees. He could not jerk.  His line was like a wire. It began to
+rise.  With all his strength he held on.  The water broke in a hollow,
+slow roar, and a huge humpbacked tarpon seemed to be climbing into the
+air.  But he did not get all the way out, and he plunged back with a
+thunderous crash.  He made as much noise as if a horse had fallen off a
+bridge.
+
+The handle of the reel slipped out of Ken’s grasp, and it was well.  The
+tarpon made a long, wonderful run and showed on the surface a hundred
+yards from the boat.  He was irresistibly powerful.  Ken was astounded
+and thrilled at his strength and speed.  There, far away from the boat,
+the tarpon leaped magnificently, clearing the water, and then went down.
+He did not come up again.
+
+"Ken, he’s a whale," said George.  "I believe he’s well hooked.  He
+won’t jump any more.  And you’ve got a job on your hands."
+
+"I want him to jump."
+
+"The big ones seldom break water after the first rush or so."
+
+"Ken, it’s coming to you with that fellow," said Hal.  "My left arm is
+paralyzed. Honestly, I can pinch it and not feel the pain."
+
+Pepe worked the boat closer and Ken reeled in yard after yard of line.
+The tarpon was headed down-stream, and he kept up a steady, strong
+strain.
+
+"Let him tow the boat," said George. "Hold the drag, Ken.  Let him tow
+the boat."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Ken, in amaze.
+
+"Oh, he’ll do it, all right."
+
+And so it proved.  Ken’s tarpon, once headed with the current, did not
+turn, and he towed the boat.
+
+"This is a new way for me to tire out a fish," said Ken.  "What do you
+think of it, Hal?"
+
+Hal’s eyes glistened.
+
+"This is fishing.  Ken, did you see him when he came up?"
+
+"Not very clearly.  I had buck-fever.  You know how a grouse looks when
+he flushes right under your feet--a kind of brown blur. Well, this was
+the same, only silver."
+
+At the end of what Ken judged to be a mile the tarpon was still going.
+At the end of the second mile he was tired.  And three miles down the
+river from where the fish was hooked Pepe beached the boat on a sandbar
+and hauled ashore a tarpon six feet ten inches long.
+
+Here Ken echoed Hal’s panting gasp of wonder and exultation.  As he sat
+down on the boat to rest he had no feeling in his left arm, and little
+in his right.  His knuckles were skinned and bloody.  No game of
+baseball he had ever pitched had taken his strength like the conquest of
+this magnificent fish.
+
+"Hal, we’ll have some more of this fishing when we get to Tampico," said
+Ken.  "Why, this beats hunting.  You have the sport, and you needn’t
+kill anything.  This tarpon isn’t hurt."
+
+So Ken photographed his prize and measured him, and, taking a last
+lingering glance at the great green back, the silver-bronze sides, the
+foot-wide flukes of the tail, at the whole quivering fire-tinted length,
+he slid the tarpon back into the river.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XXII*
+
+                            *STRICKEN DOWN*
+
+
+Much as Ken would have liked to go back to that pool, he did not think
+of it twice. And as soon as the excitement had subsided and the journey
+was resumed, George and Hal, and Pepe, too, settled down into a silent
+weariness that made Ken anxious.
+
+During the afternoon Ken saw Pepe slowly droop lower and lower at the
+oars till the time came when he could scarcely lift them to make a
+stroke.  And when Ken relieved him of them, Pepe fell like a log in the
+boat.
+
+George slept.  Hal seemed to be fighting stupor.  Pepe lay motionless on
+his seat.  They were all going down with the fever, that Ken knew, and
+it took all his courage to face the situation.  It warmed his heart to
+see how Hal was trying to bear up under a languor that must have been
+well-nigh impossible to resist.  At last Hal said:
+
+"Ken, let me row."  He would not admit that he was sick.
+
+Ken thought it would do Hal no harm to work.  But Ken did not want to
+lose time. So he hit upon a plan that pleased him. There was an extra
+pair of oars in the boat. Ken fashioned rude pegs from a stick and drove
+these down into the cleat inside the gunwales.  With stout rope he tied
+the oars to the pegs, which answered fairly well as oarlocks.  Then they
+had a double set of oars going, and made much better time.
+
+George woke and declared that he must take a turn at the oars.  So Ken
+let him row, too, and rested himself.  He had a grim foreboding that he
+would need all his strength.
+
+The succeeding few hours before sunset George and Hal more than made up
+for all their delinquencies of the past.  At first it was not very hard
+for them to row; but soon they began to weary, then weaken.  Neither
+one, however, would give up.  Ken let them row, knowing that it was good
+for them. Slower and slower grew George’s strokes, there were times when
+he jerked up spasmodically and made an effort, only to weaken again.  At
+last, with a groan he dropped the oars.  Ken had to lift him back into
+the bow.
+
+Hal was not so sick as George, and therefore not so weak.  He lasted
+longer.  Ken had seen the lad stick to many a hard job, but never as he
+did to this one.  Hal was making good his promise.  There were times
+when his breath came in whistles.  He would stop and pant awhile, then
+row on.  Ken pretended he did not notice.  But he had never been so
+proud of his brother nor loved him so well.
+
+"Ken, old man," said Hal, presently.  "I was--wrong--about the water.  I
+ought to have obeyed you.  I--I’m pretty sick."
+
+What a confession for Hal Ward!
+
+Ken turned in time to see Hal vomit over the gunwale.
+
+"It’s pretty tough, Hal," said Ken, as he reached out to hold his
+brother’s head; "but you’re game.  I’m so glad to see that."
+
+Whereupon Hal went back to his oars and stayed till he dropped.  Ken
+lifted him and laid him beside George.
+
+Ken rowed on with his eyes ever in search of a camping-site.  But there
+was no place to camp.  The muddy banks were too narrow at the bottom,
+too marshy and filthy.  And they were too steep to climb to the top.
+
+The sun set.  Twilight fell.  Darkness came on, and still Ken rowed down
+the river.  At last he decided to make a night of it at the oars.  He
+preferred to risk the dangers of the river at night rather than spend
+miserable hours in the mud.  Rousing the boys, he forced them to swallow
+a little cold rice and some more quinine.  Then he covered them with
+blankets, and had scarce completed the task when they were deep in
+slumber.
+
+Then the strange, dense tropical night settled down upon Ken.  The oars
+were almost noiseless, and the water gurgled softly from the bow.
+Overhead the expanse was dark blue, with a few palpitating stars.  The
+river was shrouded in gray gloom, and the banks were lost in black
+obscurity.  Great fireflies emphasized the darkness.  He trusted a good
+deal to luck in the matter of going right; yet he kept his ear keen for
+the sound of quickening current, and turned every few strokes to peer
+sharply into the gloom.  He seemed to have little sense of peril, for,
+though he hit submerged logs and stranded on bars, he kept on unmindful,
+and by and by lost what anxiety he had felt.  The strange wildness of
+the river at night, the gray, veiled space into which he rowed unheeding
+began to work upon his mind.
+
+That was a night to remember--a night of sounds and smells, of the
+feeling of the cool mist, the sight of long, dark forest-line and a
+golden moon half hidden by clouds.  Prominent among these was the trill
+of river frogs. The trill of a northern frog was music, but that of
+these great, silver-throated jungle frogs was more than music.  Close at
+hand one would thrill Ken with mellow, rich notes; and then from far
+would come the answer, a sweet, high tenor, wilder than any other
+wilderness sound, long sustained, dying away till he held his breath to
+listen.
+
+So the hours passed; and the moon went down into the weird shadows, and
+the Southern Cross rose pale and wonderful.
+
+Gradually the stars vanished in a kind of brightening gray, and dawn was
+at hand. Ken felt weary for sleep, and his arms and back ached.  Morning
+came, with its steely light on the river, the rolling and melting of
+vapors, the flight of ducks and call of birds.  The rosy sun brought no
+cheer.
+
+Ken beached the boat on a sand-bar. While he was building a fire George
+raised his head and groaned.  But neither Pepe nor Hal moved.  Ken
+cooked rice and boiled cocoa, which he choked down.  He opened a can of
+fruit and found that most welcome. Then he lifted George’s head, shook
+him, roused him, and held him, and made him eat and drink.  Nor did he
+neglect to put a liberal dose of quinine in the food.  Pepe was easily
+managed, but poor Hal was almost unable to swallow.  Something terribly
+grim mingled with a strong, passionate thrill as Ken looked at Hal’s
+haggard face.  Then Ken Ward knew how much he could stand, what work he
+could do to get his brother out of the jungle.
+
+He covered the boys again and pushed out the boat.  At the moment he
+felt a strength that he had never felt before.  There was a good, swift
+current in the river, and Ken was at great pains to keep in it.  The
+channel ran from one side of the river to the other. Many times Ken
+stranded on sandy shoals and had to stand up and pole the boat into
+deeper water.  This was work that required all his attention.  It
+required more than patience.  But as he rowed and poled and drifted he
+studied the shallow ripples and learned to avoid the places where the
+boat would not float.
+
+There were stretches of river where the water was comparatively deep,
+and along these he rested and watched the shores as he drifted by.  He
+saw no Indian huts that morning.  The jungle loomed high and dark, a
+matted gray wall.  The heat made the river glare and smoke.  Then where
+the current quickened he rowed steadily and easily, husbanding his
+strength.
+
+More than all else, even the ravings of Hal in fever, the thing that
+wore on Ken and made him gloomy was the mourning of turtle-doves. As
+there had been thousands of these beautiful birds along the Santa Rosa
+River, so there were millions along the Panuco.  Trees were blue with
+doves.  There was an incessant soft, sad moaning.  He fought his
+nervous, sensitive imaginings.  And for a time he would conquer the
+sense of some sad omen sung by the doves.  Then the monotony, the
+endless sweet "coo-ooo-ooo," seemed to drown him in melancholy sound.
+There were three distinct tones--a moan, swelling to full ring, and
+dying away: "Coo-_ooo_-ooo--coo-_ooo_-ooo."
+
+All the afternoon the mourning, haunting song filled Ken Ward’s ears.
+And when the sun set and night came, with relief to his tortured ear but
+not to mind, Ken kept on without a stop.
+
+The day had slipped behind Ken with the miles, and now it was again
+dark.  It seemed that he had little sense of time.  But his faculties of
+sight and hearing were singularly acute.  Otherwise his mind was like
+the weird gloom into which he was drifting.
+
+Before the stars came out the blackness was as thick as pitch.  He could
+not see a yard ahead.  He backed the boat stern first down-stream and
+listened for the soft murmur of ripples on shoals.  He avoided these by
+hearing alone.  Occasionally a huge, dark pile of driftwood barred his
+passage, and he would have to go round it.  Snags loomed up specter-like
+in his path, seemingly to reach for him with long, gaunt arms.
+Sometimes he drifted upon sand-bars, from which he would patiently pole
+the boat.
+
+When the heavy dew began to fall he put on his waterproof coat.  The
+night grew chill.  Then the stars shone out.  This lightened the river.
+Yet everywhere were shadows. Besides, clouds of mist hung low, in places
+obscuring the stars.
+
+Ken turned the boat bow first downstream and rowed with slow, even
+stroke. He no longer felt tired.  He seemed to have the strength of a
+giant.  He fancied that with one great heave he could lift the boat out
+of the water or break the oars.  From time to time he ceased to row,
+and, turning his head, he looked and listened.  The river had numerous
+bends, and it was difficult for Ken to keep in the middle channel.  He
+managed pretty well to keep right by watching the dark shore-line where
+it met the deep-blue sky. In the bends the deepest water ran close to
+the shore of the outside curve.  And under these high banks and the
+leaning cypresses shadows were thicker and blacker than in the earlier
+night.  There was mystery in them that Ken felt.
+
+The sounds he heard when he stopped during these cautious resting
+intervals were the splashes of fish breaking water, the low hum of
+insects, and the trill of frogs.  The mourning of the doves during
+daylight had haunted him, and now he felt the same sensation at this
+long-sustained, exquisitely sweet trill.  It pierced him, racked him,
+and at last, from sheer exhaustion of his sensibilities, he seemed not
+to hear it any more, but to have it in his brain.
+
+The moon rose behind the left-hand jungle wall, silvered half of the
+river and the opposite line of cypresses, then hid under clouds.
+
+Suddenly, near or far away, down the river Ken saw a wavering light.  It
+was too large for a firefly, and too steady.  He took it for a
+Jack-o’-lantern.  And for a while it enhanced the unreality, the
+ghostliness of the river.  But it was the means of bringing Ken out of
+his dreamy gloom.  It made him think.  The light was moving.  It was too
+wavering for a Jack-o’-lantern.  It was coming up-stream.  It grew
+larger.
+
+Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.  Ken lost sight of it
+under a deep shadow of overhanging shore.  As he reached a point
+opposite to where it disappeared he thought he heard a voice.  But he
+could not be sure.  He did not trust his ears.  The incident, however,
+gave him a chill.  What a lonesome ride!  He was alone on that unknown
+river with three sick boys in the boat. Their lives depended upon his
+care, his strength, his skill, his sight and hearing. And the
+realization, striking him afresh, steeled his arms again and his spirit.
+
+The night wore on.  The moon disappeared entirely.  The mists hung low
+like dim sheets along the water.  Ken was wringing-wet with dew.  Long
+periods of rowing he broke with short intervals of drifting, when he
+rested at the oars.
+
+Then drowsiness attacked him.  For hours it seemed he fought it off.
+But at length it grew overpowering.  Only hard rowing would keep him
+awake.  And, as he wanted to reserve his strength, he did not dare exert
+himself violently.  He could not keep his eyes open.  Time after time he
+found himself rowing when he was half asleep.  The boat drifted against
+a log and stopped.  Ken drooped over his oars and slept, and yet he
+seemed not altogether to lose consciousness. He roused again to row on.
+
+It occurred to him presently that he might let the boat drift and take
+naps between whiles.  When he drifted against a log or a sand-bar the
+jar would awaken him.  The current was sluggish.  There seemed to be no
+danger whatever.  He must try to keep his strength.  A little sleep
+would refresh him.  So he reasoned, and fell asleep over the oars.
+
+Sooner or later--he never knew how long after he had fallen asleep--a
+little jar awakened him.  Then the gurgle and murmur of water near him
+and the rush and roar of a swift current farther off made him look up
+with a violent start.  All about him was wide, gray gloom.  Yet he could
+see the dark, glancing gleam of the water.  Movement of the oars told
+him the boat was fast on a sand-bar. That relieved him, for he was not
+drifting at the moment into the swift current he heard. Ken peered
+keenly into the gloom.  Gradually he made out a long, dark line running
+diagonally ahead of him and toward the right-hand shore.  It could not
+be an island or a sand-bar or a shore-line.  It could not be piles of
+driftwood.  There was a strange regularity in the dark upheavals of this
+looming object.  Ken studied it.  He studied the black, glancing water.
+Whatever the line was, it appeared to shunt the current over to the
+right, whence came the low rush and roar.
+
+Altogether it was a wild, strange place. Ken felt a fear of something he
+could not name. It was the river--the night--the loneliness--the unknown
+about him and before him.
+
+Suddenly he saw a dull, red light far down the river.  He stiffened in
+his seat.  Then he saw another red light.  They were like two red eyes.
+Ken shook himself to see if he had nightmare.  No; the boat was there;
+the current was there; the boys were there, dark and silent under their
+blankets.  This was no dream.  Ken’s fancy conjured up some red-eyed
+river demon come to destroy him and his charges.  He scorned the fancy,
+laughed at it.  But, all the same, in that dark, weird place, with the
+murmuring of notes in his ears and with those strange red eyes glowing
+in the distance, he could not help what his emotions made the truth.  He
+was freezing to the marrow, writhing in a clammy sweat when a low
+"chug-chug-chug" enlightened him.  The red eyes were those of a
+steamboat.
+
+A steamboat on the wild Panuco!  Ken scarcely believed his own judgment.
+Then he remembered that George said there were a couple of boats plying
+up and down the lower Panuco, mostly transporting timber and cattle.
+Besides, he had proof of his judgment in the long, dark line that had so
+puzzled him--it was a breakwater.  It turned the current to the left,
+where there evidently was a channel.
+
+The great, red eyes gleamed closer, the "chug-chug-chug" sounded louder.
+Then another sound amazed Ken--a man’s voice crying out steadily and
+monotonously.
+
+Ken wanted to rouse the boys and Pepe, but he refrained.  It was best
+for them to sleep.  How surprised they would be when he told them about
+the boat that passed in the night!  Ken now clearly heard the splashing
+of paddles, the chug of machinery, and the man’s voice.  He was
+singsonging: "Dos y media, dos y media, dos y media."
+
+Ken understood a little Mexican, and this strange cry became clear to
+him.  The man was taking soundings with a lead and crying out to the
+pilot.  _Dos y media_ meant two and a half feet of water.  Then the
+steam-boat loomed black in the gray gloom.  It was pushing a low, flat
+barge.  Ken could not see the man taking soundings, but he heard him and
+knew he was on the front end of the barge.  The boat passed at fair
+speed, and it cheered Ken.  For he certainly ought to be able to take a
+rowboat where a steamboat had passed.  And, besides, he must be getting
+somewhere near the little village of Panuco.
+
+He poled off the bar and along the breakwater to the channel.  It was
+narrow and swift. He wondered how the pilot of the steamboat had
+navigated in the gloom.  He slipped down-stream, presently to find
+himself once more in a wide river.  Refreshed by his sleep and
+encouraged by the meeting with the steamboat, Ken settled down to steady
+rowing.
+
+The stars paled, the mist thickened, fog obscured the water and shore;
+then all turned gray, lightened, and dawn broke.  The sun burst out.
+Ken saw thatched huts high on the banks and occasionally natives.  This
+encouraged him all the more.
+
+He was not hungry, but he was sick for a drink.  He had to fight himself
+to keep from drinking the dirty river-water.  How different it was here
+from the clear green of the upper Santa Rosa!  Ken would have given his
+best gun for one juicy orange.  George was restless and rolling about,
+calling for water; Hal lay in slumber or stupor; and Pepe sat up.  He
+was a sick-looking fellow, but he was better; and that cheered Ken as
+nothing yet had.
+
+Ken beached the boat on a sandy shore, and once again forced down a
+little rice and cocoa.  Pepe would not eat, yet he drank a little.
+George was burning up with fever, and drank a full cup.  Hal did not
+stir, and Ken thought it best to let him lie.
+
+As Ken resumed the journey the next thing to attract his attention was a
+long canoe moored below one of the thatched huts. This afforded him
+great satisfaction.  At least he had passed the jungle wilderness, where
+there was nothing that even suggested civilization.  In the next few
+miles he noticed several canoes and as many natives.  Then he passed a
+canoe that was paddled by two half-naked bronze Indians.  Pepe hailed
+them, but either they were too unfriendly to reply or they did not
+understand him.
+
+Some distance below Pepe espied a banana grove, and he motioned Ken to
+row ashore. Ken did so with pleasure at the thought of getting some
+fresh fruit.  There was a canoe moored to the roots of a tree and a path
+leading up the steep bank.  Pepe got out and laboriously toiled up the
+bare path.  He was gone a good while.
+
+Presently Ken heard shouts, then the bang of a lightly loaded gun, then
+yells from Pepe.
+
+"What on earth!" cried Ken, looking up in affright.
+
+Pepe appeared with his arms full of red bananas.  He jumped and
+staggered down the path and almost fell into the boat.  But he hung on
+to the bananas.
+
+"Santa Maria!" gasped Pepe, pointing to little bloody spots on the calf
+of his leg.
+
+"Pepe, you’ve been shot!" ejaculated Ken. "You stole the fruit--somebody
+shot you!"
+
+Pepe howled his affirmative.  Ken was angry at himself, angrier at Pepe,
+and angriest at the native who had done the shooting. With a strong
+shove Ken put the boat out and then rowed hard down-stream.  As he
+rounded a bend a hundred yards below he saw three natives come tumbling
+down the path. They had a gun.  They leaped into the canoe. They meant
+pursuit.
+
+"Say, but this is a pretty kettle of fish!" muttered Ken, and he bent to
+the oars.
+
+Of course Pepe had been in the wrong. He should have paid for the
+bananas or asked for them.  All the same, Ken was not in any humor to be
+fooled with by excitable natives. He had a sick brother in the boat and
+meant to get that lad out of the jungle as quickly as will and strength
+could do it.  He certainly did not intend to be stopped by a few
+miserable Indians angry over the loss of a few bananas.  If it had not
+been for the gun, Ken would have stopped long enough to pay for the
+fruit.  But he could not risk it now. So he pulled a strong stroke
+down-stream.
+
+The worst of the matter developed when Pepe peeled one of the bananas.
+It was too green to eat.
+
+Presently the native canoe hove in sight round the bend.  All three men
+were paddling. They made the long craft fly through the water.  Ken saw
+instantly that they would overhaul him in a long race, and this added to
+his resentment.  Pepe looked back and jabbered and shook his brawny
+fists at the natives.  Ken was glad to see that the long stretch of
+river below did not show a canoe or hut along the banks.  He preferred
+to be overhauled, if he had to be, in a rather lonely spot.
+
+It was wonderful how those natives propelled that log canoe.  And when
+one of the three dropped his paddle to pick up the gun, the speed of the
+canoe seemed not to diminish. They knew the channels, and so gained on
+Ken.  He had to pick the best he could choose at short notice, and
+sometimes he chose poorly.
+
+Two miles or more below the bend the natives with the gun deliberately
+fired, presumably at Pepe.  The shot scattered and skipped along the
+water and did not come near the boat.  Nevertheless, as the canoe was
+gaining and the crazy native was reloading, Ken saw he would soon be
+within range. Something had to be done.
+
+Ken wondered if he could not frighten those natives.  They had probably
+never heard the quick reports of a repeating rifle, let alone the
+stinging cracks of an automatic. Ken decided it would be worth trying.
+But he must have a chance to get the gun out of its case and load it.
+
+That chance came presently.  The natives, in paddling diagonally across
+a narrow channel, ran aground in the sand.  They were fast for only a
+few moments, but in that time Ken had got out the little rifle and
+loaded it.
+
+Pepe’s dark face turned a dirty white, and his eyes dilated.  He
+imagined Ken was going to kill some of his countrymen.  But Pepe never
+murmured.  He rubbed the place in his leg where he had been shot, and
+looked back.
+
+Ken rowed on, now leisurely.  There was a hot anger within him, but he
+had it in control.  He knew what he was about.  Again the native fired,
+and again his range was short. The distance was perhaps two hundred
+yards.
+
+Ken waited until the canoe, in crossing one of the many narrow places,
+was broadside toward him.  Then he raised the automatic. There were at
+least ten feet in the middle of the canoe where it was safe for him to
+hit without harm to the natives.  And there he aimed.  The motion of his
+boat made it rather hard to keep the sights right.  He was cool,
+careful; he aimed low, between gunwale and the water, and steadily he
+pulled the trigger--once, twice, three times, four, five.
+
+The steel-jacketed bullets "spoued" on the water and "cracked" into the
+canoe. They evidently split both gunwales low down at the water-line.
+The yelling, terror-stricken natives plunged about, and what with their
+actions and the great split in the middle the canoe filled and sank.
+The natives were not over their depth; that was plainly evident.
+Moreover, it was equally evident that they dared not wade in the
+quicksand.  So they swam to the shallower water, and there, like huge
+turtles, floundered toward the shore.
+
+
+
+
+                                *XXIII*
+
+                          *OUT OF THE JUNGLE*
+
+
+Before the natives had reached the shore they were hidden from Ken’s
+sight by leaning cypress-trees.  Ken, however, had no fear for their
+safety.  He was sorry to cause the Indians’ loss of a gun and a canoe;
+nevertheless, he was not far from echoing Pepe’s repeated: "Bueno!
+Bueno! Bueno!"
+
+Upon examination Ken found two little bloody holes in the muscles of
+Pepe’s leg. A single shot had passed through.  Ken bathed the wounds
+with an antiseptic lotion and bound them with clean bandages.
+
+Pepe appeared to be pretty weak, so Ken did not ask him to take the
+oars.  Then, pulling with long, steady stroke, Ken set out to put a long
+stretch between him and the angry natives.  The current was swift, and
+Ken made five miles or more an hour.  He kept that pace for three hours
+without a rest. And then he gave out.  It seemed that all at once he
+weakened.  His back bore an immense burden.  His arms were lead, and his
+hands were useless.  There was an occasional mist or veil before his
+sight.  He was wet, hot, breathless, numb.  But he knew he was safe from
+pursuit.  So he rested and let the boat drift.
+
+George sat up, green in the face, a most miserable-looking boy.  But
+that he could sit up at all was hopeful.
+
+"Oh, my head!" he moaned.  "Is there anything I can drink?  My mouth is
+dry--pasted shut."
+
+Ken had two lemons he had been saving. He cut one in halves and divided
+it between Pepe and George.  The relief the sour lemon afforded both
+showed Ken how wise he had been to save the lemons.  Then he roused Hal,
+and, lifting the lad’s head, made him drink a little of the juice.  Hal
+was a sick boy, too weak to sit up without help.
+
+"Don’t--you worry--Ken," he said.  "I’m going--to be--all right."
+
+Hal was still fighting.
+
+Ken readjusted the palm-leaf shelter over the boys so as to shade them
+effectually from the hot sun, and then he went back to the oars.
+
+As he tried once more to row, Ken was reminded of the terrible lassitude
+that had overtaken him the day he had made the six-hour climb out of the
+Grand Cañon.  The sensation now was worse, but Ken had others depending
+upon his exertions, and that spurred him to the effort which otherwise
+would have been impossible.
+
+It was really not rowing that Ken accomplished. It was a weary puttering
+with oars he could not lift, handles he could not hold. At best he
+managed to guide the boat into the swiftest channels.  Whenever he felt
+that he was just about to collapse, then he would look at Hal’s pale
+face.  That would revive him.  So the hot hours dragged by.
+
+They came, after several miles, upon more huts and natives.  And farther
+down they met canoes on the river.  Pepe interrogated the natives.
+According to George, who listened, Panuco was far, far away, many
+kilometers.  This was most disheartening.  Another native said the
+village was just round the next bend.  This was most nappy information.
+But it turned out to be a lie.  There was no village around any
+particular bend--nothing save bare banks for miles.  The stretches of
+the river were long, and bends far apart.
+
+Ken fell asleep.  When he awoke he found Pepe at the oars.  Watching
+him, Ken fancied he was recovering, and was overjoyed.
+
+About four o’clock in the afternoon Pepe rowed ashore and beached the
+boat at the foot of a trail leading up to a large bamboo and thatch hut.
+This time Ken thought it well to accompany Pepe.  And as he climbed the
+path he found his legs stiffer and shakier than ever before.
+
+Ken saw a cleared space in which were several commodious huts, gardens,
+and flowers. There was a grassy yard in which little naked children were
+playing with tame deer and tiger-cats.  Parrots were screeching, and
+other tame birds fluttered about.  It appeared a real paradise to Ken.
+
+Two very kindly disposed and wondering native women made them welcome.
+Then Ken and Pepe went down to the boat and carried Hal up, and went
+back for George.
+
+It developed that the native women knew just what to do for the
+fever-stricken boys. They made some kind of a native drink for them, and
+after that gave them hot milk and chicken and rice soup.  George
+improved rapidly, and Hal brightened a little and showed signs of
+gathering strength.
+
+Ken could not eat until he had something to quench his thirst.  Upon
+inquiring, Pepe found that the natives used the river-water. Ken could
+not drink that.  Then Pepe pointed out an orange-tree, and Ken made a
+dive for it.  The ground was littered with oranges. Collecting an
+armful, Ken sat under the tree and with wild haste began to squeeze the
+juice into his mouth.  Never had anything before tasted so cool, so
+sweet, so life-giving!  He felt a cool, wet sensation steal all through
+his body.  He never knew till that moment how really wonderful and
+precious an orange could be.  He thought that as he would hate mourning
+turtle-doves all the rest of his life, so he would love the sight and
+smell and taste of oranges.  And he demolished twenty-two before he
+satisfied his almost insatiable thirst. After that the chicken and rice
+made him feel like a new boy.
+
+Then Ken made beds under a kind of porch, and he lay down in one,
+stretched out languidly and gratefully, as if he never intended to move
+again, and his eyes seemed to be glued shut.
+
+When he awoke the sun was shining in his face.  When he had gone to bed
+it had been shining at his back.  He consulted his watch. He had slept
+seventeen hours.
+
+When he got up and found Pepe as well as before he had been taken with
+the fever and George on his feet and Hal awake and actually smiling, Ken
+experienced a sensation of unutterable thankfulness.  A terrible burden
+slipped from his shoulders.  For a moment he felt a dimming of his eyes
+and a lump in his throat.
+
+"How about you, Ken, old man?" inquired Hal, with a hint of his usual
+spirit.
+
+"Wal, youngster, I reckon fer a man who’s been through some right pert
+happenin’s, I’m in tol’able shape," drawled Ken.
+
+"I’ll bet two dollars you’ve been up against it," declared Hal,
+solemnly.
+
+Then, as they sat to an appetizing breakfast, Ken gave them a brief
+account of the incidents of the two days and two nights when they were
+too ill to know anything.
+
+It was a question whether George’s voluble eulogy of Ken’s feat or Hal’s
+silent, bright-eyed pride in his brother was the greater compliment.
+
+Finally Hal said: "Won’t that tickle Jim Williams when we tell him how
+you split up the Indians’ canoe and spilled them into the river?"
+
+Then Ken conceived the idea of climbing into the giant ceiba that stood
+high on the edge of the bluff.  It was hard work, but he accomplished
+it, and from a fork in the top-most branches he looked out.  That was a
+warm, rich, wonderful scene.  Ken felt that he would never forget it.
+His interest now, however, was not so much in its beauty and wildness.
+His keen eye followed the river as it wound away into the jungle, and
+when he could no longer see the bright ribbon of water he followed its
+course by the line of magnificent trees.  It was possible to trace the
+meandering course of the river clear to the rise of the mountains, dim
+and blue in the distance.  And from here Ken made more observations and
+notes.
+
+As he went over in his mind the map and notes and report he had prepared
+he felt that he had made good.  He had explored and mapped more than a
+hundred miles of wild jungle river.  He felt confident that he had
+earned the trip to England and the German forests.  He might win a
+hunting trip on the vast uplands of British East Africa.  But he felt
+also that the reward of his uncle’s and his father’s pride would be more
+to him.  That was a great moment for Ken Ward.  And there was yet much
+more that he could do to make this exploring trip a success.
+
+[Illustration: Ken Ward’s Map]
+
+When he joined the others he found that Pepe had learned that the
+village of Panuco was distant a day or a night by canoe.  How many miles
+or kilometers Pepe could not learn. Ken decided it would be best to go
+on at once. It was not easy to leave that pleasant place, with its music
+of parrots and other birds, and the tiger-cats that played like kittens,
+and the deer that ate from the hand.  The women would accept no pay, so
+Ken made them presents.
+
+Once more embarked, Ken found his mood reverting to that of the last
+forty-eight hours. He could not keep cheerful.  The river was dirty and
+the smell sickening.  The sun was like the open door of a furnace.  And
+Ken soon discovered he was tired, utterly tired.
+
+That day was a repetition of the one before, hotter, wearier, and the
+stretches of river were longer, and the natives met in canoes were
+stolidly ignorant of distance.  The mourning of turtle-doves almost
+drove Ken wild.  There were miles and miles of willows, and every tree
+was full of melancholy doves.  At dusk the boys halted on a sand-bar,
+too tired to cook a dinner, and sprawled in the warm sand to sleep like
+logs.
+
+In the morning they brightened up a little, for surely just around the
+bend they would come to Panuco.  Pepe rowed faithfully on, and bend
+after bend lured Ken with deceit. He was filled with weariness and
+disgust, so tired he could hardly lift his hand, so sleepy he could
+scarcely keep his eyes open.  He hated the wide, glassy stretches of
+river and the muddy banks and dusty cattle.
+
+At noon they came unexpectedly upon a cluster of thatched huts, to find
+that they made up the village of Panuco.  Ken was sick, for he had
+expected a little town where they could get some drinking-water and hire
+a launch to speed them down to Tampico.  This appeared little more than
+the other places he had passed, and he climbed up the bank wearily,
+thinking of the long fifty miles still to go.
+
+But Panuco was bigger and better than it looked from the river.  The
+boys found a clean, comfortable inn, where they dined well, and learned
+to their joy that a coach left in an hour for Tamos to meet the
+five-o’clock train to Tampico.
+
+They hired a _mozo_ to row the boat to Tampico and, carrying the lighter
+things, boarded the coach, and, behind six mules, were soon bowling over
+a good level road.
+
+It was here that the spirit of Ken’s mood again changed, and somehow
+seemed subtly conveyed to the others.  The gloom faded away as Ken had
+seen the mist-clouds dissolve in the morning sunlight.  It was the end
+of another wild trip.  Hal was ill, but a rest and proper care would
+soon bring him around.  Ken had some trophies and pictures, but he also
+had memories.  And he believed he had acquired an accurate knowledge of
+the jungle and its wild nature, and he had mapped the river from Micas
+Falls to Panuco.
+
+"Well, it certainly _did come_ to us, didn’t it?" asked George, naïvely,
+for the hundredth time.  "Didn’t I tell you?  By gosh, I can’t remember
+what did come off.  But we had a dandy time."
+
+"Great!" replied Ken.  "I had more than I wanted.  I’ll never spring
+another stunt like this one!"
+
+Hal gazed smilingly at his brother.
+
+"Bah!  Ken Ward, bring on your next old trip!"
+
+Which proved decidedly that Hal was getting better and that he alone
+understood his brother.
+
+Pepe listened and rubbed his big hands, and there was a light in his
+dark eyes.
+
+Ken laughed.  It was good to feel happy just then; it was enough to feel
+safe and glad in the present, with responsibility removed, without a
+thought of the future.
+
+Yet, when some miles across country he saw the little town of Tamos
+shining red-roofed against the sky, he came into his own again. The old
+calling, haunting love of wild places and wild nature returned, and with
+dreamy eyes he looked out.  He saw the same beauty and life and
+wildness.  Beyond the glimmering lagoons stretched the dim, dark jungle.
+A flock of flamingoes showed pink across the water.  Ducks dotted the
+weedy marshes. And low down on the rosy horizon a long curved line of
+wild geese sailed into the sunset.
+
+When the boys arrived at Tampico and George had secured comfortable
+lodgings for them, the first thing Ken did was to put Hal to bed.  It
+required main strength to do this. Ken was not taking any chances with
+tropical fever, and he sent for a doctor.
+
+It was not clear whether the faces Hal made were at the little dried-up
+doctor or at the medicine he administered.  However, it was very clear
+that Hal made fun of him and grew bolder the more he believed the man
+could not understand English.
+
+Ken liked the silent, kindly physician, and remonstrated with Hal, and
+often, just to keep Hal’s mind occupied, he would talk of the university
+and baseball, topics that were absorbing to the boy.
+
+And one day, as the doctor was leaving, he turned to Ken with a twinkle
+in his eyes and said in perfect English: "I won’t need to come any
+more."
+
+Hal’s jaw began to drop.
+
+"Your brother is all right," went on the doctor.  "But he’s a fresh kid,
+and he’ll never make the Wayne Varsity--or a good explorer, either--till
+he gets over that freshness.  I’m a Wayne man myself.  Class of ’82.
+Good day, boys."
+
+Ken Ward was astounded.  "By George! What do you think of that?  He’s a
+Wayne med.  I’ll have to look him up.  And, Hal, he was just right about
+you."
+
+Hal looked extremely crestfallen and remorseful.
+
+"I’m always getting jars."
+
+It took a whole day for him to recover his usual spirits.
+
+Ken had promptly sent the specimens and his notes to his uncle, and as
+the days passed the boys began to look anxiously for some news.  In ten
+days Hal was as well as ever, and then the boys had such sport with the
+tarpon and big sharks and alligator-gars that they almost forgot about
+the rewards they had striven so hard for and hoped to win.  But finally,
+when the mail arrived from home, they were at once happy and fearful.
+George was with them that evening, and shared their excitement and
+suspense.  Hal’s letters were from his mother and his sister, and they
+were read first.  Judge Ward’s letter to Ken was fatherly and
+solicitous, but brief.  He gave the boys six more weeks, cautioned them
+to be sensible and to profit by their opportunity, and he inclosed a
+bank-draft.  Not a word about rewards!
+
+Ken’s fingers trembled a little as he tore open the uncle’s letter.  He
+read it aloud:
+
+
+DEAR KEN,--Congratulations!  You’ve done well. You win the trip to
+Africa.  Hal’s work also was good--several specimens accepted by the
+Smithsonian. I’ll back you for the Yucatan trip.  Will send letters to
+the American consul at Progreso, and arrange for you to meet the
+Austrian archæologist Maler, who I hope will take you in hand.
+
+I want you to make a study of some of the ruins of Yucatan, which I
+believe are as wonderful as any in Egypt.  I advise you to make this
+trip short and to the point, for there are indications of coming
+revolution throughout Mexico.
+
+With best wishes,
+       UNCLE G.
+
+
+The old varsity cheer rang out from Ken, and Hal began a war-dance.
+Then both boys pounced upon George, and for a few moments made life
+miserable for him.
+
+"And I can’t go with you!" he exclaimed, sorrowfully.
+
+Both Ken and Hal shared his disappointment. But presently.  George
+brightened up. The smile came back which he always wore when prophesying
+the uncertain adventures of the future.
+
+"Well, anyway, I’ll be safe home.  And you fellows!  You’ll be getting
+yours when you’re lost in the wilderness of Yucatan!"
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+           *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+                      _*There’s More to Follow!*_
+
+
+More stories of the sort you like; more, probably, by the author of this
+one; more than 500 titles all told by writers of world-wide reputation,
+in the Authors’ Alphabetical List which you will find on the _reverse
+side_ of the wrapper of this book.  Look it over before you lay it
+aside.  There are books here you are sure to want--some, possibly, that
+you have _always_ wanted.
+
+It is a _selected_ list; every book in it has achieved a certain measure
+of success.
+
+The Grosset & Dunlap list is not only the greatest Index of Good Fiction
+available, it represents in addition a generally accepted Standard of
+Value. It will pay you to
+
+_Look on the Other Side of the Wrapper!_
+
+In case the wrapper is lost write to the publishers for a complete
+catalog.
+
+
+
+           *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                          *ZANE GREY’S NOVELS*
+
+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap’s list.
+
+THE CALL OF THE CANYON
+WANDERER OF THE WASTELAND
+TO THE LAST MAN
+THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER
+THE MAN OF THE FOREST
+THE DESERT OF WHEAT
+THE U. P. TRAIL
+WILDFIRE
+THE BORDER LEGION
+THE RAINBOW TRAIL
+THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT
+RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
+THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS
+THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN
+THE LONE STAR RANGER
+DESERT GOLD
+BETTY ZANE
+THE DAY OF THE BEAST
+
+*      *      *      *      *
+
+LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS
+
+The life story of "Buffalo Bill" by his sister Helen Cody Wetmore, with
+Foreword and conclusion by Zane Grey.
+
+
+
+                      *ZANE GREY’S BOOKS FOR BOYS*
+
+KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+THE YOUNG LION HUNTER
+THE YOUNG FORESTER
+THE YOUNG PITCHER
+THE SHORT STOP
+THE RED-HEADED OUTFIELD AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                       *NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE*
+
+                        *WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE*
+
+  May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap’s list
+
+BIG-TOWN ROUND-UP, THE
+BRAND BLOTTERS
+BUCKY O’CONNOR
+CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT
+DAUGHTER OF THE DONS, A
+DESERT’S PRICE, THE
+FIGHTING EDGE, THE
+GUNSIGHT PASS
+HIGHGRADER, THE
+IRONHEART
+MAN FOUR-SQUARE, A
+MAN-SIZE
+MAVERICKS
+OH, YOU TEX!
+PIRATE OF PANAMA, THE
+RIDGWAY OF MONTANA
+SHERIFF’S SON, THE
+STEVE YEAGER
+TANGLED TRAILS
+TEXAS RANGER, A
+VISION SPLENDID, THE
+WYOMING
+YUKON TRAIL, THE
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                        *JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD’S*
+
+                         *STORIES OF ADVENTURE*
+
+  May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap’s list
+
+THE COUNTRY BEYOND
+THE FLAMING FOREST
+THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN
+THE RIVER’S END
+THE GOLDEN SNARE
+NOMADS OF THE NORTH
+KAZAN
+BAREE, SON OF KAZAN
+THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM
+THE DANGER TRAIL
+THE HUNTED WOMAN
+THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH
+THE GRIZZLY KING
+ISOBEL
+THE WOLF HUNTERS
+THE GOLD HUNTERS
+THE COURAGE OF MARGE O’DOONE
+BACK TO GOD’S COUNTRY
+
+_Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                     *EDGAR RICE BURROUGH’S NOVELS*
+
+ May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap’s list
+
+BANDIT OF HELL’S BEND, THE
+CAVE GIRL, THE
+LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE
+TARZAN AND THE ANT MEN
+TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION
+TARZAN THE TERRIBLE
+TARZAN THE UNTAMED
+JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN
+AT THE EARTH’S CORE
+THE MUCKER
+A PRINCESS OF MARS
+THE GODS OF MARS
+THE WARLORD OF MARS
+THUVIA, MAID OF MARS
+THE CHESSMEN OF MARS
+
+
+
+                *GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK*
+
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE ***
+
+
+
+
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+                         KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+
+
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost
+no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
+under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
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+
+
+
+Title: Ken Ward in the Jungle
+Author: Zane Grey
+Release Date: June 14, 2014 [EBook #45974]
+Language: English
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Cover art]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page 182)]
+
+
+
+
+                                KEN WARD
+                             IN THE JUNGLE
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+                               ZANE GREY
+
+                               AUTHOR OF
+                          THE YOUNG FORESTER,
+                           THE YOUNG PITCHER,
+                         THE YOUNG LION HUNTER,
+                         THE U. P. TRAIL, ETC.
+
+
+
+                              ILLUSTRATED
+
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                            GROSSET & DUNLAP
+                               PUBLISHERS
+
+            Published by Arrangement with Harper & Brothers
+                  Made in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+                 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY HARPER & BROTHERS
+
+                PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+                               *CONTENTS*
+
+CHAP.
+
+      I. The Prize
+     II. The Home of the Tarpon
+    III. An Indian Boatman
+     IV. At the Jungle River
+      V. The First Camp
+     VI. Wilderness Life
+    VII. Running the Rapids
+   VIII. The First Tiger-cat
+     IX. In the White Water
+      X. Lost!
+     XI. An Army of Snakes
+    XII. Catching Strange Fish
+   XIII. A Turkey-Hunt
+    XIV. A Fight with a Jaguar
+     XV. The Vicious Garrapatoes
+    XVI. Field Work of a Naturalist
+   XVII. A Mixed-up Tiger-hunt
+  XVIII. Watching a Runway
+    XIX. Adventures with Crocodiles
+     XX. Treed by Wild Pigs
+    XXI. The Leaping Tarpon
+   XXII. Stricken Down
+  XXIII. Out of the Jungle
+
+
+
+
+                        *KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE*
+
+
+
+                                  *I*
+
+                              *THE PRIZE*
+
+
+"What a change from the Arizona desert!"
+
+The words broke from the lips of Ken Ward as he leaned from the window
+of the train which was bearing his brother and himself over the plateau
+to Tampico in Tamaulipas, the southeastern state of Mexico.  He had
+caught sight of a river leaping out between heavily wooded slopes and
+plunging down in the most beautiful waterfall he had ever seen.
+
+"Look, Hal," he cried.
+
+The first fall was a long white streak, ending in a dark pool; below
+came cascade after cascade, fall after fall, some wide, others narrow,
+and all white and green against the yellow rock.  Then the train curved
+round a spur of the mountain, descended to a level, to be lost in a
+luxuriance of jungle growth.
+
+It was indeed a change for Ken Ward, young forester, pitcher of the
+varsity nine at school, and hunter of lions in the Arizona ca�ons.  Here
+he was entering the jungle of the tropics.  The rifles and the camp
+outfit on the seat beside his brother Hal and himself spoke of coming
+adventures.  Before them lay an unknown wilderness--the semi-tropical
+jungle.  And the future was to show that the mystery of the jungle was
+stranger even than their imaginings.
+
+It was not love of adventure alone or interest in the strange new forest
+growths that had drawn Ken to the jungle.  His uncle, the one who had
+gotten Ken letters from the Forestry Department at Washington, had been
+proud of Ken's Arizona achievements. This uncle was a member of the
+American Geographical Society and a fellow of the New York Museum of
+Natural History.  He wanted Ken to try his hand at field work in the
+jungle of Mexico, and if that was successful, then to explore the ruined
+cities of wild Yucatan. If Ken made good as an explorer his reward was
+to be a trip to Equatorial Africa after big game.  And of course that
+trip meant opportunity to see England and France, and, what meant more
+to Ken, a chance to see the great forests of Germany, where forestry had
+been carried on for three hundred years.
+
+In spite of the fact that the inducement was irresistible, and that
+Ken's father was as proud and eager as Ken's uncle to have him make a
+name for himself, and that Hal would be allowed to go with him, Ken had
+hesitated.  There was the responsibility for Hal and the absolute
+certainty that Hal could not keep out of mischief.  Still Ken simply
+could not have gone to Mexico leaving his brother at home
+broken-hearted.
+
+At last the thing had been decided.  It was Hal's ambition to be a
+naturalist and to collect specimens, and the uncle had held out possible
+recognition from the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.  Perhaps he
+might find a new variety of some animal to which the scientists would
+attach his name.  Then the lad was passionately eager to see Ken win
+that trip to Africa.  There had been much study of maps and books of
+travel, science, and natural history.  There had been the most careful
+instruction and equipment for semi-tropical camp life.  The uncle had
+given Ken valuable lessons in map-drawing, in estimating distance and
+topography, and he had indicated any one of several rivers in the jungle
+belt of Mexico. Traversing one hundred miles of unknown jungle river,
+with intelligent observation and accurate reports, would win the prize
+for Ken Ward.  Now the race was on.  Would Ken win?
+
+Presently the train crossed a bridge.  Ken Ward had a brief glance at
+clear green water, at great cypress-trees, gray and graceful with long,
+silvery, waving moss, and at the tangled, colorful banks.  A water-fowl
+black as coal, with white-crested wings, skimmed the water in swift wild
+flight, to disappear up the shady river-lane.  Then the train clattered
+on, and, a mile or more beyond the bridge, stopped at a station called
+Valles.  In the distance could be seen the thatched palm-leaf huts and
+red-tiled roofs of a hamlet.
+
+The boys got out to stretch their legs.  The warm, sweet, balmy air was
+a new and novel thing to them.  They strolled up and down the gravel
+walk, watching the natives.  Hal said he rather liked the looks of their
+brown bare feet and the thin cotton trousers and shirts, but he fancied
+the enormous sombreros were too heavy and unwieldy.  Ken spoke to
+several pleasant-faced Mexicans, each of whom replied: "No sabe, Se�or."
+
+The ticket agent at the station was an American, and from the way he
+smiled and spoke Ken knew he was more than glad to see one of his own
+kind.  So, after Ken had replied to many questions about the States, he
+began to ask some of his own.
+
+"What's the name of the waterfall we passed?"
+
+"Micas Falls," replied the agent.
+
+"And the river?"
+
+"It's called the Santa Rosa."
+
+"Where does it go?"
+
+The agent did not know, except that it disappeared in the jungle.
+Southward the country was wild.  The villages were few and all along the
+railroad; and at Valles the river swung away to the southwest.
+
+"But it must flow into the Panuco River," said Ken.  He had studied maps
+of Mexico and had learned all that it was possible to learn before he
+undertook the journey.
+
+"Why, yes, it must find the Panuco somewhere down over the mountain,"
+answered the agent.
+
+"Then there are rapids in this little river?" asked Ken, in growing
+interest.
+
+"Well, I guess.  It's all rapids."
+
+"How far to Tampico by rail?" went on Ken.
+
+"Something over a hundred miles."
+
+"Any game in the jungle hereabouts--or along the Santa Rosa?" continued
+Ken.
+
+The man laughed, and laughed in such a way that Ken did not need his
+assertion that it was not safe to go into the jungle.
+
+Whereupon Ken Ward became so thoughtful that he did not hear the talk
+that followed between the agent and Hal.  The engine bell roused him
+into action, and with Hal he hurried back to their seats.  And then the
+train sped on.  But the beauty of Micas Falls and the wildness of the
+Santa Rosa remained with Ken.  Where did that river go?  How many
+waterfalls and rapids did it have?  What teeming life must be along its
+rich banks!  It haunted Ken.  He wanted to learn the mystery of the
+jungle.  There was the same longing which had gotten him into the wild
+adventures in Penetier Forest and the Grand Ca�on country of Arizona.
+And all at once flashed over him the thought that here was the jungle
+river for him to explore.
+
+"Why, that's the very thing," he said, thinking aloud.
+
+"What's wrong with you," asked Hal, "talking to yourself that way?"
+
+Ken did not explain.  The train clattered between green walls of jungle,
+and occasionally stopped at a station.  But the thought of the jungle
+haunted him until the train arrived at Tampico.
+
+Ken had the name of an American hotel, and that was all he knew about
+Tampico. The station was crowded with natives.  Man after man accosted
+the boys, jabbering excitedly in Mexican.  Some of these showed brass
+badges bearing a number and the word _Cargodore_.
+
+"Hal, I believe these fellows are porters or baggage-men," said Ken.
+And he showed his trunk check to one of them.  The fellow jerked it out
+of Ken's hand and ran off. The boys ran after him.  They were relieved
+to see him enter a shed full of baggage.  And they were amazed to see
+him kneel down and take their trunk on his back.  It was a big trunk and
+heavy.  The man was small and light.
+
+"It 'll smash him!" cried Hal.
+
+But the little _cargodore_ walked off with the trunk on his back.  Then
+Ken and Hal saw other _cargodores_ packing trunks.  The boys kept close
+to their man and used their eyes with exceeding interest.  The sun was
+setting, and the square, colored buildings looked as if they were in a
+picture of Spain.
+
+"Look at the boats--canoes!" cried Hal, as they crossed a canal.
+
+Ken saw long narrow canoes that had been hollowed out from straight
+tree-trunks.  They were of every size, and some of the paddles were
+enormous.  Crowds of natives were jabbering and jostling each other at a
+rude wharf.
+
+"Look back," called Hal, who seemed to have a hundred eyes.
+
+Ken saw a wide, beautiful river, shining red in the sunset.  Palm-trees
+on the distant shore showed black against the horizon.
+
+"Hal, that's the Panuco.  What a river!"
+
+"Makes the Susquehanna look like a creek," was Hal's comment.
+
+The _cargodore_ led the boys through a plaza, down a narrow street to
+the hotel.  Here they were made to feel at home.  The proprietor was a
+kindly American.  The hotel was crowded, and many of the guests were
+Englishmen there for the tarpon-fishing, with sportsmen from the States,
+and settlers coming in to take up new lands.  It was pleasant for Ken
+and Hal to hear their own language once more.  After dinner they sallied
+forth to see the town.  But the narrow dark streets and the blanketed
+natives stealing silently along were not particularly inviting.  The
+boys got no farther than the plaza, where they sat down on a bench.  It
+was wholly different from any American town.  Ken suspected that Hal was
+getting homesick, for the boy was quiet and inactive.
+
+"I don't like this place," said Hal.  "What 'd you ever want to drag me
+way down here for?"
+
+"Humph! drag you?  Say, you pestered the life out of me, and bothered
+Dad till he was mad, and worried mother sick to let you come on this
+trip."
+
+Hal hung his head.
+
+"Now, you're not going to show a streak of yellow?" asked Ken.  He knew
+how to stir his brother.
+
+Hal rose to the attack and scornfully repudiated the insinuation.  Ken
+replied that they were in a new country and must not reach conclusions
+too hastily.
+
+"I liked it back up there at the little village where we saw the green
+river and the big trees with the gray streamers on them," said Hal.
+
+"Well, I liked that myself," rejoined Ken. "I'd like to go back there
+and put a boat in the river and come all the way here."
+
+Ken had almost unconsciously expressed the thought that had been forming
+in his mind.  Hal turned slowly and looked at his brother.
+
+"Ken, that 'd be great--that's what we came for!"
+
+"I should say so," replied Ken.
+
+"Well?" asked Hal, simply.
+
+That question annoyed Ken.  Had he not come south to go into the jungle?
+Had he come with any intention of shirking the danger of a wild trip?
+There was a subtle flattery in Hal's question.
+
+"That Santa Rosa River runs through the jungle," went on Hal.  "It flows
+into the Panuco somewhere.  You know we figured out on the map that the
+Panuco's the only big river in this jungle.  That's all we want to know.
+And, Ken, you know you're a born boatman.  Why, look at the rapids we've
+shot on the Susquehanna.  Remember that trip we came down the Juniata?
+The water was high, too.  Ken, you can take a boat down that Santa
+Rosa!"
+
+"By George!  I believe I can," exclaimed Ken, and he thrilled at the
+thought.
+
+"Ken, let's go.  You'll win the prize, and I'll get specimens.  Think
+what we'd have to tell Jim Williams and Dick Leslie when we go West next
+summer!"
+
+"Oh, Hal, I know--but this idea of a trip seems too wild."
+
+"Maybe it wouldn't be so wild."
+
+In all fairness Ken could not deny this, so he kept silent.
+
+"Ken, listen," went on Hal, and now he was quite cool.  "If we'd
+promised the Governor not to take a wild trip I wouldn't say another
+word.  But we're absolutely free."
+
+"That's why we ought to be more careful. Dad trusts me."
+
+"He trusts you because he knows you can take care of yourself, and me,
+too.  You're a wonder, Ken.  Why, if you once made up your mind, you'd
+make that Santa Rosa River look like a canal."
+
+Ken began to fear that he would not be proof against the haunting call
+of that jungle river and the flattering persuasion of his brother and
+the ever-present ambition to show his uncle what he could do.
+
+"Hal, if I didn't have you with me I'd already have made up my mind to
+tackle this river."
+
+That appeared to insult Hal.
+
+"All I've got to say is I'd be a help to you--not a drag," he said, with
+some warmth.
+
+"You're always a help, Hal.  I can't say anything against your
+willingness.  But you know your weakness.  By George! you made trouble
+enough for me in Arizona.  On a trip such as this you'd drive me crazy."
+
+"Ken, I won't make any rash promises. I don't want to queer myself with
+you. But I'm all right."
+
+"Look here, Hal; let's wait.  We've only got to Tampico.  Maybe such a
+trip is impracticable--impossible.  Let's find out more about the
+country."
+
+Hal appeared to take this in good spirit. The boys returned to the hotel
+and went to bed.  Hal promptly fell asleep.  But Ken Ward lay awake a
+long time thinking of the green Santa Rosa, with its magnificent
+moss-festooned cypresses.  And when he did go to sleep it was to dream
+of the beautiful waterfowl with the white-crested wings, and he was
+following it on its wild flight down the dark, mysterious river-trail
+into the jungle.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *II*
+
+                        *THE HOME OF THE TARPON*
+
+
+Hal's homesickness might never have been in evidence at all, to judge
+from the way the boy, awakening at dawn, began to talk about the Santa
+Rosa trip.
+
+"Well," said Ken, as he rolled out of bed, "I guess we're in for it."
+
+"Ken, will we go?" asked Hal, eagerly.
+
+"I'm on the fence."
+
+"But you're leaning on the jungle side?"
+
+"Yes, kid--I'm slipping."
+
+Hal opened his lips to let out a regular Hiram Bent yell, when Ken
+clapped a hand over his mouth.
+
+"Hold on--we're in the hotel yet."
+
+It took the brothers long to dress, because they could not keep away
+from the window. The sun was rising in rosy glory over misty lagoons.
+Clouds of creamy mist rolled above the broad Panuco.  Wild ducks were
+flying low.  The tiled roofs of the stone houses gleamed brightly, and
+the palm-trees glistened with dew.  The soft breeze that blew in was
+warm, sweet, and fragrant.
+
+After breakfast the boys went out to the front and found the hotel lobby
+full of fishermen and their native boatmen.  It was an interesting
+sight, as well as a surprise, for Ken and Hal did not know that Tampico
+was as famous for fishing as it was for hunting.  The huge rods and
+reels amazed them.
+
+"What kind of fish do these fellows fish for?" asked Hal.
+
+Ken was well enough acquainted with sport to know something about
+tarpon, but he had never seen one of the great silver fish. And he was
+speechless when Hal led him into a room upon the walls of which were
+mounted specimens of tarpon from six to seven feet in length and half as
+wide as a door.
+
+"Say, Ken!  We've come to the right place.  Those fishermen are all
+going out to fish for such whales as these here."
+
+"Hal, we never saw a big fish before," said Ken.  "And before we leave
+Tampico we'll know what it means to hook tarpon."
+
+"I'm with you," replied Hal, gazing doubtfully and wonderingly at a fish
+almost twice as big as himself.
+
+Then Ken, being a practical student of fishing, as of other kinds of
+sport, began to stroll round the lobby with an intent to learn. He
+closely scrutinized the tackle.  And he found that the bait used was a
+white mullet six to ten inches long, a little fish which resembled the
+chub.  Ken did not like the long, cruel gaff which seemed a necessary
+adjunct to each outfit of tackle, and he vowed that in his fishing for
+tarpon he would dispense with it.
+
+Ken was not backward about asking questions, and he learned that
+Tampico, during the winter months, was a rendezvous for sportsmen from
+all over the world.  For the most part, they came to catch the leaping
+tarpon; the shooting along the Panuco, however, was as well worth while
+as the fishing. But Ken could not learn anything about the Santa Rosa
+River.  The _tierra caliente_, or hot belt, along the curve of the Gulf
+was intersected by small streams, many of them unknown and unnamed.  The
+Panuco swung round to the west and had its source somewhere up in the
+mountains.  Ken decided that the Santa Rosa was one of its headwaters.
+Valles lay up on the first swell of higher ground, and was distant from
+Tampico some six hours by train.  So, reckoning with the meandering
+course of jungle streams, Ken calculated he would have something like
+one hundred and seventy-five miles to travel by water from Valles to
+Tampico. There were Indian huts strung along the Panuco River, and fifty
+miles inland a village named Panuco.  What lay between Panuco and
+Valles, up over the wild steppes of that jungle, Ken Ward could only
+conjecture.
+
+Presently he came upon Hal in conversation with an American boy, who at
+once volunteered to show them around.  So they set out, and were soon
+becoming well acquainted.  Their guide said he was from Kansas; had been
+working in the railroad offices for two years; and was now taking a
+vacation.  His name was George Alling. Under his guidance the boys spent
+several interesting hours going about the city. During this walk Hal
+showed his first tendency to revert to his natural bent of mind.  Not
+for long could Hal Ward exist without making trouble for something.  In
+this case it was buzzards, of which the streets of Tampico were full.
+In fact, George explained, the buzzards were the only street-cleaning
+department in the town.  They were as tame as tame turkeys, and Hal
+could not resist the desire to chase them.  And he could be made to stop
+only after a white-helmeted officer had threatened him.  George
+explained further that although Tampico had no game-laws it protected
+these buzzard-scavengers of the streets.
+
+The market-house at the canal wharf was one place where Ken thought Hal
+would forget himself in the bustle and din and color. All was so strange
+and new.  Indeed, for a time Hal appeared to be absorbed in his
+surroundings, but when he came to a stall where a man had parrots and
+racoons and small deer, and three little yellow, black-spotted
+tiger-cats, as George called them, then once more Ken had to take Hal in
+tow.  Outside along the wharf were moored a hundred or more canoes of
+manifold variety.  All had been hewn from solid tree-trunks.  Some were
+long, slender, graceful, pretty to look at, and easy to handle in
+shallow lagoons, but Ken thought them too heavy and cumbersome for fast
+water.  Happening just then to remember Micas Falls, Ken had a momentary
+chill and a check to his enthusiasm for the jungle trip.  What if he
+encountered, in coming down the Santa Rosa, some such series of cascades
+as those which made Micas Falls!
+
+It was about noon when George led the boys out to the banks of the broad
+Panuco. Both Hal and Ken were suffering from the heat.  They had removed
+their coats, and were now very glad to rest in the shade.
+
+"This is a nice cool day," said George, and he looked cool.
+
+"We've got on our heavy clothes, and this tropic sun is new to us,"
+replied Ken.  "Say, Hal--"
+
+A crash in the water near the shore interrupted Ken.
+
+"Was that a rhinoceros?" inquired Hal.
+
+"Savalo," said George.
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"Silver king.  A tarpon.  Look around and you'll see one break water.
+There are some fishermen trolling down-stream.  Watch. Maybe one will
+hook a fish presently.  Then you'll see some jumping."
+
+It was cool in the shade, as the brothers soon discovered, and they
+spent a delightful hour watching the river and the wild fowl and the
+tarpon.  Ken and Hal were always lucky.  Things happened for their
+benefit and pleasure.  Not only did they see many tarpon swirl like bars
+of silver on the water, but a fisherman hooked one of the great fish not
+fifty yards from where the boys sat. And they held their breath, and
+with starting eyes watched the marvelous leaps and dashes of the tarpon
+till, as he shot up in a last mighty effort, wagging his head, slapping
+his huge gills, and flinging the hook like a bullet, he plunged back
+free.
+
+"Nine out of ten get away," remarked George.
+
+"Did you ever catch one?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sure."
+
+"Hal, I've got to have some of this fishing," said Ken.  "But if we
+start at it now--would we ever get that jungle trip?"
+
+"Oh, Ken, you've made up your mind to go!" exclaimed Hal, in glee.
+
+"No, I haven't," protested Ken.
+
+"Yes, you have," declared Hal.  "I know you."  And the whoop that he had
+suppressed in the hotel he now let out with good measure.
+
+Naturally George was interested, and at his inquiry Ken told him the
+idea for the Santa Rosa trip.
+
+"Take me along," said George.  There was a note of American spirit in
+his voice, a laugh on his lips, and a flash in his eyes that made Ken
+look at him attentively.  He was a slim youth, not much Hal's senior,
+and Ken thought if ever a boy had been fashioned to be a boon comrade of
+Hal Ward this George Alling was the boy.
+
+"What do you think of the trip?" inquired Ken, curiously.
+
+"Fine.  We'll have some fun.  We'll get a boat and a mozo--"
+
+"What's a mozo?"
+
+"A native boatman."
+
+"That's a good idea.  I hadn't thought of a boatman to help row.  But
+the boat is the particular thing.  I wouldn't risk a trip in one of
+those canoes."
+
+"Come on, I'll find a boat," said George.
+
+And before he knew it George and Hal were leading him back from the
+river.  George led him down narrow lanes, between painted stone houses
+and iron-barred windows, till they reached the canal.  They entered a
+yard where buzzards, goats, and razor-back pigs were contesting over the
+scavenger rights. George went into a boat-house and pointed out a long,
+light, wide skiff with a flat bottom. Ken did not need George's praise,
+or the shining light in Hal's eyes, or the boat-keeper's importunities
+to make him eager to try this particular boat.  Ken Ward knew a boat
+when he saw one.  He jumped in, shoved it out, rowed up the canal,
+pulled and turned, backed water, and tried every stroke he knew.  Then
+he rested on the oars and whistled.  Hal's shout of delight made him
+stop whistling.  Those two boys would have him started on the trip if he
+did not look sharp.
+
+"It's a dandy boat," said Ken.
+
+"Only a peso a day, Ken," went on Hal. "One dollar Mex--fifty cents in
+our money. Quick, Ken, hire it before somebody else gets it."
+
+"Sure I'll hire the boat," replied Ken; "but Hal, it's not for that
+Santa Rosa trip.  We'll have to forget that."
+
+"Forget your grandmother!" cried Hal. And then it was plain that he
+tried valiantly to control himself, to hide his joy, to pretend to agree
+with Ken's ultimatum.
+
+Ken had a feeling that his brother knew him perfectly, and he was
+divided between anger and amusement.  They returned to the hotel and
+lounged in the lobby.  The proprietor was talking with some Americans,
+and as he now appeared to be at leisure he introduced the brothers and
+made himself agreeable.  Moreover, he knew George Alling well.  They
+began to chat, and Ken was considerably annoyed to hear George calmly
+state that he and his new-found friends intended to send a boat up to
+Valles and come down an unknown jungle river.
+
+The proprietor laughed, and, though the laugh was not unpleasant,
+somehow it nettled Ken Ward.
+
+"Why not go?" he asked, quietly, and he looked at the hotel man.
+
+"My boy, you can't undertake any trip like that."
+
+"Why not?" persisted Ken.  "Is there any law here to prevent our going
+into the jungle?"
+
+"There's no law.  No one could stop you. But, my lad, what's the sense
+of taking such a fool trip?  The river here is full of tarpon right now.
+There are millions of ducks and geese on the lagoons.  You can shoot
+deer and wild turkey right on the edge of town. If you want tiger and
+javelin, go out to one of the ranches where they have dogs to hunt with,
+where you'll have a chance for your life.  These tigers and boars will
+kill a man. There's all the sport any one wants right close to Tampico."
+
+"I don't see how all that makes a reason why we shouldn't come down the
+Santa Rosa," replied Ken.  "We want to explore--map the river."
+
+The hotel man seemed nettled in return.
+
+"You're only kids.  It 'd be crazy to start out on that wild trip."
+
+It was on Ken's lips to mention a few of the adventures which he
+believed justly gave him a right to have pride and confidence in his
+ability.  But he forbore.
+
+"It's a fool trip," continued the proprietor. "You don't know this
+river.  You don't know where you'll come out.  It's wild up in that
+jungle.  I've hunted up at Valles, and no native I ever met would go a
+mile from the village.  If you take a mozo he'll get soaked with canya.
+He'll stick a knife in you or run off and leave you when you most need
+help.  Nobody ever explored that river.  It 'll likely be full of
+swamps, sandbars, bogs.  You'd get fever.  Then the crocodiles, the
+boars, the bats, the snakes, the tigers!  Why, if you could face these
+you'd still have the ticks--the worst of all.  The ticks would drive men
+crazy, let alone boys. It's no undertaking for a boy."
+
+The mention of all these dangers would have tipped the balance for Ken
+in favor of the Santa Rosa trip, even if the hint of his callowness had
+not roused his spirit.
+
+"Thank you.  I'm sure you mean kindly," said Ken.  "But I'm going to
+Valles and I'll come down that jungle river."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *III*
+
+                          *AN INDIAN BOATMAN*
+
+
+The moment the decision was made Ken felt both sorry and glad.  He got
+the excited boys outside away from the critical and anxious proprietor.
+And Ken decided it was incumbent upon him to adopt a serious and
+responsible manner, which he was far from feeling.  So he tried to be as
+cool as Hiram Bent, with a fatherly interest in the two wild boys who
+were to accompany him down the Santa Rosa.
+
+"Now, George, steer us around till we find a mozo," said Ken.  "Then
+we'll buy an outfit and get started on this trip before you can say Jack
+Robinson."
+
+All the mozos the boys interviewed were eager to get work; however, when
+made acquainted with the nature of the trip they refused point blank.
+
+"Tigre!" exclaimed one.
+
+"Javelin!" exclaimed another.
+
+The big spotted jaguar of the jungle and the wild boar, or peccary, were
+held in much dread by the natives.
+
+"These natives will climb a tree at sight of a tiger or pig," said
+George.  "For my part I'm afraid of the garrapatoes and the pinilius."
+
+"What 're they?" asked Hal.
+
+"Ticks--jungle ticks.  Just wait till you make their acquaintance."
+
+Finally the boys met a _mozo_ named Pepe, who had often rowed a boat for
+George. Pepe looked sadly in need of a job; still he did not ask for it.
+George said that Pepe had been one of the best boatmen on the river
+until _canya_, the fiery white liquor to which the natives were
+addicted, had ruined his reputation.  Pepe wore an old sombrero, a
+cotton, shirt and sash, and ragged trousers. He was barefooted.  Ken
+noted the set of his muscular neck, his brawny shoulders and arms, and
+appreciated the years of rowing that had developed them.  But Pepe's
+haggard face, deadened eyes, and listless manner gave Ken pause.  Still,
+Ken reflected, there was never any telling what a man might do, if
+approached right.  Pepe's dejection excited Ken's sympathy.  So Ken
+clapped him on the shoulder, and, with George acting as interpreter,
+offered Pepe work for several weeks at three pesos a day.  That was more
+than treble the _mozo's_ wage.  Pepe nearly fell off the canal bridge,
+where he was sitting, and a light as warm and bright as sunshine flashed
+into his face.
+
+"Si, Se�or--Si, Se�or," he began to jabber, and waved his brown hands.
+
+Ken suspected that Pepe needed a job and a little kind treatment.  He
+was sure of it when George said Pepe's wife and children were in want.
+Somehow Ken conceived a liking for Pepe, and believed he could trust
+him.  He thought he knew how to deal with poor Pepe.  So he gave him
+money, told him to get a change of clothes and a pair of shoes, and come
+to the hotel next day.
+
+"He'll spend the money for canya, and not show up to-morrow," said
+George.
+
+"I don't know anything about your natives, but that fellow will come,"
+declared Ken.
+
+It appeared that the whole American colony in Tampico had been
+acquainted with Ken Ward's project, and made a business to waylay the
+boys at each corner.  They called the trip a wild-goose chase.  They
+declared it was a dime-novel idea, and could hardly take Ken seriously.
+They mingled astonishment with amusement and concern.  They advised Ken
+not to go, and declared they would not let him go.  Over and over again
+the boys were assured of the peril from ticks, bats, boars, crocodiles,
+snakes, tigers, and fevers.
+
+"That's what I'm taking the trip for," snapped Ken, driven to
+desperation by all this nagging.
+
+"Well, young man, I admire your nerve," concluded the hotel man.  "If
+you're determined to go, we can't stop you.  And there's some things we
+would like you to find out for us.  How far do tarpon run up the Panuco
+River?  Do they spawn up there? How big are the new-born fish?  I'll
+furnish you with tackle and preserved mullet, for bait.  We've always
+wondered about how far tarpon go up into fresh water.  Keep your eye
+open for signs of oil.  Also look at the timber.  And be sure to make a
+map of the river."
+
+When it came to getting the boat shipped the boys met with more
+obstacles.  But for the friendly offices of a Texan, an employee of the
+railroad, they would never have been able to convince the native
+shipping agent that a boat was merchandise.  The Texan arranged the
+matter and got Ken a freight bill.  He took an entirely different view
+of Ken's enterprise, compared with that of other Americans, and in a
+cool, drawling voice, which somehow reminded Ken of Jim Williams, he
+said:
+
+"Shore you-all will have the time of your lives.  I worked at Valles for
+a year. That jungle is full of game.  I killed three big tigers.
+You-all want to look out for those big yellow devils.  One in every
+three will jump for a man.  There's nothing but shoot, then.  And the
+wild pigs are bad. They put me up a tree more than once. I don't know
+much about the Santa Rosa. Its source is above Micas Falls.  Never heard
+where it goes.  I know it's full of crocodiles and rapids.  Never saw a
+boat or a canoe at Valles.  And say--there are big black snakes in the
+jungle.  Look out for them, too. Shore you-all have sport a-comin'."
+
+Ken thanked the Texan, and as he went on up-street, for all his sober
+thoughtfulness, he was as eager as Hal or George.  However, his position
+as their guardian would not permit any show of extravagant enthusiasm.
+
+Ken bought blankets, cooking utensils, and supplies for three weeks.
+There was not such a thing as a tent in Tampico.  The best the boys
+could get for a shelter was a long strip of canvas nine feet wide.
+
+"That 'll keep off the wet," said Ken, "but it won't keep out the
+mosquitoes and things."
+
+"Couldn't keep 'em out if we had six tents," replied George.
+
+The remainder of that day the boys were busy packing the outfit.
+
+Pepe presented himself at the hotel next morning an entirely different
+person.  He was clean-shaven, and no longer disheveled.  He wore a new
+sombrero, a white cotton shirt, a red sash, and blue trousers.  He
+earned a small bundle, a pair of shoes, and a long _machete_.  The
+dignity with which he approached before all the other _mozos_ was not
+lost upon Ken Ward.  A sharp scrutiny satisfied him that Pepe had not
+been drinking.  Ken gave him several errands to do. Then he ordered the
+outfit taken to the station in Pepe's charge.
+
+The boys went down early in the afternoon. It was the time when the
+_mozos_ were returning from the day's tarpon-fishing on the river, and
+they, with the _cargodores_, streamed to and fro on the platform.  Pepe
+was there standing guard over Ken's outfit.  He had lost his fame among
+his old associates, and for long had been an outsider.  Here he was in
+charge of a pile of fine guns, fishing-tackle, baggage, and supplies--a
+collection representing a fortune to him and his simple class. He had
+been trusted with it.  It was under his eye.  All his old associates
+passed by to see him there.  That was a great time for Pepe.  He looked
+bright, alert, and supremely happy.  It would have fared ill with
+thieves or loafers who would have made themselves free with any of the
+articles under his watchful eye.
+
+The train pulled out of Tampico at five o'clock, and Hal's "We're off!"
+was expressive.
+
+The railroad lay along the river-bank, and the broad Panuco was rippling
+with the incoming tide.  If Ken and Hal had not already found George to
+be invaluable as a companion in this strange country they would have
+discovered it then.  For George could translate Pepe's talk, and explain
+much that otherwise would have been dark to the brothers.  Wild ducks
+dotted the green surface, and spurts showed where playful _ravalo_ were
+breaking water.  Great green-backed tarpon rolled their silver sides
+against the little waves.  White cranes and blue herons stood like
+statues upon the reedy bars.  Low down over the opposite bank of the
+river a long line of wild geese winged its way toward a shimmering
+lagoon.  And against the gold and crimson of the sunset sky a flight of
+wild fowl stood out in bold black relief.  The train crossed the Tamesi
+River and began to draw away from the Panuco.  On the right, wide
+marshes, gleaming purple in the darkening light, led the eye far beyond
+to endless pale lagoons.  Birds of many kinds skimmed the weedy flats.
+George pointed out a flock of aigrets, the beautiful wild fowl with the
+priceless plumes.  Then there was a string of pink flamingoes, tall,
+grotesque, wading along with waddling stride, feeding with heads under
+water.
+
+"Great!" exclaimed Ken Ward.
+
+"It's all so different from Arizona," said Hal.
+
+At Tamos, twelve miles out of Tampico, the train entered the jungle.
+Thereafter the boys could see nothing but the impenetrable green walls
+that lined the track.  At dusk the train reached a station called Las
+Palmas, and then began to ascend the first step of the mountain.  The
+ascent was steep, and, when it was accomplished, Ken looked down and
+decided that step of the mountain was between two and three thousand
+feet high.  The moon was in its first quarter, and Ken, studying this
+tropical moon, found it large, radiant, and a wonderful green-gold. It
+shed a soft luminous glow down upon the sleeping, tangled web of jungle.
+It was new and strange to Ken, so vastly different from barren desert or
+iron-ribbed ca�on, and it thrilled him with nameless charm.
+
+The train once more entered jungle walls, and as the boys could not see
+anything out of the windows they lay back in their seats and waited for
+the ride to end.  They were due at Valles at ten o'clock, and the
+impatient Hal complained that they would never get there.  At length a
+sharp whistle from the engine caused Pepe to turn to the boys with a
+smile.
+
+"Valles," he said.
+
+With rattle and clank the train came to a halt.  Ken sent George and
+Pepe out, and he and Hal hurriedly handed the luggage through the open
+window.  When the last piece had been passed into Pepe's big hands the
+boys made a rush for the door, and jumped off as the train started.
+
+"Say, but it's dark," said Hal.
+
+As the train with its lights passed out of sight Ken found himself in
+what seemed a pitchy blackness.  He could not see the boys. And he felt
+a little cold sinking of his heart at the thought of such black nights
+on an unknown jungle river.
+
+IV
+
+AT THE JUNGLE RIVER
+
+Presently, as Ken's eyes became accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of chattering natives, with wide
+sombreros on their heads and blankets over their shoulders, moved round
+the little stone station.  Visitors were rare in Valles, as was
+manifested by the curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile of luggage.
+
+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for the night," said Ken to
+George.
+
+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon was lost in the crowd.
+Awhile after, as Ken was making up his mind they might have to camp on
+the station platform, a queer low 'bus drawn by six little mules creaked
+up. Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and began to stow the
+luggage away in the 'bus. Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The soft voices of natives greeted
+their passing.
+
+Valles appeared to be about a mile from the station, and as they entered
+the village Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here and there a
+more pretentious habitation of stone.  At length the driver halted
+before a rambling house, partly stone and partly thatch.  There were no
+lights; in fact, Ken did not see a light in the village.  George told
+the boys to take what luggage each could carry and follow the guide.
+Inside the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The boys bumped into
+things and fell over each other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed to a kind of loft, where the
+moonlight streamed in at the open sides.
+
+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal, who had struggled with a heavy
+load of luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to fetch up the remainder
+of the outfit.  Ken thought it best to stand still until he knew just
+where he was.  But Hal and George began moving about in the loft.  It
+was very large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full of objects.  Hal
+jostled into something which creaked and fell with a crash.  Then
+followed a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and a scuffling
+about.
+
+"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.
+
+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward. "One thing--I busted my shin."
+
+"He knocked over a bed with some one sleeping in it," said George.
+
+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon soothed the injured feelings of
+the native who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then led the boys to
+their cots, which were no more than heavy strips of canvas stretched
+over tall frameworks.  They appeared to be enormously high for beds.
+Ken's was as high as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.
+
+"Say, I'll never get up into this thing," burst out Hal.  "These people
+must be afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why are these cots so
+high?"
+
+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and all that from sleeping with the
+natives," answered George.  "Besides, the higher you sleep in Mexico the
+farther you get from creeping, crawling things."
+
+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on the floor, but George's remark
+had persuaded him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most awkward to climb
+into.  Ken tried several times without success, and once he just escaped
+a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good vault he finally landed in the
+center of his canvas.  From there he listened to his more
+
+
+
+
+                                  *IV*
+
+                         *AT THE JUNGLE RIVER*
+
+
+Presently, as Ken's eyes became accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of chattering natives, with wide
+sombreros on their heads and blankets over their shoulders, moved round
+the little stone station.  Visitors were rare in Valles, as was
+manifested by the curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile of luggage.
+
+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for the night," said Ken to
+George.
+
+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon was lost in the crowd.
+Awhile after, as Ken was making up his mind they might have to camp on
+the station platform, a queer low 'bus drawn by six little mules creaked
+up. Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and began to stow the
+luggage away in the 'bus. Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The soft voices of natives greeted
+their passing.
+
+Valles appeared to be about a mile from the station, and as they entered
+the village Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here and there a
+more pretentious habitation of stone.  At length the driver halted
+before a rambling house, partly stone and partly thatch.  There were no
+lights; in fact, Ken did not see a light in the village.  George told
+the boys to take what luggage each could carry and follow the guide.
+Inside the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The boys bumped into
+things and fell over each other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed to a kind of loft, where the
+moonlight streamed in at the open sides.
+
+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal, who had struggled with a heavy
+load of luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to fetch up the remainder
+of the outfit.  Ken thought it best to stand still until he knew just
+where he was.  But Hal and George began moving about in the loft.  It
+was very large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full of objects.  Hal
+jostled into something which creaked and fell with a crash.  Then
+followed a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and a scuffling
+about.
+
+"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.
+
+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward. "One thing--I busted my shin."
+
+"He knocked over a bed with some one sleeping in it," said George.
+
+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon soothed the injured feelings of
+the native who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then led the boys to
+their cots, which were no more than heavy strips of canvas stretched
+over tall frameworks.  They appeared to be enormously high for beds.
+Ken's was as high as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.
+
+"Say, I'll never get up into this thing," burst out Hal.  "These people
+must be afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why are these cots so
+high?"
+
+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and all that from sleeping with the
+natives," answered George.  "Besides, the higher you sleep in Mexico the
+farther you get from creeping, crawling things."
+
+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on the floor, but George's remark
+had persuaded him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most awkward to climb
+into.  Ken tried several times without success, and once he just escaped
+a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good vault he finally landed in the
+center of his canvas.  From there he listened to his more unfortunate
+comrades.  Pepe got into his without much difficulty.  George, however,
+in climbing up, on about the fifth attempt swung over too hard and
+rolled off on the other side.  The thump he made when he dropped jarred
+the whole loft.  From the various growls out of the darkness it
+developed that the loft was full of sleepers, who were not pleased at
+this invasion.  Then Hal's cot collapsed, and went down with a crash.
+And Hal sat on the flattened thing and laughed.
+
+"Mucho malo," Pepe said, and he laughed, too.  Then he had to get out
+and put up Hal's trestle bed.  Hal once again went to climbing up the
+framework, and this time, with Pepe's aid, managed to surmount it.
+
+"George, what does Pepe mean by _mucho malo_?" asked Hal.
+
+"Bad--very much bad," replied George.
+
+"Nix--tell him nix.  This is fine," said Hal.
+
+"Boys, if you don't want to sleep yourselves, shut up so the rest of us
+can," ordered Ken.
+
+He liked the sense of humor and the good fighting spirit of the boys,
+and fancied they were the best attributes in comrades on a wild trip.
+For a long time he heard a kind of shuddering sound, which he imagined
+was Hal's cot quivering as the boy laughed.  Then absolute quiet
+prevailed, the boys slept, and Ken felt himself drifting.
+
+When he awakened the sun was shining through the holes in the thatched
+roof. Pepe was up, and the other native sleepers were gone.  Ken and the
+boys descended from their perches without any tumbles, had a breakfast
+that was palatable--although even George could not name what they
+ate--and then were ready for the day.
+
+Valles consisted of a few stone houses and many thatched huts of bamboo
+and palm. There was only one street, and it was full of pigs, dogs, and
+buzzards.  The inhabitants manifested a kindly interest and curiosity,
+which changed to consternation when they learned of the boys' project.
+Pepe questioned many natives, and all he could learn about the Santa
+Rosa was that there was an impassable waterfall some few kilometers
+below Valles.  Ken gritted his teeth and said they would have to get
+past it.  Pepe did not encounter a man who had ever heard of the
+headwaters of the Panuco River.  There were only a few fields under
+cultivation around Valles, and they were inclosed by impenetrable
+jungle.  It seemed useless to try to find out anything about the river.
+But Pepe's advisers in the village told enough about _tigre_ and
+_javelin_ to make Hal's hair stand on end, and George turn pale, and Ken
+himself wish they had not come.  It all gave Ken both a thrill and a
+shock.
+
+There was not much conversation among the boys on the drive back to the
+station. However, sight of the boat, which had come by freight, stirred
+Ken with renewed spirit, and through him that was communicated to the
+others.
+
+The hardest task, so far, developed in the matter of transporting boat
+and supplies out to the river.  Ken had hoped to get a handcar and haul
+the outfit on the track down to where the bridge crossed the Santa Rosa.
+But there was no hand-car.  Then came the staggering information that
+there was no wagon which would carry the boat, and then worse still in
+the fact that there was no road. This discouraged Ken; nevertheless he
+had not the least idea of giving up.  He sent Pepe out to tell the
+natives there must be some way to get the outfit to the river.
+
+Finally Pepe found a fellow who had a cart. This fellow claimed he knew
+a trail that went to a point from which it would be easy to carry the
+boat to the river.  Ken had Pepe hire the man at once.
+
+"Bring on your old cart," said the irrepressible Hal.
+
+That cart turned out to be a remarkable vehicle.  It consisted of a
+narrow body between enormously high wheels.  A trio of little mules was
+hitched to it.  The driver willingly agreed to haul the boat and outfit
+for one _peso_, but when he drove up to the platform to be surrounded by
+neighbors, he suddenly discovered that he could not possibly accommodate
+the boys.  Patiently Pepe tried to persuade him.  No, the thing was
+impossible.  He made no excuses, but he looked mysterious.
+
+"George, tell Pepe to offer him five pesos," said Ken.
+
+Pepe came out bluntly with the inducement, and the driver began to
+sweat.  From the look of his eyes Ken fancied he had not earned so much
+money in a year.  Still he was cunning, and his whispering neighbors
+lent him support.  He had the only cart in the village, and evidently it
+seemed that fortune had come to knock at least once at his door.  He
+shook his head.
+
+Ken held up both hands with fingers spread. "Ten pesos," he said.
+
+The driver, like a crazy man, began to jabber his consent.
+
+The boys lifted the boat upon the cart, and tied it fast in front so
+that the stern would not sag.  Then they packed the rest of the outfit
+inside.
+
+Ken was surprised to see how easily the little mules trotted off with
+such a big load. At the edge of the jungle he looked back toward the
+station.  The motley crowd of natives were watching, making excited
+gestures, and all talking at once.  The driver drove into a narrow
+trail, which closed behind him.  Pepe led on foot, brushing aside the
+thick foliage.  Ken drew a breath of relief as he passed into the cool
+shade.  The sun was very hot.  Hal and George brought up the rear,
+talking fast.
+
+The trail was lined and overgrown with slender trees, standing very
+close, making dense shade.  Many birds, some of beautiful coloring,
+flitted in the branches.  In about an hour the driver entered a little
+clearing where there were several thatched huts. Ken heard the puffing
+of an engine, and, looking through the trees, he saw the railroad and
+knew they had arrived at the pumping-station and the bridge over the
+Santa Rosa.
+
+Pepe lost no time in rounding up six natives to carry the boat.  They
+did not seem anxious to oblige Pepe, although they plainly wanted the
+money he offered.  The trouble was the boat, at which they looked
+askance. As in the case with the driver, however, the weight and
+clinking of added silver overcame their reluctance.  They easily lifted
+the boat upon their shoulders.  And as they entered the trail, making a
+strange procession in the close-bordering foliage, they encountered two
+natives, who jumped and ran, yelling: "La diable!  La diable!"
+
+"What ails those gazabos?" asked Hal.
+
+"They're scared," replied George.  "They thought the boat was the
+devil."
+
+If Ken needed any more than had already come to him about the wildness
+of the Santa Rosa, he had it in the frightened cries and bewilderment of
+these natives.  They had never seen a boat.  The Santa Rosa was a
+beautiful wild river upon which boats were unknown.  Ken had not hoped
+for so much. And now that the die was cast he faced the trip with
+tingling gladness.
+
+"George and Hal, you stay behind to watch the outfit.  Pepe and I will
+carry what we can and follow the boat.  I'll send back after you," said
+Ken.
+
+Then as he followed Pepe and the natives down the trail there was a deep
+satisfaction within him.  He heard the soft rush of water over stones
+and the mourning of turtledoves. He rounded a little hill to come
+abruptly upon the dense green mass of river foliage.  Giant
+cypress-trees, bearded with gray moss, fringed the banks.  Through the
+dark green of leaves Ken caught sight of light-green water.  Birds rose
+all about him. There were rustlings in the thick underbrush and the whir
+of ducks.  The natives penetrated the dark shade and came out to an
+open, grassy point.
+
+The Santa Rosa, glistening, green, swift, murmured at Ken's feet.  The
+natives dropped the boat into the water, and with Pepe went back for the
+rest of the outfit.  Ken looked up the shady lane of the river and
+thought of the moment when he had crossed the bridge in the train.
+Then, as much as he had longed to be there, he had not dared to hope it.
+And here he was!  How strange it was, just then, to see a large black
+duck with white-crested wings sweep by as swift as the wind!  Ken had
+seen that wild fowl, or one of his kind, and it had haunted him.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *V*
+
+                            *THE FIRST CAMP*
+
+
+In less than an hour all the outfit had been carried down to the river,
+and the boys sat in the shade, cooling off, happily conscious that they
+had made an auspicious start.
+
+It took Ken only a moment to decide to make camp there and the next day
+try to reach Micas Falls.  The mountains appeared close at hand, and
+were so lofty that, early in the afternoon as it was, the westering sun
+hung over the blue summits.  The notch where the Santa Rosa cut through
+the range stood out clear, and at most it was not more than eighteen
+miles distant.  So Ken planned to spend a day pulling up the river, and
+then to turn for the down-stream trip.
+
+"Come, boys, let's make camp," said Ken.
+
+He sent Pepe with his long _machete_ into the brush to cut fire-wood.
+Hal he set to making a stone fireplace, which work the boy rather prided
+himself upon doing well.  Ken got George to help him to put up the strip
+of canvas.  They stretched a rope between two trees, threw the canvas
+over it, and pegged down the ends.
+
+"Say, how 're we going to sleep?" inquired Hal, suddenly.
+
+"Sleep?  Why, on our backs, of course," retorted Ken, who could read
+Hal's mind.
+
+"If we don't have some hot old times keeping things out of this tent,
+I'm a lobster," said George, dubiously.  "I'm going to sleep in the
+middle."
+
+"You're a brave boy, George," replied Ken.
+
+"Me for between Ken and Pepe," added Hal.
+
+"And you're twice as brave," said Ken. "I dare say Pepe and I will be
+able to keep things from getting at you."
+
+Just as Pepe came into camp staggering under a load of wood, a flock of
+russet-colored ducks swung round the bend.  They alighted near the shore
+at a point opposite the camp. The way George and Hal made headers into
+the pile of luggage for their guns gave Ken an inkling of what he might
+expect from these lads.  He groaned, and then he laughed. George came up
+out of the luggage first, and he had a .22-caliber rifle, which he
+quickly loaded and fired into the flock.  He crippled one; the others
+flew up-stream.  Then George began to waste shells trying to kill the
+crippled duck.  Hal got into action with his .22. They bounced bullets
+off the water all around the duck, but they could not hit it.
+
+Pepe grew as excited as the boys, and he jumped into the boat and with a
+long stick began to pole out into the stream.  Ken had to caution George
+and Hal to lower their guns and not shoot Pepe.  Below camp and just
+under the bridge the water ran into a shallow rift.  The duck got onto
+the current and went round the bend, with Pepe poling in pursuit and
+George and Hal yelling along the shore.  When they returned a little
+later, they had the duck, which was of an unknown species to Ken.  Pepe
+had fallen overboard; George was wet to his knees; and, though Hal did
+not show any marks of undue exertion, his eyes would have enlightened
+any beholder.  The fact was that they were glowing with the excitement
+of the chase. It amused Ken.  He felt that he had to try to stifle his
+own enthusiasm.  There had to be one old head in the party.  But if he
+did have qualms over the possibilities of the boys to worry him with
+their probable escapades, he still felt happy at their boundless life
+and spirit.
+
+It was about the middle of the afternoon, and the heat had become
+intense.  Ken realized it doubly when he saw Pepe favoring the shade.
+George and Hal were hot, but they appeared to be too supremely satisfied
+with their surroundings to care about that.
+
+During this hot spell, which lasted from three o'clock until five, there
+was a quiet and a lack of life around camp that surprised Ken.  It was
+slumberland; even the insects seemed drowsy.  Not a duck and scarcely a
+bird passed by.  Ken heard the mourning of turtle-doves, and was at once
+struck with the singular deep, full tone. Several trains crossed the
+bridge, and at intervals the engine at the pumping-tank puffed and
+chugged.  From time to time a native walked out upon the bridge to stare
+long and curiously at the camp.
+
+When the sun set behind the mountain a hard breeze swept down the river.
+Ken did not know what to make of it, and at first thought there was
+going to be a storm.  Pepe explained that the wind blew that way every
+day after sunset.  For a while it tossed the willows, and waved the
+Spaniard's-beard upon the cypresses.  Then as suddenly as it had come it
+died away, taking the heat with it.
+
+Whereupon the boys began to get supper.
+
+"George, do you know anything about this water?" asked Ken.  "Is it
+safe?"
+
+George supposed it was all right, but he did not know.  The matter of
+water had bothered Ken more than any other thing in consideration of the
+trip.  This river-water was cool and clear; it apparently was safe. But
+Ken decided not to take any chances, and to boil all the water used.
+All at once George yelled, "Canvasbacks!" and made a dive for his gun.
+Ken saw a flock of ducks swiftly winging flight up-stream.
+
+"Hold on, George; don't shoot," called Ken.  "Let's go a little slow at
+the start."
+
+George appeared to be disappointed, though he promptly obeyed.
+
+Then the boys had supper, finding the russet duck much to their taste.
+Ken made a note of Pepe's capacity, and was glad there were prospects of
+plenty of meat.  While they were eating, a group of natives gathered on
+the bridge.  Ken would not have liked to interpret their opinion of his
+party from their actions.
+
+Night came on almost before the boys were ready for it.  They
+replenished the camp-fire, and sat around it, looking into the red blaze
+and then out into the flickering shadows.  Ken thought the time
+propitious for a little lecture he had to give the boys, and he
+remembered how old Hiram Bent had talked to him and Hal that first night
+down under the great black rim-wall of the Grand Ca�on.
+
+"Well, fellows," began Ken, "we're started, we're here, and the trip
+looks great to me. Now, as I am responsible, I intend to be boss. I want
+you boys to do what I tell you.  I may make mistakes, but if I do I'll
+take them on my shoulders.  Let's try to make the trip a great success.
+Let's be careful.  We're not game-hogs.  We'll not kill any more than we
+can eat.  I want you boys to be careful with your guns.  Think all the
+time where you're pointing them.  And as to thinking, we'd do well to
+use our heads all the time. We've no idea what we're going up against in
+this jungle."
+
+Both boys listened to Ken with attention and respect, but they did not
+bind themselves by any promises.
+
+Ken had got out the mosquito-netting, expecting any moment to find it
+very serviceable; however, to his surprise it was not needed.  When it
+came time to go to bed, Hal and George did not forget to slip in between
+Pepe and Ken.  The open-sided tent might keep off rain or dew, but for
+all the other protection it afforded, the boys might as well have slept
+outside.  Nevertheless they were soon fast asleep.  Ken awoke a couple
+of times during the night and rolled over to find a softer spot in the
+hard bed.  These times he heard only the incessant hum of insects.
+
+When he opened his eyes in the gray morning light, he did hear something
+that made him sit up with a start.  It was a deep booming sound,
+different from anything that he had ever heard.  Ken called Pepe, and
+that roused the boys.
+
+"Listen," said Ken.
+
+In a little while the sound was repeated, a heavy "boo-oom! ...
+boo-oom!"  There was a resemblance to the first strong beats of a
+drumming grouse, only infinitely wilder.
+
+Pepe called it something like "_faisan real_."
+
+"What's that?" asked Hal.
+
+The name was as new to Ken as the noise itself.  Pepe explained through
+George that it was made by a huge black bird not unlike a turkey.  It
+had a golden plume, and could run as fast as a deer.  The boys rolled
+out, all having conceived a desire to see such a strange bird.  The
+sound was not repeated. Almost immediately, however, the thicket across
+the river awoke to another sound, as much a contrast to the boom as
+could be imagined.  It was a bird medley.  At first Ken thought of
+magpies, but Pepe dispelled this illusion with another name hard to
+pronounce.
+
+"Chicalocki," he said.
+
+And that seemed just like what they were singing.  It was a sharp, clear
+song--"Chic-a-lock-i ... chic-a-lock-i," and to judge from the full
+chorus there must have been many birds.
+
+"They're a land of pheasant," added George, "and make fine pot-stews."
+
+The _chicalocki_ ceased their salute to the morning, and then, as the
+river mist melted away under the rising sun, other birds took it up.
+Notes new to Ken burst upon the air. And familiar old songs thrilled
+him, made him think of summer days on the Susquehanna--the sweet carol
+of the meadow-lark, the whistle of the quail, the mellow, sad call of
+the swamp-blackbird.  The songs blended in an exquisite harmony.
+
+"Why, some of them are our own birds come south for the winter,"
+declared Hal.
+
+"It's music," said Ken.
+
+"Just wait," laughed George.
+
+It dawned upon Ken then that George was a fellow who had the mysterious
+airs of a prophet hinting dire things.
+
+Ken did not know what to wait for, but he enjoyed the suggestion and
+anticipated much.  Ducks began to whir by; flocks of blackbirds alighted
+in the trees across the river.  Suddenly Hal jumped up, and Ken was
+astounded at a great discordant screeching and a sweeping rush of
+myriads of wings. Ken looked up to see the largest flock of birds he had
+ever seen.
+
+"Parrots," he yelled.
+
+Indeed they were, and they let the boys know it.  They flew across the
+river, wheeled to come back, all the time screeching, and then they
+swooped down into the tops of the cypress-trees.
+
+"Red-heads," said George.  "Just wait till you see the yellow-heads!"
+
+At the moment the red-heads were quite sufficient for Ken.  They broke
+out into a chattering, screaming, cackling discordance. It was plainly
+directed at the boys.  These intelligent birds were curious and
+resentful. As Pepe put it, they were scolding.  Ken enjoyed it for a
+full half-hour and reveled in the din.  That morning serenade was worth
+the trip.  Presently the parrots flew away, and Ken was surprised to
+find that most of the other birds had ceased singing.  They had set
+about the business of the day--something it was nigh time for Ken to
+consider.
+
+Breakfast over, the boys broke camp, eager for the adventures that they
+felt to be before them.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *VI*
+
+                           *WILDERNESS LIFE*
+
+
+"Now for the big job, boys," called Ken. "Any ideas will be welcome, but
+don't all talk at once."
+
+And this job was the packing of the outfit in the boat.  It was a study
+for Ken, and he found himself thanking his lucky stars that he had
+packed boats for trips on rapid rivers.  George and Hal came to the fore
+with remarkable advice which Ken was at the pains of rejecting.  And as
+fast as one wonderful idea emanated from the fertile minds another one
+came in.  At last Ken lost patience.
+
+"Kids, it's going to take brains to pack this boat," he said, with some
+scorn.
+
+And when Hal remarked that in that case he did not see how they ever
+were going to pack the boat, Ken drove both boys away and engaged Pepe
+to help.
+
+The boat had to be packed for a long trip, with many things taken into
+consideration. The very best way to pack it must be decided upon and
+thereafter held to strictly.  Balance was all-important; comfort and
+elbow-room were not to be overlooked; a flat surface easy to crawl and
+jump over was absolutely necessary.  Fortunately, the boat was large and
+roomy, although not heavy.  The first thing Ken did was to cut out the
+narrow bow-seat.  Here he packed a small bucket of preserved mullet,
+some bottles of kerosene and _canya_, and a lantern.  The small, flat
+trunk, full of supplies, went in next.  Two boxes with the rest of the
+supplies filled up the space between the trunk and the rowing-seat.  By
+slipping an extra pair of oars, coils of rope, the ax, and a few other
+articles between the gunwales and the trunk and boxes Ken made them fit
+snugly.  He cut off a piece of the canvas, and, folding it, he laid it
+with the blankets lengthwise over the top. This made a level surface,
+one that could be gotten over quickly, or a place to sleep, for that
+matter, and effectually disposed of the bow half of the boat.  Of course
+the boat sank deep at the bow, but Ken calculated when they were all
+aboard their weight would effect an even balance.
+
+The bags with clothing Ken put under the second seat.  Then he arranged
+the other piece of canvas so that it projected up back of the stern of
+the boat.  He was thinking of the waves to be buffeted in going stern
+first down-stream through the rapids.  The fishing-tackle and guns he
+laid flat from seat to seat.  Last of all he placed the ammunition on
+one side next the gunwale, and the suit-case carrying camera, films,
+medicines, on the other.
+
+"Come now, fellows," called Ken.  "Hal, you and George take the second
+seat.  Pepe will take the oars.  I'll sit in the stern."
+
+Pepe pushed off, jumped to his place, and grasped the oars.  Ken was
+delighted to find the boat trim, and more buoyant than he had dared to
+hope.
+
+"We're off," cried Hal, and he whooped. And George exercised his already
+well-developed faculty of imitating Hal.
+
+Pepe bent to the oars, and under his powerful strokes the boat glided
+up-stream.  Soon the bridge disappeared.  Ken had expected a long, shady
+ride, but it did not turn out so. Shallow water and gravelly rapids made
+rowing impossible.
+
+"Pile out, boys, and pull," said Ken.
+
+The boys had dressed for wading and rough work, and went overboard with
+a will.  Pulling, at first, was not hard work.  They were fresh and
+eager, and hauled the boat up swift, shallow channels, making nearly as
+good time as when rowing in smooth water. Then, as the sun began to get
+hot, splashing in the cool river was pleasant.  They passed little
+islands green with willows and came to high clay-banks gradually wearing
+away, and then met with rocky restrictions in the stream-bed.  From
+round a bend came a hollow roar of a deeper rapid.  Ken found it a
+swift-rushing incline, very narrow, and hard to pull along.  The margin
+of the river was hidden and obstructed by willows so that the boys could
+see very little ahead.
+
+When they got above this fall the water was deep and still.  Entering
+the boat again, they turned a curve into a long, beautiful stretch of
+river.
+
+"Ah! this 's something like," said Hal.
+
+The green, shady lane was alive with birds and water-fowl.  Ducks of
+various kinds rose before the boat.  White, blue, gray, and speckled
+herons, some six feet tall, lined the low bars, and flew only at near
+approach. There were many varieties of bitterns, one kind with a purple
+back and white breast. They were very tame and sat on the overhanging
+branches, uttering dismal croaks. Everywhere was the flash and glitter
+and gleam of birds in flight, up and down and across the river.
+
+Hal took his camera and tried to get pictures.
+
+The strangeness, beauty, and life of this jungle stream absorbed Ken.
+He did not take his guns from their cases.  The water was bright green
+and very deep; here and there were the swirls of playing fish.  The
+banks were high and densely covered with a luxuriant foliage.  Huge
+cypress-trees, moss-covered, leaned half-way across the river. Giant
+gray-barked ceibas spread long branches thickly tufted with aloes,
+orchids, and other jungle parasites.  Palm-trees lifted slender stems
+and graceful broad-leaved heads. Clumps of bamboo spread an enormous
+green arch out over the banks.  These bamboo-trees were particularly
+beautiful to Ken. A hundred yellow, black-circled stems grew out of the
+ground close together, and as they rose high they gracefully leaned
+their bodies and drooped their tips.  The leaves were arrowy, exquisite
+in their fineness.
+
+He looked up the long river-lane, bright in the sun, dark and still
+under the moss-veiled cypresses, at the turning vines and blossoming
+creepers, at the changeful web of moving birds, and indulged to the
+fullest that haunting sense for wild places.
+
+"Chicalocki," said Pepe, suddenly.
+
+A flock of long-tailed birds, resembling the pheasant in body, was
+sailing across the river.  Again George made a dive for a gun. This one
+was a sixteen-gage and worn out. He shot twice at the birds on the wing.
+Then Pepe rowed under the overhanging branches, and George killed three
+_chicalocki_ with his rifle.  They were olive green in color, and the
+long tail had a brownish cast. Heavy and plump, they promised fine
+eating.
+
+"Pato real!" yelled Pepe, pointing excitedly up the river.
+
+Several black fowl, as large as geese, hove in sight, flying pretty low.
+Ken caught a glimpse of wide, white-crested wings, and knew then that
+these were the birds he had seen.
+
+"Load up and get ready," he said to George.  "They're coming fast--shoot
+ahead of them."
+
+How swift and powerful they were on the wing!  They swooped up when they
+saw the boat, and offered a splendid target.  The little sixteen-gage
+rang out.  Ken heard the shot strike.  The leader stopped in midair,
+dipped, and plunged with a sounding splash. Ken picked him up and found
+him to be most beautiful, and as large and heavy as a goose. His black
+feathers shone with the latent green luster of an opal, and the pure
+white of the shoulder of the wings made a remarkable contrast.
+
+"George, we've got enough meat for to-day, more than we can use.  Don't
+shoot any more," said Ken.
+
+Pepe resumed rowing, and Ken told him to keep under the overhanging
+branches and to row without splashing.  He was skilled in the use of the
+oars, so the boat glided along silently.  Ken felt he was rewarded for
+this stealth.  Birds of rare and brilliant plumage flitted among the
+branches.  There was one, a long, slender bird, gold and black with a
+white ring round its neck.  There were little yellow-breasted
+kingfishers no larger than a wren, and great red-breasted kingfishers
+with blue backs and tufted heads.  The boat passed under a leaning
+ceiba-tree that was covered with orchids.  Ken saw the slim, sharp head
+of a snake dart from among the leaves.  His neck was as thick as Ken's
+wrist.
+
+"What kind of a snake, Pepe?" whispered Ken, as he fingered the trigger
+of George's gun.  But Pepe did not see the snake, and then Ken thought
+better of disturbing the silence with a gunshot.  He was reminded,
+however, that the Texan had told him of snakes in this jungle, some of
+which measured more than fifteen feet and were as large as a man's leg.
+
+Most of the way the bank was too high and steep and overgrown for any
+animal to get down to the water.  Still there were dry gullies, or
+arroyos, every few hundred yards, and these showed the tracks of
+animals, but Pepe could not tell what species from the boat.  Often Ken
+heard the pattering of hard feet, and then he would see a little cloud
+of dust in one of these drinking-places. So he cautioned Pepe to row
+slower and closer in to the bank.
+
+"Look there! lemme out!" whispered Hal, and he seemed to be on the point
+of jumping overboard.
+
+"Coons," said George.  "Oh, a lot of them.  There--some young ones."
+
+Ken saw that they had come abruptly upon a band of racoons, not less
+than thirty in number, some big, some little, and a few like tiny balls
+of fur, and all had long white-ringed tails.  What a scampering the big
+ones set up!  The little ones were frightened, and the smallest so tame
+they scarcely made any effort to escape.  Pepe swung the boat in to the
+bank, and reaching out he caught a baby racoon and handed it to Hal.
+
+"Whoop!  We'll catch things and tame them," exclaimed Hal, much
+delighted, and he proceeded to tie the little racoon under the seat.
+
+"Sure, we'll get a whole menagerie," said George.
+
+So they went on up-stream.  Often Ken motioned Pepe to stop in dark,
+cool places under the golden-green canopy of bamboos. He was as much
+fascinated by the beautiful foliage and tree growths as by the wild
+life. Hal appeared more taken up with the fluttering of birds in the
+thick jungle, rustlings, and soft, stealthy steps.  Then as they moved
+on Ken whispered and pointed out a black animal vanishing in the
+thicket.  Three times he caught sight of a spotted form slipping away in
+the shade.  George saw it the last time, and whispered: "Tiger-cat!
+Let's get him."
+
+"What's that, Ken, a kind of a wildcat?" asked Hal.
+
+"Yes."  Ken took George's .32-caliber and tried to find a way up the
+bank.  There was no place to climb up unless he dragged himself up
+branches of trees or drooping bamboos, and this he did not care to
+attempt encumbered with a rifle.  Only here and there could he see over
+the matted roots and creepers. Then the sound of rapids put hunting out
+of his mind.
+
+"Boys, we've got Micas Falls to reach," he said, and told Pepe to row
+on.
+
+The long stretch of deep river ended in a wide, shallow, noisy rapid.
+Fir-trees lined the banks.  The palms, cypresses, bamboos, and the
+flowery, mossy growths were not here in evidence.  Thickly wooded hills
+rose on each side.  The jungle looked sear and yellow.
+
+The boys began to wade up the rapid, and before they had reached the
+head of it Pepe yelled and jumped back from where he was wading at the
+bow.  He took an oar and began to punch at something in the water, at
+the same time calling out.
+
+"Crocodile!" cried George, and he climbed in the boat.  Hal was not slow
+in following suit.  Then Ken saw Pepe hitting a small crocodile, which
+lashed out with its tail and disappeared.
+
+"Come out of there," called Ken to the boys. "We can't pull you
+up-stream."
+
+"Say, I don't want to step on one of those ugly brutes," protested Hal.
+
+"Look sharp, then.  Come out."
+
+Above the rapid extended a quarter-mile stretch where Pepe could row,
+and beyond that another long rapid.  When the boys had waded up that it
+was only to come to another.  It began to be hard work.  But Ken kept
+the boys buckled down, and they made fair progress.  They pulled up
+through eighteen rapids, and covered distance that Ken estimated to be
+about ten miles.  The blue mountain loomed closer and higher, yet Ken
+began to have doubts of reaching Micas Falls that day.
+
+Moreover, as they ascended the stream, the rapids grew rougher.
+
+"It 'll be great coming down," panted Hal.
+
+Finally they reached a rapid which had long dinned in Ken's ears.  All
+the water in the river rushed down on the right-hand side through a
+channel scarcely twenty feet wide. It was deep and swift.  With the aid
+of ropes, and by dint of much hard wading and pulling, the boys got the
+boat up.  A little farther on was another bothersome rapid.  At last
+they came to a succession of falls, steps in the river, that barred
+farther advance up-stream.
+
+Here Ken climbed up on the bank, to find the country hilly and open,
+with patches of jungle and palm groves leading up to the mountains.
+Then he caught a glint of Micas Falls, and decided that it would be
+impossible to get there.  He made what observations he could, and
+returned to camp.
+
+"Boys, here's where we stop," said Ken. "It 'll be all down-stream now,
+and I'm glad."
+
+There was no doubt that the boys were equally glad.  They made camp on a
+grassy bench above a foam-flecked pool. Ken left the others to get
+things in shape for supper, and, taking his camera, he hurried off to
+try to get a picture of Micas Falls.  He found open places and by-paths
+through the brushy forest.  He saw evidences of forest fire, and then
+knew what had ruined that part of the jungle.  There were no birds.  It
+was farther than he had estimated to the foothill he had marked, but,
+loath to give up, he kept on and finally reached a steep, thorny ascent.
+Going up he nearly suffocated with heat. He felt rewarded for his
+exertions when he saw Micas Falls glistening in the distance. It was
+like a string of green fans connected by silver ribbons.  He remained
+there watching it while the sun set in the golden notch between the
+mountains.
+
+On the way back to camp he waded through a flat overgrown with coarse
+grass and bushes. Here he jumped a herd of deer, eight in number.  These
+small, sleek, gray deer appeared tame, and if there had been sufficient
+light, Ken would have photographed them.  It cost him an effort to
+decide not to fetch his rifle, but as he had meat enough in camp there
+was nothing to do except let the deer go.
+
+When he got back to the river Pepe grinned at him, and, pointing to
+little red specks on his shirt, he said:
+
+"Pinilius."
+
+"Aha! the ticks!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+They were exceedingly small, not to be seen without close scrutiny.
+They could not be brushed off, so Ken began laboriously to pick them
+off.  Pepe and George laughed, and Hal appeared to derive some sort of
+enjoyment from the incident.
+
+"Say, these ticks don't bother me any," declared Ken.
+
+Pepe grunted; and George called out, "Just wait till you get the big
+fellows--the garrapatoes."
+
+It developed presently that the grass and bushes on the camp-site
+contained millions of the ticks.  Ken found several of the larger
+ticks--almost the size of his little finger-nail--but he did not get
+bitten.  Pepe and George, however, had no such good luck, as was
+manifested at different times.  By the time they had cut down the bushes
+and carried in a stock of fire-wood, both were covered with the little
+pests.  Hal found a spot where there appeared to be none, and here he
+stayed.
+
+Pepe and George had the bad habit of smoking, and Ken saw them burning
+the ticks off shirt-sleeves and trousers-legs, using the fiery end of
+their cigarettes.  This feat did not puzzle Ken anything like the one
+where they held the red point of the cigarettes close to their naked
+flesh.  Ken, and Hal, too, had to see that performance at close range.
+
+"Why do you do that?" asked Ken.
+
+"Popping ticks," replied George.  He and Pepe were as sober as judges.
+
+The fact of the matter was soon clear to Ken.  The ticks stuck on as if
+glued.  When the hot end of the burning cigarette was held within a
+quarter of an inch of them they simply blew up, exploded with a pop.
+Ken could easily distinguish between the tiny pop of an exploding
+_pinilius_ and the heavier pop of a _garrapato_.
+
+"But, boy, while you're taking time to do that, half a dozen other ticks
+can bite you!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+"Sure they can," replied George.  "But if they get on me I'll kill 'em.
+I don't mind the little ones--it's the big boys I hate."
+
+On the other hand, Pepe seemed to mind most the _pinilius_.
+
+"Say, from now on you fellows will be Garrapato George and Pinilius
+Pepe."
+
+"Pretty soon you'll laugh on the other side of your face," said George.
+"In three days you'll be popping ticks yourself."
+
+Just then Hal let out a yell and began to hunt for a tick that had bit
+him.  If there was anything that could bother Hal Ward it was a crawling
+bug of some kind.
+
+"I'll have to christen you too, brother," said Ken, gurgling with mirth.
+"A very felicitous name--Hollering Hal!"
+
+Despite the humor of the thing, Ken really saw its serious side.  When
+he found the grass under his feet alive with ticks he cast about in his
+mind for some way to get rid of them.  And he hit upon a remedy.  On the
+ridge above the bench was a palm-tree, and under it were many dead palm
+leaves.  These were large in size, had long stems, and were as dry as
+tinder.  Ken lighted one, and it made a flaming hot torch.  It did not
+take him long to scorch all the ticks near that camp.
+
+The boys had supper and enjoyed it hugely. The scene went well with the
+camp-fire and game-dinner.  They gazed out over the foaming pool, the
+brawling rapids, to the tufted palm-trees, and above them the dark-blue
+mountain.  At dusk Hal and George were so tired they went to bed and at
+once dropped into slumber.  Pepe sat smoking before the slumbering fire.
+
+And Ken chose that quiet hour to begin the map of the river, and to set
+down in his note-book his observations on the mountains and in the
+valley, and what he had seen that day of bird, animal, and plant life in
+the jungle.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *VII*
+
+                          *RUNNING THE RAPIDS*
+
+
+Some time in the night a yell awakened Ken.  He sat up, clutching his
+revolver. The white moonlight made all as clear as day.  Hal lay deep in
+slumber.  George was raising himself, half aroused.  But Pepe was gone.
+
+Ken heard a thrashing about outside. Leaping up he ran out, and was
+frightened to see Pepe beating and clawing and tearing at himself like a
+man possessed of demons.
+
+"Pepe, what's wrong?" shouted Ken.
+
+It seemed that Pepe only grew more violent in his wrestling about.  Then
+Ken was sure Pepe had been stung by a scorpion or bitten by a snake.
+
+But he was dumfounded to see George bound like an apparition out of the
+tent and begin evolutions that made Pepe's look slow.
+
+"Hey, what's wrong with you jumping-jacks?" yelled Ken.
+
+George was as grimly silent as an Indian running the gantlet, but Ken
+thought it doubtful if any Indian ever slapped and tore at his body in
+George's frantic manner.  To add to the mystery Hal suddenly popped out
+of the tent.  He was yelling in a way to do justice to the name Ken had
+lately given him, and, as for wild and whirling antics, his were simply
+marvelous.
+
+"Good land!" ejaculated Ken.  Had the boys all gone mad?  Despite his
+alarm, Ken had to roar with laughter at those three dancing figures in
+the moonlight.  A rush of ideas went through Ken's confused mind. And
+the last prompted him to look in the tent.
+
+He saw a wide bar of black crossing the moonlit ground, the grass, and
+the blankets. This bar moved.  It was alive.  Bending low Ken descried
+that it was made by ants. An army of jungle ants on a march!  They had
+come in a straight line along the base of the little hill and their
+passageway led under the canvas.  Pepe happened to be the first in line,
+and they had surged over him.  As he had awakened, and jumped up of
+course, the ants had begun to bite.  The same in turn happened to George
+and then Hal.
+
+Ken was immensely relieved, and had his laugh out.  The stream of ants
+moved steadily and quite rapidly, and soon passed from sight.  By this
+time Pepe and the boys had threshed themselves free of ants and into
+some degree of composure.
+
+"Say, you nightmare fellows!  Come back to bed," said Ken.  "Any one
+would think something had really happened to you."
+
+Pepe snorted, which made Ken think the native understood something of
+English.  And the boys grumbled loudly.
+
+"Ants!  Ants as big as wasps!  They bit worse than helgramites,"
+declared Hal.  "Oh, they missed you.  You always are lucky. I'm not
+afraid of all the old jaguars in this jungle.  But I can't stand biting,
+crawling bugs.  I wish you hadn't made me come on this darn trip."
+
+"Ha!  Ha!" laughed Ken.
+
+"Just wait, Hal," put in George, grimly. "Just wait.  It's coming to
+him!"
+
+The boys slept well the remainder of the night and, owing to the break
+in their rest, did not awaken early.  The sun shone hot when Ken rolled
+out; a creamy mist was dissolving over the curve of the mountain-range;
+parrots were screeching in the near-by trees.
+
+After breakfast Ken set about packing the boat as it had been done the
+day before.
+
+"I think we'll do well to leave the trunk in the boat after this, unless
+we find a place where we want to make a permanent camp for a while,"
+said Ken.
+
+Before departing he carefully looked over the ground to see that nothing
+was left, and espied a heavy fish-line which George had baited, set, and
+forgotten.
+
+"Hey, George, pull up your trot-line. It looks pretty much stretched to
+me.  Maybe you've got a fish."
+
+Ken happened to be busy at the boat when George started to take in the
+line.  An exclamation from Pepe, George's yell, and a loud splash made
+Ken jump up in double-quick time.  Hal also came running.
+
+George was staggering on the bank, leaning back hard on the heavy line.
+A long, angry swirl in the pool told of a powerful fish. It was likely
+to pull George in.
+
+"Let go the line!" yelled Ken.
+
+But George was not letting go of any fish-lines.  He yelled for Pepe,
+and went down on his knees before Pepe got to him.  Both then pulled on
+the line.  The fish, or whatever it was at the other end, gave a mighty
+jerk that almost dragged the two off the bank.
+
+"Play him, play him!" shouted Ken. "You've got plenty of line.  Give him
+some."
+
+Hal now added his weight and strength, and the three of them, unmindful
+of Ken's advice, hauled back with might and main. The line parted and
+they sprawled on the grass.
+
+"What a sockdologer!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+"I had that hook baited with a big piece of duck meat," said George.
+"We must have been hooked to a crocodile.  Things are happening to us."
+
+"Yes, so I've noticed," replied Ken, dryly. "But if you fellows hadn't
+pulled so hard you might have landed that thing, whatever it was.  All
+aboard now.  We must be on the move--we don't know what we have before
+us."
+
+When they got into the boat Ken took the oars, much to Pepe's surprise.
+It was necessary to explain to him that Ken would handle the boat in
+swift water.  They shoved off, and Ken sent one regretful glance up the
+river, at the shady aisle between the green banks, at the white rapids,
+and the great colored dome of the mountain.  He almost hesitated, for he
+desired to see more of that jungle-covered mountain.  But something
+already warned Ken to lose no time in the trip down the Santa Rosa.
+There did not seem to be any reason for hurry, yet he felt it necessary.
+But he asked Pepe many questions and kept George busy interpreting names
+of trees and flowers and wild creatures.
+
+Going down-stream on any river, mostly, would have been pleasure, but
+drifting on the swift current of the Santa Rosa and rowing under the
+wonderful moss-bearded cypresses was almost like a dream.  It was too
+beautiful to seem real.  The smooth stretch before the first rapid was
+short, however, and then all Ken's attention had to be given to the
+handling of the boat.  He saw that George and Pepe both expected to get
+out and wade down the rapids as they had waded up. He had a surprise in
+store for them.  The rapids that he could not shoot would have to be
+pretty bad.
+
+"You're getting close," shouted George, warningly.
+
+With two sweeps of the oars Ken turned the boat stern first down-stream,
+then dipped on the low green incline, and sailed down toward the waves.
+They struck the first wave with a shock, and the water flew all over the
+boys.  Pepe was tremendously excited; he yelled and made wild motions
+with his hands; George looked a little frightened.  Hal enjoyed it.
+Whatever the rapid appeared to them, it was magnificent to Ken; and it
+was play to manage the boat in such water.  A little pull on one oar and
+then on the other kept the stern straight down-stream.  The channel he
+could make out a long way ahead. He amused himself by watching George
+and Pepe.  There were stones in the channel, and the water rose angrily
+about them.  A glance was enough to tell that he could float over these
+without striking.  But the boys thought they were going to hit every
+stone, and were uneasy all the time.  Twice he had to work to pass
+ledges and sunken trees upon which the current bore down hard.  When Ken
+neared one of these he dipped the oars and pulled back to stop or lessen
+the momentum; then a stroke turned the boat half broadside to the
+current.  That would force it to one side, and another stroke would turn
+the boat straight.  At the bottom of this rapid they encountered a long
+triangle of choppy waves that they bumped and splashed over.  They came
+through with nothing wet but the raised flap of canvas in the stern.
+
+Pepe regarded Ken with admiring eyes, and called him _grande mozo_.
+
+"Shooting rapids is great sport," proclaimed George.
+
+They drifted through several little rifts, and then stopped at the head
+of the narrow chute that had been such a stumbling-block on the way up.
+Looked at from above, this long, narrow channel, with several S curves,
+was a fascinating bit of water for a canoeist. It tempted Ken to shoot
+it even with the boat. But he remembered the four-foot waves at the
+bottom, and besides he resented the importunity of the spirit of daring
+so early in the game.  Risk, and perhaps peril, would come soon enough.
+So he decided to walk along the shore and float the boat through with a
+rope.
+
+The thing looked a good deal easier than it turned out to be.  Half-way
+through, at the narrowest point and most abrupt curve, Pepe
+misunderstood directions and pulled hard on the bow-rope, when he should
+have let it slack.
+
+The boat swung in, nearly smashing Ken against the bank, and the
+sweeping current began to swell dangerously near the gunwale.
+
+"Let go!  Let go!" yelled Ken.  "George, make him let go!"
+
+But George, who was trying to get the rope out of Pepe's muscular hands,
+suddenly made a dive for his rifle.
+
+"Deer! deer!" he cried, hurriedly throwing a shell into the chamber.  He
+shot downstream, and Ken, looking that way, saw several deer under the
+firs on a rocky flat.  George shot three more times, and the bullets
+went "spinging" into the trees.  The deer bounded out of sight.
+
+When Ken turned again, water was roaring into the boat.  He was being
+pressed harder into the bank, and he saw disaster ahead.
+
+"Loosen the rope--tell him, George," yelled Ken.
+
+Pepe only pulled the harder.
+
+"Quick, or we're ruined," cried Ken.
+
+George shouted in Spanish, and Pepe promptly dropped the rope in the
+water. That was the worst thing he could have done.
+
+"Grab the rope!" ordered Ken, wildly. "Grab the bow!  Don't let it swing
+out!  Hal!"
+
+Before either boy could reach it the bow swung out into the current.
+Ken was not only helpless, but in a dangerous position. He struggled to
+get out from where the swinging stern was wedging him into the bank, but
+could not budge.  Fearing that all the outfit would be lost in the
+river, he held on to the boat and called for some one to catch the rope.
+
+George pushed Pepe head first into the swift current.  Pepe came up,
+caught the rope, and then went under again.  The boat swung round and,
+now half full of water, got away from Ken.  It gathered headway.  Ken
+leaped out on the ledge and ran along with the boat. It careened round
+the bad curve and shot down-stream.  Pepe was still under water.
+
+"He's drowned!  He's drowned!" cried George.
+
+Hal took a header right off the ledge, came up, and swam with a few
+sharp strokes to the drifting boat.  He gained the bow, grasped it, and
+then pulled on the rope.
+
+Ken had a sickening feeling that Pepe might be drowned.  Suddenly Pepe
+appeared like a brown porpoise.  He was touching bottom in places and
+holding back on the rope. Then the current rolled him over and over. The
+boat drifted back of a rocky point into shallow water.  Hal gave a haul
+that helped to swing it out of the dangerous current. Then Pepe came up,
+and he, too, pulled hard. Just as Ken plunged in the boat sank in two
+feet of water.  Ken's grip, containing camera, films, and other
+perishable goods, was on top, and he got it just in time.  He threw it
+out on the rocks.  Then together the boys lifted the boat and hauled the
+bow well up on the shore.
+
+"Pretty lucky!" exclaimed Ken, as he flopped down.
+
+"Doggone it!" yelled Hal, suddenly.  And he dove for the boat, and
+splashed round in the water under his seat, to bring forth a very limp
+and drenched little racoon.
+
+"Good! he's all right," said Ken.
+
+Pepe said "Mucho malo," and pointed to his shins, which bore several
+large bumps from contact with the rocks in the channel.
+
+"I should say mucha malo," growled George.
+
+He jerked open his grip, and, throwing out articles of wet clothing--for
+which he had no concern--he gazed in dismay at his whole store of
+cigarettes wet by the water.
+
+"So that's all you care for," said Ken, severely.  "Young man, I'll have
+something to say to you presently.  All hands now to unpack the boat."
+
+Fortunately nothing had been carried away. That part of the supplies
+which would have been affected by water was packed in tin cases, and so
+suffered no damage.  The ammunition was waterproof.  Ken's Parker
+hammerless and his 351 automatic rifle were full of water, and so were
+George's guns and Hal's.  While they took their weapons apart, wiped
+them, and laid them in the sun, Pepe spread out the rest of the things
+and then baled out the boat. The sun was so hot that everything dried
+quickly and was not any the worse for the wetting.  The boys lost
+scarcely an hour by the accident.  Before the start Ken took George and
+Pepe to task, and when he finished they were both very sober and quiet.
+
+Ken observed, however, that by the time they had run the next rapid they
+were enjoying themselves again.  Then came a long succession of rapids
+which Ken shot without anything approaching a mishap.  When they drifted
+into the level stretch Pepe relieved him at the oars.  They glided
+down-stream under the drooping bamboo, under the silken streamers of
+silvery moss, under the dark, cool bowers of matted vine and blossoming
+creepers. And as they passed this time the jungle silence awoke to the
+crack of George's .22 and the discordant cry of river fowl.  Ken's guns
+were both at hand, and the rifle was loaded, but he did not use either.
+He contented himself with snapping a picture here and there and watching
+the bamboo thickets and the mouths of the little dry ravines.
+
+That ride was again so interesting, so full of sound and action and
+color, that it seemed a very short one.  The murmur of the water on the
+rocks told Ken that it was time to change seats with Pepe.  They drifted
+down two short rapids, and then came to the gravelly channels between
+the islands noted on the way up.  The water was shallow down these
+rippling channels; and, fearing they might strike a stone, Ken tumbled
+out over the bow and, wading slowly, let the boat down to still water
+again.  He was about to get in when he espied what he thought was an
+alligator lying along a log near the river. He pointed it out to Pepe.
+
+That worthy yelled gleefully in Mexican, and reached for his _machete_.
+
+"Iguana!" exclaimed George.  "I've heard it's good to eat."
+
+The reptile had a body about four feet long and a very long tail.  Its
+color was a steely blue-black on top, and it had a blunt, rounded head.
+
+Pepe slipped out of the boat and began to wade ashore.  When the iguana
+raised itself on short, stumpy legs George shot at it, and missed, as
+usual.  But he effectually frightened the reptile, which started to
+climb the bank with much nimbleness.  Pepe began to run, brandishing his
+long _machete_.  George plunged into the water in hot pursuit, and then
+Hal yielded to the call of the chase.  Pepe reached the iguana before it
+got up the bank, aimed a mighty blow with his _machete_, and would
+surely have cut the reptile in two pieces if the blade had not caught on
+an overhanging branch.  Then Pepe fell up the bank and barely grasped
+the tail of the iguana.  Pepe hauled back, and Pepe was powerful.  The
+frantic creature dug its feet in the clay-bank and held on for dear
+life.  But Pepe was too strong.  He jerked the iguana down and flung it
+square upon George, who had begun to climb the bank.
+
+George uttered an awful yell, as if he expected to be torn asunder, and
+rolled down, with the reptile on top of him.  Ken saw that it was as
+badly frightened as George. But Hal did not see this.  And he happened
+to have gained a little sand-bar below the bank, in which direction the
+iguana started with wonderful celerity.  Then Hal made a jump that Ken
+believed was a record.
+
+Remarkably awkward as that iguana was, he could surely cover ground with
+his stumpy legs.  Again he dashed up the bank.  Pepe got close enough
+once more, and again he swung the _machete_.  The blow cut off a piece
+of the long tail, but the only effect this produced was to make the
+iguana run all the faster. It disappeared over the bank, with Pepe
+scrambling close behind.  Then followed a tremendous crashing in the dry
+thickets, after which the iguana could be heard rattling and tearing
+away through the jungle. Pepe returned to the boat with the crestfallen
+boys, and he was much concerned over the failure to catch the big
+lizard, which he said made fine eating.
+
+"What next?" asked George, ruefully, and at that the boys all laughed.
+
+"The fun is we don't have any idea what's coming off," said Hal.
+
+"Boys, if you brave hunters had thought to throw a little salt on that
+lizard's tail you might have caught him," added Ken.
+
+Presently Pepe espied another iguana in the forks of a tree, and he
+rowed ashore. This lizard was only a small one, not over two feet in
+length, but he created some excitement among the boys.  George wanted
+him to eat, and Hal wanted the skin for a specimen, and Ken wanted to
+see what the lizard looked like close at hand.  So they all clamored for
+Pepe to use caution and to be quick.
+
+When Pepe started up the tree the iguana came down on the other side,
+quick as a squirrel.  Then they had a race round the trunk until Pepe
+ended it with a well-directed blow from his _machete_.
+
+Hal began to skin the iguana.
+
+"Ken, I'm going to have trouble preserving specimens in this hot place,"
+he said.
+
+"Salt and alum will do the trick.  Remember what old Hiram used to say,"
+replied Ken.
+
+Shortly after that the boat passed the scene of the first camp, and then
+drifted under the railroad bridge.
+
+Hal and George, and Pepe too, looked as if they were occupied with the
+same thought troubling Ken--that once beyond the bridge they would
+plunge into the jungle wilderness from which there could be no turning
+back.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *VIII*
+
+                         *THE FIRST TIGER-CAT*
+
+
+The Santa Rosa opened out wide, and ran swiftly over smooth rock.  Deep
+cracks, a foot or so wide, crossed the river diagonally, and fish darted
+in and out.
+
+The boys had about half a mile of this, when, after turning a hilly
+bend, they entered a long rapid.  It was a wonderful stretch of river to
+look down.
+
+"By George!" said Ken, as he stood up to survey it.  "This is great!"
+
+"It's all right _now_," added George, with his peculiar implication as
+to the future.
+
+"What gets me is the feeling of what might be round the next bend," said
+Hal.
+
+This indeed, Ken thought, made the fascination of such travel.  The
+water was swift and smooth and shallow.  There was scarcely a wave or
+ripple.  At times the boat stuck fast on the flat rock, and the boys
+would have to get out to shove off.  As far ahead as Ken could see
+extended this wide slant of water.  On the left rose a thick line of
+huge cypresses all festooned with gray moss that drooped to the water;
+on the right rose a bare bluff of crumbling rock.  It looked like blue
+clay baked and cracked by the sun.  A few palms fringed the top.
+
+"Say, we can beat this," said Ken, as for the twentieth time the boys
+had to step out and shove off a flat, shallow place.  "Two of you in the
+bow and Pepe with me in the stern, feet overboard."
+
+The little channels ran every way, making it necessary often to turn the
+boat.  Ken's idea was to drift along and keep the boat from grounding by
+an occasional kick.
+
+"Ken manages to think of something once in a while," observed Hal.
+
+Then the boat drifted down-stream, whirling round and round.  Here Pepe
+would drop his brown foot in and kick his end clear of a shallow ledge;
+there George would make a great splash when his turn came to ward off
+from a rock; and again Hal would give a greater kick than was necessary
+to the righting of the boat.  Probably Hal was much influenced by the
+fact that when he kicked hard he destroyed the lazy equilibrium of his
+companions.
+
+It dawned upon Ken that here was a new and unique way to travel down a
+river.  It was different from anything he had ever tried before.  The
+water was swift and seldom more than a foot deep, except in diagonal
+cracks that ribbed the river-bed.  This long, shut-in stretch appeared
+to be endless.  But for the quick, gliding movement of the boat, which
+made a little breeze, the heat would have been intolerable.  When one of
+Hal's kicks made Ken lurch overboard to sit down ludicrously, the cool
+water sent thrills over him.  Instead of retaliating on Hal, he was glad
+to be wet.  And the others, soon discovering the reason for Ken's
+remarkable good-nature, went overboard and lay flat in the cool ripples.
+Then little clouds of steam began to rise from their soaked clothes.
+
+Ken began to have an idea that he had been wise in boiling the water
+which they drank. They all suffered from a parching thirst. Pepe scooped
+up water in his hand; George did likewise, and then Hal.
+
+"You've all got to stop that," ordered Ken, sharply.  "No drinking this
+water unless it's boiled."
+
+The boys obeyed, for the hour, but they soon forgot, or deliberately
+allayed their thirst despite Ken's command.  Ken himself found his
+thirst unbearable.  He squeezed the juice of a wild lime into a cup of
+water and drank that.  Then he insisted on giving the boys doses of
+quinine and anti-malaria pills, which treatment he meant to continue
+daily.
+
+Toward the lower part of that rapid, where the water grew deeper, fish
+began to be so numerous that the boys kicked at many as they darted
+under the boat.  There were thousands of small fish and some large ones.
+Occasionally, as a big fellow lunged for a crack in the rock, he would
+make the water roar.  There was a fish that resembled a mullet, and
+another that Hal said was some kind of bass with a blue tail.  Pepe
+chopped at them with his _machete_; George whacked with an oar; Hal
+stood up in the boat and shot at them with his .22 rifle.
+
+"Say, I've got to see what that blue-tailed bass looks like," said Ken.
+"You fellows will never get one."
+
+Whereupon Ken jointed up a small rod and, putting on a spinner, began to
+cast it about.  He felt two light fish hit it.  Then came a heavy shock
+that momentarily checked the boat.  The water foamed as the line cut
+through, and Ken was just about to jump off the boat to wade and follow
+the fish, when it broke the leader.
+
+"That was a fine exhibition," remarked the critical Hal.
+
+"What's the matter with you?" retorted Ken, who was sensitive as to his
+fishing abilities.  "It was a big fish.  He broke things."
+
+"Haven't you got a reel on that rod and fifty yards of line?" queried
+Hal.
+
+Ken did not have another spinner, and he tried an artificial minnow, but
+could not get a strike on it.  He took Hal's gun and shot at several of
+the blue-tailed fish, but though he made them jump out of the water like
+a real northern black-bass, it was all of no avail.
+
+Then Hal caught one with a swoop of the landing net.  It was a beautiful
+fish, and it did have a blue tail.  Pepe could not name it, nor could
+Ken classify it, so Hal was sure he had secured a rare specimen.
+
+When the boat drifted round a bend to enter another long, wide, shallow
+rapid, the boys demurred a little at the sameness of things.  The bare
+blue bluffs persisted, and the line of gray-veiled cypresses and the
+strange formation of stream-bed.  Five more miles of drifting under the
+glaring sun made George and Hal lie back in the boat, under an
+improvised sun-shade.  The ride was novel and strange to Ken Ward, and
+did not pall upon him, though he suffered from the heat and glare.  He
+sat on the bow, occasionally kicking the boat off a rock.
+
+All at once a tense whisper from Pepe brought Ken round with a jerk.
+Pepe was pointing down along the right-hand shore. George heard, and,
+raising himself, called excitedly: "Buck!  buck!"
+
+Ken saw a fine deer leap back from the water and start to climb the side
+of a gully that indented the bluff.  Snatching up the .351 rifle, he
+shoved in the safety catch.  The distance was far--perhaps two hundred
+yards--but without elevating the sights he let drive.  A cloud of dust
+puffed up under the nose of the climbing deer.
+
+"Wow!" yelled George, and Pepe began to jabber.  Hal sprang up, nearly
+falling overboard, and he shouted: "Give it to him, Ken!"
+
+The deer bounded up a steep, winding trail, his white flag standing, his
+reddish coat glistening.  Ken fired again.  The bullet sent up a white
+puff of dust, this time nearer still. That shot gave Ken the range, and
+he pulled the automatic again--and again.  Each bullet hit closer.  The
+boys were now holding their breath, watching, waiting.  Ken aimed a
+little firmer and finer at the space ahead of the deer--for in that
+instant he remembered what the old hunter on Penetier had told him--and
+he pulled the trigger twice.
+
+The buck plunged down, slipped off the trail, and, raising a cloud of
+dust, rolled over and over.  Then it fell sheer into space, and whirled
+down to strike the rock with a sodden crash.
+
+It was Ken's first shooting on this trip, and he could not help adding a
+cry of exultation to the yells of his admiring comrades.
+
+"Guess you didn't plug him!" exclaimed Hal Ward, with flashing eyes.
+
+Wading, the boys pulled the boat ashore. Pepe pronounced the buck to be
+very large, but to Ken, remembering the deer in Coconino Forest, it
+appeared small.  If there was an unbroken bone left in that deer, Ken
+greatly missed his guess.  He and Pepe cut out the haunch least crushed
+by the fail.
+
+"There's no need to carry along more meat than we can use," said George.
+"It spoils overnight.  That's the worst of this jungle, I've heard
+hunters say."
+
+Hal screwed up his face in the manner he affected when he tried to
+imitate old Hiram Bent.  "Wal, youngster, I reckon I'm right an' down
+proud of thet shootin'.  You air comin' along."
+
+Ken was as pleased as Hal, but he replied, soberly: "Well, kid, I hope I
+can hold as straight as that when we run up against a jaguar."
+
+"Do you think we'll see one?" asked Hal.
+
+"Just you wait!" exclaimed George, replying for Ken.  "Pepe says we'll
+have to sleep in the boat, and anchor the boat in the middle of the
+river."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"To keep those big yellow tigers from eating us up."
+
+"How nice!" replied Hal, with a rather forced laugh.
+
+So, talking and laughing, the boys resumed their down-stream journey.
+Ken, who was always watching with sharp eyes, saw buzzards appear, as if
+by magic.  Before the boat was half a mile down the river buzzards were
+circling over the remains of the deer.  These birds of prey did not fly
+from the jungle on either side of the stream.  They sailed, dropped down
+from the clear blue sky where they had been invisible.  How wonderful
+that was to Ken!  Nature had endowed these vulture-like birds with
+wonderful scent or instinct or sight, or all combined.  But Ken believed
+that it was power of sight which brought the buzzards so quickly to the
+scene of the killing.  He watched them circling, sweeping down till a
+curve in the river hid them from view.
+
+And with this bend came a welcome change. The bluff played out in a
+rocky slope below which the green jungle was relief to aching eyes.  As
+the boys made this point, the evening breeze began to blow.  They
+beached the boat and unloaded to make camp.
+
+"We haven't had any work to-day, but we're all tired just the same,"
+observed Ken.
+
+"The heat makes a fellow tired," said George.
+
+They were fortunate in finding a grassy plot where there appeared to be
+but few ticks and other creeping things.  That evening it was a little
+surprise to Ken to realize how sensitive he had begun to feel about
+these jungle vermin.
+
+Pepe went up the bank for fire-wood.  Ken heard him slashing away with
+his _machete_. Then this sound ceased, and Pepe yelled in fright.  Ken
+and George caught up guns as they bounded into the thicket; Hal started
+to follow, likewise armed.  Ken led the way through a thorny brake to
+come suddenly upon Pepe.  At the same instant Ken caught a glimpse of
+gray, black-striped forms slipping away in the jungle.  Pepe shouted out
+something.
+
+"Tiger-cats!" exclaimed George.
+
+Ken held up his finger to enjoin silence. With that he stole cautiously
+forward, the others noiselessly at his heels.  The thicket was lined
+with well-beaten trails, and by following these and stooping low it was
+possible to go ahead without rustling the brush.  Owing to the gathering
+twilight Ken could not see very far.  When he stopped to listen he heard
+the faint crackling of dead brush and soft, quick steps.  He had not
+proceeded far when pattering footsteps halted him.  Ken dropped to his
+knee.  The boys knelt behind him, and Pepe whispered. Peering along the
+trail Ken saw what he took for a wildcat.  Its boldness amazed him.
+Surely it had heard him, but instead of bounding into the thicket it
+crouched not more than twenty-five feet away.  Ken took a quick shot at
+the gray huddled form.  It jerked, stretched out, and lay still.  Then a
+crashing in the brush, and gray streaks down the trail told Ken of more
+game.
+
+"There they go.  Peg away at them," called Ken.
+
+George and Hal burned a good deal of powder and sent much lead whistling
+through the dry branches, but the gray forms vanished in the jungle.
+
+"We got one, anyway," said Ken.
+
+He advanced to find his quarry quite dead. It was bigger than any
+wildcat Ken had ever seen.  The color was a grayish yellow, almost
+white, lined and spotted with black. Ken lifted it and found it heavy
+enough to make a good load.
+
+"He's a beauty," said Hal.
+
+"Pepe says it's a tiger-cat," remarked George.  "There are two or three
+kinds besides the big tiger.  We may run into a lot of them and get some
+skins."
+
+It was almost dark when they reached camp.  While Pepe and Hal skinned
+the tiger-cat and stretched the pelt over a framework of sticks the
+other boys got supper.  They were all very hungry and tired, and pleased
+with the events of the day.  As they sat round the camp-fire there was a
+constant whirring of water-fowl over their heads and an incessant hum of
+insects from the jungle.
+
+"Ken, does it feel as wild to you here as on Buckskin Mountain?" asked
+Hal.
+
+"Oh yes, much wilder, Hal," replied his brother.  "And it's different,
+somehow.  Out in Arizona there was always the glorious expectancy of
+to-morrow's fun or sport.  Here I have a kind of worry--a feeling--"
+
+But he concluded it wiser to keep to himself that strange feeling of
+dread which came over him at odd moments.
+
+"It suits me," said Hal.  "I want to get a lot of things and keep them
+alive.  Of course, I want specimens.  I'd like some skins for my den,
+too.  But I don't care so much about killing things."
+
+"Just wait!" retorted George, who evidently took Hal's remark as a
+reflection upon his weakness.  "Just wait!  You'll be shooting pretty
+soon for your life."
+
+"Now, George, what do you mean by that?" questioned Ken, determined to
+pin George down to facts.  "You said you didn't really know anything
+about this jungle. Why are you always predicting disaster for us?"
+
+"Why?  Because I've heard things about the jungle," retorted George.
+"And Pepe says wait till we get down off the mountain. He doesn't _know_
+anything, either.  But it's his instinct--Pepe's half Indian.  So I say,
+too, wait till we get down in the jungle!"
+
+"Confound you!  Where are we now?" queried Ken.
+
+"The real jungle is the lowland.  There we'll find the tigers and the
+crocodiles and the wild cattle and wild pigs."
+
+"Bring on your old pigs and things," replied Hal.
+
+But Ken looked into the glowing embers of the camp-fire and was silent.
+When he got out his note-book and began his drawing, he forgot the worry
+and dread in the interest of his task.  He was astonished at his memory,
+to see how he could remember every turn in the river and yet not lose
+his sense of direction.  He could tell almost perfectly the distance
+traveled, because he knew so well just how much a boat would cover in
+swift or slow waters in a given time.  He thought he could give a fairly
+correct estimate of the drop of the river.  And, as for descriptions of
+the jungle life along the shores, that was a delight, all except trying
+to understand and remember and spell the names given to him by Pepe.
+Ken imagined Pepe spoke a mixture of Toltec, Aztec, Indian, Spanish, and
+English.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *IX*
+
+                          *IN THE WHITE WATER*
+
+
+Upon awakening next morning Ken found the sun an hour high.  He was
+stiff and sore and thirsty.  Pepe and the boys slept so soundly it
+seemed selfish to wake them.
+
+All around camp there was a melodious concourse of birds.  But the
+parrots did not make a visit that morning.  While Ken was washing in the
+river a troop of deer came down to the bar on the opposite side.  Ken
+ran for his rifle, and by mistake took up George's .32.  He had a
+splendid shot at less than one hundred yards.  But the bullet dropped
+fifteen feet in front of the leading buck.  The deer ran into the deep,
+bushy willows.
+
+"That gun's leaded," muttered Ken.  "It didn't shoot where I aimed."
+
+Pepe jumped up; George rolled out of his blanket with one eye still
+glued shut; and Hal stretched and yawned and groaned.
+
+"Do I have to get up?" he asked.
+
+"Shore, lad," said Ken, mimicking Jim Williams, "or I'll hev to be
+reconsiderin' that idee of mine about you bein' pards with me."
+
+Such mention of Hal's ranger friend brought the boy out of his lazy bed
+with amusing alacrity.
+
+"Rustle breakfast, now, you fellows," said Ken, and, taking his rifle,
+he started off to climb the high river bluff.
+
+It was his idea to establish firmly in mind the trend of the
+mountain-range, and the relation of the river to it.  The difficulty in
+mapping the river would come after it left the mountains to wind away
+into the wide lowlands.  The matter of climbing the bluff would have
+been easy but for the fact that he wished to avoid contact with grass,
+brush, trees, even dead branches, as all were covered with ticks.  The
+upper half of the bluff was bare, and when he reached that part he soon
+surmounted it.  Ken faced south with something of eagerness.
+Fortunately the mist had dissolved under the warm rays of the sun,
+affording an unobstructed view. That scene was wild and haunting, yet
+different from what his fancy had pictured.  The great expanse of jungle
+was gray, the green line of cypress, palm, and bamboo following the
+southward course of the river.  The mountain-range some ten miles
+distant sloped to the south and faded away in the haze. The river
+disappeared in rich dark verdure, and but for it, which afforded a
+water-road back to civilization, Ken would have been lost in a dense
+gray-green overgrowth of tropical wilderness.  Once or twice he thought
+he caught the faint roar of a waterfall on the morning breeze, yet could
+not be sure, and he returned toward camp with a sober appreciation of
+the difficulty of his enterprise and a more thrilling sense of its
+hazard and charm.
+
+"Didn't see anything to peg at, eh?" greeted Hal.  "Well, get your teeth
+in some of this venison before it's all gone."
+
+Soon they were under way again, Pepe strong and willing at the oars.
+This time Ken had his rifle and shotgun close at hand, ready for use.
+Half a mile below, the river, running still and deep, entered a shaded
+waterway so narrow that in places the branches of wide-spreading and
+leaning cypresses met and intertwined their moss-fringed foliage. This
+lane was a paradise for birds, that ranged from huge speckled cranes,
+six feet high, to little yellow birds almost too small to see.
+
+Black squirrels were numerous and very tame.  In fact, all the creatures
+along this shaded stream were so fearless that it was easy to see they
+had never heard a shot. Ken awoke sleepy cranes with his fishing-rod and
+once pushed a blue heron off a log. He heard animals of some species
+running back from the bank, out could not see them. All at once a soft
+breeze coming up-stream bore a deep roar of tumbling rapids.  The
+sensation of dread which had bothered Ken occasionally now returned and
+fixed itself in his mind.  He was in the jungle of Mexico, and knew not
+what lay ahead of him.  But if he had been in the wilds of unexplored
+Brazil and had heard that roar, it would have been familiar to him.  In
+his canoe experience on the swift streams of Pennsylvania Ken Ward had
+learned, long before he came to rapids, to judge what they were from the
+sound. His attention wandered from the beautiful birds, the moss-shaded
+bowers, and the overhanging jungle.  He listened to the heavy, sullen
+roar of the rapids.
+
+"That water sounds different," remarked George.
+
+"Grande," said Pepe, with a smile.
+
+"Pretty heavy, Ken, eh?" asked Hal, looking quickly at his brother.
+
+But Ken Ward made his face a mask, and betrayed nothing of the grim
+nature of his thought.  Pepe and the boys had little idea of danger, and
+they had now a blind faith in Ken.
+
+"I dare say we'll get used to that roar," replied Ken, easily, and he
+began to pack his guns away in their cases.
+
+Hal forgot his momentary anxiety; Pepe rowed on, leisurely; and George
+lounged in his seat.  There was no menace for them in that dull,
+continuous roar.
+
+But Ken knew they would soon be in fast water and before long would drop
+down into the real wilderness.  It was not now too late to go back up
+the river, but soon that would be impossible.  Keeping a sharp lookout
+ahead, Ken revolved in mind the necessity for caution and skilful
+handling of the boat. But he realized, too, that overzealousness on the
+side of caution was a worse thing for such a trip than sheer
+recklessness.  Good judgment in looking over rapids, a quick eye to pick
+the best channel, then a daring spirit--that was the ideal to be striven
+for in going down swift rivers.
+
+Presently Ken saw a break in the level surface of the water.  He took
+Pepe's place at the oars, and, as usual, turned the boat stern first
+down-stream.  The banks were low and shelved out in rocky points.  This
+relieved Ken, for he saw that he could land just above the falls.  What
+he feared was a narrow gorge impossible to portage round or go through.
+As the boat approached the break the roar seemed to divide itself,
+hollow and shallow near at hand, rushing and heavy farther on.
+
+Ken rowed close to the bank and landed on the first strip of rock.  He
+got out and, walking along this ledge, soon reached the fall. It was a
+straight drop of some twelve or fifteen feet.  The water was shallow all
+the way across.
+
+"Boys, this is easy," said Ken.  "We'll pack the outfit round the fall,
+and slide the boat over."
+
+But Ken did not say anything about the white water extending below the
+fall as far as he could see.  From here came the sullen roar that had
+worried him.
+
+Portaging the supplies around that place turned out to be far from easy.
+The portage was not long nor rugged, but the cracked, water-worn, rock
+made going very difficult. The boys often stumbled.  Pepe fell and broke
+open a box, and almost broke his leg. Ken had a hard knock.  Then, when
+it came to carrying the trunk, one at each corner, progress was
+laborious and annoying.  Full two hours were lost in transporting the
+outfit around the fall.
+
+Below there was a wide, shelving apron, over which the water ran a foot
+or so in depth. Ken stationed Pepe and the boys there, and went up to
+get the boat.  He waded out with it.  Ken saw that his end of this
+business was going to be simple enough, but he had doubts as to what
+would happen to the boys.
+
+"Brace yourselves, now," he yelled.  "When I drop her over she'll come
+a-humming. Hang on if she drags you a mile!"
+
+Wading out deeper Ken let the boat swing down with the current till the
+stern projected over the fall.  He had trouble in keeping his footing,
+for the rock was slippery.  Then with a yell he ran the stern far out
+over the drop, bore down hard on the bow, and shoved off.
+
+The boat shot out and down, to alight with a heavy souse.  Then it
+leaped into the swift current.  George got his hands on it first, and
+went down like a ninepin.  The boat floated over him.  The bow struck
+Hal, and would have dragged him away had not Pepe laid powerful hands on
+the stern.  They waded to the lower ledge.
+
+"Didn't ship a bucketful," said Hal. "Fine work, Ken."
+
+"I got all the water," added the drenched and dripping George.
+
+"Bail out, boys, and repack, while I look below," said Ken.
+
+He went down-stream a little way to take a survey of the rapids.  If
+those rapids had been back in Pennsylvania, Ken felt that he could have
+gone at them in delight.  If the jungle country had been such that
+damage to boat or supplies could have been remedied or replaced, these
+rapids would not have appeared so bad.  Ken walked up and down looking
+over the long white inclines more than was wise, and he hesitated about
+going into them. But it had to be done.  So he went back to the boys.
+Then he took the oars with gripping fingers.
+
+"George, can you swim?" he asked.
+
+"I'm a second cousin to a fish," replied George.
+
+"All right.  We're off.  Now, if we upset, hang to the boat, if you can,
+and hold up your legs.  George, tell Pepe."
+
+Ken backed the boat out from the shore. To his right in the middle of
+the narrow river was a racy current that he kept out of as long as
+possible.  But presently he was drawn into it, and the boat shot
+forward, headed into the first incline, and went racing smoothly down
+toward the white waves of the rapids.
+
+This was a trying moment for Ken.  Grip as hard as he might, the
+oar-handles slipped in his sweaty hands.
+
+The boys were yelling, but Ken could not hear for the din of roaring
+waters.  The boat sailed down with swift, gliding motion.  When it
+thumped into the back-lash of the first big waves the water threshed
+around and over the boys.  Then they were in the thick of rush and roar.
+Ken knew he was not handling the boat well.  It grazed stones that
+should have been easy to avoid, and bumped on hidden ones, and got half
+broadside to the current.  Pepe, by quick action with an oar, pushed the
+stern aside from collision with more than one rock.  Several times Ken
+missed a stroke when a powerful one was needed.  He passed between
+stones so close together that he had to ship the oars.  It was all rapid
+water, this stretch, but the bad places, with sunken rocks, falls, and
+big waves, were strung out at such distances apart that Ken had time to
+get the boat going right before entering them.
+
+Ken saw scarcely anything of the banks of the river.  They blurred in
+his sight. Sometimes they were near, sometimes far. The boat turned
+corners where rocky ledges pointed out, constricting the stream and
+making a curved channel.  What lay around the curve was always a
+question and a cause for suspense.  Often the boat raced down a chute
+and straight toward a rocky wall. Ken would pull back with all his
+might, and Pepe would break the shock by striking the wall with his oar.
+
+More than once Pepe had a narrow escape from being knocked overboard.
+George tried to keep him from standing up.  Finally at the end of a long
+rapid, Pepe, who had the stern-seat, jumped up and yelled.  Ken saw a
+stone directly in the path of the boat, and he pulled back on the oars
+with a quick, strong jerk.  Pepe shot out of the stern as if he had been
+flung from a catapult.  He swam with the current while the boat drifted.
+He reached smooth water and the shore before Ken could pick him up.
+
+It was fun for everybody but Ken.  There were three inches of water in
+the boat.  The canvas, however, had been arranged to protect guns,
+grips, and supplies.  George had been wet before he entered the rapids,
+so a little additional water did not matter to him. Hal was almost as
+wet as Pepe.
+
+"I'm glad that's past," said Ken.
+
+With that long rapid behind him he felt different.  It was what he had
+needed.  His nervousness disappeared and he had no dread of the next
+fall.  While the boys bailed out the boat Ken rested and thought.  He
+had made mistakes in that rapid just passed. Luck had favored him.  He
+went over the mistakes and saw where he had been wrong, and how he could
+have avoided them if he had felt right.  Ken realized now that this was
+a daredevil trip.  And the daredevil in him had been shut up in dread.
+It took just that nervous dread, and the hard work, blunders and
+accidents, the danger and luck, to liberate the spirit that would make
+the trip a success.  Pepe and George were loud in their praises of Ken.
+But they did not appreciate the real hazard of the undertaking, and if
+Hal did he was too much of a wild boy to care.
+
+"All aboard," called George.
+
+Then they were on their way again.  Ken found himself listening for
+rapids.  It was no surprise to hear a dull roar round the next bend.
+His hair rose stiffly under his hat. But this time he did not feel the
+chill, the uncertainty, the lack of confidence that had before weakened
+him.
+
+At the head of a long, shallow incline the boys tumbled overboard, Ken
+and Hal at the bow, Pepe and George at the stern. They waded with the
+bow up-stream.  The water tore around their legs, rising higher and
+higher.  Soon Pepe and George had to climb in the boat, for the water
+became so deep and swift they could not wade.
+
+"Jump in, Hal," called Ken.
+
+Then he held to the bow an instant longer, wading a little farther down.
+This was ticklish business, and all depended upon Ken.  He got the stern
+of the boat straight in line with the channel he wanted to run, then he
+leaped aboard and made for the oars. The boat sped down.  At the bottom
+of this incline was a mass of leaping green and white waves.  The blunt
+stern of the boat made a great splash and the water flew over the boys.
+They came through the roar and hiss and spray to glide into a mill-race
+current.
+
+"Never saw such swift water!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+This incline ended in a sullen plunge between two huge rocks.  Ken saw
+the danger long before it became evident to his companions.  There was
+no other way to shoot the rapid.  He could not reach the shore.  He must
+pass between the rocks.  Ken pushed on one oar, then on the other, till
+he got the boat in line, and then he pushed with both oars.  The boat
+flew down that incline.  It went so swiftly that if it had hit one of
+the rocks it would have been smashed to kindling wood.  Hal crouched
+low.  George's face was white.  And Pepe leaned forward with his big
+arms outstretched, ready to try to prevent a collision.
+
+Down! down with the speed of the wind! The boat flashed between the
+black stones. Then it was raised aloft, light as a feather, to crash
+into the back-lashers.  The din deafened Ken; the spray blinded him.
+The boat seemed to split a white pall of water, then, with many a
+bounce, drifted out of that rapid into little choppy waves, and from
+them into another long, smooth runway.
+
+Ken rested, and had nothing to say.  Pepe shook his black head.  Hal
+looked at his brother.  George had forgotten his rifle.  No one spoke.
+
+Soon Ken had more work on hand.  For round another corner lay more fast
+water. The boat dipped on a low fall, and went down into the midst of
+green waves with here and there ugly rocks splitting the current.  The
+stream-bed was continually new and strange to Ken, and he had never seen
+such queer formation of rocks.  This rapid, however, was easy to
+navigate.  A slanting channel of swift water connected it with another
+rapid.  Ken backed into that one, passed through, only to face another.
+And so it went for a long succession of shallow rapids.
+
+A turn in the winding lane of cypresses revealed walls of gray, between
+which the river disappeared.
+
+"Aha!" muttered Ken.
+
+"Ken, I'll bet this is the place you've been looking for," said Hal.
+
+The absence of any roar of water emboldened Ken.  Nearing the head of
+the ravine, he stood upon the seat and looked ahead.  But Ken could not
+see many rods ahead.  The ravine turned, and it was the deceiving turns
+in the river that he had feared.  What a strange sensation Ken had when
+he backed the boat into the mouth of that gorge!  He was forced against
+his will. Yet there seemed to be a kind of blood-tingling pleasure in
+the prospect.
+
+The current caught the boat and drew it between the gray-green walls of
+rock.
+
+"It's coming to us," said the doubtful George.
+
+The current ran all of six miles an hour. This was not half as fast as
+the boys had traveled in rapids, but it appeared swift enough because of
+the nearness of the overshadowing walls.  In the shade the water took on
+a different coloring.  It was brown and oily.  It slid along silently.
+It was deep, and the swirling current suggested power.  Here and there
+long, creeping ferns covered the steep stone sides, and above ran a
+stream of blue sky fringed by leaning palms. Once Hal put his hands to
+his lips and yelled: "Hel-lo!"  The yell seemed to rip the silence and
+began to clap from wall to wall.  It gathered quickness until it clapped
+in one fiendish rattle.  Then it wound away from the passage, growing
+fainter and fainter, and at last died in a hollow echo.
+
+"Don't do that again," ordered Ken.
+
+He began to wish he could see the end of that gorge.  But it grew
+narrower, and the shade changed to twilight, and there were no long,
+straight stretches.  The river kept turning corners.  Quick to note the
+slightest change in conditions, Ken felt a breeze, merely a zephyr, fan
+his hot face.  The current had almost imperceptibly quickened. Yet it
+was still silent.  Then on the gentle wind came a low murmur.  Ken's
+pulse beat fast.  Turning his ear down-stream, he strained his hearing.
+The low murmur ceased. Perhaps he had imagined it.  Still he kept
+listening.  There!  Again it came, low, far away, strange.  It might
+have been the wind in the palms.  But no, he could not possibly persuade
+himself it was wind.  And as that faint breeze stopped he lost the sound
+once more.  The river was silent, and the boat, and the boys--it was a
+silent ride.  Ken divined that his companions were enraptured. But this
+ride had no beauty, no charm for him.
+
+There!  Another faint puff of wind, and again the low murmur!  He
+fancied it was louder.  He was beginning to feel an icy dread when all
+was still once more.  So the boat drifted swiftly on with never a gurgle
+of water about her gunwales.  The river gleamed in brown shadows.  Ken
+saw bubbles rise and break on the surface, and there was a slight rise
+or swell of the water toward the center of the channel.  This bothered
+him. He could not understand it.  But then there had been many other
+queer formations of rock and freaks of current along this river.
+
+The boat glided on and turned another corner, the sharpest one yet.  A
+long, shadowy water-lane, walled in to the very sides, opened up to
+Ken's keen gaze.  The water here began to race onward, still wonderfully
+silent. And now the breeze carried a low roar.  It was changeable yet
+persistent.  It deepened.
+
+Once more Ken felt his hair rise under his hat.  Cold sweat wet his
+skin.  Despite the pounding of his heart and the throb of his veins, his
+blood seemed to clog, to freeze, to stand still.
+
+That roar was the roar of rapids.  Impossible to go back!  If there had
+been four sets of oars, Ken and his comrades could not row the heavy
+boat back up that swift, sliding river.
+
+They must go on.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *X*
+
+                                *LOST!*
+
+
+"Ken, old man, do you hear that?" questioned Hal, waking from his
+trance.
+
+George likewise rose out of his lazy contentment.  "Must be rapids," he
+muttered. "If we strike rapids in this gorge it's all day with us.  What
+did I tell you!"
+
+Pepe's dark, searching eyes rested on Ken.
+
+But Ken had no word for any of them. He was fighting an icy numbness,
+and the weakness of muscle and the whirl of his mind.  It was thought of
+responsibility that saved him from collapse.
+
+"It's up to you, old man," said Hal, quietly.
+
+In a moment like this the boy could not wholly be deceived.
+
+Ken got a grip upon himself.  He looked down the long, narrow lane of
+glancing water. Some hundred yards on, it made another turn round a
+corner, and from this dim curve came the roar.  The current was hurrying
+the boat toward it, but not fast enough to suit Ken. He wanted to see
+the worst, to get into the thick of it, to overcome it.  So he helped
+the boat along.  A few moments sufficed to cover that gliding stretch of
+river, yet to Ken it seemed never to have an end.  The roar steadily
+increased.  The current became still stronger.  Ken saw eruptions of
+water rising as from an explosion beneath the surface. Whirlpools raced
+along with the boat.  The dim, high walls re-echoed the roaring of the
+water.
+
+The first thing Ken saw when he sailed round that corner was a widening
+of the chasm and bright sunlight ahead.  Perhaps an eighth of a mile
+below the steep walls ended abruptly. Next in quick glance he saw a
+narrow channel of leaping, tossing, curling white-crested waves under
+sunlighted mist and spray.
+
+Pulling powerfully back and to the left Ken brought the boat alongside
+the cliff. Then he shipped his oars.
+
+"Hold hard," he yelled, and he grasped the stone.  The boys complied,
+and thus stopped the boat.  Ken stood up on the seat.  It was a bad
+place he looked down into, but he could not see any rocks.  And rocks
+were what he feared most.
+
+"Hold tight, boys," he said.  Then he got Pepe to come to him and sit on
+the seat. Ken stepped up on Pepe's shoulders and, by holding to the
+rock, was able to get a good view of the rapid.  It was not a rapid at
+all, but a constriction of the channel, and also a steep slant.  The
+water rushed down so swiftly to get through that it swelled in the
+center in a long frothy ridge of waves.  The water was deep.  Ken could
+not see any bumps or splits or white-wreathed rocks, such as were
+conspicuous in a rapid.  The peril here for Ken was to let the boat hit
+the wall or turn broadside or get out of that long swelling ridge.
+
+He stepped down and turned to the white-faced boys.  He had to yell
+close to them to make them hear him in the roar.
+
+"I--can--run--this--place.  But--you've got--to help.  Pull--the
+canvas--up higher in the stern--and hold it."
+
+Then he directed Pepe to kneel in the bow of the boat with an oar and be
+ready to push off from the walls.
+
+If Ken had looked again or hesitated a moment he would have lost his
+nerve.  He recognized that fact.  And he shoved off instantly.  Once the
+boat had begun to glide down, gathering momentum, he felt his teeth
+grind hard and his muscles grow tense.  He had to bend his head from
+side to side to see beyond the canvas George and Hal were holding round
+their shoulders.  He believed with that acting as a buffer in the stern
+he could go pounding through those waves. Then he was in the middle of
+the channel, and the boat fairly sailed along.  Ken kept his oars
+poised, ready to drop either one for a stroke.  All he wanted was to
+enter those foaming, tumultuous waves with his boat pointed right.  He
+knew he could not hope to see anything low down after he entered the
+race.  He calculated that the last instant would give him an opportunity
+to get his direction in line with some object.
+
+Then, even as he planned it, the boat dipped on a beautiful glassy
+incline, and glided down toward the engulfing, roaring waves.  Above
+them, just in the center, Ken caught sight of the tufted top of a
+palm-tree.  That was his landmark!
+
+The boat shot into a great, curling, back-lashing wave.  There was a
+heavy shock, a pause, and then Ken felt himself lifted high, while a
+huge sheet of water rose fan-shape behind the buffer in the stern.
+Walls and sky and tree faded under a watery curtain. Then the boat shot
+on again; the light came, the sky shone, and Ken saw his palm-tree. He
+pulled hard on the right oar to get the stern back in line.  Another
+heavy shock, a pause, a blinding shower of water, and then the downward
+rush!  Ken got a fleeting glimpse of his guiding mark, and sunk the left
+oar deep for a strong stroke.  The beating of the waves upon the
+upraised oars almost threw him out of the boat.  The wrestling waters
+hissed and bellowed.  Down the boat shot and up, to pound and pound, and
+then again shoot down.  Through the pall of mist and spray Ken always
+got a glimpse, quick as lightning, of the palm-tree, and like a demon he
+plunged in his oars to keep the boat in line.  He was only dimly
+conscious of the awfulness of the place.  But he was not afraid.  He
+felt his action as being inspirited by something grim and determined.
+He was fighting the river.
+
+All at once a grating jar behind told him the bow had hit a stone or a
+wall.  He did not dare look back.  The most fleeting instant of time
+might be the one for him to see his guiding mark.  Then the boat lurched
+under him, lifted high with bow up, and lightened.  He knew Pepe had
+been pitched overboard.
+
+In spite of the horror of the moment, Ken realized that the lightening
+of the boat made it more buoyant, easier to handle.  That weight in the
+bow had given him an unbalanced craft.  But now one stroke here and one
+there kept the stern straight.  The palm-tree loomed higher and closer
+through the brightening mist.  Ken no longer felt the presence of the
+walls.  The thunderous roar had begun to lose some of its volume. Then
+with a crash through a lashing wave the boat raced out into the open
+light.  Ken saw a beautiful foam-covered pool, down toward which the
+boat kept bumping over a succession of diminishing waves.
+
+He gave a start of joy to see Pepe's black head bobbing in the choppy
+channel.  Pepe had beat the boat to the outlet.  He was swimming easily,
+and evidently he had not been injured.
+
+Ken turned the bow toward him.  But Pepe did not need any help, and a
+few more strokes put him in shallow water.  Ken discovered that the
+boat, once out of the current, was exceedingly loggy and hard to row.
+It was half full of water.  Ken's remaining strength went to pull
+ashore, and there he staggered out and dropped on the rocky bank.
+
+The blue sky was very beautiful and sweet to look at just then.  But Ken
+had to close his eyes.  He did not have strength left to keep them open.
+For a while all seemed dim and obscure to him.  Then he felt a
+dizziness, which in turn succeeded to a racing riot of his nerves and
+veins.  His heart gradually resumed a normal beat, and his bursting
+lungs seemed to heal.  A sickening languor lay upon him.  He could not
+hold little stones which he felt under his fingers.  He could not raise
+his hands.  The life appeared to have gone from his legs.
+
+All this passed, at length, and, hearing Hal's voice, Ken sat up.  The
+outfit was drying in the sun; Pepe was bailing out the boat; George was
+wiping his guns; and Hal was nursing a very disheveled little racoon.
+
+"You can bring on any old thing now, for all I care," said Hal.  "I'd
+shoot Lachine Rapids with Ken at the oars."
+
+"He's a fine boatman," replied George. "Weren't you scared when we were
+in the middle of that darned place?"
+
+"Me?  Naw!"
+
+"Well, I was scared, and don't you forget it," said Ken to them.
+
+"You were all in, Ken," replied Hal. "Never saw you so tuckered out.
+The day you and Prince went after the cougar along that ca�on
+precipice--you were all in that time.  George, it took Ken six hours to
+climb out of that hole."
+
+"Tell me about it," said George, all eyes.
+
+"No stories now," put in Ken.  "The sun is still high.  We've got to be
+on our way.  Let's look over the lay of the land."
+
+Below the pool was a bold, rocky bluff, round which the river split.
+What branch to take was a matter of doubt and anxiety to Ken.  Evidently
+this bluff was an island. It had a yellow front and long bare ledges
+leading into the river.
+
+Ken climbed the bluff, accompanied by the boys, and found it covered
+with palm-trees. Up there everything was so dry and hot that it did not
+seem to be jungle at all.  Even the palms were yellow and parched.  Pepe
+stood the heat, but the others could not endure it.  Ken took one long
+look at the surrounding country, so wild and dry and still, and then led
+the way down the loose, dusty shelves.
+
+Thereupon he surveyed the right branch of the river and followed it a
+little distance. The stream here foamed and swirled among jagged rocks.
+At the foot of this rapid stretched the first dead water Ken had
+encountered for miles.  A flock of wild geese rose from under his feet
+and flew down-stream.
+
+"Geese!" exclaimed Ken.  "I wonder if that means we are getting down
+near lagoons or big waters.  George, wild geese don't frequent little
+streams, do they?"
+
+"There's no telling where you'll find them in this country," answered
+George.  "I've chased them right in our orange groves."
+
+They returned to look at the left branch of the river.  It was open and
+one continuous succession of low steps.  That would have decided Ken
+even if the greater volume of water had not gone down on this left side.
+As far as he could see was a wide, open river running over little
+ledges.  It looked to be the easiest and swiftest navigation he had come
+upon, and so indeed it proved.  The water was swift, and always dropped
+over some ledge in a rounded fall that was safe for him to shoot.  It
+was great fun going over these places.  The boys hung their feet over
+the gunwales most of the time, sliding them along the slippery ledge or
+giving a kick to help the momentum.  When they came to a fall, Ken would
+drop off the bow, hold the boat back and swing it straight, then jump
+in, and over it would go--souse!
+
+There were so many of these ledges, and they were so close together,
+that going over them grew to be a habit.  It induced carelessness.  The
+boat drifted to a brow of a fall full four feet high.  Ken, who was at
+the bow. leaped off just in time to save the boat.  He held on while the
+swift water surged about his knees.  He yelled for the boys to jump. As
+the stern where they sat was already over the fall it was somewhat
+difficult to make the boys vacate quickly enough.
+
+"Tumble out!  Quick!" bawled Ken.  "Do you think I'm Samson?"
+
+Over they went, up to their necks in the boiling foam, and not a second
+too soon, for Ken could hold the boat no longer.  It went over smoothly,
+just dipping the stern under water.  If the boys had remained aboard,
+the boat would have swamped.  As it was, Pepe managed to catch the rope,
+which Ken had wisely thrown out, and he drifted down to the next ledge.
+Ken found this nearly as high as the last one.  So he sent the boys
+below to catch the boat.  This worked all right.  The shelves slanted
+slightly, with the shallow part of the water just at the break of the
+ledge.  They passed half a dozen of these, making good time, and before
+they knew it were again in a deep, smooth jungle lane with bamboo and
+streamers of moss waving over them.
+
+The shade was cool, and Ken settled down in the stern-seat, grateful for
+a rest.  To his surprise, he did not see a bird.  The jungle was asleep.
+Once or twice Ken fancied he heard the tinkle and gurgle of water
+running over rocks.  The boat glided along silently, with Pepe rowing
+leisurely, George asleep, Hal dreaming.
+
+Ken watched the beautiful green banks. They were high, a mass of
+big-leafed vines, flowering and fragrant, above which towered the jungle
+giants.  Ken wanted to get out and study those forest trees.  But he
+made no effort to act upon his good intentions, and felt that he must
+take the most of his forestry study at long range.  He was reveling in
+the cool recesses under the leaning cypresses, in the soft swish of
+bearded moss, and the strange rustle of palms, in the dreamy hum of the
+resting jungle, when his pleasure was brought to an abrupt end.
+
+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe.
+
+George woke up with a start.  Hal had been jarred out of his day-dream,
+and looked resentful.  Ken gazed about him with the feeling of a man
+going into a trance, instead of coming out of one.
+
+The boat was fast on a mud-bank.  That branch of the river ended right
+there.  The boys had come all those miles to run into a blind pocket.
+
+Ken's glance at the high yellow bank, here crumbling and bare, told him
+there was no outlet.  He had a sensation of blank dismay.
+
+"Gee!" exclaimed Hal, softly.
+
+George rubbed his eyes; and, searching for a cigarette, he muttered:
+"We're lost!  I said it was coming to us.  We've got to go back!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XI*
+
+                          *AN ARMY OF SNAKES*
+
+
+For a moment Ken Ward was utterly crushed under the weight of this
+sudden blow.  It was so sudden that he had no time to think; or his mind
+was clamped on the idea of attempting to haul the boat up that long,
+insurmountable series of falls.
+
+"It 'll be an awful job," burst out Hal.
+
+No doubt in the mind of each boy was the same idea--the long haul,
+wading over slippery rocks; the weariness of pushing legs against the
+swift current; the packing of supplies uphill; and then the toil of
+lifting the heavy boat up over a fall.
+
+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and he groaned. That was significant, coming
+from a _mozo_, who thought nothing of rowing forty miles in a day.
+
+"Oh, but it's tough luck," cried Ken. "Why didn't I choose the right
+branch of this pesky river?"
+
+"I think you used your head at that," said Hal.  "Most of the water came
+down on this side.  Where did it go?"
+
+Hal had hit the vital question, and it cleared Ken's brain.
+
+"Hal, you're talking sense.  Where did that water go?  It couldn't all
+have sunk into the earth.  We'll find out.  We won't try to go back.  We
+_can't_ go back."
+
+Pepe shoved off the oozy mud, and, reluctantly, as if he appreciated the
+dilemma, he turned the boat and rowed along the shore. As soon as Ken
+had recovered somewhat he decided there must be an outlet which he had
+missed.  This reminded him that at a point not far back he had heard the
+tinkle and gurgle of unseen water flowing over rocks.
+
+He directed Pepe to row slowly along the bank that he thought was the
+island side. As they glided under the drooping bamboos and silky
+curtains of moss George began to call out: "Low bridge!  Low bridge!"
+For a boy who was forever voicing ill-omened suggestions as to what
+might soon happen he was extraordinarily cheerful.
+
+There were places where all had to lie flat and others where Pepe had to
+use his _machete_.  This disturbed the _siesta_ of many aquatic birds,
+most of which flew swiftly away.  But there were many of the
+gray-breasted, blue-backed bitterns that did not take to flight.  These
+croaked dismally, and looked down upon the boys with strange, protruding
+eyes.
+
+"Those darn birds 'll give me the willies," declared Hal.  "George, you
+just look like them when you croak about what's coming to us."
+
+"Just wait!" retorted George.  "It 'll come, all right.  Then I'll have
+the fun of seeing you scared silly."
+
+"What!  You'll not do anything of the kind!" cried Hal, hotly.  "I've
+been in places where such--such a skinny little sap-head as you--"
+
+"Here, you kids stop wrangling," ordered Ken, who sensed hostilities in
+the air.  "We've got trouble enough."
+
+Suddenly Ken signaled Pepe to stop rowing.
+
+"Boys, I hear running water.  Aha!  Here's a current.  See--it's making
+right under this bank."
+
+Before them was a high wall of broad-leaved vines, so thick that nothing
+could be seen through them.  Apparently this luxuriant canopy concealed
+the bank.  Pepe poked an oar into it, but found nothing solid.
+
+"Pepe, cut a way through.  We've got to see where this water runs."
+
+It was then that Ken came to a full appreciation of a _machete_.  He had
+often fancied it a much less serviceable tool than an ax. Pepe flashed
+the long, bright blade up, down, and around, and presently the boat was
+its own length in a green tunnel.  Pepe kept on slashing while Ken poled
+the boat in and the other boys dumped the cut foliage overboard. Soon
+they got through this mass of hanging vine and creeper.  Much to Ken's
+surprise and delight, he found no high bank, but low, flat ground,
+densely wooded, through which ran a narrow, deep outlet of the river.
+
+"By all that's lucky!" ejaculated Ken.
+
+George and Hal whooped their pleasure, and Pepe rubbed his muscular
+hands.  Then all fell silent.  The deep, penetrating silence of that
+jungle was not provocative of speech. The shade was so black that when a
+ray of sunlight did manage to pierce the dense canopy overhead it
+resembled a brilliant golden spear.  A few lofty palms and a few clumps
+of bamboo rather emphasized the lack of these particular species in this
+forest. Nor was there any of the familiar streaming moss hanging from
+the trees.  This glen was green, cool, dark.  It did not smell exactly
+swampy, but rank, like a place where many water plants were growing.
+
+[Illustration: KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE]
+
+The outlet was so narrow that Ken was not able to use the oars.  Still,
+as the current was swift, the boat went along rapidly.  He saw a light
+ahead and heard the babble of water.  The current quickened, and the
+boat drifted suddenly upon the edge of an oval glade, where the hot sun
+beat down.  A series of abrupt mossy benches, over which the stream slid
+almost noiselessly, blocked further progress.
+
+The first thing about this glade that Ken noted particularly, after the
+difficulties presented by the steep steps, was the multitude of snakes
+sunning themselves along the line of further progress.
+
+"Boys, it 'll be great wading down there, hey?" he queried.
+
+Pepe grumbled for the first time on the trip.  Ken gathered from the
+native's looks and speech that he did not like snakes.
+
+"Watch me peg 'em!" yelled Hal, and he began to throw stones with
+remarkable accuracy.  "Hike, you brown sons-of-guns!"
+
+George, not to be outdone, made a dive for his .22 and began to pop as
+if he had no love for snakes.  Ken had doubts about this species.  The
+snakes were short, thick, dull brown in color, and the way they slipped
+into the stream proved they were water-snakes.  Ken had never read of a
+brown water-moccasin, so he doubted that these belonged to that
+poisonous family.  Anyway, snakes were the least of his troubles.
+
+"Boys, you're doing fine," he said.  "There are about a thousand snakes
+there, and you've hit about six."
+
+He walked down through the glade into the forest, and was overjoyed to
+hear once more the heavy roar of rapids.  He went on.  The timber grew
+thinner, and light penetrated the jungle.  Presently he saw the gleam of
+water through the trees.  Then he hurried back.
+
+"All right, boys," he shouted.  "Here's the river."
+
+The boys were so immensely relieved that packing the outfit round the
+waterfalls was work they set about with alacrity.  Ken, who had on his
+boots, broke a trail through the ferns and deep moss.  Pepe, being
+barefoot, wasted time looking for snakes.  George teased him.  But Pepe
+was deadly serious. And the way he stepped and looked made Ken
+thoughtful.  He had made his last trip with supplies, and was about to
+start back to solve the problem of getting the boat down, when a hoarse
+yell resounded through the sleeping jungle.  Parrots screeched, and
+other birds set up a cackling.
+
+Ken bounded up the slope.
+
+"Santa Maria!" cried Pepe.
+
+Ken followed the direction indicated by Pepe's staring eyes and
+trembling finger. Hanging from a limb of a tree was a huge black-snake.
+It was as thick as Ken's leg. The branch upon which it poised its neck
+so gracefully was ten feet high, and the tail curled into the ferns on
+the ground.
+
+"Boys, it's one of the big fellows," cried Ken.
+
+"Didn't I tell you!" yelled George, running down for his gun.
+
+Hal seemed rooted to the spot.  Pepe began to jabber.  Ken watched the
+snake, and felt instinctively from its sinister looks that it was
+dangerous.  George came running back with his .32 and waved it in the
+air as he shot.  He was so frightened that he forgot to aim.  Ken took
+the rifle from him.
+
+"You can't hit him with this.  Run after your shotgun.  Quick!"
+
+But the sixteen-gage was clogged with a shell that would not eject.
+Ken's guns were in their cases.
+
+"Holy smoke!" cried George.  "He's coming down."
+
+The black-snake moved his body and began to slide toward the tree-trunk.
+
+Ken shot twice at the head of the snake. It was a slow-swaying mark hard
+to hit. The reptile stopped and poised wonderfully on the limb.  He was
+not coiled about it, but lay over it with about four feet of neck
+waving, swaying to and fro.  He watched the boys, and his tongue, like a
+thin, black streak, darted out viciously.
+
+Ken could not hit the head, so he sent a bullet through the thick part
+of the body. Swift as a gleam the snake darted from the limb.
+
+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe, and he ran off.
+
+"Look out, boys," shouted Ken.  He picked up Pepe's _machete_ and took
+to his heels.  George and Hal scrambled before him. They ran a hundred
+yards or more, and Ken halted in an open rocky spot.  He was angry, and
+a little ashamed that he had run.  The snake did not pursue, and
+probably was as badly frightened as the boys had been.  Pepe stopped
+some distance away, and Hal and George came cautiously back.
+
+"I don't see anything of him," said Ken. "I'm going back."
+
+He walked slowly, keeping a sharp outlook, and, returning to the glade,
+found blood-stains under the tree.  The snake had disappeared without
+leaving a trail.
+
+"If I'd had my shotgun ready!" exclaimed Ken, in disgust.  And he made a
+note that in the future he would be prepared to shoot.
+
+"Wasn't he a whopper, Ken?" said Hal. "We ought to have got his hide.
+What a fine specimen!"
+
+"Boys, you drive away those few little snakes while I figure on a way to
+get the boat down."
+
+"Not on your life!" replied Hal.
+
+George ably sustained Hal's objection.
+
+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and then added a loud "No" in English.
+
+"All right, my brave comrades," rejoined Ken, scornfully.  "As I've not
+done any work yet or taken any risks, I'll drive the snakes away."
+
+With Pepe's _machete_ he cut a long forked pole, trimmed it, and, armed
+with this weapon, he assaulted the rolls and bands and balls of brown
+snakes.  He stalked boldly down upon them, pushed and poled, and even
+kicked them off the mossy banks.  Hal could not stand that, and
+presently he got a pole and went to Ken's assistance.
+
+"Who's hollering now?" he yelled to George.
+
+Whereupon George cut a long branch and joined the battle.  They whacked
+and threshed and pounded, keeping time with yells. Everywhere along the
+wet benches slipped and splashed the snakes.  But after they were driven
+into the water they did not swim away. They dove under the banks and
+then stretched out their pointed heads from the dripping edge of moss.
+
+"Say, fellows, we're making it worse for us," declared Ken.  "See, the
+brown devils won't swim off.  We'd better have left them on the bank.
+Let's catch one and see if he'll bite."
+
+He tried to pick up one on his pole, but it slipped off.  George fished
+after another. Hal put the end of his stick down inside the coil of
+still another and pitched it.  The brown, wriggling, wet snake shot
+straight at the unsuspecting George, and struck him and momentarily
+wound about him.
+
+"Augrrh!" bawled George, flinging off the reptile and leaping back.
+"What 'd you do that for?  I'll punch you!"
+
+"George, he didn't mean it," said Ken. "It was an accident.  Come on,
+let's tease that fellow and see if he'll bite."
+
+The snake coiled and raised his flat head and darted a wicked tongue out
+and watched with bright, beady eyes, but he did not strike.  Ken went as
+close as he thought safe and studied the snake.
+
+"Boys, his head isn't a triangle, and there are no little pits under his
+eyes.  Those are two signs of a poisonous snake.  I don't believe this
+fellow's one."
+
+"He'll be a dead snake, b' gosh," replied George, and he fell to
+pounding it with his pole.
+
+"Don't smash him.  I want the skin," yelled Hal.
+
+Ken pondered on the situation before him.
+
+"Come, the sooner we get at this the better," he said.
+
+There was a succession of benches through which the stream zigzagged and
+tumbled. These benches were rock ledges over which moss had grown fully
+a foot thick, and they were so oozy and slippery that it was no easy
+task to walk upon them.  Then they were steep, so steep that it was
+remarkable how the water ran over them so smoothly, with very little
+noise or break.  It was altogether a new kind of waterfall to Ken.  But
+if the snakes had not been hidden there, navigation would have presented
+an easier problem.
+
+"Come on boys, alongside now, and hold back," he ordered, gripping the
+bow.
+
+Exactly what happened the next few seconds was not clear in his mind.
+There was a rush, and all were being dragged by the boat. The glade
+seemed to whizz past.  There were some sodden thumps, a great splashing,
+a check--and lo! they were over several benches.  It was the quickest
+and easiest descent he had ever made down a steep waterfall.
+
+"Fine!" ejaculated George, wiping the ooze from his face.
+
+"Yes, it was fine," Ken replied.  "But unless this boat has wings
+something 'll happen soon."
+
+Below was a long, swift curve of water, very narrow and steep, with a
+moss-covered rock dividing the lower end.  Ken imagined if there was a
+repetition of the first descent the boat would be smashed on that rock.
+He ordered Pepe, who was of course the strongest, to go below and jump
+to the rock.  There he might prevent a collision.
+
+Pepe obeyed, but as he went he yelled and doubled up in contortions as
+he leaped over snakes in the moss.
+
+Then gently, gingerly the boys started the boat off the bench, where it
+had lodged. George was at the stern, Ken and Hal at the bow.  Suddenly
+Hal shrieked and jumped straight up, to land in the boat.
+
+"Snakes!" he howled.
+
+"Give us a rest!" cried Ken, in disgust.
+
+The boat moved as if instinct with life. It dipped, then--_wheeze!_ it
+dove over the bench.  Hal was thrown off his feet, fell back on the
+gunwale, and thence into the snaky moss.  George went sprawling face
+downward into the slimy ooze, and Ken was jerked clear off the bench
+into the stream. He got his footing and stood firm in water to his
+waist, and he had the bow-rope coiled round his hands.
+
+"Help!  Help!" he yelled, as he felt the dragging weight too much for
+him.
+
+If Ken retarded the progress of the boat at all, it was not much.
+George saw his distress and the danger menacing the boat, and he leaped
+valiantly forward.  As he dashed down a slippery slant his feet flew up
+higher than where his head had been; he actually turned over in the air,
+and fell with a great sop.
+
+Hal had been trying to reach Ken, but here he stopped and roared with
+laughter.
+
+Despite Ken's anger and fear of snakes, and his greater fear for the
+boat, he likewise had to let out a peal of laughter.  That tumble of
+George's was great.  Then Ken's footing gave way and he went down.  His
+mouth filled with nasty water, nearly strangling him.  He was almost
+blinded, too.  His arms seemed to be wrenched out of their sockets, and
+he felt himself bumping over moss-covered rocks as soft as cushions.
+Slimy ropes or roots of vegetation, that felt like snakes, brushed his
+face and made him cold and sick.  It was impossible to hold the boat any
+longer.  He lodged against a stone, and the swift water forced him upon
+it.  Blinking and coughing, he stuck fast.
+
+Ken saw the boat headed like a dart for the rock where Pepe stood.
+
+"Let 'er go!" yelled Ken.  "Don't try to stop her.  Pepe, you'll be
+smashed!"
+
+Pepe acted like a man determined to make up for past cowardice.  He made
+a great show of brave intentions.  He was not afraid of a boat.  He
+braced himself and reached out with his brawny arms.  Ken feared for the
+obstinate native's life, for the boat moved with remarkable velocity.
+
+At the last second Pepe's courage vanished. He turned tail to get out of
+the way.  But he slipped.  The boat shot toward him and the blunt stern
+struck him with a dull thud. Pepe sailed into the air, over the rock,
+and went down cleaving the water.
+
+The boat slipped over the stone as easily as if it had been a wave and,
+gliding into still water below, lodged on the bank.
+
+Ken crawled out of the stream, and when he ascertained that no one was
+injured he stretched himself on the ground and gave up to mirth.  Pepe
+resembled a drowned rat; Hal was an object to wonder at; and George, in
+his coating of slime and with strings of moss in his hair, was the
+funniest thing Ken had ever seen.  It was somewhat of a surprise to him
+to discover, presently, that the boys were convulsed with fiendish glee
+over the way he himself looked.
+
+By and by they recovered, and, with many a merry jest and chuckle of
+satisfaction, they repacked the boat and proceeded on their way.  No
+further obstacle hindered them. They drifted out of the shady jungle
+into the sunlit river.
+
+In half a mile of drifting the heat of the sun dried the boys' clothes.
+The water was so hot that it fairly steamed.  Once more the boat entered
+a placid aisle over which the magnificent gray-wreathed cypresses bowed,
+and the west wind waved long ribbons of moss, and wild fowl winged
+reluctant flight.
+
+Ken took advantage of this tranquil stretch of river to work on his map.
+He realized that he must use every spare moment and put down his
+drawings and notes as often as time and travel permitted.  It had dawned
+on Ken that rapids and snakes, and all the dangers along the river, made
+his task of observation and study one apt to be put into eclipse at
+times.  Once or twice he landed on shore to climb a bluff, and was
+pleased each time to see that he had lined a comparatively true course
+on his map.  He had doubts of its absolute accuracy, yet he could not
+help having pride in his work.  So far so good, he thought, and hoped
+for good-fortune farther down the river.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XII*
+
+                        *CATCHING STRANGE FISH*
+
+
+Beyond a bend in the river the boys came upon an island with a narrow,
+shaded channel on one side, a wide shoal on the other, and a group of
+huge cypresses at the up-stream end.
+
+"Looks good to me," said Hal.
+
+The instant Ken saw the island he knew it was the place he had long been
+seeking to make a permanent camp for a few days. They landed, to find an
+ideal camping site. The ground under the cypresses was flat, dry, and
+covered with short grass.  Not a ray of sunlight penetrated the foliage.
+A pile of driftwood had lodged against one of the trees, and this made
+easy the question of fire-wood.
+
+"Great!" exclaimed Ken.  "Come on, let's look over the ground."
+
+The island was about two hundred yards long, and the lower end was
+hidden by a growth of willows.  Bursting through this, the boys saw a
+weedy flat leading into a wide, shallow back-eddy.  Great numbers of
+ducks were sporting and feeding.  The stones of the rocky shore were
+lined with sleeping ducks. Herons of all colors and sizes waded about,
+or slept on one leg.  Snipe ran everywhere. There was a great squawking
+and flapping of wings.  But at least half the number of waterfowl were
+too tame or too lazy to fly.
+
+Ken returned to camp with his comrades, all highly elated over the
+prospects.  The best feature about this beautiful island was the absence
+of ticks and snakes.
+
+"Boys, this is the place," said Ken.  "We'll hang up here for a while.
+Maybe we won't strike another such nice place to stay."
+
+So they unloaded the boat, taking everything out, and proceeded to pitch
+a camp that was a delight.  They were all loud in expressions of
+satisfaction.  Then Pepe set about leisurely peeling potatoes; George
+took his gun and slipped off toward the lower end of the island; Hal
+made a pen for his racoon, and then more pens, as if he meant to capture
+a menagerie; and Ken made a comfortable lounging-bed under a cypress.
+He wanted to forget that nagging worry as to farther descent of the
+river, and to enjoy this place.
+
+"Bang!" went George's sixteen-gage.  A loud whirring of wings followed,
+and the air was full of ducks.
+
+"Never touched one!" yelled Hal, in taunting voice.
+
+A flock of teal skimmed the water and disappeared up-stream.  The shot
+awakened parrots in the trees, where for a while there was clamor.  Ken
+saw George wade out into the shoal and pick up three ducks.
+
+"Pot-shot!" exclaimed Hal, disgustedly. "Why couldn't he be a sport and
+shoot them on the fly?"
+
+George crossed to the opposite shore and, climbing a bare place, stood
+looking before him.
+
+"Hey, George, don't go far," called Ken.
+
+"Fine place over here," replied George, and, waving his hand, he passed
+into the bushes out of sight.
+
+Ken lay back upon his blanket with a blissful sense of rest and
+contentment.  Many a time he had lain so, looking up through the broad
+leaves of a sycamore or the lacy foliage of a birch or the delicate
+crisscross of millions of pine needles.  This overhead canopy, however,
+was different.  Only here and there could he catch little slivers of
+blue sky.  The graceful streamers of exquisite moss hung like tassels of
+silver.  In the dead stillness of noonday they seemed to float curved in
+the shape in which the last soft breeze had left them.  High upon a
+branch he saw a red-headed parrot hanging back downward, after the
+fashion of a monkey.  Then there were two parrots asleep in the fork of
+a branch. It was the middle of the day, and all things seemed tired and
+sleepy.  The deep channel murmured drowsily, and the wide expanse of
+river on the other side lapped lazily at the shore.  The only other
+sound was the mourning of turtle-doves, one near and another far away.
+Again the full richness, the mellow sweetness of this song struck Ken
+forcibly. He remembered that all the way down the river he had heard
+that mournful note.  It was beautiful but melancholy.  Somehow it made
+him think that it had broken the dreamy stillness of the jungle noonday
+long, long ago. It was sweet but sad and old.  He did not like to hear
+it.
+
+Ken yielded to the soothing influence of the hour and fell asleep.  When
+he awoke there was George, standing partially undressed and very soberly
+popping ticks.  He had enlisted the services of Pepe, and, to judge from
+the remarks of both, they needed still more assistance.
+
+"Say, Garrapato George, many ticks over there?"
+
+"Ticks!" shouted George, wildly, waving his cigarette.  "Millions of
+'em!  And there's--ouch!  Kill that one, Pepe.  Wow! he's as big as a
+penny.  There's game over there. It's a flat with some kind of berry
+bush. There's lots of trails.  I saw cat-tracks, and I scared up wild
+turkeys--"
+
+"Turkeys!" Ken exclaimed, eagerly.
+
+"You bet.  I saw a dozen.  How they can run!  I didn't flush them.  Then
+I saw a flock of those black and white ducks, like the big fellow I
+shot.  They were feeding.  I believe they're Muscovy ducks."
+
+"I'm sure I don't know, but we can call them that."
+
+"Well, I'd got a shot, too, but I saw some gray things sneaking in the
+bushes.  I thought they were pigs, so I got out of there quick."
+
+"You mean javelin?"
+
+"Yep, I mean wild pigs.  Oh!  We've struck the place for game.  I'll bet
+it's coming to us."
+
+When George anticipated pleasurable events he was the most happy of
+companions.  It was good to look forward.  He was continually expecting
+things to happen; he was always looking ahead with great eagerness. But
+unfortunately he had a twist of mind toward the unfavorable side of
+events, and so always had the boys fearful.
+
+"Well, pigs or no pigs, ticks or no ticks, we'll hunt and fish, and see
+all there is to see," declared Ken, and he went back to his lounging.
+
+When he came out of that lazy spell, George and Hal were fishing.
+George had Ken's rod, and it happened to be the one Ken thought most of.
+
+"Do you know how to fish?" he asked.
+
+"I've caught tarpon bigger'n you," retorted George.
+
+That fact was indeed too much for Ken, and he had nothing to do but risk
+his beloved rod in George's hands.  And the way George swung it about,
+slashed branches with it, dropped the tip in the water, was exceedingly
+alarming to Ken.  The boy would break the tip in a minute.  Yet Ken
+could not take his rod away from a boy who had caught tarpon.
+
+There were fish breaking water.  Where a little while before the river
+had been smooth, now it was ruffled by _ravalo_, gar, and other fish
+Pepe could not name.  But George and Hal did not get a bite.  They tried
+all their artificial flies and spoons and minnows, then the preserved
+mullet, and finally several kinds of meat.
+
+"Bah! they want pie," said Hal.
+
+For Ken Ward to see little and big fish capering around under his very
+nose and not be able to hook one was exasperating.  He shot a small
+fish, not unlike a pickerel, and had the boys bait with that.  Still no
+strike was forthcoming.
+
+This put Ken on his mettle.  He rigged up a minnow tackle, and, going to
+the lower end of the island, he tried to catch some minnows.  There were
+plenty of them in the shallow water, but they would not bite. Finally
+Ken waded in the shoal and turned over stones.  He found some snails
+almost as large as mussels, and with these he hurried back to the boys.
+
+"Here, if you don't get a bite on one of these I'm no fisherman," said
+Ken.  "Try one."
+
+George got his hands on the new bait in advance of Hal and so threw his
+hook into the water first.  No sooner had the bait sunk than he got a
+strong pull.
+
+"There!  Careful now," said Ken.
+
+George jerked up, hooking a fish that made the rod look like a
+buggy-whip.
+
+"Give me the rod," yelled Ken, trying to take it.
+
+"It's my fish," yelled back George.
+
+He held on and hauled with all his might. A long, finely built fish,
+green as emerald, split the water and churned it into foam. Then,
+sweeping out in strong dash, it broke Ken's rod square in the middle.
+Ken eyed the wreck with sorrow, and George with no little disapproval.
+
+"You said you knew how to fish," protested Ken.
+
+"Those split-bamboo rods are no good," replied George.  "They won't hold
+a fish."
+
+"George, you're a grand fisherman!" observed Hal, with a chuckle.  "Why,
+you only dreamed you've caught tarpon."
+
+Just then Hal had a tremendous strike. He was nearly hauled off the
+bank.  But he recovered his balance and clung to his nodding rod.  Hal's
+rod was heavy cane, and his line was thick enough to suit.  So nothing
+broke. The little brass reel buzzed and rattled.
+
+"I've got a whale!" yelled Hal.
+
+"It's a big gar--alligator-gar," said George. "You haven't got him.
+He's got you."
+
+The fish broke water, showing long, open jaws with teeth like saw-teeth.
+It threshed about and broke away.  Hal reeled in to find the hook
+straightened out.  Then George kindly commented upon the very skilful
+manner in which Hal had handled the gar. For a wonder Hal did not reply.
+
+By four o'clock, when Ken sat down to supper, he was so thirsty that his
+mouth puckered as dry as if he had been eating green persimmons.  This
+matter of thirst had become serious.  Twice each day Ken had boiled a
+pot of water, into which he mixed cocoa, sugar, and condensed milk, and
+begged the boys to drink that and nothing else. Nevertheless Pepe and
+George, and occasionally Hal, would drink unboiled water.  For this meal
+the boys had venison and duck, and canned vegetables and fruit, so they
+fared sumptuously.
+
+Pepe pointed to a string of Muscovy ducks sailing up the river.  George
+had a good shot at the tail end of the flock, and did not even loosen a
+feather.  Then a line of cranes and herons passed over the island.  When
+a small bunch of teal flew by, to be followed by several canvasbacks,
+Ken ran for his shotgun.  It was a fine hammerless, a hard-shooting gun,
+and one Ken used for grouse-hunting.  In his hurry he grasped a handful
+of the first shells he came to and, when he ran to the river-bank, found
+they were loads of small shot.  He decided to try them anyhow.
+
+While Pepe leisurely finished the supper Ken and George and Hal sat on
+the bank watching for ducks.  Just before the sun went down a hard wind
+blew, making difficult shooting.  Every few moments ducks would whir by.
+George's gun missed fire often, and when it did work all right, he
+missed the ducks.  To Ken's surprise he found the load of small shot
+very deadly.  He could sometimes reach a duck at eighty yards. The
+little brown ducks and teal he stopped as if they had hit a stone wall.
+He dropped a canvasback with the sheer dead plunge that he liked.  Ken
+thought a crippled duck enough to make a hunter quit shooting. With six
+ducks killed, he decided to lay aside his gun for that time, when Pepe
+pointed down the river.
+
+"Pato real," he said.
+
+Ken looked eagerly and saw three of the big black ducks flying as high
+as the treetops and coming fast.  Snapping a couple of shells in the
+gun, Ken stood ready.  At the end of the island two of the ducks wheeled
+to the left, but the big leader came on like a thunderbolt.  To Ken he
+made a canvasback seem slow.  Ken caught him over the sights of the gun,
+followed him up till he was abreast and beyond; then, sweeping a little
+ahead of him, Ken pulled both triggers.  The Muscovy swooped up and
+almost stopped in his flight while a cloud of black feathers puffed away
+on the wind.  He sagged a little, recovered, and flew on as strong as
+ever. The small shot were not heavy enough to stop him.
+
+"We'll need big loads for the Muscovies and the turkeys," said George.
+
+"We've all sizes up to BB's," replied Ken. "George, let's take a walk
+over there where you saw the turkeys.  It's early yet."
+
+Then Pepe told George if they wanted to see game at that hour the thing
+to do was to sit still in camp and watch the game come down to the river
+to drink.  And he pointed down-stream to a herd of small deer quietly
+walking out on the bar.
+
+"After all the noise we made!" exclaimed Ken.  "Well, this beats me.
+George, we'll stay right here and not shoot again to-night.  I've an
+idea we'll see something worth while."
+
+It was Pepe's idea, but Ken instantly saw its possibilities.  There were
+no tributaries to the river or springs in that dry jungle, and, as
+manifestly the whole country abounded in game, it must troop down to the
+river in the cool of the evening to allay the hot day's thirst.  The
+boys were perfectly situated for watching the dark bank on the channel
+side of the island as well as the open bars on the other.  The huge
+cypresses cast shadows that even in daylight effectually concealed them.
+They put out the camp-fire and, taking comfortable seats in the folds of
+the great gnarled roots, began to watch and listen.
+
+The vanguard of thirsty deer had prepared Ken for something remarkable,
+and he was in no wise disappointed.  The trooping of deer down to the
+water's edge and the flight of wild fowl up-stream increased in
+proportion to the gathering shadows of twilight.  The deer must have got
+a scent, for they raised their long ears and stood still as statues,
+gazing across toward the upper end of the island.  But they showed no
+fear.  It was only when they had drunk their fill and wheeled about to
+go up the narrow trails over the bank that they showed uneasiness and
+haste.  This made Ken wonder if they were fearful of being ambushed by
+jaguars. Soon the dark line of deer along the shore shaded into the
+darkness of night.  Then Ken heard soft splashes and an occasional
+patter of hard hoofs.  The whir of wings had ceased.
+
+A low exclamation from Pepe brought attention to interesting
+developments closer at hand.
+
+"Javelin!" he whispered.
+
+On the channel side of the island was impenetrable pitchy blackness.
+Ken tried to pierce it with straining eyes, but he could not even make
+out the shore-line that he knew was only ten yards distant.  Still he
+could hear, and that was thrilling enough.  Everywhere on this side,
+along the edge of the water and up the steep bank, were faint tickings
+of twigs and soft rustlings of leaves.  Then there was a continuous
+sound, so low as to be almost inaudible, that resembled nothing Ken
+could think of so much as a long line of softly dripping water.  It
+swelled in volume to a tiny roll, and ended in a sharp clicking on rocks
+and a gentle splashing in the water. A drove of _javelin_ had come down
+to drink. Occasionally the glint of green eyes made the darkness all the
+more weird.  Suddenly a long, piercing wail, a keen cry almost human,
+quivered into the silence.
+
+"Panther!" Ken whispered, instantly, to the boys.  It was a different
+cry from that of the lion of the ca�on, but there was a strange wild
+note that betrayed the species.  A stillness fell, dead as that of a
+subterranean cavern.  Strain his ears as he might, Ken could not detect
+the slightest sound.  It was as if no _javelin_ or any other animals had
+come down to drink.  That listening, palpitating moment seemed endless.
+What mystery of wild life it meant, that silence following the cry of
+the panther!  Then the jungle sounds recommenced--the swishing of water,
+the brushing in the thicket, stealthy padded footsteps, the faint
+snapping of twigs. Some kind of a cat uttered an unearthly squall. Close
+upon this the clattering of deer up the bank on the other side rang out
+sharply. The deer were running, and the striking of the little hoofs
+ceased in short order.  Ken listened intently.  From far over the bank
+came a sound not unlike a cough--deep, hoarse, inexpressibly wild and
+menacing.
+
+"Tigre!" cried Pepe, gripping Ken hard with both hands.  He could feel
+him trembling.  It showed how the native of the jungle-belt feared the
+jaguar.
+
+Again the cough rasped out, nearer and louder this time.  It was not a
+courage-provoking sound, and seemed on second thought more of a growl
+than a cough.  Ken felt safe on the island; nevertheless, he took up his
+rifle.
+
+"That's a tiger," whispered George.  "I heard one once from the porch of
+the Alamitas hacienda."
+
+A third time the jaguar told of his arrival upon the night scene.  Ken
+was excited, and had a thrill of fear.  He made up his mind to listen
+with clearer ears, but the cough or growl was not repeated.
+
+Then a silence set in, so unbroken that it seemed haunted by the echoes
+of those wild jungle cries.  Perhaps Ken had the haunting echoes in
+mind.  He knew what had sent the deer away and stilled the splashings
+and creepings.  It was the hoarse voice of the lord of the jungle.
+
+Pepe and the boys, too, fell under the spell of the hour.  They did not
+break the charm by talking.  Giant fireflies accentuated the ebony
+blackness and a low hum of insects riveted the attention on the
+stillness.  Ken could not understand why he was more thoughtful on this
+trip than he had ever been before.  Somehow he felt immeasurably older.
+Probably that was because it had seemed necessary for him to act like a
+man, even if he was only a boy.
+
+The black mantle of night lifted from under the cypresses, leaving a
+gloom that slowly paled.  Through the dark foliage, low down over the
+bank, appeared the white tropical moon.  Shimmering gleams chased the
+shadows across the ripples, and slowly the river brightened to a silver
+sheen.
+
+A great peace fell upon the jungle world. How white, how wild, how
+wonderful!  It only made the island more beautiful and lonely.  The
+thought of leaving it gave Ken Ward a pang.  Almost he wished he were a
+savage.
+
+And he lay there thinking of the wild places that he could never see,
+where the sun shone, the wind blew, the twilight shadowed, the rain
+fell; where the colors and beauties changed with the passing hours;
+where a myriad of wild creatures preyed upon each other and night never
+darkened but upon strife and death.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIII*
+
+                            *A TURKEY-HUNT*
+
+
+Upon awakening in the early morning Ken found his state one of huge
+enjoyment.  He was still lazily tired, but the dead drag and ache had
+gone from his bones. A cool breeze wafted the mist from the river,
+breaking it up into clouds, between which streamed rosy shafts of
+sunlight.  Wood-smoke from the fire Pepe was starting blew fragrantly
+over him.  A hundred thousand birds seemed to be trying to burst their
+throats.  The air was full of music.  He lay still, listening to this
+melodious herald of the day till it ceased.
+
+Then a flock of parrots approached and circled over the island,
+screeching like a band of flying imps.  Presently they alighted in the
+cypresses, bending the branches to a breaking-point and giving the trees
+a spotted appearance of green and red.  Pepe waved his hand toward
+another flock sweeping over.
+
+"Parrakeets," he said.
+
+These birds were a solid green, much smaller than the red-heads, with
+longer tails.  They appeared wilder than the red-heads, and flew higher,
+circling the same way and screeching, but they did not alight.  Other
+flocks sailed presently from all directions.  The last one was a cloud
+of parrots, a shining green and yellow mass several acres in extent.
+They flew still higher than the parrakeets.
+
+"Yellow-heads!" shouted George.  "They're the big fellows, the talkers.
+If there ain't a million of 'em!"
+
+The boys ate breakfast in a din that made conversation useless.  The
+red-heads swooped down upon the island, and the two unfriendly species
+flew back and forth, manifestly trying to drive the boys off.  The mist
+had blown away, the sun was shining bright, when the myriad of parrots,
+in large and small flocks, departed to other jungle haunts.
+
+Pepe rowed across the wide shoal to the sand-bars.  There in the soft
+ooze, among the hundreds of deer-tracks, Ken found a jaguar-track larger
+than his spread hand. It was different from a lion-track, yet he could
+not distinguish just what the difference was. Pepe, who had accompanied
+the boys to carry the rifles and game, pointed to the track and said,
+vehemently:
+
+"Tigre!" He pronounced it "tee-gray."  And he added, "Grande!"
+
+"Big he certainly is," Ken replied.  "Boys, we'll kill this jaguar.
+We'll bait this drinking-trail with a deer carcass and watch to-night."
+
+Once upon the bank, Ken was surprised to see a wide stretch of
+comparatively flat land.  It was covered with a low vegetation, with
+here and there palm-trees on the little ridges and bamboo clumps down in
+the swales. Beyond the flat rose the dark line of dense jungle.  It was
+not clear to Ken why that low piece of ground was not overgrown with the
+matted thickets and vines and big trees characteristic of other parts of
+the jungle. They struck into one of the trails, and had not gone a
+hundred paces when they espied a herd of deer.  The grass and low bushes
+almost covered them.  George handed his shotgun to Pepe and took his
+rifle.
+
+"Shoot low," said Ken.
+
+George pulled the trigger, and with the report a deer went down, but it
+was not the one Ken was looking at, nor the one at which he believed
+George had aimed.  The rest of the herd bounded away, to disappear in a
+swale. Wading through bushes and grass, they found George's quarry, a
+small deer weighing perhaps sixty pounds.  Pepe carried it over to the
+trail.  Ken noted that he was exceedingly happy to carry the rifles.
+They went on at random, somehow feeling that, no matter in what
+direction, they would run into something to shoot at.
+
+The first bamboo swale was alive with _chicalocki_.  Up to this time Ken
+had not seen this beautiful pheasant fly in the open, and he was
+astonished at its speed.  It would burst out of the thick bamboo, whir
+its wings swiftly, then sail.  That sail was a most graceful thing to
+see.  George pulled his 16-gage twice, and missed both times.  He had
+the beginner's fault--shooting too soon. Presently Pepe beat a big cock
+_chicalocki_ out of the bush.  He made such a fine target, he sailed so
+evenly, that Ken simply looked at him over the gun-sights and followed
+him till he was out of sight.  The next one he dropped like a plummet.
+Shooting _chicalocki_ was too easy, he decided; they presented so fair a
+mark that it was unfair to pull on them.
+
+George was an impetuous hunter.  Ken could not keep near him, nor coax
+or command him to stay near.  He would wander off by himself.  That was
+one mark in his favor: at least he had no fear.  Pepe hung close to Ken
+and Hal, with his dark eyes roving everywhere.  Ken climbed out on one
+side of the swale, George on the other.  Catching his whistle, Ken
+turned to look after him.  He waved, and, pointing ahead, began to stoop
+and slip along from bush to bush.  Presently a flock of Muscovy ducks
+rose before him, sailed a few rods, and alighted.  Then from right under
+his feet labored up great gray birds.  Wild geese!  Ken recognized them
+as George's gun went _bang_!  One tumbled over, the others wheeled
+toward the river. Ken started down into the swale to cross to where
+George was, when Pepe touched his arm.
+
+"Turkeys!" he whispered.
+
+That changed Ken's mind.  Pepe pointed into the low bushes ahead and
+slowly led Ken forward.  He heard a peculiar low thumping.  Trails led
+everywhere, and here and there were open patches covered with a scant
+growth of grass.  Across one of these flashed a bronze streak, then
+another and another.
+
+"Shoot!  Shoot!" said Pepe, tensely.
+
+Those bronze streaks were running turkeys! The thumpings were made by
+their rapidly moving feet!
+
+"Don't they flush--fly?" Ken queried of Pepe.
+
+"No--no--shoot!" exclaimed he, as another streak of brown crossed an
+open spot.  Ken hurriedly unbreached his gun and changed the light
+shells for others loaded with heavy shot.  He reached the edge of a bare
+spot across which a turkey ran with incredible swiftness.  He did not
+get the gun in line with it at all.  Then two more broke out of the
+bushes.  Run!  They were as swift as flying quail.  Ken took two
+snap-shots, and missed both times.  If any one had told him that he
+would miss a running turkey at fifty feet, he would have been insulted.
+But he did not loosen a feather.  Loading again, he yelled for George.
+
+"Hey, George--turkeys!"
+
+He whooped, and started across on the run.
+
+"Gee!" said Hal.  "Ken, I couldn't do any worse shooting than you.  Let
+me take a few pegs."
+
+Ken handed over the heavy gun and fell back a little, giving Hal the
+lead.  They walked on, peering closely into the bushes. Suddenly a
+beautiful big gobbler ran out of a thicket, and then stopped to stretch
+out his long neck and look.
+
+"Shoot--hurry!" whispered Ken.  "What a chance!"
+
+"That's a tame turkey," said Hal.
+
+"Tame!  Why, you tenderfoot!  He's as wild as wild.  Can't you see
+that?"
+
+Ken's excitement and Pepe's intense eagerness all at once seemed
+communicated to Hal. He hauled up the gun, fingered the triggers
+awkwardly, then shot both barrels.  He tore a tremendous hole in the
+brush some few feet to one side of the turkey.  Then the great bird ran
+swiftly out of sight.
+
+"Didn't want to kill him sitting, anyhow," said Hal, handing the gun
+back to Ken.
+
+"We want to eat some wild turkey, don't we?  Well, we'd better take any
+chance. These birds are game, Hal, and don't you forget that!"
+
+"What's all the shooting?" panted George, as he joined the march.
+
+Just then there was a roar in the bushes, and a brown blur rose and
+whizzed ahead like a huge bullet.  That turkey had flushed. Ken watched
+him fly till he went down out of sight into a distant swale.
+
+"Pretty nifty flier, eh?" said George. "He was too quick for me."
+
+"Great!" replied Ken.
+
+There was another roar, and a huge bronze cannon-ball sped straight
+ahead.  Ken shot both barrels, then George shot one, all clean misses.
+Ken watched this turkey fly, and saw him clearer.  He had to admit that
+the wild turkey of the Tamaulipas jungle had a swifter and more
+beautiful flight than his favorite bird, the ruffled grouse.
+
+"Walk faster," said George.  "They'll flush better.  I don't see how I'm
+to hit one.  This goose I'm carrying weighs about a ton."
+
+The hunters hurried along, crashing through the bushes.  They saw turkey
+after turkey. _Bang!_ went George's gun.
+
+Then a beautiful sight made Ken cry out and forget to shoot.  Six
+turkeys darted across an open patch--how swiftly they ran!--then rose in
+a bunch.  The roar they made, the wonderfully rapid action of their
+powerful wings, and then the size of them, their wildness and noble
+gameness made them the royal game for Ken.
+
+At the next threshing in the bushes his gun was leveled; he covered the
+whistling bronze thing that shot up.  The turkey went down with a crash.
+Pepe yelled, and as he ran forward the air all about him was full of
+fine bronze feathers.  Ken hurried forward to see his bird.  Its
+strength and symmetry, and especially the beautiful shades of bronze,
+captivated his eye.
+
+"Come on, boys--this is the greatest game I ever hunted," he called.
+
+Again Pepe yelled, and this time he pointed. From where Ken stood he
+could not see anything except low, green bushes.  In great excitement
+George threw up his gun and shot. Ken heard a squealing.
+
+"Javelin!  Javelin!" yelled Pepe, in piercing alarm.
+
+George jerked a rifle from him and began to shoot.  Hal pumped his .22
+into the bushes. The trampling of hard little hoofs and a cloud of dust
+warned Ken where the javelin were.  Suddenly Pepe broke and fled for the
+river.
+
+"Hyar, Pepe, fetch back my rifle," shouted Ken, angrily.
+
+Pepe ran all the faster.
+
+George turned and dashed away yelling: "Wild pigs!  Wild pigs!"
+
+"Look out, Ken!  Run!  Run!" added Hal; and he likewise took to his
+heels.
+
+It looked as if there was nothing else for Ken to do but to make tracks
+from that vicinity. Never before had he run from a danger which he had
+not seen; but the flight of the boys was irresistibly contagious, and
+this, coupled with the many stories he had heard of the _javelin_, made
+Ken execute a sprint that would have been a record but for the hampering
+weight of gun and turkey.  He vowed he would hold on to both, pigs or no
+pigs; nevertheless he listened as he ran and nervously looked back
+often.  It may have been excited imagination that the dust-cloud
+appeared to be traveling in his wake.  Fortunately, the distance to the
+river did not exceed a short quarter of a mile. Hot, winded, and
+thoroughly disgusted with himself, Ken halted on the bank.  Pepe was
+already in the boat, and George was scrambling aboard.
+
+"A fine--chase--you've given--me," Ken panted.  "There's nothing--after
+us."
+
+"Don't you fool yourself," returned George, quickly.  "I saw those pigs,
+and, like the ass I am, I blazed away at one with my shotgun."
+
+"Did he run at you?  That's what I want to know?" demanded Ken.
+
+George said he was not certain about that, but declared there always was
+danger if a wounded _javelin_ squealed.  Pepe had little to say; he
+refused to go back after the deer left in the trail.  So they rowed
+across the shoal, and on the way passed within a rod of a big crocodile.
+
+"Look at that fellow," cried George.  "Wish I had my rifle loaded.  He's
+fifteen feet long."
+
+"Oh no, George, he's not more than ten feet," said Ken.
+
+"You don't see his tail.  He's a whopper. Pepe told me there was one in
+this pool. We'll get him, all right."
+
+They reached camp tired out, and all a little ruffled in temper, which
+certainly was not eased by the discovery that they were covered with
+ticks.  Following the cue of his companions, Ken hurriedly stripped off
+his clothes and hung them where they could singe over the camp-fire.
+There were broad red bands of _pinilius_ round both ankles, and reddish
+patches on the skin of his arms.  Here and there were black spots about
+the size of his little finger-nail, and these were _garrapatoes_.  He
+picked these off one by one, rather surprised to find them come off so
+easily. Suddenly he jumped straight up with a pain as fierce as if it
+had been a puncture from a red-hot wire.
+
+Pepe grinned; and George cried:
+
+"Aha! that was a garrapato bite, that was! You just wait!"
+
+George had a hundred or more of the big black ticks upon him, and he was
+remorselessly popping them with his cigarette.  Some of them were biting
+him, too, judging from the way he flinched.  Pepe had attracted to
+himself a million or more of the _pinilius_, but very few of the larger
+pests.  He generously came to Ken's assistance.  Ken was trying to pull
+off the _garrapato_ that had bitten a hole in him.  Pepe said it had
+embedded its head, and if pulled would come apart, leaving the head
+buried in the flesh, which would cause inflammation.  Pepe held the
+glowing end of his cigarette close over the tick, and it began to squirm
+and pull out its head.  When it was free of the flesh Pepe suddenly
+touched it with the cigarette, and it exploded with a pop.  A difficult
+question was: Which hurt Ken the most, the burn from the cigarette or
+the bite of the tick?  Pepe scraped off as many _pinilius_ as would
+come, and then rubbed Ken with _canya_, the native alcohol.  If this was
+not some kind of vitriol, Ken missed his guess.  It smarted so keenly he
+thought his skin was peeling off.  Presently, however, the smarting
+subsided, and so did the ticks.
+
+Hal, who by far was the most sensitive one in regard to the crawling and
+biting of the jungle pests, had been remarkably fortunate in escaping
+them.  So he made good use of his opportunity to poke fun at the others,
+particularly Ken.
+
+George snapped out: "Just wait, Hollering Hal!"
+
+"Don't you call me that!" said Hal, belligerently.
+
+Ken eyed his brother in silence, but with a dark, meaning glance.  It
+had occurred to Ken that here in this jungle was the only place in the
+world where he could hope to pay off old scores on Hal.  And plots began
+to form in his mind.
+
+They lounged about camp, resting in the shade during the hot midday
+hours.  For supper they had a superfluity of meat, the waste of which
+Ken deplored, and he assuaged his conscience by deciding to have a taste
+of each kind.  The wild turkey he found the most toothsome, delicious
+meat it had ever been his pleasure to eat.  What struck him at once was
+the flavor, and he could not understand it until Pepe explained that the
+jungle turkey lived upon a red pepper. So the Tamaulipas wild turkey
+turned out to be doubly the finest game he had ever shot.
+
+All afternoon the big crocodile sunned himself on the surface of the
+shoal.
+
+Ken wanted a crocodile-skin, and this was a chance to get one; but he
+thought it as well to wait, and kept the boys from wasting ammunition.
+
+Before sundown Pepe went across the river and fetched the deer carcass
+down to the sandbar, where the jaguar-trail led to the water.
+
+At twilight Ken stationed the boys at the lower end of the island,
+ambushed behind stones.  He placed George and Pepe some rods below his
+own position.  They had George's .32 rifle, and the 16-gage loaded with
+a solid ball.  Ken put Hal, with the double-barreled shotgun, also
+loaded with ball, some little distance above.  And Ken, armed with his
+automatic, hid just opposite the deer-trails.
+
+"Be careful where you shoot," Ken warned repeatedly.  "Be cool--think
+quick--and aim."
+
+Ken settled down for a long wait, some fifty yards from the deer
+carcass.  A wonderful procession of wild fowl winged swift flight over
+his head.  They flew very low. It was strange to note the difference in
+the sound of their flying.  The cranes and herons softly swished the
+air, the teal and canvasbacks whirred by, and the great Muscovies
+whizzed like bullets.
+
+When the first deer came down to drink it was almost dark, and when they
+left the moon was up, though obscured by clouds.  Faint sounds rose from
+the other side of the island. Ken listened until his ears ached, but he
+could hear nothing.  Heavier clouds drifted over the moon.  The deer
+carcass became indistinct, and then faded entirely, and the bar itself
+grew vague.  He was about to give up watching for that night when he
+heard a faint rustling below.  Following it came a grating or crunching
+of gravel.
+
+Bright flares split the darkness--_crack! crack!_ rang out George's
+rifle, then the heavy _boom! boom!_ of the shotgun.
+
+"There he is!" yelled George.  "He's down--we got him--there's two!
+Look out!"
+
+_Boom!  Boom!_ roared the heavy shotgun from Hal's covert.
+
+"George missed him!  I got him!" yelled Hal.  "No, there he goes--Ken!
+Ken!"
+
+Ken caught the flash of a long gray body in the hazy gloom of the bar
+and took a quick shot at it.  The steel-jacketed bullet scattered the
+gravel and then hummed over the bank.  The gray body moved fast up the
+bank.  Ken could just see it.  He turned loose the little automatic and
+made the welkin ring.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIV*
+
+                        *A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR*
+
+
+When the echoes of the shots died away the stillness seemed all the
+deeper.  No rustle in the brush or scuffle on the sand gave evidence of
+a wounded or dying jaguar. George and Hal and Pepe declared there were
+two tigers, and that they had hit one. Ken walked out upon the stones
+till he could see the opposite bar, but was not rewarded by a sight of
+dead game.  Thereupon they returned to camp, somewhat discouraged at
+their ill luck, but planning another night-watch.
+
+In the morning George complained that he did not feel well.  Ken told
+him he had been eating too much fresh meat, and that he had better be
+careful.  Then Ken set off alone, crossed the river, and found that the
+deer carcass was gone.  In the sand near where it had lain were plenty
+of cat-tracks, but none of the big jaguar.  Upon closer scrutiny he
+found the cat-tracks to be those of a panther. He had half dragged, half
+carried the carcass up one of the steep trails, but from that point
+there was no further trace.
+
+Ken struck out across the fiat, intending to go as far as the jungle.
+Turtle-doves fluttered before him in numberless flocks. Far to one side
+he saw Muscovy ducks rising, sailing a few rods, then alighting.  This
+occurred several times before he understood what it meant.  There was
+probably a large flock feeding on the flat, and the ones in the rear
+were continually flying to get ahead of those to the fore.
+
+Several turkeys ran through the bushes before Ken, but as he was
+carrying a rifle he paid little heed to them.  He kept a keen lookout
+for _javelin_.  Two or three times he was tempted to turn off the trail
+into little bamboo hollows; this, however, owing to a repugnance to
+ticks, he did not do.  Finally, as he neared the high moss-decked wall
+of the jungle, he came upon a runway leading through the bottom of a
+deep swale, and here he found tiger-tracks.
+
+Farther down the swale, under a great cluster of bamboo, he saw the
+scattered bones of several deer.  Ken was sure that in this spot the
+lord of the jungle had feasted more than once.  It was an open hollow,
+with the ground bare under the bamboos.  The runway led on into dense,
+leafy jungle.  Ken planned to bait that lair with a deer carcass and
+watch it during the late afternoon.
+
+First, it was necessary to get the deer. This might prove bothersome,
+for Ken's hands and wrists were already sprinkled with _pinilius_, and
+he certainly did not want to stay very long in the brush.  Ken imagined
+he felt an itching all the time, and writhed inside his clothes.
+
+"Say, blame you! bite!" he exclaimed, resignedly, and stepped into the
+low bushes. He went up and out of the swale.  Scarcely had he reached a
+level when he saw a troop of deer within easy range.  Before they winded
+danger Ken shot, and the one he had singled out took a few bounds, then
+fell over sideways.  The others ran off into the brush. Ken remembered
+that the old hunter on Penetier had told him how seldom a deer dropped
+at once.  When he saw the work of the soft-nose .351 bullet, he no
+longer wondered at this deer falling almost in his tracks.
+
+"If I ever hit a jaguar like that it will be all day with him," was
+Ken's comment.
+
+There were two things about hunting the jaguar that Ken had been bidden
+to keep in mind--fierce aggressiveness and remarkable tenacity of life.
+
+Ken dragged the deer down into the bamboo swale and skinned out a
+haunch.  Next to wild-turkey meat, he liked venison best. He was glad to
+have that as an excuse, for killing these tame tropical deer seemed like
+murder to Ken.  He left the carcass in a favorable place and then
+hurried back to camp.
+
+To Ken's relief, he managed to escape bringing any _garrapatoes_ with
+him, but it took a half-hour to rid himself of the collection of
+_pinilius_.
+
+"George, ask Pepe what's the difference between a garrapato and a
+pinilius," said Ken.
+
+"The big tick is the little one's mother," replied Pepe.
+
+"Gee! you fellows fuss a lot about ticks," said Hal, looking up from his
+task.  He was building more pens to accommodate the turtles, snakes,
+snails, mice, and young birds that he had captured during the morning.
+
+Pepe said there were few ticks there in the uplands compared to the
+number down along the Panuco River.  In the lowlands where the cattle
+roamed there were millions in every square rod.  The under side of every
+leaf and blade of grass was red with ticks.  The size of these pests
+depended on whether or not they got a chance to stick to a steer or any
+beast. They appeared to live indefinitely, but if they could not suck
+blood they could not grow. The _pinilius_ grew into a _garrapato_, and a
+_garrapato_ bred a hundred thousand _pinilius_ in her body.  Two
+singular things concerning these ticks were that they always crawled
+upward, and they vanished from the earth during the wet season.
+
+Ken soaked his Duxbax hunting-suit in kerosene in the hope that this
+method would enable him to spend a reasonable time hunting.  Then, while
+the other boys fished and played around, he waited for the long, hot
+hours to pass.  It was cool in the shade, but the sunlight resembled the
+heat of fire.  At last five o'clock came, and Ken put on the damp suit.
+Soaked with the oil, it was heavier and hotter than sealskin, and before
+he got across the river he was nearly roasted. The evening wind sprang
+up, and the gusts were like blasts from a furnace.  Ken's body was
+bathed in perspiration; it ran down his wrists, over his hands, and wet
+the gun. This cure for ticks--if it were one--was worse than their
+bites.  When he reached the shade of the bamboo swale it was none too
+soon for him.  He threw off the coat, noticing there were more ticks
+upon it than at anytime before.  The bottom of his trousers, too, had
+gathered an exceeding quantity.  He brushed them off, muttering the
+while that he believed they liked kerosene, and looked as if they were
+drinking it.  Ken found it easy, however, to brush them off the wet
+Duxbax, and soon composed himself to rest and watch.
+
+The position chosen afforded Ken a clear view of the bare space under
+the bamboos and of the hollow where the runway disappeared in the
+jungle.  The deer carcass, which lay as he had left it, was about a
+hundred feet from him.  This seemed rather close, but he had to accept
+it, for if he had moved farther away he could not have commanded both
+points.
+
+Ken sat with his back against a clump of bamboos, the little rifle
+across his knees and an extra clip of cartridges on the ground at his
+left.  After taking that position he determined not to move a yard when
+the tiger came, and to kill him.
+
+Ken went over in mind the lessons he had learned hunting bear in
+Penetier Forest with old Hiram Bent and lassoing lions on the wild
+north-rim of the Grand Ca�on.  Ken knew that the thing for a hunter to
+do, when his quarry was dangerous, was to make up his mind beforehand.
+Ken had twelve powerful shells that he could shoot in the half of twelve
+seconds.  He would have been willing to face two jaguars.
+
+The sun set and the wind died down. What a relief was the cooling shade!
+The little breeze that was left fortunately blew at right angles to the
+swale, so that there did not seem much danger of the tiger winding Ken
+down the jungle runway.
+
+For long moments he was tense and alert. He listened till he thought he
+had almost lost the sense of hearing.  The jungle leaves were
+whispering; the insects were humming. He had expected to hear myriad
+birds and see processions of deer, and perhaps a drove of _javelin_.
+But if any living creatures ventured near him it was without his
+knowledge. The hour between sunset and twilight passed--a long wait;
+still he did not lose the feeling that something would happen.  Ken's
+faculties of alertness tired, however, and needed distraction.  So he
+took stock of the big clump of bamboos under which lay the deer carcass.
+
+It was a remarkable growth, that gracefully drooping cluster of slender
+bamboo poles.  He remembered how, as a youngster, not many years back,
+he had wondered where the fishing-poles came from.  Here Ken counted one
+hundred and sixty-nine in a clump no larger than a barrel.  They were
+yellow in color with black bands, and they rose straight for a few
+yards, then began to lean out, to bend slightly, at last to droop with
+their abundance of spiked leaves.  Ken was getting down to a real,
+interested study of this species of jungle growth when a noise startled
+him.
+
+He straightened out of his lounging position and looked around.  The
+sound puzzled him. He could not place its direction or name what it was.
+The jungle seemed strangely quiet. He listened.  After a moment of
+waiting he again heard the sound.  Instantly Ken was as tense and
+vibrating as a violin string.  The thing he had heard was from the lungs
+of some jungle beast.  He was almost ready to pronounce it a cough.
+Warily he glanced around, craning his neck.  Then a deep, hoarse growl
+made him whirl.
+
+There stood a jaguar with head up and paw on the deer carcass.  Ken
+imagined he felt perfectly cool, but he knew he was astounded. And even
+as he cautiously edged the rifle over his knee he took in the beautiful
+points of the jaguar.  He was yellow, almost white, with black spots.
+He was short and stocky, with powerful stumpy bow-legs.  But his head
+most amazed Ken.  It was enormous. And the expression of his face was so
+singularly savage and wild that Ken seemed to realize instantly the
+difference between a mountain-lion and this fierce tropical brute.
+
+The jaguar opened his jaws threateningly. He had an enormous stretch of
+jaw.  His long, yellow fangs gleamed.  He growled again.
+
+Not hurriedly, nor yet slowly, Ken fired.
+
+He heard the bullet strike him as plainly as if he had hit him with a
+board.  He saw dust fly from his hide.  Ken expected to see the jaguar
+roll over.  Instead of that he leaped straight up with a terrible roar.
+Something within Ken shook.  He felt cold and sick.
+
+When the jaguar came down, sprawled on all fours, Ken pulled the
+automatic again, and he saw the fur fly.  Then the jaguar leaped forward
+with a strange, hoarse cry. Ken shot again, and knocked the beast flat.
+He tumbled and wrestled about, scattering the dust and brush.  Three
+times more Ken fired, too hastily, and inflicted only slight wounds.
+
+In reloading Ken tried to be deliberate in snapping in the second clip
+and pushing down the rod that threw the shell into the barrel. But his
+hands shook.  His fingers were all thumbs, and he fumbled at the breech
+of the rifle.
+
+In that interval, if the jaguar could have kept his sense of direction,
+he would have reached Ken.  But the beast zigzagged; he had lost his
+equilibrium; he was hard hit.
+
+Then he leaped magnificently.  He landed within twenty-five feet of Ken,
+and when he plunged down he rolled clear over.  Ken shot him through and
+through.  Yet he got up, wheezing blood, uttering a hoarse bellow, and
+made again at Ken.
+
+Ken had been cold, sick.  Now panic almost overpowered him.  The rifle
+wabbled. The bamboo glade blurred in his sight.  A terrible dizziness
+and numbness almost paralyzed him.  He was weakening, sinking, when
+thought of life at stake lent him a momentary grim and desperate spirit.
+
+Once while the jaguar was in the air Ken pulled, twice while he was
+down.  Then the jaguar stood up pawing the air with great spread claws,
+coughing, bleeding, roaring. He was horrible.
+
+Ken shot him straight between the wide-spread paws.
+
+With twisted body, staggering, and blowing bloody froth all over Ken,
+the big tiger blindly lunged forward and crashed to earth.
+
+Then began a furious wrestling.  Ken imagined it was the death-throes of
+the jaguar. Ken could not see him down among the leaves and vines;
+nevertheless, he shot into the commotion.  The struggles ceased.  Then a
+movement of the weeds showed Ken that the jaguar was creeping toward the
+jungle.
+
+Ken fell rather than sat down.  He found he was wringing wet with cold
+sweat.  He was panting hard.
+
+"Say, but--that--was--awful!" he gasped. "What--was--wrong--with me?"
+
+He began to reload the clips.  They were difficult to load for even a
+calm person, and now, in the reaction, Ken was the farthest removed from
+calm.  The jaguar crept steadily away, as Ken could tell by the swaying
+weeds and shaking vines.
+
+"What--a hard-lived beast!" muttered Ken. "I--must have shot--him all to
+pieces.  Yet he's getting away from me."
+
+At last Ken's trembling fingers pushed some shells in the two clips, and
+once more he reloaded the rifle.  Then he stood up, drew a deep, full
+breath, and made a strong effort at composure.
+
+"I've shot at bear--and deer--and lions out West," said Ken.  "But this
+was different. I'll never get over it."
+
+How close that jaguar came to reaching Ken was proved by the blood
+coughed into his face.  He recalled that he had felt the wind of one
+great sweeping paw.
+
+Ken regained his courage and determination. He meant to have that
+beautiful spotted skin for his den.  So he hurried along the runway and
+entered the jungle.  Beyond the edge, where the bushes made a dense
+thicket, it was dry forest, with little green low down.  The hollow gave
+place to a dry wash.  He could not see the jaguar, but he could hear him
+dragging himself through the brush, cracking sticks, shaking saplings.
+
+Presently Ken ran across a bloody trail and followed it.  Every little
+while he would stop to listen.  When the wounded jaguar was still, he
+waited until he started to move again.  It was hard going.  The brush
+was thick, and had to be broken and crawled under or through.  As Ken
+had left his coat behind, his shirt was soon torn to rags.  He peered
+ahead with sharp eyes, expecting every minute to come in sight of the
+poor, crippled beast.  He wanted to put him out of agony. So he kept on
+doggedly for what must have been a long time.
+
+The first premonition he had of carelessness was to note that the
+shadows were gathering in the jungle.  It would soon be night.  He must
+turn back while there was light enough to follow his back track out to
+the open.  The second came in shape of a hot pain in his arm, as keen as
+if he had jagged it with a thorn.  Holding it out, he discovered to his
+dismay that it was spotted with _garrapatoes_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XV*
+
+                       *THE VICIOUS GARRAPATOES*
+
+
+At once Ken turned back, and if he thought again of the jaguar it was
+that he could come after him the next day or send Pepe. Another vicious
+bite, this time on his leg, confirmed his suspicions that many of the
+ticks had been on him long enough to get their heads in.  Then he was
+bitten in several places.
+
+Those bites were as hot as the touch of a live coal, yet they made Ken
+break out in dripping cold sweat.  It was imperative that he get back to
+camp without losing a moment which could be saved.  From a rapid walk he
+fell into a trot.  He got off his back trail and had to hunt for it.
+Every time a tick bit he jumped as if stung.  The worst of it was that
+he knew he was collecting more _garrapatoes_ with almost every step.
+When he grasped a dead branch to push it out of the way he could feel
+the ticks cling to his hand.  Then he would whip his arm in the air,
+flinging some of them off to patter on the dry ground.  Impossible as it
+was to run through that matted jungle, Ken almost accomplished it.  When
+he got out into the open he did run, not even stopping for his coat, and
+he crossed the flat at top speed.
+
+It was almost dark when Ken reached the river-bank and dashed down to
+frighten a herd of drinking deer.  He waded the narrowest part of the
+shoal.  Running up the island he burst into the bright circle of
+camp-fire. Pepe dropped a stew-pan and began to jabber. George dove for
+a gun.
+
+"What's after you?" shouted Hal, in alarm.
+
+Ken was so choked up and breathless that at first he could not speak.
+His fierce aspect and actions, as he tore off his sleeveless and ragged
+shirt and threw it into the fire, added to the boys' fright.
+
+"Good Lord! are you bug-house, Ken?" shrieked Hal.
+
+"_Bug-house!  Yes!_" roared Ken, swiftly undressing.  "Look at me!"
+
+In the bright glare he showed his arms black with _garrapatoes_ and a
+sprinkling of black dots over the rest of his body.
+
+"Is that all?" demanded Hal, in real or simulated scorn.  "Gee! but
+you're a brave hunter.  I thought not less than six tigers were after
+you."
+
+"I'd rather have six tigers after me," yelled Ken.  "You little
+freckle-faced redhead!"
+
+It was seldom indeed that Ken called his brother that name.  Hal was
+proof against any epithets except that one relating to his freckles and
+his hair.  But just now Ken felt that he was being eaten alive.  He was
+in an agony, and he lost his temper.  And therefore he laid himself open
+to Hal's scathing humor.
+
+"Never mind the kid," said Ken to Pepe and George.  "Hurry now, and get
+busy with these devils on me."
+
+It was well for Ken that he had a native like Pepe with him.  For Pepe
+knew just what to do.  First he dashed a bucket of cold water over Ken.
+How welcome that was!
+
+"Pepe says for you to point out the ticks that 're biting the hardest,"
+said George.
+
+In spite of his pain Ken stared in mute surprise.
+
+"Pepe wants you to point out the ticks that are digging in the deepest,"
+explained George.  "Get a move on, now."
+
+"What!" roared Ken, glaring at Pepe and George.  He thought even the
+native might be having fun with him.  And for Ken this was not a funny
+time.
+
+But Pepe was in dead earnest.
+
+"Say, it's impossible to tell _where_ I'm being bitten most!  It's all
+over!" protested Ken.
+
+Still he discovered that by absolute concentration on the pain he was
+enduring he was able to locate the severest points.  And that showed him
+the soundness of Pepe's advice.
+
+"Here--this one--here--there....  Oh! here," began Ken, indicating
+certain ticks.
+
+"Not so fast, now," interrupted the imperturbable George, as he and Pepe
+set to work upon Ken.
+
+Then the red-hot cigarette-tips scorched Ken's skin.  Ken kept pointing
+and accompanying his directions with wild gestures and exclamations.
+
+"Here....  Oo-oo!  Here....  Wow!  Here.... Ouch!--that one stung!
+Here....  _Augh_! Say, can't you hurry?  Here! ... Oh! that one was in a
+mile!  Here....  _Hold on_! You're burning a hole in me! ... George,
+you're having fun out of this.  Pepe gets two to your one."
+
+"He's been popping ticks all his life," was George's reasonable protest.
+
+"Hurry!" cried Ken, in desperation. "George, if you monkey round--fool
+over this job--I'll--I'll punch you good."
+
+All this trying time Hal Ward sat on a log and watched the proceedings
+with great interest and humor.  Sometimes he smiled, at others he
+laughed, and yet again he burst out into uproarious mirth.
+
+"George, he wouldn't punch anybody," said Hal.  "I tell you he's all in.
+He hasn't any nerve left.  It's a chance of your life. You'll never get
+another.  He's been bossing you around.  Pay him up.  Make him holler.
+Why, what's a few little ticks?  Wouldn't phase me!  But Ken Ward's such
+a delicate, fine-skinned, sensitive, girly kind of a boy! He's too nice
+to be bitten by bugs.  Oh dear, yes, yes! ... Ken, why don't you show
+courage?"
+
+Ken shook his fist at Hal.
+
+"All right," said Ken, grimly.  "Have all the fun you can.  Because I'll
+get even with you."
+
+Hal relapsed into silence, and Ken began to believe he had intimidated
+his brother.  But he soon realized how foolish it was to suppose such a
+thing.  Hal had only been working his fertile brain.
+
+"George, here's a little verse for the occasion," said Hal.
+
+    "There was a brave hunter named Ken,
+    And he loved to get skins for his den,
+    Not afraid was he of tigers or pigs,
+    Or snakes or cats or any such things,
+    But one day in the jungle he left his clothes,
+    And came hollering back with _garrapatoes_."
+
+
+"Gre-at-t-t!" sputtered Ken.  "Oh, brother mine, we're a long way from
+home, I'll make you crawl."
+
+Pepe smoked, and wore out three cigarettes, and George two, before they
+had popped all the biting ticks.  Then Ken was still covered with them.
+Pepe bathed him in _canya_, which was like a bath of fire, and soon
+removed them all.  Ken felt flayed alive, peeled of his skin, and
+sprinkled with fiery sparks.  When he lay down he was as weak as a sick
+cat. Pepe said the _canya_ would very soon take the sting away, but it
+was some time before Ken was resting easily.
+
+It would not have been fair to ask Ken just then whether the prize for
+which he worked was worth his present gain.  _Garrapatoes_ may not seem
+important to one who simply reads about them, but such pests are a
+formidable feature of tropical life.
+
+However, Ken presently felt that he was himself again.
+
+Then he put his mind to the serious problem of his note-book and the
+plotting of the island.  As far as his trip was concerned, Cypress
+Island was an important point. When he had completed his map down to the
+island, he went on to his notes.  He believed that what he had found out
+from his knowledge of forestry was really worth something.  He had seen
+a gradual increase in the size and number of trees as he had proceeded
+down the river, a difference in the density and color of the jungle, a
+flattening-out of the mountain range, and a gradual change from rocky to
+clayey soil.  And on the whole his note-book began to assume such a
+character that he was beginning to feel willing to submit it to his
+uncle.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XVI*
+
+                      *FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST*
+
+
+That night Ken talked natural history to the boys and read extracts from
+a small copy of Sclater he had brought with him.
+
+They were all particularly interested in the cat tribe.
+
+The fore feet of all cats have five toes, the hind feet only four.
+Their claws are curved and sharp, and, except in case of one species of
+leopard, can be retracted in their sheaths. The claws of the great cat
+species are kept sharp by pulling them down through bark of trees.  All
+cats walk on their toes.  And the stealthy walk is due to hairy pads or
+cushions.  The claws of a cat do not show in its track as do those of a
+dog.  The tongues of all cats are furnished with large papill�. They are
+like files, and the use is to lick bones and clean their fur.  Their
+long whiskers are delicate organs of perception to aid them in finding
+their way on their night quests.  The eyes of all cats are large and
+full, and can be altered by contraction or expansion of iris, according
+to the amount of light they receive. The usual color is gray or tawny
+with dark spots or stripes.  The uniform tawny color of the lion and the
+panther is perhaps an acquired color, probably from the habit of these
+animals of living in desert countries.  It is likely that in primitive
+times cats were all spotted or striped.
+
+Naturally the boys were most interested in the jaguar, which is the
+largest of the cat tribe in the New World.  The jaguar ranges from
+northern Mexico to northern Patagonia. Its spots are larger than those
+of the leopard. Their ground color is a rich tan or yellow, sometimes
+almost gold.  Large specimens have been known nearly seven feet from
+nose to end of tail.
+
+The jaguar is an expert climber and swimmer.  Humboldt says that where
+the South American forests are subject to floods the jaguar sometimes
+takes to tree life, living on monkeys.  All naturalists agree on the
+ferocious nature of jaguars, and on the loudness and frequency of their
+cries.  There is no record of their attacking human beings without
+provocation.  Their favorite haunts are the banks of jungle rivers, and
+they often prey upon fish and turtles.
+
+The attack of a jaguar is terrible.  It leaps on the back of its prey
+and breaks its neck.  In some places there are well-known scratching
+trees where jaguars sharpen their claws.  The bark is worn smooth in
+front from contact with the breasts of the animals as they stand up, and
+there is a deep groove on each side.  When new scars appear on these
+trees it is known that jaguars are in the vicinity.  The cry of the
+jaguar is loud, deep, hoarse, something like _pu, pu, pu_.  There is
+much enmity between the panther, or mountain-lion, and the jaguar, and
+it is very strange that generally the jaguar fears the lion, although he
+is larger and more powerful.
+
+Pepe had interesting things to say about jaguars, or _tigres_, as he
+called them.  But Ken, of course, could not tell how much Pepe said was
+truth and how much just native talk.  At any rate, Pepe told of one
+Mexican who had a blind and deaf jaguar that he had tamed.  Ken knew
+that naturalists claimed the jaguar could not be tamed, but in this
+instance Ken was inclined to believe Pepe. This blind jaguar was
+enormous in size, terrible of aspect, and had been trained to trail
+anything his master set him to.  And Tigre, as he was called, never
+slept or stopped till he had killed the thing he was trailing. As he was
+blind and deaf, his power of scent had been abnormally developed.
+
+Pepe told of a fight between a huge crocodile and a jaguar in which both
+were killed.  He said jaguars stalked natives and had absolutely no
+fear.  He knew natives who said that jaguars had made off with children
+and eaten them.  Lastly, Pepe told of an incident that had happened in
+Tampico the year before. There was a ship at dock below Tampico, just on
+the outskirts where the jungle began, and one day at noon two big
+jaguars leaped on the deck.  They frightened the crew out of their wits.
+George verified this story, and added that the jaguars had been chased
+by dogs, had boarded the ship, where they climbed into the rigging, and
+stayed there till they were shot.
+
+"Well," said Ken, thoughtfully, "from my experience I believe a jaguar
+would do anything."
+
+The following day promised to be a busy one for Hal, without any time
+for tricks. George went hunting before breakfast--in fact, before the
+others were up--and just as the boys were sitting down to eat he
+appeared on the nearer bank and yelled for Pepe. It developed that for
+once George had bagged game.
+
+He had a black squirrel, a small striped wildcat, a peccary, a
+three-foot crocodile, and a duck of rare plumage.
+
+After breakfast Hal straightway got busy, and his skill and knowledge
+earned praise from George and Pepe.  They volunteered to help, which
+offer Hal gratefully accepted. He had brought along a folding canvas
+tank, forceps, knives, scissors, several packages of preservatives, and
+tin boxes in which to pack small skins.
+
+His first task was to mix a salt solution in the canvas tank.  This was
+for immersing skins.  Then he made a paste of salt and alum, and after
+that a mixture of two-thirds glycerin and one-third water and carbolic
+acid, which was for preserving small skins and to keep them soft.
+
+And as he worked he gave George directions on how to proceed with the
+wildcat and squirrel skins.
+
+"Skin carefully and tack up the pelts fur side down.  Scrape off all the
+fat and oil, but don't scrape through.  To-morrow when the skins are dry
+soak them in cold water till soft.  Then take them out and squeeze dry.
+I'll make a solution of three quarts water, one-half pint salt, and one
+ounce oil of vitriol.  Put the skins in that for half an hour.  Squeeze
+dry again, and hang in shade. That 'll tan the skin, and the moths will
+never hurt them."
+
+When Hal came to take up the duck he was sorry that some of the
+beautiful plumage had been stained.
+
+"I want only a few water-fowl," he said. "And particularly one of the
+big Muscovies. And you must keep the feathers from getting soiled."
+
+It was interesting to watch Hal handle that specimen.  First he took
+full measurements. Then, separating the feathers along the breast, he
+made an incision with a sharp knife, beginning high up on breast-bone
+and ending at tail.  He exercised care so as not to cut through the
+abdomen.  Raising the skin carefully along the cut as far as the muscles
+of the leg, he pushed out the knee joint and cut it off.  Then he
+loosened the skin from the legs and the back, and bent the tail down to
+cut through the tail joint.  Next he removed the skin from the body and
+cut off the wings at the shoulder joint.  Then he proceeded down the
+neck, being careful not to pull or stretch the skin.  Extreme care was
+necessary in cutting round the eyes.  Then, when he had loosened the
+skin from the skull, he severed the head and cleaned out the skull.  He
+coated all with the paste, filled the skull with cotton, and then
+immersed them in the glycerin bath.
+
+The skinning of the crocodile was an easy matter compared with that of
+the duck.  Hal made an incision at the throat, cut along the middle of
+the abdomen all the way to the tip of the tail, and then cut the skin
+away all around the carcass.  Then he set George and Pepe to scraping
+the skin, after which he immersed it in the tank.
+
+About that time Ken, who was lazily fishing in the shade of the
+cypresses, caught one of the blue-tailed fish.  Hal was delighted.  He
+had made a failure of the other specimen of this unknown fish.  This one
+was larger and exquisitely marked, being dark gold on the back, white
+along the belly, and its tail had a faint bluish tinge.  Hal promptly
+killed the fish, and then made a dive for his suitcase.  He produced
+several sheets of stiff cardboard and a small box of water-colors and
+brushes.  He laid the fish down on a piece of paper and outlined its
+exact size. Then, placing it carefully in an upright position on a box,
+he began to paint it in the actual colors of the moment.  Ken laughed
+and teased him.  George also was inclined to be amused.  But Pepe was
+amazed and delighted.  Hal worked on unmindful of his audience, and,
+though he did not paint a very artistic picture, he produced the vivid
+colors of the fish before they faded.
+
+His next move was to cover the fish with strips of thin cloth, which
+adhered to the scales and kept them from being damaged.  Then he cut
+along the middle line of the belly, divided the pelvic arch where the
+ventral fins joined, cut through the spines, and severed the fins from
+the bones.  Then he skinned down to the tail, up to the back, and cut
+through caudal processes.  The vertebral column he severed at the base
+of the skull.  He cleaned and scraped the entire inside of the skin, and
+then put it to soak.
+
+"Hal, you're much more likely to make good with Uncle Jim than I am,"
+said Ken. "You've really got skill, and you know what to do.  Now, my
+job is different.  So far I've done fairly well with my map of the
+river. But as soon as we get on level ground I'll be stumped."
+
+"We'll cover a hundred miles before we get to low land," replied Hal,
+cheerily.  "That's enough, even if we do get lost for the rest of the
+way.  You'll win that trip abroad, Ken, never fear, and little Willie is
+going to be with you."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XVII*
+
+                        *A MIXED-UP TIGER-HUNT*
+
+
+Next morning Hal arose bright as a lark, but silent, mysterious, and
+with far-seeing eyes.  It made Ken groan in spirit to look at the boy.
+Yes, indeed, they were far from home, and the person did not live on the
+earth who could play a trick on Hal Ward and escape vengeance.
+
+After breakfast Hal went off with a long-handled landing-net, obviously
+to capture birds or fish or mice or something.
+
+George said he did not feel very well, and he looked grouchy.  He
+growled around camp in a way that might have nettled Ken, but Ken,
+having had ten hours of undisturbed sleep, could not have found fault
+with anybody.
+
+"Garrapato George, come out of it.  Cheer up," said Ken.  "Why don't you
+take Pinilius Pepe as gun-bearer and go out to shoot something?  You
+haven't used up much ammunition yet."
+
+Ken's sarcasm was not lost upon George.
+
+"Well, if I do go, I'll not come running back to camp without some
+game."
+
+"My son," replied Ken, genially, "if you should happen to meet a jaguar
+you'd--you'd just let out one squawk and then never touch even the high
+places of the jungle.  You'd take that crazy .32 rifle for a
+golf-stick."
+
+"Would I?" returned George.  "All right."
+
+Ken watched George awhile that morning. The lad performed a lot of weird
+things around camp.  Then he bounced bullets off the water in vain
+effort to locate the basking crocodile. Then he tried his hand at
+fishing once more. He could get more bites than any fisherman Ken ever
+saw, but he could not catch anything.
+
+By and by the heat made Ken drowsy, and, stretching himself in the
+shade, he thought of a scheme to rid the camp of the noisy George.
+
+"Say, George, take my hammerless and get Pepe to row you up along the
+shady bank of the river," suggested Ken.  "Go sneaking along and you'll
+have some sport."
+
+George was delighted with that idea.  He had often cast longing eyes at
+the hammerless gun.  Pepe, too, looked exceedingly pleased. They got in
+the boat and were in the act of starting when George jumped ashore.  He
+reached for his .32 and threw the lever down to see if there was a shell
+in the chamber. Then he proceeded to fill his pockets with ammunition.
+
+"Might need a rifle," he said.  "You can't tell what you're going to see
+in this unholy jungle."
+
+Whereupon he went aboard again and Pepe rowed leisurely up-stream.
+
+"Be careful, boys," Ken called, and composed himself for a nap.  He
+promptly fell asleep.  How long he slept he had no idea, and when he
+awoke he lay with languor, not knowing at the moment what had awakened
+him.  Presently he heard a shout, then a rifle-shot.  Sitting up, he saw
+the boat some two hundred yards above, drifting along about the edge of
+the shade.  Pepe was in it alone.  He appeared to be excited, for Ken
+observed him lay down an oar and pick up a gun, and then reverse the
+performance.  Also he was jabbering to George, who evidently was out on
+the bank, but invisible to Ken.
+
+"Hey, Pepe!" Ken yelled.  "What 're you doing?"
+
+Strange to note, Pepe did not reply or even turn.
+
+"Now where in the deuce is George?" Ken said, impatiently.
+
+The hollow crack of George's .32 was a reply to the question.  Ken heard
+the singing of a bullet.  Suddenly, _spou!_ it twanged on a branch not
+twenty feet over his head, and then went whining away.  He heard it tick
+a few leaves or twigs.  There was not any languor in the alacrity with
+which Ken put the big cypress-tree between him and up-stream.  Then he
+ventured to peep forth.
+
+"Look out where you're slinging lead!" he yelled.  He doubted not that
+George had treed a black squirrel or was pegging away at parrots.  Yet
+Pepe's motions appeared to carry a good deal of feeling, too much, he
+thought presently, for small game.  So Ken began to wake up thoroughly.
+He lost sight of Pepe behind a low branch of a tree that leaned some
+fifty yards above the island. Then he caught sight of him again.  He was
+poling with an oar, evidently trying to go up or down--Ken could not
+tell which.
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  George's .32 spoke twice more, and the bullets both
+struck in the middle of the stream and ricochetted into the far bank
+with little thuds.
+
+Something prompted Ken to reach for his automatic, snap the clip in
+tight, and push in the safety.  At the same time he muttered George's
+words: "You can never tell what's coming off in this unholy jungle."
+
+Then, peeping out from behind the cypress, Ken watched the boat drift
+down-stream. Pepe had stopped poling and was looking closely into the
+thick grass and vines of the bank.  Ken heard his voice, but could not
+tell what he said.  He watched keenly for some sight of George.  The
+moments passed, the boat drifted, and Ken began to think there was
+nothing unusual afoot.  In this interval Pepe drifted within
+seventy-five yards of camp.  Again Ken called to ask him what George was
+stalking, and this time Pepe yelled; but Ken did not know what he said.
+Hard upon this came George's sharp voice:
+
+"Look out, there, on the island.  Get behind something.  I've got him
+between the river and the flat.  He's in this strip of shore brush.
+There!"
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!  Bullets hummed and whistled all about the
+island.  Ken was afraid to peep out with even one eye.  He began to
+fancy that George was playing Indian.
+
+"Fine, Georgie!  You're doing great!" he shouted.  "You couldn't come
+any closer to me if you were aiming at me.  What is it?"
+
+Then a crashing of brush and a flash of yellow low down along the bank
+changed the aspect of the situation.
+
+"Panther! or jaguar!" Ken ejaculated, in amaze.  In a second he was
+tight-muscled, cold, and clear-witted.  At that instant he saw George's
+white shirt about the top of the brush.
+
+"Go back!  Get out in the open!" Ken ordered.  "Do you hear me?"
+
+"Where is he?" shouted George, paying not the slightest attention to
+Ken.  Ken jumped from behind the tree, and, running to the head of the
+island, he knelt low near the water with rifle ready.
+
+"Tigre!  Tigre!  Tigre!" screamed Pepe, waving his arms, then pointing.
+
+George crashed into the brush.  Ken saw the leaves move, then a long
+yellow shape. With the quickness of thought and the aim of the
+wing-shot, Ken fired.  From the brush rose a strange wild scream.
+George aimed at a shaking mass of grass and vines, but, before he could
+fire, a long, lean, ugly beast leaped straight out from the bank to drop
+into the water with a heavy splash.
+
+Like a man half scared to death Pepe waved Ken's double-barreled gun.
+Then a yellow head emerged from the water.  It was in line with the
+boat.  Ken dared not shoot.
+
+"Kill him, George," yelled Ken.  "Tell Pepe to kill him."
+
+George seemed unaccountably silent.  But Ken had no time to look for
+him, for his eyes were riveted on Pepe.  The native did not know how to
+hold a gun properly, let alone aim it.  He had, however, sense enough to
+try.  He got the stock under his chin, and, pointing the gun, he
+evidently tried to fire.  But the hammerless did not go off. Then Pepe
+fumbled at the safety-catch, which he evidently remembered seeing Ken
+use.
+
+The jaguar, swimming with difficulty, perhaps badly wounded, made right
+for the boat. Pepe was standing on the seat.  Awkwardly he aimed.
+
+_Boom_!  He had pulled both triggers.  The recoil knocked him backward.
+The hammerless fell in the boat, and Pepe's broad back hit the water;
+his bare, muscular legs clung to the gunwale, and slipped loose.
+
+He had missed the jaguar, for it kept on toward the boat.  Still Ken
+dared not shoot.
+
+"George, what on earth is the matter with you?" shouted Ken.
+
+Then Ken saw him standing in the brush on the bank, fussing over the
+crazy .32.  Of course at the critical moment something had gone wrong
+with the old rifle.
+
+Pepe's head bobbed up just on the other side of the boat.  The jaguar
+was scarcely twenty feet distant and now in line with both boat and man.
+At that instant a heavy swirl in the water toward the middle of the
+river drew Ken's attention.  He saw the big crocodile, and the great
+creature did not seem at all lazy at that moment.
+
+George began to scream in Spanish.  Ken felt his hair stiffen and his
+face blanch.  Pepe, who had been solely occupied with the jaguar, caught
+George's meaning and turned to see the peril in his rear.
+
+He bawled his familiar appeal to the saints. Then he grasped the gunwale
+of the boat just as it swung against the branches of the low-leaning
+tree.  He vaulted rather than climbed aboard.
+
+Ken forgot that Pepe could understand little English, and he yelled:
+"Grab an oar, Pepe.  Keep the jaguar in the water.  Don't let him in the
+boat."
+
+But Pepe, even if he had understood, had a better idea.  Nimble, he ran
+over the boat and grasped the branches of the tree just as the jaguar
+flopped paws and head over the stern gunwale.
+
+Ken had only a fleeting instant to get a bead on that yellow body, and
+before he could be sure of an aim the branch weighted with Pepe sank
+down to hide both boat and jaguar.  The chill of fear for Pepe changed
+to hot rage at this new difficulty.
+
+Then George began to shoot.
+
+_Spang_!
+
+Ken heard the bullet hit the boat.
+
+"George--wait!" shouted Ken.  "Don't shoot holes in the boat.  You'll
+sink it."
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!
+
+That was as much as George cared about such a possibility.  He stood on
+the bank and worked the lever of his .32 with wild haste. Ken plainly
+heard the spat of the bullets, and the sound was that of lead in contact
+with wood.  So he knew George was not hitting the jaguar.
+
+"You'll ruin the boat!" roared Ken.
+
+Pepe had worked up from the lower end of the branch, and as soon as he
+straddled it and hunched himself nearer shore the foliage rose out of
+the water, exposing the boat. George kept on shooting till his magazine
+was empty.  Ken's position was too low for him to see the jaguar.
+
+Then the boat swung loose from the branch and, drifting down, gradually
+approached the shore.
+
+"Pull yourself together, George," called Ken.  "Keep cool.  Make sure of
+your aim. We've got him now."
+
+"He's mine!  He's mine!  He's mine! Don't you dare shoot!" howled
+George.  "I got him!"
+
+"All right.  But steady up, can't you? Hit him once, anyway."
+
+Apparently without aim George fired.  Then, jerking the lever, he fired
+again.  The boat drifted into overhanging vines.  Once more Ken saw a
+yellow and black object, then a trembling trail of leaves.
+
+"He's coming out below you.  Look out," yelled Ken.
+
+George disappeared.  Ken saw no sign of the jaguar and heard no shot or
+shout from George.  Pepe dropped from his branch to the bank and caught
+the boat.  Ken called, and while Pepe rowed over to the island, he got
+into some clothes fit to hunt in.  Then they hurried back across the
+channel to the bank.
+
+Ken found the trail of the jaguar, followed it up to the edge of the
+brush, and lost it in the weedy flat.  George came out of a patch of
+bamboos.  He looked white and shaky and wild with disappointment.
+
+"Oh, I had a dandy shot as he came out, but the blamed gun jammed again.
+Come on, we'll get him.  He's all shot up.  I bet I hit him ten times.
+He won't get away."
+
+Ken finally got George back to camp.  The boat was half full of water,
+making it necessary to pull it out on the bank and turn it over. There
+were ten bullet-holes in it.
+
+"George, you hit the boat, anyway," Ken said; "now we've a job on our
+hands."
+
+Hal came puffing into camp.  He was red of face, and the sweat stood out
+on his forehead.  He had a small animal of some kind in a sack, and his
+legs were wet to his knees.
+
+"What was--all the--pegging about?" he asked, breathlessly.  "I expected
+to find camp surrounded by Indians."
+
+"Kid, it's been pretty hot round here for a little.  George and Pepe
+rounded up a tiger. Tell us about it, George," said Ken.
+
+So while Ken began to whittle pegs to pound into the bullet-holes,
+George wiped his flushed, sweaty face and talked.
+
+"We were up there a piece, round the bend. I saw a black squirrel and
+went ashore to get him.  But I couldn't find him, and in kicking round
+in the brush I came into a kind of trail or runway.  Then I ran plumb
+into that darned jaguar.  I was so scared I couldn't remember my gun.
+But the cat turned and ran.  It was lucky he didn't make at me. When I
+saw him run I got back my courage. I called for Pepe to row down-stream
+and keep a lookout.  Then I got into the flat.  I must have come down a
+good ways before I saw him.  I shot, and he dodged back into the brush
+again.  I fired into the moving bushes where he was.  And pretty soon I
+ventured to get in on the bank, where I had a better chance.  I guess it
+was about that time that I heard you yell.  Then it all happened. You
+hit him!  Didn't you hear him scream? What a jump he made!  If it hadn't
+been so terrible when your hammerless kicked Pepe overboard, I would
+have died laughing. Then I was paralyzed when the jaguar swam for the
+boat.  He was hurt, for the water was bloody.  Things came off quick, I
+tell you. Like a monkey Pepe scrambled into the tree. When I got my gun
+loaded the jaguar was crouched down in the bottom of the boat watching
+Pepe.  Then I began to shoot.  I can't realize he got away from us.
+What was the reason you didn't knock him?"
+
+"Well, you see, George, there were two good reasons," Ken replied.  "The
+first was that at that time I was busy dodging bullets from your rifle.
+And the second was that you threatened my life if I killed your jaguar."
+
+"Did I get as nutty as that?  But it was pretty warm there for a
+little....  Say, was he a big one?  My eyes were so hazy I didn't see
+him clear."
+
+"He wasn't big, not half as big as the one I lost yesterday.  Yours was
+a long, wiry beast, like a panther, and mean-looking."
+
+Pepe sat on the bank, and while he nursed his bruises he smoked.  Once
+he made a speech that was untranslatable, but Hal gave it an
+interpretation which was probably near correct.
+
+"That's right, Pepe.  Pretty punk tiger-hunters--mucho punk!"
+
+
+
+
+                                *XVIII*
+
+                          *WATCHING A RUNWAY*
+
+
+"I'll tell you what, fellows," said Hal.  "I know where we _can_ get a
+tiger."
+
+"We'll get one in the neck if we don't watch out," replied George.
+
+Ken thought that Hal looked very frank and earnest, and honest and
+eager, but there was never any telling about him.
+
+"Where?" he asked, skeptically.
+
+"Down along the river.  You know I've been setting traps all along.
+There's a flat sand-bar for a good piece down.  I came to a little gully
+full of big tracks, big as my two hands.  And fresh!"
+
+"Honest Injun, kid?" queried Ken.
+
+"Hope to die if I'm lyin'," replied Hal. "I want to see somebody kill a
+tiger.  Now let's go down there in the boat and wait for one to come to
+drink.  There's a big log with driftwood lodged on it.  We can hide
+behind that."
+
+"Great idea, Hal," said Ken.  "We'd be pretty safe in the boat.  I want
+to say that tigers have sort of got on my nerves.  I ought to go over in
+the jungle to look for the one I crippled.  He's dead by now.  But the
+longer I put it off the harder it is to go.  I'll back out yet....
+Come, we'll have an early dinner. Then to watch for Hal's tiger."
+
+The sun had just set, and the hot breeze began to swirl up the river
+when Ken slid the boat into the water.  He was pleased to find that it
+did not leak.
+
+"We'll take only two guns," said Ken, "my .351 and the hammerless, with
+some ball-cartridges.  We want to be quiet to-night, and if you fellows
+take your guns you'll be pegging at ducks and things.  That won't do."
+
+Pepe sat at the oars with instructions to row easily.  George and Hal
+occupied the stern-seats, and Ken took his place in the bow, with both
+guns at hand.
+
+The hot wind roared in the cypresses, and the river whipped up little
+waves with white crests.  Long streamers of gray moss waved out over the
+water and branches tossed and swayed.  The blow did not last for many
+minutes.  Trees and river once more grew quiet.  And suddenly the heat
+was gone.
+
+As Pepe rowed on down the river, Cypress Island began to disappear round
+a bend, and presently was out of sight.  Ducks were already in flight.
+They flew low over the boat, so low that Ken could almost have reached
+them with the barrel of his gun.  The river here widened.  It was full
+of huge snags.  A high, wooded bluff shadowed the western shore.  On the
+left, towering cypresses, all laced together in dense vine and moss
+webs, leaned out.
+
+Under Hal's direction Pepe rowed to a pile of driftwood, and here the
+boat was moored. The gully mentioned by Hal was some sixty yards
+distant.  It opened like the mouth of a cave.  Beyond the cypresses
+thick, intertwining bamboos covered it.
+
+"I wish we'd gone in to see the tracks," said Ken.  "But I'll take your
+word, Hal."
+
+"Oh, they're there, all right."
+
+"I don't doubt it.  Looks great to me! That's a runway, Hal....  Now,
+boys, get a comfortable seat, and settle down to wait. Don't talk.  Just
+listen and watch. Remember, soon we'll be out of the jungle, back home.
+So make hay while the sun shines.  Watch and listen!  Whoever sees or
+hears anything first is the best man."
+
+For once the boys were as obedient as lambs.  But then, Ken thought, the
+surroundings were so beautiful and wild and silent that any boys would
+have been watchful.
+
+There was absolutely no sound but the intermittent whir of wings.  The
+water-fowl flew by in companies--ducks, cranes, herons, snipe, and the
+great Muscovies.  Ken never would have tired of that procession.  It
+passed all too soon, and then only an occasional water-fowl swept
+swiftly by, as if belated.
+
+Slowly the wide river-lane shaded.  But it was still daylight, and the
+bank and the runway were clearly distinguishable.  There was a
+moment--Ken could not tell just how he knew--when the jungle awakened.
+It was not only the faint hum of insects; it was a sense as if life
+stirred with the coming of twilight.
+
+Pepe was the first to earn honors at the listening game.  He held up a
+warning forefinger.  Then he pointed under the bluff. Ken saw a doe
+stepping out of a fringe of willows.
+
+"Don't move--don't make a noise," whispered Ken.
+
+The doe shot up long ears and watched the boat.  Then a little fawn
+trotted out and splashed in the water.  Both deer drank, then seemed in
+no hurry to leave the river.
+
+Next moment Hal heard something downstream and George saw something
+up-stream. Pepe again whispered.  As for Ken, he saw little dark shapes
+moving out of the shadow of the runway.  He heard a faint trampling of
+hard little hoofs.  But if these animals were _javelin_--of which he was
+sure--they did not come out into the open runway.  Ken tried to catch
+Pepe's attention without making a noise; however, Pepe was absorbed in
+his side of the river.  Ken then forgot he had companions.  All along
+the shores were faint splashings and rustlings and crackings.
+
+A loud, trampling roar rose in the runway and seemed to move backward
+toward the jungle, diminishing in violence.
+
+"Pigs running--something scared 'em," said George.
+
+"S-s-s-sh!" whispered Ken.
+
+All the sounds ceased.  The jungle seemed to sleep in deep silence.
+
+Ken's eyes were glued to the light patch of sand-bank where it merged in
+the dark of the runway.  Then Ken heard a sound--what, he could not have
+told.  But it made his heart beat fast.
+
+There came a few pattering thuds, soft as velvet; and a shadow, paler
+than the dark background, moved out of the runway.
+
+With that a huge jaguar loped into the open. He did not look around.  He
+took a long, easy bound down to the water and began to lap.
+
+Either Pepe or George jerked so violently as to make the boat lurch.
+They seemed to be stifling.
+
+"Oh, Ken, don't miss!" whispered Hal.
+
+Ken had the automatic over the log and in line.  His teeth were shut
+tight, and he was cold and steady.  He meant not to hurry.
+
+The jaguar was a heavy, squat, muscular figure, not graceful and
+beautiful like the one Ken had crippled.  Suddenly he raised his head
+and looked about.  He had caught a scent.
+
+It was then that Ken lowered the rifle till the sight covered the
+beast--lower yet to his huge paws, then still lower to the edge of the
+water.  Ken meant to shoot low enough this time.  Holding the rifle
+there, and holding it with all his strength, he pressed the trigger
+once--twice.  The two shots rang out almost simultaneously.  Ken
+expected to see this jaguar leap, but the beast crumpled up and sank in
+his tracks.
+
+Then the boys yelled, and Ken echoed them.  Pepe was wildly excited, and
+began to fumble with the oars.
+
+"Wait!  Wait, I tell you!" ordered Ken.
+
+"Oh, Ken, you pegged him!" cried Hal. "He doesn't move.  Let's go
+ashore.  What did I tell you?  It took me to find the tiger."
+
+Ken watched with sharp eyes and held his rifle ready, but the huddled
+form on the sand never so much as twitched.
+
+"I guess I plugged him," said Ken, with unconscious pride.
+
+Pepe rowed the boat ashore, and when near the sand-bar he reached out
+with an oar to touch the jaguar.  There was no doubt about his being
+dead.  The boys leaped ashore and straightened out the beast.  He was
+huge, dirty, spotted, bloody, and fiercely savage even in death.  Ken's
+bullets had torn through the chest, making fearful wounds.  Pepe
+jabbered, and the boys all talked at once.  When it came to lifting the
+jaguar into the boat they had no slight task.  The short, thick-set body
+was very heavy.  But at last they loaded it in the bow, and Pepe rowed
+back to the island.  It was still a harder task to get the jaguar up the
+high bank.  Pepe kindled a fire so they would have plenty of light, and
+then they set to work at the skinning.
+
+What with enthusiasm over the stalk, and talk of the success of the
+trip, and compliments to Ken's shooting, and care of the skinning, the
+boys were three hours at the job.  Ken, remembering Hiram Bent's
+teachings, skinned out the great claws himself.  They salted the pelt
+and nailed it up on the big cypress.
+
+"You'd never have got one but for me," said Hal.  "That's how I pay you
+for the tricks you've played me!"
+
+"By George, Hal, it's a noble revenge!" cried Ken, who, in the warmth
+and glow of happiness of the time, quite believed his brother.
+
+Pepe went to bed first.  George turned in next.  Ken took a last look at
+the great pelt stretched on the cypress, and then he sought his
+blankets.  Hal, however, remained up.  Ken heard him pounding stakes in
+the ground.
+
+"Hal, what 're you doing?"
+
+"I'm settin' my trot-lines," replied Hal, cheerfully.
+
+"Well, come to bed."
+
+"Keep your shirt on, Ken, old boy.  I'll be along presently."
+
+Ken fell asleep.  He did not have peaceful slumbers.  He had been too
+excited to rest well.  He would wake up out of a nightmare, then go to
+sleep again.  He seemed to wake suddenly out of one of these black
+spells, and he was conscious of pain.  Something tugged at his leg.
+
+"What the dickens!" he said, and raised on his elbow.  Hal was asleep
+between George and Pepe, who were snoring.
+
+Just then Ken felt a violent jerk.  The blankets flew up at his feet,
+and his left leg went out across his brother's body.  There was a
+string--a rope--something fast round his ankle, and it was pulling hard.
+It hurt.
+
+"Jiminy!" shouted Ken, reaching for his foot.  But before he could reach
+it another tug, more violent, pulled his leg straight out. Ken began to
+slide.
+
+"What on earth?" yelled Ken.  "Say! Something's got me!"
+
+The yells and Ken's rude exertions aroused the boys.  And they were
+frightened.  Ken got an arm around Hal and the other around George and
+held on for dear life.  He was more frightened than they.  Pepe leaped
+up, jabbering, and, tripping, he fell all in a heap.
+
+"Oh! my leg!" howled Ken.  "It's being pulled off.  Say, I can't be
+dreaming!"
+
+Most assuredly Ken was wide awake.  The moonlight showed his bare leg
+sticking out and round his ankle a heavy trot-line.  It was stretched
+tight.  It ran down over the bank. And out there in the river a
+tremendous fish or a crocodile was surging about, making the water roar.
+
+Pepe was trying to loosen the line or break it.  George, who was always
+stupid when first aroused, probably imagined he was being mauled by a
+jaguar, for he loudly bellowed. Ken had a strangle-hold on Hal.
+
+"Oh!  _Oh_!  _Oh-h-h_!" bawled Ken.  Not only was he scared out of a
+year's growth; he was in terrible pain.  Then his cries grew
+unintelligible.  He was being dragged out of the tent.  Still he clung
+desperately to the howling George and the fighting Hal.
+
+All at once something snapped.  The tension relaxed.  Ken fell back upon
+Hal.
+
+"Git off me, will you?" shouted Hal. "Are you c-c-cr-azy?"
+
+But Hal's voice had not the usual note when he was angry or impatient.
+He was laughing so he could not speak naturally.
+
+"Uh-huh!" said Ken, and sat up.  "I guess here was where I got it.  Is
+my leg broken? What came off?"
+
+Pepe was staggering about on the bank, going through strange motions.
+He had the line in his hands, and at the other end was a monster of some
+land threshing about in the water.  It was moonlight and Ken could see
+plainly.  Around the ankle that felt broken was a twisted loop of
+trot-line.  Hal had baited a hook and slipped the end of the trot-line
+over Ken's foot.  During the night the crocodile or an enormous fish had
+taken the bait.  Then Ken had nearly been hauled off the island.
+
+Pepe was doing battle with the hooked thing, whatever it was, and Ken
+was about to go to his assistance when again the line broke.
+
+"Great!  Hal, you have a nice disposition," exclaimed Ken.  "You have a
+wonderful affection for your brother.  You care a lot about his legs or
+his life.  Idiot!  Can't you play a safe trick?  If I hadn't grabbed you
+and George, I'd been pulled into the river. Eaten up, maybe!  And my
+ankle is sprained. It won't be any good for a week.  You are a bright
+boy!"
+
+And in spite of his laughter Hal began to look ashamed.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIX*
+
+                      *ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES*
+
+
+The rest of that night Ken had more dreams; and they were not pleasant.
+He awoke from one in a cold fright.
+
+It must have been late, for the moon was low.  His ankle pained and
+throbbed, and to that he attributed his nightmare.  He was falling
+asleep again when the clink of tin pans made him sit up with a start.
+Some animal was prowling about camp.  He peered into the moonlit
+shadows, but could make out no unfamiliar object.  Still he was not
+satisfied; so he awoke Pepe.
+
+Certainly it was not Ken's intention to let Pepe get out ahead;
+nevertheless he was lame and slow, and before he started Pepe rolled out
+of the tent.
+
+"Santa Maria!" shrieked Pepe.
+
+Ken fumbled under his pillow for a gun. Hal raised up so quickly that he
+bumped Ken's head, making him see a million stars.  George rolled over,
+nearly knocking down the tent.
+
+From outside came a sliddery, rustling noise, then another yell that was
+deadened by a sounding splash.  Ken leaped out with his gun, George at
+his elbow.  Pepe stood just back of the tent, his arms upraised, and he
+appeared stunned.  The water near the bank was boiling and bubbling;
+waves were dashing on the shore and ripples spreading in a circle.
+
+George shouted in Spanish.
+
+"Crocodile!" cried Ken.
+
+"Si, si, Se�or," replied Pepe.  Then he said that when he stepped out of
+the tent the crocodile was right in camp, not ten feet from where the
+boys lay.  Pepe also said that these brutes were man-eaters, and that he
+had better watch for the rest of the night.  Ken thought him, like all
+the natives, inclined to exaggerate; however, he made no objection to
+Pepe's holding watch over the crocodile.
+
+"What'd I tell you?" growled George. "Why didn't you let me shoot him?
+Let's go back to bed."
+
+In the morning when Ken got up he viewed his body with great curiosity.
+The ticks and the cigarette burns had left him a beautifully tattoed
+specimen of aborigine.  His body, especially his arms, bore hundreds of
+little reddish scars--bites and burns together.  There was not, however,
+any itching or irritation, for which he made sure he had to thank Pepe's
+skill and the _canya_.
+
+George did not get up when Ken called him.  Thinking his sleep might
+have been broken, Ken let him alone a while longer, but when breakfast
+was smoking he gave him a prod.  George rolled over, looking haggard and
+glum.
+
+"I'm sick," he said.
+
+Ken's cheerfulness left him, for he knew what sickness or injury did to
+a camping trip. George complained of aching bones, headache and cramps,
+and showed a tongue with a yellow coating.  Ken said he had eaten too
+much fresh meat, but Pepe, after looking George over, called it a name
+that sounded like _calentura_.
+
+"What's that?" Ken inquired.
+
+"Tropic fever," replied George.  "I've had it before."
+
+For a while he was a very sick boy.  Ken had a little medicine-case, and
+from it he administered what he thought was best, and George grew easier
+presently.  Then Ken sat down to deliberate on the situation.
+
+Whatever way he viewed it, he always came back to the same thing--they
+must get out of the jungle; and as they could not go back, they must go
+on down the river.  That was a bad enough proposition without being
+hampered by a sick boy.  It was then Ken had a subtle change of feeling;
+a shade of gloom seemed to pervade his spirit.
+
+By nine o'clock they were packed, and, turning into the shady channel,
+soon were out in the sunlight saying good-by to Cypress Island.  At the
+moment Ken did not feel sorry to go, yet he knew that feeling would come
+by and by, and that Cypress Island would take its place in his memory as
+one more haunting, calling wild place.
+
+They turned a curve to run under a rocky bluff from which came a muffled
+roar of rapids. A long, projecting point of rock extended across the
+river, allowing the water to rush through only at a narrow mill-race
+channel close to the shore.  It was an obstacle to get around. There was
+no possibility of lifting the boat over the bridge of rock, and the
+alternative was shooting the channel.  Ken got out upon the rocks, only
+to find that drifting the boat round the sharp point was out of the
+question, owing to a dangerously swift current.  Ken tried the depth of
+the water--about four feet.  Then he dragged the boat back a little
+distance and stepped into the river.
+
+"Look!  Look!" cried Pepe, pointing to the bank.
+
+About ten yards away was a bare shelf of mud glistening with water and
+showing the deep tracks of a crocodile.  It was a slide, and manifestly
+had just been vacated.  The crocodile-tracks resembled the imprints of a
+giant's hand.
+
+"Come out!" yelled George, and Pepe jabbered to his saints.
+
+"We've got to go down this river," Ken replied, and he kept on wading
+till he got the boat in the current.  He was frightened, of course, but
+he kept on despite that.  The boat lurched into the channel, stern
+first, and he leaped up on the bow.  It shot down with the speed of a
+toboggan, and the boat whirled before he could scramble to the oars.
+What was worse, an overhanging tree with dead snags left scarce room to
+pass beneath.  Ken ducked to prevent being swept overboard, and one of
+the snags that brushed and scraped him ran under his belt and lifted him
+into the air.  He grasped at the first thing he could lay hands on,
+which happened to be a box, but he could not hold to it because the boat
+threatened to go on, leaving him kicking in midair and holding up a box
+of potatoes.  Ken clutched a gunwale, only to see the water swell
+dangerously over the edge.  In angry helplessness he loosened his hold.
+Then the snag broke, just in the nick of time, for in a second more the
+boat would have been swept away.  Ken fell across the bow, held on, and
+soon drifted from under the threshing branches, and seized the oars.
+
+Pepe and George and Hal walked round the ledge and, even when they
+reached Ken, had not stopped laughing.
+
+"Boys, it wasn't funny," declared Ken, soberly.
+
+"I said it was coming to us," replied George.
+
+There were rapids below, and Ken went at them with stern eyes and set
+lips.  It was the look of men who face obstacles in getting out of the
+wilderness.  More than one high wave circled spitefully round Pepe's
+broad shoulders.
+
+They came to a fall where the river dropped a few feet straight down.
+Ken sent the boys below.  Hal and George made a detour.  But Pepe jumped
+off the ledge into shallow water.
+
+"_Ah-h!_" yelled Pepe.
+
+Ken was becoming accustomed to Pepe's wild yell, but there was a note in
+this which sent a shiver over him.  Before looking, Ken snatched his
+rifle from the boat.
+
+Pepe appeared to be sailing out into the pool.  But his feet were not
+moving.
+
+Ken had only an instant, but in that he saw under Pepe a long, yellow,
+swimming shape, leaving a wake in the water.  Pepe had jumped upon the
+back of a crocodile.  He seemed paralyzed, or else he was wisely
+trusting himself there rather than in the water. Ken was too shocked to
+offer advice.  Indeed, he would not have known how to meet this
+situation.
+
+Suddenly Pepe leaped for a dry stone, and the energy of his leap carried
+him into the river beyond.  Like a flash he was out again, spouting
+water.
+
+Ken turned loose the automatic on the crocodile and shot a magazine of
+shells.  The crocodile made a tremendous surge, churning up a slimy
+foam, then vanished in a pool.
+
+"Guess this 'll be crocodile day," said Ken, changing the clip in his
+rifle.  "I'll bet I made a hole in that one.  Boys, look out below."
+
+Ken shoved the boat over the ledge in line with Pepe, and it floated to
+him, while Ken picked his way round the rocky shore.  The boys piled
+aboard again.  The day began to get hot.  Ken cautioned the boys to
+avoid wading, if possible, and to be extremely careful where they
+stepped.  Pepe pointed now and then to huge bubbles breaking on the
+surface of the water and said they were made by crocodiles.
+
+From then on Ken's hands were full.  He struck swift water, where rapid
+after rapid, fall on fall, took the boat downhill at a rate to afford
+him satisfaction.  The current had a five or six mile speed, and, as Ken
+had no portages to make and the corrugated rapids of big waves gave him
+speed, he made by far the best time of the voyage.
+
+The hot hours passed--cool for the boys because they were always wet.
+The sun sank behind a hill.  The wind ceased to whip the streamers of
+moss.  At last, in a gathering twilight, Ken halted at a wide, flat rock
+to make camp.
+
+"Forty miles to-day if we made an inch!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+The boys said more.
+
+They built a fire, cooked supper, and then, weary and silent, Hal and
+George and Pepe rolled into their blankets.  But Ken doggedly worked an
+hour at his map and notes.  That hard forty miles meant a long way
+toward the success of his trip.
+
+Next morning the mists had not lifted from the river when they shoved
+off, determined to beat the record of yesterday.  Difficulties beset
+them from the start--the highest waterfall of the trip, a leak in the
+boat, deep, short rapids, narrows with choppy waves, and a whirlpool
+where they turned round and round, unable to row out.  Nor did they get
+free till Pepe lassoed a snag and pulled them out.
+
+About noon they came to another narrow chute brawling down into a deep,
+foamy pool. Again Ken sent the boys around, and he backed the boat into
+the chute; and just as the current caught it he leaped aboard.  He was
+either tired or careless, for he drifted too close to a half-submerged
+rock, and, try as he might, at the last moment he could not avoid a
+collision.
+
+As the stern went hard on the rock Ken expected to break something, but
+was surprised at the soft thud with which he struck. It flashed into his
+mind that the rock was moss-covered.
+
+Quick as the thought there came a rumble under the boat, the stern
+heaved up, there was a great sheet-like splash, and then a blow that
+splintered the gunwale.  Then the boat shunted off, affording the
+astounded Ken a good view of a very angry crocodile.  He had been
+sleeping on the rock.
+
+The boys were yelling and crowding down to the shore where Ken was
+drifting in. Pepe waded in to catch the boat.
+
+"What was it hit you, Ken?" asked Hal.
+
+"Mucho malo," cried Pepe.
+
+"The boat's half full of water--the gunwale's all split!" ejaculated
+George.
+
+"Only an accident of river travel," replied Ken, with mock nonchalance.
+"Say, Garrapato, _when_, about _when_ is it coming to me?"
+
+"Well, if he didn't get slammed by a crocodile!" continued George.
+
+They unloaded, turned out the water, broke up a box to use for repairs,
+and mended the damaged gunwale--work that lost more than a good hour.
+Once again under way, Ken made some interesting observations.  The river
+ceased to stand on end in places; crocodiles slipped off every muddy
+promontory, and wide trails ridged the steep clay-banks.
+
+"Cattle-trails, Pepe says," said George. "Wild cattle roam all through
+the jungle along the Panuco."
+
+It was a well-known fact that the rancheros of Tamaulipas State had no
+idea how many cattle they owned.  Ken was so eager to see if Pepe had
+been correct that he went ashore, to find the trails were, indeed, those
+of cattle.
+
+"Then, Pepe, we must be somewhere near the Panuco River," he said.
+
+"Quien sabe?" rejoined he, quietly.
+
+When they rounded the curve they came upon a herd of cattle that
+clattered up the bank, raising a cloud of dust.
+
+"Wilder than deer!" Ken exclaimed.
+
+From that point conditions along the river changed.  The banks were no
+longer green; the beautiful cypresses gave place to other trees, as
+huge, as moss-wound, but more rugged and of gaunt outline; the flowers
+and vines and shady nooks disappeared.  Everywhere wide-horned steers
+and cows plunged up the banks.  Everywhere buzzards rose from gruesome
+feasts.  The shore was lined with dead cattle, and the stench of
+putrefying flesh was almost unbearable.  They passed cattle mired in the
+mud, being slowly tortured to death by flies and hunger; they passed
+cattle that had slipped off steep banks and could not get back and were
+bellowing dismally; and also strangely acting cattle that Pepe said had
+gone crazy from ticks in their ears.  Ken would have put these miserable
+beasts out of their misery had not George restrained him with a few
+words about Mexican law.
+
+A sense of sickness came to Ken, and though he drove the feeling from
+him, it continually returned.  George and Hal lay flat on the canvas,
+shaded with a couple of palm leaves; Pepe rowed on and on, growing more
+and more serious and quiet.  His quick, responsive smile was wanting
+now.
+
+By way of diversion, and also in the hope of securing a specimen, Ken
+began to shoot at the crocodiles.  George came out of his lethargy and
+took up his rifle.  He would have had to be ill indeed, to forswear any
+possible shooting; and, now that Ken had removed the bar, he forgot he
+had fever. Every hundred yards or so they would come upon a crocodile
+measuring somewhere from about six feet upward, and occasionally they
+would see a great yellow one, as large as a log.  Seldom did they get
+within good range of these huge fellows, and shooting from a moving boat
+was not easy.  The smaller ones, however, allowed the boat to approach
+quite close.  George bounced many a .32 bullet off the bank, but he
+never hit a crocodile.  Ken allowed him to have the shots for the fun of
+it, and, besides, he was watching for a big one.
+
+"George, that rifle of yours is leaded.  It doesn't shoot where you
+aim."
+
+When they got unusually close to a small crocodile George verified Ken's
+statement by missing his game some yards.  He promptly threw the
+worn-out rifle overboard, an act that caused Pepe much concern.
+
+Whereupon Ken proceeded to try his luck. Instructing Pepe to row about
+in the middle of the stream, he kept eye on one shore while George
+watched the other.  He shot half a dozen small crocodiles, but they
+slipped off the bank before Pepe could get ashore.  This did not appear
+to be the fault of the rifle, for some of the reptiles were shot almost
+in two pieces.  But Ken had yet to learn more about the tenacity of life
+of these water-brutes. Several held still long enough for Ken to shoot
+them through, then with a plunge they went into the water, sinking at
+once in a bloody foam.  He knew he had shot them through, for he saw
+large holes in the mud-banks lined with bits of bloody skin and bone.
+
+"There's one," said George, pointing.  "Let's get closer, so we can grab
+him.  He's got a good piece to go before he reaches the water."
+
+Pepe rowed slowly along, guiding the boat a little nearer the shore.  At
+forty feet the crocodile raised up, standing on short legs, so that all
+but his tail was free of the ground. He opened his huge jaws either in
+astonishment or to intimidate them, and then Ken shot him straight down
+the throat.  He flopped convulsively and started to slide and roll.
+When he reached the water he turned over on his back, with his feet
+sticking up, resembling a huge frog.  Pepe rowed hard to the shore, just
+as the crocodile with one last convulsion rolled off into deeper water.
+Ken reached over, grasped his foot, and was drawing it up when a sight
+of cold, glassy eyes and open-fanged jaws made him let go. Then the
+crocodile sank in water where Pepe could not touch bottom with an oar.
+
+"Let's get one if it takes a week," declared George.  The lad might be
+sick, but there was nothing wrong with his spirit.  "Look there!" he
+exclaimed.  "Oh, I guess it's a log.  Too big!"
+
+They had been unable to tell the difference between a crocodile and a
+log of driftwood until it was too late.  In this instance a long,
+dirty-gray object lay upon a low bank. Despite its immense size, which
+certainly made the chances in favor of its being a log, Ken determined
+this time to be fooled on the right side.  He had seen a dozen logs--as
+he thought--suddenly become animated and slip into the river.
+
+"Hold steady, Pepe.  I'll take a crack at that just for luck."
+
+The distance was about a hundred yards, a fine range for the little
+rifle.  Resting on his knee, he sighted low, under the gray object, and
+pulled the trigger twice.  There were two spats so close together as to
+be barely distinguishable.  The log of driftwood leaped into life.
+
+"Whoop!" shouted Hal.
+
+"It's a crocodile!" yelled George.  "You hit--you hit!  Will you listen
+to that?"
+
+"Row hard, Pepe--pull!"
+
+He bent to the oars, and the boat flew shoreward.
+
+The huge crocodile, opening yard-long jaws, snapped them shut with loud
+cracks.  Then he beat the bank with his tail.  It was as limber as a
+willow, but he seemed unable to move his central parts, his thick bulk,
+where Ken had sent the two mushroom bullets. _Whack_!  _Whack_!
+_Whack_!  The sodden blows jarred pieces from the clay-bank above him.
+Each blow was powerful enough to have staved in the planking of a ship.
+All at once he lunged upward and, falling over backward, slid down his
+runway into a few inches of water, where he stuck.
+
+"Go in above him, Pepe," Ken shouted. "Here--  Heavens!  What a
+monster!"
+
+Deliberately, at scarce twenty feet, Ken shot the remaining four shells
+into the crocodile.  The bullets tore through his horny hide, and blood
+and muddy water spouted up. George and Pepe and Hal yelled, and Ken kept
+time with them.  The terrible lashing tail swung back and forth almost
+too swiftly for the eye to catch.  A deluge of mud and water descended
+upon the boys, bespattering, blinding them and weighing down the boat.
+They jumped out upon the bank to escape it. They ran to and fro in
+aimless excitement. Ken still clutched the rifle, but he had no shells
+for it.  George was absurd enough to fling a stone into the blood-tinged
+cloud of muddy froth and spray that hid the threshing leviathan.
+Presently the commotion subsided enough for them to see the great
+crocodile lying half on his back, with belly all torn and bloody and
+huge claw-like hands pawing the air.  He was edging, slipping off into
+deeper water.
+
+"He'll get away--he'll get away!" cried Hal.  "What 'll we do?"
+
+Ken racked his brains.
+
+"Pepe, get your lasso--rope him--rope him!  Hurry! he's slipping!"
+yelled George.
+
+Pepe snatched up his lariat, and, without waiting to coil it, cast the
+loop.  He caught one of the flippers and hauled tight on it just as the
+crocodile slipped out of sight off the muddy ledge.  The others ran to
+the boat, and, grasping hold of the lasso with Pepe, squared away and
+began to pull.  Plain it was that the crocodile was not coming up so
+easily. They could not budge him.
+
+"Hang on, boys!" Ken shouted.  "It's a tug-of-war."
+
+The lasso was suddenly jerked out with a kind of twang.  Crash! went
+Pepe and Hal into the bottom of the boat.  Ken went sprawling into the
+mud, and George, who had the last hold, went to his knees, but valiantly
+clung to the slipping rope.  Bounding up, Ken grasped it from him and
+wound it round the sharp nose of the bowsprit.
+
+"Get in--hustle!" he called, falling aboard. "You're always saying it's
+coming to us. Here's where!"
+
+George had hardly got into the boat when the crocodile pulled it off
+shore, and away it went, sailing down-stream.
+
+"Whoop!  All aboard for Panuco!" yelled Hal.
+
+"Now, Pepe, you don't need to row any more--we've a water-horse," Ken
+added.
+
+But Pepe did not enter into the spirit of the occasion.  He kept calling
+on the saints and crying, "Mucho malo."  George and Ken and Hal,
+however, were hilarious.  They had not yet had experience enough to know
+crocodiles.
+
+Faster and faster they went.  The water began to surge away from the bow
+and leave a gurgling wake behind the stern.  Soon the boat reached the
+middle of the river where the water was deepest, and the lasso went
+almost straight down.
+
+Ken felt the stern of the boat gradually lifted, and then, in alarm, he
+saw the front end sinking in the water.  The crocodile was hauling the
+bow under.
+
+"Pepe--your machete--cut the lasso!" he ordered, sharply.  George had to
+repeat the order.
+
+Wildly Pepe searched under the seat and along the gunwales.  He could
+not find the _machete_.
+
+"Cut the rope!" Ken thundered.  "Use a knife, the ax--anything--only cut
+it--and cut it quick!"
+
+Pepe could find nothing.  Knife in hand, Ken leaped over his head,
+sprawled headlong over the trunk, and slashed the taut lasso just as the
+water began to roar into the boat.  The bow bobbed up as a cork that had
+been under.  But the boat had shipped six inches of water.
+
+[Illustration: KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE
+TAUT LASSO]
+
+"Row ashore, Pepe.  Steady, there.  Trim the boat, George."
+
+They beached at a hard clay-bank and rested a little before unloading to
+turn out the water.
+
+"Grande!" observed Pepe.
+
+"Yes; he was big," assented George.
+
+"I wonder what's going to happen to us next," added Hal.
+
+Ken Ward looked at these companions of his and he laughed outright.
+"Well, if you all don't take the cake for nerve!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XX*
+
+                          *TREED BY WILD PIGS*
+
+
+Pepe's long years of _mozo_ work, rowing for tarpon fishermen, now stood
+the boys in good stead.  All the hot hours of the day he bent steadily
+to the oars.  Occasionally they came to rifts, but these were not
+difficult to pass, being mere swift, shallow channels over sandy bottom.
+The rocks and the rapids were things of the past.
+
+George lay in a kind of stupor, and Hal lolled in his seat.  Ken,
+however, kept alert, and as the afternoon wore on began to be annoyed at
+the scarcity of camp-sites.
+
+The muddy margins of the river, the steep banks, and the tick-infested
+forests offered few places where it was possible to rest, to say nothing
+of sleep.  Every turn in the widening river gave Ken hope, which
+resulted in disappointment.  He found consolation, however, in the fact
+that every turn and every hour put him so much farther on the way.
+
+About five o'clock Ken had unexpected good luck in shape of a small
+sand-bar cut off from the mainland, and therefore free of cattle-tracks.
+It was clean and dry, with a pile of driftwood at one end.
+
+"Tumble out, boys," called Ken, as Pepe beached the boat.  "We'll pitch
+camp here."
+
+Neither Hal nor George showed any alacrity. Ken watched his brother; he
+feared to see some of the symptoms of George's sickness. Both lads,
+however, seemed cheerful, though too tired to be of much use in the
+pitching of camp.
+
+Ken could not recover his former good spirits.  There was a sense of
+foreboding in his mind that all was not well, that he must hurry, hurry.
+And although George appeared to be holding his own, Hal healthy enough,
+and Pepe's brooding quiet at least no worse, Ken could not rid himself
+of gloom.  If he had answered the question that knocked at his mind he
+would have admitted a certainty of disaster.  So he kept active, and
+when there were no more tasks for that day he worked on his note-book,
+and then watched the flight of wild fowl.
+
+The farther down the river the boys traveled the more numerous were the
+herons and cranes and ducks.  But they saw no more of the beautiful
+_pato real_, as Pepe called them, or the little russet-colored ducks, or
+the dismal-voiced bitterns.  On the other hand, wild geese were common,
+and there were flocks and flocks of teal and canvasbacks.
+
+Pepe, as usual, cooked duck.  And he had to eat it.  George had lost his
+appetite altogether.  Hal had lost his taste for meat, at least.  And
+Ken made a frugal meal of rice.
+
+"Boys," he said, "the less you eat from now on the better for you."
+
+It took resolution to drink the cocoa, for Ken could not shut out
+remembrance of the green water and the shore-line of dead and decaying
+cattle.  Still, he was parched with thirst; he had to drink.  That night
+he slept ten hours without turning over.  Next morning he had to shake
+Pepe to rouse him.
+
+Ken took turns at the oars with Pepe. It was not only that he fancied
+Pepe was weakening and in need of an occasional rest, but the fact that
+he wanted to be occupied, and especially to keep in good condition. They
+made thirty miles by four o'clock, and most of it against a breeze.  Not
+in the whole distance did they pass half a dozen places fit for a camp.
+Toward evening the river narrowed again, resembling somewhat the Santa
+Rosa of earlier acquaintance.  The magnificent dark forests crowded high
+on the banks, always screened and curtained by gray moss, as if to keep
+their secrets.
+
+The sun was just tipping with gold the mossy crests of a grove of giant
+ceibas, when the boys rounded a bend to come upon the first ledge of
+rocks for two days.  A low, grassy promontory invited the eyes searching
+for camping-ground.  This spot appeared ideal; it certainly was
+beautiful.  The ledge jutted into the river almost to the opposite
+shore, forcing the water to rush through a rocky trough into a great
+foam-spotted pool below.
+
+They could not pitch the tent, since the stony ground would not admit
+stakes, so they laid the canvas flat.  Pepe went up the bank with his
+_machete_ in search of firewood.  To Ken's utmost delight he found a
+little spring of sweet water trickling from the ledge, and by digging a
+hole was enabled to get a drink, the first one in more than a week.
+
+A little later, as he was spreading the blankets, George called his
+attention to shouts up in the woods.
+
+"Pepe's treed something," Ken said.  "Take your gun and hunt him up."
+
+Ken went on making a bed and busying himself about camp, with little
+heed to George's departure.  Presently, however, he was startled by
+unmistakable sounds of alarm. George and Pepe were yelling in unison,
+and, from the sound, appeared to be quite a distance away.
+
+"What the deuce!" Ken ejaculated, snatching up his rifle.  He snapped a
+clip in the magazine and dropped several loaded clips and a box of extra
+shells into his coat pocket. After his adventure with the jaguar he
+decided never again to find himself short of ammunition. Running up the
+sloping bank, he entered the forest, shouting for his companions.
+Answering cries came from in front and a little to the left.  He could
+not make out what was said.
+
+Save for drooping moss the forest was comparatively open, and at a
+hundred paces from the river-bank were glades covered with thickets and
+long grass and short palm-trees. The ground sloped upward quite
+perceptibly.
+
+"Hey, boys, where are you?" called Ken.
+
+Pepe's shrill yells mingled with George's shouts.  At first their
+meaning was unintelligible, but after calling twice Ken understood.
+
+"Javelin!  Go back!  Javelin!  We're treed! Wild pigs!  Santa Maria!
+Run for your life!"
+
+This was certainly enlightening and rather embarrassing.  Ken remembered
+the other time the boys had made him run, and he grew hot with anger.
+
+"I'll be blessed if I'll run!" he said, in the pride of conceit and
+wounded vanity.  Whereupon he began to climb the slope, stopping every
+few steps to listen and look.  Ken wondered what had made Pepe go so far
+for fire-wood; still, there was nothing but green wood all about.
+Walking round a clump of seared and yellow palms that rustled in the
+breeze, Ken suddenly espied George's white shirt.  He was in a scrubby
+sapling not fifteen feet from the ground.  Then Ken espied Pepe, perched
+in the forks of a ceiba, high above the thickets and low shrubbery. Ken
+was scarcely more than a dozen rods from them down the gradual slope.
+Both saw him at once.
+
+"Run, you Indian!  Run!" bawled George, waving his hands.
+
+George implored Ken to fly to save his precious life.
+
+"What for? you fools!  I don't see anything to run from," Ken shouted
+back.  His temper had soured a little during the last few days.
+
+"You'd better run, or you'll have to climb," replied George.  "Wild
+pigs--a thousand of 'em!"
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Right under us.  There!  Oh, if they see you!  Listen to this."  He
+broke off a branch, trimmed it of leaves, and flung it down.  Ken heard
+a low, trampling roar of many hard little feet, brushings in the
+thicket, and cracking of twigs.  As close as he was, however, he could
+not see a moving object. The dead grass and brush were several feet
+high, up to his waist in spots, and, though he changed position several
+times, no _javelin_ did he see.
+
+"You want to look out.  Say, man, these are wild pigs--boars, I tell
+you!  They'll kill you!" bellowed George.
+
+"Are you going to stay up there all night?" Ken asked, sarcastically.
+
+"We'll stay till they go away."
+
+"All right, I'll scare them away," Ken replied, and, suiting action to
+word, he worked the automatic as fast as it would shoot, aiming into the
+thicket under George.
+
+Of all the foolish things a nettled hunter ever did that was the worst.
+A roar answered the echoes of the rifle, and the roar rose from every
+side of the trees the victims were in. Nervously Ken clamped a fresh
+clip of shells into the rifle.  Clouds of dust arose, and strange little
+squeals and grunts seemed to come from every quarter.  Then the grass
+and bushes were suddenly torn apart by swift gray forms with glittering
+eyes.  They were everywhere.
+
+"_Run_!  _Run_!" shrieked George, high above the tumult.
+
+For a thrilling instant Ken stood his ground and fired at the bobbing
+gray backs.  But every break made in the ranks by the powerful shells
+filled in a flash.  Before that vicious charge he wavered, then ran as
+if pursued by demons.
+
+The way was downhill.  Ken tripped, fell, rolled over and over, then,
+still clutching the rifle, rose with a bound and fled.  The javelin had
+gained.  They were at his heels. He ran like a deer.  Then, seeing a low
+branch, he leaped for it, grasped it with one hand, and, crooking an
+elbow round it, swung with the old giant swing.
+
+Before Ken knew how it had happened he was astride a dangerously swaying
+branch directly over a troop of brownish-gray, sharp-snouted,
+fiendish-eyed little peccaries.
+
+Some were young and sleek, others were old and rough; some had little
+yellow teeth or tusks, and all pointed their sharp noses upward, as if
+expecting him to fall into their very mouths.  Feeling safe, once more
+Ken loaded the rifle and began to kill the biggest, most vicious
+_javelin_.  When he had killed twelve in twelve shots, he saw that
+shooting a few would be of no avail.  There were hundreds, it seemed,
+and he had scarcely fifty shells left.  Moreover, the rifle-barrel grew
+so hot that it burnt his hands.  Hearing George's yell, he replied,
+somewhat to his disgust:
+
+"I'm all right, George--only treed.  How 're you?"
+
+"Pigs all gone--they chased you--Pepe thinks we can risk running."
+
+"Don't take any chances," Ken yelled, in answer.
+
+"Hi!  Hi!  What's wrong with you gazabos?" came Hal's yell from down the
+slope.
+
+"Go back to the boat," shouted Ken.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"We're all treed by javelin--wild pigs."
+
+"I've got to see that," was Hal's reply.
+
+Ken called a sharp, angry order for Hal to keep away.  But Hal did not
+obey.  Ken heard him coming, and presently saw him enter one of the
+little glades.  He had Ken's shotgun, and was peering cautiously about.
+
+"Ken, where are you?"
+
+"Here!  Didn't I tell you to keep away? The pigs heard you--some of them
+are edging out there.  Look out!  Run, kid, run!"
+
+A troop of _javelin_ flashed into the glade. Hal saw them and raised the
+shotgun.
+
+_Boom_!  He shot both barrels.
+
+The shot tore through the brush all around Ken, but fortunately beneath
+him.  Neither the noise nor the lead stopped the pugnacious little
+peccaries.
+
+Hal dropped Ken's hammerless and fled.
+
+"Run faster!" yelled George, who evidently enjoyed Hal's plight.
+"They'll get you! Run hard!"
+
+The lad was running close to the record when he disappeared.
+
+In trying to find a more comfortable posture, so he could apply himself
+to an interesting study of his captors, Ken made the startling discovery
+that the branch which upheld him was splitting from the tree-trunk.  His
+heart began to pound in his breast; then it went up into his throat.
+Every move he made--for he had started to edge toward the tree--widened
+the little white split.
+
+"Boys, my branch is breaking!" he called, piercingly.
+
+"Can't you get another?" returned George.
+
+"No; I daren't move!  Hurry, boys!  If you don't scare these brutes off
+I'm a goner!"
+
+Ken's eyes were riveted upon the gap where the branch was slowly
+separating from the tree-trunk.  He glanced about to see if he could not
+leap to another branch.  There was nothing near that would hold him.  In
+desperation he resolved to drop the rifle, cautiously get to his feet
+upon the branch, and with one spring try to reach the tree.  When about
+to act upon this last chance he heard Pepe's shrill yell and a crashing
+in the brush. Then followed the unmistakable roar and crackling of fire.
+Pepe had fired the brush--no, he was making his way toward Ken, armed
+with a huge torch.
+
+"Pepe, you'll fire the jungle!" cried Ken, forgetting what was at stake
+and that Pepe could not understand much English.  But Ken had been in
+one forest-fire and remembered it with horror.
+
+The _javelin_ stirred uneasily, and ran around under Ken, tumbling over
+one another.
+
+When Pepe burst through the brush, holding before him long-stemmed palm
+leaves flaring in hissing flames, the whole pack of pigs bowled away
+into the forest at breakneck speed.
+
+Ken leaped down, and the branch came with him.  George came running up,
+his face white, his eyes big.  Behind him rose a roar that Ken thought
+might be another drove of pigs till he saw smoke and flame.
+
+"Boys, the jungle's on fire.  Run for the river!"
+
+In their hurry they miscalculated the location of camp and dashed out of
+the jungle over a steep bank, and they all had a tumble. It was
+necessary to wade to reach the rocky ledge.
+
+Ken shook hands with Pepe.
+
+"George, tell him that was a nervy thing to do.  He saved my life, I do
+believe."
+
+"You fellows did a lot of hollering," said Hal, from his perch in the
+boat.
+
+"Say, young man, you've got to go back after my gun.  Why didn't you do
+what I told you?  Foolish, to run into danger that way!" declared Ken,
+severely.
+
+"You don't suppose I was going to overlook a chance to see Ken Ward
+treed, do you?"
+
+"Well, you saw him, and that was no joke. But I wish Pepe could have
+scared those pigs off without firing the jungle."
+
+"Pepe says it 'll give the ticks a good roasting," said George.
+
+"We'll have roast pig, anyway," added Ken.
+
+He kept watching the jungle back of the camp as if he expected it to
+blow up like a powder-mine.  But this Tamaulipas jungle was not Penetier
+Forest.  A cloud of smoke rolled up; there was a frequent roaring of dry
+palms; but the green growths did not burn. It was not much of a
+forest-fire, and Ken concluded that it would soon burn out.
+
+So he took advantage of the waning daylight to spread out his map and
+plot in the day's travel.  This time Hal watched him with a quiet
+attention that was both flattering and stimulating; and at the
+conclusion of the task he said:
+
+"Well, Ken, we're having sport, but we're doing something
+more--something worth while."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XXI*
+
+                          *THE LEAPING TARPON*
+
+
+Just before dark, when the boys were at supper, a swarm of black
+mosquitoes swooped down upon camp.
+
+Pepe could not have shown more fear at angry snakes, and he began to
+pile green wood and leaves on the fire to make a heavy smoke.
+
+These mosquitoes were very large, black-bodied, with white-barred wings.
+Their bite was as painful as the sting of a bee.  After threshing about
+until tired out the boys went to bed.  But it was only to get up again,
+for the mosquitoes could bite through two thicknesses of blanket.
+
+For a wonder every one was quiet.  Even George did not grumble.  The
+only thing to do was to sit or stand in the smoke of the campfire.  The
+boys wore their gloves and wrapped blankets round heads and shoulders.
+They crouched over the fire until tired of that position, then stood up
+till they could stand no longer.  It was a wretched, sleepless night
+with the bloodthirsty mosquitoes humming about like a swarm of bees.
+They did not go away until dawn.
+
+"That's what I get for losing the mosquito-netting," said Ken, wearily.
+
+Breakfast was not a cheerful meal, despite the fact that the boys all
+tried to brace up.
+
+George's condition showed Ken the necessity for renewed efforts to get
+out of the jungle. Pepe appeared heavy and slow, and, what was more
+alarming, he had lost his appetite.  Hal was cross, but seemed to keep
+well.  It was hard enough for Ken to persuade George and Pepe to take
+the bitter doses of quinine, and Hal positively refused.
+
+"It makes me sick, I tell you," said Hal, impatiently.
+
+"But Hal, you ought to be guided by my judgment now," replied Ken,
+gently.
+
+"I don't care.  I've had enough of bitter pills."
+
+"I ask you--as a favor?" persisted Ken, quietly.
+
+"No!"
+
+"Well, then, I'll have to make you take them."
+
+"Wha-at?" roared Hal.
+
+"If necessary, I'll throw you down and pry open your mouth and get Pepe
+to stuff these pills down your throat.  There!" went on Ken, and now he
+did not recognize his own voice.
+
+Hal looked quickly at his brother, and was amazed and all at once
+shaken.
+
+"Why, Ken--" he faltered.
+
+"I ought to have made you take them before," interrupted Ken.  "But I've
+been too easy.  Now, Hal, listen--and you, too, George.  I've made a bad
+mess of this trip. I got you into this jungle, and I ought to have taken
+better care of you, whether you would or not.  George has fever.  Pepe
+is getting it.  I'm afraid you won't escape.  You all _would_ drink
+unboiled water."
+
+"Ken, that's all right, but you can get fever from the bites of the
+ticks," said George.
+
+"I dare say.  But just the same you could have been careful about the
+water.  Not only that--look how careless we have been.  Think of the
+things that have happened!  We've gotten almost wild on this trip.  We
+don't realize.  But wait till we get home.  Then we'll hardly be able to
+believe we ever had these adventures.  But our foolishness, our
+carelessness, must stop right here.  If we can't profit by our lucky
+escapes yesterday--from that lassoed crocodile and the wild pigs--we are
+simply no good.  I love fun and sport. But there's a limit.  Hal,
+remember what old Hiram told you about being foolhardily brave. I think
+we have been wonderfully lucky. Now let's deserve our good luck.  Let's
+not prove what that Tampico hotel-man said. Let's show we are not just
+wild-goose-chasing boys.  I put it to you straight.  I think the real
+test is yet to come, and I want you to help me.  No more tricks.  No
+more drinking unboiled water.  No more shooting except in self-defense.
+We must not eat any more meat.  No more careless wandering up the banks.
+No chances.  See?  And fight the fever.  Don't give up.  Then when we
+get out of this awful jungle we can look back at our adventures--and,
+better, we can be sure we've learned a lot.  We shall have accomplished
+something, and that's learning.  Now, how about it?  Will you help me?"
+
+"You can just bet your life," replied George, and he held out his hand.
+
+"Ken, I'm with you," was Hal's quiet promise; and Ken knew from the way
+the lad spoke that he was in dead earnest.  When it came to the last
+ditch Hal Ward was as true as steel.  He took the raw, bitter quinine
+Ken offered and swallowed it without a grimace.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed Ken.  "Now, boys, let's pack.  Hal, you let your
+menagerie go. There's no use keeping your pets any longer. George, you
+make yourself a bed on the trunk, and fix a palm-leaf sun-shelter.  Then
+lie down."
+
+When the boat had been packed and all was in readiness for the start,
+George was sound asleep.  They shoved off into the current. Pepe and Ken
+took turns at the oars, making five miles an hour.
+
+As on the day before, they glided under the shadows of the great
+moss-twined cypresses, along the muddy banks where crocodiles basked in
+the sun and gaunt cattle came down to drink.  Once the boat turned a
+bushy point to startle a large flock of wild turkeys, perhaps
+thirty-five in number.  They had been resting in the cool sand along the
+river.  Some ran up the bank, some half-dozen flew right over the boat,
+and most of them squatted down as if to evade detection.  Thereafter
+turkeys and ducks and geese became so common as to be monotonous.
+
+About one o'clock Ken sighted a thatched bamboo and palm-leaf hut on the
+bank.
+
+"Oh, boys, look! look!" cried Ken, joyfully.
+
+Hal was as pleased as Ken, and George roused out of his slumber.  Pepe
+grinned and nodded his head.
+
+Some naked little children ran like quail. A disheveled black head
+peeped out of a door, then swiftly vanished.
+
+"Indians," said George.
+
+"I don't care," replied Ken, "they're human beings--people.  We're
+getting somewhere."
+
+From there on the little bamboo huts were frequently sighted.  And soon
+Ken saw a large one situated upon a high bluff.  Ken was wondering if
+these natives would be hospitable.
+
+Upon rounding the next bend the boys came unexpectedly upon a connecting
+river. It was twice as wide as the Santa Rosa, and quite swift.
+
+"Tamaulipas," said Pepe.
+
+"Hooray! boys, this is the source of the Panuco, sure as you're born,"
+cried Ken.  "I told you we were getting somewhere."
+
+He was overcome with the discovery.  This meant success.
+
+"Savalo!  Savalo!" exclaimed Pepe, pointing.
+
+"Tarpon!  Tarpon!  What do you think of that?  'Way up here!  We must be
+a long distance from tide-water," said George.
+
+Ken looked around over the broad pool below the junction of the two
+rivers.  And here and there he saw swirls, and big splashes, and then
+the silver sides of rolling tarpon.
+
+"Boys, seeing we've packed that can of preserved mullet all the way, and
+those thundering heavy tackles, let's try for tarpon," suggested Ken.
+
+It was wonderful to see how the boys responded.  Pepe was no longer slow
+and heavy.  George forgot he was sick.  Hal, who loved to fish better
+than to hunt, was as enthusiastic as on the first day.
+
+"Ken, let me boss this job," said George, as he began to rig the
+tackles.  "Pepe will row; you and Hal sit back here and troll. I'll make
+myself useful.  Open the can. See, I hook the mullet just back of the
+head, letting the bar come out free.  There!  Now run out about forty
+feet of line.  Steady the butt of the rod under your leg.  Put your left
+hand above the reel.  Hold the handle of the reel in your right, and
+hold it hard.  The drag is in the handle.  Now when a tarpon takes the
+bait, jerk with all your might. Their mouths are like iron, and it's
+hard to get a hook to stick."
+
+Pepe rowed at a smooth, even stroke and made for the great curve of the
+pool where tarpon were breaking water.
+
+"If they're on the feed, we'll have more sport than we've had yet," said
+George.
+
+Ken was fascinated, and saw that Hal was going to have the best time of
+the trip.  Also Ken was very curious to have a tarpon strike. He had no
+idea what it would be like.  Presently, when the boat glided among the
+rolling fish and there was prospect of one striking at any moment, Ken
+could not subdue a mounting excitement.
+
+"Steady now--be ready," warned George.
+
+Suddenly Hal's line straightened.  The lad yelled and jerked at the same
+instant.  There came a roar of splitting waters, and a beautiful silver
+fish, longer than Hal himself, shot up into the air.  The tarpon shook
+himself and dropped back into the water with a crash.
+
+Hal was speechless.  He wound in his line to find the bait gone.
+
+"Threw the hook," said George, as he reached into the can for another
+bait.  "He wasn't so big.  You'll get used to losing 'em. There! try
+again."
+
+Ken had felt several gentle tugs at his line, as if tarpon were rolling
+across it.  And indeed he saw several fish swim right over where his
+line disappeared in the water.  There were splashes all around the boat,
+some gentle swishes and others hard, cutting rushes. Then his line
+straightened with a heavy jerk.  He forgot to try to hook the fish;
+indeed, he had no time.  The tarpon came half out of the water, wagged
+his head, and plumped back.  Ken had not hooked the fish, nor had the
+fish got the bait.  So Ken again let out his line.
+
+The next thing which happened was that the boys both had strikes at the
+same instant. Hal stood up, and as his tarpon leaped it pulled him
+forward, and he fell into the stern-seat.  His reel-handle rattled on
+the gunwale. The line hissed.  Ken leaned back and jerked. His fish did
+not break water, but he was wonderfully active under the surface.  Pepe
+was jabbering.  George was yelling.  Hal's fish was tearing the water to
+shreds.  He crossed Ken's fish; the lines fouled, and then slacked. Ken
+began to wind in.  Hal rose to do likewise.
+
+"Gee!" he whispered, with round eyes.
+
+Both lines had been broken.  George made light of this incident, and
+tied on two more leaders and hooks and baited afresh.
+
+"The fish are on the feed, boys.  It's a cinch you'll each catch one.
+Better troll one at a time, unless you can stand for crossed lines."
+
+But Ken and Hal were too eager to catch a tarpon to troll one at a time,
+so once more they let their lines out.  A tarpon took Hal's bait right
+under the stern of the boat.  Hal struck with all his might.  This fish
+came up with a tremendous splash, drenching the boys. His great,
+gleaming silver sides glistened in the sun.  He curved his body and
+straightened out with a snap like the breaking of a board, and he threw
+the hook whistling into the air.
+
+Before Hal had baited up, Ken got another strike.  This fish made five
+leaps, one after the other, and upon the last threw the hook like a
+bullet.  As he plunged down, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the misty
+spray.
+
+"Hal, do you see that rainbow?" cried Ken, quickly.  "There's a sight
+for a fisherman!"
+
+This time in turn, before Ken started to troll, Hal hooked another
+tarpon.  This one was not so large, but he was active.  His first rush
+was a long surge on the surface. He sent the spray in two streaks like a
+motor-boat.  Then he sounded.
+
+"Hang on, Hal!" yelled George and Ken in unison.
+
+Hal was bent almost double and his head was bobbing under the strain.
+He could not hold the drag.  The line was whizzing out.
+
+"You got that one hooked," shouted George.  "Let go the reel--drop the
+handle. Let him run."
+
+He complied, and then his fish began a marvelous exhibition of lofty
+tumbling.  He seemed never to stay down at all.  Now he shot up, mouth
+wide, gills spread, eyes wild, and he shook himself like a wet dog.
+Then he dropped back, and before the boys had time to think where he
+might be he came up several rods to the right and cracked his gills like
+pistol-shots.  He skittered on his tail and stood on his head and
+dropped flat with a heavy smack.  Then he stayed under and began to tug.
+
+"Hang on, now," cried George.  "Wind in.  Hold him tight.  Don't give
+him an inch unless he jumps."
+
+This was heartbreaking work for Hal.  He toiled to keep the line in.  He
+grew red in the face.  He dripped with sweat.  He panted for breath.
+But he hung on.
+
+Ken saw how skilfully Pepe managed the boat.  The _mozo_ seemed to know
+just which way the fish headed, and always kept the boat straight.
+Sometimes he rowed back and lent his help to Hal.  But this appeared to
+anger the tarpon, for the line told he was coming to the surface.  Then,
+as Pepe ceased to let him feel the weight of the boat, the tarpon sank
+again.  So the battle went on round and round the great pool.  After an
+hour of it Hal looked ready to drop.
+
+"Land him alone if you can," said Ken. "He's tiring, Hal."
+
+"I'll--land him--or--or bust!" panted Hal.
+
+"Look out, now!" warned George again. "He's coming up.  See the line.
+Be ready to trim the boat if he drops aboard.  _Wow!_"
+
+The tarpon slipped smoothly out of the water and shot right over the bow
+of the boat. Quick-witted George flung out his hand and threw Hal's rod
+round in time to save the line from catching.  The fish went down, came
+up wagging his head, and then fell with sullen splash.
+
+"He's done," yelled George.  "Now, Hal, hold him for all you're worth.
+Not an inch of line!"
+
+Pepe headed the boat for a sandy beach; and Hal, looking as if about to
+have a stroke of apoplexy, clung desperately to the bending rod.  The
+tarpon rolled and lashed his tail, but his power was mostly gone.
+Gradually he ceased to roll, until by the time Pepe reached shore he was
+sliding wearily through the water, his silvery side glittering in the
+light.
+
+The boat grated on the sand.  Pepe leaped out.  Then he grasped Hal's
+line, slipped his hands down to the long wire leader, and with a quick,
+powerful pull slid the tarpon out upon the beach.
+
+"Oh-h!" gasped Hal, with glistening eyes. "Oh-h!  Ken, just look!"
+
+"I'm looking, son, and don't you forget it."
+
+The tarpon lay inert, a beautiful silver-scaled creature that looked as
+if he had just come from a bath of melted opals.  The great dark eyes
+were fixed and staring, the tail moved feebly, the long dorsal fin
+quivered.
+
+He measured five feet six inches in length, which was one inch more than
+Hal's height.
+
+"Ken, the boys back home will never believe I caught him," said Hal, in
+distress.
+
+"Take his picture to prove it," replied Ken.
+
+Hal photographed his catch.  Pepe took out the hook, showing, as he did
+so, the great iron-like plates in the mouth of the fish.
+
+"No wonder it's hard to hook them," said Ken.
+
+Hal certainly wanted his beautiful fish to go back, free and little
+hurt, to the river. But also he wanted him for a specimen.  Hal
+deliberated.  Evidently he was considering the labor of skinning such a
+huge fish and the difficulty of preserving and packing the hide.
+
+"Say, Hal, wouldn't you like to see me hook one?" queried Ken,
+patiently.
+
+That brought Hal to his senses.
+
+"Sure, Ken, old man, I want you to catch one--a big one--bigger than
+mine," replied Hal, and restored the fish to the water.
+
+They all watched the liberated tarpon swim wearily off and slip down
+under the water.
+
+"He'll have something to tell the rest, won't he?" said George.
+
+In a few minutes the boat was again in the center of the great pool
+among the rolling tarpon.  Ken had a strike immediately. He missed.
+Then he tried again.  And in a short space of time he saw five tarpon in
+the air, one after the other, and not one did he hook securely.  He got
+six leaps out of one, however, and that was almost as good as landing
+him.
+
+"There 're some whales here," said George.
+
+"Grande savalo," added Pepe, and he rowed over to where a huge fish was
+rolling.
+
+"Oh, I don't want to hook the biggest one first," protested Ken.
+
+Pepe rowed to and fro.  The boys were busy trying to see the rolling
+tarpon.  There would be a souse on one side, then a splash on the other,
+then a thump behind.  What with trying to locate all these fish and
+still keep an eye on Ken's line the boys almost dislocated their necks.
+
+Then, quick as a flash, Ken had a strike that pulled him out of his seat
+to his knees. He could not jerk.  His line was like a wire. It began to
+rise.  With all his strength he held on.  The water broke in a hollow,
+slow roar, and a huge humpbacked tarpon seemed to be climbing into the
+air.  But he did not get all the way out, and he plunged back with a
+thunderous crash.  He made as much noise as if a horse had fallen off a
+bridge.
+
+The handle of the reel slipped out of Ken's grasp, and it was well.  The
+tarpon made a long, wonderful run and showed on the surface a hundred
+yards from the boat.  He was irresistibly powerful.  Ken was astounded
+and thrilled at his strength and speed.  There, far away from the boat,
+the tarpon leaped magnificently, clearing the water, and then went down.
+He did not come up again.
+
+"Ken, he's a whale," said George.  "I believe he's well hooked.  He
+won't jump any more.  And you've got a job on your hands."
+
+"I want him to jump."
+
+"The big ones seldom break water after the first rush or so."
+
+"Ken, it's coming to you with that fellow," said Hal.  "My left arm is
+paralyzed. Honestly, I can pinch it and not feel the pain."
+
+Pepe worked the boat closer and Ken reeled in yard after yard of line.
+The tarpon was headed down-stream, and he kept up a steady, strong
+strain.
+
+"Let him tow the boat," said George. "Hold the drag, Ken.  Let him tow
+the boat."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Ken, in amaze.
+
+"Oh, he'll do it, all right."
+
+And so it proved.  Ken's tarpon, once headed with the current, did not
+turn, and he towed the boat.
+
+"This is a new way for me to tire out a fish," said Ken.  "What do you
+think of it, Hal?"
+
+Hal's eyes glistened.
+
+"This is fishing.  Ken, did you see him when he came up?"
+
+"Not very clearly.  I had buck-fever.  You know how a grouse looks when
+he flushes right under your feet--a kind of brown blur. Well, this was
+the same, only silver."
+
+At the end of what Ken judged to be a mile the tarpon was still going.
+At the end of the second mile he was tired.  And three miles down the
+river from where the fish was hooked Pepe beached the boat on a sandbar
+and hauled ashore a tarpon six feet ten inches long.
+
+Here Ken echoed Hal's panting gasp of wonder and exultation.  As he sat
+down on the boat to rest he had no feeling in his left arm, and little
+in his right.  His knuckles were skinned and bloody.  No game of
+baseball he had ever pitched had taken his strength like the conquest of
+this magnificent fish.
+
+"Hal, we'll have some more of this fishing when we get to Tampico," said
+Ken.  "Why, this beats hunting.  You have the sport, and you needn't
+kill anything.  This tarpon isn't hurt."
+
+So Ken photographed his prize and measured him, and, taking a last
+lingering glance at the great green back, the silver-bronze sides, the
+foot-wide flukes of the tail, at the whole quivering fire-tinted length,
+he slid the tarpon back into the river.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XXII*
+
+                            *STRICKEN DOWN*
+
+
+Much as Ken would have liked to go back to that pool, he did not think
+of it twice. And as soon as the excitement had subsided and the journey
+was resumed, George and Hal, and Pepe, too, settled down into a silent
+weariness that made Ken anxious.
+
+During the afternoon Ken saw Pepe slowly droop lower and lower at the
+oars till the time came when he could scarcely lift them to make a
+stroke.  And when Ken relieved him of them, Pepe fell like a log in the
+boat.
+
+George slept.  Hal seemed to be fighting stupor.  Pepe lay motionless on
+his seat.  They were all going down with the fever, that Ken knew, and
+it took all his courage to face the situation.  It warmed his heart to
+see how Hal was trying to bear up under a languor that must have been
+well-nigh impossible to resist.  At last Hal said:
+
+"Ken, let me row."  He would not admit that he was sick.
+
+Ken thought it would do Hal no harm to work.  But Ken did not want to
+lose time. So he hit upon a plan that pleased him. There was an extra
+pair of oars in the boat. Ken fashioned rude pegs from a stick and drove
+these down into the cleat inside the gunwales.  With stout rope he tied
+the oars to the pegs, which answered fairly well as oarlocks.  Then they
+had a double set of oars going, and made much better time.
+
+George woke and declared that he must take a turn at the oars.  So Ken
+let him row, too, and rested himself.  He had a grim foreboding that he
+would need all his strength.
+
+The succeeding few hours before sunset George and Hal more than made up
+for all their delinquencies of the past.  At first it was not very hard
+for them to row; but soon they began to weary, then weaken.  Neither
+one, however, would give up.  Ken let them row, knowing that it was good
+for them. Slower and slower grew George's strokes, there were times when
+he jerked up spasmodically and made an effort, only to weaken again.  At
+last, with a groan he dropped the oars.  Ken had to lift him back into
+the bow.
+
+Hal was not so sick as George, and therefore not so weak.  He lasted
+longer.  Ken had seen the lad stick to many a hard job, but never as he
+did to this one.  Hal was making good his promise.  There were times
+when his breath came in whistles.  He would stop and pant awhile, then
+row on.  Ken pretended he did not notice.  But he had never been so
+proud of his brother nor loved him so well.
+
+"Ken, old man," said Hal, presently.  "I was--wrong--about the water.  I
+ought to have obeyed you.  I--I'm pretty sick."
+
+What a confession for Hal Ward!
+
+Ken turned in time to see Hal vomit over the gunwale.
+
+"It's pretty tough, Hal," said Ken, as he reached out to hold his
+brother's head; "but you're game.  I'm so glad to see that."
+
+Whereupon Hal went back to his oars and stayed till he dropped.  Ken
+lifted him and laid him beside George.
+
+Ken rowed on with his eyes ever in search of a camping-site.  But there
+was no place to camp.  The muddy banks were too narrow at the bottom,
+too marshy and filthy.  And they were too steep to climb to the top.
+
+The sun set.  Twilight fell.  Darkness came on, and still Ken rowed down
+the river.  At last he decided to make a night of it at the oars.  He
+preferred to risk the dangers of the river at night rather than spend
+miserable hours in the mud.  Rousing the boys, he forced them to swallow
+a little cold rice and some more quinine.  Then he covered them with
+blankets, and had scarce completed the task when they were deep in
+slumber.
+
+Then the strange, dense tropical night settled down upon Ken.  The oars
+were almost noiseless, and the water gurgled softly from the bow.
+Overhead the expanse was dark blue, with a few palpitating stars.  The
+river was shrouded in gray gloom, and the banks were lost in black
+obscurity.  Great fireflies emphasized the darkness.  He trusted a good
+deal to luck in the matter of going right; yet he kept his ear keen for
+the sound of quickening current, and turned every few strokes to peer
+sharply into the gloom.  He seemed to have little sense of peril, for,
+though he hit submerged logs and stranded on bars, he kept on unmindful,
+and by and by lost what anxiety he had felt.  The strange wildness of
+the river at night, the gray, veiled space into which he rowed unheeding
+began to work upon his mind.
+
+That was a night to remember--a night of sounds and smells, of the
+feeling of the cool mist, the sight of long, dark forest-line and a
+golden moon half hidden by clouds.  Prominent among these was the trill
+of river frogs. The trill of a northern frog was music, but that of
+these great, silver-throated jungle frogs was more than music.  Close at
+hand one would thrill Ken with mellow, rich notes; and then from far
+would come the answer, a sweet, high tenor, wilder than any other
+wilderness sound, long sustained, dying away till he held his breath to
+listen.
+
+So the hours passed; and the moon went down into the weird shadows, and
+the Southern Cross rose pale and wonderful.
+
+Gradually the stars vanished in a kind of brightening gray, and dawn was
+at hand. Ken felt weary for sleep, and his arms and back ached.  Morning
+came, with its steely light on the river, the rolling and melting of
+vapors, the flight of ducks and call of birds.  The rosy sun brought no
+cheer.
+
+Ken beached the boat on a sand-bar. While he was building a fire George
+raised his head and groaned.  But neither Pepe nor Hal moved.  Ken
+cooked rice and boiled cocoa, which he choked down.  He opened a can of
+fruit and found that most welcome. Then he lifted George's head, shook
+him, roused him, and held him, and made him eat and drink.  Nor did he
+neglect to put a liberal dose of quinine in the food.  Pepe was easily
+managed, but poor Hal was almost unable to swallow.  Something terribly
+grim mingled with a strong, passionate thrill as Ken looked at Hal's
+haggard face.  Then Ken Ward knew how much he could stand, what work he
+could do to get his brother out of the jungle.
+
+He covered the boys again and pushed out the boat.  At the moment he
+felt a strength that he had never felt before.  There was a good, swift
+current in the river, and Ken was at great pains to keep in it.  The
+channel ran from one side of the river to the other. Many times Ken
+stranded on sandy shoals and had to stand up and pole the boat into
+deeper water.  This was work that required all his attention.  It
+required more than patience.  But as he rowed and poled and drifted he
+studied the shallow ripples and learned to avoid the places where the
+boat would not float.
+
+There were stretches of river where the water was comparatively deep,
+and along these he rested and watched the shores as he drifted by.  He
+saw no Indian huts that morning.  The jungle loomed high and dark, a
+matted gray wall.  The heat made the river glare and smoke.  Then where
+the current quickened he rowed steadily and easily, husbanding his
+strength.
+
+More than all else, even the ravings of Hal in fever, the thing that
+wore on Ken and made him gloomy was the mourning of turtle-doves. As
+there had been thousands of these beautiful birds along the Santa Rosa
+River, so there were millions along the Panuco.  Trees were blue with
+doves.  There was an incessant soft, sad moaning.  He fought his
+nervous, sensitive imaginings.  And for a time he would conquer the
+sense of some sad omen sung by the doves.  Then the monotony, the
+endless sweet "coo-ooo-ooo," seemed to drown him in melancholy sound.
+There were three distinct tones--a moan, swelling to full ring, and
+dying away: "Coo-_ooo_-ooo--coo-_ooo_-ooo."
+
+All the afternoon the mourning, haunting song filled Ken Ward's ears.
+And when the sun set and night came, with relief to his tortured ear but
+not to mind, Ken kept on without a stop.
+
+The day had slipped behind Ken with the miles, and now it was again
+dark.  It seemed that he had little sense of time.  But his faculties of
+sight and hearing were singularly acute.  Otherwise his mind was like
+the weird gloom into which he was drifting.
+
+Before the stars came out the blackness was as thick as pitch.  He could
+not see a yard ahead.  He backed the boat stern first down-stream and
+listened for the soft murmur of ripples on shoals.  He avoided these by
+hearing alone.  Occasionally a huge, dark pile of driftwood barred his
+passage, and he would have to go round it.  Snags loomed up specter-like
+in his path, seemingly to reach for him with long, gaunt arms.
+Sometimes he drifted upon sand-bars, from which he would patiently pole
+the boat.
+
+When the heavy dew began to fall he put on his waterproof coat.  The
+night grew chill.  Then the stars shone out.  This lightened the river.
+Yet everywhere were shadows. Besides, clouds of mist hung low, in places
+obscuring the stars.
+
+Ken turned the boat bow first downstream and rowed with slow, even
+stroke. He no longer felt tired.  He seemed to have the strength of a
+giant.  He fancied that with one great heave he could lift the boat out
+of the water or break the oars.  From time to time he ceased to row,
+and, turning his head, he looked and listened.  The river had numerous
+bends, and it was difficult for Ken to keep in the middle channel.  He
+managed pretty well to keep right by watching the dark shore-line where
+it met the deep-blue sky. In the bends the deepest water ran close to
+the shore of the outside curve.  And under these high banks and the
+leaning cypresses shadows were thicker and blacker than in the earlier
+night.  There was mystery in them that Ken felt.
+
+The sounds he heard when he stopped during these cautious resting
+intervals were the splashes of fish breaking water, the low hum of
+insects, and the trill of frogs.  The mourning of the doves during
+daylight had haunted him, and now he felt the same sensation at this
+long-sustained, exquisitely sweet trill.  It pierced him, racked him,
+and at last, from sheer exhaustion of his sensibilities, he seemed not
+to hear it any more, but to have it in his brain.
+
+The moon rose behind the left-hand jungle wall, silvered half of the
+river and the opposite line of cypresses, then hid under clouds.
+
+Suddenly, near or far away, down the river Ken saw a wavering light.  It
+was too large for a firefly, and too steady.  He took it for a
+Jack-o'-lantern.  And for a while it enhanced the unreality, the
+ghostliness of the river.  But it was the means of bringing Ken out of
+his dreamy gloom.  It made him think.  The light was moving.  It was too
+wavering for a Jack-o'-lantern.  It was coming up-stream.  It grew
+larger.
+
+Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.  Ken lost sight of it
+under a deep shadow of overhanging shore.  As he reached a point
+opposite to where it disappeared he thought he heard a voice.  But he
+could not be sure.  He did not trust his ears.  The incident, however,
+gave him a chill.  What a lonesome ride!  He was alone on that unknown
+river with three sick boys in the boat. Their lives depended upon his
+care, his strength, his skill, his sight and hearing. And the
+realization, striking him afresh, steeled his arms again and his spirit.
+
+The night wore on.  The moon disappeared entirely.  The mists hung low
+like dim sheets along the water.  Ken was wringing-wet with dew.  Long
+periods of rowing he broke with short intervals of drifting, when he
+rested at the oars.
+
+Then drowsiness attacked him.  For hours it seemed he fought it off.
+But at length it grew overpowering.  Only hard rowing would keep him
+awake.  And, as he wanted to reserve his strength, he did not dare exert
+himself violently.  He could not keep his eyes open.  Time after time he
+found himself rowing when he was half asleep.  The boat drifted against
+a log and stopped.  Ken drooped over his oars and slept, and yet he
+seemed not altogether to lose consciousness. He roused again to row on.
+
+It occurred to him presently that he might let the boat drift and take
+naps between whiles.  When he drifted against a log or a sand-bar the
+jar would awaken him.  The current was sluggish.  There seemed to be no
+danger whatever.  He must try to keep his strength.  A little sleep
+would refresh him.  So he reasoned, and fell asleep over the oars.
+
+Sooner or later--he never knew how long after he had fallen asleep--a
+little jar awakened him.  Then the gurgle and murmur of water near him
+and the rush and roar of a swift current farther off made him look up
+with a violent start.  All about him was wide, gray gloom.  Yet he could
+see the dark, glancing gleam of the water.  Movement of the oars told
+him the boat was fast on a sand-bar. That relieved him, for he was not
+drifting at the moment into the swift current he heard. Ken peered
+keenly into the gloom.  Gradually he made out a long, dark line running
+diagonally ahead of him and toward the right-hand shore.  It could not
+be an island or a sand-bar or a shore-line.  It could not be piles of
+driftwood.  There was a strange regularity in the dark upheavals of this
+looming object.  Ken studied it.  He studied the black, glancing water.
+Whatever the line was, it appeared to shunt the current over to the
+right, whence came the low rush and roar.
+
+Altogether it was a wild, strange place. Ken felt a fear of something he
+could not name. It was the river--the night--the loneliness--the unknown
+about him and before him.
+
+Suddenly he saw a dull, red light far down the river.  He stiffened in
+his seat.  Then he saw another red light.  They were like two red eyes.
+Ken shook himself to see if he had nightmare.  No; the boat was there;
+the current was there; the boys were there, dark and silent under their
+blankets.  This was no dream.  Ken's fancy conjured up some red-eyed
+river demon come to destroy him and his charges.  He scorned the fancy,
+laughed at it.  But, all the same, in that dark, weird place, with the
+murmuring of notes in his ears and with those strange red eyes glowing
+in the distance, he could not help what his emotions made the truth.  He
+was freezing to the marrow, writhing in a clammy sweat when a low
+"chug-chug-chug" enlightened him.  The red eyes were those of a
+steamboat.
+
+A steamboat on the wild Panuco!  Ken scarcely believed his own judgment.
+Then he remembered that George said there were a couple of boats plying
+up and down the lower Panuco, mostly transporting timber and cattle.
+Besides, he had proof of his judgment in the long, dark line that had so
+puzzled him--it was a breakwater.  It turned the current to the left,
+where there evidently was a channel.
+
+The great, red eyes gleamed closer, the "chug-chug-chug" sounded louder.
+Then another sound amazed Ken--a man's voice crying out steadily and
+monotonously.
+
+Ken wanted to rouse the boys and Pepe, but he refrained.  It was best
+for them to sleep.  How surprised they would be when he told them about
+the boat that passed in the night!  Ken now clearly heard the splashing
+of paddles, the chug of machinery, and the man's voice.  He was
+singsonging: "Dos y media, dos y media, dos y media."
+
+Ken understood a little Mexican, and this strange cry became clear to
+him.  The man was taking soundings with a lead and crying out to the
+pilot.  _Dos y media_ meant two and a half feet of water.  Then the
+steam-boat loomed black in the gray gloom.  It was pushing a low, flat
+barge.  Ken could not see the man taking soundings, but he heard him and
+knew he was on the front end of the barge.  The boat passed at fair
+speed, and it cheered Ken.  For he certainly ought to be able to take a
+rowboat where a steamboat had passed.  And, besides, he must be getting
+somewhere near the little village of Panuco.
+
+He poled off the bar and along the breakwater to the channel.  It was
+narrow and swift. He wondered how the pilot of the steamboat had
+navigated in the gloom.  He slipped down-stream, presently to find
+himself once more in a wide river.  Refreshed by his sleep and
+encouraged by the meeting with the steamboat, Ken settled down to steady
+rowing.
+
+The stars paled, the mist thickened, fog obscured the water and shore;
+then all turned gray, lightened, and dawn broke.  The sun burst out.
+Ken saw thatched huts high on the banks and occasionally natives.  This
+encouraged him all the more.
+
+He was not hungry, but he was sick for a drink.  He had to fight himself
+to keep from drinking the dirty river-water.  How different it was here
+from the clear green of the upper Santa Rosa!  Ken would have given his
+best gun for one juicy orange.  George was restless and rolling about,
+calling for water; Hal lay in slumber or stupor; and Pepe sat up.  He
+was a sick-looking fellow, but he was better; and that cheered Ken as
+nothing yet had.
+
+Ken beached the boat on a sandy shore, and once again forced down a
+little rice and cocoa.  Pepe would not eat, yet he drank a little.
+George was burning up with fever, and drank a full cup.  Hal did not
+stir, and Ken thought it best to let him lie.
+
+As Ken resumed the journey the next thing to attract his attention was a
+long canoe moored below one of the thatched huts. This afforded him
+great satisfaction.  At least he had passed the jungle wilderness, where
+there was nothing that even suggested civilization.  In the next few
+miles he noticed several canoes and as many natives.  Then he passed a
+canoe that was paddled by two half-naked bronze Indians.  Pepe hailed
+them, but either they were too unfriendly to reply or they did not
+understand him.
+
+Some distance below Pepe espied a banana grove, and he motioned Ken to
+row ashore. Ken did so with pleasure at the thought of getting some
+fresh fruit.  There was a canoe moored to the roots of a tree and a path
+leading up the steep bank.  Pepe got out and laboriously toiled up the
+bare path.  He was gone a good while.
+
+Presently Ken heard shouts, then the bang of a lightly loaded gun, then
+yells from Pepe.
+
+"What on earth!" cried Ken, looking up in affright.
+
+Pepe appeared with his arms full of red bananas.  He jumped and
+staggered down the path and almost fell into the boat.  But he hung on
+to the bananas.
+
+"Santa Maria!" gasped Pepe, pointing to little bloody spots on the calf
+of his leg.
+
+"Pepe, you've been shot!" ejaculated Ken. "You stole the fruit--somebody
+shot you!"
+
+Pepe howled his affirmative.  Ken was angry at himself, angrier at Pepe,
+and angriest at the native who had done the shooting. With a strong
+shove Ken put the boat out and then rowed hard down-stream.  As he
+rounded a bend a hundred yards below he saw three natives come tumbling
+down the path. They had a gun.  They leaped into the canoe. They meant
+pursuit.
+
+"Say, but this is a pretty kettle of fish!" muttered Ken, and he bent to
+the oars.
+
+Of course Pepe had been in the wrong. He should have paid for the
+bananas or asked for them.  All the same, Ken was not in any humor to be
+fooled with by excitable natives. He had a sick brother in the boat and
+meant to get that lad out of the jungle as quickly as will and strength
+could do it.  He certainly did not intend to be stopped by a few
+miserable Indians angry over the loss of a few bananas.  If it had not
+been for the gun, Ken would have stopped long enough to pay for the
+fruit.  But he could not risk it now. So he pulled a strong stroke
+down-stream.
+
+The worst of the matter developed when Pepe peeled one of the bananas.
+It was too green to eat.
+
+Presently the native canoe hove in sight round the bend.  All three men
+were paddling. They made the long craft fly through the water.  Ken saw
+instantly that they would overhaul him in a long race, and this added to
+his resentment.  Pepe looked back and jabbered and shook his brawny
+fists at the natives.  Ken was glad to see that the long stretch of
+river below did not show a canoe or hut along the banks.  He preferred
+to be overhauled, if he had to be, in a rather lonely spot.
+
+It was wonderful how those natives propelled that log canoe.  And when
+one of the three dropped his paddle to pick up the gun, the speed of the
+canoe seemed not to diminish. They knew the channels, and so gained on
+Ken.  He had to pick the best he could choose at short notice, and
+sometimes he chose poorly.
+
+Two miles or more below the bend the natives with the gun deliberately
+fired, presumably at Pepe.  The shot scattered and skipped along the
+water and did not come near the boat.  Nevertheless, as the canoe was
+gaining and the crazy native was reloading, Ken saw he would soon be
+within range. Something had to be done.
+
+Ken wondered if he could not frighten those natives.  They had probably
+never heard the quick reports of a repeating rifle, let alone the
+stinging cracks of an automatic. Ken decided it would be worth trying.
+But he must have a chance to get the gun out of its case and load it.
+
+That chance came presently.  The natives, in paddling diagonally across
+a narrow channel, ran aground in the sand.  They were fast for only a
+few moments, but in that time Ken had got out the little rifle and
+loaded it.
+
+Pepe's dark face turned a dirty white, and his eyes dilated.  He
+imagined Ken was going to kill some of his countrymen.  But Pepe never
+murmured.  He rubbed the place in his leg where he had been shot, and
+looked back.
+
+Ken rowed on, now leisurely.  There was a hot anger within him, but he
+had it in control.  He knew what he was about.  Again the native fired,
+and again his range was short. The distance was perhaps two hundred
+yards.
+
+Ken waited until the canoe, in crossing one of the many narrow places,
+was broadside toward him.  Then he raised the automatic. There were at
+least ten feet in the middle of the canoe where it was safe for him to
+hit without harm to the natives.  And there he aimed.  The motion of his
+boat made it rather hard to keep the sights right.  He was cool,
+careful; he aimed low, between gunwale and the water, and steadily he
+pulled the trigger--once, twice, three times, four, five.
+
+The steel-jacketed bullets "spoued" on the water and "cracked" into the
+canoe. They evidently split both gunwales low down at the water-line.
+The yelling, terror-stricken natives plunged about, and what with their
+actions and the great split in the middle the canoe filled and sank.
+The natives were not over their depth; that was plainly evident.
+Moreover, it was equally evident that they dared not wade in the
+quicksand.  So they swam to the shallower water, and there, like huge
+turtles, floundered toward the shore.
+
+
+
+
+                                *XXIII*
+
+                          *OUT OF THE JUNGLE*
+
+
+Before the natives had reached the shore they were hidden from Ken's
+sight by leaning cypress-trees.  Ken, however, had no fear for their
+safety.  He was sorry to cause the Indians' loss of a gun and a canoe;
+nevertheless, he was not far from echoing Pepe's repeated: "Bueno!
+Bueno! Bueno!"
+
+Upon examination Ken found two little bloody holes in the muscles of
+Pepe's leg. A single shot had passed through.  Ken bathed the wounds
+with an antiseptic lotion and bound them with clean bandages.
+
+Pepe appeared to be pretty weak, so Ken did not ask him to take the
+oars.  Then, pulling with long, steady stroke, Ken set out to put a long
+stretch between him and the angry natives.  The current was swift, and
+Ken made five miles or more an hour.  He kept that pace for three hours
+without a rest. And then he gave out.  It seemed that all at once he
+weakened.  His back bore an immense burden.  His arms were lead, and his
+hands were useless.  There was an occasional mist or veil before his
+sight.  He was wet, hot, breathless, numb.  But he knew he was safe from
+pursuit.  So he rested and let the boat drift.
+
+George sat up, green in the face, a most miserable-looking boy.  But
+that he could sit up at all was hopeful.
+
+"Oh, my head!" he moaned.  "Is there anything I can drink?  My mouth is
+dry--pasted shut."
+
+Ken had two lemons he had been saving. He cut one in halves and divided
+it between Pepe and George.  The relief the sour lemon afforded both
+showed Ken how wise he had been to save the lemons.  Then he roused Hal,
+and, lifting the lad's head, made him drink a little of the juice.  Hal
+was a sick boy, too weak to sit up without help.
+
+"Don't--you worry--Ken," he said.  "I'm going--to be--all right."
+
+Hal was still fighting.
+
+Ken readjusted the palm-leaf shelter over the boys so as to shade them
+effectually from the hot sun, and then he went back to the oars.
+
+As he tried once more to row, Ken was reminded of the terrible lassitude
+that had overtaken him the day he had made the six-hour climb out of the
+Grand Ca�on.  The sensation now was worse, but Ken had others depending
+upon his exertions, and that spurred him to the effort which otherwise
+would have been impossible.
+
+It was really not rowing that Ken accomplished. It was a weary puttering
+with oars he could not lift, handles he could not hold. At best he
+managed to guide the boat into the swiftest channels.  Whenever he felt
+that he was just about to collapse, then he would look at Hal's pale
+face.  That would revive him.  So the hot hours dragged by.
+
+They came, after several miles, upon more huts and natives.  And farther
+down they met canoes on the river.  Pepe interrogated the natives.
+According to George, who listened, Panuco was far, far away, many
+kilometers.  This was most disheartening.  Another native said the
+village was just round the next bend.  This was most nappy information.
+But it turned out to be a lie.  There was no village around any
+particular bend--nothing save bare banks for miles.  The stretches of
+the river were long, and bends far apart.
+
+Ken fell asleep.  When he awoke he found Pepe at the oars.  Watching
+him, Ken fancied he was recovering, and was overjoyed.
+
+About four o'clock in the afternoon Pepe rowed ashore and beached the
+boat at the foot of a trail leading up to a large bamboo and thatch hut.
+This time Ken thought it well to accompany Pepe.  And as he climbed the
+path he found his legs stiffer and shakier than ever before.
+
+Ken saw a cleared space in which were several commodious huts, gardens,
+and flowers. There was a grassy yard in which little naked children were
+playing with tame deer and tiger-cats.  Parrots were screeching, and
+other tame birds fluttered about.  It appeared a real paradise to Ken.
+
+Two very kindly disposed and wondering native women made them welcome.
+Then Ken and Pepe went down to the boat and carried Hal up, and went
+back for George.
+
+It developed that the native women knew just what to do for the
+fever-stricken boys. They made some kind of a native drink for them, and
+after that gave them hot milk and chicken and rice soup.  George
+improved rapidly, and Hal brightened a little and showed signs of
+gathering strength.
+
+Ken could not eat until he had something to quench his thirst.  Upon
+inquiring, Pepe found that the natives used the river-water. Ken could
+not drink that.  Then Pepe pointed out an orange-tree, and Ken made a
+dive for it.  The ground was littered with oranges. Collecting an
+armful, Ken sat under the tree and with wild haste began to squeeze the
+juice into his mouth.  Never had anything before tasted so cool, so
+sweet, so life-giving!  He felt a cool, wet sensation steal all through
+his body.  He never knew till that moment how really wonderful and
+precious an orange could be.  He thought that as he would hate mourning
+turtle-doves all the rest of his life, so he would love the sight and
+smell and taste of oranges.  And he demolished twenty-two before he
+satisfied his almost insatiable thirst. After that the chicken and rice
+made him feel like a new boy.
+
+Then Ken made beds under a kind of porch, and he lay down in one,
+stretched out languidly and gratefully, as if he never intended to move
+again, and his eyes seemed to be glued shut.
+
+When he awoke the sun was shining in his face.  When he had gone to bed
+it had been shining at his back.  He consulted his watch. He had slept
+seventeen hours.
+
+When he got up and found Pepe as well as before he had been taken with
+the fever and George on his feet and Hal awake and actually smiling, Ken
+experienced a sensation of unutterable thankfulness.  A terrible burden
+slipped from his shoulders.  For a moment he felt a dimming of his eyes
+and a lump in his throat.
+
+"How about you, Ken, old man?" inquired Hal, with a hint of his usual
+spirit.
+
+"Wal, youngster, I reckon fer a man who's been through some right pert
+happenin's, I'm in tol'able shape," drawled Ken.
+
+"I'll bet two dollars you've been up against it," declared Hal,
+solemnly.
+
+Then, as they sat to an appetizing breakfast, Ken gave them a brief
+account of the incidents of the two days and two nights when they were
+too ill to know anything.
+
+It was a question whether George's voluble eulogy of Ken's feat or Hal's
+silent, bright-eyed pride in his brother was the greater compliment.
+
+Finally Hal said: "Won't that tickle Jim Williams when we tell him how
+you split up the Indians' canoe and spilled them into the river?"
+
+Then Ken conceived the idea of climbing into the giant ceiba that stood
+high on the edge of the bluff.  It was hard work, but he accomplished
+it, and from a fork in the top-most branches he looked out.  That was a
+warm, rich, wonderful scene.  Ken felt that he would never forget it.
+His interest now, however, was not so much in its beauty and wildness.
+His keen eye followed the river as it wound away into the jungle, and
+when he could no longer see the bright ribbon of water he followed its
+course by the line of magnificent trees.  It was possible to trace the
+meandering course of the river clear to the rise of the mountains, dim
+and blue in the distance.  And from here Ken made more observations and
+notes.
+
+As he went over in his mind the map and notes and report he had prepared
+he felt that he had made good.  He had explored and mapped more than a
+hundred miles of wild jungle river.  He felt confident that he had
+earned the trip to England and the German forests.  He might win a
+hunting trip on the vast uplands of British East Africa.  But he felt
+also that the reward of his uncle's and his father's pride would be more
+to him.  That was a great moment for Ken Ward.  And there was yet much
+more that he could do to make this exploring trip a success.
+
+[Illustration: Ken Ward's Map]
+
+When he joined the others he found that Pepe had learned that the
+village of Panuco was distant a day or a night by canoe.  How many miles
+or kilometers Pepe could not learn. Ken decided it would be best to go
+on at once. It was not easy to leave that pleasant place, with its music
+of parrots and other birds, and the tiger-cats that played like kittens,
+and the deer that ate from the hand.  The women would accept no pay, so
+Ken made them presents.
+
+Once more embarked, Ken found his mood reverting to that of the last
+forty-eight hours. He could not keep cheerful.  The river was dirty and
+the smell sickening.  The sun was like the open door of a furnace.  And
+Ken soon discovered he was tired, utterly tired.
+
+That day was a repetition of the one before, hotter, wearier, and the
+stretches of river were longer, and the natives met in canoes were
+stolidly ignorant of distance.  The mourning of turtle-doves almost
+drove Ken wild.  There were miles and miles of willows, and every tree
+was full of melancholy doves.  At dusk the boys halted on a sand-bar,
+too tired to cook a dinner, and sprawled in the warm sand to sleep like
+logs.
+
+In the morning they brightened up a little, for surely just around the
+bend they would come to Panuco.  Pepe rowed faithfully on, and bend
+after bend lured Ken with deceit. He was filled with weariness and
+disgust, so tired he could hardly lift his hand, so sleepy he could
+scarcely keep his eyes open.  He hated the wide, glassy stretches of
+river and the muddy banks and dusty cattle.
+
+At noon they came unexpectedly upon a cluster of thatched huts, to find
+that they made up the village of Panuco.  Ken was sick, for he had
+expected a little town where they could get some drinking-water and hire
+a launch to speed them down to Tampico.  This appeared little more than
+the other places he had passed, and he climbed up the bank wearily,
+thinking of the long fifty miles still to go.
+
+But Panuco was bigger and better than it looked from the river.  The
+boys found a clean, comfortable inn, where they dined well, and learned
+to their joy that a coach left in an hour for Tamos to meet the
+five-o'clock train to Tampico.
+
+They hired a _mozo_ to row the boat to Tampico and, carrying the lighter
+things, boarded the coach, and, behind six mules, were soon bowling over
+a good level road.
+
+It was here that the spirit of Ken's mood again changed, and somehow
+seemed subtly conveyed to the others.  The gloom faded away as Ken had
+seen the mist-clouds dissolve in the morning sunlight.  It was the end
+of another wild trip.  Hal was ill, but a rest and proper care would
+soon bring him around.  Ken had some trophies and pictures, but he also
+had memories.  And he believed he had acquired an accurate knowledge of
+the jungle and its wild nature, and he had mapped the river from Micas
+Falls to Panuco.
+
+"Well, it certainly _did come_ to us, didn't it?" asked George, na�vely,
+for the hundredth time.  "Didn't I tell you?  By gosh, I can't remember
+what did come off.  But we had a dandy time."
+
+"Great!" replied Ken.  "I had more than I wanted.  I'll never spring
+another stunt like this one!"
+
+Hal gazed smilingly at his brother.
+
+"Bah!  Ken Ward, bring on your next old trip!"
+
+Which proved decidedly that Hal was getting better and that he alone
+understood his brother.
+
+Pepe listened and rubbed his big hands, and there was a light in his
+dark eyes.
+
+Ken laughed.  It was good to feel happy just then; it was enough to feel
+safe and glad in the present, with responsibility removed, without a
+thought of the future.
+
+Yet, when some miles across country he saw the little town of Tamos
+shining red-roofed against the sky, he came into his own again. The old
+calling, haunting love of wild places and wild nature returned, and with
+dreamy eyes he looked out.  He saw the same beauty and life and
+wildness.  Beyond the glimmering lagoons stretched the dim, dark jungle.
+A flock of flamingoes showed pink across the water.  Ducks dotted the
+weedy marshes. And low down on the rosy horizon a long curved line of
+wild geese sailed into the sunset.
+
+When the boys arrived at Tampico and George had secured comfortable
+lodgings for them, the first thing Ken did was to put Hal to bed.  It
+required main strength to do this. Ken was not taking any chances with
+tropical fever, and he sent for a doctor.
+
+It was not clear whether the faces Hal made were at the little dried-up
+doctor or at the medicine he administered.  However, it was very clear
+that Hal made fun of him and grew bolder the more he believed the man
+could not understand English.
+
+Ken liked the silent, kindly physician, and remonstrated with Hal, and
+often, just to keep Hal's mind occupied, he would talk of the university
+and baseball, topics that were absorbing to the boy.
+
+And one day, as the doctor was leaving, he turned to Ken with a twinkle
+in his eyes and said in perfect English: "I won't need to come any
+more."
+
+Hal's jaw began to drop.
+
+"Your brother is all right," went on the doctor.  "But he's a fresh kid,
+and he'll never make the Wayne Varsity--or a good explorer, either--till
+he gets over that freshness.  I'm a Wayne man myself.  Class of '82.
+Good day, boys."
+
+Ken Ward was astounded.  "By George! What do you think of that?  He's a
+Wayne med.  I'll have to look him up.  And, Hal, he was just right about
+you."
+
+Hal looked extremely crestfallen and remorseful.
+
+"I'm always getting jars."
+
+It took a whole day for him to recover his usual spirits.
+
+Ken had promptly sent the specimens and his notes to his uncle, and as
+the days passed the boys began to look anxiously for some news.  In ten
+days Hal was as well as ever, and then the boys had such sport with the
+tarpon and big sharks and alligator-gars that they almost forgot about
+the rewards they had striven so hard for and hoped to win.  But finally,
+when the mail arrived from home, they were at once happy and fearful.
+George was with them that evening, and shared their excitement and
+suspense.  Hal's letters were from his mother and his sister, and they
+were read first.  Judge Ward's letter to Ken was fatherly and
+solicitous, but brief.  He gave the boys six more weeks, cautioned them
+to be sensible and to profit by their opportunity, and he inclosed a
+bank-draft.  Not a word about rewards!
+
+Ken's fingers trembled a little as he tore open the uncle's letter.  He
+read it aloud:
+
+
+DEAR KEN,--Congratulations!  You've done well. You win the trip to
+Africa.  Hal's work also was good--several specimens accepted by the
+Smithsonian. I'll back you for the Yucatan trip.  Will send letters to
+the American consul at Progreso, and arrange for you to meet the
+Austrian arch�ologist Maler, who I hope will take you in hand.
+
+I want you to make a study of some of the ruins of Yucatan, which I
+believe are as wonderful as any in Egypt.  I advise you to make this
+trip short and to the point, for there are indications of coming
+revolution throughout Mexico.
+
+With best wishes,
+       UNCLE G.
+
+
+The old varsity cheer rang out from Ken, and Hal began a war-dance.
+Then both boys pounced upon George, and for a few moments made life
+miserable for him.
+
+"And I can't go with you!" he exclaimed, sorrowfully.
+
+Both Ken and Hal shared his disappointment. But presently.  George
+brightened up. The smile came back which he always wore when prophesying
+the uncertain adventures of the future.
+
+"Well, anyway, I'll be safe home.  And you fellows!  You'll be getting
+yours when you're lost in the wilderness of Yucatan!"
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+           *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+                      _*There's More to Follow!*_
+
+
+More stories of the sort you like; more, probably, by the author of this
+one; more than 500 titles all told by writers of world-wide reputation,
+in the Authors' Alphabetical List which you will find on the _reverse
+side_ of the wrapper of this book.  Look it over before you lay it
+aside.  There are books here you are sure to want--some, possibly, that
+you have _always_ wanted.
+
+It is a _selected_ list; every book in it has achieved a certain measure
+of success.
+
+The Grosset & Dunlap list is not only the greatest Index of Good Fiction
+available, it represents in addition a generally accepted Standard of
+Value. It will pay you to
+
+_Look on the Other Side of the Wrapper!_
+
+In case the wrapper is lost write to the publishers for a complete
+catalog.
+
+
+
+           *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                          *ZANE GREY'S NOVELS*
+
+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list.
+
+THE CALL OF THE CANYON
+WANDERER OF THE WASTELAND
+TO THE LAST MAN
+THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER
+THE MAN OF THE FOREST
+THE DESERT OF WHEAT
+THE U. P. TRAIL
+WILDFIRE
+THE BORDER LEGION
+THE RAINBOW TRAIL
+THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT
+RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
+THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS
+THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN
+THE LONE STAR RANGER
+DESERT GOLD
+BETTY ZANE
+THE DAY OF THE BEAST
+
+*      *      *      *      *
+
+LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS
+
+The life story of "Buffalo Bill" by his sister Helen Cody Wetmore, with
+Foreword and conclusion by Zane Grey.
+
+
+
+                      *ZANE GREY'S BOOKS FOR BOYS*
+
+KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+THE YOUNG LION HUNTER
+THE YOUNG FORESTER
+THE YOUNG PITCHER
+THE SHORT STOP
+THE RED-HEADED OUTFIELD AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                       *NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE*
+
+                        *WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE*
+
+  May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list
+
+BIG-TOWN ROUND-UP, THE
+BRAND BLOTTERS
+BUCKY O'CONNOR
+CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT
+DAUGHTER OF THE DONS, A
+DESERT'S PRICE, THE
+FIGHTING EDGE, THE
+GUNSIGHT PASS
+HIGHGRADER, THE
+IRONHEART
+MAN FOUR-SQUARE, A
+MAN-SIZE
+MAVERICKS
+OH, YOU TEX!
+PIRATE OF PANAMA, THE
+RIDGWAY OF MONTANA
+SHERIFF'S SON, THE
+STEVE YEAGER
+TANGLED TRAILS
+TEXAS RANGER, A
+VISION SPLENDID, THE
+WYOMING
+YUKON TRAIL, THE
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                        *JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD'S*
+
+                         *STORIES OF ADVENTURE*
+
+  May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list
+
+THE COUNTRY BEYOND
+THE FLAMING FOREST
+THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN
+THE RIVER'S END
+THE GOLDEN SNARE
+NOMADS OF THE NORTH
+KAZAN
+BAREE, SON OF KAZAN
+THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM
+THE DANGER TRAIL
+THE HUNTED WOMAN
+THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH
+THE GRIZZLY KING
+ISOBEL
+THE WOLF HUNTERS
+THE GOLD HUNTERS
+THE COURAGE OF MARGE O'DOONE
+BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY
+
+_Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                     *EDGAR RICE BURROUGH'S NOVELS*
+
+ May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list
+
+BANDIT OF HELL'S BEND, THE
+CAVE GIRL, THE
+LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE
+TARZAN AND THE ANT MEN
+TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION
+TARZAN THE TERRIBLE
+TARZAN THE UNTAMED
+JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN
+AT THE EARTH'S CORE
+THE MUCKER
+A PRINCESS OF MARS
+THE GODS OF MARS
+THE WARLORD OF MARS
+THUVIA, MAID OF MARS
+THE CHESSMEN OF MARS
+
+
+
+                *GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK*
+
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE ***
+
+
+
+
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+<title>KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE</title>
+<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" />
+<meta name="PG.Title" content="Ken Ward in the Jungle" />
+<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" />
+<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" />
+<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Zane Grey" />
+<meta name="DC.Created" content="1912" />
+<meta name="PG.Id" content="45974" />
+<meta name="PG.Released" content="2014-06-14" />
+<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" />
+<meta name="DC.Title" content="Ken Ward in the Jungle" />
+
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+<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" />
+<meta content="Ken Ward in the Jungle" name="DCTERMS.title" />
+<meta content="kenward.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" />
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+<meta content="2014-06-15T04:23:05.309720+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" />
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+<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20 by Marcello Perathoner &lt;webmaster@gutenberg.org&gt;" name="generator" />
+</head>
+<body>
+<div class="document" id="ken-ward-in-the-jungle">
+<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE</span></h1>
+
+<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet -->
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+<!-- default attribution -->
+<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- -->
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+</div>
+<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- -->
+<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span>
+included with this eBook or online at
+</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="noindent pnext"></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header">
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: Ken Ward in the Jungle
+<br />
+<br />Author: Zane Grey
+<br />
+<br />Release Date: June 14, 2014 [EBook #45974]
+<br />
+<br />Language: English
+<br />
+<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE</span><span> ***</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="align-None container coverpage">
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 67%" id="figure-46">
+<span id="cover-art"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cover art" src="images/img-cover.jpg" />
+<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin">
+<span class="italics">Cover art</span></div>
+</div>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="align-None container frontispiece">
+<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 64%" id="figure-47">
+<span id="the-jaguar-opened-his-jaws-threateningly-see-page-182"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page 182)" src="images/img-front.jpg" />
+<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin">
+<span class="italics">THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page </span><a class="italics reference internal" href="#id1">182</a><span class="italics">)</span></div>
+</div>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="align-None container titlepage">
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="x-large">KEN WARD
+<br />IN THE JUNGLE</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">ZANE GREY</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">AUTHOR OF
+<br />THE YOUNG FORESTER,
+<br />THE YOUNG PITCHER,
+<br />THE YOUNG LION HUNTER,
+<br />THE U. P. TRAIL, ETC.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">ILLUSTRATED</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">NEW YORK
+<br />GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP
+<br />PUBLISHERS</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">Published by Arrangement with Harper &amp; Brothers
+<br />Made in the United States of America</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="align-None container verso">
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY HARPER &amp; BROTHERS</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS</span></p>
+<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">CHAP.</span></p>
+<ol class="upperroman simple">
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-prize">The Prize</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-home-of-the-tarpon">The Home of the Tarpon</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#an-indian-boatman">An Indian Boatman</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#at-the-jungle-river">At the Jungle River</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-first-camp">The First Camp</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#wilderness-life">Wilderness Life</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#running-the-rapids">Running the Rapids</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-first-tiger-cat">The First Tiger-cat</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#in-the-white-water">In the White Water</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#lost">Lost!</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#an-army-of-snakes">An Army of Snakes</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#catching-strange-fish">Catching Strange Fish</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-turkey-hunt">A Turkey-Hunt</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-fight-with-a-jaguar">A Fight with a Jaguar</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-vicious-garrapatoes">The Vicious Garrapatoes</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#field-work-of-a-naturalist">Field Work of a Naturalist</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-mixed-up-tiger-hunt">A Mixed-up Tiger-hunt</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#watching-a-runway">Watching a Runway</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#adventures-with-crocodiles">Adventures with Crocodiles</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#treed-by-wild-pigs">Treed by Wild Pigs</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-leaping-tarpon">The Leaping Tarpon</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#stricken-down">Stricken Down</a></p>
+</li>
+<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#out-of-the-jungle">Out of the Jungle</a></p>
+</li>
+</ol>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="the-prize"><span class="bold x-large">KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">I</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE PRIZE</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>"What a change from the Arizona
+desert!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The words broke from the lips of Ken
+Ward as he leaned from the window of
+the train which was bearing his brother
+and himself over the plateau to Tampico
+in Tamaulipas, the southeastern state of
+Mexico.  He had caught sight of a river
+leaping out between heavily wooded slopes
+and plunging down in the most beautiful
+waterfall he had ever seen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look, Hal," he cried.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The first fall was a long white streak,
+ending in a dark pool; below came cascade
+after cascade, fall after fall, some wide,
+others narrow, and all white and green against
+the yellow rock.  Then the train curved
+round a spur of the mountain, descended to
+a level, to be lost in a luxuriance of jungle
+growth.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was indeed a change for Ken Ward,
+young forester, pitcher of the varsity nine at
+school, and hunter of lions in the Arizona
+cañons.  Here he was entering the jungle
+of the tropics.  The rifles and the camp
+outfit on the seat beside his brother Hal and
+himself spoke of coming adventures.  Before
+them lay an unknown wilderness--the
+semi-tropical jungle.  And the future was to show
+that the mystery of the jungle was stranger
+even than their imaginings.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was not love of adventure alone or
+interest in the strange new forest growths that
+had drawn Ken to the jungle.  His uncle,
+the one who had gotten Ken letters from the
+Forestry Department at Washington, had
+been proud of Ken's Arizona achievements.
+This uncle was a member of the American
+Geographical Society and a fellow of the New
+York Museum of Natural History.  He wanted
+Ken to try his hand at field work in the jungle
+of Mexico, and if that was successful, then to
+explore the ruined cities of wild Yucatan.
+If Ken made good as an explorer his reward
+was to be a trip to Equatorial Africa after big
+game.  And of course that trip meant
+opportunity to see England and France, and, what
+meant more to Ken, a chance to see the great
+forests of Germany, where forestry had been
+carried on for three hundred years.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In spite of the fact that the inducement
+was irresistible, and that Ken's father was as
+proud and eager as Ken's uncle to have him
+make a name for himself, and that Hal
+would be allowed to go with him, Ken had
+hesitated.  There was the responsibility for
+Hal and the absolute certainty that Hal
+could not keep out of mischief.  Still Ken
+simply could not have gone to Mexico
+leaving his brother at home broken-hearted.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At last the thing had been decided.  It was
+Hal's ambition to be a naturalist and to
+collect specimens, and the uncle had held out
+possible recognition from the Smithsonian
+Institution at Washington.  Perhaps he might
+find a new variety of some animal to which
+the scientists would attach his name.  Then
+the lad was passionately eager to see Ken
+win that trip to Africa.  There had been
+much study of maps and books of travel,
+science, and natural history.  There had
+been the most careful instruction and
+equipment for semi-tropical camp life.  The uncle
+had given Ken valuable lessons in
+map-drawing, in estimating distance and
+topography, and he had indicated any one of
+several rivers in the jungle belt of Mexico.
+Traversing one hundred miles of unknown
+jungle river, with intelligent observation and
+accurate reports, would win the prize for Ken
+Ward.  Now the race was on.  Would Ken win?</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently the train crossed a bridge.  Ken
+Ward had a brief glance at clear green water,
+at great cypress-trees, gray and graceful
+with long, silvery, waving moss, and at the
+tangled, colorful banks.  A water-fowl black
+as coal, with white-crested wings, skimmed the
+water in swift wild flight, to disappear up the
+shady river-lane.  Then the train clattered
+on, and, a mile or more beyond the bridge,
+stopped at a station called Valles.  In the
+distance could be seen the thatched
+palm-leaf huts and red-tiled roofs of a hamlet.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys got out to stretch their legs.  The
+warm, sweet, balmy air was a new and novel
+thing to them.  They strolled up and down
+the gravel walk, watching the natives.  Hal
+said he rather liked the looks of their brown
+bare feet and the thin cotton trousers and
+shirts, but he fancied the enormous sombreros
+were too heavy and unwieldy.  Ken spoke
+to several pleasant-faced Mexicans, each of
+whom replied: "No sabe, Señor."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The ticket agent at the station was an
+American, and from the way he smiled and
+spoke Ken knew he was more than glad to
+see one of his own kind.  So, after Ken had
+replied to many questions about the States,
+he began to ask some of his own.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's the name of the waterfall we passed?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Micas Falls," replied the agent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"And the river?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's called the Santa Rosa."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Where does it go?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The agent did not know, except that it
+disappeared in the jungle.  Southward the
+country was wild.  The villages were few and
+all along the railroad; and at Valles the river
+swung away to the southwest.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"But it must flow into the Panuco River,"
+said Ken.  He had studied maps of Mexico
+and had learned all that it was possible to
+learn before he undertook the journey.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, yes, it must find the Panuco
+somewhere down over the mountain," answered
+the agent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Then there are rapids in this little river?"
+asked Ken, in growing interest.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I guess.  It's all rapids."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"How far to Tampico by rail?" went on Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Something over a hundred miles."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Any game in the jungle hereabouts--or
+along the Santa Rosa?" continued Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The man laughed, and laughed in such a
+way that Ken did not need his assertion
+that it was not safe to go into the jungle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon Ken Ward became so thoughtful
+that he did not hear the talk that followed
+between the agent and Hal.  The engine
+bell roused him into action, and with Hal
+he hurried back to their seats.  And then
+the train sped on.  But the beauty of Micas
+Falls and the wildness of the Santa Rosa
+remained with Ken.  Where did that river
+go?  How many waterfalls and rapids did
+it have?  What teeming life must be along
+its rich banks!  It haunted Ken.  He wanted
+to learn the mystery of the jungle.  There
+was the same longing which had gotten him
+into the wild adventures in Penetier Forest and
+the Grand Cañon country of Arizona.  And
+all at once flashed over him the thought that
+here was the jungle river for him to explore.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, that's the very thing," he said,
+thinking aloud.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's wrong with you," asked Hal,
+"talking to yourself that way?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken did not explain.  The train clattered
+between green walls of jungle, and occasionally
+stopped at a station.  But the thought of the
+jungle haunted him until the train arrived at
+Tampico.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had the name of an American hotel,
+and that was all he knew about Tampico.
+The station was crowded with natives.  Man
+after man accosted the boys, jabbering
+excitedly in Mexican.  Some of these showed
+brass badges bearing a number and the
+word </span><em class="italics">Cargodore</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, I believe these fellows are porters
+or baggage-men," said Ken.  And he showed
+his trunk check to one of them.  The fellow
+jerked it out of Ken's hand and ran off.
+The boys ran after him.  They were relieved
+to see him enter a shed full of baggage.  And
+they were amazed to see him kneel down and
+take their trunk on his back.  It was a big
+trunk and heavy.  The man was small and light.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It 'll smash him!" cried Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But the little </span><em class="italics">cargodore</em><span> walked off with the
+trunk on his back.  Then Ken and Hal saw
+other </span><em class="italics">cargodores</em><span> packing trunks.  The boys
+kept close to their man and used their eyes
+with exceeding interest.  The sun was
+setting, and the square, colored buildings looked
+as if they were in a picture of Spain.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look at the boats--canoes!" cried Hal,
+as they crossed a canal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw long narrow canoes that had been
+hollowed out from straight tree-trunks.  They
+were of every size, and some of the paddles
+were enormous.  Crowds of natives were
+jabbering and jostling each other at a rude
+wharf.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look back," called Hal, who seemed to
+have a hundred eyes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw a wide, beautiful river, shining
+red in the sunset.  Palm-trees on the distant
+shore showed black against the horizon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, that's the Panuco.  What a river!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Makes the Susquehanna look like a creek,"
+was Hal's comment.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">cargodore</em><span> led the boys through a plaza,
+down a narrow street to the hotel.  Here
+they were made to feel at home.  The
+proprietor was a kindly American.  The hotel
+was crowded, and many of the guests were
+Englishmen there for the tarpon-fishing, with
+sportsmen from the States, and settlers
+coming in to take up new lands.  It was pleasant
+for Ken and Hal to hear their own language
+once more.  After dinner they sallied forth
+to see the town.  But the narrow dark streets
+and the blanketed natives stealing silently
+along were not particularly inviting.  The
+boys got no farther than the plaza, where
+they sat down on a bench.  It was wholly
+different from any American town.  Ken
+suspected that Hal was getting homesick,
+for the boy was quiet and inactive.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't like this place," said Hal.  "What
+'d you ever want to drag me way down here for?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Humph! drag you?  Say, you pestered
+the life out of me, and bothered Dad till he
+was mad, and worried mother sick to let
+you come on this trip."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal hung his head.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, you're not going to show a streak of
+yellow?" asked Ken.  He knew how to stir
+his brother.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal rose to the attack and scornfully
+repudiated the insinuation.  Ken replied that
+they were in a new country and must not
+reach conclusions too hastily.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I liked it back up there at the little village
+where we saw the green river and the big
+trees with the gray streamers on them,"
+said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I liked that myself," rejoined Ken.
+"I'd like to go back there and put a
+boat in the river and come all the way here."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had almost unconsciously expressed
+the thought that had been forming in his
+mind.  Hal turned slowly and looked at his
+brother.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, that 'd be great--that's what we
+came for!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I should say so," replied Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well?" asked Hal, simply.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That question annoyed Ken.  Had he not
+come south to go into the jungle?  Had he
+come with any intention of shirking the
+danger of a wild trip?  There was a subtle
+flattery in Hal's question.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That Santa Rosa River runs through the
+jungle," went on Hal.  "It flows into the
+Panuco somewhere.  You know we figured
+out on the map that the Panuco's the only
+big river in this jungle.  That's all we want
+to know.  And, Ken, you know you're a
+born boatman.  Why, look at the rapids we've
+shot on the Susquehanna.  Remember that
+trip we came down the Juniata?  The water
+was high, too.  Ken, you can take a boat
+down that Santa Rosa!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"By George!  I believe I can," exclaimed
+Ken, and he thrilled at the thought.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, let's go.  You'll win the prize, and
+I'll get specimens.  Think what we'd have
+to tell Jim Williams and Dick Leslie when we
+go West next summer!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Hal, I know--but this idea of a trip
+seems too wild."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe it wouldn't be so wild."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In all fairness Ken could not deny this, so
+he kept silent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, listen," went on Hal, and now he
+was quite cool.  "If we'd promised the
+Governor not to take a wild trip I wouldn't
+say another word.  But we're absolutely free."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's why we ought to be more careful.
+Dad trusts me."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He trusts you because he knows you can
+take care of yourself, and me, too.  You're
+a wonder, Ken.  Why, if you once made up
+your mind, you'd make that Santa Rosa River
+look like a canal."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken began to fear that he would not be
+proof against the haunting call of that jungle
+river and the flattering persuasion of his
+brother and the ever-present ambition to show
+his uncle what he could do.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, if I didn't have you with me I'd
+already have made up my mind to tackle
+this river."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That appeared to insult Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All I've got to say is I'd be a help to
+you--not a drag," he said, with some warmth.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You're always a help, Hal.  I can't say
+anything against your willingness.  But you
+know your weakness.  By George! you made
+trouble enough for me in Arizona.  On a trip
+such as this you'd drive me crazy."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, I won't make any rash promises.
+I don't want to queer myself with you.
+But I'm all right."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, Hal; let's wait.  We've only
+got to Tampico.  Maybe such a trip is
+impracticable--impossible.  Let's find out more
+about the country."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal appeared to take this in good spirit.
+The boys returned to the hotel and went to
+bed.  Hal promptly fell asleep.  But Ken
+Ward lay awake a long time thinking of the
+green Santa Rosa, with its magnificent
+moss-festooned cypresses.  And when he did go to
+sleep it was to dream of the beautiful
+waterfowl with the white-crested wings, and he
+was following it on its wild flight down the
+dark, mysterious river-trail into the jungle.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="the-home-of-the-tarpon"><span class="bold large">II</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE HOME OF THE TARPON</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Hal's homesickness might never have
+been in evidence at all, to judge from
+the way the boy, awakening at dawn, began
+to talk about the Santa Rosa trip.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Ken, as he rolled out of bed,
+"I guess we're in for it."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, will we go?" asked Hal, eagerly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm on the fence."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"But you're leaning on the jungle side?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, kid--I'm slipping."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal opened his lips to let out a regular
+Hiram Bent yell, when Ken clapped a hand
+over his mouth.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold on--we're in the hotel yet."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It took the brothers long to dress, because
+they could not keep away from the window.
+The sun was rising in rosy glory over misty
+lagoons.  Clouds of creamy mist rolled above
+the broad Panuco.  Wild ducks were flying
+low.  The tiled roofs of the stone houses
+gleamed brightly, and the palm-trees glistened
+with dew.  The soft breeze that blew in was
+warm, sweet, and fragrant.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>After breakfast the boys went out to the
+front and found the hotel lobby full of
+fishermen and their native boatmen.  It was an
+interesting sight, as well as a surprise, for
+Ken and Hal did not know that Tampico
+was as famous for fishing as it was for
+hunting.  The huge rods and reels amazed them.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What kind of fish do these fellows fish
+for?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was well enough acquainted with
+sport to know something about tarpon, but
+he had never seen one of the great silver fish.
+And he was speechless when Hal led him
+into a room upon the walls of which were
+mounted specimens of tarpon from six to
+seven feet in length and half as wide as a
+door.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, Ken!  We've come to the right
+place.  Those fishermen are all going out to
+fish for such whales as these here."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, we never saw a big fish before," said
+Ken.  "And before we leave Tampico we'll
+know what it means to hook tarpon."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm with you," replied Hal, gazing doubtfully
+and wonderingly at a fish almost twice
+as big as himself.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then Ken, being a practical student of
+fishing, as of other kinds of sport, began to
+stroll round the lobby with an intent to learn.
+He closely scrutinized the tackle.  And he
+found that the bait used was a white mullet
+six to ten inches long, a little fish which
+resembled the chub.  Ken did not like the long,
+cruel gaff which seemed a necessary adjunct
+to each outfit of tackle, and he vowed that
+in his fishing for tarpon he would dispense
+with it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was not backward about asking
+questions, and he learned that Tampico, during
+the winter months, was a rendezvous for
+sportsmen from all over the world.  For the
+most part, they came to catch the leaping
+tarpon; the shooting along the Panuco,
+however, was as well worth while as the fishing.
+But Ken could not learn anything about the
+Santa Rosa River.  The </span><em class="italics">tierra caliente</em><span>, or hot
+belt, along the curve of the Gulf was
+intersected by small streams, many of them
+unknown and unnamed.  The Panuco swung
+round to the west and had its source
+somewhere up in the mountains.  Ken decided
+that the Santa Rosa was one of its
+headwaters.  Valles lay up on the first swell of
+higher ground, and was distant from Tampico
+some six hours by train.  So, reckoning with
+the meandering course of jungle streams,
+Ken calculated he would have something
+like one hundred and seventy-five miles to
+travel by water from Valles to Tampico.
+There were Indian huts strung along the
+Panuco River, and fifty miles inland a village
+named Panuco.  What lay between Panuco
+and Valles, up over the wild steppes of that
+jungle, Ken Ward could only conjecture.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently he came upon Hal in conversation
+with an American boy, who at once
+volunteered to show them around.  So they
+set out, and were soon becoming well
+acquainted.  Their guide said he was from
+Kansas; had been working in the railroad
+offices for two years; and was now taking a
+vacation.  His name was George Alling.
+Under his guidance the boys spent several
+interesting hours going about the city.
+During this walk Hal showed his first tendency
+to revert to his natural bent of mind.  Not for
+long could Hal Ward exist without making
+trouble for something.  In this case it was
+buzzards, of which the streets of Tampico
+were full.  In fact, George explained, the
+buzzards were the only street-cleaning
+department in the town.  They were as tame
+as tame turkeys, and Hal could not resist
+the desire to chase them.  And he could be
+made to stop only after a white-helmeted
+officer had threatened him.  George
+explained further that although Tampico had
+no game-laws it protected these
+buzzard-scavengers of the streets.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The market-house at the canal wharf was
+one place where Ken thought Hal would
+forget himself in the bustle and din and color.
+All was so strange and new.  Indeed, for a
+time Hal appeared to be absorbed in his
+surroundings, but when he came to a stall where
+a man had parrots and racoons and small
+deer, and three little yellow, black-spotted
+tiger-cats, as George called them, then once
+more Ken had to take Hal in tow.  Outside
+along the wharf were moored a hundred or
+more canoes of manifold variety.  All had
+been hewn from solid tree-trunks.  Some
+were long, slender, graceful, pretty to look
+at, and easy to handle in shallow lagoons,
+but Ken thought them too heavy and
+cumbersome for fast water.  Happening just
+then to remember Micas Falls, Ken had a
+momentary chill and a check to his
+enthusiasm for the jungle trip.  What if he
+encountered, in coming down the Santa Rosa,
+some such series of cascades as those which
+made Micas Falls!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was about noon when George led the
+boys out to the banks of the broad Panuco.
+Both Hal and Ken were suffering from the
+heat.  They had removed their coats, and
+were now very glad to rest in the shade.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a nice cool day," said George, and
+he looked cool.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We've got on our heavy clothes, and this
+tropic sun is new to us," replied Ken.  "Say,
+Hal--"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A crash in the water near the shore
+interrupted Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Was that a rhinoceros?" inquired Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Savalo," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Silver king.  A tarpon.  Look around
+and you'll see one break water.  There are
+some fishermen trolling down-stream.  Watch.
+Maybe one will hook a fish presently.  Then
+you'll see some jumping."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was cool in the shade, as the brothers
+soon discovered, and they spent a delightful
+hour watching the river and the wild fowl
+and the tarpon.  Ken and Hal were always
+lucky.  Things happened for their benefit
+and pleasure.  Not only did they see many
+tarpon swirl like bars of silver on the water,
+but a fisherman hooked one of the great fish
+not fifty yards from where the boys sat.
+And they held their breath, and with starting
+eyes watched the marvelous leaps and dashes
+of the tarpon till, as he shot up in a last
+mighty effort, wagging his head, slapping his
+huge gills, and flinging the hook like a bullet,
+he plunged back free.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Nine out of ten get away," remarked George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you ever catch one?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, I've got to have some of this fishing,"
+said Ken.  "But if we start at it now--would
+we ever get that jungle trip?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Ken, you've made up your mind to
+go!" exclaimed Hal, in glee.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I haven't," protested Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, you have," declared Hal.  "I know
+you."  And the whoop that he had suppressed
+in the hotel he now let out with good measure.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Naturally George was interested, and at
+his inquiry Ken told him the idea for the
+Santa Rosa trip.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Take me along," said George.  There was
+a note of American spirit in his voice, a laugh
+on his lips, and a flash in his eyes that made
+Ken look at him attentively.  He was a slim
+youth, not much Hal's senior, and Ken
+thought if ever a boy had been fashioned to
+be a boon comrade of Hal Ward this George
+Alling was the boy.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you think of the trip?" inquired
+Ken, curiously.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine.  We'll have some fun.  We'll get
+a boat and a mozo--"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's a mozo?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"A native boatman."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a good idea.  I hadn't thought of a
+boatman to help row.  But the boat is the
+particular thing.  I wouldn't risk a trip in
+one of those canoes."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come on, I'll find a boat," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And before he knew it George and Hal
+were leading him back from the river.  George
+led him down narrow lanes, between painted
+stone houses and iron-barred windows, till
+they reached the canal.  They entered a yard
+where buzzards, goats, and razor-back pigs
+were contesting over the scavenger rights.
+George went into a boat-house and pointed
+out a long, light, wide skiff with a flat bottom.
+Ken did not need George's praise, or the
+shining light in Hal's eyes, or the
+boat-keeper's importunities to make him eager to
+try this particular boat.  Ken Ward knew a
+boat when he saw one.  He jumped in,
+shoved it out, rowed up the canal, pulled and
+turned, backed water, and tried every stroke
+he knew.  Then he rested on the oars and
+whistled.  Hal's shout of delight made him
+stop whistling.  Those two boys would have
+him started on the trip if he did not look sharp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a dandy boat," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Only a peso a day, Ken," went on Hal.
+"One dollar Mex--fifty cents in our money.
+Quick, Ken, hire it before somebody else gets it."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure I'll hire the boat," replied Ken; "but
+Hal, it's not for that Santa Rosa trip.  We'll
+have to forget that."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Forget your grandmother!" cried Hal.
+And then it was plain that he tried valiantly
+to control himself, to hide his joy, to pretend
+to agree with Ken's ultimatum.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had a feeling that his brother knew
+him perfectly, and he was divided between
+anger and amusement.  They returned to
+the hotel and lounged in the lobby.  The
+proprietor was talking with some Americans,
+and as he now appeared to be at leisure he
+introduced the brothers and made himself
+agreeable.  Moreover, he knew George Alling
+well.  They began to chat, and Ken was
+considerably annoyed to hear George calmly
+state that he and his new-found friends
+intended to send a boat up to Valles and come
+down an unknown jungle river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The proprietor laughed, and, though the
+laugh was not unpleasant, somehow it nettled
+Ken Ward.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not go?" he asked, quietly, and he
+looked at the hotel man.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"My boy, you can't undertake any trip
+like that."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not?" persisted Ken.  "Is there any
+law here to prevent our going into the jungle?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no law.  No one could stop you.
+But, my lad, what's the sense of taking such
+a fool trip?  The river here is full of tarpon
+right now.  There are millions of ducks and
+geese on the lagoons.  You can shoot deer
+and wild turkey right on the edge of town.
+If you want tiger and javelin, go out to one of
+the ranches where they have dogs to hunt
+with, where you'll have a chance for your
+life.  These tigers and boars will kill a man.
+There's all the sport any one wants right
+close to Tampico."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see how all that makes a reason
+why we shouldn't come down the Santa
+Rosa," replied Ken.  "We want to explore--map
+the river."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The hotel man seemed nettled in return.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You're only kids.  It 'd be crazy to start
+out on that wild trip."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was on Ken's lips to mention a few of
+the adventures which he believed justly gave
+him a right to have pride and confidence in
+his ability.  But he forbore.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a fool trip," continued the proprietor.
+"You don't know this river.  You don't
+know where you'll come out.  It's wild up
+in that jungle.  I've hunted up at Valles,
+and no native I ever met would go a mile
+from the village.  If you take a mozo he'll
+get soaked with canya.  He'll stick a knife
+in you or run off and leave you when you
+most need help.  Nobody ever explored that
+river.  It 'll likely be full of swamps,
+sandbars, bogs.  You'd get fever.  Then the
+crocodiles, the boars, the bats, the snakes, the
+tigers!  Why, if you could face these you'd
+still have the ticks--the worst of all.  The
+ticks would drive men crazy, let alone boys.
+It's no undertaking for a boy."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The mention of all these dangers would
+have tipped the balance for Ken in favor of
+the Santa Rosa trip, even if the hint of his
+callowness had not roused his spirit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you.  I'm sure you mean kindly,"
+said Ken.  "But I'm going to Valles and I'll
+come down that jungle river."</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="an-indian-boatman"><span class="bold large">III</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">AN INDIAN BOATMAN</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>The moment the decision was made Ken
+felt both sorry and glad.  He got the
+excited boys outside away from the critical
+and anxious proprietor.  And Ken decided
+it was incumbent upon him to adopt a serious
+and responsible manner, which he was far
+from feeling.  So he tried to be as cool as
+Hiram Bent, with a fatherly interest in the
+two wild boys who were to accompany him
+down the Santa Rosa.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, George, steer us around till we find
+a mozo," said Ken.  "Then we'll buy an
+outfit and get started on this trip before you
+can say Jack Robinson."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All the mozos the boys interviewed were
+eager to get work; however, when made
+acquainted with the nature of the trip they
+refused point blank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tigre!" exclaimed one.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Javelin!" exclaimed another.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The big spotted jaguar of the jungle and
+the wild boar, or peccary, were held in much
+dread by the natives.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"These natives will climb a tree at sight
+of a tiger or pig," said George.  "For my
+part I'm afraid of the garrapatoes and the
+pinilius."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What 're they?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ticks--jungle ticks.  Just wait till you
+make their acquaintance."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Finally the boys met a </span><em class="italics">mozo</em><span> named Pepe,
+who had often rowed a boat for George.
+Pepe looked sadly in need of a job; still he
+did not ask for it.  George said that Pepe
+had been one of the best boatmen on the
+river until </span><em class="italics">canya</em><span>, the fiery white liquor to
+which the natives were addicted, had ruined
+his reputation.  Pepe wore an old sombrero,
+a cotton, shirt and sash, and ragged trousers.
+He was barefooted.  Ken noted the set of
+his muscular neck, his brawny shoulders and
+arms, and appreciated the years of rowing
+that had developed them.  But Pepe's haggard
+face, deadened eyes, and listless manner
+gave Ken pause.  Still, Ken reflected, there
+was never any telling what a man might do,
+if approached right.  Pepe's dejection excited
+Ken's sympathy.  So Ken clapped him on
+the shoulder, and, with George acting as
+interpreter, offered Pepe work for several weeks
+at three pesos a day.  That was more than
+treble the </span><em class="italics">mozo's</em><span> wage.  Pepe nearly fell off
+the canal bridge, where he was sitting, and a
+light as warm and bright as sunshine flashed
+into his face.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Si, Señor--Si, Señor," he began to jabber,
+and waved his brown hands.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken suspected that Pepe needed a job
+and a little kind treatment.  He was sure of
+it when George said Pepe's wife and children
+were in want.  Somehow Ken conceived a
+liking for Pepe, and believed he could trust
+him.  He thought he knew how to deal with
+poor Pepe.  So he gave him money, told
+him to get a change of clothes and a pair of
+shoes, and come to the hotel next day.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He'll spend the money for canya, and not
+show up to-morrow," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know anything about your natives,
+but that fellow will come," declared Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It appeared that the whole American colony
+in Tampico had been acquainted with Ken
+Ward's project, and made a business to
+waylay the boys at each corner.  They called
+the trip a wild-goose chase.  They declared
+it was a dime-novel idea, and could hardly
+take Ken seriously.  They mingled
+astonishment with amusement and concern.  They
+advised Ken not to go, and declared they
+would not let him go.  Over and over again
+the boys were assured of the peril from
+ticks, bats, boars, crocodiles, snakes, tigers,
+and fevers.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I'm taking the trip for,"
+snapped Ken, driven to desperation by all
+this nagging.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, young man, I admire your nerve,"
+concluded the hotel man.  "If you're
+determined to go, we can't stop you.  And
+there's some things we would like you to find
+out for us.  How far do tarpon run up the
+Panuco River?  Do they spawn up there?
+How big are the new-born fish?  I'll furnish
+you with tackle and preserved mullet, for
+bait.  We've always wondered about how
+far tarpon go up into fresh water.  Keep your
+eye open for signs of oil.  Also look at the
+timber.  And be sure to make a map of the river."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When it came to getting the boat shipped
+the boys met with more obstacles.  But
+for the friendly offices of a Texan, an employee
+of the railroad, they would never have been
+able to convince the native shipping agent
+that a boat was merchandise.  The Texan
+arranged the matter and got Ken a freight
+bill.  He took an entirely different view of
+Ken's enterprise, compared with that of other
+Americans, and in a cool, drawling voice,
+which somehow reminded Ken of Jim
+Williams, he said:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Shore you-all will have the time of
+your lives.  I worked at Valles for a year.
+That jungle is full of game.  I killed three
+big tigers.  You-all want to look out for
+those big yellow devils.  One in every three
+will jump for a man.  There's nothing but
+shoot, then.  And the wild pigs are bad.
+They put me up a tree more than once.
+I don't know much about the Santa Rosa.
+Its source is above Micas Falls.  Never
+heard where it goes.  I know it's full of
+crocodiles and rapids.  Never saw a boat or a
+canoe at Valles.  And say--there are big black
+snakes in the jungle.  Look out for them, too.
+Shore you-all have sport a-comin'."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken thanked the Texan, and as he went
+on up-street, for all his sober thoughtfulness,
+he was as eager as Hal or George.  However,
+his position as their guardian would not
+permit any show of extravagant enthusiasm.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken bought blankets, cooking utensils,
+and supplies for three weeks.  There was not
+such a thing as a tent in Tampico.  The
+best the boys could get for a shelter was a
+long strip of canvas nine feet wide.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That 'll keep off the wet," said Ken, "but
+it won't keep out the mosquitoes and things."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Couldn't keep 'em out if we had six
+tents," replied George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The remainder of that day the boys were
+busy packing the outfit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe presented himself at the hotel next
+morning an entirely different person.  He was
+clean-shaven, and no longer disheveled.  He
+wore a new sombrero, a white cotton shirt,
+a red sash, and blue trousers.  He earned
+a small bundle, a pair of shoes, and a long
+</span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.  The dignity with which he
+approached before all the other </span><em class="italics">mozos</em><span> was not
+lost upon Ken Ward.  A sharp scrutiny
+satisfied him that Pepe had not been
+drinking.  Ken gave him several errands to do.
+Then he ordered the outfit taken to the
+station in Pepe's charge.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys went down early in the afternoon.
+It was the time when the </span><em class="italics">mozos</em><span> were returning
+from the day's tarpon-fishing on the
+river, and they, with the </span><em class="italics">cargodores</em><span>, streamed
+to and fro on the platform.  Pepe was there
+standing guard over Ken's outfit.  He had
+lost his fame among his old associates, and
+for long had been an outsider.  Here he was
+in charge of a pile of fine guns, fishing-tackle,
+baggage, and supplies--a collection
+representing a fortune to him and his simple class.
+He had been trusted with it.  It was under
+his eye.  All his old associates passed by to
+see him there.  That was a great time for
+Pepe.  He looked bright, alert, and
+supremely happy.  It would have fared ill with
+thieves or loafers who would have made
+themselves free with any of the articles under
+his watchful eye.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The train pulled out of Tampico at five
+o'clock, and Hal's "We're off!" was expressive.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The railroad lay along the river-bank,
+and the broad Panuco was rippling with the
+incoming tide.  If Ken and Hal had not
+already found George to be invaluable as a
+companion in this strange country they would
+have discovered it then.  For George could
+translate Pepe's talk, and explain much that
+otherwise would have been dark to the
+brothers.  Wild ducks dotted the green surface,
+and spurts showed where playful </span><em class="italics">ravalo</em><span> were
+breaking water.  Great green-backed tarpon
+rolled their silver sides against the little
+waves.  White cranes and blue herons stood
+like statues upon the reedy bars.  Low down
+over the opposite bank of the river a long
+line of wild geese winged its way toward a
+shimmering lagoon.  And against the gold
+and crimson of the sunset sky a flight of
+wild fowl stood out in bold black relief.  The
+train crossed the Tamesi River and began to
+draw away from the Panuco.  On the right,
+wide marshes, gleaming purple in the darkening
+light, led the eye far beyond to endless
+pale lagoons.  Birds of many kinds skimmed
+the weedy flats.  George pointed out a flock
+of aigrets, the beautiful wild fowl with the
+priceless plumes.  Then there was a string
+of pink flamingoes, tall, grotesque, wading
+along with waddling stride, feeding with
+heads under water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Great!" exclaimed Ken Ward.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's all so different from Arizona," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At Tamos, twelve miles out of Tampico,
+the train entered the jungle.  Thereafter
+the boys could see nothing but the impenetrable
+green walls that lined the track.  At
+dusk the train reached a station called Las
+Palmas, and then began to ascend the first
+step of the mountain.  The ascent was steep,
+and, when it was accomplished, Ken looked
+down and decided that step of the mountain
+was between two and three thousand feet
+high.  The moon was in its first quarter,
+and Ken, studying this tropical moon, found
+it large, radiant, and a wonderful green-gold.
+It shed a soft luminous glow down upon the
+sleeping, tangled web of jungle.  It was new
+and strange to Ken, so vastly different from
+barren desert or iron-ribbed cañon, and it
+thrilled him with nameless charm.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The train once more entered jungle walls,
+and as the boys could not see anything out
+of the windows they lay back in their seats
+and waited for the ride to end.  They were
+due at Valles at ten o'clock, and the impatient
+Hal complained that they would never get
+there.  At length a sharp whistle from the
+engine caused Pepe to turn to the boys with a
+smile.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Valles," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>With rattle and clank the train came to a
+halt.  Ken sent George and Pepe out, and he
+and Hal hurriedly handed the luggage through
+the open window.  When the last piece had
+been passed into Pepe's big hands the boys
+made a rush for the door, and jumped off
+as the train started.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, but it's dark," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As the train with its lights passed out of
+sight Ken found himself in what seemed a
+pitchy blackness.  He could not see the boys.
+And he felt a little cold sinking of his heart
+at the thought of such black nights on an
+unknown jungle river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>IV</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>AT THE JUNGLE RIVER</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently, as Ken's eyes became
+accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of
+chattering natives, with wide sombreros on
+their heads and blankets over their shoulders,
+moved round the little stone station.  Visitors
+were rare in Valles, as was manifested by the
+curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile
+of luggage.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for
+the night," said Ken to George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe began to question the natives, and soon
+was lost in the crowd.  Awhile after, as Ken
+was making up his mind they might have to
+camp on the station platform, a queer low
+'bus drawn by six little mules creaked up.
+Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and
+began to stow the luggage away in the 'bus.
+Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The
+soft voices of natives greeted their passing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Valles appeared to be about a mile from
+the station, and as they entered the village
+Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here
+and there a more pretentious habitation of
+stone.  At length the driver halted before
+a rambling house, partly stone and partly
+thatch.  There were no lights; in fact, Ken
+did not see a light in the village.  George
+told the boys to take what luggage each
+could carry and follow the guide.  Inside
+the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The
+boys bumped into things and fell over each
+other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed
+to a kind of loft, where the moonlight streamed
+in at the open sides.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you think of this?" panted Hal,
+who had struggled with a heavy load of
+luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to
+fetch up the remainder of the outfit.  Ken
+thought it best to stand still until he knew
+just where he was.  But Hal and George
+began moving about in the loft.  It was very
+large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full
+of objects.  Hal jostled into something which
+creaked and fell with a crash.  Then followed
+a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and
+a scuffling about.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You can search me," replied Hal Ward.
+"One thing--I busted my shin."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He knocked over a bed with some one
+sleeping in it," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon
+soothed the injured feelings of the native
+who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then
+led the boys to their cots, which were no more
+than heavy strips of canvas stretched over
+tall frameworks.  They appeared to be
+enormously high for beds.  Ken's was as high
+as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, I'll never get up into this thing,"
+burst out Hal.  "These people must be
+afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why
+are these cots so high?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and
+all that from sleeping with the natives,"
+answered George.  "Besides, the higher you
+sleep in Mexico the farther you get from
+creeping, crawling things."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on
+the floor, but George's remark had persuaded
+him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most
+awkward to climb into.  Ken tried several
+times without success, and once he just
+escaped a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good
+vault he finally landed in the center of his
+canvas.  From there he listened to his more</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="at-the-jungle-river"><span class="bold large">IV</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">AT THE JUNGLE RIVER</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Presently, as Ken's eyes became
+accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of
+chattering natives, with wide sombreros on
+their heads and blankets over their shoulders,
+moved round the little stone station.  Visitors
+were rare in Valles, as was manifested by the
+curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile
+of luggage.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for
+the night," said Ken to George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe began to question the natives, and soon
+was lost in the crowd.  Awhile after, as Ken
+was making up his mind they might have to
+camp on the station platform, a queer low
+'bus drawn by six little mules creaked up.
+Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and
+began to stow the luggage away in the 'bus.
+Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The
+soft voices of natives greeted their passing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Valles appeared to be about a mile from
+the station, and as they entered the village
+Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here
+and there a more pretentious habitation of
+stone.  At length the driver halted before
+a rambling house, partly stone and partly
+thatch.  There were no lights; in fact, Ken
+did not see a light in the village.  George
+told the boys to take what luggage each
+could carry and follow the guide.  Inside
+the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The
+boys bumped into things and fell over each
+other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed
+to a kind of loft, where the moonlight streamed
+in at the open sides.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you think of this?" panted Hal,
+who had struggled with a heavy load of
+luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to
+fetch up the remainder of the outfit.  Ken
+thought it best to stand still until he knew
+just where he was.  But Hal and George
+began moving about in the loft.  It was very
+large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full
+of objects.  Hal jostled into something which
+creaked and fell with a crash.  Then followed
+a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and
+a scuffling about.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You can search me," replied Hal Ward.
+"One thing--I busted my shin."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He knocked over a bed with some one
+sleeping in it," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon
+soothed the injured feelings of the native
+who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then
+led the boys to their cots, which were no more
+than heavy strips of canvas stretched over
+tall frameworks.  They appeared to be
+enormously high for beds.  Ken's was as high
+as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, I'll never get up into this thing,"
+burst out Hal.  "These people must be
+afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why
+are these cots so high?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and
+all that from sleeping with the natives,"
+answered George.  "Besides, the higher you
+sleep in Mexico the farther you get from
+creeping, crawling things."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on
+the floor, but George's remark had persuaded
+him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most
+awkward to climb into.  Ken tried several
+times without success, and once he just
+escaped a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good
+vault he finally landed in the center of his
+canvas.  From there he listened to his more
+unfortunate comrades.  Pepe got into his
+without much difficulty.  George, however,
+in climbing up, on about the fifth attempt
+swung over too hard and rolled off on the
+other side.  The thump he made when he
+dropped jarred the whole loft.  From the
+various growls out of the darkness it developed
+that the loft was full of sleepers, who were not
+pleased at this invasion.  Then Hal's cot
+collapsed, and went down with a crash.
+And Hal sat on the flattened thing and laughed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Mucho malo," Pepe said, and he laughed,
+too.  Then he had to get out and put up
+Hal's trestle bed.  Hal once again went to
+climbing up the framework, and this time,
+with Pepe's aid, managed to surmount it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, what does Pepe mean by </span><em class="italics">mucho
+malo</em><span>?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bad--very much bad," replied George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Nix--tell him nix.  This is fine," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, if you don't want to sleep yourselves,
+shut up so the rest of us can," ordered Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He liked the sense of humor and the good
+fighting spirit of the boys, and fancied they
+were the best attributes in comrades on a
+wild trip.  For a long time he heard a kind
+of shuddering sound, which he imagined was
+Hal's cot quivering as the boy laughed.  Then
+absolute quiet prevailed, the boys slept,
+and Ken felt himself drifting.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he awakened the sun was shining
+through the holes in the thatched roof.
+Pepe was up, and the other native sleepers
+were gone.  Ken and the boys descended from
+their perches without any tumbles, had a
+breakfast that was palatable--although even
+George could not name what they ate--and
+then were ready for the day.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Valles consisted of a few stone houses and
+many thatched huts of bamboo and palm.
+There was only one street, and it was full of
+pigs, dogs, and buzzards.  The inhabitants
+manifested a kindly interest and curiosity,
+which changed to consternation when they
+learned of the boys' project.  Pepe
+questioned many natives, and all he could learn
+about the Santa Rosa was that there was an
+impassable waterfall some few kilometers
+below Valles.  Ken gritted his teeth and said
+they would have to get past it.  Pepe did not
+encounter a man who had ever heard of the
+headwaters of the Panuco River.  There were
+only a few fields under cultivation around
+Valles, and they were inclosed by
+impenetrable jungle.  It seemed useless to try to
+find out anything about the river.  But
+Pepe's advisers in the village told enough
+about </span><em class="italics">tigre</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span> to make Hal's hair
+stand on end, and George turn pale, and
+Ken himself wish they had not come.  It all
+gave Ken both a thrill and a shock.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There was not much conversation among the
+boys on the drive back to the station.
+However, sight of the boat, which had come by
+freight, stirred Ken with renewed spirit, and
+through him that was communicated to the
+others.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The hardest task, so far, developed in the
+matter of transporting boat and supplies out
+to the river.  Ken had hoped to get a
+handcar and haul the outfit on the track down to
+where the bridge crossed the Santa Rosa.
+But there was no hand-car.  Then came the
+staggering information that there was no
+wagon which would carry the boat, and then
+worse still in the fact that there was no road.
+This discouraged Ken; nevertheless he had
+not the least idea of giving up.  He sent
+Pepe out to tell the natives there must be
+some way to get the outfit to the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Finally Pepe found a fellow who had a cart.
+This fellow claimed he knew a trail that went
+to a point from which it would be easy to
+carry the boat to the river.  Ken had Pepe
+hire the man at once.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring on your old cart," said the
+irrepressible Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That cart turned out to be a remarkable
+vehicle.  It consisted of a narrow body
+between enormously high wheels.  A trio of
+little mules was hitched to it.  The driver
+willingly agreed to haul the boat and outfit
+for one </span><em class="italics">peso</em><span>, but when he drove up to the
+platform to be surrounded by neighbors, he
+suddenly discovered that he could not possibly
+accommodate the boys.  Patiently Pepe tried
+to persuade him.  No, the thing was
+impossible.  He made no excuses, but he looked
+mysterious.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, tell Pepe to offer him five pesos,"
+said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe came out bluntly with the inducement,
+and the driver began to sweat.  From
+the look of his eyes Ken fancied he had not
+earned so much money in a year.  Still he
+was cunning, and his whispering neighbors
+lent him support.  He had the only cart in
+the village, and evidently it seemed that
+fortune had come to knock at least once at his
+door.  He shook his head.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken held up both hands with fingers spread.
+"Ten pesos," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The driver, like a crazy man, began to
+jabber his consent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys lifted the boat upon the cart, and
+tied it fast in front so that the stern would not
+sag.  Then they packed the rest of the
+outfit inside.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was surprised to see how easily the
+little mules trotted off with such a big load.
+At the edge of the jungle he looked back
+toward the station.  The motley crowd of
+natives were watching, making excited
+gestures, and all talking at once.  The driver
+drove into a narrow trail, which closed
+behind him.  Pepe led on foot, brushing aside
+the thick foliage.  Ken drew a breath of
+relief as he passed into the cool shade.  The
+sun was very hot.  Hal and George brought
+up the rear, talking fast.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The trail was lined and overgrown with
+slender trees, standing very close, making
+dense shade.  Many birds, some of beautiful
+coloring, flitted in the branches.  In about
+an hour the driver entered a little clearing
+where there were several thatched huts.
+Ken heard the puffing of an engine, and,
+looking through the trees, he saw the
+railroad and knew they had arrived at the
+pumping-station and the bridge over the
+Santa Rosa.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe lost no time in rounding up six
+natives to carry the boat.  They did not seem
+anxious to oblige Pepe, although they plainly
+wanted the money he offered.  The trouble
+was the boat, at which they looked askance.
+As in the case with the driver, however, the
+weight and clinking of added silver overcame
+their reluctance.  They easily lifted the boat
+upon their shoulders.  And as they entered
+the trail, making a strange procession in the
+close-bordering foliage, they encountered two
+natives, who jumped and ran, yelling: "La
+diable!  La diable!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What ails those gazabos?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"They're scared," replied George.  "They
+thought the boat was the devil."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>If Ken needed any more than had already
+come to him about the wildness of the Santa
+Rosa, he had it in the frightened cries and
+bewilderment of these natives.  They had
+never seen a boat.  The Santa Rosa was a
+beautiful wild river upon which boats were
+unknown.  Ken had not hoped for so much.
+And now that the die was cast he faced the
+trip with tingling gladness.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George and Hal, you stay behind to watch
+the outfit.  Pepe and I will carry what we
+can and follow the boat.  I'll send back after
+you," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then as he followed Pepe and the natives
+down the trail there was a deep satisfaction
+within him.  He heard the soft rush of water
+over stones and the mourning of turtledoves.
+He rounded a little hill to come
+abruptly upon the dense green mass of river
+foliage.  Giant cypress-trees, bearded with
+gray moss, fringed the banks.  Through the
+dark green of leaves Ken caught sight of
+light-green water.  Birds rose all about him.
+There were rustlings in the thick
+underbrush and the whir of ducks.  The natives
+penetrated the dark shade and came out to
+an open, grassy point.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The Santa Rosa, glistening, green, swift,
+murmured at Ken's feet.  The natives dropped
+the boat into the water, and with Pepe
+went back for the rest of the outfit.  Ken
+looked up the shady lane of the river and
+thought of the moment when he had crossed
+the bridge in the train.  Then, as much as he
+had longed to be there, he had not dared to
+hope it.  And here he was!  How strange
+it was, just then, to see a large black duck
+with white-crested wings sweep by as swift
+as the wind!  Ken had seen that wild fowl,
+or one of his kind, and it had haunted him.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="the-first-camp"><span class="bold large">V</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE FIRST CAMP</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>In less than an hour all the outfit had been
+carried down to the river, and the boys
+sat in the shade, cooling off, happily conscious
+that they had made an auspicious start.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It took Ken only a moment to decide to
+make camp there and the next day try to
+reach Micas Falls.  The mountains appeared
+close at hand, and were so lofty that, early
+in the afternoon as it was, the westering sun
+hung over the blue summits.  The notch
+where the Santa Rosa cut through the range
+stood out clear, and at most it was not
+more than eighteen miles distant.  So Ken
+planned to spend a day pulling up the river,
+and then to turn for the down-stream trip.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, boys, let's make camp," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He sent Pepe with his long </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span> into the
+brush to cut fire-wood.  Hal he set to making
+a stone fireplace, which work the boy rather
+prided himself upon doing well.  Ken got
+George to help him to put up the strip of
+canvas.  They stretched a rope between two
+trees, threw the canvas over it, and pegged
+down the ends.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, how 're we going to sleep?" inquired
+Hal, suddenly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Sleep?  Why, on our backs, of course,"
+retorted Ken, who could read Hal's mind.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"If we don't have some hot old times
+keeping things out of this tent, I'm a lobster,"
+said George, dubiously.  "I'm going to sleep
+in the middle."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a brave boy, George," replied Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Me for between Ken and Pepe," added Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"And you're twice as brave," said Ken.
+"I dare say Pepe and I will be able to keep
+things from getting at you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Just as Pepe came into camp staggering
+under a load of wood, a flock of russet-colored
+ducks swung round the bend.  They alighted
+near the shore at a point opposite the camp.
+The way George and Hal made headers into
+the pile of luggage for their guns gave Ken
+an inkling of what he might expect from these
+lads.  He groaned, and then he laughed.
+George came up out of the luggage first, and
+he had a .22-caliber rifle, which he quickly
+loaded and fired into the flock.  He crippled
+one; the others flew up-stream.  Then George
+began to waste shells trying to kill the
+crippled duck.  Hal got into action with his .22.
+They bounced bullets off the water all around
+the duck, but they could not hit it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe grew as excited as the boys, and he
+jumped into the boat and with a long stick
+began to pole out into the stream.  Ken
+had to caution George and Hal to lower their
+guns and not shoot Pepe.  Below camp and
+just under the bridge the water ran into a
+shallow rift.  The duck got onto the current
+and went round the bend, with Pepe poling
+in pursuit and George and Hal yelling along
+the shore.  When they returned a little
+later, they had the duck, which was of an
+unknown species to Ken.  Pepe had fallen
+overboard; George was wet to his knees; and,
+though Hal did not show any marks of undue
+exertion, his eyes would have enlightened any
+beholder.  The fact was that they were
+glowing with the excitement of the chase.
+It amused Ken.  He felt that he had to try
+to stifle his own enthusiasm.  There had to
+be one old head in the party.  But if he did
+have qualms over the possibilities of the boys
+to worry him with their probable escapades,
+he still felt happy at their boundless life and
+spirit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was about the middle of the afternoon,
+and the heat had become intense.  Ken
+realized it doubly when he saw Pepe favoring
+the shade.  George and Hal were hot, but they
+appeared to be too supremely satisfied with
+their surroundings to care about that.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>During this hot spell, which lasted from
+three o'clock until five, there was a quiet
+and a lack of life around camp that
+surprised Ken.  It was slumberland; even the
+insects seemed drowsy.  Not a duck and
+scarcely a bird passed by.  Ken heard the
+mourning of turtle-doves, and was at once
+struck with the singular deep, full tone.
+Several trains crossed the bridge, and at
+intervals the engine at the pumping-tank
+puffed and chugged.  From time to time a
+native walked out upon the bridge to stare
+long and curiously at the camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the sun set behind the mountain
+a hard breeze swept down the river.  Ken
+did not know what to make of it, and at first
+thought there was going to be a storm.  Pepe
+explained that the wind blew that way every
+day after sunset.  For a while it tossed the
+willows, and waved the Spaniard's-beard upon
+the cypresses.  Then as suddenly as it had
+come it died away, taking the heat with it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon the boys began to get supper.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, do you know anything about
+this water?" asked Ken.  "Is it safe?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George supposed it was all right, but he
+did not know.  The matter of water had
+bothered Ken more than any other thing in
+consideration of the trip.  This river-water
+was cool and clear; it apparently was safe.
+But Ken decided not to take any chances,
+and to boil all the water used.  All at once
+George yelled, "Canvasbacks!" and made a
+dive for his gun.  Ken saw a flock of ducks
+swiftly winging flight up-stream.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold on, George; don't shoot," called
+Ken.  "Let's go a little slow at the start."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George appeared to be disappointed, though
+he promptly obeyed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then the boys had supper, finding the
+russet duck much to their taste.  Ken made
+a note of Pepe's capacity, and was glad there
+were prospects of plenty of meat.  While
+they were eating, a group of natives gathered
+on the bridge.  Ken would not have liked to
+interpret their opinion of his party from their
+actions.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Night came on almost before the boys
+were ready for it.  They replenished the
+camp-fire, and sat around it, looking into the
+red blaze and then out into the flickering
+shadows.  Ken thought the time propitious
+for a little lecture he had to give the boys,
+and he remembered how old Hiram Bent
+had talked to him and Hal that first night
+down under the great black rim-wall of the
+Grand Cañon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, fellows," began Ken, "we're started,
+we're here, and the trip looks great to me.
+Now, as I am responsible, I intend to be boss.
+I want you boys to do what I tell you.  I may
+make mistakes, but if I do I'll take them on
+my shoulders.  Let's try to make the trip
+a great success.  Let's be careful.  We're
+not game-hogs.  We'll not kill any more than
+we can eat.  I want you boys to be careful
+with your guns.  Think all the time where
+you're pointing them.  And as to thinking,
+we'd do well to use our heads all the time.
+We've no idea what we're going up against
+in this jungle."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Both boys listened to Ken with attention
+and respect, but they did not bind themselves
+by any promises.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had got out the mosquito-netting,
+expecting any moment to find it very
+serviceable; however, to his surprise it was not
+needed.  When it came time to go to bed,
+Hal and George did not forget to slip in
+between Pepe and Ken.  The open-sided tent
+might keep off rain or dew, but for all the
+other protection it afforded, the boys might as
+well have slept outside.  Nevertheless they
+were soon fast asleep.  Ken awoke a couple
+of times during the night and rolled over to
+find a softer spot in the hard bed.  These
+times he heard only the incessant hum of insects.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he opened his eyes in the gray
+morning light, he did hear something that
+made him sit up with a start.  It was a deep
+booming sound, different from anything that
+he had ever heard.  Ken called Pepe, and
+that roused the boys.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In a little while the sound was repeated, a
+heavy "boo-oom! ... boo-oom!"  There was
+a resemblance to the first strong beats of a
+drumming grouse, only infinitely wilder.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe called it something like "</span><em class="italics">faisan real</em><span>."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The name was as new to Ken as the noise
+itself.  Pepe explained through George that
+it was made by a huge black bird not unlike a
+turkey.  It had a golden plume, and could
+run as fast as a deer.  The boys rolled out,
+all having conceived a desire to see such a
+strange bird.  The sound was not repeated.
+Almost immediately, however, the thicket
+across the river awoke to another sound, as
+much a contrast to the boom as could be
+imagined.  It was a bird medley.  At first Ken
+thought of magpies, but Pepe dispelled this
+illusion with another name hard to pronounce.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Chicalocki," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And that seemed just like what they were
+singing.  It was a sharp, clear
+song--"Chic-a-lock-i ... chic-a-lock-i," and to judge from
+the full chorus there must have been many birds.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"They're a land of pheasant," added
+George, "and make fine pot-stews."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">chicalocki</em><span> ceased their salute to the
+morning, and then, as the river mist melted
+away under the rising sun, other birds took
+it up.  Notes new to Ken burst upon the air.
+And familiar old songs thrilled him, made him
+think of summer days on the Susquehanna--the
+sweet carol of the meadow-lark, the whistle
+of the quail, the mellow, sad call of the
+swamp-blackbird.  The songs blended in an exquisite
+harmony.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, some of them are our own birds
+come south for the winter," declared Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's music," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait," laughed George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It dawned upon Ken then that George was
+a fellow who had the mysterious airs of a
+prophet hinting dire things.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken did not know what to wait for, but
+he enjoyed the suggestion and anticipated
+much.  Ducks began to whir by; flocks of
+blackbirds alighted in the trees across the
+river.  Suddenly Hal jumped up, and Ken
+was astounded at a great discordant screeching
+and a sweeping rush of myriads of wings.
+Ken looked up to see the largest flock of birds
+he had ever seen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Parrots," he yelled.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed they were, and they let the boys
+know it.  They flew across the river, wheeled
+to come back, all the time screeching, and then
+they swooped down into the tops of the
+cypress-trees.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Red-heads," said George.  "Just wait till
+you see the yellow-heads!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At the moment the red-heads were quite
+sufficient for Ken.  They broke out into a
+chattering, screaming, cackling discordance.
+It was plainly directed at the boys.  These
+intelligent birds were curious and resentful.
+As Pepe put it, they were scolding.  Ken
+enjoyed it for a full half-hour and reveled
+in the din.  That morning serenade was
+worth the trip.  Presently the parrots flew
+away, and Ken was surprised to find that most
+of the other birds had ceased singing.  They
+had set about the business of the
+day--something it was nigh time for Ken to consider.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Breakfast over, the boys broke camp,
+eager for the adventures that they felt to be
+before them.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="wilderness-life"><span class="bold large">VI</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">WILDERNESS LIFE</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>"Now for the big job, boys," called Ken.
+"Any ideas will be welcome, but don't
+all talk at once."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And this job was the packing of the
+outfit in the boat.  It was a study for Ken, and
+he found himself thanking his lucky stars
+that he had packed boats for trips on rapid
+rivers.  George and Hal came to the fore
+with remarkable advice which Ken was at
+the pains of rejecting.  And as fast as one
+wonderful idea emanated from the fertile
+minds another one came in.  At last Ken lost
+patience.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Kids, it's going to take brains to pack
+this boat," he said, with some scorn.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And when Hal remarked that in that case
+he did not see how they ever were going to
+pack the boat, Ken drove both boys away
+and engaged Pepe to help.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat had to be packed for a long trip,
+with many things taken into consideration.
+The very best way to pack it must be decided
+upon and thereafter held to strictly.  Balance
+was all-important; comfort and elbow-room
+were not to be overlooked; a flat surface
+easy to crawl and jump over was absolutely
+necessary.  Fortunately, the boat was large
+and roomy, although not heavy.  The first
+thing Ken did was to cut out the narrow
+bow-seat.  Here he packed a small bucket
+of preserved mullet, some bottles of kerosene
+and </span><em class="italics">canya</em><span>, and a lantern.  The small, flat
+trunk, full of supplies, went in next.  Two
+boxes with the rest of the supplies filled up
+the space between the trunk and the
+rowing-seat.  By slipping an extra pair of oars,
+coils of rope, the ax, and a few other articles
+between the gunwales and the trunk and boxes
+Ken made them fit snugly.  He cut off a
+piece of the canvas, and, folding it, he laid it
+with the blankets lengthwise over the top.
+This made a level surface, one that could be
+gotten over quickly, or a place to sleep, for
+that matter, and effectually disposed of the
+bow half of the boat.  Of course the boat sank
+deep at the bow, but Ken calculated when they
+were all aboard their weight would effect an
+even balance.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The bags with clothing Ken put under the
+second seat.  Then he arranged the other
+piece of canvas so that it projected up back
+of the stern of the boat.  He was thinking
+of the waves to be buffeted in going stern
+first down-stream through the rapids.  The
+fishing-tackle and guns he laid flat from seat
+to seat.  Last of all he placed the ammunition
+on one side next the gunwale, and the
+suit-case carrying camera, films, medicines,
+on the other.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come now, fellows," called Ken.  "Hal,
+you and George take the second seat.  Pepe
+will take the oars.  I'll sit in the stern."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe pushed off, jumped to his place, and
+grasped the oars.  Ken was delighted to
+find the boat trim, and more buoyant than he
+had dared to hope.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We're off," cried Hal, and he whooped.
+And George exercised his already
+well-developed faculty of imitating Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe bent to the oars, and under his powerful
+strokes the boat glided up-stream.  Soon
+the bridge disappeared.  Ken had expected
+a long, shady ride, but it did not turn out so.
+Shallow water and gravelly rapids made
+rowing impossible.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pile out, boys, and pull," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys had dressed for wading and rough
+work, and went overboard with a will.  Pulling,
+at first, was not hard work.  They were
+fresh and eager, and hauled the boat up
+swift, shallow channels, making nearly as
+good time as when rowing in smooth water.
+Then, as the sun began to get hot, splashing
+in the cool river was pleasant.  They passed
+little islands green with willows and came to
+high clay-banks gradually wearing away,
+and then met with rocky restrictions in the
+stream-bed.  From round a bend came a
+hollow roar of a deeper rapid.  Ken found it
+a swift-rushing incline, very narrow, and hard
+to pull along.  The margin of the river was
+hidden and obstructed by willows so that the
+boys could see very little ahead.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When they got above this fall the water
+was deep and still.  Entering the boat again,
+they turned a curve into a long, beautiful
+stretch of river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! this 's something like," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The green, shady lane was alive with birds
+and water-fowl.  Ducks of various kinds rose
+before the boat.  White, blue, gray, and
+speckled herons, some six feet tall, lined the
+low bars, and flew only at near approach.
+There were many varieties of bitterns, one
+kind with a purple back and white breast.
+They were very tame and sat on the
+overhanging branches, uttering dismal croaks.
+Everywhere was the flash and glitter and
+gleam of birds in flight, up and down and
+across the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal took his camera and tried to get pictures.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The strangeness, beauty, and life of this
+jungle stream absorbed Ken.  He did not
+take his guns from their cases.  The water
+was bright green and very deep; here and
+there were the swirls of playing fish.  The
+banks were high and densely covered with a
+luxuriant foliage.  Huge cypress-trees,
+moss-covered, leaned half-way across the river.
+Giant gray-barked ceibas spread long branches
+thickly tufted with aloes, orchids, and other
+jungle parasites.  Palm-trees lifted slender
+stems and graceful broad-leaved heads.
+Clumps of bamboo spread an enormous green
+arch out over the banks.  These bamboo-trees
+were particularly beautiful to Ken.
+A hundred yellow, black-circled stems grew
+out of the ground close together, and as they
+rose high they gracefully leaned their bodies
+and drooped their tips.  The leaves were
+arrowy, exquisite in their fineness.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He looked up the long river-lane, bright
+in the sun, dark and still under the
+moss-veiled cypresses, at the turning vines and
+blossoming creepers, at the changeful web
+of moving birds, and indulged to the fullest
+that haunting sense for wild places.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Chicalocki," said Pepe, suddenly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A flock of long-tailed birds, resembling
+the pheasant in body, was sailing across the
+river.  Again George made a dive for a gun.
+This one was a sixteen-gage and worn out.
+He shot twice at the birds on the wing.
+Then Pepe rowed under the overhanging
+branches, and George killed three </span><em class="italics">chicalocki</em><span>
+with his rifle.  They were olive green in
+color, and the long tail had a brownish cast.
+Heavy and plump, they promised fine eating.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pato real!" yelled Pepe, pointing excitedly
+up the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Several black fowl, as large as geese, hove
+in sight, flying pretty low.  Ken caught a
+glimpse of wide, white-crested wings, and
+knew then that these were the birds he had seen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Load up and get ready," he said to
+George.  "They're coming fast--shoot ahead
+of them."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>How swift and powerful they were on the
+wing!  They swooped up when they saw the
+boat, and offered a splendid target.  The
+little sixteen-gage rang out.  Ken heard the
+shot strike.  The leader stopped in midair,
+dipped, and plunged with a sounding splash.
+Ken picked him up and found him to be most
+beautiful, and as large and heavy as a goose.
+His black feathers shone with the latent green
+luster of an opal, and the pure white of the
+shoulder of the wings made a remarkable
+contrast.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, we've got enough meat for to-day,
+more than we can use.  Don't shoot any
+more," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe resumed rowing, and Ken told him
+to keep under the overhanging branches and
+to row without splashing.  He was skilled
+in the use of the oars, so the boat glided along
+silently.  Ken felt he was rewarded for this
+stealth.  Birds of rare and brilliant plumage
+flitted among the branches.  There was one,
+a long, slender bird, gold and black with a
+white ring round its neck.  There were little
+yellow-breasted kingfishers no larger than
+a wren, and great red-breasted kingfishers
+with blue backs and tufted heads.  The boat
+passed under a leaning ceiba-tree that was
+covered with orchids.  Ken saw the slim,
+sharp head of a snake dart from among the
+leaves.  His neck was as thick as Ken's wrist.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What kind of a snake, Pepe?" whispered
+Ken, as he fingered the trigger of George's
+gun.  But Pepe did not see the snake, and
+then Ken thought better of disturbing the
+silence with a gunshot.  He was reminded,
+however, that the Texan had told him of
+snakes in this jungle, some of which measured
+more than fifteen feet and were as large as a
+man's leg.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Most of the way the bank was too high
+and steep and overgrown for any animal to
+get down to the water.  Still there were dry
+gullies, or arroyos, every few hundred yards,
+and these showed the tracks of animals, but
+Pepe could not tell what species from the
+boat.  Often Ken heard the pattering of
+hard feet, and then he would see a little
+cloud of dust in one of these drinking-places.
+So he cautioned Pepe to row slower and closer
+in to the bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look there! lemme out!" whispered Hal,
+and he seemed to be on the point of jumping
+overboard.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Coons," said George.  "Oh, a lot of
+them.  There--some young ones."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw that they had come abruptly
+upon a band of racoons, not less than thirty
+in number, some big, some little, and a few
+like tiny balls of fur, and all had long
+white-ringed tails.  What a scampering the big
+ones set up!  The little ones were frightened,
+and the smallest so tame they scarcely made
+any effort to escape.  Pepe swung the boat
+in to the bank, and reaching out he caught a
+baby racoon and handed it to Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Whoop!  We'll catch things and tame
+them," exclaimed Hal, much delighted, and
+he proceeded to tie the little racoon under
+the seat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure, we'll get a whole menagerie," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So they went on up-stream.  Often Ken
+motioned Pepe to stop in dark, cool places
+under the golden-green canopy of bamboos.
+He was as much fascinated by the beautiful
+foliage and tree growths as by the wild life.
+Hal appeared more taken up with the fluttering
+of birds in the thick jungle, rustlings,
+and soft, stealthy steps.  Then as they moved
+on Ken whispered and pointed out a black
+animal vanishing in the thicket.  Three times
+he caught sight of a spotted form slipping
+away in the shade.  George saw it the last
+time, and whispered: "Tiger-cat!  Let's get him."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that, Ken, a kind of a wildcat?"
+asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."  Ken took George's .32-caliber and
+tried to find a way up the bank.  There was
+no place to climb up unless he dragged
+himself up branches of trees or drooping
+bamboos, and this he did not care to attempt
+encumbered with a rifle.  Only here and there
+could he see over the matted roots and creepers.
+Then the sound of rapids put hunting out of
+his mind.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, we've got Micas Falls to reach,"
+he said, and told Pepe to row on.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The long stretch of deep river ended in a
+wide, shallow, noisy rapid.  Fir-trees lined
+the banks.  The palms, cypresses, bamboos,
+and the flowery, mossy growths were not here
+in evidence.  Thickly wooded hills rose on
+each side.  The jungle looked sear and yellow.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys began to wade up the rapid,
+and before they had reached the head of it
+Pepe yelled and jumped back from where he
+was wading at the bow.  He took an oar and
+began to punch at something in the water,
+at the same time calling out.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Crocodile!" cried George, and he climbed
+in the boat.  Hal was not slow in following
+suit.  Then Ken saw Pepe hitting a small
+crocodile, which lashed out with its tail and
+disappeared.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come out of there," called Ken to the boys.
+"We can't pull you up-stream."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, I don't want to step on one of those
+ugly brutes," protested Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look sharp, then.  Come out."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Above the rapid extended a quarter-mile
+stretch where Pepe could row, and beyond
+that another long rapid.  When the boys
+had waded up that it was only to come to
+another.  It began to be hard work.  But
+Ken kept the boys buckled down, and they
+made fair progress.  They pulled up through
+eighteen rapids, and covered distance that
+Ken estimated to be about ten miles.  The
+blue mountain loomed closer and higher, yet
+Ken began to have doubts of reaching Micas
+Falls that day.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover, as they ascended the stream,
+the rapids grew rougher.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It 'll be great coming down," panted Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Finally they reached a rapid which had long
+dinned in Ken's ears.  All the water in the
+river rushed down on the right-hand side
+through a channel scarcely twenty feet wide.
+It was deep and swift.  With the aid of ropes,
+and by dint of much hard wading and pulling,
+the boys got the boat up.  A little farther
+on was another bothersome rapid.  At last
+they came to a succession of falls, steps in the
+river, that barred farther advance up-stream.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Here Ken climbed up on the bank, to find
+the country hilly and open, with patches of
+jungle and palm groves leading up to the
+mountains.  Then he caught a glint of Micas
+Falls, and decided that it would be impossible
+to get there.  He made what observations
+he could, and returned to camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, here's where we stop," said Ken.
+"It 'll be all down-stream now, and I'm glad."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There was no doubt that the boys were
+equally glad.  They made camp on a
+grassy bench above a foam-flecked pool.
+Ken left the others to get things in shape for
+supper, and, taking his camera, he hurried off
+to try to get a picture of Micas Falls.  He
+found open places and by-paths through the
+brushy forest.  He saw evidences of forest
+fire, and then knew what had ruined that part
+of the jungle.  There were no birds.  It was
+farther than he had estimated to the foothill
+he had marked, but, loath to give up, he kept
+on and finally reached a steep, thorny ascent.
+Going up he nearly suffocated with heat.
+He felt rewarded for his exertions when he
+saw Micas Falls glistening in the distance.
+It was like a string of green fans connected
+by silver ribbons.  He remained there watching
+it while the sun set in the golden notch
+between the mountains.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>On the way back to camp he waded through
+a flat overgrown with coarse grass and bushes.
+Here he jumped a herd of deer, eight in
+number.  These small, sleek, gray deer appeared
+tame, and if there had been sufficient light,
+Ken would have photographed them.  It
+cost him an effort to decide not to fetch his
+rifle, but as he had meat enough in camp
+there was nothing to do except let the deer go.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he got back to the river Pepe grinned
+at him, and, pointing to little red specks on
+his shirt, he said:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pinilius."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha! the ticks!" exclaimed Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They were exceedingly small, not to be
+seen without close scrutiny.  They could not
+be brushed off, so Ken began laboriously to
+pick them off.  Pepe and George laughed,
+and Hal appeared to derive some sort of
+enjoyment from the incident.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, these ticks don't bother me any,"
+declared Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe grunted; and George called out, "Just
+wait till you get the big fellows--the
+garrapatoes."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It developed presently that the grass and
+bushes on the camp-site contained millions
+of the ticks.  Ken found several of the larger
+ticks--almost the size of his little finger-nail--but
+he did not get bitten.  Pepe and George,
+however, had no such good luck, as was
+manifested at different times.  By the time they
+had cut down the bushes and carried in
+a stock of fire-wood, both were covered with
+the little pests.  Hal found a spot where
+there appeared to be none, and here he stayed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe and George had the bad habit of smoking,
+and Ken saw them burning the ticks off
+shirt-sleeves and trousers-legs, using the fiery
+end of their cigarettes.  This feat did not
+puzzle Ken anything like the one where they
+held the red point of the cigarettes close to
+their naked flesh.  Ken, and Hal, too, had
+to see that performance at close range.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why do you do that?" asked Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Popping ticks," replied George.  He and
+Pepe were as sober as judges.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The fact of the matter was soon clear to
+Ken.  The ticks stuck on as if glued.  When
+the hot end of the burning cigarette was held
+within a quarter of an inch of them they
+simply blew up, exploded with a pop.  Ken
+could easily distinguish between the tiny pop
+of an exploding </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span> and the heavier pop
+of a </span><em class="italics">garrapato</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"But, boy, while you're taking time to do
+that, half a dozen other ticks can bite you!"
+exclaimed Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure they can," replied George.  "But
+if they get on me I'll kill 'em.  I don't mind
+the little ones--it's the big boys I hate."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>On the other hand, Pepe seemed to mind
+most the </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, from now on you fellows will be
+Garrapato George and Pinilius Pepe."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pretty soon you'll laugh on the other
+side of your face," said George.  "In three
+days you'll be popping ticks yourself."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Just then Hal let out a yell and began to
+hunt for a tick that had bit him.  If there
+was anything that could bother Hal Ward
+it was a crawling bug of some kind.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll have to christen you too, brother,"
+said Ken, gurgling with mirth.  "A very
+felicitous name--Hollering Hal!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Despite the humor of the thing, Ken really
+saw its serious side.  When he found the
+grass under his feet alive with ticks he cast
+about in his mind for some way to get rid
+of them.  And he hit upon a remedy.  On the
+ridge above the bench was a palm-tree, and
+under it were many dead palm leaves.  These
+were large in size, had long stems, and were
+as dry as tinder.  Ken lighted one, and it
+made a flaming hot torch.  It did not take
+him long to scorch all the ticks near that camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys had supper and enjoyed it hugely.
+The scene went well with the camp-fire and
+game-dinner.  They gazed out over the
+foaming pool, the brawling rapids, to the
+tufted palm-trees, and above them the
+dark-blue mountain.  At dusk Hal and George
+were so tired they went to bed and at once
+dropped into slumber.  Pepe sat smoking
+before the slumbering fire.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And Ken chose that quiet hour to begin
+the map of the river, and to set down in his
+note-book his observations on the mountains
+and in the valley, and what he had seen that
+day of bird, animal, and plant life in the
+jungle.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="running-the-rapids"><span class="bold large">VII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">RUNNING THE RAPIDS</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Some time in the night a yell awakened
+Ken.  He sat up, clutching his revolver.
+The white moonlight made all as clear as
+day.  Hal lay deep in slumber.  George was
+raising himself, half aroused.  But Pepe was gone.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken heard a thrashing about outside.
+Leaping up he ran out, and was frightened to
+see Pepe beating and clawing and tearing
+at himself like a man possessed of demons.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe, what's wrong?" shouted Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed that Pepe only grew more violent
+in his wrestling about.  Then Ken was sure
+Pepe had been stung by a scorpion or bitten by
+a snake.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But he was dumfounded to see George
+bound like an apparition out of the tent and
+begin evolutions that made Pepe's look slow.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, what's wrong with you jumping-jacks?"
+yelled Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George was as grimly silent as an Indian
+running the gantlet, but Ken thought it
+doubtful if any Indian ever slapped and tore
+at his body in George's frantic manner.  To
+add to the mystery Hal suddenly popped out
+of the tent.  He was yelling in a way to do
+justice to the name Ken had lately given him,
+and, as for wild and whirling antics, his were
+simply marvelous.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Good land!" ejaculated Ken.  Had the
+boys all gone mad?  Despite his alarm, Ken
+had to roar with laughter at those three
+dancing figures in the moonlight.  A rush of
+ideas went through Ken's confused mind.
+And the last prompted him to look in the tent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He saw a wide bar of black crossing the
+moonlit ground, the grass, and the blankets.
+This bar moved.  It was alive.  Bending
+low Ken descried that it was made by ants.
+An army of jungle ants on a march!  They
+had come in a straight line along the base of
+the little hill and their passageway led under
+the canvas.  Pepe happened to be the first
+in line, and they had surged over him.  As
+he had awakened, and jumped up of course,
+the ants had begun to bite.  The same in
+turn happened to George and then Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was immensely relieved, and had his
+laugh out.  The stream of ants moved steadily
+and quite rapidly, and soon passed from
+sight.  By this time Pepe and the boys had
+threshed themselves free of ants and into
+some degree of composure.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, you nightmare fellows!  Come back
+to bed," said Ken.  "Any one would think
+something had really happened to you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe snorted, which made Ken think the
+native understood something of English.  And
+the boys grumbled loudly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ants!  Ants as big as wasps!  They bit
+worse than helgramites," declared Hal.  "Oh,
+they missed you.  You always are lucky.
+I'm not afraid of all the old jaguars in this
+jungle.  But I can't stand biting, crawling
+bugs.  I wish you hadn't made me come on
+this darn trip."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha!  Ha!" laughed Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait, Hal," put in George, grimly.
+"Just wait.  It's coming to him!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys slept well the remainder of the
+night and, owing to the break in their rest,
+did not awaken early.  The sun shone hot
+when Ken rolled out; a creamy mist was
+dissolving over the curve of the mountain-range;
+parrots were screeching in the near-by trees.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>After breakfast Ken set about packing the
+boat as it had been done the day before.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I think we'll do well to leave the trunk
+in the boat after this, unless we find a place
+where we want to make a permanent camp
+for a while," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before departing he carefully looked over
+the ground to see that nothing was left, and
+espied a heavy fish-line which George had
+baited, set, and forgotten.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, George, pull up your trot-line.
+It looks pretty much stretched to me.  Maybe
+you've got a fish."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken happened to be busy at the boat when
+George started to take in the line.  An
+exclamation from Pepe, George's yell, and a loud
+splash made Ken jump up in double-quick
+time.  Hal also came running.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George was staggering on the bank, leaning
+back hard on the heavy line.  A long, angry
+swirl in the pool told of a powerful fish.
+It was likely to pull George in.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Let go the line!" yelled Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But George was not letting go of any
+fish-lines.  He yelled for Pepe, and went down
+on his knees before Pepe got to him.  Both
+then pulled on the line.  The fish, or
+whatever it was at the other end, gave a mighty
+jerk that almost dragged the two off the bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Play him, play him!" shouted Ken.
+"You've got plenty of line.  Give him some."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal now added his weight and strength,
+and the three of them, unmindful of Ken's
+advice, hauled back with might and main.
+The line parted and they sprawled on the
+grass.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What a sockdologer!" exclaimed Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I had that hook baited with a big piece
+of duck meat," said George.  "We must have
+been hooked to a crocodile.  Things are
+happening to us."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, so I've noticed," replied Ken, dryly.
+"But if you fellows hadn't pulled so hard you
+might have landed that thing, whatever it
+was.  All aboard now.  We must be on the
+move--we don't know what we have before us."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When they got into the boat Ken took the
+oars, much to Pepe's surprise.  It was
+necessary to explain to him that Ken would handle
+the boat in swift water.  They shoved off,
+and Ken sent one regretful glance up the river,
+at the shady aisle between the green banks, at
+the white rapids, and the great colored dome
+of the mountain.  He almost hesitated, for
+he desired to see more of that jungle-covered
+mountain.  But something already warned
+Ken to lose no time in the trip down the Santa
+Rosa.  There did not seem to be any reason
+for hurry, yet he felt it necessary.  But he
+asked Pepe many questions and kept George
+busy interpreting names of trees and flowers
+and wild creatures.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Going down-stream on any river, mostly,
+would have been pleasure, but drifting on the
+swift current of the Santa Rosa and rowing
+under the wonderful moss-bearded cypresses
+was almost like a dream.  It was too beautiful
+to seem real.  The smooth stretch before
+the first rapid was short, however, and then
+all Ken's attention had to be given to the
+handling of the boat.  He saw that George
+and Pepe both expected to get out and wade
+down the rapids as they had waded up.
+He had a surprise in store for them.  The
+rapids that he could not shoot would have to
+be pretty bad.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You're getting close," shouted George,
+warningly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>With two sweeps of the oars Ken turned
+the boat stern first down-stream, then dipped
+on the low green incline, and sailed down
+toward the waves.  They struck the first wave
+with a shock, and the water flew all over the
+boys.  Pepe was tremendously excited; he
+yelled and made wild motions with his hands;
+George looked a little frightened.  Hal
+enjoyed it.  Whatever the rapid appeared to
+them, it was magnificent to Ken; and it was
+play to manage the boat in such water.  A
+little pull on one oar and then on the other
+kept the stern straight down-stream.  The
+channel he could make out a long way ahead.
+He amused himself by watching George and
+Pepe.  There were stones in the channel,
+and the water rose angrily about them.  A
+glance was enough to tell that he could float
+over these without striking.  But the boys
+thought they were going to hit every stone,
+and were uneasy all the time.  Twice he had
+to work to pass ledges and sunken trees upon
+which the current bore down hard.  When
+Ken neared one of these he dipped the oars
+and pulled back to stop or lessen the
+momentum; then a stroke turned the boat half
+broadside to the current.  That would force
+it to one side, and another stroke would turn
+the boat straight.  At the bottom of this
+rapid they encountered a long triangle of
+choppy waves that they bumped and splashed
+over.  They came through with nothing wet
+but the raised flap of canvas in the stern.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe regarded Ken with admiring eyes,
+and called him </span><em class="italics">grande mozo</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Shooting rapids is great sport," proclaimed
+George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They drifted through several little rifts,
+and then stopped at the head of the narrow
+chute that had been such a stumbling-block
+on the way up.  Looked at from above, this
+long, narrow channel, with several S curves,
+was a fascinating bit of water for a canoeist.
+It tempted Ken to shoot it even with the boat.
+But he remembered the four-foot waves at
+the bottom, and besides he resented the
+importunity of the spirit of daring so early in
+the game.  Risk, and perhaps peril, would
+come soon enough.  So he decided to walk
+along the shore and float the boat through
+with a rope.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The thing looked a good deal easier than it
+turned out to be.  Half-way through, at the
+narrowest point and most abrupt curve,
+Pepe misunderstood directions and pulled
+hard on the bow-rope, when he should have
+let it slack.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat swung in, nearly smashing Ken
+against the bank, and the sweeping current
+began to swell dangerously near the gunwale.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Let go!  Let go!" yelled Ken.  "George,
+make him let go!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But George, who was trying to get the rope
+out of Pepe's muscular hands, suddenly made
+a dive for his rifle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Deer! deer!" he cried, hurriedly throwing
+a shell into the chamber.  He shot downstream,
+and Ken, looking that way, saw several
+deer under the firs on a rocky flat.  George
+shot three more times, and the bullets went
+"spinging" into the trees.  The deer bounded
+out of sight.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When Ken turned again, water was roaring
+into the boat.  He was being pressed harder
+into the bank, and he saw disaster ahead.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Loosen the rope--tell him, George," yelled Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe only pulled the harder.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Quick, or we're ruined," cried Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George shouted in Spanish, and Pepe
+promptly dropped the rope in the water.
+That was the worst thing he could have done.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Grab the rope!" ordered Ken, wildly.
+"Grab the bow!  Don't let it swing out!  Hal!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before either boy could reach it the bow
+swung out into the current.  Ken was not
+only helpless, but in a dangerous position.
+He struggled to get out from where the
+swinging stern was wedging him into the bank,
+but could not budge.  Fearing that all the
+outfit would be lost in the river, he held
+on to the boat and called for some one to
+catch the rope.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George pushed Pepe head first into the swift
+current.  Pepe came up, caught the rope,
+and then went under again.  The boat swung
+round and, now half full of water, got away
+from Ken.  It gathered headway.  Ken leaped
+out on the ledge and ran along with the boat.
+It careened round the bad curve and shot
+down-stream.  Pepe was still under water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's drowned!  He's drowned!" cried George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal took a header right off the ledge, came
+up, and swam with a few sharp strokes to the
+drifting boat.  He gained the bow, grasped it,
+and then pulled on the rope.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had a sickening feeling that Pepe might
+be drowned.  Suddenly Pepe appeared like
+a brown porpoise.  He was touching bottom
+in places and holding back on the rope.
+Then the current rolled him over and over.
+The boat drifted back of a rocky point into
+shallow water.  Hal gave a haul that helped
+to swing it out of the dangerous current.
+Then Pepe came up, and he, too, pulled hard.
+Just as Ken plunged in the boat sank in two
+feet of water.  Ken's grip, containing camera,
+films, and other perishable goods, was on top,
+and he got it just in time.  He threw it out
+on the rocks.  Then together the boys lifted
+the boat and hauled the bow well up on the
+shore.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pretty lucky!" exclaimed Ken, as he
+flopped down.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Doggone it!" yelled Hal, suddenly.  And
+he dove for the boat, and splashed round
+in the water under his seat, to bring forth a
+very limp and drenched little racoon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Good! he's all right," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe said "Mucho malo," and pointed
+to his shins, which bore several large bumps
+from contact with the rocks in the channel.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I should say mucha malo," growled George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He jerked open his grip, and, throwing out
+articles of wet clothing--for which he had no
+concern--he gazed in dismay at his whole
+store of cigarettes wet by the water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"So that's all you care for," said Ken,
+severely.  "Young man, I'll have something
+to say to you presently.  All hands now to
+unpack the boat."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Fortunately nothing had been carried away.
+That part of the supplies which would have
+been affected by water was packed in tin cases,
+and so suffered no damage.  The ammunition
+was waterproof.  Ken's Parker hammerless
+and his 351 automatic rifle were full of water,
+and so were George's guns and Hal's.  While
+they took their weapons apart, wiped them,
+and laid them in the sun, Pepe spread out the
+rest of the things and then baled out the boat.
+The sun was so hot that everything dried
+quickly and was not any the worse for the
+wetting.  The boys lost scarcely an hour by
+the accident.  Before the start Ken took
+George and Pepe to task, and when he finished
+they were both very sober and quiet.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken observed, however, that by the time
+they had run the next rapid they were
+enjoying themselves again.  Then came a long
+succession of rapids which Ken shot without
+anything approaching a mishap.  When they
+drifted into the level stretch Pepe relieved
+him at the oars.  They glided down-stream
+under the drooping bamboo, under the silken
+streamers of silvery moss, under the dark, cool
+bowers of matted vine and blossoming creepers.
+And as they passed this time the jungle
+silence awoke to the crack of George's .22
+and the discordant cry of river fowl.  Ken's
+guns were both at hand, and the rifle was
+loaded, but he did not use either.  He
+contented himself with snapping a picture here
+and there and watching the bamboo thickets
+and the mouths of the little dry ravines.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That ride was again so interesting, so full
+of sound and action and color, that it seemed
+a very short one.  The murmur of the water
+on the rocks told Ken that it was time to
+change seats with Pepe.  They drifted down
+two short rapids, and then came to the gravelly
+channels between the islands noted on the
+way up.  The water was shallow down these
+rippling channels; and, fearing they might
+strike a stone, Ken tumbled out over the bow
+and, wading slowly, let the boat down to
+still water again.  He was about to get in
+when he espied what he thought was an
+alligator lying along a log near the river.
+He pointed it out to Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That worthy yelled gleefully in Mexican,
+and reached for his </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Iguana!" exclaimed George.  "I've heard
+it's good to eat."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The reptile had a body about four feet long
+and a very long tail.  Its color was a steely
+blue-black on top, and it had a blunt, rounded
+head.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe slipped out of the boat and began
+to wade ashore.  When the iguana raised
+itself on short, stumpy legs George shot at
+it, and missed, as usual.  But he effectually
+frightened the reptile, which started to climb
+the bank with much nimbleness.  Pepe began
+to run, brandishing his long </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.  George
+plunged into the water in hot pursuit, and then
+Hal yielded to the call of the chase.  Pepe
+reached the iguana before it got up the bank,
+aimed a mighty blow with his </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>, and
+would surely have cut the reptile in two
+pieces if the blade had not caught on an
+overhanging branch.  Then Pepe fell up the bank
+and barely grasped the tail of the iguana.  Pepe
+hauled back, and Pepe was powerful.  The
+frantic creature dug its feet in the clay-bank
+and held on for dear life.  But Pepe was too
+strong.  He jerked the iguana down and
+flung it square upon George, who had begun
+to climb the bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George uttered an awful yell, as if he
+expected to be torn asunder, and rolled down,
+with the reptile on top of him.  Ken saw
+that it was as badly frightened as George.
+But Hal did not see this.  And he happened
+to have gained a little sand-bar below the
+bank, in which direction the iguana started
+with wonderful celerity.  Then Hal made a
+jump that Ken believed was a record.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Remarkably awkward as that iguana was,
+he could surely cover ground with his stumpy
+legs.  Again he dashed up the bank.  Pepe got
+close enough once more, and again he swung
+the </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.  The blow cut off a piece of the
+long tail, but the only effect this produced
+was to make the iguana run all the faster.
+It disappeared over the bank, with Pepe
+scrambling close behind.  Then followed a
+tremendous crashing in the dry thickets,
+after which the iguana could be heard
+rattling and tearing away through the jungle.
+Pepe returned to the boat with the
+crestfallen boys, and he was much concerned over
+the failure to catch the big lizard, which he
+said made fine eating.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What next?" asked George, ruefully, and
+at that the boys all laughed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The fun is we don't have any idea what's
+coming off," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, if you brave hunters had thought
+to throw a little salt on that lizard's tail you
+might have caught him," added Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently Pepe espied another iguana in
+the forks of a tree, and he rowed ashore.
+This lizard was only a small one, not over two
+feet in length, but he created some
+excitement among the boys.  George wanted him
+to eat, and Hal wanted the skin for a
+specimen, and Ken wanted to see what the
+lizard looked like close at hand.  So they all
+clamored for Pepe to use caution and to be
+quick.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When Pepe started up the tree the iguana
+came down on the other side, quick as a
+squirrel.  Then they had a race round the
+trunk until Pepe ended it with a well-directed
+blow from his </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal began to skin the iguana.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, I'm going to have trouble preserving
+specimens in this hot place," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Salt and alum will do the trick.  Remember
+what old Hiram used to say," replied Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Shortly after that the boat passed the scene
+of the first camp, and then drifted under the
+railroad bridge.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal and George, and Pepe too, looked as if
+they were occupied with the same thought
+troubling Ken--that once beyond the bridge
+they would plunge into the jungle wilderness
+from which there could be no turning back.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="the-first-tiger-cat"><span class="bold large">VIII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE FIRST TIGER-CAT</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>The Santa Rosa opened out wide, and ran
+swiftly over smooth rock.  Deep cracks, a
+foot or so wide, crossed the river diagonally,
+and fish darted in and out.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys had about half a mile of this,
+when, after turning a hilly bend, they entered
+a long rapid.  It was a wonderful stretch
+of river to look down.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"By George!" said Ken, as he stood up to
+survey it.  "This is great!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's all right </span><em class="italics">now</em><span>," added George, with
+his peculiar implication as to the future.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What gets me is the feeling of what
+might be round the next bend," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This indeed, Ken thought, made the
+fascination of such travel.  The water was
+swift and smooth and shallow.  There was
+scarcely a wave or ripple.  At times the boat
+stuck fast on the flat rock, and the boys would
+have to get out to shove off.  As far ahead as
+Ken could see extended this wide slant of
+water.  On the left rose a thick line of huge
+cypresses all festooned with gray moss that
+drooped to the water; on the right rose a bare
+bluff of crumbling rock.  It looked like blue
+clay baked and cracked by the sun.  A few
+palms fringed the top.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, we can beat this," said Ken, as for
+the twentieth time the boys had to step out
+and shove off a flat, shallow place.  "Two of
+you in the bow and Pepe with me in the stern,
+feet overboard."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The little channels ran every way, making
+it necessary often to turn the boat.  Ken's
+idea was to drift along and keep the boat
+from grounding by an occasional kick.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken manages to think of something once
+in a while," observed Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then the boat drifted down-stream, whirling
+round and round.  Here Pepe would drop
+his brown foot in and kick his end clear of a
+shallow ledge; there George would make a
+great splash when his turn came to ward off
+from a rock; and again Hal would give a
+greater kick than was necessary to the
+righting of the boat.  Probably Hal was much
+influenced by the fact that when he kicked
+hard he destroyed the lazy equilibrium of
+his companions.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It dawned upon Ken that here was a new
+and unique way to travel down a river.  It
+was different from anything he had ever tried
+before.  The water was swift and seldom
+more than a foot deep, except in diagonal
+cracks that ribbed the river-bed.  This long,
+shut-in stretch appeared to be endless.  But
+for the quick, gliding movement of the boat,
+which made a little breeze, the heat would
+have been intolerable.  When one of Hal's
+kicks made Ken lurch overboard to sit down
+ludicrously, the cool water sent thrills over
+him.  Instead of retaliating on Hal, he was
+glad to be wet.  And the others, soon
+discovering the reason for Ken's remarkable
+good-nature, went overboard and lay flat in
+the cool ripples.  Then little clouds of steam
+began to rise from their soaked clothes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken began to have an idea that he had been
+wise in boiling the water which they drank.
+They all suffered from a parching thirst.
+Pepe scooped up water in his hand; George
+did likewise, and then Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You've all got to stop that," ordered Ken,
+sharply.  "No drinking this water unless it's
+boiled."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys obeyed, for the hour, but they
+soon forgot, or deliberately allayed their
+thirst despite Ken's command.  Ken himself
+found his thirst unbearable.  He squeezed
+the juice of a wild lime into a cup of water
+and drank that.  Then he insisted on giving
+the boys doses of quinine and anti-malaria
+pills, which treatment he meant to continue
+daily.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Toward the lower part of that rapid, where
+the water grew deeper, fish began to be so
+numerous that the boys kicked at many as
+they darted under the boat.  There were
+thousands of small fish and some large ones.
+Occasionally, as a big fellow lunged for a
+crack in the rock, he would make the water
+roar.  There was a fish that resembled a mullet,
+and another that Hal said was some kind of
+bass with a blue tail.  Pepe chopped at them
+with his </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>; George whacked with an
+oar; Hal stood up in the boat and shot at
+them with his .22 rifle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, I've got to see what that blue-tailed
+bass looks like," said Ken.  "You fellows
+will never get one."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon Ken jointed up a small rod
+and, putting on a spinner, began to cast it
+about.  He felt two light fish hit it.  Then
+came a heavy shock that momentarily checked
+the boat.  The water foamed as the line cut
+through, and Ken was just about to jump off
+the boat to wade and follow the fish, when
+it broke the leader.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That was a fine exhibition," remarked the
+critical Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's the matter with you?" retorted
+Ken, who was sensitive as to his fishing
+abilities.  "It was a big fish.  He broke
+things."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Haven't you got a reel on that rod and
+fifty yards of line?" queried Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken did not have another spinner, and he
+tried an artificial minnow, but could not get
+a strike on it.  He took Hal's gun and shot
+at several of the blue-tailed fish, but though
+he made them jump out of the water like
+a real northern black-bass, it was all of no
+avail.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then Hal caught one with a swoop of the
+landing net.  It was a beautiful fish, and it
+did have a blue tail.  Pepe could not name
+it, nor could Ken classify it, so Hal was sure
+he had secured a rare specimen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the boat drifted round a bend to
+enter another long, wide, shallow rapid, the
+boys demurred a little at the sameness of
+things.  The bare blue bluffs persisted, and
+the line of gray-veiled cypresses and the
+strange formation of stream-bed.  Five more
+miles of drifting under the glaring sun made
+George and Hal lie back in the boat, under
+an improvised sun-shade.  The ride was novel
+and strange to Ken Ward, and did not pall
+upon him, though he suffered from the heat
+and glare.  He sat on the bow, occasionally
+kicking the boat off a rock.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All at once a tense whisper from Pepe
+brought Ken round with a jerk.  Pepe was
+pointing down along the right-hand shore.
+George heard, and, raising himself, called
+excitedly: "Buck!  buck!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw a fine deer leap back from the water
+and start to climb the side of a gully that
+indented the bluff.  Snatching up the .351
+rifle, he shoved in the safety catch.  The
+distance was far--perhaps two hundred yards--but
+without elevating the sights he let
+drive.  A cloud of dust puffed up under the
+nose of the climbing deer.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Wow!" yelled George, and Pepe began to
+jabber.  Hal sprang up, nearly falling
+overboard, and he shouted: "Give it to him, Ken!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The deer bounded up a steep, winding trail,
+his white flag standing, his reddish coat
+glistening.  Ken fired again.  The bullet sent
+up a white puff of dust, this time nearer still.
+That shot gave Ken the range, and he pulled
+the automatic again--and again.  Each bullet
+hit closer.  The boys were now holding their
+breath, watching, waiting.  Ken aimed a little
+firmer and finer at the space ahead of the
+deer--for in that instant he remembered
+what the old hunter on Penetier had told
+him--and he pulled the trigger twice.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The buck plunged down, slipped off the
+trail, and, raising a cloud of dust, rolled over
+and over.  Then it fell sheer into space,
+and whirled down to strike the rock with a
+sodden crash.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was Ken's first shooting on this trip,
+and he could not help adding a cry of exultation
+to the yells of his admiring comrades.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Guess you didn't plug him!" exclaimed
+Hal Ward, with flashing eyes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Wading, the boys pulled the boat ashore.
+Pepe pronounced the buck to be very large,
+but to Ken, remembering the deer in Coconino
+Forest, it appeared small.  If there was an
+unbroken bone left in that deer, Ken greatly
+missed his guess.  He and Pepe cut out the
+haunch least crushed by the fail.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no need to carry along more
+meat than we can use," said George.  "It
+spoils overnight.  That's the worst of this
+jungle, I've heard hunters say."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal screwed up his face in the manner he
+affected when he tried to imitate old Hiram
+Bent.  "Wal, youngster, I reckon I'm right
+an' down proud of thet shootin'.  You air
+comin' along."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was as pleased as Hal, but he replied,
+soberly: "Well, kid, I hope I can hold as
+straight as that when we run up against a jaguar."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you think we'll see one?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Just you wait!" exclaimed George, replying
+for Ken.  "Pepe says we'll have to sleep
+in the boat, and anchor the boat in the
+middle of the river."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What for?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"To keep those big yellow tigers from
+eating us up."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"How nice!" replied Hal, with a rather
+forced laugh.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So, talking and laughing, the boys resumed
+their down-stream journey.  Ken, who was
+always watching with sharp eyes, saw buzzards
+appear, as if by magic.  Before the boat was
+half a mile down the river buzzards were
+circling over the remains of the deer.  These
+birds of prey did not fly from the jungle on
+either side of the stream.  They sailed,
+dropped down from the clear blue sky where
+they had been invisible.  How wonderful
+that was to Ken!  Nature had endowed these
+vulture-like birds with wonderful scent or
+instinct or sight, or all combined.  But Ken
+believed that it was power of sight which
+brought the buzzards so quickly to the scene
+of the killing.  He watched them circling,
+sweeping down till a curve in the river hid
+them from view.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And with this bend came a welcome change.
+The bluff played out in a rocky slope below
+which the green jungle was relief to aching
+eyes.  As the boys made this point, the
+evening breeze began to blow.  They beached
+the boat and unloaded to make camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We haven't had any work to-day, but
+we're all tired just the same," observed Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The heat makes a fellow tired," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They were fortunate in finding a grassy
+plot where there appeared to be but few
+ticks and other creeping things.  That evening
+it was a little surprise to Ken to realize
+how sensitive he had begun to feel about
+these jungle vermin.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe went up the bank for fire-wood.  Ken
+heard him slashing away with his </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.
+Then this sound ceased, and Pepe yelled in
+fright.  Ken and George caught up guns as
+they bounded into the thicket; Hal started
+to follow, likewise armed.  Ken led the way
+through a thorny brake to come suddenly
+upon Pepe.  At the same instant Ken
+caught a glimpse of gray, black-striped forms
+slipping away in the jungle.  Pepe shouted
+out something.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tiger-cats!" exclaimed George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken held up his finger to enjoin silence.
+With that he stole cautiously forward, the
+others noiselessly at his heels.  The thicket
+was lined with well-beaten trails, and by
+following these and stooping low it was
+possible to go ahead without rustling the
+brush.  Owing to the gathering twilight Ken
+could not see very far.  When he stopped to
+listen he heard the faint crackling of dead
+brush and soft, quick steps.  He had not
+proceeded far when pattering footsteps halted
+him.  Ken dropped to his knee.  The boys
+knelt behind him, and Pepe whispered.
+Peering along the trail Ken saw what he took for
+a wildcat.  Its boldness amazed him.  Surely
+it had heard him, but instead of bounding
+into the thicket it crouched not more than
+twenty-five feet away.  Ken took a quick
+shot at the gray huddled form.  It jerked,
+stretched out, and lay still.  Then a crashing
+in the brush, and gray streaks down the trail
+told Ken of more game.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There they go.  Peg away at them," called Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George and Hal burned a good deal of
+powder and sent much lead whistling through
+the dry branches, but the gray forms vanished
+in the jungle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We got one, anyway," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He advanced to find his quarry quite dead.
+It was bigger than any wildcat Ken had
+ever seen.  The color was a grayish yellow,
+almost white, lined and spotted with black.
+Ken lifted it and found it heavy enough to
+make a good load.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a beauty," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe says it's a tiger-cat," remarked
+George.  "There are two or three kinds
+besides the big tiger.  We may run into a
+lot of them and get some skins."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was almost dark when they reached
+camp.  While Pepe and Hal skinned the
+tiger-cat and stretched the pelt over a framework
+of sticks the other boys got supper.  They
+were all very hungry and tired, and pleased
+with the events of the day.  As they sat
+round the camp-fire there was a constant
+whirring of water-fowl over their heads and
+an incessant hum of insects from the jungle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, does it feel as wild to you here as on
+Buckskin Mountain?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh yes, much wilder, Hal," replied his
+brother.  "And it's different, somehow.  Out
+in Arizona there was always the glorious
+expectancy of to-morrow's fun or sport.  Here
+I have a kind of worry--a feeling--"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But he concluded it wiser to keep to himself
+that strange feeling of dread which came
+over him at odd moments.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It suits me," said Hal.  "I want to get
+a lot of things and keep them alive.  Of course,
+I want specimens.  I'd like some skins for
+my den, too.  But I don't care so much
+about killing things."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait!" retorted George, who evidently
+took Hal's remark as a reflection upon his
+weakness.  "Just wait!  You'll be shooting
+pretty soon for your life."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, George, what do you mean by
+that?" questioned Ken, determined to pin
+George down to facts.  "You said you didn't
+really know anything about this jungle.
+Why are you always predicting disaster for us?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why?  Because I've heard things about
+the jungle," retorted George.  "And Pepe
+says wait till we get down off the mountain.
+He doesn't </span><em class="italics">know</em><span> anything, either.  But it's
+his instinct--Pepe's half Indian.  So I say,
+too, wait till we get down in the jungle!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Confound you!  Where are we now?" queried Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The real jungle is the lowland.  There
+we'll find the tigers and the crocodiles and the
+wild cattle and wild pigs."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring on your old pigs and things," replied Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Ken looked into the glowing embers
+of the camp-fire and was silent.  When he
+got out his note-book and began his drawing,
+he forgot the worry and dread in the interest
+of his task.  He was astonished at his memory,
+to see how he could remember every turn in
+the river and yet not lose his sense of
+direction.  He could tell almost perfectly the
+distance traveled, because he knew so well just
+how much a boat would cover in swift or
+slow waters in a given time.  He thought he
+could give a fairly correct estimate of the
+drop of the river.  And, as for descriptions
+of the jungle life along the shores, that was a
+delight, all except trying to understand and
+remember and spell the names given to him
+by Pepe.  Ken imagined Pepe spoke a mixture
+of Toltec, Aztec, Indian, Spanish, and English.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="in-the-white-water"><span class="bold large">IX</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IN THE WHITE WATER</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Upon awakening next morning Ken found
+the sun an hour high.  He was stiff and
+sore and thirsty.  Pepe and the boys slept
+so soundly it seemed selfish to wake them.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All around camp there was a melodious
+concourse of birds.  But the parrots did not
+make a visit that morning.  While Ken was
+washing in the river a troop of deer came down
+to the bar on the opposite side.  Ken ran for
+his rifle, and by mistake took up George's
+.32.  He had a splendid shot at less than one
+hundred yards.  But the bullet dropped
+fifteen feet in front of the leading buck.  The
+deer ran into the deep, bushy willows.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That gun's leaded," muttered Ken.  "It
+didn't shoot where I aimed."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe jumped up; George rolled out of his
+blanket with one eye still glued shut; and
+Hal stretched and yawned and groaned.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Do I have to get up?" he asked.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Shore, lad," said Ken, mimicking Jim Williams,
+"or I'll hev to be reconsiderin' that idee
+of mine about you bein' pards with me."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Such mention of Hal's ranger friend brought
+the boy out of his lazy bed with amusing
+alacrity.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Rustle breakfast, now, you fellows," said
+Ken, and, taking his rifle, he started off to
+climb the high river bluff.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was his idea to establish firmly in mind
+the trend of the mountain-range, and the
+relation of the river to it.  The difficulty
+in mapping the river would come after it
+left the mountains to wind away into the
+wide lowlands.  The matter of climbing the
+bluff would have been easy but for the fact
+that he wished to avoid contact with grass,
+brush, trees, even dead branches, as all were
+covered with ticks.  The upper half of the
+bluff was bare, and when he reached that part
+he soon surmounted it.  Ken faced south
+with something of eagerness.  Fortunately
+the mist had dissolved under the warm rays
+of the sun, affording an unobstructed view.
+That scene was wild and haunting, yet
+different from what his fancy had pictured.  The
+great expanse of jungle was gray, the green
+line of cypress, palm, and bamboo following
+the southward course of the river.  The
+mountain-range some ten miles distant sloped
+to the south and faded away in the haze.
+The river disappeared in rich dark verdure,
+and but for it, which afforded a water-road
+back to civilization, Ken would have been
+lost in a dense gray-green overgrowth of
+tropical wilderness.  Once or twice he thought
+he caught the faint roar of a waterfall on the
+morning breeze, yet could not be sure, and he
+returned toward camp with a sober appreciation
+of the difficulty of his enterprise
+and a more thrilling sense of its hazard and
+charm.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't see anything to peg at, eh?"
+greeted Hal.  "Well, get your teeth in some
+of this venison before it's all gone."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Soon they were under way again, Pepe
+strong and willing at the oars.  This time
+Ken had his rifle and shotgun close at hand,
+ready for use.  Half a mile below, the river,
+running still and deep, entered a shaded
+waterway so narrow that in places the branches
+of wide-spreading and leaning cypresses met
+and intertwined their moss-fringed foliage.
+This lane was a paradise for birds, that ranged
+from huge speckled cranes, six feet high, to
+little yellow birds almost too small to see.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Black squirrels were numerous and very
+tame.  In fact, all the creatures along this
+shaded stream were so fearless that it was
+easy to see they had never heard a shot.
+Ken awoke sleepy cranes with his fishing-rod
+and once pushed a blue heron off a log.
+He heard animals of some species running
+back from the bank, out could not see them.
+All at once a soft breeze coming up-stream
+bore a deep roar of tumbling rapids.  The
+sensation of dread which had bothered Ken
+occasionally now returned and fixed itself in
+his mind.  He was in the jungle of Mexico,
+and knew not what lay ahead of him.  But if
+he had been in the wilds of unexplored
+Brazil and had heard that roar, it would have
+been familiar to him.  In his canoe experience
+on the swift streams of Pennsylvania Ken Ward
+had learned, long before he came to rapids,
+to judge what they were from the sound.
+His attention wandered from the beautiful
+birds, the moss-shaded bowers, and the
+overhanging jungle.  He listened to the heavy,
+sullen roar of the rapids.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That water sounds different," remarked George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Grande," said Pepe, with a smile.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pretty heavy, Ken, eh?" asked Hal,
+looking quickly at his brother.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Ken Ward made his face a mask, and
+betrayed nothing of the grim nature of his
+thought.  Pepe and the boys had little idea
+of danger, and they had now a blind faith in Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I dare say we'll get used to that roar,"
+replied Ken, easily, and he began to pack his
+guns away in their cases.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal forgot his momentary anxiety; Pepe
+rowed on, leisurely; and George lounged in his
+seat.  There was no menace for them in that
+dull, continuous roar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Ken knew they would soon be in fast
+water and before long would drop down into
+the real wilderness.  It was not now too late
+to go back up the river, but soon that would
+be impossible.  Keeping a sharp lookout
+ahead, Ken revolved in mind the necessity
+for caution and skilful handling of the boat.
+But he realized, too, that overzealousness on
+the side of caution was a worse thing for such
+a trip than sheer recklessness.  Good
+judgment in looking over rapids, a quick eye to
+pick the best channel, then a daring spirit--that
+was the ideal to be striven for in going
+down swift rivers.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently Ken saw a break in the level
+surface of the water.  He took Pepe's place
+at the oars, and, as usual, turned the boat
+stern first down-stream.  The banks were low
+and shelved out in rocky points.  This
+relieved Ken, for he saw that he could land just
+above the falls.  What he feared was a
+narrow gorge impossible to portage round or go
+through.  As the boat approached the break
+the roar seemed to divide itself, hollow and
+shallow near at hand, rushing and heavy
+farther on.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken rowed close to the bank and landed on
+the first strip of rock.  He got out and,
+walking along this ledge, soon reached the fall.
+It was a straight drop of some twelve or fifteen
+feet.  The water was shallow all the way across.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, this is easy," said Ken.  "We'll
+pack the outfit round the fall, and slide the
+boat over."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Ken did not say anything about the
+white water extending below the fall as far
+as he could see.  From here came the sullen
+roar that had worried him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Portaging the supplies around that place
+turned out to be far from easy.  The portage
+was not long nor rugged, but the cracked,
+water-worn, rock made going very difficult.
+The boys often stumbled.  Pepe fell and
+broke open a box, and almost broke his leg.
+Ken had a hard knock.  Then, when it came
+to carrying the trunk, one at each corner,
+progress was laborious and annoying.  Full
+two hours were lost in transporting the
+outfit around the fall.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Below there was a wide, shelving apron,
+over which the water ran a foot or so in depth.
+Ken stationed Pepe and the boys there, and
+went up to get the boat.  He waded out with
+it.  Ken saw that his end of this business was
+going to be simple enough, but he had doubts
+as to what would happen to the boys.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Brace yourselves, now," he yelled.  "When
+I drop her over she'll come a-humming.
+Hang on if she drags you a mile!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Wading out deeper Ken let the boat swing
+down with the current till the stern projected
+over the fall.  He had trouble in keeping
+his footing, for the rock was slippery.  Then
+with a yell he ran the stern far out over the
+drop, bore down hard on the bow, and
+shoved off.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat shot out and down, to alight with
+a heavy souse.  Then it leaped into the swift
+current.  George got his hands on it first,
+and went down like a ninepin.  The boat
+floated over him.  The bow struck Hal, and
+would have dragged him away had not Pepe
+laid powerful hands on the stern.  They waded
+to the lower ledge.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't ship a bucketful," said Hal.
+"Fine work, Ken."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I got all the water," added the drenched
+and dripping George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bail out, boys, and repack, while I look
+below," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He went down-stream a little way to take
+a survey of the rapids.  If those rapids had
+been back in Pennsylvania, Ken felt that he
+could have gone at them in delight.  If the
+jungle country had been such that damage to
+boat or supplies could have been remedied or
+replaced, these rapids would not have appeared
+so bad.  Ken walked up and down looking
+over the long white inclines more than was
+wise, and he hesitated about going into them.
+But it had to be done.  So he went back to
+the boys.  Then he took the oars with
+gripping fingers.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, can you swim?" he asked.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm a second cousin to a fish," replied
+George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All right.  We're off.  Now, if we upset,
+hang to the boat, if you can, and hold up
+your legs.  George, tell Pepe."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken backed the boat out from the shore.
+To his right in the middle of the narrow river
+was a racy current that he kept out of as long
+as possible.  But presently he was drawn
+into it, and the boat shot forward, headed
+into the first incline, and went racing smoothly
+down toward the white waves of the rapids.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This was a trying moment for Ken.  Grip
+as hard as he might, the oar-handles slipped
+in his sweaty hands.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were yelling, but Ken could not
+hear for the din of roaring waters.  The boat
+sailed down with swift, gliding motion.  When
+it thumped into the back-lash of the first
+big waves the water threshed around and over
+the boys.  Then they were in the thick of
+rush and roar.  Ken knew he was not
+handling the boat well.  It grazed stones that
+should have been easy to avoid, and bumped
+on hidden ones, and got half broadside to
+the current.  Pepe, by quick action with an
+oar, pushed the stern aside from collision with
+more than one rock.  Several times Ken
+missed a stroke when a powerful one was
+needed.  He passed between stones so close
+together that he had to ship the oars.  It was
+all rapid water, this stretch, but the bad
+places, with sunken rocks, falls, and big waves,
+were strung out at such distances apart that
+Ken had time to get the boat going right
+before entering them.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw scarcely anything of the banks
+of the river.  They blurred in his sight.
+Sometimes they were near, sometimes far.
+The boat turned corners where rocky ledges
+pointed out, constricting the stream and
+making a curved channel.  What lay around the
+curve was always a question and a cause for
+suspense.  Often the boat raced down a
+chute and straight toward a rocky wall.
+Ken would pull back with all his might, and
+Pepe would break the shock by striking the
+wall with his oar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>More than once Pepe had a narrow escape
+from being knocked overboard.  George tried
+to keep him from standing up.  Finally at
+the end of a long rapid, Pepe, who had the
+stern-seat, jumped up and yelled.  Ken saw
+a stone directly in the path of the boat, and
+he pulled back on the oars with a quick,
+strong jerk.  Pepe shot out of the stern as
+if he had been flung from a catapult.  He
+swam with the current while the boat drifted.
+He reached smooth water and the shore
+before Ken could pick him up.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was fun for everybody but Ken.  There
+were three inches of water in the boat.  The
+canvas, however, had been arranged to
+protect guns, grips, and supplies.  George had
+been wet before he entered the rapids, so a
+little additional water did not matter to him.
+Hal was almost as wet as Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad that's past," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>With that long rapid behind him he felt
+different.  It was what he had needed.  His
+nervousness disappeared and he had no dread
+of the next fall.  While the boys bailed out
+the boat Ken rested and thought.  He had
+made mistakes in that rapid just passed.
+Luck had favored him.  He went over the
+mistakes and saw where he had been wrong,
+and how he could have avoided them if he
+had felt right.  Ken realized now that this
+was a daredevil trip.  And the daredevil
+in him had been shut up in dread.  It took
+just that nervous dread, and the hard work,
+blunders and accidents, the danger and luck,
+to liberate the spirit that would make the
+trip a success.  Pepe and George were loud
+in their praises of Ken.  But they did not
+appreciate the real hazard of the undertaking,
+and if Hal did he was too much of a wild
+boy to care.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All aboard," called George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then they were on their way again.  Ken
+found himself listening for rapids.  It was no
+surprise to hear a dull roar round the next
+bend.  His hair rose stiffly under his hat.
+But this time he did not feel the chill, the
+uncertainty, the lack of confidence that had
+before weakened him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At the head of a long, shallow incline the
+boys tumbled overboard, Ken and Hal at
+the bow, Pepe and George at the stern.
+They waded with the bow up-stream.  The
+water tore around their legs, rising higher
+and higher.  Soon Pepe and George had to
+climb in the boat, for the water became so
+deep and swift they could not wade.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Jump in, Hal," called Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then he held to the bow an instant longer,
+wading a little farther down.  This was
+ticklish business, and all depended upon
+Ken.  He got the stern of the boat straight
+in line with the channel he wanted to run,
+then he leaped aboard and made for the oars.
+The boat sped down.  At the bottom of this
+incline was a mass of leaping green and white
+waves.  The blunt stern of the boat made a
+great splash and the water flew over the boys.
+They came through the roar and hiss and spray
+to glide into a mill-race current.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Never saw such swift water!" exclaimed Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This incline ended in a sullen plunge
+between two huge rocks.  Ken saw the danger
+long before it became evident to his
+companions.  There was no other way to shoot the
+rapid.  He could not reach the shore.  He
+must pass between the rocks.  Ken pushed
+on one oar, then on the other, till he got the
+boat in line, and then he pushed with both
+oars.  The boat flew down that incline.  It
+went so swiftly that if it had hit one of the
+rocks it would have been smashed to kindling
+wood.  Hal crouched low.  George's face was
+white.  And Pepe leaned forward with his big
+arms outstretched, ready to try to prevent a
+collision.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Down! down with the speed of the wind!
+The boat flashed between the black stones.
+Then it was raised aloft, light as a feather, to
+crash into the back-lashers.  The din deafened
+Ken; the spray blinded him.  The boat seemed
+to split a white pall of water, then, with many
+a bounce, drifted out of that rapid into little
+choppy waves, and from them into another
+long, smooth runway.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken rested, and had nothing to say.  Pepe
+shook his black head.  Hal looked at his
+brother.  George had forgotten his rifle.  No
+one spoke.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Soon Ken had more work on hand.  For
+round another corner lay more fast water.
+The boat dipped on a low fall, and went down
+into the midst of green waves with here and
+there ugly rocks splitting the current.  The
+stream-bed was continually new and strange
+to Ken, and he had never seen such queer
+formation of rocks.  This rapid, however, was
+easy to navigate.  A slanting channel of swift
+water connected it with another rapid.  Ken
+backed into that one, passed through, only
+to face another.  And so it went for a long
+succession of shallow rapids.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A turn in the winding lane of cypresses
+revealed walls of gray, between which the
+river disappeared.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha!" muttered Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, I'll bet this is the place you've been
+looking for," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The absence of any roar of water
+emboldened Ken.  Nearing the head of the
+ravine, he stood upon the seat and looked
+ahead.  But Ken could not see many rods
+ahead.  The ravine turned, and it was the
+deceiving turns in the river that he had
+feared.  What a strange sensation Ken had
+when he backed the boat into the mouth of
+that gorge!  He was forced against his will.
+Yet there seemed to be a kind of blood-tingling
+pleasure in the prospect.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The current caught the boat and drew
+it between the gray-green walls of rock.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's coming to us," said the doubtful George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The current ran all of six miles an hour.
+This was not half as fast as the boys had
+traveled in rapids, but it appeared swift
+enough because of the nearness of the
+overshadowing walls.  In the shade the water
+took on a different coloring.  It was brown
+and oily.  It slid along silently.  It was
+deep, and the swirling current suggested
+power.  Here and there long, creeping ferns
+covered the steep stone sides, and above ran
+a stream of blue sky fringed by leaning palms.
+Once Hal put his hands to his lips and yelled:
+"Hel-lo!"  The yell seemed to rip the silence
+and began to clap from wall to wall.  It
+gathered quickness until it clapped in one
+fiendish rattle.  Then it wound away from
+the passage, growing fainter and fainter, and
+at last died in a hollow echo.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't do that again," ordered Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He began to wish he could see the end of
+that gorge.  But it grew narrower, and the
+shade changed to twilight, and there were
+no long, straight stretches.  The river kept
+turning corners.  Quick to note the slightest
+change in conditions, Ken felt a breeze,
+merely a zephyr, fan his hot face.  The
+current had almost imperceptibly quickened.
+Yet it was still silent.  Then on the gentle
+wind came a low murmur.  Ken's pulse
+beat fast.  Turning his ear down-stream, he
+strained his hearing.  The low murmur ceased.
+Perhaps he had imagined it.  Still he kept
+listening.  There!  Again it came, low, far
+away, strange.  It might have been the wind
+in the palms.  But no, he could not possibly
+persuade himself it was wind.  And as that
+faint breeze stopped he lost the sound once
+more.  The river was silent, and the boat,
+and the boys--it was a silent ride.  Ken
+divined that his companions were enraptured.
+But this ride had no beauty, no charm for him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There!  Another faint puff of wind, and
+again the low murmur!  He fancied it was
+louder.  He was beginning to feel an icy
+dread when all was still once more.  So the
+boat drifted swiftly on with never a gurgle
+of water about her gunwales.  The river
+gleamed in brown shadows.  Ken saw bubbles
+rise and break on the surface, and there
+was a slight rise or swell of the water toward
+the center of the channel.  This bothered him.
+He could not understand it.  But then there
+had been many other queer formations of
+rock and freaks of current along this river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat glided on and turned another
+corner, the sharpest one yet.  A long, shadowy
+water-lane, walled in to the very sides, opened
+up to Ken's keen gaze.  The water here
+began to race onward, still wonderfully silent.
+And now the breeze carried a low roar.  It
+was changeable yet persistent.  It deepened.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Once more Ken felt his hair rise under
+his hat.  Cold sweat wet his skin.  Despite
+the pounding of his heart and the throb of
+his veins, his blood seemed to clog, to freeze,
+to stand still.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That roar was the roar of rapids.  Impossible
+to go back!  If there had been four
+sets of oars, Ken and his comrades could not
+row the heavy boat back up that swift,
+sliding river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They must go on.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="lost"><span class="bold large">X</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">LOST!</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>"Ken, old man, do you hear that?"
+questioned Hal, waking from his trance.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George likewise rose out of his lazy
+contentment.  "Must be rapids," he muttered.
+"If we strike rapids in this gorge it's all day
+with us.  What did I tell you!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe's dark, searching eyes rested on Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Ken had no word for any of them.
+He was fighting an icy numbness, and the
+weakness of muscle and the whirl of his
+mind.  It was thought of responsibility that
+saved him from collapse.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's up to you, old man," said Hal, quietly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In a moment like this the boy could not
+wholly be deceived.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken got a grip upon himself.  He looked
+down the long, narrow lane of glancing water.
+Some hundred yards on, it made another turn
+round a corner, and from this dim curve came
+the roar.  The current was hurrying the boat
+toward it, but not fast enough to suit Ken.
+He wanted to see the worst, to get into the
+thick of it, to overcome it.  So he helped the
+boat along.  A few moments sufficed to cover
+that gliding stretch of river, yet to Ken it
+seemed never to have an end.  The roar
+steadily increased.  The current became still
+stronger.  Ken saw eruptions of water rising
+as from an explosion beneath the surface.
+Whirlpools raced along with the boat.  The
+dim, high walls re-echoed the roaring of the
+water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The first thing Ken saw when he sailed
+round that corner was a widening of the chasm
+and bright sunlight ahead.  Perhaps an eighth
+of a mile below the steep walls ended abruptly.
+Next in quick glance he saw a narrow channel
+of leaping, tossing, curling white-crested waves
+under sunlighted mist and spray.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pulling powerfully back and to the left
+Ken brought the boat alongside the cliff.
+Then he shipped his oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold hard," he yelled, and he grasped the
+stone.  The boys complied, and thus stopped
+the boat.  Ken stood up on the seat.  It was
+a bad place he looked down into, but he could
+not see any rocks.  And rocks were what he
+feared most.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold tight, boys," he said.  Then he
+got Pepe to come to him and sit on the seat.
+Ken stepped up on Pepe's shoulders and, by
+holding to the rock, was able to get a good
+view of the rapid.  It was not a rapid at all,
+but a constriction of the channel, and also a
+steep slant.  The water rushed down so swiftly
+to get through that it swelled in the center
+in a long frothy ridge of waves.  The water
+was deep.  Ken could not see any bumps or
+splits or white-wreathed rocks, such as were
+conspicuous in a rapid.  The peril here for
+Ken was to let the boat hit the wall or turn
+broadside or get out of that long swelling
+ridge.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He stepped down and turned to the white-faced
+boys.  He had to yell close to them to
+make them hear him in the roar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I--can--run--this--place.  But--you've
+got--to help.  Pull--the canvas--up higher
+in the stern--and hold it."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then he directed Pepe to kneel in the
+bow of the boat with an oar and be ready to
+push off from the walls.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>If Ken had looked again or hesitated a
+moment he would have lost his nerve.  He
+recognized that fact.  And he shoved off
+instantly.  Once the boat had begun to
+glide down, gathering momentum, he felt
+his teeth grind hard and his muscles grow
+tense.  He had to bend his head from side to
+side to see beyond the canvas George and Hal
+were holding round their shoulders.  He
+believed with that acting as a buffer in the stern
+he could go pounding through those waves.
+Then he was in the middle of the channel,
+and the boat fairly sailed along.  Ken kept
+his oars poised, ready to drop either one for
+a stroke.  All he wanted was to enter those
+foaming, tumultuous waves with his boat
+pointed right.  He knew he could not hope
+to see anything low down after he entered
+the race.  He calculated that the last instant
+would give him an opportunity to get his
+direction in line with some object.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then, even as he planned it, the boat dipped
+on a beautiful glassy incline, and glided down
+toward the engulfing, roaring waves.  Above
+them, just in the center, Ken caught sight of
+the tufted top of a palm-tree.  That was his
+landmark!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat shot into a great, curling,
+back-lashing wave.  There was a heavy shock, a
+pause, and then Ken felt himself lifted high,
+while a huge sheet of water rose fan-shape
+behind the buffer in the stern.  Walls and
+sky and tree faded under a watery curtain.
+Then the boat shot on again; the light came,
+the sky shone, and Ken saw his palm-tree.
+He pulled hard on the right oar to get the
+stern back in line.  Another heavy shock,
+a pause, a blinding shower of water, and then
+the downward rush!  Ken got a fleeting
+glimpse of his guiding mark, and sunk the left
+oar deep for a strong stroke.  The beating
+of the waves upon the upraised oars almost
+threw him out of the boat.  The wrestling
+waters hissed and bellowed.  Down the boat
+shot and up, to pound and pound, and then
+again shoot down.  Through the pall of mist
+and spray Ken always got a glimpse, quick as
+lightning, of the palm-tree, and like a demon
+he plunged in his oars to keep the boat in
+line.  He was only dimly conscious of the
+awfulness of the place.  But he was not
+afraid.  He felt his action as being inspirited
+by something grim and determined.  He was
+fighting the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All at once a grating jar behind told him
+the bow had hit a stone or a wall.  He did
+not dare look back.  The most fleeting
+instant of time might be the one for him to
+see his guiding mark.  Then the boat lurched
+under him, lifted high with bow up, and
+lightened.  He knew Pepe had been pitched
+overboard.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In spite of the horror of the moment, Ken
+realized that the lightening of the boat made
+it more buoyant, easier to handle.  That
+weight in the bow had given him an
+unbalanced craft.  But now one stroke here and
+one there kept the stern straight.  The
+palm-tree loomed higher and closer through the
+brightening mist.  Ken no longer felt the
+presence of the walls.  The thunderous roar
+had begun to lose some of its volume.
+Then with a crash through a lashing wave
+the boat raced out into the open light.  Ken
+saw a beautiful foam-covered pool, down
+toward which the boat kept bumping over a
+succession of diminishing waves.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He gave a start of joy to see Pepe's black
+head bobbing in the choppy channel.  Pepe
+had beat the boat to the outlet.  He was
+swimming easily, and evidently he had not
+been injured.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken turned the bow toward him.  But
+Pepe did not need any help, and a few more
+strokes put him in shallow water.  Ken
+discovered that the boat, once out of the current,
+was exceedingly loggy and hard to row.  It
+was half full of water.  Ken's remaining
+strength went to pull ashore, and there he
+staggered out and dropped on the rocky bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The blue sky was very beautiful and sweet
+to look at just then.  But Ken had to close
+his eyes.  He did not have strength left to
+keep them open.  For a while all seemed dim
+and obscure to him.  Then he felt a dizziness,
+which in turn succeeded to a racing riot of
+his nerves and veins.  His heart gradually
+resumed a normal beat, and his bursting
+lungs seemed to heal.  A sickening languor
+lay upon him.  He could not hold little stones
+which he felt under his fingers.  He could
+not raise his hands.  The life appeared to
+have gone from his legs.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All this passed, at length, and, hearing Hal's
+voice, Ken sat up.  The outfit was drying
+in the sun; Pepe was bailing out the boat;
+George was wiping his guns; and Hal was
+nursing a very disheveled little racoon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You can bring on any old thing now, for
+all I care," said Hal.  "I'd shoot Lachine
+Rapids with Ken at the oars."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a fine boatman," replied George.
+"Weren't you scared when we were in the
+middle of that darned place?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Me?  Naw!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I was scared, and don't you forget
+it," said Ken to them.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You were all in, Ken," replied Hal.
+"Never saw you so tuckered out.  The day
+you and Prince went after the cougar along
+that cañon precipice--you were all in that
+time.  George, it took Ken six hours to
+climb out of that hole."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me about it," said George, all eyes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"No stories now," put in Ken.  "The
+sun is still high.  We've got to be on our
+way.  Let's look over the lay of the land."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Below the pool was a bold, rocky bluff,
+round which the river split.  What branch
+to take was a matter of doubt and anxiety
+to Ken.  Evidently this bluff was an island.
+It had a yellow front and long bare ledges
+leading into the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken climbed the bluff, accompanied by the
+boys, and found it covered with palm-trees.
+Up there everything was so dry and hot
+that it did not seem to be jungle at all.  Even
+the palms were yellow and parched.  Pepe
+stood the heat, but the others could not
+endure it.  Ken took one long look at the
+surrounding country, so wild and dry and still,
+and then led the way down the loose, dusty
+shelves.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Thereupon he surveyed the right branch
+of the river and followed it a little distance.
+The stream here foamed and swirled among
+jagged rocks.  At the foot of this rapid
+stretched the first dead water Ken had
+encountered for miles.  A flock of wild geese
+rose from under his feet and flew down-stream.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Geese!" exclaimed Ken.  "I wonder if
+that means we are getting down near lagoons
+or big waters.  George, wild geese don't
+frequent little streams, do they?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no telling where you'll find them
+in this country," answered George.  "I've
+chased them right in our orange groves."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They returned to look at the left branch
+of the river.  It was open and one continuous
+succession of low steps.  That would have
+decided Ken even if the greater volume of
+water had not gone down on this left side.
+As far as he could see was a wide, open river
+running over little ledges.  It looked to be
+the easiest and swiftest navigation he had
+come upon, and so indeed it proved.  The
+water was swift, and always dropped over
+some ledge in a rounded fall that was safe
+for him to shoot.  It was great fun going
+over these places.  The boys hung their
+feet over the gunwales most of the time,
+sliding them along the slippery ledge or giving
+a kick to help the momentum.  When they
+came to a fall, Ken would drop off the bow,
+hold the boat back and swing it straight,
+then jump in, and over it would go--souse!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There were so many of these ledges, and
+they were so close together, that going over
+them grew to be a habit.  It induced
+carelessness.  The boat drifted to a brow of a fall
+full four feet high.  Ken, who was at the bow.
+leaped off just in time to save the boat.  He
+held on while the swift water surged about
+his knees.  He yelled for the boys to jump.
+As the stern where they sat was already over
+the fall it was somewhat difficult to make the
+boys vacate quickly enough.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tumble out!  Quick!" bawled Ken.  "Do
+you think I'm Samson?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Over they went, up to their necks in the
+boiling foam, and not a second too soon, for
+Ken could hold the boat no longer.  It went
+over smoothly, just dipping the stern under
+water.  If the boys had remained aboard,
+the boat would have swamped.  As it was,
+Pepe managed to catch the rope, which Ken
+had wisely thrown out, and he drifted down
+to the next ledge.  Ken found this nearly as
+high as the last one.  So he sent the boys
+below to catch the boat.  This worked all
+right.  The shelves slanted slightly, with the
+shallow part of the water just at the break of
+the ledge.  They passed half a dozen of these,
+making good time, and before they knew it were
+again in a deep, smooth jungle lane with
+bamboo and streamers of moss waving over them.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The shade was cool, and Ken settled down
+in the stern-seat, grateful for a rest.  To his
+surprise, he did not see a bird.  The jungle
+was asleep.  Once or twice Ken fancied he
+heard the tinkle and gurgle of water running
+over rocks.  The boat glided along silently,
+with Pepe rowing leisurely, George asleep,
+Hal dreaming.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken watched the beautiful green banks.
+They were high, a mass of big-leafed vines,
+flowering and fragrant, above which towered
+the jungle giants.  Ken wanted to get out
+and study those forest trees.  But he made
+no effort to act upon his good intentions, and
+felt that he must take the most of his forestry
+study at long range.  He was reveling in the
+cool recesses under the leaning cypresses, in
+the soft swish of bearded moss, and the
+strange rustle of palms, in the dreamy hum
+of the resting jungle, when his pleasure was
+brought to an abrupt end.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George woke up with a start.  Hal had
+been jarred out of his day-dream, and looked
+resentful.  Ken gazed about him with the
+feeling of a man going into a trance, instead
+of coming out of one.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat was fast on a mud-bank.  That
+branch of the river ended right there.  The
+boys had come all those miles to run into a
+blind pocket.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's glance at the high yellow bank,
+here crumbling and bare, told him there was
+no outlet.  He had a sensation of blank dismay.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee!" exclaimed Hal, softly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George rubbed his eyes; and, searching for
+a cigarette, he muttered: "We're lost!  I said
+it was coming to us.  We've got to go back!"</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="an-army-of-snakes"><span class="bold large">XI</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">AN ARMY OF SNAKES</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>For a moment Ken Ward was utterly
+crushed under the weight of this sudden
+blow.  It was so sudden that he had no time
+to think; or his mind was clamped on the
+idea of attempting to haul the boat up that
+long, insurmountable series of falls.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It 'll be an awful job," burst out Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>No doubt in the mind of each boy was the
+same idea--the long haul, wading over
+slippery rocks; the weariness of pushing legs
+against the swift current; the packing of
+supplies uphill; and then the toil of lifting the
+heavy boat up over a fall.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and he groaned.
+That was significant, coming from a </span><em class="italics">mozo</em><span>,
+who thought nothing of rowing forty miles
+in a day.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, but it's tough luck," cried Ken.
+"Why didn't I choose the right branch of this
+pesky river?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I think you used your head at that,"
+said Hal.  "Most of the water came down
+on this side.  Where did it go?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal had hit the vital question, and it
+cleared Ken's brain.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, you're talking sense.  Where did
+that water go?  It couldn't all have sunk into
+the earth.  We'll find out.  We won't try
+to go back.  We </span><em class="italics">can't</em><span> go back."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe shoved off the oozy mud, and, reluctantly,
+as if he appreciated the dilemma, he
+turned the boat and rowed along the shore.
+As soon as Ken had recovered somewhat he
+decided there must be an outlet which he had
+missed.  This reminded him that at a point
+not far back he had heard the tinkle and gurgle
+of unseen water flowing over rocks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He directed Pepe to row slowly along the
+bank that he thought was the island side.
+As they glided under the drooping bamboos
+and silky curtains of moss George began to
+call out: "Low bridge!  Low bridge!"  For a
+boy who was forever voicing ill-omened
+suggestions as to what might soon happen he
+was extraordinarily cheerful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There were places where all had to lie
+flat and others where Pepe had to use his
+</span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.  This disturbed the </span><em class="italics">siesta</em><span> of many
+aquatic birds, most of which flew swiftly
+away.  But there were many of the
+gray-breasted, blue-backed bitterns that did not
+take to flight.  These croaked dismally, and
+looked down upon the boys with strange,
+protruding eyes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Those darn birds 'll give me the willies,"
+declared Hal.  "George, you just look like
+them when you croak about what's coming
+to us."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait!" retorted George.  "It 'll come,
+all right.  Then I'll have the fun of seeing
+you scared silly."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What!  You'll not do anything of the
+kind!" cried Hal, hotly.  "I've been in places
+where such--such a skinny little sap-head as
+you--"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Here, you kids stop wrangling," ordered
+Ken, who sensed hostilities in the air.  "We've
+got trouble enough."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly Ken signaled Pepe to stop rowing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, I hear running water.  Aha!  Here's
+a current.  See--it's making right under this
+bank."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before them was a high wall of broad-leaved
+vines, so thick that nothing could be
+seen through them.  Apparently this
+luxuriant canopy concealed the bank.  Pepe poked
+an oar into it, but found nothing solid.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe, cut a way through.  We've got
+to see where this water runs."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was then that Ken came to a full appreciation
+of a </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.  He had often fancied
+it a much less serviceable tool than an ax.
+Pepe flashed the long, bright blade up, down,
+and around, and presently the boat was its
+own length in a green tunnel.  Pepe kept on
+slashing while Ken poled the boat in and the
+other boys dumped the cut foliage overboard.
+Soon they got through this mass of hanging
+vine and creeper.  Much to Ken's surprise
+and delight, he found no high bank, but low,
+flat ground, densely wooded, through which
+ran a narrow, deep outlet of the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"By all that's lucky!" ejaculated Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George and Hal whooped their pleasure,
+and Pepe rubbed his muscular hands.  Then
+all fell silent.  The deep, penetrating silence
+of that jungle was not provocative of speech.
+The shade was so black that when a ray of
+sunlight did manage to pierce the dense
+canopy overhead it resembled a brilliant
+golden spear.  A few lofty palms and a few
+clumps of bamboo rather emphasized the
+lack of these particular species in this forest.
+Nor was there any of the familiar streaming
+moss hanging from the trees.  This glen was
+green, cool, dark.  It did not smell exactly
+swampy, but rank, like a place where many
+water plants were growing.</span></p>
+<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 64%" id="figure-48">
+<span id="ken-shot-twice-at-the-head-of-the-snake"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE" src="images/img-130.jpg" />
+<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin">
+<span class="italics">KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE</span></div>
+</div>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The outlet was so narrow that Ken was not
+able to use the oars.  Still, as the current
+was swift, the boat went along rapidly.  He
+saw a light ahead and heard the babble of
+water.  The current quickened, and the boat
+drifted suddenly upon the edge of an oval
+glade, where the hot sun beat down.  A
+series of abrupt mossy benches, over which
+the stream slid almost noiselessly, blocked
+further progress.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The first thing about this glade that Ken
+noted particularly, after the difficulties
+presented by the steep steps, was the multitude
+of snakes sunning themselves along the line
+of further progress.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, it 'll be great wading down there,
+hey?" he queried.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe grumbled for the first time on the
+trip.  Ken gathered from the native's looks
+and speech that he did not like snakes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Watch me peg 'em!" yelled Hal, and he
+began to throw stones with remarkable
+accuracy.  "Hike, you brown sons-of-guns!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George, not to be outdone, made a dive
+for his .22 and began to pop as if he had no
+love for snakes.  Ken had doubts about this
+species.  The snakes were short, thick, dull
+brown in color, and the way they slipped
+into the stream proved they were
+water-snakes.  Ken had never read of a brown
+water-moccasin, so he doubted that these belonged
+to that poisonous family.  Anyway, snakes
+were the least of his troubles.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, you're doing fine," he said.  "There
+are about a thousand snakes there, and you've
+hit about six."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He walked down through the glade into the
+forest, and was overjoyed to hear once more
+the heavy roar of rapids.  He went on.  The
+timber grew thinner, and light penetrated the
+jungle.  Presently he saw the gleam of water
+through the trees.  Then he hurried back.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, boys," he shouted.  "Here's
+the river."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were so immensely relieved that
+packing the outfit round the waterfalls was
+work they set about with alacrity.  Ken,
+who had on his boots, broke a trail through
+the ferns and deep moss.  Pepe, being barefoot,
+wasted time looking for snakes.  George
+teased him.  But Pepe was deadly serious.
+And the way he stepped and looked made
+Ken thoughtful.  He had made his last trip
+with supplies, and was about to start back
+to solve the problem of getting the boat
+down, when a hoarse yell resounded through
+the sleeping jungle.  Parrots screeched, and
+other birds set up a cackling.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken bounded up the slope.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Santa Maria!" cried Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken followed the direction indicated by
+Pepe's staring eyes and trembling finger.
+Hanging from a limb of a tree was a huge
+black-snake.  It was as thick as Ken's leg.
+The branch upon which it poised its neck
+so gracefully was ten feet high, and the tail
+curled into the ferns on the ground.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, it's one of the big fellows," cried Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't I tell you!" yelled George, running
+down for his gun.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal seemed rooted to the spot.  Pepe
+began to jabber.  Ken watched the snake,
+and felt instinctively from its sinister looks
+that it was dangerous.  George came running
+back with his .32 and waved it in the air as
+he shot.  He was so frightened that he
+forgot to aim.  Ken took the rifle from him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You can't hit him with this.  Run after
+your shotgun.  Quick!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But the sixteen-gage was clogged with a
+shell that would not eject.  Ken's guns were
+in their cases.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Holy smoke!" cried George.  "He's coming down."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The black-snake moved his body and began
+to slide toward the tree-trunk.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken shot twice at the head of the snake.
+It was a slow-swaying mark hard to hit.
+The reptile stopped and poised wonderfully
+on the limb.  He was not coiled about it,
+but lay over it with about four feet of neck
+waving, swaying to and fro.  He watched
+the boys, and his tongue, like a thin, black
+streak, darted out viciously.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken could not hit the head, so he sent a
+bullet through the thick part of the body.
+Swift as a gleam the snake darted from the limb.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe, and he ran off.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look out, boys," shouted Ken.  He
+picked up Pepe's </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span> and took to his
+heels.  George and Hal scrambled before him.
+They ran a hundred yards or more, and Ken
+halted in an open rocky spot.  He was angry,
+and a little ashamed that he had run.  The
+snake did not pursue, and probably was as
+badly frightened as the boys had been.  Pepe
+stopped some distance away, and Hal and
+George came cautiously back.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see anything of him," said Ken.
+"I'm going back."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He walked slowly, keeping a sharp outlook,
+and, returning to the glade, found blood-stains
+under the tree.  The snake had disappeared
+without leaving a trail.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"If I'd had my shotgun ready!" exclaimed
+Ken, in disgust.  And he made a note that in
+the future he would be prepared to shoot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Wasn't he a whopper, Ken?" said Hal.
+"We ought to have got his hide.  What a
+fine specimen!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, you drive away those few little
+snakes while I figure on a way to get the boat
+down."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Not on your life!" replied Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George ably sustained Hal's objection.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and then added
+a loud "No" in English.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, my brave comrades," rejoined
+Ken, scornfully.  "As I've not done any work
+yet or taken any risks, I'll drive the snakes
+away."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>With Pepe's </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span> he cut a long forked
+pole, trimmed it, and, armed with this weapon,
+he assaulted the rolls and bands and balls
+of brown snakes.  He stalked boldly down
+upon them, pushed and poled, and even
+kicked them off the mossy banks.  Hal
+could not stand that, and presently he got
+a pole and went to Ken's assistance.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Who's hollering now?" he yelled to George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon George cut a long branch and
+joined the battle.  They whacked and threshed
+and pounded, keeping time with yells.
+Everywhere along the wet benches slipped and
+splashed the snakes.  But after they were
+driven into the water they did not swim away.
+They dove under the banks and then stretched
+out their pointed heads from the dripping
+edge of moss.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, fellows, we're making it worse for
+us," declared Ken.  "See, the brown devils
+won't swim off.  We'd better have left them
+on the bank.  Let's catch one and see if he'll
+bite."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He tried to pick up one on his pole, but
+it slipped off.  George fished after another.
+Hal put the end of his stick down inside the
+coil of still another and pitched it.  The
+brown, wriggling, wet snake shot straight at
+the unsuspecting George, and struck him and
+momentarily wound about him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Augrrh!" bawled George, flinging off the
+reptile and leaping back.  "What 'd you do
+that for?  I'll punch you!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, he didn't mean it," said Ken.
+"It was an accident.  Come on, let's tease
+that fellow and see if he'll bite."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The snake coiled and raised his flat head
+and darted a wicked tongue out and watched
+with bright, beady eyes, but he did not
+strike.  Ken went as close as he thought
+safe and studied the snake.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, his head isn't a triangle, and there
+are no little pits under his eyes.  Those are
+two signs of a poisonous snake.  I don't
+believe this fellow's one."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He'll be a dead snake, b' gosh," replied
+George, and he fell to pounding it with his
+pole.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't smash him.  I want the skin,"
+yelled Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken pondered on the situation before him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, the sooner we get at this the better,"
+he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There was a succession of benches through
+which the stream zigzagged and tumbled.
+These benches were rock ledges over which
+moss had grown fully a foot thick, and they
+were so oozy and slippery that it was no easy
+task to walk upon them.  Then they were
+steep, so steep that it was remarkable how
+the water ran over them so smoothly, with
+very little noise or break.  It was altogether
+a new kind of waterfall to Ken.  But if the
+snakes had not been hidden there, navigation
+would have presented an easier problem.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come on boys, alongside now, and hold
+back," he ordered, gripping the bow.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Exactly what happened the next few seconds
+was not clear in his mind.  There was a rush,
+and all were being dragged by the boat.
+The glade seemed to whizz past.  There were
+some sodden thumps, a great splashing, a check--and
+lo! they were over several benches.  It
+was the quickest and easiest descent he had
+ever made down a steep waterfall.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine!" ejaculated George, wiping the ooze
+from his face.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, it was fine," Ken replied.  "But
+unless this boat has wings something 'll
+happen soon."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Below was a long, swift curve of water,
+very narrow and steep, with a moss-covered
+rock dividing the lower end.  Ken imagined
+if there was a repetition of the first descent
+the boat would be smashed on that rock.
+He ordered Pepe, who was of course the strongest,
+to go below and jump to the rock.  There
+he might prevent a collision.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe obeyed, but as he went he yelled and
+doubled up in contortions as he leaped over
+snakes in the moss.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then gently, gingerly the boys started the
+boat off the bench, where it had lodged.
+George was at the stern, Ken and Hal at the
+bow.  Suddenly Hal shrieked and jumped
+straight up, to land in the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Snakes!" he howled.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Give us a rest!" cried Ken, in disgust.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat moved as if instinct with life.
+It dipped, then--</span><em class="italics">wheeze!</em><span> it dove over the
+bench.  Hal was thrown off his feet, fell
+back on the gunwale, and thence into the
+snaky moss.  George went sprawling face
+downward into the slimy ooze, and Ken was
+jerked clear off the bench into the stream.
+He got his footing and stood firm in water to
+his waist, and he had the bow-rope coiled
+round his hands.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Help!  Help!" he yelled, as he felt the
+dragging weight too much for him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>If Ken retarded the progress of the boat at
+all, it was not much.  George saw his distress
+and the danger menacing the boat, and he
+leaped valiantly forward.  As he dashed down
+a slippery slant his feet flew up higher than
+where his head had been; he actually turned
+over in the air, and fell with a great sop.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal had been trying to reach Ken, but
+here he stopped and roared with laughter.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Despite Ken's anger and fear of snakes,
+and his greater fear for the boat, he likewise
+had to let out a peal of laughter.  That
+tumble of George's was great.  Then Ken's
+footing gave way and he went down.  His
+mouth filled with nasty water, nearly
+strangling him.  He was almost blinded, too.  His
+arms seemed to be wrenched out of their
+sockets, and he felt himself bumping over
+moss-covered rocks as soft as cushions.  Slimy
+ropes or roots of vegetation, that felt like
+snakes, brushed his face and made him cold
+and sick.  It was impossible to hold the boat
+any longer.  He lodged against a stone, and
+the swift water forced him upon it.  Blinking
+and coughing, he stuck fast.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw the boat headed like a dart for
+the rock where Pepe stood.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Let 'er go!" yelled Ken.  "Don't try to
+stop her.  Pepe, you'll be smashed!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe acted like a man determined to make
+up for past cowardice.  He made a great show
+of brave intentions.  He was not afraid of a
+boat.  He braced himself and reached out
+with his brawny arms.  Ken feared for the
+obstinate native's life, for the boat moved
+with remarkable velocity.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At the last second Pepe's courage vanished.
+He turned tail to get out of the way.  But
+he slipped.  The boat shot toward him and
+the blunt stern struck him with a dull thud.
+Pepe sailed into the air, over the rock, and
+went down cleaving the water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat slipped over the stone as easily
+as if it had been a wave and, gliding into still
+water below, lodged on the bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken crawled out of the stream, and when
+he ascertained that no one was injured he
+stretched himself on the ground and gave up
+to mirth.  Pepe resembled a drowned rat;
+Hal was an object to wonder at; and George,
+in his coating of slime and with strings of
+moss in his hair, was the funniest thing Ken
+had ever seen.  It was somewhat of a
+surprise to him to discover, presently, that the
+boys were convulsed with fiendish glee over
+the way he himself looked.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>By and by they recovered, and, with many
+a merry jest and chuckle of satisfaction, they
+repacked the boat and proceeded on their
+way.  No further obstacle hindered them.
+They drifted out of the shady jungle into the
+sunlit river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In half a mile of drifting the heat of the
+sun dried the boys' clothes.  The water was
+so hot that it fairly steamed.  Once more the
+boat entered a placid aisle over which the
+magnificent gray-wreathed cypresses bowed,
+and the west wind waved long ribbons of
+moss, and wild fowl winged reluctant flight.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken took advantage of this tranquil stretch
+of river to work on his map.  He realized that
+he must use every spare moment and put
+down his drawings and notes as often as time
+and travel permitted.  It had dawned on
+Ken that rapids and snakes, and all the
+dangers along the river, made his task of
+observation and study one apt to be put into
+eclipse at times.  Once or twice he landed
+on shore to climb a bluff, and was pleased
+each time to see that he had lined a
+comparatively true course on his map.  He had
+doubts of its absolute accuracy, yet he could
+not help having pride in his work.  So far
+so good, he thought, and hoped for
+good-fortune farther down the river.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="catching-strange-fish"><span class="bold large">XII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">CATCHING STRANGE FISH</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Beyond a bend in the river the boys
+came upon an island with a narrow,
+shaded channel on one side, a wide shoal on
+the other, and a group of huge cypresses at
+the up-stream end.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Looks good to me," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The instant Ken saw the island he knew it
+was the place he had long been seeking to
+make a permanent camp for a few days.
+They landed, to find an ideal camping site.
+The ground under the cypresses was flat,
+dry, and covered with short grass.  Not a ray
+of sunlight penetrated the foliage.  A pile
+of driftwood had lodged against one of the
+trees, and this made easy the question of
+fire-wood.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Great!" exclaimed Ken.  "Come on, let's
+look over the ground."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The island was about two hundred yards
+long, and the lower end was hidden by a
+growth of willows.  Bursting through this,
+the boys saw a weedy flat leading into a wide,
+shallow back-eddy.  Great numbers of ducks
+were sporting and feeding.  The stones of
+the rocky shore were lined with sleeping ducks.
+Herons of all colors and sizes waded about,
+or slept on one leg.  Snipe ran everywhere.
+There was a great squawking and flapping of
+wings.  But at least half the number of
+waterfowl were too tame or too lazy to fly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken returned to camp with his comrades,
+all highly elated over the prospects.  The
+best feature about this beautiful island was
+the absence of ticks and snakes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, this is the place," said Ken.  "We'll
+hang up here for a while.  Maybe we won't
+strike another such nice place to stay."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So they unloaded the boat, taking everything
+out, and proceeded to pitch a camp
+that was a delight.  They were all loud in
+expressions of satisfaction.  Then Pepe set
+about leisurely peeling potatoes; George took
+his gun and slipped off toward the lower end
+of the island; Hal made a pen for his racoon,
+and then more pens, as if he meant to capture
+a menagerie; and Ken made a comfortable
+lounging-bed under a cypress.  He wanted
+to forget that nagging worry as to farther
+descent of the river, and to enjoy this place.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bang!" went George's sixteen-gage.  A
+loud whirring of wings followed, and the air
+was full of ducks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Never touched one!" yelled Hal, in taunting voice.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A flock of teal skimmed the water and
+disappeared up-stream.  The shot awakened
+parrots in the trees, where for a while there
+was clamor.  Ken saw George wade out
+into the shoal and pick up three ducks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pot-shot!" exclaimed Hal, disgustedly.
+"Why couldn't he be a sport and shoot them
+on the fly?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George crossed to the opposite shore and,
+climbing a bare place, stood looking before him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, George, don't go far," called Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine place over here," replied George,
+and, waving his hand, he passed into the
+bushes out of sight.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken lay back upon his blanket with a
+blissful sense of rest and contentment.  Many
+a time he had lain so, looking up through the
+broad leaves of a sycamore or the lacy foliage
+of a birch or the delicate crisscross of
+millions of pine needles.  This overhead canopy,
+however, was different.  Only here and there
+could he catch little slivers of blue sky.  The
+graceful streamers of exquisite moss hung
+like tassels of silver.  In the dead stillness
+of noonday they seemed to float curved in the
+shape in which the last soft breeze had left
+them.  High upon a branch he saw a
+red-headed parrot hanging back downward, after
+the fashion of a monkey.  Then there were
+two parrots asleep in the fork of a branch.
+It was the middle of the day, and all things
+seemed tired and sleepy.  The deep channel
+murmured drowsily, and the wide expanse
+of river on the other side lapped lazily at the
+shore.  The only other sound was the
+mourning of turtle-doves, one near and another far
+away.  Again the full richness, the mellow
+sweetness of this song struck Ken forcibly.
+He remembered that all the way down the
+river he had heard that mournful note.  It
+was beautiful but melancholy.  Somehow it
+made him think that it had broken the dreamy
+stillness of the jungle noonday long, long ago.
+It was sweet but sad and old.  He did not
+like to hear it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken yielded to the soothing influence of
+the hour and fell asleep.  When he awoke
+there was George, standing partially undressed
+and very soberly popping ticks.  He had
+enlisted the services of Pepe, and, to judge from
+the remarks of both, they needed still more
+assistance.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, Garrapato George, many ticks over there?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ticks!" shouted George, wildly, waving
+his cigarette.  "Millions of 'em!  And
+there's--ouch!  Kill that one, Pepe.  Wow! he's
+as big as a penny.  There's game over there.
+It's a flat with some kind of berry bush.
+There's lots of trails.  I saw cat-tracks, and I
+scared up wild turkeys--"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Turkeys!" Ken exclaimed, eagerly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You bet.  I saw a dozen.  How they can
+run!  I didn't flush them.  Then I saw a
+flock of those black and white ducks, like the
+big fellow I shot.  They were feeding.  I
+believe they're Muscovy ducks."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sure I don't know, but we can call
+them that."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I'd got a shot, too, but I saw some
+gray things sneaking in the bushes.  I thought
+they were pigs, so I got out of there quick."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean javelin?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yep, I mean wild pigs.  Oh!  We've struck
+the place for game.  I'll bet it's coming to us."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When George anticipated pleasurable events
+he was the most happy of companions.  It
+was good to look forward.  He was
+continually expecting things to happen; he was
+always looking ahead with great eagerness.
+But unfortunately he had a twist of mind
+toward the unfavorable side of events, and
+so always had the boys fearful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, pigs or no pigs, ticks or no ticks,
+we'll hunt and fish, and see all there is to
+see," declared Ken, and he went back to his
+lounging.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he came out of that lazy spell,
+George and Hal were fishing.  George had
+Ken's rod, and it happened to be the one
+Ken thought most of.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know how to fish?" he asked.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I've caught tarpon bigger'n you," retorted George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That fact was indeed too much for Ken,
+and he had nothing to do but risk his
+beloved rod in George's hands.  And the way
+George swung it about, slashed branches with
+it, dropped the tip in the water, was exceedingly
+alarming to Ken.  The boy would break
+the tip in a minute.  Yet Ken could not
+take his rod away from a boy who had caught
+tarpon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There were fish breaking water.  Where a
+little while before the river had been smooth,
+now it was ruffled by </span><em class="italics">ravalo</em><span>, gar, and other
+fish Pepe could not name.  But George and
+Hal did not get a bite.  They tried all their
+artificial flies and spoons and minnows, then
+the preserved mullet, and finally several
+kinds of meat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bah! they want pie," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>For Ken Ward to see little and big fish
+capering around under his very nose and not
+be able to hook one was exasperating.  He
+shot a small fish, not unlike a pickerel, and
+had the boys bait with that.  Still no strike
+was forthcoming.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This put Ken on his mettle.  He rigged
+up a minnow tackle, and, going to the lower
+end of the island, he tried to catch some
+minnows.  There were plenty of them in the
+shallow water, but they would not bite.
+Finally Ken waded in the shoal and turned
+over stones.  He found some snails almost
+as large as mussels, and with these he hurried
+back to the boys.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Here, if you don't get a bite on one of
+these I'm no fisherman," said Ken.  "Try one."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George got his hands on the new bait in
+advance of Hal and so threw his hook into
+the water first.  No sooner had the bait
+sunk than he got a strong pull.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There!  Careful now," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George jerked up, hooking a fish that made
+the rod look like a buggy-whip.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Give me the rod," yelled Ken, trying to
+take it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's my fish," yelled back George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He held on and hauled with all his might.
+A long, finely built fish, green as emerald,
+split the water and churned it into foam.
+Then, sweeping out in strong dash, it broke
+Ken's rod square in the middle.  Ken eyed
+the wreck with sorrow, and George with no
+little disapproval.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You said you knew how to fish," protested Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Those split-bamboo rods are no good,"
+replied George.  "They won't hold a fish."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, you're a grand fisherman!"
+observed Hal, with a chuckle.  "Why, you
+only dreamed you've caught tarpon."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Just then Hal had a tremendous strike.
+He was nearly hauled off the bank.  But he
+recovered his balance and clung to his nodding
+rod.  Hal's rod was heavy cane, and his line
+was thick enough to suit.  So nothing broke.
+The little brass reel buzzed and rattled.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I've got a whale!" yelled Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a big gar--alligator-gar," said George.
+"You haven't got him.  He's got you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The fish broke water, showing long, open
+jaws with teeth like saw-teeth.  It threshed
+about and broke away.  Hal reeled in to
+find the hook straightened out.  Then George
+kindly commented upon the very skilful
+manner in which Hal had handled the gar.
+For a wonder Hal did not reply.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>By four o'clock, when Ken sat down to
+supper, he was so thirsty that his mouth
+puckered as dry as if he had been eating green
+persimmons.  This matter of thirst had
+become serious.  Twice each day Ken had
+boiled a pot of water, into which he mixed
+cocoa, sugar, and condensed milk, and begged
+the boys to drink that and nothing else.
+Nevertheless Pepe and George, and occasionally
+Hal, would drink unboiled water.  For
+this meal the boys had venison and duck,
+and canned vegetables and fruit, so they
+fared sumptuously.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe pointed to a string of Muscovy ducks
+sailing up the river.  George had a good shot
+at the tail end of the flock, and did not even
+loosen a feather.  Then a line of cranes and
+herons passed over the island.  When a
+small bunch of teal flew by, to be followed
+by several canvasbacks, Ken ran for his
+shotgun.  It was a fine hammerless, a
+hard-shooting gun, and one Ken used for
+grouse-hunting.  In his hurry he grasped a handful
+of the first shells he came to and, when he
+ran to the river-bank, found they were loads
+of small shot.  He decided to try them
+anyhow.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>While Pepe leisurely finished the supper
+Ken and George and Hal sat on the bank
+watching for ducks.  Just before the sun went
+down a hard wind blew, making difficult
+shooting.  Every few moments ducks would
+whir by.  George's gun missed fire often,
+and when it did work all right, he missed the
+ducks.  To Ken's surprise he found the
+load of small shot very deadly.  He could
+sometimes reach a duck at eighty yards.
+The little brown ducks and teal he stopped as
+if they had hit a stone wall.  He dropped a
+canvasback with the sheer dead plunge
+that he liked.  Ken thought a crippled duck
+enough to make a hunter quit shooting.
+With six ducks killed, he decided to lay aside
+his gun for that time, when Pepe pointed
+down the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pato real," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken looked eagerly and saw three of the
+big black ducks flying as high as the
+treetops and coming fast.  Snapping a couple
+of shells in the gun, Ken stood ready.  At
+the end of the island two of the ducks wheeled
+to the left, but the big leader came on like
+a thunderbolt.  To Ken he made a canvasback
+seem slow.  Ken caught him over the
+sights of the gun, followed him up till he was
+abreast and beyond; then, sweeping a little
+ahead of him, Ken pulled both triggers.  The
+Muscovy swooped up and almost stopped
+in his flight while a cloud of black feathers
+puffed away on the wind.  He sagged a
+little, recovered, and flew on as strong as ever.
+The small shot were not heavy enough to
+stop him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll need big loads for the Muscovies
+and the turkeys," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We've all sizes up to BB's," replied Ken.
+"George, let's take a walk over there where
+you saw the turkeys.  It's early yet."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then Pepe told George if they wanted to
+see game at that hour the thing to do was to
+sit still in camp and watch the game come
+down to the river to drink.  And he pointed
+down-stream to a herd of small deer quietly
+walking out on the bar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"After all the noise we made!" exclaimed
+Ken.  "Well, this beats me.  George, we'll stay
+right here and not shoot again to-night.  I've
+an idea we'll see something worth while."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was Pepe's idea, but Ken instantly saw
+its possibilities.  There were no tributaries to
+the river or springs in that dry jungle, and,
+as manifestly the whole country abounded
+in game, it must troop down to the river in
+the cool of the evening to allay the hot day's
+thirst.  The boys were perfectly situated for
+watching the dark bank on the channel side
+of the island as well as the open bars on the
+other.  The huge cypresses cast shadows that
+even in daylight effectually concealed them.
+They put out the camp-fire and, taking
+comfortable seats in the folds of the great gnarled
+roots, began to watch and listen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The vanguard of thirsty deer had prepared
+Ken for something remarkable, and he was in
+no wise disappointed.  The trooping of deer
+down to the water's edge and the flight of
+wild fowl up-stream increased in proportion
+to the gathering shadows of twilight.  The
+deer must have got a scent, for they raised
+their long ears and stood still as statues,
+gazing across toward the upper end of the
+island.  But they showed no fear.  It was
+only when they had drunk their fill and
+wheeled about to go up the narrow trails
+over the bank that they showed uneasiness
+and haste.  This made Ken wonder if they
+were fearful of being ambushed by jaguars.
+Soon the dark line of deer along the shore
+shaded into the darkness of night.  Then
+Ken heard soft splashes and an occasional
+patter of hard hoofs.  The whir of wings
+had ceased.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A low exclamation from Pepe brought
+attention to interesting developments closer
+at hand.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Javelin!" he whispered.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>On the channel side of the island was
+impenetrable pitchy blackness.  Ken tried to
+pierce it with straining eyes, but he could
+not even make out the shore-line that he knew
+was only ten yards distant.  Still he could
+hear, and that was thrilling enough.  Everywhere
+on this side, along the edge of the water
+and up the steep bank, were faint tickings of
+twigs and soft rustlings of leaves.  Then
+there was a continuous sound, so low as to
+be almost inaudible, that resembled nothing
+Ken could think of so much as a long line of
+softly dripping water.  It swelled in volume
+to a tiny roll, and ended in a sharp clicking
+on rocks and a gentle splashing in the water.
+A drove of </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span> had come down to drink.
+Occasionally the glint of green eyes made
+the darkness all the more weird.  Suddenly a
+long, piercing wail, a keen cry almost human,
+quivered into the silence.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Panther!" Ken whispered, instantly, to
+the boys.  It was a different cry from that of
+the lion of the cañon, but there was a strange
+wild note that betrayed the species.  A
+stillness fell, dead as that of a subterranean
+cavern.  Strain his ears as he might, Ken
+could not detect the slightest sound.  It
+was as if no </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span> or any other animals
+had come down to drink.  That listening,
+palpitating moment seemed endless.  What
+mystery of wild life it meant, that silence
+following the cry of the panther!  Then the
+jungle sounds recommenced--the swishing of
+water, the brushing in the thicket, stealthy
+padded footsteps, the faint snapping of twigs.
+Some kind of a cat uttered an unearthly squall.
+Close upon this the clattering of deer up the
+bank on the other side rang out sharply.
+The deer were running, and the striking of
+the little hoofs ceased in short order.  Ken
+listened intently.  From far over the bank came
+a sound not unlike a cough--deep, hoarse,
+inexpressibly wild and menacing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tigre!" cried Pepe, gripping Ken hard
+with both hands.  He could feel him
+trembling.  It showed how the native of the
+jungle-belt feared the jaguar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Again the cough rasped out, nearer and
+louder this time.  It was not a
+courage-provoking sound, and seemed on second
+thought more of a growl than a cough.  Ken
+felt safe on the island; nevertheless, he took
+up his rifle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a tiger," whispered George.  "I
+heard one once from the porch of the Alamitas
+hacienda."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A third time the jaguar told of his arrival
+upon the night scene.  Ken was excited, and
+had a thrill of fear.  He made up his mind
+to listen with clearer ears, but the cough or
+growl was not repeated.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then a silence set in, so unbroken that it
+seemed haunted by the echoes of those wild
+jungle cries.  Perhaps Ken had the haunting
+echoes in mind.  He knew what had sent
+the deer away and stilled the splashings and
+creepings.  It was the hoarse voice of the lord
+of the jungle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe and the boys, too, fell under the spell
+of the hour.  They did not break the charm
+by talking.  Giant fireflies accentuated the
+ebony blackness and a low hum of insects
+riveted the attention on the stillness.  Ken
+could not understand why he was more
+thoughtful on this trip than he had ever been
+before.  Somehow he felt immeasurably older.
+Probably that was because it had seemed
+necessary for him to act like a man, even if he
+was only a boy.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The black mantle of night lifted from under
+the cypresses, leaving a gloom that slowly
+paled.  Through the dark foliage, low down
+over the bank, appeared the white tropical
+moon.  Shimmering gleams chased the shadows
+across the ripples, and slowly the river
+brightened to a silver sheen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A great peace fell upon the jungle world.
+How white, how wild, how wonderful!  It
+only made the island more beautiful and
+lonely.  The thought of leaving it gave Ken
+Ward a pang.  Almost he wished he were a
+savage.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And he lay there thinking of the wild places
+that he could never see, where the sun shone,
+the wind blew, the twilight shadowed, the
+rain fell; where the colors and beauties changed
+with the passing hours; where a myriad of
+wild creatures preyed upon each other and
+night never darkened but upon strife and death.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="a-turkey-hunt"><span class="bold large">XIII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A TURKEY-HUNT</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Upon awakening in the early morning
+Ken found his state one of huge
+enjoyment.  He was still lazily tired, but the
+dead drag and ache had gone from his bones.
+A cool breeze wafted the mist from the river,
+breaking it up into clouds, between which
+streamed rosy shafts of sunlight.  Wood-smoke
+from the fire Pepe was starting blew
+fragrantly over him.  A hundred thousand
+birds seemed to be trying to burst their
+throats.  The air was full of music.  He lay
+still, listening to this melodious herald of the
+day till it ceased.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then a flock of parrots approached and
+circled over the island, screeching like a band
+of flying imps.  Presently they alighted in
+the cypresses, bending the branches to a
+breaking-point and giving the trees a spotted
+appearance of green and red.  Pepe waved
+his hand toward another flock sweeping over.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Parrakeets," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>These birds were a solid green, much smaller
+than the red-heads, with longer tails.  They
+appeared wilder than the red-heads, and flew
+higher, circling the same way and screeching,
+but they did not alight.  Other flocks sailed
+presently from all directions.  The last one
+was a cloud of parrots, a shining green and
+yellow mass several acres in extent.  They
+flew still higher than the parrakeets.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yellow-heads!" shouted George.  "They're
+the big fellows, the talkers.  If there ain't a
+million of 'em!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys ate breakfast in a din that made
+conversation useless.  The red-heads swooped
+down upon the island, and the two unfriendly
+species flew back and forth, manifestly trying
+to drive the boys off.  The mist had blown
+away, the sun was shining bright, when the
+myriad of parrots, in large and small flocks,
+departed to other jungle haunts.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe rowed across the wide shoal to the
+sand-bars.  There in the soft ooze, among
+the hundreds of deer-tracks, Ken found a
+jaguar-track larger than his spread hand.
+It was different from a lion-track, yet he could
+not distinguish just what the difference was.
+Pepe, who had accompanied the boys to
+carry the rifles and game, pointed to the track
+and said, vehemently:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tigre!" He pronounced it "tee-gray."  And
+he added, "Grande!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Big he certainly is," Ken replied.  "Boys,
+we'll kill this jaguar.  We'll bait this
+drinking-trail with a deer carcass and watch to-night."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Once upon the bank, Ken was surprised
+to see a wide stretch of comparatively flat
+land.  It was covered with a low vegetation,
+with here and there palm-trees on the little
+ridges and bamboo clumps down in the swales.
+Beyond the flat rose the dark line of dense
+jungle.  It was not clear to Ken why that low
+piece of ground was not overgrown with the
+matted thickets and vines and big trees
+characteristic of other parts of the jungle.
+They struck into one of the trails, and had
+not gone a hundred paces when they espied
+a herd of deer.  The grass and low bushes
+almost covered them.  George handed his
+shotgun to Pepe and took his rifle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Shoot low," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George pulled the trigger, and with the
+report a deer went down, but it was not the one
+Ken was looking at, nor the one at which he
+believed George had aimed.  The rest of the
+herd bounded away, to disappear in a swale.
+Wading through bushes and grass, they found
+George's quarry, a small deer weighing
+perhaps sixty pounds.  Pepe carried it over to
+the trail.  Ken noted that he was exceedingly
+happy to carry the rifles.  They went on at
+random, somehow feeling that, no matter in
+what direction, they would run into something
+to shoot at.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The first bamboo swale was alive with
+</span><em class="italics">chicalocki</em><span>.  Up to this time Ken had not
+seen this beautiful pheasant fly in the open,
+and he was astonished at its speed.  It
+would burst out of the thick bamboo, whir its
+wings swiftly, then sail.  That sail was a most
+graceful thing to see.  George pulled his
+16-gage twice, and missed both times.  He
+had the beginner's fault--shooting too soon.
+Presently Pepe beat a big cock </span><em class="italics">chicalocki</em><span>
+out of the bush.  He made such a fine target,
+he sailed so evenly, that Ken simply looked
+at him over the gun-sights and followed him
+till he was out of sight.  The next one he
+dropped like a plummet.  Shooting </span><em class="italics">chicalocki</em><span>
+was too easy, he decided; they presented so
+fair a mark that it was unfair to pull on them.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George was an impetuous hunter.  Ken
+could not keep near him, nor coax or command
+him to stay near.  He would wander off by
+himself.  That was one mark in his favor:
+at least he had no fear.  Pepe hung close to
+Ken and Hal, with his dark eyes roving
+everywhere.  Ken climbed out on one side of the
+swale, George on the other.  Catching his
+whistle, Ken turned to look after him.  He
+waved, and, pointing ahead, began to stoop
+and slip along from bush to bush.  Presently
+a flock of Muscovy ducks rose before him,
+sailed a few rods, and alighted.  Then from
+right under his feet labored up great gray
+birds.  Wild geese!  Ken recognized them
+as George's gun went </span><em class="italics">bang</em><span>!  One tumbled
+over, the others wheeled toward the river.
+Ken started down into the swale to cross to
+where George was, when Pepe touched his arm.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Turkeys!" he whispered.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That changed Ken's mind.  Pepe pointed
+into the low bushes ahead and slowly led
+Ken forward.  He heard a peculiar low
+thumping.  Trails led everywhere, and here and
+there were open patches covered with a scant
+growth of grass.  Across one of these flashed
+a bronze streak, then another and another.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Shoot!  Shoot!" said Pepe, tensely.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Those bronze streaks were running turkeys!
+The thumpings were made by their rapidly
+moving feet!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't they flush--fly?" Ken queried of Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"No--no--shoot!" exclaimed he, as another
+streak of brown crossed an open spot.  Ken
+hurriedly unbreached his gun and changed
+the light shells for others loaded with heavy
+shot.  He reached the edge of a bare spot
+across which a turkey ran with incredible
+swiftness.  He did not get the gun in line
+with it at all.  Then two more broke out
+of the bushes.  Run!  They were as swift as
+flying quail.  Ken took two snap-shots, and
+missed both times.  If any one had told him
+that he would miss a running turkey at fifty
+feet, he would have been insulted.  But he
+did not loosen a feather.  Loading again, he
+yelled for George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, George--turkeys!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He whooped, and started across on the run.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee!" said Hal.  "Ken, I couldn't do
+any worse shooting than you.  Let me take
+a few pegs."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken handed over the heavy gun and fell
+back a little, giving Hal the lead.  They
+walked on, peering closely into the bushes.
+Suddenly a beautiful big gobbler ran out of a
+thicket, and then stopped to stretch out his
+long neck and look.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Shoot--hurry!" whispered Ken.  "What a chance!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a tame turkey," said Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tame!  Why, you tenderfoot!  He's as
+wild as wild.  Can't you see that?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's excitement and Pepe's intense
+eagerness all at once seemed communicated to Hal.
+He hauled up the gun, fingered the triggers
+awkwardly, then shot both barrels.  He tore
+a tremendous hole in the brush some few feet
+to one side of the turkey.  Then the great
+bird ran swiftly out of sight.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't want to kill him sitting, anyhow,"
+said Hal, handing the gun back to Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We want to eat some wild turkey, don't
+we?  Well, we'd better take any chance.
+These birds are game, Hal, and don't you
+forget that!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's all the shooting?" panted George,
+as he joined the march.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Just then there was a roar in the bushes,
+and a brown blur rose and whizzed ahead like
+a huge bullet.  That turkey had flushed.
+Ken watched him fly till he went down out
+of sight into a distant swale.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pretty nifty flier, eh?" said George.
+"He was too quick for me."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Great!" replied Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There was another roar, and a huge bronze
+cannon-ball sped straight ahead.  Ken shot
+both barrels, then George shot one, all clean
+misses.  Ken watched this turkey fly, and saw
+him clearer.  He had to admit that the wild
+turkey of the Tamaulipas jungle had a
+swifter and more beautiful flight than his
+favorite bird, the ruffled grouse.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Walk faster," said George.  "They'll flush
+better.  I don't see how I'm to hit one.  This
+goose I'm carrying weighs about a ton."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The hunters hurried along, crashing through
+the bushes.  They saw turkey after turkey.
+</span><em class="italics">Bang!</em><span> went George's gun.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then a beautiful sight made Ken cry out
+and forget to shoot.  Six turkeys darted across
+an open patch--how swiftly they ran!--then
+rose in a bunch.  The roar they made, the
+wonderfully rapid action of their powerful
+wings, and then the size of them, their
+wildness and noble gameness made them the royal
+game for Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At the next threshing in the bushes his gun
+was leveled; he covered the whistling bronze
+thing that shot up.  The turkey went down
+with a crash.  Pepe yelled, and as he ran
+forward the air all about him was full of fine
+bronze feathers.  Ken hurried forward to
+see his bird.  Its strength and symmetry,
+and especially the beautiful shades of bronze,
+captivated his eye.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come on, boys--this is the greatest game
+I ever hunted," he called.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Again Pepe yelled, and this time he pointed.
+From where Ken stood he could not see
+anything except low, green bushes.  In great
+excitement George threw up his gun and shot.
+Ken heard a squealing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Javelin!  Javelin!" yelled Pepe, in piercing
+alarm.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George jerked a rifle from him and began to
+shoot.  Hal pumped his .22 into the bushes.
+The trampling of hard little hoofs and a
+cloud of dust warned Ken where the javelin
+were.  Suddenly Pepe broke and fled for the
+river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hyar, Pepe, fetch back my rifle," shouted
+Ken, angrily.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe ran all the faster.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George turned and dashed away yelling:
+"Wild pigs!  Wild pigs!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look out, Ken!  Run!  Run!" added Hal;
+and he likewise took to his heels.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It looked as if there was nothing else for Ken
+to do but to make tracks from that vicinity.
+Never before had he run from a danger which
+he had not seen; but the flight of the boys was
+irresistibly contagious, and this, coupled with
+the many stories he had heard of the </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span>,
+made Ken execute a sprint that would have
+been a record but for the hampering weight
+of gun and turkey.  He vowed he would hold
+on to both, pigs or no pigs; nevertheless he
+listened as he ran and nervously looked back
+often.  It may have been excited imagination
+that the dust-cloud appeared to be traveling
+in his wake.  Fortunately, the distance to the
+river did not exceed a short quarter of a mile.
+Hot, winded, and thoroughly disgusted with
+himself, Ken halted on the bank.  Pepe was
+already in the boat, and George was
+scrambling aboard.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"A fine--chase--you've given--me," Ken
+panted.  "There's nothing--after us."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't you fool yourself," returned George,
+quickly.  "I saw those pigs, and, like the ass
+I am, I blazed away at one with my shotgun."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Did he run at you?  That's what I want
+to know?" demanded Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George said he was not certain about that,
+but declared there always was danger if a
+wounded </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span> squealed.  Pepe had little
+to say; he refused to go back after the deer
+left in the trail.  So they rowed across the
+shoal, and on the way passed within a rod of a
+big crocodile.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look at that fellow," cried George.  "Wish
+I had my rifle loaded.  He's fifteen feet long."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh no, George, he's not more than ten
+feet," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't see his tail.  He's a whopper.
+Pepe told me there was one in this pool.
+We'll get him, all right."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They reached camp tired out, and all a
+little ruffled in temper, which certainly was
+not eased by the discovery that they were
+covered with ticks.  Following the cue of his
+companions, Ken hurriedly stripped off his
+clothes and hung them where they could
+singe over the camp-fire.  There were broad
+red bands of </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span> round both ankles, and
+reddish patches on the skin of his arms.  Here
+and there were black spots about the size
+of his little finger-nail, and these were
+</span><em class="italics">garrapatoes</em><span>.  He picked these off one by one, rather
+surprised to find them come off so easily.
+Suddenly he jumped straight up with a pain
+as fierce as if it had been a puncture from a
+red-hot wire.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe grinned; and George cried:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha! that was a garrapato bite, that was!
+You just wait!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George had a hundred or more of the big
+black ticks upon him, and he was remorselessly
+popping them with his cigarette.  Some
+of them were biting him, too, judging from the
+way he flinched.  Pepe had attracted to
+himself a million or more of the </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span>, but very
+few of the larger pests.  He generously came
+to Ken's assistance.  Ken was trying to pull
+off the </span><em class="italics">garrapato</em><span> that had bitten a hole in
+him.  Pepe said it had embedded its head,
+and if pulled would come apart, leaving the
+head buried in the flesh, which would cause
+inflammation.  Pepe held the glowing end
+of his cigarette close over the tick, and it
+began to squirm and pull out its head.  When
+it was free of the flesh Pepe suddenly touched
+it with the cigarette, and it exploded with a
+pop.  A difficult question was: Which hurt
+Ken the most, the burn from the cigarette or
+the bite of the tick?  Pepe scraped off as many
+</span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span> as would come, and then rubbed
+Ken with </span><em class="italics">canya</em><span>, the native alcohol.  If this
+was not some kind of vitriol, Ken missed his
+guess.  It smarted so keenly he thought his
+skin was peeling off.  Presently, however,
+the smarting subsided, and so did the ticks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal, who by far was the most sensitive one
+in regard to the crawling and biting of the
+jungle pests, had been remarkably fortunate
+in escaping them.  So he made good use of
+his opportunity to poke fun at the others,
+particularly Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George snapped out: "Just wait, Hollering Hal!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't you call me that!" said Hal,
+belligerently.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken eyed his brother in silence, but with
+a dark, meaning glance.  It had occurred to
+Ken that here in this jungle was the only place
+in the world where he could hope to pay off
+old scores on Hal.  And plots began to form
+in his mind.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They lounged about camp, resting in the
+shade during the hot midday hours.  For
+supper they had a superfluity of meat, the
+waste of which Ken deplored, and he
+assuaged his conscience by deciding to have
+a taste of each kind.  The wild turkey he
+found the most toothsome, delicious meat it
+had ever been his pleasure to eat.  What
+struck him at once was the flavor, and he
+could not understand it until Pepe explained
+that the jungle turkey lived upon a red pepper.
+So the Tamaulipas wild turkey turned out
+to be doubly the finest game he had ever shot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All afternoon the big crocodile sunned
+himself on the surface of the shoal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken wanted a crocodile-skin, and this was
+a chance to get one; but he thought it as well
+to wait, and kept the boys from wasting
+ammunition.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before sundown Pepe went across the river
+and fetched the deer carcass down to the
+sandbar, where the jaguar-trail led to the water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At twilight Ken stationed the boys at the
+lower end of the island, ambushed behind
+stones.  He placed George and Pepe some
+rods below his own position.  They had
+George's .32 rifle, and the 16-gage loaded with
+a solid ball.  Ken put Hal, with the
+double-barreled shotgun, also loaded with ball, some
+little distance above.  And Ken, armed with
+his automatic, hid just opposite the deer-trails.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Be careful where you shoot," Ken warned
+repeatedly.  "Be cool--think quick--and aim."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken settled down for a long wait, some
+fifty yards from the deer carcass.  A
+wonderful procession of wild fowl winged swift
+flight over his head.  They flew very low.
+It was strange to note the difference in the
+sound of their flying.  The cranes and herons
+softly swished the air, the teal and canvasbacks
+whirred by, and the great Muscovies
+whizzed like bullets.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the first deer came down to drink it
+was almost dark, and when they left the moon
+was up, though obscured by clouds.  Faint
+sounds rose from the other side of the island.
+Ken listened until his ears ached, but he could
+hear nothing.  Heavier clouds drifted over
+the moon.  The deer carcass became
+indistinct, and then faded entirely, and the bar
+itself grew vague.  He was about to give up
+watching for that night when he heard a faint
+rustling below.  Following it came a grating
+or crunching of gravel.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Bright flares split the darkness--</span><em class="italics">crack! crack!</em><span>
+rang out George's rifle, then the heavy
+</span><em class="italics">boom! boom!</em><span> of the shotgun.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There he is!" yelled George.  "He's down--we
+got him--there's two!  Look out!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Boom!  Boom!</em><span> roared the heavy shotgun
+from Hal's covert.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George missed him!  I got him!" yelled
+Hal.  "No, there he goes--Ken!  Ken!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken caught the flash of a long gray body
+in the hazy gloom of the bar and took a
+quick shot at it.  The steel-jacketed bullet
+scattered the gravel and then hummed over
+the bank.  The gray body moved fast up the
+bank.  Ken could just see it.  He turned
+loose the little automatic and made the
+welkin ring.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="a-fight-with-a-jaguar"><span class="bold large">XIV</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>When the echoes of the shots died away
+the stillness seemed all the deeper.  No
+rustle in the brush or scuffle on the sand
+gave evidence of a wounded or dying jaguar.
+George and Hal and Pepe declared there
+were two tigers, and that they had hit one.
+Ken walked out upon the stones till he could
+see the opposite bar, but was not rewarded
+by a sight of dead game.  Thereupon they
+returned to camp, somewhat discouraged at
+their ill luck, but planning another night-watch.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In the morning George complained that he
+did not feel well.  Ken told him he had been
+eating too much fresh meat, and that he had
+better be careful.  Then Ken set off alone,
+crossed the river, and found that the deer
+carcass was gone.  In the sand near where
+it had lain were plenty of cat-tracks, but none
+of the big jaguar.  Upon closer scrutiny he
+found the cat-tracks to be those of a panther.
+He had half dragged, half carried the carcass
+up one of the steep trails, but from that point
+there was no further trace.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken struck out across the fiat, intending
+to go as far as the jungle.  Turtle-doves
+fluttered before him in numberless flocks.
+Far to one side he saw Muscovy ducks rising,
+sailing a few rods, then alighting.  This
+occurred several times before he understood
+what it meant.  There was probably a large
+flock feeding on the flat, and the ones in the
+rear were continually flying to get ahead of
+those to the fore.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Several turkeys ran through the bushes
+before Ken, but as he was carrying a rifle
+he paid little heed to them.  He kept a keen
+lookout for </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span>.  Two or three times he
+was tempted to turn off the trail into little
+bamboo hollows; this, however, owing to a
+repugnance to ticks, he did not do.  Finally,
+as he neared the high moss-decked wall of
+the jungle, he came upon a runway leading
+through the bottom of a deep swale, and here
+he found tiger-tracks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Farther down the swale, under a great
+cluster of bamboo, he saw the scattered bones
+of several deer.  Ken was sure that in this
+spot the lord of the jungle had feasted more
+than once.  It was an open hollow, with the
+ground bare under the bamboos.  The runway
+led on into dense, leafy jungle.  Ken planned
+to bait that lair with a deer carcass and watch
+it during the late afternoon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>First, it was necessary to get the deer.
+This might prove bothersome, for Ken's hands
+and wrists were already sprinkled with </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span>,
+and he certainly did not want to stay very
+long in the brush.  Ken imagined he felt an
+itching all the time, and writhed inside his
+clothes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, blame you! bite!" he exclaimed,
+resignedly, and stepped into the low bushes.
+He went up and out of the swale.  Scarcely
+had he reached a level when he saw a troop
+of deer within easy range.  Before they
+winded danger Ken shot, and the one he had
+singled out took a few bounds, then fell over
+sideways.  The others ran off into the brush.
+Ken remembered that the old hunter on
+Penetier had told him how seldom a deer
+dropped at once.  When he saw the work of
+the soft-nose .351 bullet, he no longer
+wondered at this deer falling almost in his
+tracks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"If I ever hit a jaguar like that it will be all
+day with him," was Ken's comment.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There were two things about hunting the
+jaguar that Ken had been bidden to keep in
+mind--fierce aggressiveness and remarkable
+tenacity of life.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken dragged the deer down into the
+bamboo swale and skinned out a haunch.  Next
+to wild-turkey meat, he liked venison best.
+He was glad to have that as an excuse, for
+killing these tame tropical deer seemed like
+murder to Ken.  He left the carcass in a
+favorable place and then hurried back to camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>To Ken's relief, he managed to escape
+bringing any </span><em class="italics">garrapatoes</em><span> with him, but it
+took a half-hour to rid himself of the
+collection of </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, ask Pepe what's the difference
+between a garrapato and a pinilius," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The big tick is the little one's mother,"
+replied Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee! you fellows fuss a lot about ticks,"
+said Hal, looking up from his task.  He was
+building more pens to accommodate the
+turtles, snakes, snails, mice, and young birds
+that he had captured during the morning.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe said there were few ticks there in the
+uplands compared to the number down along
+the Panuco River.  In the lowlands where
+the cattle roamed there were millions in every
+square rod.  The under side of every leaf and
+blade of grass was red with ticks.  The size
+of these pests depended on whether or not they
+got a chance to stick to a steer or any beast.
+They appeared to live indefinitely, but if they
+could not suck blood they could not grow.
+The </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span> grew into a </span><em class="italics">garrapato</em><span>, and a
+</span><em class="italics">garrapato</em><span> bred a hundred thousand </span><em class="italics">pinilius</em><span>
+in her body.  Two singular things concerning
+these ticks were that they always crawled
+upward, and they vanished from the earth
+during the wet season.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken soaked his Duxbax hunting-suit in
+kerosene in the hope that this method would
+enable him to spend a reasonable time
+hunting.  Then, while the other boys fished and
+played around, he waited for the long, hot
+hours to pass.  It was cool in the shade, but
+the sunlight resembled the heat of fire.  At
+last five o'clock came, and Ken put on the
+damp suit.  Soaked with the oil, it was
+heavier and hotter than sealskin, and before
+he got across the river he was nearly roasted.
+The evening wind sprang up, and the gusts
+were like blasts from a furnace.  Ken's body
+was bathed in perspiration; it ran down his
+wrists, over his hands, and wet the gun.
+This cure for ticks--if it were one--was
+worse than their bites.  When he reached the
+shade of the bamboo swale it was none too
+soon for him.  He threw off the coat, noticing
+there were more ticks upon it than at
+anytime before.  The bottom of his trousers,
+too, had gathered an exceeding quantity.  He
+brushed them off, muttering the while that
+he believed they liked kerosene, and looked
+as if they were drinking it.  Ken found it
+easy, however, to brush them off the wet
+Duxbax, and soon composed himself to rest
+and watch.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The position chosen afforded Ken a clear
+view of the bare space under the bamboos
+and of the hollow where the runway
+disappeared in the jungle.  The deer carcass,
+which lay as he had left it, was about a
+hundred feet from him.  This seemed rather
+close, but he had to accept it, for if he had
+moved farther away he could not have
+commanded both points.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken sat with his back against a clump of
+bamboos, the little rifle across his knees and
+an extra clip of cartridges on the ground
+at his left.  After taking that position he
+determined not to move a yard when the tiger
+came, and to kill him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken went over in mind the lessons he had
+learned hunting bear in Penetier Forest with
+old Hiram Bent and lassoing lions on the
+wild north-rim of the Grand Cañon.  Ken
+knew that the thing for a hunter to do, when
+his quarry was dangerous, was to make up
+his mind beforehand.  Ken had twelve powerful
+shells that he could shoot in the half of
+twelve seconds.  He would have been willing
+to face two jaguars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The sun set and the wind died down.
+What a relief was the cooling shade!  The
+little breeze that was left fortunately blew at
+right angles to the swale, so that there did
+not seem much danger of the tiger winding
+Ken down the jungle runway.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>For long moments he was tense and alert.
+He listened till he thought he had almost
+lost the sense of hearing.  The jungle leaves
+were whispering; the insects were humming.
+He had expected to hear myriad birds and
+see processions of deer, and perhaps a drove
+of </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span>.  But if any living creatures
+ventured near him it was without his knowledge.
+The hour between sunset and twilight passed--a
+long wait; still he did not lose the feeling
+that something would happen.  Ken's faculties
+of alertness tired, however, and needed
+distraction.  So he took stock of the big
+clump of bamboos under which lay the deer
+carcass.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was a remarkable growth, that gracefully
+drooping cluster of slender bamboo poles.  He
+remembered how, as a youngster, not many
+years back, he had wondered where the
+fishing-poles came from.  Here Ken counted
+one hundred and sixty-nine in a clump no
+larger than a barrel.  They were yellow in
+color with black bands, and they rose straight
+for a few yards, then began to lean out, to
+bend slightly, at last to droop with their
+abundance of spiked leaves.  Ken was getting
+down to a real, interested study of this
+species of jungle growth when a noise startled
+him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He straightened out of his lounging position
+and looked around.  The sound puzzled him.
+He could not place its direction or name what
+it was.  The jungle seemed strangely quiet.
+He listened.  After a moment of waiting he
+again heard the sound.  Instantly Ken was
+as tense and vibrating as a violin string.  The
+thing he had heard was from the lungs of
+some jungle beast.  He was almost ready to
+pronounce it a cough.  Warily he glanced
+around, craning his neck.  Then a deep,
+hoarse growl made him whirl.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There stood a jaguar with head up and paw
+on the deer carcass.  Ken imagined he felt
+perfectly cool, but he knew he was astounded.
+And even as he cautiously edged the rifle
+over his knee he took in the beautiful points
+of the jaguar.  He was yellow, almost white,
+with black spots.  He was short and stocky,
+with powerful stumpy bow-legs.  But his
+head most amazed Ken.  It was enormous.
+And the expression of his face was so
+singularly savage and wild that Ken seemed to
+realize instantly the difference between a
+mountain-lion and this fierce tropical brute.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext" id="id1"><span>The jaguar opened his jaws threateningly.
+He had an enormous stretch of jaw.  His long,
+yellow fangs gleamed.  He growled again.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Not hurriedly, nor yet slowly, Ken fired.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He heard the bullet strike him as plainly
+as if he had hit him with a board.  He saw
+dust fly from his hide.  Ken expected to see
+the jaguar roll over.  Instead of that he leaped
+straight up with a terrible roar.  Something
+within Ken shook.  He felt cold and sick.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the jaguar came down, sprawled on
+all fours, Ken pulled the automatic again,
+and he saw the fur fly.  Then the jaguar
+leaped forward with a strange, hoarse cry.
+Ken shot again, and knocked the beast flat.
+He tumbled and wrestled about, scattering the
+dust and brush.  Three times more Ken fired,
+too hastily, and inflicted only slight wounds.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In reloading Ken tried to be deliberate in
+snapping in the second clip and pushing down
+the rod that threw the shell into the barrel.
+But his hands shook.  His fingers were all
+thumbs, and he fumbled at the breech of the
+rifle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In that interval, if the jaguar could have
+kept his sense of direction, he would have
+reached Ken.  But the beast zigzagged; he
+had lost his equilibrium; he was hard hit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then he leaped magnificently.  He landed
+within twenty-five feet of Ken, and when
+he plunged down he rolled clear over.  Ken
+shot him through and through.  Yet he got
+up, wheezing blood, uttering a hoarse bellow,
+and made again at Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had been cold, sick.  Now panic
+almost overpowered him.  The rifle wabbled.
+The bamboo glade blurred in his sight.  A
+terrible dizziness and numbness almost
+paralyzed him.  He was weakening, sinking, when
+thought of life at stake lent him a momentary
+grim and desperate spirit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Once while the jaguar was in the air Ken
+pulled, twice while he was down.  Then the
+jaguar stood up pawing the air with great
+spread claws, coughing, bleeding, roaring.
+He was horrible.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken shot him straight between the
+wide-spread paws.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>With twisted body, staggering, and blowing
+bloody froth all over Ken, the big tiger blindly
+lunged forward and crashed to earth.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then began a furious wrestling.  Ken
+imagined it was the death-throes of the jaguar.
+Ken could not see him down among the leaves
+and vines; nevertheless, he shot into the
+commotion.  The struggles ceased.  Then a
+movement of the weeds showed Ken that the
+jaguar was creeping toward the jungle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken fell rather than sat down.  He found
+he was wringing wet with cold sweat.  He was
+panting hard.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, but--that--was--awful!" he gasped.
+"What--was--wrong--with me?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He began to reload the clips.  They were
+difficult to load for even a calm person, and
+now, in the reaction, Ken was the farthest
+removed from calm.  The jaguar crept steadily
+away, as Ken could tell by the swaying
+weeds and shaking vines.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What--a hard-lived beast!" muttered Ken.
+"I--must have shot--him all to pieces.  Yet
+he's getting away from me."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At last Ken's trembling fingers pushed
+some shells in the two clips, and once more
+he reloaded the rifle.  Then he stood up,
+drew a deep, full breath, and made a strong
+effort at composure.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I've shot at bear--and deer--and lions
+out West," said Ken.  "But this was different.
+I'll never get over it."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>How close that jaguar came to reaching
+Ken was proved by the blood coughed into
+his face.  He recalled that he had felt the
+wind of one great sweeping paw.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken regained his courage and determination.
+He meant to have that beautiful
+spotted skin for his den.  So he hurried along
+the runway and entered the jungle.  Beyond
+the edge, where the bushes made a dense
+thicket, it was dry forest, with little green
+low down.  The hollow gave place to a dry
+wash.  He could not see the jaguar, but he
+could hear him dragging himself through the
+brush, cracking sticks, shaking saplings.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently Ken ran across a bloody trail
+and followed it.  Every little while he would
+stop to listen.  When the wounded jaguar
+was still, he waited until he started to move
+again.  It was hard going.  The brush was
+thick, and had to be broken and crawled
+under or through.  As Ken had left his coat
+behind, his shirt was soon torn to rags.  He
+peered ahead with sharp eyes, expecting every
+minute to come in sight of the poor, crippled
+beast.  He wanted to put him out of agony.
+So he kept on doggedly for what must have
+been a long time.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The first premonition he had of carelessness
+was to note that the shadows were
+gathering in the jungle.  It would soon be
+night.  He must turn back while there was
+light enough to follow his back track out
+to the open.  The second came in shape of
+a hot pain in his arm, as keen as if he had
+jagged it with a thorn.  Holding it out, he
+discovered to his dismay that it was spotted
+with </span><em class="italics">garrapatoes</em><span>.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="the-vicious-garrapatoes"><span class="bold large">XV</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE VICIOUS GARRAPATOES</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>At once Ken turned back, and if he thought
+again of the jaguar it was that he could
+come after him the next day or send Pepe.
+Another vicious bite, this time on his leg,
+confirmed his suspicions that many of the
+ticks had been on him long enough to get
+their heads in.  Then he was bitten in several
+places.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Those bites were as hot as the touch of a
+live coal, yet they made Ken break out in
+dripping cold sweat.  It was imperative that
+he get back to camp without losing a moment
+which could be saved.  From a rapid walk
+he fell into a trot.  He got off his back trail
+and had to hunt for it.  Every time a tick
+bit he jumped as if stung.  The worst of it
+was that he knew he was collecting more
+</span><em class="italics">garrapatoes</em><span> with almost every step.  When
+he grasped a dead branch to push it out of
+the way he could feel the ticks cling to his
+hand.  Then he would whip his arm in the
+air, flinging some of them off to patter on the
+dry ground.  Impossible as it was to run
+through that matted jungle, Ken almost
+accomplished it.  When he got out into the
+open he did run, not even stopping for his
+coat, and he crossed the flat at top speed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was almost dark when Ken reached the
+river-bank and dashed down to frighten a
+herd of drinking deer.  He waded the narrowest
+part of the shoal.  Running up the island
+he burst into the bright circle of camp-fire.
+Pepe dropped a stew-pan and began to jabber.
+George dove for a gun.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's after you?" shouted Hal, in alarm.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was so choked up and breathless that
+at first he could not speak.  His fierce aspect
+and actions, as he tore off his sleeveless and
+ragged shirt and threw it into the fire, added
+to the boys' fright.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Good Lord! are you bug-house, Ken?"
+shrieked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Bug-house!  Yes!</em><span>" roared Ken, swiftly
+undressing.  "Look at me!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In the bright glare he showed his arms
+black with </span><em class="italics">garrapatoes</em><span> and a sprinkling of
+black dots over the rest of his body.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that all?" demanded Hal, in real or
+simulated scorn.  "Gee! but you're a brave
+hunter.  I thought not less than six tigers
+were after you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd rather have six tigers after me,"
+yelled Ken.  "You little freckle-faced redhead!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was seldom indeed that Ken called his
+brother that name.  Hal was proof against
+any epithets except that one relating to his
+freckles and his hair.  But just now Ken
+felt that he was being eaten alive.  He was
+in an agony, and he lost his temper.  And
+therefore he laid himself open to Hal's
+scathing humor.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Never mind the kid," said Ken to Pepe
+and George.  "Hurry now, and get busy with
+these devils on me."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was well for Ken that he had a native
+like Pepe with him.  For Pepe knew just
+what to do.  First he dashed a bucket of cold
+water over Ken.  How welcome that was!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe says for you to point out the ticks
+that 're biting the hardest," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In spite of his pain Ken stared in mute
+surprise.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe wants you to point out the ticks
+that are digging in the deepest," explained
+George.  "Get a move on, now."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What!" roared Ken, glaring at Pepe and
+George.  He thought even the native might
+be having fun with him.  And for Ken this
+was not a funny time.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Pepe was in dead earnest.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, it's impossible to tell </span><em class="italics">where</em><span> I'm being
+bitten most!  It's all over!" protested Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Still he discovered that by absolute
+concentration on the pain he was enduring he
+was able to locate the severest points.  And
+that showed him the soundness of Pepe's
+advice.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Here--this one--here--there....  Oh! here,"
+began Ken, indicating certain ticks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Not so fast, now," interrupted the
+imperturbable George, as he and Pepe set to
+work upon Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then the red-hot cigarette-tips scorched
+Ken's skin.  Ken kept pointing and
+accompanying his directions with wild gestures
+and exclamations.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Here....  Oo-oo!  Here....  Wow!  Here....
+Ouch!--that one stung!  Here....  </span><em class="italics">Augh</em><span>!
+Say, can't you hurry?  Here! ... Oh! that
+one was in a mile!  Here....  </span><em class="italics">Hold on</em><span>!
+You're burning a hole in me! ... George,
+you're having fun out of this.  Pepe gets two
+to your one."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's been popping ticks all his life," was
+George's reasonable protest.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hurry!" cried Ken, in desperation.
+"George, if you monkey round--fool over
+this job--I'll--I'll punch you good."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All this trying time Hal Ward sat on a
+log and watched the proceedings with great
+interest and humor.  Sometimes he smiled,
+at others he laughed, and yet again he burst
+out into uproarious mirth.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, he wouldn't punch anybody,"
+said Hal.  "I tell you he's all in.  He hasn't
+any nerve left.  It's a chance of your life.
+You'll never get another.  He's been bossing
+you around.  Pay him up.  Make him holler.
+Why, what's a few little ticks?  Wouldn't
+phase me!  But Ken Ward's such a delicate,
+fine-skinned, sensitive, girly kind of a boy!
+He's too nice to be bitten by bugs.  Oh
+dear, yes, yes! ... Ken, why don't you show
+courage?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken shook his fist at Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All right," said Ken, grimly.  "Have all
+the fun you can.  Because I'll get even with you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal relapsed into silence, and Ken began to
+believe he had intimidated his brother.  But
+he soon realized how foolish it was to suppose
+such a thing.  Hal had only been working
+his fertile brain.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, here's a little verse for the
+occasion," said Hal.</span></p>
+<blockquote>
+<div>
+<div class="line-block outermost">
+<div class="line"><span>"There was a brave hunter named Ken,</span></div>
+<div class="line"><span>And he loved to get skins for his den,</span></div>
+<div class="line"><span>Not afraid was he of tigers or pigs,</span></div>
+<div class="line"><span>Or snakes or cats or any such things,</span></div>
+<div class="line"><span>But one day in the jungle he left his clothes,</span></div>
+<div class="line"><span>And came hollering back with </span><em class="italics">garrapatoes</em><span>."</span></div>
+<div class="line"> </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>"Gre-at-t-t!" sputtered Ken.  "Oh, brother
+mine, we're a long way from home, I'll
+make you crawl."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe smoked, and wore out three cigarettes,
+and George two, before they had popped all
+the biting ticks.  Then Ken was still covered
+with them.  Pepe bathed him in </span><em class="italics">canya</em><span>,
+which was like a bath of fire, and soon removed
+them all.  Ken felt flayed alive, peeled of his
+skin, and sprinkled with fiery sparks.  When
+he lay down he was as weak as a sick cat.
+Pepe said the </span><em class="italics">canya</em><span> would very soon take the
+sting away, but it was some time before Ken
+was resting easily.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It would not have been fair to ask Ken just
+then whether the prize for which he worked
+was worth his present gain.  </span><em class="italics">Garrapatoes</em><span> may
+not seem important to one who simply reads
+about them, but such pests are a formidable
+feature of tropical life.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>However, Ken presently felt that he was
+himself again.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then he put his mind to the serious problem
+of his note-book and the plotting of the
+island.  As far as his trip was concerned,
+Cypress Island was an important point.
+When he had completed his map down to
+the island, he went on to his notes.  He
+believed that what he had found out from his
+knowledge of forestry was really worth
+something.  He had seen a gradual increase in the
+size and number of trees as he had proceeded
+down the river, a difference in the density and
+color of the jungle, a flattening-out of the
+mountain range, and a gradual change from
+rocky to clayey soil.  And on the whole his
+note-book began to assume such a character
+that he was beginning to feel willing to submit
+it to his uncle.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="field-work-of-a-naturalist"><span class="bold large">XVI</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>That night Ken talked natural history to
+the boys and read extracts from a small
+copy of Sclater he had brought with him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They were all particularly interested in the
+cat tribe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The fore feet of all cats have five toes, the
+hind feet only four.  Their claws are curved
+and sharp, and, except in case of one species
+of leopard, can be retracted in their sheaths.
+The claws of the great cat species are kept
+sharp by pulling them down through bark
+of trees.  All cats walk on their toes.  And
+the stealthy walk is due to hairy pads or
+cushions.  The claws of a cat do not show in
+its track as do those of a dog.  The tongues
+of all cats are furnished with large papillæ.
+They are like files, and the use is to lick bones
+and clean their fur.  Their long whiskers are
+delicate organs of perception to aid them in
+finding their way on their night quests.  The
+eyes of all cats are large and full, and can be
+altered by contraction or expansion of iris,
+according to the amount of light they receive.
+The usual color is gray or tawny with dark
+spots or stripes.  The uniform tawny color
+of the lion and the panther is perhaps an
+acquired color, probably from the habit of
+these animals of living in desert countries.  It
+is likely that in primitive times cats were all
+spotted or striped.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Naturally the boys were most interested
+in the jaguar, which is the largest of the cat
+tribe in the New World.  The jaguar ranges
+from northern Mexico to northern Patagonia.
+Its spots are larger than those of the leopard.
+Their ground color is a rich tan or yellow,
+sometimes almost gold.  Large specimens
+have been known nearly seven feet from nose
+to end of tail.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The jaguar is an expert climber and
+swimmer.  Humboldt says that where the South
+American forests are subject to floods the
+jaguar sometimes takes to tree life, living on
+monkeys.  All naturalists agree on the
+ferocious nature of jaguars, and on the loudness
+and frequency of their cries.  There is no
+record of their attacking human beings
+without provocation.  Their favorite haunts are
+the banks of jungle rivers, and they often prey
+upon fish and turtles.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The attack of a jaguar is terrible.  It
+leaps on the back of its prey and breaks its
+neck.  In some places there are well-known
+scratching trees where jaguars sharpen their
+claws.  The bark is worn smooth in front
+from contact with the breasts of the animals
+as they stand up, and there is a deep groove
+on each side.  When new scars appear on
+these trees it is known that jaguars are in the
+vicinity.  The cry of the jaguar is loud, deep,
+hoarse, something like </span><em class="italics">pu, pu, pu</em><span>.  There is
+much enmity between the panther, or mountain-lion,
+and the jaguar, and it is very strange
+that generally the jaguar fears the lion,
+although he is larger and more powerful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe had interesting things to say about
+jaguars, or </span><em class="italics">tigres</em><span>, as he called them.  But
+Ken, of course, could not tell how much
+Pepe said was truth and how much just native
+talk.  At any rate, Pepe told of one Mexican
+who had a blind and deaf jaguar that he had
+tamed.  Ken knew that naturalists claimed
+the jaguar could not be tamed, but in this
+instance Ken was inclined to believe Pepe.
+This blind jaguar was enormous in size,
+terrible of aspect, and had been trained to
+trail anything his master set him to.  And
+Tigre, as he was called, never slept or stopped
+till he had killed the thing he was trailing.
+As he was blind and deaf, his power of scent
+had been abnormally developed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe told of a fight between a huge crocodile
+and a jaguar in which both were killed.  He
+said jaguars stalked natives and had absolutely
+no fear.  He knew natives who said that
+jaguars had made off with children and eaten
+them.  Lastly, Pepe told of an incident that
+had happened in Tampico the year before.
+There was a ship at dock below Tampico,
+just on the outskirts where the jungle began,
+and one day at noon two big jaguars leaped
+on the deck.  They frightened the crew out
+of their wits.  George verified this story, and
+added that the jaguars had been chased by
+dogs, had boarded the ship, where they
+climbed into the rigging, and stayed there
+till they were shot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Ken, thoughtfully, "from my
+experience I believe a jaguar would do anything."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The following day promised to be a busy
+one for Hal, without any time for tricks.
+George went hunting before breakfast--in
+fact, before the others were up--and just as
+the boys were sitting down to eat he appeared
+on the nearer bank and yelled for Pepe.
+It developed that for once George had bagged game.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He had a black squirrel, a small striped
+wildcat, a peccary, a three-foot crocodile, and a
+duck of rare plumage.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>After breakfast Hal straightway got busy,
+and his skill and knowledge earned praise
+from George and Pepe.  They volunteered
+to help, which offer Hal gratefully accepted.
+He had brought along a folding canvas tank,
+forceps, knives, scissors, several packages of
+preservatives, and tin boxes in which to pack
+small skins.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>His first task was to mix a salt solution
+in the canvas tank.  This was for immersing
+skins.  Then he made a paste of salt and
+alum, and after that a mixture of two-thirds
+glycerin and one-third water and carbolic
+acid, which was for preserving small skins
+and to keep them soft.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And as he worked he gave George directions
+on how to proceed with the wildcat
+and squirrel skins.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Skin carefully and tack up the pelts fur
+side down.  Scrape off all the fat and oil,
+but don't scrape through.  To-morrow when
+the skins are dry soak them in cold water
+till soft.  Then take them out and squeeze
+dry.  I'll make a solution of three quarts
+water, one-half pint salt, and one ounce oil
+of vitriol.  Put the skins in that for half an
+hour.  Squeeze dry again, and hang in shade.
+That 'll tan the skin, and the moths will never
+hurt them."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When Hal came to take up the duck he
+was sorry that some of the beautiful plumage
+had been stained.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I want only a few water-fowl," he said.
+"And particularly one of the big Muscovies.
+And you must keep the feathers from getting
+soiled."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was interesting to watch Hal handle
+that specimen.  First he took full measurements.
+Then, separating the feathers along
+the breast, he made an incision with a sharp
+knife, beginning high up on breast-bone and
+ending at tail.  He exercised care so as not
+to cut through the abdomen.  Raising the skin
+carefully along the cut as far as the muscles of
+the leg, he pushed out the knee joint and cut it
+off.  Then he loosened the skin from the legs
+and the back, and bent the tail down to cut
+through the tail joint.  Next he removed the
+skin from the body and cut off the wings at
+the shoulder joint.  Then he proceeded down
+the neck, being careful not to pull or stretch the
+skin.  Extreme care was necessary in cutting
+round the eyes.  Then, when he had loosened
+the skin from the skull, he severed the head
+and cleaned out the skull.  He coated all
+with the paste, filled the skull with cotton,
+and then immersed them in the glycerin bath.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The skinning of the crocodile was an easy
+matter compared with that of the duck.  Hal
+made an incision at the throat, cut along the
+middle of the abdomen all the way to the tip
+of the tail, and then cut the skin away all
+around the carcass.  Then he set George and
+Pepe to scraping the skin, after which he
+immersed it in the tank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>About that time Ken, who was lazily fishing
+in the shade of the cypresses, caught one of
+the blue-tailed fish.  Hal was delighted.  He
+had made a failure of the other specimen of
+this unknown fish.  This one was larger and
+exquisitely marked, being dark gold on the
+back, white along the belly, and its tail had
+a faint bluish tinge.  Hal promptly killed
+the fish, and then made a dive for his
+suitcase.  He produced several sheets of stiff
+cardboard and a small box of water-colors
+and brushes.  He laid the fish down on a
+piece of paper and outlined its exact size.
+Then, placing it carefully in an upright
+position on a box, he began to paint it in the
+actual colors of the moment.  Ken laughed
+and teased him.  George also was inclined to
+be amused.  But Pepe was amazed and
+delighted.  Hal worked on unmindful of his
+audience, and, though he did not paint a very
+artistic picture, he produced the vivid colors
+of the fish before they faded.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>His next move was to cover the fish with
+strips of thin cloth, which adhered to the scales
+and kept them from being damaged.  Then he
+cut along the middle line of the belly, divided
+the pelvic arch where the ventral fins joined,
+cut through the spines, and severed the fins
+from the bones.  Then he skinned down to the
+tail, up to the back, and cut through caudal
+processes.  The vertebral column he severed
+at the base of the skull.  He cleaned and
+scraped the entire inside of the skin, and then
+put it to soak.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, you're much more likely to make good
+with Uncle Jim than I am," said Ken.
+"You've really got skill, and you know what
+to do.  Now, my job is different.  So far
+I've done fairly well with my map of the river.
+But as soon as we get on level ground I'll
+be stumped."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll cover a hundred miles before we get
+to low land," replied Hal, cheerily.  "That's
+enough, even if we do get lost for the rest
+of the way.  You'll win that trip abroad,
+Ken, never fear, and little Willie is going
+to be with you."</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="a-mixed-up-tiger-hunt"><span class="bold large">XVII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A MIXED-UP TIGER-HUNT</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Next morning Hal arose bright as a lark,
+but silent, mysterious, and with far-seeing
+eyes.  It made Ken groan in spirit to
+look at the boy.  Yes, indeed, they were far
+from home, and the person did not live on the
+earth who could play a trick on Hal Ward
+and escape vengeance.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>After breakfast Hal went off with a
+long-handled landing-net, obviously to capture
+birds or fish or mice or something.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George said he did not feel very well, and
+he looked grouchy.  He growled around camp
+in a way that might have nettled Ken, but
+Ken, having had ten hours of undisturbed sleep,
+could not have found fault with anybody.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Garrapato George, come out of it.  Cheer
+up," said Ken.  "Why don't you take Pinilius
+Pepe as gun-bearer and go out to shoot
+something?  You haven't used up much
+ammunition yet."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's sarcasm was not lost upon George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if I do go, I'll not come running
+back to camp without some game."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"My son," replied Ken, genially, "if you
+should happen to meet a jaguar you'd--you'd
+just let out one squawk and then never touch
+even the high places of the jungle.  You'd
+take that crazy .32 rifle for a golf-stick."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Would I?" returned George.  "All right."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken watched George awhile that morning.
+The lad performed a lot of weird things around
+camp.  Then he bounced bullets off the water
+in vain effort to locate the basking crocodile.
+Then he tried his hand at fishing once more.
+He could get more bites than any fisherman
+Ken ever saw, but he could not catch anything.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>By and by the heat made Ken drowsy,
+and, stretching himself in the shade, he
+thought of a scheme to rid the camp of the
+noisy George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, George, take my hammerless and get
+Pepe to row you up along the shady bank of
+the river," suggested Ken.  "Go sneaking
+along and you'll have some sport."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George was delighted with that idea.  He
+had often cast longing eyes at the hammerless
+gun.  Pepe, too, looked exceedingly pleased.
+They got in the boat and were in the act of
+starting when George jumped ashore.  He
+reached for his .32 and threw the lever down
+to see if there was a shell in the chamber.
+Then he proceeded to fill his pockets with
+ammunition.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Might need a rifle," he said.  "You can't
+tell what you're going to see in this unholy
+jungle."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon he went aboard again and Pepe
+rowed leisurely up-stream.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Be careful, boys," Ken called, and
+composed himself for a nap.  He promptly fell
+asleep.  How long he slept he had no idea,
+and when he awoke he lay with languor, not
+knowing at the moment what had awakened
+him.  Presently he heard a shout, then a
+rifle-shot.  Sitting up, he saw the boat some
+two hundred yards above, drifting along
+about the edge of the shade.  Pepe was in it
+alone.  He appeared to be excited, for Ken
+observed him lay down an oar and pick up a
+gun, and then reverse the performance.  Also
+he was jabbering to George, who evidently
+was out on the bank, but invisible to Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, Pepe!" Ken yelled.  "What 're you doing?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Strange to note, Pepe did not reply or even
+turn.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Now where in the deuce is George?" Ken
+said, impatiently.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The hollow crack of George's .32 was a
+reply to the question.  Ken heard the singing
+of a bullet.  Suddenly, </span><em class="italics">spou!</em><span> it twanged
+on a branch not twenty feet over his head,
+and then went whining away.  He heard it
+tick a few leaves or twigs.  There was not
+any languor in the alacrity with which Ken
+put the big cypress-tree between him and
+up-stream.  Then he ventured to peep forth.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look out where you're slinging lead!"
+he yelled.  He doubted not that George had
+treed a black squirrel or was pegging away at
+parrots.  Yet Pepe's motions appeared to
+carry a good deal of feeling, too much, he
+thought presently, for small game.  So Ken
+began to wake up thoroughly.  He lost sight
+of Pepe behind a low branch of a tree that
+leaned some fifty yards above the island.
+Then he caught sight of him again.  He was
+poling with an oar, evidently trying to go up
+or down--Ken could not tell which.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  George's .32 spoke twice
+more, and the bullets both struck in the middle
+of the stream and ricochetted into the far
+bank with little thuds.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Something prompted Ken to reach for his
+automatic, snap the clip in tight, and push
+in the safety.  At the same time he muttered
+George's words: "You can never tell what's
+coming off in this unholy jungle."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then, peeping out from behind the cypress,
+Ken watched the boat drift down-stream.
+Pepe had stopped poling and was looking
+closely into the thick grass and vines of the
+bank.  Ken heard his voice, but could not
+tell what he said.  He watched keenly for
+some sight of George.  The moments passed,
+the boat drifted, and Ken began to think
+there was nothing unusual afoot.  In this
+interval Pepe drifted within seventy-five yards
+of camp.  Again Ken called to ask him what
+George was stalking, and this time Pepe yelled;
+but Ken did not know what he said.  Hard
+upon this came George's sharp voice:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look out, there, on the island.  Get
+behind something.  I've got him between the
+river and the flat.  He's in this strip of shore
+brush.  There!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  Bullets hummed
+and whistled all about the island.  Ken was
+afraid to peep out with even one eye.  He
+began to fancy that George was playing
+Indian.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine, Georgie!  You're doing great!" he
+shouted.  "You couldn't come any closer to
+me if you were aiming at me.  What is it?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then a crashing of brush and a flash of
+yellow low down along the bank changed the
+aspect of the situation.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Panther! or jaguar!" Ken ejaculated, in
+amaze.  In a second he was tight-muscled,
+cold, and clear-witted.  At that instant he
+saw George's white shirt about the top of the
+brush.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back!  Get out in the open!" Ken
+ordered.  "Do you hear me?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is he?" shouted George, paying not
+the slightest attention to Ken.  Ken jumped
+from behind the tree, and, running to the
+head of the island, he knelt low near the water
+with rifle ready.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tigre!  Tigre!  Tigre!" screamed Pepe,
+waving his arms, then pointing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George crashed into the brush.  Ken saw
+the leaves move, then a long yellow shape.
+With the quickness of thought and the aim
+of the wing-shot, Ken fired.  From the brush
+rose a strange wild scream.  George aimed
+at a shaking mass of grass and vines, but,
+before he could fire, a long, lean, ugly beast
+leaped straight out from the bank to drop
+into the water with a heavy splash.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Like a man half scared to death Pepe waved
+Ken's double-barreled gun.  Then a yellow
+head emerged from the water.  It was in line
+with the boat.  Ken dared not shoot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Kill him, George," yelled Ken.  "Tell
+Pepe to kill him."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George seemed unaccountably silent.  But
+Ken had no time to look for him, for his
+eyes were riveted on Pepe.  The native did
+not know how to hold a gun properly, let
+alone aim it.  He had, however, sense enough
+to try.  He got the stock under his chin,
+and, pointing the gun, he evidently tried to
+fire.  But the hammerless did not go off.
+Then Pepe fumbled at the safety-catch, which
+he evidently remembered seeing Ken use.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The jaguar, swimming with difficulty,
+perhaps badly wounded, made right for the boat.
+Pepe was standing on the seat.  Awkwardly
+he aimed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Boom</em><span>!  He had pulled both triggers.  The
+recoil knocked him backward.  The hammerless
+fell in the boat, and Pepe's broad back hit
+the water; his bare, muscular legs clung to
+the gunwale, and slipped loose.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He had missed the jaguar, for it kept on
+toward the boat.  Still Ken dared not shoot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, what on earth is the matter with
+you?" shouted Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then Ken saw him standing in the brush
+on the bank, fussing over the crazy .32.  Of
+course at the critical moment something had
+gone wrong with the old rifle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe's head bobbed up just on the other
+side of the boat.  The jaguar was scarcely
+twenty feet distant and now in line with both
+boat and man.  At that instant a heavy swirl
+in the water toward the middle of the river
+drew Ken's attention.  He saw the big
+crocodile, and the great creature did not seem at
+all lazy at that moment.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George began to scream in Spanish.  Ken
+felt his hair stiffen and his face blanch.  Pepe,
+who had been solely occupied with the
+jaguar, caught George's meaning and turned
+to see the peril in his rear.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He bawled his familiar appeal to the saints.
+Then he grasped the gunwale of the boat
+just as it swung against the branches of the
+low-leaning tree.  He vaulted rather than
+climbed aboard.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken forgot that Pepe could understand
+little English, and he yelled: "Grab an oar,
+Pepe.  Keep the jaguar in the water.  Don't
+let him in the boat."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Pepe, even if he had understood, had
+a better idea.  Nimble, he ran over the boat
+and grasped the branches of the tree just as
+the jaguar flopped paws and head over the
+stern gunwale.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had only a fleeting instant to get a
+bead on that yellow body, and before he could
+be sure of an aim the branch weighted with
+Pepe sank down to hide both boat and
+jaguar.  The chill of fear for Pepe changed to
+hot rage at this new difficulty.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then George began to shoot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken heard the bullet hit the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George--wait!" shouted Ken.  "Don't
+shoot holes in the boat.  You'll sink it."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Spang</em><span>!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That was as much as George cared about
+such a possibility.  He stood on the bank and
+worked the lever of his .32 with wild haste.
+Ken plainly heard the spat of the bullets, and
+the sound was that of lead in contact with
+wood.  So he knew George was not hitting
+the jaguar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll ruin the boat!" roared Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe had worked up from the lower end
+of the branch, and as soon as he straddled
+it and hunched himself nearer shore the
+foliage rose out of the water, exposing the boat.
+George kept on shooting till his magazine was
+empty.  Ken's position was too low for him
+to see the jaguar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then the boat swung loose from the branch
+and, drifting down, gradually approached the
+shore.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pull yourself together, George," called
+Ken.  "Keep cool.  Make sure of your aim.
+We've got him now."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's mine!  He's mine!  He's mine!
+Don't you dare shoot!" howled George.  "I
+got him!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All right.  But steady up, can't you?
+Hit him once, anyway."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Apparently without aim George fired.  Then,
+jerking the lever, he fired again.  The boat
+drifted into overhanging vines.  Once more
+Ken saw a yellow and black object, then a
+trembling trail of leaves.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's coming out below you.  Look out,"
+yelled Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George disappeared.  Ken saw no sign of
+the jaguar and heard no shot or shout from
+George.  Pepe dropped from his branch to
+the bank and caught the boat.  Ken called,
+and while Pepe rowed over to the island, he
+got into some clothes fit to hunt in.  Then
+they hurried back across the channel to the
+bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken found the trail of the jaguar, followed
+it up to the edge of the brush, and lost it in
+the weedy flat.  George came out of a patch
+of bamboos.  He looked white and shaky
+and wild with disappointment.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I had a dandy shot as he came out,
+but the blamed gun jammed again.  Come
+on, we'll get him.  He's all shot up.  I bet
+I hit him ten times.  He won't get away."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken finally got George back to camp.  The
+boat was half full of water, making it necessary
+to pull it out on the bank and turn it over.
+There were ten bullet-holes in it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, you hit the boat, anyway," Ken
+said; "now we've a job on our hands."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal came puffing into camp.  He was red
+of face, and the sweat stood out on his
+forehead.  He had a small animal of some kind
+in a sack, and his legs were wet to his knees.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What was--all the--pegging about?" he
+asked, breathlessly.  "I expected to find camp
+surrounded by Indians."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Kid, it's been pretty hot round here for a
+little.  George and Pepe rounded up a tiger.
+Tell us about it, George," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So while Ken began to whittle pegs to
+pound into the bullet-holes, George wiped his
+flushed, sweaty face and talked.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We were up there a piece, round the bend.
+I saw a black squirrel and went ashore to get
+him.  But I couldn't find him, and in
+kicking round in the brush I came into a kind of
+trail or runway.  Then I ran plumb into that
+darned jaguar.  I was so scared I couldn't
+remember my gun.  But the cat turned and
+ran.  It was lucky he didn't make at me.
+When I saw him run I got back my courage.
+I called for Pepe to row down-stream and keep
+a lookout.  Then I got into the flat.  I must
+have come down a good ways before I saw
+him.  I shot, and he dodged back into the
+brush again.  I fired into the moving bushes
+where he was.  And pretty soon I ventured
+to get in on the bank, where I had a better
+chance.  I guess it was about that time that
+I heard you yell.  Then it all happened.
+You hit him!  Didn't you hear him scream?
+What a jump he made!  If it hadn't been
+so terrible when your hammerless kicked
+Pepe overboard, I would have died laughing.
+Then I was paralyzed when the jaguar swam
+for the boat.  He was hurt, for the water was
+bloody.  Things came off quick, I tell you.
+Like a monkey Pepe scrambled into the tree.
+When I got my gun loaded the jaguar was
+crouched down in the bottom of the boat
+watching Pepe.  Then I began to shoot.  I
+can't realize he got away from us.  What
+was the reason you didn't knock him?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you see, George, there were two
+good reasons," Ken replied.  "The first was
+that at that time I was busy dodging bullets
+from your rifle.  And the second was that you
+threatened my life if I killed your jaguar."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Did I get as nutty as that?  But it was
+pretty warm there for a little....  Say, was
+he a big one?  My eyes were so hazy I didn't
+see him clear."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He wasn't big, not half as big as the one
+I lost yesterday.  Yours was a long, wiry
+beast, like a panther, and mean-looking."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe sat on the bank, and while he nursed
+his bruises he smoked.  Once he made a
+speech that was untranslatable, but Hal gave
+it an interpretation which was probably near
+correct.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's right, Pepe.  Pretty punk
+tiger-hunters--mucho punk!"</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="watching-a-runway"><span class="bold large">XVIII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">WATCHING A RUNWAY</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>"I'll tell you what, fellows," said Hal.  "I
+know where we </span><em class="italics">can</em><span> get a tiger."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll get one in the neck if we don't
+watch out," replied George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken thought that Hal looked very frank
+and earnest, and honest and eager, but there
+was never any telling about him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Where?" he asked, skeptically.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Down along the river.  You know I've
+been setting traps all along.  There's a flat
+sand-bar for a good piece down.  I came to
+a little gully full of big tracks, big as my
+two hands.  And fresh!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Honest Injun, kid?" queried Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hope to die if I'm lyin'," replied Hal.
+"I want to see somebody kill a tiger.  Now
+let's go down there in the boat and wait for
+one to come to drink.  There's a big log with
+driftwood lodged on it.  We can hide
+behind that."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Great idea, Hal," said Ken.  "We'd be
+pretty safe in the boat.  I want to say that
+tigers have sort of got on my nerves.  I ought
+to go over in the jungle to look for the one I
+crippled.  He's dead by now.  But the longer
+I put it off the harder it is to go.  I'll back
+out yet....  Come, we'll have an early dinner.
+Then to watch for Hal's tiger."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The sun had just set, and the hot breeze
+began to swirl up the river when Ken slid the
+boat into the water.  He was pleased to
+find that it did not leak.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll take only two guns," said Ken,
+"my .351 and the hammerless, with some
+ball-cartridges.  We want to be quiet to-night, and
+if you fellows take your guns you'll be pegging
+at ducks and things.  That won't do."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe sat at the oars with instructions to
+row easily.  George and Hal occupied the
+stern-seats, and Ken took his place in the bow,
+with both guns at hand.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The hot wind roared in the cypresses, and
+the river whipped up little waves with white
+crests.  Long streamers of gray moss waved
+out over the water and branches tossed and
+swayed.  The blow did not last for many
+minutes.  Trees and river once more grew
+quiet.  And suddenly the heat was gone.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As Pepe rowed on down the river, Cypress
+Island began to disappear round a bend, and
+presently was out of sight.  Ducks were
+already in flight.  They flew low over the boat,
+so low that Ken could almost have reached
+them with the barrel of his gun.  The river here
+widened.  It was full of huge snags.  A high,
+wooded bluff shadowed the western shore.  On
+the left, towering cypresses, all laced together
+in dense vine and moss webs, leaned out.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Under Hal's direction Pepe rowed to a pile
+of driftwood, and here the boat was moored.
+The gully mentioned by Hal was some sixty
+yards distant.  It opened like the mouth of
+a cave.  Beyond the cypresses thick,
+intertwining bamboos covered it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish we'd gone in to see the tracks,"
+said Ken.  "But I'll take your word, Hal."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, they're there, all right."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't doubt it.  Looks great to me!
+That's a runway, Hal....  Now, boys, get a
+comfortable seat, and settle down to wait.
+Don't talk.  Just listen and watch.
+Remember, soon we'll be out of the jungle,
+back home.  So make hay while the sun
+shines.  Watch and listen!  Whoever sees
+or hears anything first is the best man."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>For once the boys were as obedient as
+lambs.  But then, Ken thought, the surroundings
+were so beautiful and wild and silent that
+any boys would have been watchful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There was absolutely no sound but the
+intermittent whir of wings.  The water-fowl
+flew by in companies--ducks, cranes, herons,
+snipe, and the great Muscovies.  Ken never
+would have tired of that procession.  It
+passed all too soon, and then only an
+occasional water-fowl swept swiftly by, as if
+belated.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Slowly the wide river-lane shaded.  But it
+was still daylight, and the bank and the
+runway were clearly distinguishable.  There was
+a moment--Ken could not tell just how he
+knew--when the jungle awakened.  It was not
+only the faint hum of insects; it was a sense
+as if life stirred with the coming of twilight.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe was the first to earn honors at the
+listening game.  He held up a warning
+forefinger.  Then he pointed under the bluff.
+Ken saw a doe stepping out of a fringe of
+willows.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't move--don't make a noise," whispered Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The doe shot up long ears and watched the
+boat.  Then a little fawn trotted out and
+splashed in the water.  Both deer drank,
+then seemed in no hurry to leave the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Next moment Hal heard something downstream
+and George saw something up-stream.
+Pepe again whispered.  As for Ken, he saw
+little dark shapes moving out of the shadow
+of the runway.  He heard a faint trampling
+of hard little hoofs.  But if these animals
+were </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span>--of which he was sure--they did
+not come out into the open runway.  Ken
+tried to catch Pepe's attention without
+making a noise; however, Pepe was absorbed in
+his side of the river.  Ken then forgot he
+had companions.  All along the shores were
+faint splashings and rustlings and crackings.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A loud, trampling roar rose in the runway
+and seemed to move backward toward the
+jungle, diminishing in violence.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pigs running--something scared 'em,"
+said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"S-s-s-sh!" whispered Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All the sounds ceased.  The jungle seemed
+to sleep in deep silence.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's eyes were glued to the light patch of
+sand-bank where it merged in the dark of the
+runway.  Then Ken heard a sound--what, he
+could not have told.  But it made his heart
+beat fast.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There came a few pattering thuds, soft as
+velvet; and a shadow, paler than the dark
+background, moved out of the runway.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>With that a huge jaguar loped into the open.
+He did not look around.  He took a long, easy
+bound down to the water and began to lap.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Either Pepe or George jerked so violently
+as to make the boat lurch.  They seemed to
+be stifling.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Ken, don't miss!" whispered Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had the automatic over the log and in
+line.  His teeth were shut tight, and he was
+cold and steady.  He meant not to hurry.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The jaguar was a heavy, squat, muscular
+figure, not graceful and beautiful like the one
+Ken had crippled.  Suddenly he raised his
+head and looked about.  He had caught a scent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was then that Ken lowered the rifle till
+the sight covered the beast--lower yet to
+his huge paws, then still lower to the edge of
+the water.  Ken meant to shoot low enough
+this time.  Holding the rifle there, and
+holding it with all his strength, he pressed the
+trigger once--twice.  The two shots rang out
+almost simultaneously.  Ken expected to see
+this jaguar leap, but the beast crumpled up
+and sank in his tracks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then the boys yelled, and Ken echoed
+them.  Pepe was wildly excited, and began
+to fumble with the oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait!  Wait, I tell you!" ordered Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Ken, you pegged him!" cried Hal.
+"He doesn't move.  Let's go ashore.  What
+did I tell you?  It took me to find the tiger."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken watched with sharp eyes and held his
+rifle ready, but the huddled form on the sand
+never so much as twitched.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess I plugged him," said Ken, with
+unconscious pride.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe rowed the boat ashore, and when near
+the sand-bar he reached out with an oar to
+touch the jaguar.  There was no doubt about
+his being dead.  The boys leaped ashore and
+straightened out the beast.  He was huge,
+dirty, spotted, bloody, and fiercely savage even
+in death.  Ken's bullets had torn through the
+chest, making fearful wounds.  Pepe jabbered,
+and the boys all talked at once.  When it
+came to lifting the jaguar into the boat they
+had no slight task.  The short, thick-set body
+was very heavy.  But at last they loaded
+it in the bow, and Pepe rowed back to the
+island.  It was still a harder task to get the
+jaguar up the high bank.  Pepe kindled a fire
+so they would have plenty of light, and then
+they set to work at the skinning.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>What with enthusiasm over the stalk, and
+talk of the success of the trip, and compliments
+to Ken's shooting, and care of the skinning,
+the boys were three hours at the job.  Ken,
+remembering Hiram Bent's teachings, skinned
+out the great claws himself.  They salted the
+pelt and nailed it up on the big cypress.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd never have got one but for me,"
+said Hal.  "That's how I pay you for the
+tricks you've played me!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"By George, Hal, it's a noble revenge!"
+cried Ken, who, in the warmth and glow of
+happiness of the time, quite believed his
+brother.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe went to bed first.  George turned in
+next.  Ken took a last look at the great pelt
+stretched on the cypress, and then he sought his
+blankets.  Hal, however, remained up.  Ken
+heard him pounding stakes in the ground.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, what 're you doing?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm settin' my trot-lines," replied Hal,
+cheerfully.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, come to bed."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Keep your shirt on, Ken, old boy.  I'll
+be along presently."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken fell asleep.  He did not have peaceful
+slumbers.  He had been too excited to rest
+well.  He would wake up out of a nightmare,
+then go to sleep again.  He seemed to
+wake suddenly out of one of these black spells,
+and he was conscious of pain.  Something
+tugged at his leg.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What the dickens!" he said, and raised
+on his elbow.  Hal was asleep between George
+and Pepe, who were snoring.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Just then Ken felt a violent jerk.  The
+blankets flew up at his feet, and his left leg
+went out across his brother's body.  There was
+a string--a rope--something fast round his
+ankle, and it was pulling hard.  It hurt.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Jiminy!" shouted Ken, reaching for his
+foot.  But before he could reach it another
+tug, more violent, pulled his leg straight out.
+Ken began to slide.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What on earth?" yelled Ken.  "Say!
+Something's got me!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The yells and Ken's rude exertions aroused
+the boys.  And they were frightened.  Ken
+got an arm around Hal and the other around
+George and held on for dear life.  He was
+more frightened than they.  Pepe leaped up,
+jabbering, and, tripping, he fell all in a heap.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh! my leg!" howled Ken.  "It's being
+pulled off.  Say, I can't be dreaming!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Most assuredly Ken was wide awake.  The
+moonlight showed his bare leg sticking out
+and round his ankle a heavy trot-line.  It was
+stretched tight.  It ran down over the bank.
+And out there in the river a tremendous fish
+or a crocodile was surging about, making the
+water roar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe was trying to loosen the line or break
+it.  George, who was always stupid when first
+aroused, probably imagined he was being
+mauled by a jaguar, for he loudly bellowed.
+Ken had a strangle-hold on Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh!  </span><em class="italics">Oh</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Oh-h-h</em><span>!" bawled Ken.  Not
+only was he scared out of a year's growth;
+he was in terrible pain.  Then his cries grew
+unintelligible.  He was being dragged out of
+the tent.  Still he clung desperately to the
+howling George and the fighting Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All at once something snapped.  The
+tension relaxed.  Ken fell back upon Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Git off me, will you?" shouted Hal.
+"Are you c-c-cr-azy?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Hal's voice had not the usual note
+when he was angry or impatient.  He
+was laughing so he could not speak naturally.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Uh-huh!" said Ken, and sat up.  "I guess
+here was where I got it.  Is my leg broken?
+What came off?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe was staggering about on the bank,
+going through strange motions.  He had the
+line in his hands, and at the other end was
+a monster of some land threshing about in
+the water.  It was moonlight and Ken could
+see plainly.  Around the ankle that felt
+broken was a twisted loop of trot-line.  Hal
+had baited a hook and slipped the end of
+the trot-line over Ken's foot.  During the
+night the crocodile or an enormous fish had
+taken the bait.  Then Ken had nearly been
+hauled off the island.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe was doing battle with the hooked
+thing, whatever it was, and Ken was about
+to go to his assistance when again the line
+broke.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Great!  Hal, you have a nice disposition,"
+exclaimed Ken.  "You have a wonderful
+affection for your brother.  You care a lot
+about his legs or his life.  Idiot!  Can't you
+play a safe trick?  If I hadn't grabbed you
+and George, I'd been pulled into the river.
+Eaten up, maybe!  And my ankle is sprained.
+It won't be any good for a week.  You are a
+bright boy!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And in spite of his laughter Hal began to
+look ashamed.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="adventures-with-crocodiles"><span class="bold large">XIX</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>The rest of that night Ken had more dreams;
+and they were not pleasant.  He awoke
+from one in a cold fright.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It must have been late, for the moon was
+low.  His ankle pained and throbbed, and to
+that he attributed his nightmare.  He was
+falling asleep again when the clink of tin
+pans made him sit up with a start.  Some
+animal was prowling about camp.  He peered
+into the moonlit shadows, but could make
+out no unfamiliar object.  Still he was not
+satisfied; so he awoke Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Certainly it was not Ken's intention to let
+Pepe get out ahead; nevertheless he was lame
+and slow, and before he started Pepe rolled
+out of the tent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Santa Maria!" shrieked Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken fumbled under his pillow for a gun.
+Hal raised up so quickly that he bumped Ken's
+head, making him see a million stars.  George
+rolled over, nearly knocking down the tent.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>From outside came a sliddery, rustling
+noise, then another yell that was deadened
+by a sounding splash.  Ken leaped out with
+his gun, George at his elbow.  Pepe stood
+just back of the tent, his arms upraised, and
+he appeared stunned.  The water near the
+bank was boiling and bubbling; waves were
+dashing on the shore and ripples spreading
+in a circle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George shouted in Spanish.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Crocodile!" cried Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Si, si, Señor," replied Pepe.  Then he said
+that when he stepped out of the tent the
+crocodile was right in camp, not ten feet from
+where the boys lay.  Pepe also said that
+these brutes were man-eaters, and that he had
+better watch for the rest of the night.  Ken
+thought him, like all the natives, inclined
+to exaggerate; however, he made no objection
+to Pepe's holding watch over the crocodile.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What'd I tell you?" growled George.
+"Why didn't you let me shoot him?  Let's
+go back to bed."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In the morning when Ken got up he viewed
+his body with great curiosity.  The ticks
+and the cigarette burns had left him a
+beautifully tattoed specimen of aborigine.  His
+body, especially his arms, bore hundreds of
+little reddish scars--bites and burns
+together.  There was not, however, any itching
+or irritation, for which he made sure he had
+to thank Pepe's skill and the </span><em class="italics">canya</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George did not get up when Ken called
+him.  Thinking his sleep might have been
+broken, Ken let him alone a while longer, but
+when breakfast was smoking he gave him a
+prod.  George rolled over, looking haggard
+and glum.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sick," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's cheerfulness left him, for he knew
+what sickness or injury did to a camping trip.
+George complained of aching bones, headache
+and cramps, and showed a tongue with a
+yellow coating.  Ken said he had eaten too
+much fresh meat, but Pepe, after looking
+George over, called it a name that sounded
+like </span><em class="italics">calentura</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?" Ken inquired.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tropic fever," replied George.  "I've had
+it before."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>For a while he was a very sick boy.  Ken
+had a little medicine-case, and from it he
+administered what he thought was best, and
+George grew easier presently.  Then Ken sat
+down to deliberate on the situation.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whatever way he viewed it, he always came
+back to the same thing--they must get out
+of the jungle; and as they could not go back,
+they must go on down the river.  That was a
+bad enough proposition without being
+hampered by a sick boy.  It was then Ken had a
+subtle change of feeling; a shade of gloom
+seemed to pervade his spirit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>By nine o'clock they were packed, and,
+turning into the shady channel, soon were out
+in the sunlight saying good-by to Cypress
+Island.  At the moment Ken did not feel
+sorry to go, yet he knew that feeling would
+come by and by, and that Cypress Island
+would take its place in his memory as one
+more haunting, calling wild place.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They turned a curve to run under a rocky
+bluff from which came a muffled roar of rapids.
+A long, projecting point of rock extended across
+the river, allowing the water to rush through
+only at a narrow mill-race channel close to
+the shore.  It was an obstacle to get around.
+There was no possibility of lifting the boat
+over the bridge of rock, and the alternative
+was shooting the channel.  Ken got out
+upon the rocks, only to find that drifting the
+boat round the sharp point was out of the
+question, owing to a dangerously swift
+current.  Ken tried the depth of the
+water--about four feet.  Then he dragged the boat
+back a little distance and stepped into the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look!  Look!" cried Pepe, pointing to the bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>About ten yards away was a bare shelf of
+mud glistening with water and showing the
+deep tracks of a crocodile.  It was a slide,
+and manifestly had just been vacated.  The
+crocodile-tracks resembled the imprints of a
+giant's hand.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Come out!" yelled George, and Pepe
+jabbered to his saints.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We've got to go down this river," Ken
+replied, and he kept on wading till he got the
+boat in the current.  He was frightened, of
+course, but he kept on despite that.  The
+boat lurched into the channel, stern first, and
+he leaped up on the bow.  It shot down with
+the speed of a toboggan, and the boat whirled
+before he could scramble to the oars.  What
+was worse, an overhanging tree with dead
+snags left scarce room to pass beneath.  Ken
+ducked to prevent being swept overboard,
+and one of the snags that brushed and scraped
+him ran under his belt and lifted him into the
+air.  He grasped at the first thing he could
+lay hands on, which happened to be a box,
+but he could not hold to it because the boat
+threatened to go on, leaving him kicking in
+midair and holding up a box of potatoes.  Ken
+clutched a gunwale, only to see the water
+swell dangerously over the edge.  In angry
+helplessness he loosened his hold.  Then the
+snag broke, just in the nick of time, for in
+a second more the boat would have been
+swept away.  Ken fell across the bow, held
+on, and soon drifted from under the threshing
+branches, and seized the oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe and George and Hal walked round the
+ledge and, even when they reached Ken,
+had not stopped laughing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, it wasn't funny," declared Ken, soberly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I said it was coming to us," replied George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There were rapids below, and Ken went at
+them with stern eyes and set lips.  It was the
+look of men who face obstacles in getting out
+of the wilderness.  More than one high wave
+circled spitefully round Pepe's broad shoulders.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They came to a fall where the river dropped
+a few feet straight down.  Ken sent the boys
+below.  Hal and George made a detour.  But
+Pepe jumped off the ledge into shallow water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Ah-h!</em><span>" yelled Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was becoming accustomed to Pepe's
+wild yell, but there was a note in this which
+sent a shiver over him.  Before looking, Ken
+snatched his rifle from the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe appeared to be sailing out into the
+pool.  But his feet were not moving.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had only an instant, but in that he saw
+under Pepe a long, yellow, swimming shape,
+leaving a wake in the water.  Pepe had
+jumped upon the back of a crocodile.  He
+seemed paralyzed, or else he was wisely
+trusting himself there rather than in the water.
+Ken was too shocked to offer advice.  Indeed,
+he would not have known how to meet this
+situation.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly Pepe leaped for a dry stone, and
+the energy of his leap carried him into the
+river beyond.  Like a flash he was out again,
+spouting water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken turned loose the automatic on the
+crocodile and shot a magazine of shells.  The
+crocodile made a tremendous surge, churning
+up a slimy foam, then vanished in a pool.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Guess this 'll be crocodile day," said
+Ken, changing the clip in his rifle.  "I'll bet
+I made a hole in that one.  Boys, look out
+below."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken shoved the boat over the ledge in line
+with Pepe, and it floated to him, while Ken
+picked his way round the rocky shore.  The
+boys piled aboard again.  The day began to
+get hot.  Ken cautioned the boys to avoid
+wading, if possible, and to be extremely
+careful where they stepped.  Pepe pointed now
+and then to huge bubbles breaking on the
+surface of the water and said they were made
+by crocodiles.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>From then on Ken's hands were full.  He
+struck swift water, where rapid after rapid,
+fall on fall, took the boat downhill at a rate to
+afford him satisfaction.  The current had a
+five or six mile speed, and, as Ken had no
+portages to make and the corrugated rapids of big
+waves gave him speed, he made by far the best
+time of the voyage.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The hot hours passed--cool for the boys
+because they were always wet.  The sun sank
+behind a hill.  The wind ceased to whip the
+streamers of moss.  At last, in a gathering
+twilight, Ken halted at a wide, flat rock to
+make camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Forty miles to-day if we made an inch!"
+exclaimed Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys said more.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They built a fire, cooked supper, and then,
+weary and silent, Hal and George and Pepe
+rolled into their blankets.  But Ken doggedly
+worked an hour at his map and notes.  That
+hard forty miles meant a long way toward
+the success of his trip.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning the mists had not lifted from
+the river when they shoved off, determined to
+beat the record of yesterday.  Difficulties beset
+them from the start--the highest waterfall of
+the trip, a leak in the boat, deep, short rapids,
+narrows with choppy waves, and a whirlpool
+where they turned round and round, unable
+to row out.  Nor did they get free till Pepe
+lassoed a snag and pulled them out.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>About noon they came to another narrow
+chute brawling down into a deep, foamy pool.
+Again Ken sent the boys around, and he backed
+the boat into the chute; and just as the
+current caught it he leaped aboard.  He was
+either tired or careless, for he drifted too close
+to a half-submerged rock, and, try as he
+might, at the last moment he could not avoid
+a collision.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As the stern went hard on the rock Ken
+expected to break something, but was
+surprised at the soft thud with which he struck.
+It flashed into his mind that the rock was
+moss-covered.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Quick as the thought there came a rumble
+under the boat, the stern heaved up, there
+was a great sheet-like splash, and then a blow
+that splintered the gunwale.  Then the boat
+shunted off, affording the astounded Ken a
+good view of a very angry crocodile.  He had
+been sleeping on the rock.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were yelling and crowding down
+to the shore where Ken was drifting in.
+Pepe waded in to catch the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What was it hit you, Ken?" asked Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Mucho malo," cried Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The boat's half full of water--the
+gunwale's all split!" ejaculated George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Only an accident of river travel," replied
+Ken, with mock nonchalance.  "Say, Garrapato,
+</span><em class="italics">when</em><span>, about </span><em class="italics">when</em><span> is it coming to me?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if he didn't get slammed by a
+crocodile!" continued George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They unloaded, turned out the water,
+broke up a box to use for repairs, and mended
+the damaged gunwale--work that lost more
+than a good hour.  Once again under way,
+Ken made some interesting observations.  The
+river ceased to stand on end in places;
+crocodiles slipped off every muddy promontory,
+and wide trails ridged the steep clay-banks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Cattle-trails, Pepe says," said George.
+"Wild cattle roam all through the jungle along
+the Panuco."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was a well-known fact that the
+rancheros of Tamaulipas State had no idea how
+many cattle they owned.  Ken was so eager
+to see if Pepe had been correct that he went
+ashore, to find the trails were, indeed, those of
+cattle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Then, Pepe, we must be somewhere near
+the Panuco River," he said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Quien sabe?" rejoined he, quietly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When they rounded the curve they came
+upon a herd of cattle that clattered up the
+bank, raising a cloud of dust.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Wilder than deer!" Ken exclaimed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>From that point conditions along the river
+changed.  The banks were no longer green; the
+beautiful cypresses gave place to other trees,
+as huge, as moss-wound, but more rugged
+and of gaunt outline; the flowers and vines
+and shady nooks disappeared.  Everywhere
+wide-horned steers and cows plunged up the
+banks.  Everywhere buzzards rose from
+gruesome feasts.  The shore was lined with dead
+cattle, and the stench of putrefying flesh was
+almost unbearable.  They passed cattle mired
+in the mud, being slowly tortured to death
+by flies and hunger; they passed cattle that
+had slipped off steep banks and could not get
+back and were bellowing dismally; and also
+strangely acting cattle that Pepe said had
+gone crazy from ticks in their ears.  Ken
+would have put these miserable beasts out of
+their misery had not George restrained him
+with a few words about Mexican law.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A sense of sickness came to Ken, and though
+he drove the feeling from him, it continually
+returned.  George and Hal lay flat on the
+canvas, shaded with a couple of palm leaves;
+Pepe rowed on and on, growing more and more
+serious and quiet.  His quick, responsive smile
+was wanting now.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>By way of diversion, and also in the hope
+of securing a specimen, Ken began to shoot
+at the crocodiles.  George came out of his
+lethargy and took up his rifle.  He would
+have had to be ill indeed, to forswear any
+possible shooting; and, now that Ken had
+removed the bar, he forgot he had fever.
+Every hundred yards or so they would come
+upon a crocodile measuring somewhere from
+about six feet upward, and occasionally they
+would see a great yellow one, as large as a
+log.  Seldom did they get within good range
+of these huge fellows, and shooting from a
+moving boat was not easy.  The smaller
+ones, however, allowed the boat to approach
+quite close.  George bounced many a .32
+bullet off the bank, but he never hit a
+crocodile.  Ken allowed him to have the shots for
+the fun of it, and, besides, he was watching
+for a big one.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, that rifle of yours is leaded.  It
+doesn't shoot where you aim."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When they got unusually close to a small
+crocodile George verified Ken's statement by
+missing his game some yards.  He promptly
+threw the worn-out rifle overboard, an act
+that caused Pepe much concern.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon Ken proceeded to try his luck.
+Instructing Pepe to row about in the middle
+of the stream, he kept eye on one shore while
+George watched the other.  He shot half a
+dozen small crocodiles, but they slipped off
+the bank before Pepe could get ashore.  This
+did not appear to be the fault of the rifle, for
+some of the reptiles were shot almost in two
+pieces.  But Ken had yet to learn more about
+the tenacity of life of these water-brutes.
+Several held still long enough for Ken to shoot
+them through, then with a plunge they went
+into the water, sinking at once in a bloody
+foam.  He knew he had shot them through,
+for he saw large holes in the mud-banks
+lined with bits of bloody skin and bone.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There's one," said George, pointing.  "Let's
+get closer, so we can grab him.  He's got
+a good piece to go before he reaches the
+water."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe rowed slowly along, guiding the boat
+a little nearer the shore.  At forty feet the
+crocodile raised up, standing on short legs,
+so that all but his tail was free of the ground.
+He opened his huge jaws either in astonishment
+or to intimidate them, and then Ken
+shot him straight down the throat.  He
+flopped convulsively and started to slide and
+roll.  When he reached the water he turned
+over on his back, with his feet sticking up,
+resembling a huge frog.  Pepe rowed hard to
+the shore, just as the crocodile with one last
+convulsion rolled off into deeper water.  Ken
+reached over, grasped his foot, and was
+drawing it up when a sight of cold, glassy eyes
+and open-fanged jaws made him let go.
+Then the crocodile sank in water where Pepe
+could not touch bottom with an oar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Let's get one if it takes a week," declared
+George.  The lad might be sick, but there was
+nothing wrong with his spirit.  "Look there!"
+he exclaimed.  "Oh, I guess it's a log.  Too big!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They had been unable to tell the difference
+between a crocodile and a log of driftwood
+until it was too late.  In this instance a
+long, dirty-gray object lay upon a low bank.
+Despite its immense size, which certainly
+made the chances in favor of its being a log,
+Ken determined this time to be fooled on the
+right side.  He had seen a dozen logs--as he
+thought--suddenly become animated and slip
+into the river.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold steady, Pepe.  I'll take a crack at
+that just for luck."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The distance was about a hundred yards,
+a fine range for the little rifle.  Resting on
+his knee, he sighted low, under the gray
+object, and pulled the trigger twice.  There were
+two spats so close together as to be barely
+distinguishable.  The log of driftwood leaped
+into life.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Whoop!" shouted Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a crocodile!" yelled George.  "You
+hit--you hit!  Will you listen to that?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Row hard, Pepe--pull!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He bent to the oars, and the boat flew shoreward.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The huge crocodile, opening yard-long jaws,
+snapped them shut with loud cracks.  Then
+he beat the bank with his tail.  It was as
+limber as a willow, but he seemed unable to
+move his central parts, his thick bulk, where
+Ken had sent the two mushroom bullets.
+</span><em class="italics">Whack</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Whack</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Whack</em><span>!  The sodden blows
+jarred pieces from the clay-bank above him.
+Each blow was powerful enough to have staved
+in the planking of a ship.  All at once he
+lunged upward and, falling over backward,
+slid down his runway into a few inches of
+water, where he stuck.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Go in above him, Pepe," Ken shouted.
+"Here--  Heavens!  What a monster!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Deliberately, at scarce twenty feet, Ken
+shot the remaining four shells into the
+crocodile.  The bullets tore through his horny
+hide, and blood and muddy water spouted up.
+George and Pepe and Hal yelled, and Ken
+kept time with them.  The terrible lashing
+tail swung back and forth almost too swiftly
+for the eye to catch.  A deluge of mud and
+water descended upon the boys, bespattering,
+blinding them and weighing down the boat.
+They jumped out upon the bank to escape it.
+They ran to and fro in aimless excitement.
+Ken still clutched the rifle, but he had no
+shells for it.  George was absurd enough to
+fling a stone into the blood-tinged cloud of
+muddy froth and spray that hid the threshing
+leviathan.  Presently the commotion subsided
+enough for them to see the great crocodile
+lying half on his back, with belly all torn
+and bloody and huge claw-like hands pawing
+the air.  He was edging, slipping off into
+deeper water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He'll get away--he'll get away!" cried
+Hal.  "What 'll we do?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken racked his brains.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe, get your lasso--rope him--rope
+him!  Hurry! he's slipping!" yelled George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe snatched up his lariat, and, without
+waiting to coil it, cast the loop.  He caught
+one of the flippers and hauled tight on it just as
+the crocodile slipped out of sight off the muddy
+ledge.  The others ran to the boat, and,
+grasping hold of the lasso with Pepe, squared
+away and began to pull.  Plain it was that
+the crocodile was not coming up so easily.
+They could not budge him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang on, boys!" Ken shouted.  "It's a
+tug-of-war."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The lasso was suddenly jerked out with a
+kind of twang.  Crash! went Pepe and Hal
+into the bottom of the boat.  Ken went
+sprawling into the mud, and George, who had
+the last hold, went to his knees, but valiantly
+clung to the slipping rope.  Bounding up,
+Ken grasped it from him and wound it round
+the sharp nose of the bowsprit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Get in--hustle!" he called, falling aboard.
+"You're always saying it's coming to us.
+Here's where!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George had hardly got into the boat when
+the crocodile pulled it off shore, and away it
+went, sailing down-stream.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Whoop!  All aboard for Panuco!" yelled Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Pepe, you don't need to row any
+more--we've a water-horse," Ken added.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Pepe did not enter into the spirit of
+the occasion.  He kept calling on the saints
+and crying, "Mucho malo."  George and Ken
+and Hal, however, were hilarious.  They had
+not yet had experience enough to know crocodiles.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Faster and faster they went.  The water
+began to surge away from the bow and leave
+a gurgling wake behind the stern.  Soon the
+boat reached the middle of the river where the
+water was deepest, and the lasso went almost
+straight down.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken felt the stern of the boat gradually
+lifted, and then, in alarm, he saw the front
+end sinking in the water.  The crocodile was
+hauling the bow under.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe--your machete--cut the lasso!" he
+ordered, sharply.  George had to repeat the
+order.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Wildly Pepe searched under the seat and
+along the gunwales.  He could not find the
+</span><em class="italics">machete</em><span>.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Cut the rope!" Ken thundered.  "Use
+a knife, the ax--anything--only cut
+it--and cut it quick!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe could find nothing.  Knife in hand,
+Ken leaped over his head, sprawled headlong
+over the trunk, and slashed the taut lasso
+just as the water began to roar into the
+boat.  The bow bobbed up as a cork that had
+been under.  But the boat had shipped six
+inches of water.</span></p>
+<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 64%" id="figure-49">
+<span id="knife-in-hand-ken-leaped-over-his-head-and-slashed-the-taut-lasso"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE TAUT LASSO" src="images/img-242.jpg" />
+<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin">
+<span class="italics">KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE TAUT LASSO</span></div>
+</div>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Row ashore, Pepe.  Steady, there.  Trim
+the boat, George."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They beached at a hard clay-bank and
+rested a little before unloading to turn out the
+water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Grande!" observed Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes; he was big," assented George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder what's going to happen to us
+next," added Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken Ward looked at these companions of
+his and he laughed outright.  "Well, if you
+all don't take the cake for nerve!"</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="treed-by-wild-pigs"><span class="bold large">XX</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">TREED BY WILD PIGS</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Pepe's long years of </span><em class="italics">mozo</em><span> work, rowing
+for tarpon fishermen, now stood the boys
+in good stead.  All the hot hours of the day
+he bent steadily to the oars.  Occasionally
+they came to rifts, but these were not difficult
+to pass, being mere swift, shallow channels
+over sandy bottom.  The rocks and the rapids
+were things of the past.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George lay in a kind of stupor, and Hal
+lolled in his seat.  Ken, however, kept alert,
+and as the afternoon wore on began to be
+annoyed at the scarcity of camp-sites.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The muddy margins of the river, the steep
+banks, and the tick-infested forests offered few
+places where it was possible to rest, to say
+nothing of sleep.  Every turn in the widening
+river gave Ken hope, which resulted in
+disappointment.  He found consolation,
+however, in the fact that every turn and every
+hour put him so much farther on the way.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>About five o'clock Ken had unexpected
+good luck in shape of a small sand-bar cut
+off from the mainland, and therefore free of
+cattle-tracks.  It was clean and dry, with a
+pile of driftwood at one end.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tumble out, boys," called Ken, as Pepe
+beached the boat.  "We'll pitch camp here."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Neither Hal nor George showed any alacrity.
+Ken watched his brother; he feared to see
+some of the symptoms of George's sickness.
+Both lads, however, seemed cheerful, though
+too tired to be of much use in the pitching of
+camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken could not recover his former good
+spirits.  There was a sense of foreboding in
+his mind that all was not well, that he must
+hurry, hurry.  And although George appeared
+to be holding his own, Hal healthy enough,
+and Pepe's brooding quiet at least no worse,
+Ken could not rid himself of gloom.  If he
+had answered the question that knocked at
+his mind he would have admitted a certainty
+of disaster.  So he kept active, and when
+there were no more tasks for that day he
+worked on his note-book, and then watched
+the flight of wild fowl.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The farther down the river the boys
+traveled the more numerous were the herons
+and cranes and ducks.  But they saw no more
+of the beautiful </span><em class="italics">pato real</em><span>, as Pepe called them,
+or the little russet-colored ducks, or the
+dismal-voiced bitterns.  On the other hand, wild
+geese were common, and there were flocks
+and flocks of teal and canvasbacks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe, as usual, cooked duck.  And he had
+to eat it.  George had lost his appetite
+altogether.  Hal had lost his taste for meat,
+at least.  And Ken made a frugal meal of rice.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys," he said, "the less you eat from now
+on the better for you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It took resolution to drink the cocoa, for
+Ken could not shut out remembrance of the
+green water and the shore-line of dead and
+decaying cattle.  Still, he was parched with
+thirst; he had to drink.  That night he slept
+ten hours without turning over.  Next
+morning he had to shake Pepe to rouse him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken took turns at the oars with Pepe.
+It was not only that he fancied Pepe was
+weakening and in need of an occasional rest,
+but the fact that he wanted to be occupied,
+and especially to keep in good condition.
+They made thirty miles by four o'clock, and
+most of it against a breeze.  Not in the whole
+distance did they pass half a dozen places
+fit for a camp.  Toward evening the river
+narrowed again, resembling somewhat the
+Santa Rosa of earlier acquaintance.  The
+magnificent dark forests crowded high on
+the banks, always screened and curtained by
+gray moss, as if to keep their secrets.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The sun was just tipping with gold the
+mossy crests of a grove of giant ceibas, when
+the boys rounded a bend to come upon the
+first ledge of rocks for two days.  A low,
+grassy promontory invited the eyes searching
+for camping-ground.  This spot appeared
+ideal; it certainly was beautiful.  The ledge
+jutted into the river almost to the opposite
+shore, forcing the water to rush through a
+rocky trough into a great foam-spotted pool
+below.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They could not pitch the tent, since the
+stony ground would not admit stakes, so
+they laid the canvas flat.  Pepe went up
+the bank with his </span><em class="italics">machete</em><span> in search of
+firewood.  To Ken's utmost delight he found a
+little spring of sweet water trickling from the
+ledge, and by digging a hole was enabled to
+get a drink, the first one in more than a week.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A little later, as he was spreading the
+blankets, George called his attention to shouts
+up in the woods.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe's treed something," Ken said.  "Take
+your gun and hunt him up."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken went on making a bed and busying
+himself about camp, with little heed to
+George's departure.  Presently, however, he
+was startled by unmistakable sounds of alarm.
+George and Pepe were yelling in unison, and,
+from the sound, appeared to be quite a
+distance away.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What the deuce!" Ken ejaculated, snatching
+up his rifle.  He snapped a clip in the
+magazine and dropped several loaded clips
+and a box of extra shells into his coat pocket.
+After his adventure with the jaguar he decided
+never again to find himself short of ammunition.
+Running up the sloping bank, he entered
+the forest, shouting for his companions.
+Answering cries came from in front and a little
+to the left.  He could not make out what was
+said.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Save for drooping moss the forest was
+comparatively open, and at a hundred paces
+from the river-bank were glades covered with
+thickets and long grass and short palm-trees.
+The ground sloped upward quite perceptibly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, boys, where are you?" called Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe's shrill yells mingled with George's
+shouts.  At first their meaning was
+unintelligible, but after calling twice Ken
+understood.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Javelin!  Go back!  Javelin!  We're treed!
+Wild pigs!  Santa Maria!  Run for your life!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This was certainly enlightening and rather
+embarrassing.  Ken remembered the other
+time the boys had made him run, and he grew
+hot with anger.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll be blessed if I'll run!" he said, in the
+pride of conceit and wounded vanity.  Whereupon
+he began to climb the slope, stopping
+every few steps to listen and look.  Ken
+wondered what had made Pepe go so far for
+fire-wood; still, there was nothing but green
+wood all about.  Walking round a clump of
+seared and yellow palms that rustled in the
+breeze, Ken suddenly espied George's white
+shirt.  He was in a scrubby sapling not
+fifteen feet from the ground.  Then Ken
+espied Pepe, perched in the forks of a ceiba,
+high above the thickets and low shrubbery.
+Ken was scarcely more than a dozen rods from
+them down the gradual slope.  Both saw him
+at once.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Run, you Indian!  Run!" bawled George,
+waving his hands.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George implored Ken to fly to save his
+precious life.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What for? you fools!  I don't see anything
+to run from," Ken shouted back.  His temper
+had soured a little during the last few days.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd better run, or you'll have to climb,"
+replied George.  "Wild pigs--a thousand of 'em!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Where?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Right under us.  There!  Oh, if they
+see you!  Listen to this."  He broke off a
+branch, trimmed it of leaves, and flung it
+down.  Ken heard a low, trampling roar of
+many hard little feet, brushings in the thicket,
+and cracking of twigs.  As close as he was,
+however, he could not see a moving object.
+The dead grass and brush were several feet
+high, up to his waist in spots, and, though he
+changed position several times, no </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span>
+did he see.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You want to look out.  Say, man, these
+are wild pigs--boars, I tell you!  They'll
+kill you!" bellowed George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you going to stay up there all night?"
+Ken asked, sarcastically.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll stay till they go away."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, I'll scare them away," Ken
+replied, and, suiting action to word, he worked
+the automatic as fast as it would shoot,
+aiming into the thicket under George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Of all the foolish things a nettled hunter
+ever did that was the worst.  A roar answered
+the echoes of the rifle, and the roar rose from
+every side of the trees the victims were in.
+Nervously Ken clamped a fresh clip of shells
+into the rifle.  Clouds of dust arose, and
+strange little squeals and grunts seemed to
+come from every quarter.  Then the grass
+and bushes were suddenly torn apart by swift
+gray forms with glittering eyes.  They were
+everywhere.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Run</em><span>!  </span><em class="italics">Run</em><span>!" shrieked George, high above
+the tumult.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>For a thrilling instant Ken stood his ground
+and fired at the bobbing gray backs.  But
+every break made in the ranks by the powerful
+shells filled in a flash.  Before that vicious
+charge he wavered, then ran as if pursued by
+demons.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The way was downhill.  Ken tripped, fell,
+rolled over and over, then, still clutching
+the rifle, rose with a bound and fled.  The
+javelin had gained.  They were at his heels.
+He ran like a deer.  Then, seeing a low branch,
+he leaped for it, grasped it with one hand, and,
+crooking an elbow round it, swung with the
+old giant swing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before Ken knew how it had happened he
+was astride a dangerously swaying branch
+directly over a troop of brownish-gray,
+sharp-snouted, fiendish-eyed little peccaries.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Some were young and sleek, others were
+old and rough; some had little yellow teeth or
+tusks, and all pointed their sharp noses
+upward, as if expecting him to fall into their
+very mouths.  Feeling safe, once more Ken
+loaded the rifle and began to kill the biggest,
+most vicious </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span>.  When he had killed
+twelve in twelve shots, he saw that shooting a
+few would be of no avail.  There were
+hundreds, it seemed, and he had scarcely fifty
+shells left.  Moreover, the rifle-barrel grew so
+hot that it burnt his hands.  Hearing George's
+yell, he replied, somewhat to his disgust:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm all right, George--only treed.  How 're you?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pigs all gone--they chased you--Pepe
+thinks we can risk running."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't take any chances," Ken yelled, in answer.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hi!  Hi!  What's wrong with you gazabos?"
+came Hal's yell from down the slope.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back to the boat," shouted Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What for?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We're all treed by javelin--wild pigs."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I've got to see that," was Hal's reply.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken called a sharp, angry order for Hal
+to keep away.  But Hal did not obey.  Ken
+heard him coming, and presently saw him
+enter one of the little glades.  He had Ken's
+shotgun, and was peering cautiously about.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, where are you?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Here!  Didn't I tell you to keep away?
+The pigs heard you--some of them are edging
+out there.  Look out!  Run, kid, run!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A troop of </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span> flashed into the glade.
+Hal saw them and raised the shotgun.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Boom</em><span>!  He shot both barrels.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The shot tore through the brush all around
+Ken, but fortunately beneath him.  Neither
+the noise nor the lead stopped the pugnacious
+little peccaries.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal dropped Ken's hammerless and fled.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Run faster!" yelled George, who evidently
+enjoyed Hal's plight.  "They'll get you!
+Run hard!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The lad was running close to the record
+when he disappeared.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In trying to find a more comfortable posture,
+so he could apply himself to an interesting
+study of his captors, Ken made the startling
+discovery that the branch which upheld him
+was splitting from the tree-trunk.  His heart
+began to pound in his breast; then it went
+up into his throat.  Every move he made--for
+he had started to edge toward the
+tree--widened the little white split.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, my branch is breaking!" he called,
+piercingly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't you get another?" returned George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"No; I daren't move!  Hurry, boys!  If
+you don't scare these brutes off I'm a goner!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's eyes were riveted upon the gap
+where the branch was slowly separating from
+the tree-trunk.  He glanced about to see if
+he could not leap to another branch.  There
+was nothing near that would hold him.  In
+desperation he resolved to drop the rifle,
+cautiously get to his feet upon the branch, and
+with one spring try to reach the tree.  When
+about to act upon this last chance he heard
+Pepe's shrill yell and a crashing in the brush.
+Then followed the unmistakable roar and
+crackling of fire.  Pepe had fired the
+brush--no, he was making his way toward Ken, armed
+with a huge torch.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe, you'll fire the jungle!" cried Ken,
+forgetting what was at stake and that Pepe
+could not understand much English.  But
+Ken had been in one forest-fire and
+remembered it with horror.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">javelin</em><span> stirred uneasily, and ran around
+under Ken, tumbling over one another.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When Pepe burst through the brush,
+holding before him long-stemmed palm leaves
+flaring in hissing flames, the whole pack of
+pigs bowled away into the forest at breakneck
+speed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken leaped down, and the branch came with
+him.  George came running up, his face white,
+his eyes big.  Behind him rose a roar that Ken
+thought might be another drove of pigs till
+he saw smoke and flame.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, the jungle's on fire.  Run for the river!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In their hurry they miscalculated the
+location of camp and dashed out of the jungle
+over a steep bank, and they all had a tumble.
+It was necessary to wade to reach the rocky
+ledge.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken shook hands with Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"George, tell him that was a nervy thing
+to do.  He saved my life, I do believe."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You fellows did a lot of hollering," said
+Hal, from his perch in the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, young man, you've got to go back
+after my gun.  Why didn't you do what
+I told you?  Foolish, to run into danger that
+way!" declared Ken, severely.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't suppose I was going to overlook
+a chance to see Ken Ward treed, do you?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you saw him, and that was no joke.
+But I wish Pepe could have scared those pigs
+off without firing the jungle."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe says it 'll give the ticks a good
+roasting," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll have roast pig, anyway," added Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He kept watching the jungle back of the
+camp as if he expected it to blow up like
+a powder-mine.  But this Tamaulipas jungle
+was not Penetier Forest.  A cloud of smoke
+rolled up; there was a frequent roaring of dry
+palms; but the green growths did not burn.
+It was not much of a forest-fire, and Ken
+concluded that it would soon burn out.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So he took advantage of the waning
+daylight to spread out his map and plot in the
+day's travel.  This time Hal watched him
+with a quiet attention that was both
+flattering and stimulating; and at the conclusion
+of the task he said:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Ken, we're having sport, but we're
+doing something more--something worth while."</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="the-leaping-tarpon"><span class="bold large">XXI</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE LEAPING TARPON</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Just before dark, when the boys were at
+supper, a swarm of black mosquitoes
+swooped down upon camp.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe could not have shown more fear at
+angry snakes, and he began to pile green
+wood and leaves on the fire to make a heavy
+smoke.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>These mosquitoes were very large, black-bodied,
+with white-barred wings.  Their bite
+was as painful as the sting of a bee.  After
+threshing about until tired out the boys went
+to bed.  But it was only to get up again, for
+the mosquitoes could bite through two
+thicknesses of blanket.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>For a wonder every one was quiet.  Even
+George did not grumble.  The only thing to
+do was to sit or stand in the smoke of the
+campfire.  The boys wore their gloves and wrapped
+blankets round heads and shoulders.  They
+crouched over the fire until tired of that
+position, then stood up till they could stand
+no longer.  It was a wretched, sleepless night
+with the bloodthirsty mosquitoes humming
+about like a swarm of bees.  They did not
+go away until dawn.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I get for losing the mosquito-netting,"
+said Ken, wearily.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Breakfast was not a cheerful meal, despite
+the fact that the boys all tried to brace up.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George's condition showed Ken the necessity
+for renewed efforts to get out of the jungle.
+Pepe appeared heavy and slow, and, what was
+more alarming, he had lost his appetite.  Hal
+was cross, but seemed to keep well.  It was
+hard enough for Ken to persuade George and
+Pepe to take the bitter doses of quinine, and
+Hal positively refused.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It makes me sick, I tell you," said Hal,
+impatiently.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"But Hal, you ought to be guided by my
+judgment now," replied Ken, gently.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't care.  I've had enough of bitter pills."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I ask you--as a favor?" persisted Ken, quietly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"No!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, I'll have to make you take them."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Wha-at?" roared Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"If necessary, I'll throw you down and pry
+open your mouth and get Pepe to stuff these
+pills down your throat.  There!" went on
+Ken, and now he did not recognize his own
+voice.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal looked quickly at his brother, and was
+amazed and all at once shaken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Ken--" he faltered.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I ought to have made you take them
+before," interrupted Ken.  "But I've been
+too easy.  Now, Hal, listen--and you, too,
+George.  I've made a bad mess of this trip.
+I got you into this jungle, and I ought to have
+taken better care of you, whether you would
+or not.  George has fever.  Pepe is getting
+it.  I'm afraid you won't escape.  You all
+</span><em class="italics">would</em><span> drink unboiled water."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, that's all right, but you can get
+fever from the bites of the ticks," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I dare say.  But just the same you could
+have been careful about the water.  Not only
+that--look how careless we have been.  Think
+of the things that have happened!  We've
+gotten almost wild on this trip.  We don't
+realize.  But wait till we get home.  Then
+we'll hardly be able to believe we ever had
+these adventures.  But our foolishness, our
+carelessness, must stop right here.  If we can't
+profit by our lucky escapes yesterday--from
+that lassoed crocodile and the wild pigs--we
+are simply no good.  I love fun and sport.
+But there's a limit.  Hal, remember what old
+Hiram told you about being foolhardily brave.
+I think we have been wonderfully lucky.
+Now let's deserve our good luck.  Let's not
+prove what that Tampico hotel-man said.
+Let's show we are not just wild-goose-chasing
+boys.  I put it to you straight.  I think the
+real test is yet to come, and I want you to
+help me.  No more tricks.  No more drinking
+unboiled water.  No more shooting except
+in self-defense.  We must not eat any more
+meat.  No more careless wandering up the
+banks.  No chances.  See?  And fight the
+fever.  Don't give up.  Then when we get
+out of this awful jungle we can look back at
+our adventures--and, better, we can be sure
+we've learned a lot.  We shall have accomplished
+something, and that's learning.  Now,
+how about it?  Will you help me?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You can just bet your life," replied George,
+and he held out his hand.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, I'm with you," was Hal's quiet
+promise; and Ken knew from the way the lad
+spoke that he was in dead earnest.  When it
+came to the last ditch Hal Ward was as true
+as steel.  He took the raw, bitter quinine Ken
+offered and swallowed it without a grimace.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Good!" exclaimed Ken.  "Now, boys, let's
+pack.  Hal, you let your menagerie go.
+There's no use keeping your pets any longer.
+George, you make yourself a bed on the trunk,
+and fix a palm-leaf sun-shelter.  Then lie
+down."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the boat had been packed and all was
+in readiness for the start, George was sound
+asleep.  They shoved off into the current.
+Pepe and Ken took turns at the oars, making
+five miles an hour.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As on the day before, they glided under the
+shadows of the great moss-twined cypresses,
+along the muddy banks where crocodiles
+basked in the sun and gaunt cattle came down
+to drink.  Once the boat turned a bushy point
+to startle a large flock of wild turkeys,
+perhaps thirty-five in number.  They had been
+resting in the cool sand along the river.  Some
+ran up the bank, some half-dozen flew right
+over the boat, and most of them squatted down
+as if to evade detection.  Thereafter turkeys
+and ducks and geese became so common as to
+be monotonous.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>About one o'clock Ken sighted a thatched
+bamboo and palm-leaf hut on the bank.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, boys, look! look!" cried Ken, joyfully.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal was as pleased as Ken, and George
+roused out of his slumber.  Pepe grinned and
+nodded his head.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Some naked little children ran like quail.
+A disheveled black head peeped out of a
+door, then swiftly vanished.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Indians," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't care," replied Ken, "they're human
+beings--people.  We're getting somewhere."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>From there on the little bamboo huts were
+frequently sighted.  And soon Ken saw a large
+one situated upon a high bluff.  Ken was
+wondering if these natives would be hospitable.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Upon rounding the next bend the boys
+came unexpectedly upon a connecting river.
+It was twice as wide as the Santa Rosa, and
+quite swift.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tamaulipas," said Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hooray! boys, this is the source of the
+Panuco, sure as you're born," cried Ken.  "I
+told you we were getting somewhere."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He was overcome with the discovery.  This
+meant success.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Savalo!  Savalo!" exclaimed Pepe, pointing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Tarpon!  Tarpon!  What do you think
+of that?  'Way up here!  We must be a long
+distance from tide-water," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken looked around over the broad pool
+below the junction of the two rivers.  And
+here and there he saw swirls, and big splashes,
+and then the silver sides of rolling tarpon.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys, seeing we've packed that can of
+preserved mullet all the way, and those
+thundering heavy tackles, let's try for
+tarpon," suggested Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was wonderful to see how the boys
+responded.  Pepe was no longer slow and
+heavy.  George forgot he was sick.  Hal,
+who loved to fish better than to hunt, was as
+enthusiastic as on the first day.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, let me boss this job," said George,
+as he began to rig the tackles.  "Pepe will
+row; you and Hal sit back here and troll.
+I'll make myself useful.  Open the can.
+See, I hook the mullet just back of the head,
+letting the bar come out free.  There!  Now
+run out about forty feet of line.  Steady the
+butt of the rod under your leg.  Put your left
+hand above the reel.  Hold the handle of the
+reel in your right, and hold it hard.  The
+drag is in the handle.  Now when a tarpon
+takes the bait, jerk with all your might.
+Their mouths are like iron, and it's hard to get
+a hook to stick."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe rowed at a smooth, even stroke and
+made for the great curve of the pool where
+tarpon were breaking water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"If they're on the feed, we'll have more
+sport than we've had yet," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken was fascinated, and saw that Hal was
+going to have the best time of the trip.  Also
+Ken was very curious to have a tarpon strike.
+He had no idea what it would be like.  Presently,
+when the boat glided among the rolling
+fish and there was prospect of one striking
+at any moment, Ken could not subdue a
+mounting excitement.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Steady now--be ready," warned George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly Hal's line straightened.  The lad
+yelled and jerked at the same instant.  There
+came a roar of splitting waters, and a beautiful
+silver fish, longer than Hal himself, shot
+up into the air.  The tarpon shook himself
+and dropped back into the water with a crash.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal was speechless.  He wound in his line
+to find the bait gone.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Threw the hook," said George, as he
+reached into the can for another bait.  "He
+wasn't so big.  You'll get used to losing 'em.
+There! try again."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had felt several gentle tugs at his line,
+as if tarpon were rolling across it.  And
+indeed he saw several fish swim right over where
+his line disappeared in the water.  There were
+splashes all around the boat, some gentle
+swishes and others hard, cutting rushes.
+Then his line straightened with a heavy
+jerk.  He forgot to try to hook the fish;
+indeed, he had no time.  The tarpon came half
+out of the water, wagged his head, and plumped
+back.  Ken had not hooked the fish, nor had
+the fish got the bait.  So Ken again let out his
+line.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The next thing which happened was that
+the boys both had strikes at the same instant.
+Hal stood up, and as his tarpon leaped it
+pulled him forward, and he fell into the
+stern-seat.  His reel-handle rattled on the gunwale.
+The line hissed.  Ken leaned back and jerked.
+His fish did not break water, but he was
+wonderfully active under the surface.  Pepe was
+jabbering.  George was yelling.  Hal's fish
+was tearing the water to shreds.  He crossed
+Ken's fish; the lines fouled, and then slacked.
+Ken began to wind in.  Hal rose to do likewise.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee!" he whispered, with round eyes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Both lines had been broken.  George made
+light of this incident, and tied on two more
+leaders and hooks and baited afresh.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The fish are on the feed, boys.  It's a
+cinch you'll each catch one.  Better troll one
+at a time, unless you can stand for crossed
+lines."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Ken and Hal were too eager to catch a
+tarpon to troll one at a time, so once more
+they let their lines out.  A tarpon took Hal's
+bait right under the stern of the boat.  Hal
+struck with all his might.  This fish came up
+with a tremendous splash, drenching the boys.
+His great, gleaming silver sides glistened in
+the sun.  He curved his body and straightened
+out with a snap like the breaking of a board,
+and he threw the hook whistling into the air.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before Hal had baited up, Ken got another
+strike.  This fish made five leaps, one after
+the other, and upon the last threw the hook
+like a bullet.  As he plunged down, a
+beautiful rainbow appeared in the misty spray.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, do you see that rainbow?" cried Ken,
+quickly.  "There's a sight for a fisherman!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This time in turn, before Ken started to
+troll, Hal hooked another tarpon.  This one
+was not so large, but he was active.  His
+first rush was a long surge on the surface.
+He sent the spray in two streaks like a
+motor-boat.  Then he sounded.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang on, Hal!" yelled George and Ken
+in unison.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal was bent almost double and his head
+was bobbing under the strain.  He could
+not hold the drag.  The line was whizzing out.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"You got that one hooked," shouted
+George.  "Let go the reel--drop the handle.
+Let him run."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He complied, and then his fish began a
+marvelous exhibition of lofty tumbling.  He
+seemed never to stay down at all.  Now he
+shot up, mouth wide, gills spread, eyes wild,
+and he shook himself like a wet dog.  Then
+he dropped back, and before the boys had
+time to think where he might be he came
+up several rods to the right and cracked his
+gills like pistol-shots.  He skittered on his
+tail and stood on his head and dropped flat
+with a heavy smack.  Then he stayed under
+and began to tug.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang on, now," cried George.  "Wind
+in.  Hold him tight.  Don't give him an
+inch unless he jumps."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>This was heartbreaking work for Hal.  He
+toiled to keep the line in.  He grew red in the
+face.  He dripped with sweat.  He panted for
+breath.  But he hung on.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw how skilfully Pepe managed the
+boat.  The </span><em class="italics">mozo</em><span> seemed to know just which
+way the fish headed, and always kept the boat
+straight.  Sometimes he rowed back and lent
+his help to Hal.  But this appeared to anger
+the tarpon, for the line told he was coming
+to the surface.  Then, as Pepe ceased to let
+him feel the weight of the boat, the tarpon
+sank again.  So the battle went on round and
+round the great pool.  After an hour of it
+Hal looked ready to drop.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Land him alone if you can," said Ken.
+"He's tiring, Hal."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll--land him--or--or bust!" panted Hal.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Look out, now!" warned George again.
+"He's coming up.  See the line.  Be ready
+to trim the boat if he drops aboard.  </span><em class="italics">Wow!</em><span>"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The tarpon slipped smoothly out of the
+water and shot right over the bow of the boat.
+Quick-witted George flung out his hand and
+threw Hal's rod round in time to save the line
+from catching.  The fish went down, came
+up wagging his head, and then fell with
+sullen splash.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He's done," yelled George.  "Now, Hal,
+hold him for all you're worth.  Not an inch
+of line!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe headed the boat for a sandy beach;
+and Hal, looking as if about to have a stroke
+of apoplexy, clung desperately to the bending
+rod.  The tarpon rolled and lashed his tail,
+but his power was mostly gone.  Gradually he
+ceased to roll, until by the time Pepe reached
+shore he was sliding wearily through the water,
+his silvery side glittering in the light.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The boat grated on the sand.  Pepe leaped
+out.  Then he grasped Hal's line, slipped his
+hands down to the long wire leader, and
+with a quick, powerful pull slid the tarpon
+out upon the beach.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh-h!" gasped Hal, with glistening eyes.
+"Oh-h!  Ken, just look!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm looking, son, and don't you forget it."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The tarpon lay inert, a beautiful silver-scaled
+creature that looked as if he had just
+come from a bath of melted opals.  The great
+dark eyes were fixed and staring, the tail
+moved feebly, the long dorsal fin quivered.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He measured five feet six inches in length,
+which was one inch more than Hal's height.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, the boys back home will never believe
+I caught him," said Hal, in distress.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Take his picture to prove it," replied Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal photographed his catch.  Pepe took
+out the hook, showing, as he did so, the great
+iron-like plates in the mouth of the fish.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"No wonder it's hard to hook them," said Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal certainly wanted his beautiful fish to
+go back, free and little hurt, to the river.
+But also he wanted him for a specimen.  Hal
+deliberated.  Evidently he was considering the
+labor of skinning such a huge fish and the
+difficulty of preserving and packing the hide.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, Hal, wouldn't you like to see me hook
+one?" queried Ken, patiently.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That brought Hal to his senses.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure, Ken, old man, I want you to catch
+one--a big one--bigger than mine," replied
+Hal, and restored the fish to the water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They all watched the liberated tarpon swim
+wearily off and slip down under the water.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"He'll have something to tell the rest,
+won't he?" said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes the boat was again in the
+center of the great pool among the rolling
+tarpon.  Ken had a strike immediately.
+He missed.  Then he tried again.  And in a
+short space of time he saw five tarpon in the
+air, one after the other, and not one did he
+hook securely.  He got six leaps out of one,
+however, and that was almost as good as
+landing him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"There 're some whales here," said George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Grande savalo," added Pepe, and he rowed
+over to where a huge fish was rolling.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I don't want to hook the biggest one
+first," protested Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe rowed to and fro.  The boys were busy
+trying to see the rolling tarpon.  There would
+be a souse on one side, then a splash on the
+other, then a thump behind.  What with
+trying to locate all these fish and still keep an
+eye on Ken's line the boys almost dislocated
+their necks.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then, quick as a flash, Ken had a strike
+that pulled him out of his seat to his knees.
+He could not jerk.  His line was like a wire.
+It began to rise.  With all his strength he
+held on.  The water broke in a hollow, slow
+roar, and a huge humpbacked tarpon seemed
+to be climbing into the air.  But he did not
+get all the way out, and he plunged back
+with a thunderous crash.  He made as much
+noise as if a horse had fallen off a bridge.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The handle of the reel slipped out of Ken's
+grasp, and it was well.  The tarpon made a
+long, wonderful run and showed on the surface
+a hundred yards from the boat.  He was
+irresistibly powerful.  Ken was astounded and
+thrilled at his strength and speed.  There,
+far away from the boat, the tarpon leaped
+magnificently, clearing the water, and then
+went down.  He did not come up again.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, he's a whale," said George.  "I
+believe he's well hooked.  He won't jump any
+more.  And you've got a job on your hands."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I want him to jump."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"The big ones seldom break water after
+the first rush or so."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, it's coming to you with that
+fellow," said Hal.  "My left arm is paralyzed.
+Honestly, I can pinch it and not feel the pain."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe worked the boat closer and Ken
+reeled in yard after yard of line.  The tarpon
+was headed down-stream, and he kept up a
+steady, strong strain.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Let him tow the boat," said George.
+"Hold the drag, Ken.  Let him tow the boat."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What!" exclaimed Ken, in amaze.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, he'll do it, all right."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And so it proved.  Ken's tarpon, once
+headed with the current, did not turn, and
+he towed the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a new way for me to tire out a
+fish," said Ken.  "What do you think of it, Hal?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal's eyes glistened.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"This is fishing.  Ken, did you see him
+when he came up?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Not very clearly.  I had buck-fever.  You
+know how a grouse looks when he flushes
+right under your feet--a kind of brown blur.
+Well, this was the same, only silver."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of what Ken judged to be a
+mile the tarpon was still going.  At the end
+of the second mile he was tired.  And three
+miles down the river from where the fish was
+hooked Pepe beached the boat on a sandbar
+and hauled ashore a tarpon six feet ten
+inches long.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Here Ken echoed Hal's panting gasp
+of wonder and exultation.  As he sat down
+on the boat to rest he had no feeling in
+his left arm, and little in his right.  His
+knuckles were skinned and bloody.  No
+game of baseball he had ever pitched had
+taken his strength like the conquest of this
+magnificent fish.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Hal, we'll have some more of this fishing
+when we get to Tampico," said Ken.  "Why,
+this beats hunting.  You have the sport, and
+you needn't kill anything.  This tarpon isn't
+hurt."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So Ken photographed his prize and measured
+him, and, taking a last lingering glance at the
+great green back, the silver-bronze sides, the
+foot-wide flukes of the tail, at the whole
+quivering fire-tinted length, he slid the tarpon
+back into the river.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="stricken-down"><span class="bold large">XXII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">STRICKEN DOWN</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Much as Ken would have liked to go back
+to that pool, he did not think of it twice.
+And as soon as the excitement had subsided
+and the journey was resumed, George and Hal,
+and Pepe, too, settled down into a silent
+weariness that made Ken anxious.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>During the afternoon Ken saw Pepe slowly
+droop lower and lower at the oars till the time
+came when he could scarcely lift them to
+make a stroke.  And when Ken relieved him
+of them, Pepe fell like a log in the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George slept.  Hal seemed to be fighting
+stupor.  Pepe lay motionless on his seat.  They
+were all going down with the fever, that
+Ken knew, and it took all his courage to face
+the situation.  It warmed his heart to see how
+Hal was trying to bear up under a languor
+that must have been well-nigh impossible to
+resist.  At last Hal said:</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, let me row."  He would not admit
+that he was sick.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken thought it would do Hal no harm to
+work.  But Ken did not want to lose time.
+So he hit upon a plan that pleased him.
+There was an extra pair of oars in the boat.
+Ken fashioned rude pegs from a stick and
+drove these down into the cleat inside the
+gunwales.  With stout rope he tied the oars
+to the pegs, which answered fairly well as
+oarlocks.  Then they had a double set of
+oars going, and made much better time.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George woke and declared that he must take
+a turn at the oars.  So Ken let him row, too,
+and rested himself.  He had a grim foreboding
+that he would need all his strength.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The succeeding few hours before sunset
+George and Hal more than made up for all
+their delinquencies of the past.  At first it was
+not very hard for them to row; but soon they
+began to weary, then weaken.  Neither one,
+however, would give up.  Ken let them
+row, knowing that it was good for them.
+Slower and slower grew George's strokes,
+there were times when he jerked up
+spasmodically and made an effort, only to weaken
+again.  At last, with a groan he dropped the
+oars.  Ken had to lift him back into the bow.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal was not so sick as George, and therefore
+not so weak.  He lasted longer.  Ken
+had seen the lad stick to many a hard job,
+but never as he did to this one.  Hal was
+making good his promise.  There were times when
+his breath came in whistles.  He would stop
+and pant awhile, then row on.  Ken pretended
+he did not notice.  But he had never been
+so proud of his brother nor loved him so well.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Ken, old man," said Hal, presently.  "I
+was--wrong--about the water.  I ought to
+have obeyed you.  I--I'm pretty sick."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>What a confession for Hal Ward!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken turned in time to see Hal vomit over
+the gunwale.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"It's pretty tough, Hal," said Ken, as he
+reached out to hold his brother's head; "but
+you're game.  I'm so glad to see that."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Whereupon Hal went back to his oars and
+stayed till he dropped.  Ken lifted him and
+laid him beside George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken rowed on with his eyes ever in search
+of a camping-site.  But there was no place to
+camp.  The muddy banks were too narrow
+at the bottom, too marshy and filthy.  And
+they were too steep to climb to the top.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The sun set.  Twilight fell.  Darkness came
+on, and still Ken rowed down the river.  At
+last he decided to make a night of it at the
+oars.  He preferred to risk the dangers of the
+river at night rather than spend miserable
+hours in the mud.  Rousing the boys, he
+forced them to swallow a little cold rice and
+some more quinine.  Then he covered them
+with blankets, and had scarce completed the
+task when they were deep in slumber.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then the strange, dense tropical night
+settled down upon Ken.  The oars were
+almost noiseless, and the water gurgled softly
+from the bow.  Overhead the expanse was
+dark blue, with a few palpitating stars.  The
+river was shrouded in gray gloom, and the
+banks were lost in black obscurity.  Great
+fireflies emphasized the darkness.  He trusted
+a good deal to luck in the matter of going
+right; yet he kept his ear keen for the sound
+of quickening current, and turned every few
+strokes to peer sharply into the gloom.  He
+seemed to have little sense of peril, for, though
+he hit submerged logs and stranded on bars,
+he kept on unmindful, and by and by lost what
+anxiety he had felt.  The strange wildness
+of the river at night, the gray, veiled space into
+which he rowed unheeding began to work
+upon his mind.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That was a night to remember--a night
+of sounds and smells, of the feeling of the cool
+mist, the sight of long, dark forest-line and
+a golden moon half hidden by clouds.  Prominent
+among these was the trill of river frogs.
+The trill of a northern frog was music, but
+that of these great, silver-throated jungle
+frogs was more than music.  Close at hand one
+would thrill Ken with mellow, rich notes;
+and then from far would come the answer,
+a sweet, high tenor, wilder than any other
+wilderness sound, long sustained, dying away
+till he held his breath to listen.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>So the hours passed; and the moon went
+down into the weird shadows, and the Southern
+Cross rose pale and wonderful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Gradually the stars vanished in a kind of
+brightening gray, and dawn was at hand.
+Ken felt weary for sleep, and his arms and back
+ached.  Morning came, with its steely light
+on the river, the rolling and melting of vapors,
+the flight of ducks and call of birds.  The
+rosy sun brought no cheer.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken beached the boat on a sand-bar.
+While he was building a fire George raised
+his head and groaned.  But neither Pepe nor
+Hal moved.  Ken cooked rice and boiled
+cocoa, which he choked down.  He opened
+a can of fruit and found that most welcome.
+Then he lifted George's head, shook him,
+roused him, and held him, and made him eat
+and drink.  Nor did he neglect to put a
+liberal dose of quinine in the food.  Pepe was
+easily managed, but poor Hal was almost
+unable to swallow.  Something terribly grim
+mingled with a strong, passionate thrill as
+Ken looked at Hal's haggard face.  Then
+Ken Ward knew how much he could stand,
+what work he could do to get his brother out
+of the jungle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He covered the boys again and pushed out
+the boat.  At the moment he felt a strength
+that he had never felt before.  There was a
+good, swift current in the river, and Ken was
+at great pains to keep in it.  The channel
+ran from one side of the river to the other.
+Many times Ken stranded on sandy shoals
+and had to stand up and pole the boat into
+deeper water.  This was work that required
+all his attention.  It required more than
+patience.  But as he rowed and poled and
+drifted he studied the shallow ripples and
+learned to avoid the places where the boat
+would not float.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>There were stretches of river where the
+water was comparatively deep, and along
+these he rested and watched the shores as he
+drifted by.  He saw no Indian huts that
+morning.  The jungle loomed high and dark,
+a matted gray wall.  The heat made the
+river glare and smoke.  Then where the
+current quickened he rowed steadily and easily,
+husbanding his strength.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>More than all else, even the ravings of Hal
+in fever, the thing that wore on Ken and made
+him gloomy was the mourning of turtle-doves.
+As there had been thousands of these
+beautiful birds along the Santa Rosa River, so
+there were millions along the Panuco.  Trees
+were blue with doves.  There was an
+incessant soft, sad moaning.  He fought his
+nervous, sensitive imaginings.  And for a
+time he would conquer the sense of some sad
+omen sung by the doves.  Then the monotony,
+the endless sweet "coo-ooo-ooo," seemed
+to drown him in melancholy sound.  There were
+three distinct tones--a moan, swelling to full
+ring, and dying away: "Coo-</span><em class="italics">ooo</em><span>-ooo--coo-</span><em class="italics">ooo</em><span>-ooo."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>All the afternoon the mourning, haunting
+song filled Ken Ward's ears.  And when the
+sun set and night came, with relief to his
+tortured ear but not to mind, Ken kept on
+without a stop.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The day had slipped behind Ken with the
+miles, and now it was again dark.  It seemed
+that he had little sense of time.  But his
+faculties of sight and hearing were singularly
+acute.  Otherwise his mind was like the weird
+gloom into which he was drifting.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Before the stars came out the blackness was
+as thick as pitch.  He could not see a yard
+ahead.  He backed the boat stern first
+down-stream and listened for the soft murmur
+of ripples on shoals.  He avoided these by
+hearing alone.  Occasionally a huge, dark
+pile of driftwood barred his passage, and he
+would have to go round it.  Snags loomed up
+specter-like in his path, seemingly to reach for
+him with long, gaunt arms.  Sometimes he
+drifted upon sand-bars, from which he would
+patiently pole the boat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the heavy dew began to fall he put
+on his waterproof coat.  The night grew
+chill.  Then the stars shone out.  This
+lightened the river.  Yet everywhere were shadows.
+Besides, clouds of mist hung low, in places
+obscuring the stars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken turned the boat bow first downstream
+and rowed with slow, even stroke.
+He no longer felt tired.  He seemed to have
+the strength of a giant.  He fancied that with
+one great heave he could lift the boat out of
+the water or break the oars.  From time to
+time he ceased to row, and, turning his head,
+he looked and listened.  The river had numerous
+bends, and it was difficult for Ken to keep
+in the middle channel.  He managed pretty
+well to keep right by watching the dark
+shore-line where it met the deep-blue sky.
+In the bends the deepest water ran close to
+the shore of the outside curve.  And under
+these high banks and the leaning cypresses
+shadows were thicker and blacker than in the
+earlier night.  There was mystery in them
+that Ken felt.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The sounds he heard when he stopped
+during these cautious resting intervals were
+the splashes of fish breaking water, the low
+hum of insects, and the trill of frogs.  The
+mourning of the doves during daylight had
+haunted him, and now he felt the same
+sensation at this long-sustained, exquisitely sweet
+trill.  It pierced him, racked him, and at last,
+from sheer exhaustion of his sensibilities, he
+seemed not to hear it any more, but to have
+it in his brain.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The moon rose behind the left-hand jungle
+wall, silvered half of the river and the
+opposite line of cypresses, then hid under clouds.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly, near or far away, down the river
+Ken saw a wavering light.  It was too large
+for a firefly, and too steady.  He took it
+for a Jack-o'-lantern.  And for a while it
+enhanced the unreality, the ghostliness of the
+river.  But it was the means of bringing
+Ken out of his dreamy gloom.  It made him
+think.  The light was moving.  It was too
+wavering for a Jack-o'-lantern.  It was
+coming up-stream.  It grew larger.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it
+vanished.  Ken lost sight of it under a deep
+shadow of overhanging shore.  As he reached
+a point opposite to where it disappeared he
+thought he heard a voice.  But he could not
+be sure.  He did not trust his ears.  The
+incident, however, gave him a chill.  What
+a lonesome ride!  He was alone on that
+unknown river with three sick boys in the boat.
+Their lives depended upon his care, his
+strength, his skill, his sight and hearing.
+And the realization, striking him afresh,
+steeled his arms again and his spirit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The night wore on.  The moon disappeared
+entirely.  The mists hung low like dim sheets
+along the water.  Ken was wringing-wet with
+dew.  Long periods of rowing he broke with
+short intervals of drifting, when he rested at
+the oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then drowsiness attacked him.  For hours
+it seemed he fought it off.  But at length it
+grew overpowering.  Only hard rowing would
+keep him awake.  And, as he wanted to
+reserve his strength, he did not dare exert
+himself violently.  He could not keep his eyes
+open.  Time after time he found himself
+rowing when he was half asleep.  The boat
+drifted against a log and stopped.  Ken
+drooped over his oars and slept, and yet he
+seemed not altogether to lose consciousness.
+He roused again to row on.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It occurred to him presently that he might
+let the boat drift and take naps between
+whiles.  When he drifted against a log or a
+sand-bar the jar would awaken him.  The
+current was sluggish.  There seemed to be
+no danger whatever.  He must try to keep
+his strength.  A little sleep would refresh
+him.  So he reasoned, and fell asleep over
+the oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Sooner or later--he never knew how long
+after he had fallen asleep--a little jar awakened
+him.  Then the gurgle and murmur of water
+near him and the rush and roar of a swift
+current farther off made him look up with a
+violent start.  All about him was wide, gray
+gloom.  Yet he could see the dark, glancing
+gleam of the water.  Movement of the oars
+told him the boat was fast on a sand-bar.
+That relieved him, for he was not drifting at
+the moment into the swift current he heard.
+Ken peered keenly into the gloom.  Gradually
+he made out a long, dark line running
+diagonally ahead of him and toward the
+right-hand shore.  It could not be an island or a
+sand-bar or a shore-line.  It could not be
+piles of driftwood.  There was a strange
+regularity in the dark upheavals of this
+looming object.  Ken studied it.  He studied the
+black, glancing water.  Whatever the line
+was, it appeared to shunt the current over to
+the right, whence came the low rush and roar.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Altogether it was a wild, strange place.
+Ken felt a fear of something he could not name.
+It was the river--the night--the loneliness--the
+unknown about him and before him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly he saw a dull, red light far down
+the river.  He stiffened in his seat.  Then
+he saw another red light.  They were like
+two red eyes.  Ken shook himself to see if
+he had nightmare.  No; the boat was there;
+the current was there; the boys were there,
+dark and silent under their blankets.  This
+was no dream.  Ken's fancy conjured up
+some red-eyed river demon come to destroy
+him and his charges.  He scorned the fancy,
+laughed at it.  But, all the same, in that dark,
+weird place, with the murmuring of notes
+in his ears and with those strange red eyes
+glowing in the distance, he could not help
+what his emotions made the truth.  He was
+freezing to the marrow, writhing in a clammy
+sweat when a low "chug-chug-chug" enlightened
+him.  The red eyes were those of a steamboat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>A steamboat on the wild Panuco!  Ken
+scarcely believed his own judgment.  Then
+he remembered that George said there were
+a couple of boats plying up and down the
+lower Panuco, mostly transporting timber and
+cattle.  Besides, he had proof of his judgment
+in the long, dark line that had so puzzled
+him--it was a breakwater.  It turned the
+current to the left, where there evidently was
+a channel.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The great, red eyes gleamed closer, the
+"chug-chug-chug" sounded louder.  Then
+another sound amazed Ken--a man's voice
+crying out steadily and monotonously.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken wanted to rouse the boys and Pepe,
+but he refrained.  It was best for them to
+sleep.  How surprised they would be when he
+told them about the boat that passed in the
+night!  Ken now clearly heard the splashing
+of paddles, the chug of machinery, and the
+man's voice.  He was singsonging: "Dos y
+media, dos y media, dos y media."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken understood a little Mexican, and
+this strange cry became clear to him.  The
+man was taking soundings with a lead and
+crying out to the pilot.  </span><em class="italics">Dos y media</em><span> meant two
+and a half feet of water.  Then the steam-boat
+loomed black in the gray gloom.  It was
+pushing a low, flat barge.  Ken could not
+see the man taking soundings, but he heard
+him and knew he was on the front end of the
+barge.  The boat passed at fair speed, and it
+cheered Ken.  For he certainly ought to be
+able to take a rowboat where a steamboat
+had passed.  And, besides, he must be getting
+somewhere near the little village of Panuco.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He poled off the bar and along the breakwater
+to the channel.  It was narrow and swift.
+He wondered how the pilot of the steamboat
+had navigated in the gloom.  He slipped
+down-stream, presently to find himself once
+more in a wide river.  Refreshed by his sleep
+and encouraged by the meeting with the
+steamboat, Ken settled down to steady rowing.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The stars paled, the mist thickened, fog
+obscured the water and shore; then all turned
+gray, lightened, and dawn broke.  The sun
+burst out.  Ken saw thatched huts high on
+the banks and occasionally natives.  This
+encouraged him all the more.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>He was not hungry, but he was sick for a
+drink.  He had to fight himself to keep from
+drinking the dirty river-water.  How different
+it was here from the clear green of the upper
+Santa Rosa!  Ken would have given his best
+gun for one juicy orange.  George was
+restless and rolling about, calling for water;
+Hal lay in slumber or stupor; and Pepe sat
+up.  He was a sick-looking fellow, but he
+was better; and that cheered Ken as nothing
+yet had.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken beached the boat on a sandy shore,
+and once again forced down a little rice and
+cocoa.  Pepe would not eat, yet he drank a
+little.  George was burning up with fever,
+and drank a full cup.  Hal did not stir, and
+Ken thought it best to let him lie.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As Ken resumed the journey the next thing
+to attract his attention was a long canoe
+moored below one of the thatched huts.
+This afforded him great satisfaction.  At
+least he had passed the jungle wilderness,
+where there was nothing that even suggested
+civilization.  In the next few miles he noticed
+several canoes and as many natives.  Then
+he passed a canoe that was paddled by two
+half-naked bronze Indians.  Pepe hailed them,
+but either they were too unfriendly to reply
+or they did not understand him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Some distance below Pepe espied a banana
+grove, and he motioned Ken to row ashore.
+Ken did so with pleasure at the thought of
+getting some fresh fruit.  There was a canoe
+moored to the roots of a tree and a path
+leading up the steep bank.  Pepe got out and
+laboriously toiled up the bare path.  He was
+gone a good while.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently Ken heard shouts, then the bang
+of a lightly loaded gun, then yells from Pepe.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"What on earth!" cried Ken, looking up in
+affright.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe appeared with his arms full of red
+bananas.  He jumped and staggered down
+the path and almost fell into the boat.  But
+he hung on to the bananas.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Santa Maria!" gasped Pepe, pointing to
+little bloody spots on the calf of his leg.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Pepe, you've been shot!" ejaculated Ken.
+"You stole the fruit--somebody shot you!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe howled his affirmative.  Ken was
+angry at himself, angrier at Pepe, and angriest
+at the native who had done the shooting.
+With a strong shove Ken put the boat out
+and then rowed hard down-stream.  As he
+rounded a bend a hundred yards below he saw
+three natives come tumbling down the path.
+They had a gun.  They leaped into the canoe.
+They meant pursuit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, but this is a pretty kettle of fish!"
+muttered Ken, and he bent to the oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Of course Pepe had been in the wrong.
+He should have paid for the bananas or asked
+for them.  All the same, Ken was not in any
+humor to be fooled with by excitable natives.
+He had a sick brother in the boat and meant
+to get that lad out of the jungle as quickly
+as will and strength could do it.  He
+certainly did not intend to be stopped by a few
+miserable Indians angry over the loss of a few
+bananas.  If it had not been for the gun,
+Ken would have stopped long enough to pay
+for the fruit.  But he could not risk it now.
+So he pulled a strong stroke down-stream.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The worst of the matter developed when
+Pepe peeled one of the bananas.  It was too
+green to eat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Presently the native canoe hove in sight
+round the bend.  All three men were paddling.
+They made the long craft fly through
+the water.  Ken saw instantly that they would
+overhaul him in a long race, and this added
+to his resentment.  Pepe looked back and
+jabbered and shook his brawny fists at the
+natives.  Ken was glad to see that the long
+stretch of river below did not show a canoe
+or hut along the banks.  He preferred to be
+overhauled, if he had to be, in a rather lonely spot.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was wonderful how those natives propelled
+that log canoe.  And when one of the
+three dropped his paddle to pick up the gun,
+the speed of the canoe seemed not to diminish.
+They knew the channels, and so gained on
+Ken.  He had to pick the best he could
+choose at short notice, and sometimes he
+chose poorly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Two miles or more below the bend the
+natives with the gun deliberately fired,
+presumably at Pepe.  The shot scattered and
+skipped along the water and did not come
+near the boat.  Nevertheless, as the canoe
+was gaining and the crazy native was reloading,
+Ken saw he would soon be within range.
+Something had to be done.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken wondered if he could not frighten
+those natives.  They had probably never
+heard the quick reports of a repeating rifle,
+let alone the stinging cracks of an automatic.
+Ken decided it would be worth trying.  But
+he must have a chance to get the gun out of
+its case and load it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That chance came presently.  The natives,
+in paddling diagonally across a narrow
+channel, ran aground in the sand.  They were
+fast for only a few moments, but in that time
+Ken had got out the little rifle and loaded it.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe's dark face turned a dirty white, and
+his eyes dilated.  He imagined Ken was
+going to kill some of his countrymen.  But
+Pepe never murmured.  He rubbed the place
+in his leg where he had been shot, and looked
+back.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken rowed on, now leisurely.  There was
+a hot anger within him, but he had it in
+control.  He knew what he was about.  Again
+the native fired, and again his range was short.
+The distance was perhaps two hundred yards.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken waited until the canoe, in crossing
+one of the many narrow places, was broadside
+toward him.  Then he raised the automatic.
+There were at least ten feet in the
+middle of the canoe where it was safe for him
+to hit without harm to the natives.  And
+there he aimed.  The motion of his boat made
+it rather hard to keep the sights right.  He was
+cool, careful; he aimed low, between gunwale
+and the water, and steadily he pulled the
+trigger--once, twice, three times, four, five.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The steel-jacketed bullets "spoued" on
+the water and "cracked" into the canoe.
+They evidently split both gunwales low down
+at the water-line.  The yelling, terror-stricken
+natives plunged about, and what with
+their actions and the great split in the middle
+the canoe filled and sank.  The natives were
+not over their depth; that was plainly evident.
+Moreover, it was equally evident that they
+dared not wade in the quicksand.  So they
+swam to the shallower water, and there, like
+huge turtles, floundered toward the shore.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst" id="out-of-the-jungle"><span class="bold large">XXIII</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">OUT OF THE JUNGLE</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>Before the natives had reached the
+shore they were hidden from Ken's
+sight by leaning cypress-trees.  Ken,
+however, had no fear for their safety.  He was
+sorry to cause the Indians' loss of a gun and
+a canoe; nevertheless, he was not far from
+echoing Pepe's repeated: "Bueno!  Bueno!
+Bueno!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Upon examination Ken found two little
+bloody holes in the muscles of Pepe's leg.
+A single shot had passed through.  Ken
+bathed the wounds with an antiseptic lotion
+and bound them with clean bandages.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe appeared to be pretty weak, so Ken
+did not ask him to take the oars.  Then,
+pulling with long, steady stroke, Ken set out
+to put a long stretch between him and the
+angry natives.  The current was swift, and
+Ken made five miles or more an hour.  He
+kept that pace for three hours without a rest.
+And then he gave out.  It seemed that all at
+once he weakened.  His back bore an
+immense burden.  His arms were lead, and his
+hands were useless.  There was an occasional
+mist or veil before his sight.  He was wet,
+hot, breathless, numb.  But he knew he was
+safe from pursuit.  So he rested and let the
+boat drift.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>George sat up, green in the face, a most
+miserable-looking boy.  But that he could
+sit up at all was hopeful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, my head!" he moaned.  "Is there
+anything I can drink?  My mouth is
+dry--pasted shut."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had two lemons he had been saving.
+He cut one in halves and divided it between
+Pepe and George.  The relief the sour lemon
+afforded both showed Ken how wise he had
+been to save the lemons.  Then he roused
+Hal, and, lifting the lad's head, made him
+drink a little of the juice.  Hal was a sick
+boy, too weak to sit up without help.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't--you worry--Ken," he said.  "I'm
+going--to be--all right."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal was still fighting.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken readjusted the palm-leaf shelter over
+the boys so as to shade them effectually from
+the hot sun, and then he went back to the
+oars.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As he tried once more to row, Ken was
+reminded of the terrible lassitude that had
+overtaken him the day he had made the six-hour
+climb out of the Grand Cañon.  The
+sensation now was worse, but Ken had others
+depending upon his exertions, and that spurred
+him to the effort which otherwise would have
+been impossible.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was really not rowing that Ken accomplished.
+It was a weary puttering with oars
+he could not lift, handles he could not hold.
+At best he managed to guide the boat into
+the swiftest channels.  Whenever he felt that
+he was just about to collapse, then he would
+look at Hal's pale face.  That would revive
+him.  So the hot hours dragged by.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They came, after several miles, upon more
+huts and natives.  And farther down they
+met canoes on the river.  Pepe interrogated
+the natives.  According to George, who
+listened, Panuco was far, far away, many
+kilometers.  This was most disheartening.  Another
+native said the village was just round the
+next bend.  This was most nappy information.
+But it turned out to be a lie.  There
+was no village around any particular
+bend--nothing save bare banks for miles.  The
+stretches of the river were long, and bends
+far apart.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken fell asleep.  When he awoke he found
+Pepe at the oars.  Watching him, Ken fancied
+he was recovering, and was overjoyed.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>About four o'clock in the afternoon Pepe
+rowed ashore and beached the boat at the
+foot of a trail leading up to a large bamboo
+and thatch hut.  This time Ken thought it
+well to accompany Pepe.  And as he climbed
+the path he found his legs stiffer and shakier
+than ever before.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken saw a cleared space in which were
+several commodious huts, gardens, and flowers.
+There was a grassy yard in which little naked
+children were playing with tame deer and
+tiger-cats.  Parrots were screeching, and other
+tame birds fluttered about.  It appeared a real
+paradise to Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Two very kindly disposed and wondering
+native women made them welcome.  Then
+Ken and Pepe went down to the boat and
+carried Hal up, and went back for George.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It developed that the native women knew
+just what to do for the fever-stricken boys.
+They made some kind of a native drink for
+them, and after that gave them hot milk and
+chicken and rice soup.  George improved
+rapidly, and Hal brightened a little and showed
+signs of gathering strength.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken could not eat until he had something
+to quench his thirst.  Upon inquiring, Pepe
+found that the natives used the river-water.
+Ken could not drink that.  Then Pepe pointed
+out an orange-tree, and Ken made a dive
+for it.  The ground was littered with oranges.
+Collecting an armful, Ken sat under the tree
+and with wild haste began to squeeze the juice
+into his mouth.  Never had anything before
+tasted so cool, so sweet, so life-giving!  He
+felt a cool, wet sensation steal all through his
+body.  He never knew till that moment how
+really wonderful and precious an orange could
+be.  He thought that as he would hate
+mourning turtle-doves all the rest of his life,
+so he would love the sight and smell and taste
+of oranges.  And he demolished twenty-two
+before he satisfied his almost insatiable thirst.
+After that the chicken and rice made him feel
+like a new boy.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then Ken made beds under a kind of porch,
+and he lay down in one, stretched out
+languidly and gratefully, as if he never intended
+to move again, and his eyes seemed to be
+glued shut.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he awoke the sun was shining in his
+face.  When he had gone to bed it had been
+shining at his back.  He consulted his watch.
+He had slept seventeen hours.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he got up and found Pepe as well as
+before he had been taken with the fever and
+George on his feet and Hal awake and
+actually smiling, Ken experienced a sensation
+of unutterable thankfulness.  A terrible
+burden slipped from his shoulders.  For a
+moment he felt a dimming of his eyes and a lump
+in his throat.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"How about you, Ken, old man?" inquired
+Hal, with a hint of his usual spirit.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Wal, youngster, I reckon fer a man who's
+been through some right pert happenin's,
+I'm in tol'able shape," drawled Ken.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll bet two dollars you've been up
+against it," declared Hal, solemnly.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then, as they sat to an appetizing breakfast,
+Ken gave them a brief account of the
+incidents of the two days and two nights
+when they were too ill to know anything.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was a question whether George's voluble
+eulogy of Ken's feat or Hal's silent,
+bright-eyed pride in his brother was the greater
+compliment.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Finally Hal said: "Won't that tickle Jim
+Williams when we tell him how you split
+up the Indians' canoe and spilled them into
+the river?"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Then Ken conceived the idea of climbing
+into the giant ceiba that stood high on the
+edge of the bluff.  It was hard work, but he
+accomplished it, and from a fork in the
+top-most branches he looked out.  That was a
+warm, rich, wonderful scene.  Ken felt that
+he would never forget it.  His interest now,
+however, was not so much in its beauty and
+wildness.  His keen eye followed the river
+as it wound away into the jungle, and when
+he could no longer see the bright ribbon of
+water he followed its course by the line of
+magnificent trees.  It was possible to trace
+the meandering course of the river clear to
+the rise of the mountains, dim and blue in
+the distance.  And from here Ken made more
+observations and notes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>As he went over in his mind the map and
+notes and report he had prepared he felt that
+he had made good.  He had explored and
+mapped more than a hundred miles of wild
+jungle river.  He felt confident that he had
+earned the trip to England and the German
+forests.  He might win a hunting trip on the
+vast uplands of British East Africa.  But he
+felt also that the reward of his uncle's and
+his father's pride would be more to him.  That
+was a great moment for Ken Ward.  And
+there was yet much more that he could do to
+make this exploring trip a success.</span></p>
+<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 92%" id="figure-50">
+<span id="ken-ward-s-map"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Ken Ward's Map" src="images/img-301.jpg" />
+<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin">
+<span class="italics">Ken Ward's Map</span></div>
+</div>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When he joined the others he found that
+Pepe had learned that the village of Panuco
+was distant a day or a night by canoe.  How
+many miles or kilometers Pepe could not learn.
+Ken decided it would be best to go on at once.
+It was not easy to leave that pleasant place,
+with its music of parrots and other birds, and
+the tiger-cats that played like kittens, and the
+deer that ate from the hand.  The women
+would accept no pay, so Ken made them
+presents.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Once more embarked, Ken found his mood
+reverting to that of the last forty-eight hours.
+He could not keep cheerful.  The river was
+dirty and the smell sickening.  The sun was
+like the open door of a furnace.  And Ken
+soon discovered he was tired, utterly tired.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>That day was a repetition of the one before,
+hotter, wearier, and the stretches of river were
+longer, and the natives met in canoes were
+stolidly ignorant of distance.  The mourning
+of turtle-doves almost drove Ken wild.  There
+were miles and miles of willows, and every tree
+was full of melancholy doves.  At dusk the
+boys halted on a sand-bar, too tired to cook a
+dinner, and sprawled in the warm sand to sleep
+like logs.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In the morning they brightened up a little,
+for surely just around the bend they would
+come to Panuco.  Pepe rowed faithfully on,
+and bend after bend lured Ken with deceit.
+He was filled with weariness and disgust, so
+tired he could hardly lift his hand, so sleepy
+he could scarcely keep his eyes open.  He
+hated the wide, glassy stretches of river and
+the muddy banks and dusty cattle.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>At noon they came unexpectedly upon a
+cluster of thatched huts, to find that they made
+up the village of Panuco.  Ken was sick, for he
+had expected a little town where they could
+get some drinking-water and hire a launch
+to speed them down to Tampico.  This
+appeared little more than the other places he
+had passed, and he climbed up the bank
+wearily, thinking of the long fifty miles still
+to go.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>But Panuco was bigger and better than it
+looked from the river.  The boys found a
+clean, comfortable inn, where they dined well,
+and learned to their joy that a coach left in
+an hour for Tamos to meet the five-o'clock
+train to Tampico.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>They hired a </span><em class="italics">mozo</em><span> to row the boat to
+Tampico and, carrying the lighter things,
+boarded the coach, and, behind six mules,
+were soon bowling over a good level road.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was here that the spirit of Ken's mood
+again changed, and somehow seemed subtly
+conveyed to the others.  The gloom faded
+away as Ken had seen the mist-clouds
+dissolve in the morning sunlight.  It was the
+end of another wild trip.  Hal was ill, but
+a rest and proper care would soon bring him
+around.  Ken had some trophies and pictures,
+but he also had memories.  And he believed
+he had acquired an accurate knowledge of
+the jungle and its wild nature, and he had
+mapped the river from Micas Falls to Panuco.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it certainly </span><em class="italics">did come</em><span> to us, didn't
+it?" asked George, naïvely, for the hundredth
+time.  "Didn't I tell you?  By gosh, I can't
+remember what did come off.  But we had
+a dandy time."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Great!" replied Ken.  "I had more than
+I wanted.  I'll never spring another stunt like
+this one!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal gazed smilingly at his brother.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Bah!  Ken Ward, bring on your next old trip!"</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Which proved decidedly that Hal was getting
+better and that he alone understood his
+brother.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Pepe listened and rubbed his big hands,
+and there was a light in his dark eyes.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken laughed.  It was good to feel happy
+just then; it was enough to feel safe and glad
+in the present, with responsibility removed,
+without a thought of the future.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Yet, when some miles across country he saw
+the little town of Tamos shining red-roofed
+against the sky, he came into his own again.
+The old calling, haunting love of wild places
+and wild nature returned, and with dreamy
+eyes he looked out.  He saw the same beauty
+and life and wildness.  Beyond the glimmering
+lagoons stretched the dim, dark jungle.
+A flock of flamingoes showed pink across the
+water.  Ducks dotted the weedy marshes.
+And low down on the rosy horizon a long
+curved line of wild geese sailed into the sunset.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>When the boys arrived at Tampico and
+George had secured comfortable lodgings for
+them, the first thing Ken did was to put Hal
+to bed.  It required main strength to do this.
+Ken was not taking any chances with tropical
+fever, and he sent for a doctor.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It was not clear whether the faces Hal
+made were at the little dried-up doctor or at
+the medicine he administered.  However, it
+was very clear that Hal made fun of him
+and grew bolder the more he believed the man
+could not understand English.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken liked the silent, kindly physician, and
+remonstrated with Hal, and often, just to
+keep Hal's mind occupied, he would talk of
+the university and baseball, topics that were
+absorbing to the boy.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>And one day, as the doctor was leaving,
+he turned to Ken with a twinkle in his eyes
+and said in perfect English: "I won't need to
+come any more."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal's jaw began to drop.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Your brother is all right," went on the
+doctor.  "But he's a fresh kid, and he'll
+never make the Wayne Varsity--or a good
+explorer, either--till he gets over that
+freshness.  I'm a Wayne man myself.  Class of '82.
+Good day, boys."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken Ward was astounded.  "By George!
+What do you think of that?  He's a Wayne
+med.  I'll have to look him up.  And, Hal, he
+was just right about you."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Hal looked extremely crestfallen and remorseful.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm always getting jars."</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It took a whole day for him to recover his
+usual spirits.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken had promptly sent the specimens and
+his notes to his uncle, and as the days passed
+the boys began to look anxiously for some
+news.  In ten days Hal was as well as ever,
+and then the boys had such sport with the
+tarpon and big sharks and alligator-gars that
+they almost forgot about the rewards they had
+striven so hard for and hoped to win.  But
+finally, when the mail arrived from home,
+they were at once happy and fearful.  George
+was with them that evening, and shared their
+excitement and suspense.  Hal's letters were
+from his mother and his sister, and they were
+read first.  Judge Ward's letter to Ken was
+fatherly and solicitous, but brief.  He gave
+the boys six more weeks, cautioned them to be
+sensible and to profit by their opportunity,
+and he inclosed a bank-draft.  Not a word
+about rewards!</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Ken's fingers trembled a little as he tore
+open the uncle's letter.  He read it aloud:</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>DEAR KEN,--Congratulations!  You've done well.
+You win the trip to Africa.  Hal's work also was
+good--several specimens accepted by the Smithsonian.
+I'll back you for the Yucatan trip.  Will send letters
+to the American consul at Progreso, and arrange for
+you to meet the Austrian archæologist Maler, who I
+hope will take you in hand.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>I want you to make a study of some of the ruins
+of Yucatan, which I believe are as wonderful as any
+in Egypt.  I advise you to make this trip short and to
+the point, for there are indications of coming
+revolution throughout Mexico.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<dl class="docutils">
+<dt class="noindent"><span>With best wishes,</span></dt>
+<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><span>UNCLE G.</span></p>
+</dd>
+</dl>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>The old varsity cheer rang out from Ken,
+and Hal began a war-dance.  Then both boys
+pounced upon George, and for a few moments
+made life miserable for him.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"And I can't go with you!" he exclaimed,
+sorrowfully.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>Both Ken and Hal shared his disappointment.
+But presently.  George brightened up.
+The smile came back which he always wore
+when prophesying the uncertain adventures of
+the future.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, anyway, I'll be safe home.  And you
+fellows!  You'll be getting yours when you're
+lost in the wilderness of Yucatan!"</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE END</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span>*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><em class="bold italics large">There's More to Follow!</em></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst"><span>More stories of the sort you like;
+more, probably, by the author of this
+one; more than 500 titles all told by
+writers of world-wide reputation, in
+the Authors' Alphabetical List which
+you will find on the </span><em class="italics">reverse side</em><span> of the
+wrapper of this book.  Look it over
+before you lay it aside.  There are
+books here you are sure to want--some,
+possibly, that you have </span><em class="italics">always</em><span> wanted.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>It is a </span><em class="italics">selected</em><span> list; every book in it
+has achieved a certain measure of
+success.</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The Grosset &amp; Dunlap list is not only
+the greatest Index of Good Fiction
+available, it represents in addition a
+generally accepted Standard of Value.
+It will pay you to</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Look on the Other Side of the Wrapper!</em></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>In case the wrapper is lost write to
+the publishers for a complete catalog.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span>*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">ZANE GREY'S NOVELS</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>THE CALL OF THE CANYON
+<br />WANDERER OF THE WASTELAND
+<br />TO THE LAST MAN
+<br />THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER
+<br />THE MAN OF THE FOREST
+<br />THE DESERT OF WHEAT
+<br />THE U. P. TRAIL
+<br />WILDFIRE
+<br />THE BORDER LEGION
+<br />THE RAINBOW TRAIL
+<br />THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT
+<br />RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
+<br />THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS
+<br />THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN
+<br />THE LONE STAR RANGER
+<br />DESERT GOLD
+<br />BETTY ZANE
+<br />THE DAY OF THE BEAST</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>*      *      *      *      *</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS</span></p>
+<p class="pnext"><span>The life story of "Buffalo Bill" by his sister Helen Cody
+Wetmore, with Foreword and conclusion by Zane Grey.</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold medium">ZANE GREY'S BOOKS FOR BOYS</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+<br />THE YOUNG LION HUNTER
+<br />THE YOUNG FORESTER
+<br />THE YOUNG PITCHER
+<br />THE SHORT STOP
+<br />THE RED-HEADED OUTFIELD AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span>*      *      *      *      *</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold medium">NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold large">WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset &amp; Dunlap's list</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>BIG-TOWN ROUND-UP, THE
+<br />BRAND BLOTTERS
+<br />BUCKY O'CONNOR
+<br />CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT
+<br />DAUGHTER OF THE DONS, A
+<br />DESERT'S PRICE, THE
+<br />FIGHTING EDGE, THE
+<br />GUNSIGHT PASS
+<br />HIGHGRADER, THE
+<br />IRONHEART
+<br />MAN FOUR-SQUARE, A
+<br />MAN-SIZE
+<br />MAVERICKS
+<br />OH, YOU TEX!
+<br />PIRATE OF PANAMA, THE
+<br />RIDGWAY OF MONTANA
+<br />SHERIFF'S SON, THE
+<br />STEVE YEAGER
+<br />TANGLED TRAILS
+<br />TEXAS RANGER, A
+<br />VISION SPLENDID, THE
+<br />WYOMING
+<br />YUKON TRAIL, THE</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span>*      *      *      *      *</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD'S</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">STORIES OF ADVENTURE</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset &amp; Dunlap's list</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>THE COUNTRY BEYOND
+<br />THE FLAMING FOREST
+<br />THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN
+<br />THE RIVER'S END
+<br />THE GOLDEN SNARE
+<br />NOMADS OF THE NORTH
+<br />KAZAN
+<br />BAREE, SON OF KAZAN
+<br />THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM
+<br />THE DANGER TRAIL
+<br />THE HUNTED WOMAN
+<br />THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH
+<br />THE GRIZZLY KING
+<br />ISOBEL
+<br />THE WOLF HUNTERS
+<br />THE GOLD HUNTERS
+<br />THE COURAGE OF MARGE O'DOONE
+<br />BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><em class="italics small">Ask for Complete free list of G. &amp; D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction</em></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span>*      *      *      *      *</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">EDGAR RICE BURROUGH'S NOVELS</span></p>
+<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>BANDIT OF HELL'S BEND, THE
+<br />CAVE GIRL, THE
+<br />LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE
+<br />TARZAN AND THE ANT MEN
+<br />TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION
+<br />TARZAN THE TERRIBLE
+<br />TARZAN THE UNTAMED
+<br />JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN
+<br />AT THE EARTH'S CORE
+<br />THE MUCKER
+<br />A PRINCESS OF MARS
+<br />THE GODS OF MARS
+<br />THE WARLORD OF MARS
+<br />THUVIA, MAID OF MARS
+<br />THE CHESSMEN OF MARS</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em">
+</div>
+<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold medium">GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK</span></p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em">
+</div>
+<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- -->
+<div class="backmatter">
+</div>
+<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE</span><span> ***</span></p>
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@@ -0,0 +1,10757 @@
+.. -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-

+

+.. meta::

+   :PG.Id: 45974

+   :PG.Title: Ken Ward in the Jungle

+   :PG.Released: 2014-06-14

+   :PG.Rights: Public Domain

+   :PG.Producer: Al Haines

+   :DC.Creator: Zane Grey

+   :DC.Title: Ken Ward in the Jungle

+   :DC.Language: en

+   :DC.Created: 1912

+   :coverpage: images/img-cover.jpg

+

+======================

+KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE

+======================

+

+.. clearpage::

+

+.. pgheader::

+

+.. container:: coverpage

+

+   .. vspace:: 3

+

+   .. _`Cover art`:

+

+   .. figure:: images/img-cover.jpg

+      :align: center

+      :alt: Cover art

+

+      Cover art

+

+   .. vspace:: 4

+

+.. container:: frontispiece

+

+   .. _`THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page 182)`:

+

+   .. figure:: images/img-front.jpg

+      :align: center

+      :alt: THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page 182)

+

+      THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page `182`_)

+

+   .. vspace:: 4

+

+.. container:: titlepage center white-space-pre-line

+

+   .. class:: x-large

+

+      KEN WARD

+      IN THE JUNGLE

+

+   .. vspace:: 2

+

+   .. class:: medium

+

+      BY

+

+   .. class:: large

+

+      ZANE GREY

+

+   .. class:: small

+

+      AUTHOR OF

+      THE YOUNG FORESTER,

+      THE YOUNG PITCHER,

+      THE YOUNG LION HUNTER,

+      THE U. P. TRAIL, ETC.

+

+   .. vspace:: 3

+

+   .. class:: medium

+

+      ILLUSTRATED

+

+   .. vspace:: 3

+

+   .. class:: medium

+

+      NEW YORK

+      GROSSET & DUNLAP

+      PUBLISHERS

+

+   .. class:: small

+

+      Published by Arrangement with Harper & Brothers

+      Made in the United States of America  

+

+   .. vspace:: 4

+

+.. container:: verso center white-space-pre-line

+

+   .. class:: small

+

+      COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY HARPER & BROTHERS

+

+   .. class:: small

+

+      PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

+

+   .. vspace:: 4

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   CONTENTS

+

+.. class:: noindent small

+

+CHAP.

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+I.  `The Prize`_

+II.  `The Home of the Tarpon`_

+III.  `An Indian Boatman`_

+IV.  `At the Jungle River`_

+V.  `The First Camp`_

+VI.  `Wilderness Life`_

+VII.  `Running the Rapids`_

+VIII.  `The First Tiger-cat`_

+IX.  `In the White Water`_

+X.  `Lost!`_

+XI.  `An Army of Snakes`_

+XII.  `Catching Strange Fish`_

+XIII.  `A Turkey-Hunt`_

+XIV.  `A Fight with a Jaguar`_

+XV.  `The Vicious Garrapatoes`_

+XVI.  `Field Work of a Naturalist`_

+XVII.  `A Mixed-up Tiger-hunt`_

+XVIII.  `Watching a Runway`_

+XIX.  `Adventures with Crocodiles`_

+XX.  `Treed by Wild Pigs`_

+XXI.  `The Leaping Tarpon`_

+XXII.  `Stricken Down`_

+XXIII.  `Out of the Jungle`_

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`THE PRIZE`:

+

+.. class:: center x-large bold

+

+   KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   I

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   THE PRIZE

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+"What a change from the Arizona

+desert!"

+

+The words broke from the lips of Ken

+Ward as he leaned from the window of

+the train which was bearing his brother

+and himself over the plateau to Tampico

+in Tamaulipas, the southeastern state of

+Mexico.  He had caught sight of a river

+leaping out between heavily wooded slopes

+and plunging down in the most beautiful

+waterfall he had ever seen.

+

+"Look, Hal," he cried.

+

+The first fall was a long white streak,

+ending in a dark pool; below came cascade

+after cascade, fall after fall, some wide,

+others narrow, and all white and green against

+the yellow rock.  Then the train curved

+round a spur of the mountain, descended to

+a level, to be lost in a luxuriance of jungle

+growth.

+

+It was indeed a change for Ken Ward,

+young forester, pitcher of the varsity nine at

+school, and hunter of lions in the Arizona

+cañons.  Here he was entering the jungle

+of the tropics.  The rifles and the camp

+outfit on the seat beside his brother Hal and

+himself spoke of coming adventures.  Before

+them lay an unknown wilderness--the

+semi-tropical jungle.  And the future was to show

+that the mystery of the jungle was stranger

+even than their imaginings.

+

+It was not love of adventure alone or

+interest in the strange new forest growths that

+had drawn Ken to the jungle.  His uncle,

+the one who had gotten Ken letters from the

+Forestry Department at Washington, had

+been proud of Ken's Arizona achievements.

+This uncle was a member of the American

+Geographical Society and a fellow of the New

+York Museum of Natural History.  He wanted

+Ken to try his hand at field work in the jungle

+of Mexico, and if that was successful, then to

+explore the ruined cities of wild Yucatan.

+If Ken made good as an explorer his reward

+was to be a trip to Equatorial Africa after big

+game.  And of course that trip meant

+opportunity to see England and France, and, what

+meant more to Ken, a chance to see the great

+forests of Germany, where forestry had been

+carried on for three hundred years.

+

+In spite of the fact that the inducement

+was irresistible, and that Ken's father was as

+proud and eager as Ken's uncle to have him

+make a name for himself, and that Hal

+would be allowed to go with him, Ken had

+hesitated.  There was the responsibility for

+Hal and the absolute certainty that Hal

+could not keep out of mischief.  Still Ken

+simply could not have gone to Mexico

+leaving his brother at home broken-hearted.

+

+At last the thing had been decided.  It was

+Hal's ambition to be a naturalist and to

+collect specimens, and the uncle had held out

+possible recognition from the Smithsonian

+Institution at Washington.  Perhaps he might

+find a new variety of some animal to which

+the scientists would attach his name.  Then

+the lad was passionately eager to see Ken

+win that trip to Africa.  There had been

+much study of maps and books of travel,

+science, and natural history.  There had

+been the most careful instruction and

+equipment for semi-tropical camp life.  The uncle

+had given Ken valuable lessons in

+map-drawing, in estimating distance and

+topography, and he had indicated any one of

+several rivers in the jungle belt of Mexico.

+Traversing one hundred miles of unknown

+jungle river, with intelligent observation and

+accurate reports, would win the prize for Ken

+Ward.  Now the race was on.  Would Ken win?

+

+Presently the train crossed a bridge.  Ken

+Ward had a brief glance at clear green water,

+at great cypress-trees, gray and graceful

+with long, silvery, waving moss, and at the

+tangled, colorful banks.  A water-fowl black

+as coal, with white-crested wings, skimmed the

+water in swift wild flight, to disappear up the

+shady river-lane.  Then the train clattered

+on, and, a mile or more beyond the bridge,

+stopped at a station called Valles.  In the

+distance could be seen the thatched

+palm-leaf huts and red-tiled roofs of a hamlet.

+

+The boys got out to stretch their legs.  The

+warm, sweet, balmy air was a new and novel

+thing to them.  They strolled up and down

+the gravel walk, watching the natives.  Hal

+said he rather liked the looks of their brown

+bare feet and the thin cotton trousers and

+shirts, but he fancied the enormous sombreros

+were too heavy and unwieldy.  Ken spoke

+to several pleasant-faced Mexicans, each of

+whom replied: "No sabe, Señor."

+

+The ticket agent at the station was an

+American, and from the way he smiled and

+spoke Ken knew he was more than glad to

+see one of his own kind.  So, after Ken had

+replied to many questions about the States,

+he began to ask some of his own.

+

+"What's the name of the waterfall we passed?"

+

+"Micas Falls," replied the agent.

+

+"And the river?"

+

+"It's called the Santa Rosa."

+

+"Where does it go?"

+

+The agent did not know, except that it

+disappeared in the jungle.  Southward the

+country was wild.  The villages were few and

+all along the railroad; and at Valles the river

+swung away to the southwest.

+

+"But it must flow into the Panuco River,"

+said Ken.  He had studied maps of Mexico

+and had learned all that it was possible to

+learn before he undertook the journey.

+

+"Why, yes, it must find the Panuco

+somewhere down over the mountain," answered

+the agent.

+

+"Then there are rapids in this little river?"

+asked Ken, in growing interest.

+

+"Well, I guess.  It's all rapids."

+

+"How far to Tampico by rail?" went on Ken.

+

+"Something over a hundred miles."

+

+"Any game in the jungle hereabouts--or

+along the Santa Rosa?" continued Ken.

+

+The man laughed, and laughed in such a

+way that Ken did not need his assertion

+that it was not safe to go into the jungle.

+

+Whereupon Ken Ward became so thoughtful

+that he did not hear the talk that followed

+between the agent and Hal.  The engine

+bell roused him into action, and with Hal

+he hurried back to their seats.  And then

+the train sped on.  But the beauty of Micas

+Falls and the wildness of the Santa Rosa

+remained with Ken.  Where did that river

+go?  How many waterfalls and rapids did

+it have?  What teeming life must be along

+its rich banks!  It haunted Ken.  He wanted

+to learn the mystery of the jungle.  There

+was the same longing which had gotten him

+into the wild adventures in Penetier Forest and

+the Grand Cañon country of Arizona.  And

+all at once flashed over him the thought that

+here was the jungle river for him to explore.

+

+"Why, that's the very thing," he said,

+thinking aloud.

+

+"What's wrong with you," asked Hal,

+"talking to yourself that way?"

+

+Ken did not explain.  The train clattered

+between green walls of jungle, and occasionally

+stopped at a station.  But the thought of the

+jungle haunted him until the train arrived at

+Tampico.

+

+Ken had the name of an American hotel,

+and that was all he knew about Tampico.

+The station was crowded with natives.  Man

+after man accosted the boys, jabbering

+excitedly in Mexican.  Some of these showed

+brass badges bearing a number and the

+word *Cargodore*.

+

+"Hal, I believe these fellows are porters

+or baggage-men," said Ken.  And he showed

+his trunk check to one of them.  The fellow

+jerked it out of Ken's hand and ran off.

+The boys ran after him.  They were relieved

+to see him enter a shed full of baggage.  And

+they were amazed to see him kneel down and

+take their trunk on his back.  It was a big

+trunk and heavy.  The man was small and light.

+

+"It 'll smash him!" cried Hal.

+

+But the little *cargodore* walked off with the

+trunk on his back.  Then Ken and Hal saw

+other *cargodores* packing trunks.  The boys

+kept close to their man and used their eyes

+with exceeding interest.  The sun was

+setting, and the square, colored buildings looked

+as if they were in a picture of Spain.

+

+"Look at the boats--canoes!" cried Hal,

+as they crossed a canal.

+

+Ken saw long narrow canoes that had been

+hollowed out from straight tree-trunks.  They

+were of every size, and some of the paddles

+were enormous.  Crowds of natives were

+jabbering and jostling each other at a rude

+wharf.

+

+"Look back," called Hal, who seemed to

+have a hundred eyes.

+

+Ken saw a wide, beautiful river, shining

+red in the sunset.  Palm-trees on the distant

+shore showed black against the horizon.

+

+"Hal, that's the Panuco.  What a river!"

+

+"Makes the Susquehanna look like a creek,"

+was Hal's comment.

+

+The *cargodore* led the boys through a plaza,

+down a narrow street to the hotel.  Here

+they were made to feel at home.  The

+proprietor was a kindly American.  The hotel

+was crowded, and many of the guests were

+Englishmen there for the tarpon-fishing, with

+sportsmen from the States, and settlers

+coming in to take up new lands.  It was pleasant

+for Ken and Hal to hear their own language

+once more.  After dinner they sallied forth

+to see the town.  But the narrow dark streets

+and the blanketed natives stealing silently

+along were not particularly inviting.  The

+boys got no farther than the plaza, where

+they sat down on a bench.  It was wholly

+different from any American town.  Ken

+suspected that Hal was getting homesick,

+for the boy was quiet and inactive.

+

+"I don't like this place," said Hal.  "What

+'d you ever want to drag me way down here for?"

+

+"Humph! drag you?  Say, you pestered

+the life out of me, and bothered Dad till he

+was mad, and worried mother sick to let

+you come on this trip."

+

+Hal hung his head.

+

+"Now, you're not going to show a streak of

+yellow?" asked Ken.  He knew how to stir

+his brother.

+

+Hal rose to the attack and scornfully

+repudiated the insinuation.  Ken replied that

+they were in a new country and must not

+reach conclusions too hastily.

+

+"I liked it back up there at the little village

+where we saw the green river and the big

+trees with the gray streamers on them,"

+said Hal.

+

+"Well, I liked that myself," rejoined Ken.

+"I'd like to go back there and put a

+boat in the river and come all the way here."

+

+Ken had almost unconsciously expressed

+the thought that had been forming in his

+mind.  Hal turned slowly and looked at his

+brother.

+

+"Ken, that 'd be great--that's what we

+came for!"

+

+"I should say so," replied Ken.

+

+"Well?" asked Hal, simply.

+

+That question annoyed Ken.  Had he not

+come south to go into the jungle?  Had he

+come with any intention of shirking the

+danger of a wild trip?  There was a subtle

+flattery in Hal's question.

+

+"That Santa Rosa River runs through the

+jungle," went on Hal.  "It flows into the

+Panuco somewhere.  You know we figured

+out on the map that the Panuco's the only

+big river in this jungle.  That's all we want

+to know.  And, Ken, you know you're a

+born boatman.  Why, look at the rapids we've

+shot on the Susquehanna.  Remember that

+trip we came down the Juniata?  The water

+was high, too.  Ken, you can take a boat

+down that Santa Rosa!"

+

+"By George!  I believe I can," exclaimed

+Ken, and he thrilled at the thought.

+

+"Ken, let's go.  You'll win the prize, and

+I'll get specimens.  Think what we'd have

+to tell Jim Williams and Dick Leslie when we

+go West next summer!"

+

+"Oh, Hal, I know--but this idea of a trip

+seems too wild."

+

+"Maybe it wouldn't be so wild."

+

+In all fairness Ken could not deny this, so

+he kept silent.

+

+"Ken, listen," went on Hal, and now he

+was quite cool.  "If we'd promised the

+Governor not to take a wild trip I wouldn't

+say another word.  But we're absolutely free."

+

+"That's why we ought to be more careful.

+Dad trusts me."

+

+"He trusts you because he knows you can

+take care of yourself, and me, too.  You're

+a wonder, Ken.  Why, if you once made up

+your mind, you'd make that Santa Rosa River

+look like a canal."

+

+Ken began to fear that he would not be

+proof against the haunting call of that jungle

+river and the flattering persuasion of his

+brother and the ever-present ambition to show

+his uncle what he could do.

+

+"Hal, if I didn't have you with me I'd

+already have made up my mind to tackle

+this river."

+

+That appeared to insult Hal.

+

+"All I've got to say is I'd be a help to

+you--not a drag," he said, with some warmth.

+

+"You're always a help, Hal.  I can't say

+anything against your willingness.  But you

+know your weakness.  By George! you made

+trouble enough for me in Arizona.  On a trip

+such as this you'd drive me crazy."

+

+"Ken, I won't make any rash promises.

+I don't want to queer myself with you.

+But I'm all right."

+

+"Look here, Hal; let's wait.  We've only

+got to Tampico.  Maybe such a trip is

+impracticable--impossible.  Let's find out more

+about the country."

+

+Hal appeared to take this in good spirit.

+The boys returned to the hotel and went to

+bed.  Hal promptly fell asleep.  But Ken

+Ward lay awake a long time thinking of the

+green Santa Rosa, with its magnificent

+moss-festooned cypresses.  And when he did go to

+sleep it was to dream of the beautiful

+waterfowl with the white-crested wings, and he

+was following it on its wild flight down the

+dark, mysterious river-trail into the jungle.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`THE HOME OF THE TARPON`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   II

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   THE HOME OF THE TARPON

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Hal's homesickness might never have

+been in evidence at all, to judge from

+the way the boy, awakening at dawn, began

+to talk about the Santa Rosa trip.

+

+"Well," said Ken, as he rolled out of bed,

+"I guess we're in for it."

+

+"Ken, will we go?" asked Hal, eagerly.

+

+"I'm on the fence."

+

+"But you're leaning on the jungle side?"

+

+"Yes, kid--I'm slipping."

+

+Hal opened his lips to let out a regular

+Hiram Bent yell, when Ken clapped a hand

+over his mouth.

+

+"Hold on--we're in the hotel yet."

+

+It took the brothers long to dress, because

+they could not keep away from the window.

+The sun was rising in rosy glory over misty

+lagoons.  Clouds of creamy mist rolled above

+the broad Panuco.  Wild ducks were flying

+low.  The tiled roofs of the stone houses

+gleamed brightly, and the palm-trees glistened

+with dew.  The soft breeze that blew in was

+warm, sweet, and fragrant.

+

+After breakfast the boys went out to the

+front and found the hotel lobby full of

+fishermen and their native boatmen.  It was an

+interesting sight, as well as a surprise, for

+Ken and Hal did not know that Tampico

+was as famous for fishing as it was for

+hunting.  The huge rods and reels amazed them.

+

+"What kind of fish do these fellows fish

+for?" asked Hal.

+

+Ken was well enough acquainted with

+sport to know something about tarpon, but

+he had never seen one of the great silver fish.

+And he was speechless when Hal led him

+into a room upon the walls of which were

+mounted specimens of tarpon from six to

+seven feet in length and half as wide as a

+door.

+

+"Say, Ken!  We've come to the right

+place.  Those fishermen are all going out to

+fish for such whales as these here."

+

+"Hal, we never saw a big fish before," said

+Ken.  "And before we leave Tampico we'll

+know what it means to hook tarpon."

+

+"I'm with you," replied Hal, gazing doubtfully

+and wonderingly at a fish almost twice

+as big as himself.

+

+Then Ken, being a practical student of

+fishing, as of other kinds of sport, began to

+stroll round the lobby with an intent to learn.

+He closely scrutinized the tackle.  And he

+found that the bait used was a white mullet

+six to ten inches long, a little fish which

+resembled the chub.  Ken did not like the long,

+cruel gaff which seemed a necessary adjunct

+to each outfit of tackle, and he vowed that

+in his fishing for tarpon he would dispense

+with it.

+

+Ken was not backward about asking

+questions, and he learned that Tampico, during

+the winter months, was a rendezvous for

+sportsmen from all over the world.  For the

+most part, they came to catch the leaping

+tarpon; the shooting along the Panuco,

+however, was as well worth while as the fishing.

+But Ken could not learn anything about the

+Santa Rosa River.  The *tierra caliente*, or hot

+belt, along the curve of the Gulf was

+intersected by small streams, many of them

+unknown and unnamed.  The Panuco swung

+round to the west and had its source

+somewhere up in the mountains.  Ken decided

+that the Santa Rosa was one of its

+headwaters.  Valles lay up on the first swell of

+higher ground, and was distant from Tampico

+some six hours by train.  So, reckoning with

+the meandering course of jungle streams,

+Ken calculated he would have something

+like one hundred and seventy-five miles to

+travel by water from Valles to Tampico.

+There were Indian huts strung along the

+Panuco River, and fifty miles inland a village

+named Panuco.  What lay between Panuco

+and Valles, up over the wild steppes of that

+jungle, Ken Ward could only conjecture.

+

+Presently he came upon Hal in conversation

+with an American boy, who at once

+volunteered to show them around.  So they

+set out, and were soon becoming well

+acquainted.  Their guide said he was from

+Kansas; had been working in the railroad

+offices for two years; and was now taking a

+vacation.  His name was George Alling.

+Under his guidance the boys spent several

+interesting hours going about the city.

+During this walk Hal showed his first tendency

+to revert to his natural bent of mind.  Not for

+long could Hal Ward exist without making

+trouble for something.  In this case it was

+buzzards, of which the streets of Tampico

+were full.  In fact, George explained, the

+buzzards were the only street-cleaning

+department in the town.  They were as tame

+as tame turkeys, and Hal could not resist

+the desire to chase them.  And he could be

+made to stop only after a white-helmeted

+officer had threatened him.  George

+explained further that although Tampico had

+no game-laws it protected these

+buzzard-scavengers of the streets.

+

+The market-house at the canal wharf was

+one place where Ken thought Hal would

+forget himself in the bustle and din and color.

+All was so strange and new.  Indeed, for a

+time Hal appeared to be absorbed in his

+surroundings, but when he came to a stall where

+a man had parrots and racoons and small

+deer, and three little yellow, black-spotted

+tiger-cats, as George called them, then once

+more Ken had to take Hal in tow.  Outside

+along the wharf were moored a hundred or

+more canoes of manifold variety.  All had

+been hewn from solid tree-trunks.  Some

+were long, slender, graceful, pretty to look

+at, and easy to handle in shallow lagoons,

+but Ken thought them too heavy and

+cumbersome for fast water.  Happening just

+then to remember Micas Falls, Ken had a

+momentary chill and a check to his

+enthusiasm for the jungle trip.  What if he

+encountered, in coming down the Santa Rosa,

+some such series of cascades as those which

+made Micas Falls!

+

+It was about noon when George led the

+boys out to the banks of the broad Panuco.

+Both Hal and Ken were suffering from the

+heat.  They had removed their coats, and

+were now very glad to rest in the shade.

+

+"This is a nice cool day," said George, and

+he looked cool.

+

+"We've got on our heavy clothes, and this

+tropic sun is new to us," replied Ken.  "Say,

+Hal--"

+

+A crash in the water near the shore

+interrupted Ken.

+

+"Was that a rhinoceros?" inquired Hal.

+

+"Savalo," said George.

+

+"What's that?"

+

+"Silver king.  A tarpon.  Look around

+and you'll see one break water.  There are

+some fishermen trolling down-stream.  Watch.

+Maybe one will hook a fish presently.  Then

+you'll see some jumping."

+

+It was cool in the shade, as the brothers

+soon discovered, and they spent a delightful

+hour watching the river and the wild fowl

+and the tarpon.  Ken and Hal were always

+lucky.  Things happened for their benefit

+and pleasure.  Not only did they see many

+tarpon swirl like bars of silver on the water,

+but a fisherman hooked one of the great fish

+not fifty yards from where the boys sat.

+And they held their breath, and with starting

+eyes watched the marvelous leaps and dashes

+of the tarpon till, as he shot up in a last

+mighty effort, wagging his head, slapping his

+huge gills, and flinging the hook like a bullet,

+he plunged back free.

+

+"Nine out of ten get away," remarked George.

+

+"Did you ever catch one?" asked Hal.

+

+"Sure."

+

+"Hal, I've got to have some of this fishing,"

+said Ken.  "But if we start at it now--would

+we ever get that jungle trip?"

+

+"Oh, Ken, you've made up your mind to

+go!" exclaimed Hal, in glee.

+

+"No, I haven't," protested Ken.

+

+"Yes, you have," declared Hal.  "I know

+you."  And the whoop that he had suppressed

+in the hotel he now let out with good measure.

+

+Naturally George was interested, and at

+his inquiry Ken told him the idea for the

+Santa Rosa trip.

+

+"Take me along," said George.  There was

+a note of American spirit in his voice, a laugh

+on his lips, and a flash in his eyes that made

+Ken look at him attentively.  He was a slim

+youth, not much Hal's senior, and Ken

+thought if ever a boy had been fashioned to

+be a boon comrade of Hal Ward this George

+Alling was the boy.

+

+"What do you think of the trip?" inquired

+Ken, curiously.

+

+"Fine.  We'll have some fun.  We'll get

+a boat and a mozo--"

+

+"What's a mozo?"

+

+"A native boatman."

+

+"That's a good idea.  I hadn't thought of a

+boatman to help row.  But the boat is the

+particular thing.  I wouldn't risk a trip in

+one of those canoes."

+

+"Come on, I'll find a boat," said George.

+

+And before he knew it George and Hal

+were leading him back from the river.  George

+led him down narrow lanes, between painted

+stone houses and iron-barred windows, till

+they reached the canal.  They entered a yard

+where buzzards, goats, and razor-back pigs

+were contesting over the scavenger rights.

+George went into a boat-house and pointed

+out a long, light, wide skiff with a flat bottom.

+Ken did not need George's praise, or the

+shining light in Hal's eyes, or the

+boat-keeper's importunities to make him eager to

+try this particular boat.  Ken Ward knew a

+boat when he saw one.  He jumped in,

+shoved it out, rowed up the canal, pulled and

+turned, backed water, and tried every stroke

+he knew.  Then he rested on the oars and

+whistled.  Hal's shout of delight made him

+stop whistling.  Those two boys would have

+him started on the trip if he did not look sharp.

+

+"It's a dandy boat," said Ken.

+

+"Only a peso a day, Ken," went on Hal.

+"One dollar Mex--fifty cents in our money.

+Quick, Ken, hire it before somebody else gets it."

+

+"Sure I'll hire the boat," replied Ken; "but

+Hal, it's not for that Santa Rosa trip.  We'll

+have to forget that."

+

+"Forget your grandmother!" cried Hal.

+And then it was plain that he tried valiantly

+to control himself, to hide his joy, to pretend

+to agree with Ken's ultimatum.

+

+Ken had a feeling that his brother knew

+him perfectly, and he was divided between

+anger and amusement.  They returned to

+the hotel and lounged in the lobby.  The

+proprietor was talking with some Americans,

+and as he now appeared to be at leisure he

+introduced the brothers and made himself

+agreeable.  Moreover, he knew George Alling

+well.  They began to chat, and Ken was

+considerably annoyed to hear George calmly

+state that he and his new-found friends

+intended to send a boat up to Valles and come

+down an unknown jungle river.

+

+The proprietor laughed, and, though the

+laugh was not unpleasant, somehow it nettled

+Ken Ward.

+

+"Why not go?" he asked, quietly, and he

+looked at the hotel man.

+

+"My boy, you can't undertake any trip

+like that."

+

+"Why not?" persisted Ken.  "Is there any

+law here to prevent our going into the jungle?"

+

+"There's no law.  No one could stop you.

+But, my lad, what's the sense of taking such

+a fool trip?  The river here is full of tarpon

+right now.  There are millions of ducks and

+geese on the lagoons.  You can shoot deer

+and wild turkey right on the edge of town.

+If you want tiger and javelin, go out to one of

+the ranches where they have dogs to hunt

+with, where you'll have a chance for your

+life.  These tigers and boars will kill a man.

+There's all the sport any one wants right

+close to Tampico."

+

+"I don't see how all that makes a reason

+why we shouldn't come down the Santa

+Rosa," replied Ken.  "We want to explore--map

+the river."

+

+The hotel man seemed nettled in return.

+

+"You're only kids.  It 'd be crazy to start

+out on that wild trip."

+

+It was on Ken's lips to mention a few of

+the adventures which he believed justly gave

+him a right to have pride and confidence in

+his ability.  But he forbore.

+

+"It's a fool trip," continued the proprietor.

+"You don't know this river.  You don't

+know where you'll come out.  It's wild up

+in that jungle.  I've hunted up at Valles,

+and no native I ever met would go a mile

+from the village.  If you take a mozo he'll

+get soaked with canya.  He'll stick a knife

+in you or run off and leave you when you

+most need help.  Nobody ever explored that

+river.  It 'll likely be full of swamps,

+sandbars, bogs.  You'd get fever.  Then the

+crocodiles, the boars, the bats, the snakes, the

+tigers!  Why, if you could face these you'd

+still have the ticks--the worst of all.  The

+ticks would drive men crazy, let alone boys.

+It's no undertaking for a boy."

+

+The mention of all these dangers would

+have tipped the balance for Ken in favor of

+the Santa Rosa trip, even if the hint of his

+callowness had not roused his spirit.

+

+"Thank you.  I'm sure you mean kindly,"

+said Ken.  "But I'm going to Valles and I'll

+come down that jungle river."

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`AN INDIAN BOATMAN`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   III

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   AN INDIAN BOATMAN

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+The moment the decision was made Ken

+felt both sorry and glad.  He got the

+excited boys outside away from the critical

+and anxious proprietor.  And Ken decided

+it was incumbent upon him to adopt a serious

+and responsible manner, which he was far

+from feeling.  So he tried to be as cool as

+Hiram Bent, with a fatherly interest in the

+two wild boys who were to accompany him

+down the Santa Rosa.

+

+"Now, George, steer us around till we find

+a mozo," said Ken.  "Then we'll buy an

+outfit and get started on this trip before you

+can say Jack Robinson."

+

+All the mozos the boys interviewed were

+eager to get work; however, when made

+acquainted with the nature of the trip they

+refused point blank.

+

+"Tigre!" exclaimed one.

+

+"Javelin!" exclaimed another.

+

+The big spotted jaguar of the jungle and

+the wild boar, or peccary, were held in much

+dread by the natives.

+

+"These natives will climb a tree at sight

+of a tiger or pig," said George.  "For my

+part I'm afraid of the garrapatoes and the

+pinilius."

+

+"What 're they?" asked Hal.

+

+"Ticks--jungle ticks.  Just wait till you

+make their acquaintance."

+

+Finally the boys met a *mozo* named Pepe,

+who had often rowed a boat for George.

+Pepe looked sadly in need of a job; still he

+did not ask for it.  George said that Pepe

+had been one of the best boatmen on the

+river until *canya*, the fiery white liquor to

+which the natives were addicted, had ruined

+his reputation.  Pepe wore an old sombrero,

+a cotton, shirt and sash, and ragged trousers.

+He was barefooted.  Ken noted the set of

+his muscular neck, his brawny shoulders and

+arms, and appreciated the years of rowing

+that had developed them.  But Pepe's haggard

+face, deadened eyes, and listless manner

+gave Ken pause.  Still, Ken reflected, there

+was never any telling what a man might do,

+if approached right.  Pepe's dejection excited

+Ken's sympathy.  So Ken clapped him on

+the shoulder, and, with George acting as

+interpreter, offered Pepe work for several weeks

+at three pesos a day.  That was more than

+treble the *mozo's* wage.  Pepe nearly fell off

+the canal bridge, where he was sitting, and a

+light as warm and bright as sunshine flashed

+into his face.

+

+"Si, Señor--Si, Señor," he began to jabber,

+and waved his brown hands.

+

+Ken suspected that Pepe needed a job

+and a little kind treatment.  He was sure of

+it when George said Pepe's wife and children

+were in want.  Somehow Ken conceived a

+liking for Pepe, and believed he could trust

+him.  He thought he knew how to deal with

+poor Pepe.  So he gave him money, told

+him to get a change of clothes and a pair of

+shoes, and come to the hotel next day.

+

+"He'll spend the money for canya, and not

+show up to-morrow," said George.

+

+"I don't know anything about your natives,

+but that fellow will come," declared Ken.

+

+It appeared that the whole American colony

+in Tampico had been acquainted with Ken

+Ward's project, and made a business to

+waylay the boys at each corner.  They called

+the trip a wild-goose chase.  They declared

+it was a dime-novel idea, and could hardly

+take Ken seriously.  They mingled

+astonishment with amusement and concern.  They

+advised Ken not to go, and declared they

+would not let him go.  Over and over again

+the boys were assured of the peril from

+ticks, bats, boars, crocodiles, snakes, tigers,

+and fevers.

+

+"That's what I'm taking the trip for,"

+snapped Ken, driven to desperation by all

+this nagging.

+

+"Well, young man, I admire your nerve,"

+concluded the hotel man.  "If you're

+determined to go, we can't stop you.  And

+there's some things we would like you to find

+out for us.  How far do tarpon run up the

+Panuco River?  Do they spawn up there?

+How big are the new-born fish?  I'll furnish

+you with tackle and preserved mullet, for

+bait.  We've always wondered about how

+far tarpon go up into fresh water.  Keep your

+eye open for signs of oil.  Also look at the

+timber.  And be sure to make a map of the river."

+

+When it came to getting the boat shipped

+the boys met with more obstacles.  But

+for the friendly offices of a Texan, an employee

+of the railroad, they would never have been

+able to convince the native shipping agent

+that a boat was merchandise.  The Texan

+arranged the matter and got Ken a freight

+bill.  He took an entirely different view of

+Ken's enterprise, compared with that of other

+Americans, and in a cool, drawling voice,

+which somehow reminded Ken of Jim

+Williams, he said:

+

+"Shore you-all will have the time of

+your lives.  I worked at Valles for a year.

+That jungle is full of game.  I killed three

+big tigers.  You-all want to look out for

+those big yellow devils.  One in every three

+will jump for a man.  There's nothing but

+shoot, then.  And the wild pigs are bad.

+They put me up a tree more than once.

+I don't know much about the Santa Rosa.

+Its source is above Micas Falls.  Never

+heard where it goes.  I know it's full of

+crocodiles and rapids.  Never saw a boat or a

+canoe at Valles.  And say--there are big black

+snakes in the jungle.  Look out for them, too.

+Shore you-all have sport a-comin'."

+

+Ken thanked the Texan, and as he went

+on up-street, for all his sober thoughtfulness,

+he was as eager as Hal or George.  However,

+his position as their guardian would not

+permit any show of extravagant enthusiasm.

+

+Ken bought blankets, cooking utensils,

+and supplies for three weeks.  There was not

+such a thing as a tent in Tampico.  The

+best the boys could get for a shelter was a

+long strip of canvas nine feet wide.

+

+"That 'll keep off the wet," said Ken, "but

+it won't keep out the mosquitoes and things."

+

+"Couldn't keep 'em out if we had six

+tents," replied George.

+

+The remainder of that day the boys were

+busy packing the outfit.

+

+Pepe presented himself at the hotel next

+morning an entirely different person.  He was

+clean-shaven, and no longer disheveled.  He

+wore a new sombrero, a white cotton shirt,

+a red sash, and blue trousers.  He earned

+a small bundle, a pair of shoes, and a long

+*machete*.  The dignity with which he

+approached before all the other *mozos* was not

+lost upon Ken Ward.  A sharp scrutiny

+satisfied him that Pepe had not been

+drinking.  Ken gave him several errands to do.

+Then he ordered the outfit taken to the

+station in Pepe's charge.

+

+The boys went down early in the afternoon.

+It was the time when the *mozos* were returning

+from the day's tarpon-fishing on the

+river, and they, with the *cargodores*, streamed

+to and fro on the platform.  Pepe was there

+standing guard over Ken's outfit.  He had

+lost his fame among his old associates, and

+for long had been an outsider.  Here he was

+in charge of a pile of fine guns, fishing-tackle,

+baggage, and supplies--a collection

+representing a fortune to him and his simple class.

+He had been trusted with it.  It was under

+his eye.  All his old associates passed by to

+see him there.  That was a great time for

+Pepe.  He looked bright, alert, and

+supremely happy.  It would have fared ill with

+thieves or loafers who would have made

+themselves free with any of the articles under

+his watchful eye.

+

+The train pulled out of Tampico at five

+o'clock, and Hal's "We're off!" was expressive.

+

+The railroad lay along the river-bank,

+and the broad Panuco was rippling with the

+incoming tide.  If Ken and Hal had not

+already found George to be invaluable as a

+companion in this strange country they would

+have discovered it then.  For George could

+translate Pepe's talk, and explain much that

+otherwise would have been dark to the

+brothers.  Wild ducks dotted the green surface,

+and spurts showed where playful *ravalo* were

+breaking water.  Great green-backed tarpon

+rolled their silver sides against the little

+waves.  White cranes and blue herons stood

+like statues upon the reedy bars.  Low down

+over the opposite bank of the river a long

+line of wild geese winged its way toward a

+shimmering lagoon.  And against the gold

+and crimson of the sunset sky a flight of

+wild fowl stood out in bold black relief.  The

+train crossed the Tamesi River and began to

+draw away from the Panuco.  On the right,

+wide marshes, gleaming purple in the darkening

+light, led the eye far beyond to endless

+pale lagoons.  Birds of many kinds skimmed

+the weedy flats.  George pointed out a flock

+of aigrets, the beautiful wild fowl with the

+priceless plumes.  Then there was a string

+of pink flamingoes, tall, grotesque, wading

+along with waddling stride, feeding with

+heads under water.

+

+"Great!" exclaimed Ken Ward.

+

+"It's all so different from Arizona," said Hal.

+

+At Tamos, twelve miles out of Tampico,

+the train entered the jungle.  Thereafter

+the boys could see nothing but the impenetrable

+green walls that lined the track.  At

+dusk the train reached a station called Las

+Palmas, and then began to ascend the first

+step of the mountain.  The ascent was steep,

+and, when it was accomplished, Ken looked

+down and decided that step of the mountain

+was between two and three thousand feet

+high.  The moon was in its first quarter,

+and Ken, studying this tropical moon, found

+it large, radiant, and a wonderful green-gold.

+It shed a soft luminous glow down upon the

+sleeping, tangled web of jungle.  It was new

+and strange to Ken, so vastly different from

+barren desert or iron-ribbed cañon, and it

+thrilled him with nameless charm.

+

+The train once more entered jungle walls,

+and as the boys could not see anything out

+of the windows they lay back in their seats

+and waited for the ride to end.  They were

+due at Valles at ten o'clock, and the impatient

+Hal complained that they would never get

+there.  At length a sharp whistle from the

+engine caused Pepe to turn to the boys with a

+smile.

+

+"Valles," he said.

+

+With rattle and clank the train came to a

+halt.  Ken sent George and Pepe out, and he

+and Hal hurriedly handed the luggage through

+the open window.  When the last piece had

+been passed into Pepe's big hands the boys

+made a rush for the door, and jumped off

+as the train started.

+

+"Say, but it's dark," said Hal.

+

+As the train with its lights passed out of

+sight Ken found himself in what seemed a

+pitchy blackness.  He could not see the boys.

+And he felt a little cold sinking of his heart

+at the thought of such black nights on an

+unknown jungle river.

+

+

+

+

+IV

+

+AT THE JUNGLE RIVER

+

+Presently, as Ken's eyes became

+accustomed to the change, the darkness

+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of

+chattering natives, with wide sombreros on

+their heads and blankets over their shoulders,

+moved round the little stone station.  Visitors

+were rare in Valles, as was manifested by the

+curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile

+of luggage.

+

+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for

+the night," said Ken to George.

+

+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon

+was lost in the crowd.  Awhile after, as Ken

+was making up his mind they might have to

+camp on the station platform, a queer low

+'bus drawn by six little mules creaked up.

+Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and

+began to stow the luggage away in the 'bus.

+Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon

+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The

+soft voices of natives greeted their passing.

+

+Valles appeared to be about a mile from

+the station, and as they entered the village

+Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here

+and there a more pretentious habitation of

+stone.  At length the driver halted before

+a rambling house, partly stone and partly

+thatch.  There were no lights; in fact, Ken

+did not see a light in the village.  George

+told the boys to take what luggage each

+could carry and follow the guide.  Inside

+the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The

+boys bumped into things and fell over each

+other trying to keep close to the barefooted

+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed

+to a kind of loft, where the moonlight streamed

+in at the open sides.

+

+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal,

+who had struggled with a heavy load of

+luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to

+fetch up the remainder of the outfit.  Ken

+thought it best to stand still until he knew

+just where he was.  But Hal and George

+began moving about in the loft.  It was very

+large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full

+of objects.  Hal jostled into something which

+creaked and fell with a crash.  Then followed

+a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and

+a scuffling about.

+

+"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.

+

+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward.

+"One thing--I busted my shin."

+

+"He knocked over a bed with some one

+sleeping in it," said George.

+

+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon

+soothed the injured feelings of the native

+who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then

+led the boys to their cots, which were no more

+than heavy strips of canvas stretched over

+tall frameworks.  They appeared to be

+enormously high for beds.  Ken's was as high

+as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.

+

+"Say, I'll never get up into this thing,"

+burst out Hal.  "These people must be

+afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why

+are these cots so high?"

+

+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and

+all that from sleeping with the natives,"

+answered George.  "Besides, the higher you

+sleep in Mexico the farther you get from

+creeping, crawling things."

+

+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on

+the floor, but George's remark had persuaded

+him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most

+awkward to climb into.  Ken tried several

+times without success, and once he just

+escaped a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good

+vault he finally landed in the center of his

+canvas.  From there he listened to his more

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`AT THE JUNGLE RIVER`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   IV

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   AT THE JUNGLE RIVER

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Presently, as Ken's eyes became

+accustomed to the change, the darkness

+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of

+chattering natives, with wide sombreros on

+their heads and blankets over their shoulders,

+moved round the little stone station.  Visitors

+were rare in Valles, as was manifested by the

+curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile

+of luggage.

+

+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for

+the night," said Ken to George.

+

+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon

+was lost in the crowd.  Awhile after, as Ken

+was making up his mind they might have to

+camp on the station platform, a queer low

+'bus drawn by six little mules creaked up.

+Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and

+began to stow the luggage away in the 'bus.

+Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon

+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The

+soft voices of natives greeted their passing.

+

+Valles appeared to be about a mile from

+the station, and as they entered the village

+Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here

+and there a more pretentious habitation of

+stone.  At length the driver halted before

+a rambling house, partly stone and partly

+thatch.  There were no lights; in fact, Ken

+did not see a light in the village.  George

+told the boys to take what luggage each

+could carry and follow the guide.  Inside

+the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The

+boys bumped into things and fell over each

+other trying to keep close to the barefooted

+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed

+to a kind of loft, where the moonlight streamed

+in at the open sides.

+

+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal,

+who had struggled with a heavy load of

+luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to

+fetch up the remainder of the outfit.  Ken

+thought it best to stand still until he knew

+just where he was.  But Hal and George

+began moving about in the loft.  It was very

+large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full

+of objects.  Hal jostled into something which

+creaked and fell with a crash.  Then followed

+a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and

+a scuffling about.

+

+"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.

+

+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward.

+"One thing--I busted my shin."

+

+"He knocked over a bed with some one

+sleeping in it," said George.

+

+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon

+soothed the injured feelings of the native

+who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then

+led the boys to their cots, which were no more

+than heavy strips of canvas stretched over

+tall frameworks.  They appeared to be

+enormously high for beds.  Ken's was as high

+as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.

+

+"Say, I'll never get up into this thing,"

+burst out Hal.  "These people must be

+afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why

+are these cots so high?"

+

+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and

+all that from sleeping with the natives,"

+answered George.  "Besides, the higher you

+sleep in Mexico the farther you get from

+creeping, crawling things."

+

+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on

+the floor, but George's remark had persuaded

+him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most

+awkward to climb into.  Ken tried several

+times without success, and once he just

+escaped a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good

+vault he finally landed in the center of his

+canvas.  From there he listened to his more

+unfortunate comrades.  Pepe got into his

+without much difficulty.  George, however,

+in climbing up, on about the fifth attempt

+swung over too hard and rolled off on the

+other side.  The thump he made when he

+dropped jarred the whole loft.  From the

+various growls out of the darkness it developed

+that the loft was full of sleepers, who were not

+pleased at this invasion.  Then Hal's cot

+collapsed, and went down with a crash.

+And Hal sat on the flattened thing and laughed.

+

+"Mucho malo," Pepe said, and he laughed,

+too.  Then he had to get out and put up

+Hal's trestle bed.  Hal once again went to

+climbing up the framework, and this time,

+with Pepe's aid, managed to surmount it.

+

+"George, what does Pepe mean by *mucho

+malo*?" asked Hal.

+

+"Bad--very much bad," replied George.

+

+"Nix--tell him nix.  This is fine," said Hal.

+

+"Boys, if you don't want to sleep yourselves,

+shut up so the rest of us can," ordered Ken.

+

+He liked the sense of humor and the good

+fighting spirit of the boys, and fancied they

+were the best attributes in comrades on a

+wild trip.  For a long time he heard a kind

+of shuddering sound, which he imagined was

+Hal's cot quivering as the boy laughed.  Then

+absolute quiet prevailed, the boys slept,

+and Ken felt himself drifting.

+

+When he awakened the sun was shining

+through the holes in the thatched roof.

+Pepe was up, and the other native sleepers

+were gone.  Ken and the boys descended from

+their perches without any tumbles, had a

+breakfast that was palatable--although even

+George could not name what they ate--and

+then were ready for the day.

+

+Valles consisted of a few stone houses and

+many thatched huts of bamboo and palm.

+There was only one street, and it was full of

+pigs, dogs, and buzzards.  The inhabitants

+manifested a kindly interest and curiosity,

+which changed to consternation when they

+learned of the boys' project.  Pepe

+questioned many natives, and all he could learn

+about the Santa Rosa was that there was an

+impassable waterfall some few kilometers

+below Valles.  Ken gritted his teeth and said

+they would have to get past it.  Pepe did not

+encounter a man who had ever heard of the

+headwaters of the Panuco River.  There were

+only a few fields under cultivation around

+Valles, and they were inclosed by

+impenetrable jungle.  It seemed useless to try to

+find out anything about the river.  But

+Pepe's advisers in the village told enough

+about *tigre* and *javelin* to make Hal's hair

+stand on end, and George turn pale, and

+Ken himself wish they had not come.  It all

+gave Ken both a thrill and a shock.

+

+There was not much conversation among the

+boys on the drive back to the station.

+However, sight of the boat, which had come by

+freight, stirred Ken with renewed spirit, and

+through him that was communicated to the

+others.

+

+The hardest task, so far, developed in the

+matter of transporting boat and supplies out

+to the river.  Ken had hoped to get a

+handcar and haul the outfit on the track down to

+where the bridge crossed the Santa Rosa.

+But there was no hand-car.  Then came the

+staggering information that there was no

+wagon which would carry the boat, and then

+worse still in the fact that there was no road.

+This discouraged Ken; nevertheless he had

+not the least idea of giving up.  He sent

+Pepe out to tell the natives there must be

+some way to get the outfit to the river.

+

+Finally Pepe found a fellow who had a cart.

+This fellow claimed he knew a trail that went

+to a point from which it would be easy to

+carry the boat to the river.  Ken had Pepe

+hire the man at once.

+

+"Bring on your old cart," said the

+irrepressible Hal.

+

+That cart turned out to be a remarkable

+vehicle.  It consisted of a narrow body

+between enormously high wheels.  A trio of

+little mules was hitched to it.  The driver

+willingly agreed to haul the boat and outfit

+for one *peso*, but when he drove up to the

+platform to be surrounded by neighbors, he

+suddenly discovered that he could not possibly

+accommodate the boys.  Patiently Pepe tried

+to persuade him.  No, the thing was

+impossible.  He made no excuses, but he looked

+mysterious.

+

+"George, tell Pepe to offer him five pesos,"

+said Ken.

+

+Pepe came out bluntly with the inducement,

+and the driver began to sweat.  From

+the look of his eyes Ken fancied he had not

+earned so much money in a year.  Still he

+was cunning, and his whispering neighbors

+lent him support.  He had the only cart in

+the village, and evidently it seemed that

+fortune had come to knock at least once at his

+door.  He shook his head.

+

+Ken held up both hands with fingers spread.

+"Ten pesos," he said.

+

+The driver, like a crazy man, began to

+jabber his consent.

+

+The boys lifted the boat upon the cart, and

+tied it fast in front so that the stern would not

+sag.  Then they packed the rest of the

+outfit inside.

+

+Ken was surprised to see how easily the

+little mules trotted off with such a big load.

+At the edge of the jungle he looked back

+toward the station.  The motley crowd of

+natives were watching, making excited

+gestures, and all talking at once.  The driver

+drove into a narrow trail, which closed

+behind him.  Pepe led on foot, brushing aside

+the thick foliage.  Ken drew a breath of

+relief as he passed into the cool shade.  The

+sun was very hot.  Hal and George brought

+up the rear, talking fast.

+

+The trail was lined and overgrown with

+slender trees, standing very close, making

+dense shade.  Many birds, some of beautiful

+coloring, flitted in the branches.  In about

+an hour the driver entered a little clearing

+where there were several thatched huts.

+Ken heard the puffing of an engine, and,

+looking through the trees, he saw the

+railroad and knew they had arrived at the

+pumping-station and the bridge over the

+Santa Rosa.

+

+Pepe lost no time in rounding up six

+natives to carry the boat.  They did not seem

+anxious to oblige Pepe, although they plainly

+wanted the money he offered.  The trouble

+was the boat, at which they looked askance.

+As in the case with the driver, however, the

+weight and clinking of added silver overcame

+their reluctance.  They easily lifted the boat

+upon their shoulders.  And as they entered

+the trail, making a strange procession in the

+close-bordering foliage, they encountered two

+natives, who jumped and ran, yelling: "La

+diable!  La diable!"

+

+"What ails those gazabos?" asked Hal.

+

+"They're scared," replied George.  "They

+thought the boat was the devil."

+

+If Ken needed any more than had already

+come to him about the wildness of the Santa

+Rosa, he had it in the frightened cries and

+bewilderment of these natives.  They had

+never seen a boat.  The Santa Rosa was a

+beautiful wild river upon which boats were

+unknown.  Ken had not hoped for so much.

+And now that the die was cast he faced the

+trip with tingling gladness.

+

+"George and Hal, you stay behind to watch

+the outfit.  Pepe and I will carry what we

+can and follow the boat.  I'll send back after

+you," said Ken.

+

+Then as he followed Pepe and the natives

+down the trail there was a deep satisfaction

+within him.  He heard the soft rush of water

+over stones and the mourning of turtledoves.

+He rounded a little hill to come

+abruptly upon the dense green mass of river

+foliage.  Giant cypress-trees, bearded with

+gray moss, fringed the banks.  Through the

+dark green of leaves Ken caught sight of

+light-green water.  Birds rose all about him.

+There were rustlings in the thick

+underbrush and the whir of ducks.  The natives

+penetrated the dark shade and came out to

+an open, grassy point.

+

+The Santa Rosa, glistening, green, swift,

+murmured at Ken's feet.  The natives dropped

+the boat into the water, and with Pepe

+went back for the rest of the outfit.  Ken

+looked up the shady lane of the river and

+thought of the moment when he had crossed

+the bridge in the train.  Then, as much as he

+had longed to be there, he had not dared to

+hope it.  And here he was!  How strange

+it was, just then, to see a large black duck

+with white-crested wings sweep by as swift

+as the wind!  Ken had seen that wild fowl,

+or one of his kind, and it had haunted him.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`THE FIRST CAMP`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   V

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   THE FIRST CAMP

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+In less than an hour all the outfit had been

+carried down to the river, and the boys

+sat in the shade, cooling off, happily conscious

+that they had made an auspicious start.

+

+It took Ken only a moment to decide to

+make camp there and the next day try to

+reach Micas Falls.  The mountains appeared

+close at hand, and were so lofty that, early

+in the afternoon as it was, the westering sun

+hung over the blue summits.  The notch

+where the Santa Rosa cut through the range

+stood out clear, and at most it was not

+more than eighteen miles distant.  So Ken

+planned to spend a day pulling up the river,

+and then to turn for the down-stream trip.

+

+"Come, boys, let's make camp," said Ken.

+

+He sent Pepe with his long *machete* into the

+brush to cut fire-wood.  Hal he set to making

+a stone fireplace, which work the boy rather

+prided himself upon doing well.  Ken got

+George to help him to put up the strip of

+canvas.  They stretched a rope between two

+trees, threw the canvas over it, and pegged

+down the ends.

+

+"Say, how 're we going to sleep?" inquired

+Hal, suddenly.

+

+"Sleep?  Why, on our backs, of course,"

+retorted Ken, who could read Hal's mind.

+

+"If we don't have some hot old times

+keeping things out of this tent, I'm a lobster,"

+said George, dubiously.  "I'm going to sleep

+in the middle."

+

+"You're a brave boy, George," replied Ken.

+

+"Me for between Ken and Pepe," added Hal.

+

+"And you're twice as brave," said Ken.

+"I dare say Pepe and I will be able to keep

+things from getting at you."

+

+Just as Pepe came into camp staggering

+under a load of wood, a flock of russet-colored

+ducks swung round the bend.  They alighted

+near the shore at a point opposite the camp.

+The way George and Hal made headers into

+the pile of luggage for their guns gave Ken

+an inkling of what he might expect from these

+lads.  He groaned, and then he laughed.

+George came up out of the luggage first, and

+he had a .22-caliber rifle, which he quickly

+loaded and fired into the flock.  He crippled

+one; the others flew up-stream.  Then George

+began to waste shells trying to kill the

+crippled duck.  Hal got into action with his .22.

+They bounced bullets off the water all around

+the duck, but they could not hit it.

+

+Pepe grew as excited as the boys, and he

+jumped into the boat and with a long stick

+began to pole out into the stream.  Ken

+had to caution George and Hal to lower their

+guns and not shoot Pepe.  Below camp and

+just under the bridge the water ran into a

+shallow rift.  The duck got onto the current

+and went round the bend, with Pepe poling

+in pursuit and George and Hal yelling along

+the shore.  When they returned a little

+later, they had the duck, which was of an

+unknown species to Ken.  Pepe had fallen

+overboard; George was wet to his knees; and,

+though Hal did not show any marks of undue

+exertion, his eyes would have enlightened any

+beholder.  The fact was that they were

+glowing with the excitement of the chase.

+It amused Ken.  He felt that he had to try

+to stifle his own enthusiasm.  There had to

+be one old head in the party.  But if he did

+have qualms over the possibilities of the boys

+to worry him with their probable escapades,

+he still felt happy at their boundless life and

+spirit.

+

+It was about the middle of the afternoon,

+and the heat had become intense.  Ken

+realized it doubly when he saw Pepe favoring

+the shade.  George and Hal were hot, but they

+appeared to be too supremely satisfied with

+their surroundings to care about that.

+

+During this hot spell, which lasted from

+three o'clock until five, there was a quiet

+and a lack of life around camp that

+surprised Ken.  It was slumberland; even the

+insects seemed drowsy.  Not a duck and

+scarcely a bird passed by.  Ken heard the

+mourning of turtle-doves, and was at once

+struck with the singular deep, full tone.

+Several trains crossed the bridge, and at

+intervals the engine at the pumping-tank

+puffed and chugged.  From time to time a

+native walked out upon the bridge to stare

+long and curiously at the camp.

+

+When the sun set behind the mountain

+a hard breeze swept down the river.  Ken

+did not know what to make of it, and at first

+thought there was going to be a storm.  Pepe

+explained that the wind blew that way every

+day after sunset.  For a while it tossed the

+willows, and waved the Spaniard's-beard upon

+the cypresses.  Then as suddenly as it had

+come it died away, taking the heat with it.

+

+Whereupon the boys began to get supper.

+

+"George, do you know anything about

+this water?" asked Ken.  "Is it safe?"

+

+George supposed it was all right, but he

+did not know.  The matter of water had

+bothered Ken more than any other thing in

+consideration of the trip.  This river-water

+was cool and clear; it apparently was safe.

+But Ken decided not to take any chances,

+and to boil all the water used.  All at once

+George yelled, "Canvasbacks!" and made a

+dive for his gun.  Ken saw a flock of ducks

+swiftly winging flight up-stream.

+

+"Hold on, George; don't shoot," called

+Ken.  "Let's go a little slow at the start."

+

+George appeared to be disappointed, though

+he promptly obeyed.

+

+Then the boys had supper, finding the

+russet duck much to their taste.  Ken made

+a note of Pepe's capacity, and was glad there

+were prospects of plenty of meat.  While

+they were eating, a group of natives gathered

+on the bridge.  Ken would not have liked to

+interpret their opinion of his party from their

+actions.

+

+Night came on almost before the boys

+were ready for it.  They replenished the

+camp-fire, and sat around it, looking into the

+red blaze and then out into the flickering

+shadows.  Ken thought the time propitious

+for a little lecture he had to give the boys,

+and he remembered how old Hiram Bent

+had talked to him and Hal that first night

+down under the great black rim-wall of the

+Grand Cañon.

+

+"Well, fellows," began Ken, "we're started,

+we're here, and the trip looks great to me.

+Now, as I am responsible, I intend to be boss.

+I want you boys to do what I tell you.  I may

+make mistakes, but if I do I'll take them on

+my shoulders.  Let's try to make the trip

+a great success.  Let's be careful.  We're

+not game-hogs.  We'll not kill any more than

+we can eat.  I want you boys to be careful

+with your guns.  Think all the time where

+you're pointing them.  And as to thinking,

+we'd do well to use our heads all the time.

+We've no idea what we're going up against

+in this jungle."

+

+Both boys listened to Ken with attention

+and respect, but they did not bind themselves

+by any promises.

+

+Ken had got out the mosquito-netting,

+expecting any moment to find it very

+serviceable; however, to his surprise it was not

+needed.  When it came time to go to bed,

+Hal and George did not forget to slip in

+between Pepe and Ken.  The open-sided tent

+might keep off rain or dew, but for all the

+other protection it afforded, the boys might as

+well have slept outside.  Nevertheless they

+were soon fast asleep.  Ken awoke a couple

+of times during the night and rolled over to

+find a softer spot in the hard bed.  These

+times he heard only the incessant hum of insects.

+

+When he opened his eyes in the gray

+morning light, he did hear something that

+made him sit up with a start.  It was a deep

+booming sound, different from anything that

+he had ever heard.  Ken called Pepe, and

+that roused the boys.

+

+"Listen," said Ken.

+

+In a little while the sound was repeated, a

+heavy "boo-oom! ... boo-oom!"  There was

+a resemblance to the first strong beats of a

+drumming grouse, only infinitely wilder.

+

+Pepe called it something like "*faisan real*."

+

+"What's that?" asked Hal.

+

+The name was as new to Ken as the noise

+itself.  Pepe explained through George that

+it was made by a huge black bird not unlike a

+turkey.  It had a golden plume, and could

+run as fast as a deer.  The boys rolled out,

+all having conceived a desire to see such a

+strange bird.  The sound was not repeated.

+Almost immediately, however, the thicket

+across the river awoke to another sound, as

+much a contrast to the boom as could be

+imagined.  It was a bird medley.  At first Ken

+thought of magpies, but Pepe dispelled this

+illusion with another name hard to pronounce.

+

+"Chicalocki," he said.

+

+And that seemed just like what they were

+singing.  It was a sharp, clear

+song--"Chic-a-lock-i ... chic-a-lock-i," and to judge from

+the full chorus there must have been many birds.

+

+"They're a land of pheasant," added

+George, "and make fine pot-stews."

+

+The *chicalocki* ceased their salute to the

+morning, and then, as the river mist melted

+away under the rising sun, other birds took

+it up.  Notes new to Ken burst upon the air.

+And familiar old songs thrilled him, made him

+think of summer days on the Susquehanna--the

+sweet carol of the meadow-lark, the whistle

+of the quail, the mellow, sad call of the

+swamp-blackbird.  The songs blended in an exquisite

+harmony.

+

+"Why, some of them are our own birds

+come south for the winter," declared Hal.

+

+"It's music," said Ken.

+

+"Just wait," laughed George.

+

+It dawned upon Ken then that George was

+a fellow who had the mysterious airs of a

+prophet hinting dire things.

+

+Ken did not know what to wait for, but

+he enjoyed the suggestion and anticipated

+much.  Ducks began to whir by; flocks of

+blackbirds alighted in the trees across the

+river.  Suddenly Hal jumped up, and Ken

+was astounded at a great discordant screeching

+and a sweeping rush of myriads of wings.

+Ken looked up to see the largest flock of birds

+he had ever seen.

+

+"Parrots," he yelled.

+

+Indeed they were, and they let the boys

+know it.  They flew across the river, wheeled

+to come back, all the time screeching, and then

+they swooped down into the tops of the

+cypress-trees.

+

+"Red-heads," said George.  "Just wait till

+you see the yellow-heads!"

+

+At the moment the red-heads were quite

+sufficient for Ken.  They broke out into a

+chattering, screaming, cackling discordance.

+It was plainly directed at the boys.  These

+intelligent birds were curious and resentful.

+As Pepe put it, they were scolding.  Ken

+enjoyed it for a full half-hour and reveled

+in the din.  That morning serenade was

+worth the trip.  Presently the parrots flew

+away, and Ken was surprised to find that most

+of the other birds had ceased singing.  They

+had set about the business of the

+day--something it was nigh time for Ken to consider.

+

+Breakfast over, the boys broke camp,

+eager for the adventures that they felt to be

+before them.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`WILDERNESS LIFE`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   VI

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   WILDERNESS LIFE

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+"Now for the big job, boys," called Ken.

+"Any ideas will be welcome, but don't

+all talk at once."

+

+And this job was the packing of the

+outfit in the boat.  It was a study for Ken, and

+he found himself thanking his lucky stars

+that he had packed boats for trips on rapid

+rivers.  George and Hal came to the fore

+with remarkable advice which Ken was at

+the pains of rejecting.  And as fast as one

+wonderful idea emanated from the fertile

+minds another one came in.  At last Ken lost

+patience.

+

+"Kids, it's going to take brains to pack

+this boat," he said, with some scorn.

+

+And when Hal remarked that in that case

+he did not see how they ever were going to

+pack the boat, Ken drove both boys away

+and engaged Pepe to help.

+

+The boat had to be packed for a long trip,

+with many things taken into consideration.

+The very best way to pack it must be decided

+upon and thereafter held to strictly.  Balance

+was all-important; comfort and elbow-room

+were not to be overlooked; a flat surface

+easy to crawl and jump over was absolutely

+necessary.  Fortunately, the boat was large

+and roomy, although not heavy.  The first

+thing Ken did was to cut out the narrow

+bow-seat.  Here he packed a small bucket

+of preserved mullet, some bottles of kerosene

+and *canya*, and a lantern.  The small, flat

+trunk, full of supplies, went in next.  Two

+boxes with the rest of the supplies filled up

+the space between the trunk and the

+rowing-seat.  By slipping an extra pair of oars,

+coils of rope, the ax, and a few other articles

+between the gunwales and the trunk and boxes

+Ken made them fit snugly.  He cut off a

+piece of the canvas, and, folding it, he laid it

+with the blankets lengthwise over the top.

+This made a level surface, one that could be

+gotten over quickly, or a place to sleep, for

+that matter, and effectually disposed of the

+bow half of the boat.  Of course the boat sank

+deep at the bow, but Ken calculated when they

+were all aboard their weight would effect an

+even balance.

+

+The bags with clothing Ken put under the

+second seat.  Then he arranged the other

+piece of canvas so that it projected up back

+of the stern of the boat.  He was thinking

+of the waves to be buffeted in going stern

+first down-stream through the rapids.  The

+fishing-tackle and guns he laid flat from seat

+to seat.  Last of all he placed the ammunition

+on one side next the gunwale, and the

+suit-case carrying camera, films, medicines,

+on the other.

+

+"Come now, fellows," called Ken.  "Hal,

+you and George take the second seat.  Pepe

+will take the oars.  I'll sit in the stern."

+

+Pepe pushed off, jumped to his place, and

+grasped the oars.  Ken was delighted to

+find the boat trim, and more buoyant than he

+had dared to hope.

+

+"We're off," cried Hal, and he whooped.

+And George exercised his already

+well-developed faculty of imitating Hal.

+

+Pepe bent to the oars, and under his powerful

+strokes the boat glided up-stream.  Soon

+the bridge disappeared.  Ken had expected

+a long, shady ride, but it did not turn out so.

+Shallow water and gravelly rapids made

+rowing impossible.

+

+"Pile out, boys, and pull," said Ken.

+

+The boys had dressed for wading and rough

+work, and went overboard with a will.  Pulling,

+at first, was not hard work.  They were

+fresh and eager, and hauled the boat up

+swift, shallow channels, making nearly as

+good time as when rowing in smooth water.

+Then, as the sun began to get hot, splashing

+in the cool river was pleasant.  They passed

+little islands green with willows and came to

+high clay-banks gradually wearing away,

+and then met with rocky restrictions in the

+stream-bed.  From round a bend came a

+hollow roar of a deeper rapid.  Ken found it

+a swift-rushing incline, very narrow, and hard

+to pull along.  The margin of the river was

+hidden and obstructed by willows so that the

+boys could see very little ahead.

+

+When they got above this fall the water

+was deep and still.  Entering the boat again,

+they turned a curve into a long, beautiful

+stretch of river.

+

+"Ah! this 's something like," said Hal.

+

+The green, shady lane was alive with birds

+and water-fowl.  Ducks of various kinds rose

+before the boat.  White, blue, gray, and

+speckled herons, some six feet tall, lined the

+low bars, and flew only at near approach.

+There were many varieties of bitterns, one

+kind with a purple back and white breast.

+They were very tame and sat on the

+overhanging branches, uttering dismal croaks.

+Everywhere was the flash and glitter and

+gleam of birds in flight, up and down and

+across the river.

+

+Hal took his camera and tried to get pictures.

+

+The strangeness, beauty, and life of this

+jungle stream absorbed Ken.  He did not

+take his guns from their cases.  The water

+was bright green and very deep; here and

+there were the swirls of playing fish.  The

+banks were high and densely covered with a

+luxuriant foliage.  Huge cypress-trees,

+moss-covered, leaned half-way across the river.

+Giant gray-barked ceibas spread long branches

+thickly tufted with aloes, orchids, and other

+jungle parasites.  Palm-trees lifted slender

+stems and graceful broad-leaved heads.

+Clumps of bamboo spread an enormous green

+arch out over the banks.  These bamboo-trees

+were particularly beautiful to Ken.

+A hundred yellow, black-circled stems grew

+out of the ground close together, and as they

+rose high they gracefully leaned their bodies

+and drooped their tips.  The leaves were

+arrowy, exquisite in their fineness.

+

+He looked up the long river-lane, bright

+in the sun, dark and still under the

+moss-veiled cypresses, at the turning vines and

+blossoming creepers, at the changeful web

+of moving birds, and indulged to the fullest

+that haunting sense for wild places.

+

+"Chicalocki," said Pepe, suddenly.

+

+A flock of long-tailed birds, resembling

+the pheasant in body, was sailing across the

+river.  Again George made a dive for a gun.

+This one was a sixteen-gage and worn out.

+He shot twice at the birds on the wing.

+Then Pepe rowed under the overhanging

+branches, and George killed three *chicalocki*

+with his rifle.  They were olive green in

+color, and the long tail had a brownish cast.

+Heavy and plump, they promised fine eating.

+

+"Pato real!" yelled Pepe, pointing excitedly

+up the river.

+

+Several black fowl, as large as geese, hove

+in sight, flying pretty low.  Ken caught a

+glimpse of wide, white-crested wings, and

+knew then that these were the birds he had seen.

+

+"Load up and get ready," he said to

+George.  "They're coming fast--shoot ahead

+of them."

+

+How swift and powerful they were on the

+wing!  They swooped up when they saw the

+boat, and offered a splendid target.  The

+little sixteen-gage rang out.  Ken heard the

+shot strike.  The leader stopped in midair,

+dipped, and plunged with a sounding splash.

+Ken picked him up and found him to be most

+beautiful, and as large and heavy as a goose.

+His black feathers shone with the latent green

+luster of an opal, and the pure white of the

+shoulder of the wings made a remarkable

+contrast.

+

+"George, we've got enough meat for to-day,

+more than we can use.  Don't shoot any

+more," said Ken.

+

+Pepe resumed rowing, and Ken told him

+to keep under the overhanging branches and

+to row without splashing.  He was skilled

+in the use of the oars, so the boat glided along

+silently.  Ken felt he was rewarded for this

+stealth.  Birds of rare and brilliant plumage

+flitted among the branches.  There was one,

+a long, slender bird, gold and black with a

+white ring round its neck.  There were little

+yellow-breasted kingfishers no larger than

+a wren, and great red-breasted kingfishers

+with blue backs and tufted heads.  The boat

+passed under a leaning ceiba-tree that was

+covered with orchids.  Ken saw the slim,

+sharp head of a snake dart from among the

+leaves.  His neck was as thick as Ken's wrist.

+

+"What kind of a snake, Pepe?" whispered

+Ken, as he fingered the trigger of George's

+gun.  But Pepe did not see the snake, and

+then Ken thought better of disturbing the

+silence with a gunshot.  He was reminded,

+however, that the Texan had told him of

+snakes in this jungle, some of which measured

+more than fifteen feet and were as large as a

+man's leg.

+

+Most of the way the bank was too high

+and steep and overgrown for any animal to

+get down to the water.  Still there were dry

+gullies, or arroyos, every few hundred yards,

+and these showed the tracks of animals, but

+Pepe could not tell what species from the

+boat.  Often Ken heard the pattering of

+hard feet, and then he would see a little

+cloud of dust in one of these drinking-places.

+So he cautioned Pepe to row slower and closer

+in to the bank.

+

+"Look there! lemme out!" whispered Hal,

+and he seemed to be on the point of jumping

+overboard.

+

+"Coons," said George.  "Oh, a lot of

+them.  There--some young ones."

+

+Ken saw that they had come abruptly

+upon a band of racoons, not less than thirty

+in number, some big, some little, and a few

+like tiny balls of fur, and all had long

+white-ringed tails.  What a scampering the big

+ones set up!  The little ones were frightened,

+and the smallest so tame they scarcely made

+any effort to escape.  Pepe swung the boat

+in to the bank, and reaching out he caught a

+baby racoon and handed it to Hal.

+

+"Whoop!  We'll catch things and tame

+them," exclaimed Hal, much delighted, and

+he proceeded to tie the little racoon under

+the seat.

+

+"Sure, we'll get a whole menagerie," said George.

+

+So they went on up-stream.  Often Ken

+motioned Pepe to stop in dark, cool places

+under the golden-green canopy of bamboos.

+He was as much fascinated by the beautiful

+foliage and tree growths as by the wild life.

+Hal appeared more taken up with the fluttering

+of birds in the thick jungle, rustlings,

+and soft, stealthy steps.  Then as they moved

+on Ken whispered and pointed out a black

+animal vanishing in the thicket.  Three times

+he caught sight of a spotted form slipping

+away in the shade.  George saw it the last

+time, and whispered: "Tiger-cat!  Let's get him."

+

+"What's that, Ken, a kind of a wildcat?"

+asked Hal.

+

+"Yes."  Ken took George's .32-caliber and

+tried to find a way up the bank.  There was

+no place to climb up unless he dragged

+himself up branches of trees or drooping

+bamboos, and this he did not care to attempt

+encumbered with a rifle.  Only here and there

+could he see over the matted roots and creepers.

+Then the sound of rapids put hunting out of

+his mind.

+

+"Boys, we've got Micas Falls to reach,"

+he said, and told Pepe to row on.

+

+The long stretch of deep river ended in a

+wide, shallow, noisy rapid.  Fir-trees lined

+the banks.  The palms, cypresses, bamboos,

+and the flowery, mossy growths were not here

+in evidence.  Thickly wooded hills rose on

+each side.  The jungle looked sear and yellow.

+

+The boys began to wade up the rapid,

+and before they had reached the head of it

+Pepe yelled and jumped back from where he

+was wading at the bow.  He took an oar and

+began to punch at something in the water,

+at the same time calling out.

+

+"Crocodile!" cried George, and he climbed

+in the boat.  Hal was not slow in following

+suit.  Then Ken saw Pepe hitting a small

+crocodile, which lashed out with its tail and

+disappeared.

+

+"Come out of there," called Ken to the boys.

+"We can't pull you up-stream."

+

+"Say, I don't want to step on one of those

+ugly brutes," protested Hal.

+

+"Look sharp, then.  Come out."

+

+Above the rapid extended a quarter-mile

+stretch where Pepe could row, and beyond

+that another long rapid.  When the boys

+had waded up that it was only to come to

+another.  It began to be hard work.  But

+Ken kept the boys buckled down, and they

+made fair progress.  They pulled up through

+eighteen rapids, and covered distance that

+Ken estimated to be about ten miles.  The

+blue mountain loomed closer and higher, yet

+Ken began to have doubts of reaching Micas

+Falls that day.

+

+Moreover, as they ascended the stream,

+the rapids grew rougher.

+

+"It 'll be great coming down," panted Hal.

+

+Finally they reached a rapid which had long

+dinned in Ken's ears.  All the water in the

+river rushed down on the right-hand side

+through a channel scarcely twenty feet wide.

+It was deep and swift.  With the aid of ropes,

+and by dint of much hard wading and pulling,

+the boys got the boat up.  A little farther

+on was another bothersome rapid.  At last

+they came to a succession of falls, steps in the

+river, that barred farther advance up-stream.

+

+Here Ken climbed up on the bank, to find

+the country hilly and open, with patches of

+jungle and palm groves leading up to the

+mountains.  Then he caught a glint of Micas

+Falls, and decided that it would be impossible

+to get there.  He made what observations

+he could, and returned to camp.

+

+"Boys, here's where we stop," said Ken.

+"It 'll be all down-stream now, and I'm glad."

+

+There was no doubt that the boys were

+equally glad.  They made camp on a

+grassy bench above a foam-flecked pool.

+Ken left the others to get things in shape for

+supper, and, taking his camera, he hurried off

+to try to get a picture of Micas Falls.  He

+found open places and by-paths through the

+brushy forest.  He saw evidences of forest

+fire, and then knew what had ruined that part

+of the jungle.  There were no birds.  It was

+farther than he had estimated to the foothill

+he had marked, but, loath to give up, he kept

+on and finally reached a steep, thorny ascent.

+Going up he nearly suffocated with heat.

+He felt rewarded for his exertions when he

+saw Micas Falls glistening in the distance.

+It was like a string of green fans connected

+by silver ribbons.  He remained there watching

+it while the sun set in the golden notch

+between the mountains.

+

+On the way back to camp he waded through

+a flat overgrown with coarse grass and bushes.

+Here he jumped a herd of deer, eight in

+number.  These small, sleek, gray deer appeared

+tame, and if there had been sufficient light,

+Ken would have photographed them.  It

+cost him an effort to decide not to fetch his

+rifle, but as he had meat enough in camp

+there was nothing to do except let the deer go.

+

+When he got back to the river Pepe grinned

+at him, and, pointing to little red specks on

+his shirt, he said:

+

+"Pinilius."

+

+"Aha! the ticks!" exclaimed Ken.

+

+They were exceedingly small, not to be

+seen without close scrutiny.  They could not

+be brushed off, so Ken began laboriously to

+pick them off.  Pepe and George laughed,

+and Hal appeared to derive some sort of

+enjoyment from the incident.

+

+"Say, these ticks don't bother me any,"

+declared Ken.

+

+Pepe grunted; and George called out, "Just

+wait till you get the big fellows--the

+garrapatoes."

+

+It developed presently that the grass and

+bushes on the camp-site contained millions

+of the ticks.  Ken found several of the larger

+ticks--almost the size of his little finger-nail--but

+he did not get bitten.  Pepe and George,

+however, had no such good luck, as was

+manifested at different times.  By the time they

+had cut down the bushes and carried in

+a stock of fire-wood, both were covered with

+the little pests.  Hal found a spot where

+there appeared to be none, and here he stayed.

+

+Pepe and George had the bad habit of smoking,

+and Ken saw them burning the ticks off

+shirt-sleeves and trousers-legs, using the fiery

+end of their cigarettes.  This feat did not

+puzzle Ken anything like the one where they

+held the red point of the cigarettes close to

+their naked flesh.  Ken, and Hal, too, had

+to see that performance at close range.

+

+"Why do you do that?" asked Ken.

+

+"Popping ticks," replied George.  He and

+Pepe were as sober as judges.

+

+The fact of the matter was soon clear to

+Ken.  The ticks stuck on as if glued.  When

+the hot end of the burning cigarette was held

+within a quarter of an inch of them they

+simply blew up, exploded with a pop.  Ken

+could easily distinguish between the tiny pop

+of an exploding *pinilius* and the heavier pop

+of a *garrapato*.

+

+"But, boy, while you're taking time to do

+that, half a dozen other ticks can bite you!"

+exclaimed Ken.

+

+"Sure they can," replied George.  "But

+if they get on me I'll kill 'em.  I don't mind

+the little ones--it's the big boys I hate."

+

+On the other hand, Pepe seemed to mind

+most the *pinilius*.

+

+"Say, from now on you fellows will be

+Garrapato George and Pinilius Pepe."

+

+"Pretty soon you'll laugh on the other

+side of your face," said George.  "In three

+days you'll be popping ticks yourself."

+

+Just then Hal let out a yell and began to

+hunt for a tick that had bit him.  If there

+was anything that could bother Hal Ward

+it was a crawling bug of some kind.

+

+"I'll have to christen you too, brother,"

+said Ken, gurgling with mirth.  "A very

+felicitous name--Hollering Hal!"

+

+Despite the humor of the thing, Ken really

+saw its serious side.  When he found the

+grass under his feet alive with ticks he cast

+about in his mind for some way to get rid

+of them.  And he hit upon a remedy.  On the

+ridge above the bench was a palm-tree, and

+under it were many dead palm leaves.  These

+were large in size, had long stems, and were

+as dry as tinder.  Ken lighted one, and it

+made a flaming hot torch.  It did not take

+him long to scorch all the ticks near that camp.

+

+The boys had supper and enjoyed it hugely.

+The scene went well with the camp-fire and

+game-dinner.  They gazed out over the

+foaming pool, the brawling rapids, to the

+tufted palm-trees, and above them the

+dark-blue mountain.  At dusk Hal and George

+were so tired they went to bed and at once

+dropped into slumber.  Pepe sat smoking

+before the slumbering fire.

+

+And Ken chose that quiet hour to begin

+the map of the river, and to set down in his

+note-book his observations on the mountains

+and in the valley, and what he had seen that

+day of bird, animal, and plant life in the

+jungle.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`RUNNING THE RAPIDS`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   VII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   RUNNING THE RAPIDS

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Some time in the night a yell awakened

+Ken.  He sat up, clutching his revolver.

+The white moonlight made all as clear as

+day.  Hal lay deep in slumber.  George was

+raising himself, half aroused.  But Pepe was gone.

+

+Ken heard a thrashing about outside.

+Leaping up he ran out, and was frightened to

+see Pepe beating and clawing and tearing

+at himself like a man possessed of demons.

+

+"Pepe, what's wrong?" shouted Ken.

+

+It seemed that Pepe only grew more violent

+in his wrestling about.  Then Ken was sure

+Pepe had been stung by a scorpion or bitten by

+a snake.

+

+But he was dumfounded to see George

+bound like an apparition out of the tent and

+begin evolutions that made Pepe's look slow.

+

+"Hey, what's wrong with you jumping-jacks?"

+yelled Ken.

+

+George was as grimly silent as an Indian

+running the gantlet, but Ken thought it

+doubtful if any Indian ever slapped and tore

+at his body in George's frantic manner.  To

+add to the mystery Hal suddenly popped out

+of the tent.  He was yelling in a way to do

+justice to the name Ken had lately given him,

+and, as for wild and whirling antics, his were

+simply marvelous.

+

+"Good land!" ejaculated Ken.  Had the

+boys all gone mad?  Despite his alarm, Ken

+had to roar with laughter at those three

+dancing figures in the moonlight.  A rush of

+ideas went through Ken's confused mind.

+And the last prompted him to look in the tent.

+

+He saw a wide bar of black crossing the

+moonlit ground, the grass, and the blankets.

+This bar moved.  It was alive.  Bending

+low Ken descried that it was made by ants.

+An army of jungle ants on a march!  They

+had come in a straight line along the base of

+the little hill and their passageway led under

+the canvas.  Pepe happened to be the first

+in line, and they had surged over him.  As

+he had awakened, and jumped up of course,

+the ants had begun to bite.  The same in

+turn happened to George and then Hal.

+

+Ken was immensely relieved, and had his

+laugh out.  The stream of ants moved steadily

+and quite rapidly, and soon passed from

+sight.  By this time Pepe and the boys had

+threshed themselves free of ants and into

+some degree of composure.

+

+"Say, you nightmare fellows!  Come back

+to bed," said Ken.  "Any one would think

+something had really happened to you."

+

+Pepe snorted, which made Ken think the

+native understood something of English.  And

+the boys grumbled loudly.

+

+"Ants!  Ants as big as wasps!  They bit

+worse than helgramites," declared Hal.  "Oh,

+they missed you.  You always are lucky.

+I'm not afraid of all the old jaguars in this

+jungle.  But I can't stand biting, crawling

+bugs.  I wish you hadn't made me come on

+this darn trip."

+

+"Ha!  Ha!" laughed Ken.

+

+"Just wait, Hal," put in George, grimly.

+"Just wait.  It's coming to him!"

+

+The boys slept well the remainder of the

+night and, owing to the break in their rest,

+did not awaken early.  The sun shone hot

+when Ken rolled out; a creamy mist was

+dissolving over the curve of the mountain-range;

+parrots were screeching in the near-by trees.

+

+After breakfast Ken set about packing the

+boat as it had been done the day before.

+

+"I think we'll do well to leave the trunk

+in the boat after this, unless we find a place

+where we want to make a permanent camp

+for a while," said Ken.

+

+Before departing he carefully looked over

+the ground to see that nothing was left, and

+espied a heavy fish-line which George had

+baited, set, and forgotten.

+

+"Hey, George, pull up your trot-line.

+It looks pretty much stretched to me.  Maybe

+you've got a fish."

+

+Ken happened to be busy at the boat when

+George started to take in the line.  An

+exclamation from Pepe, George's yell, and a loud

+splash made Ken jump up in double-quick

+time.  Hal also came running.

+

+George was staggering on the bank, leaning

+back hard on the heavy line.  A long, angry

+swirl in the pool told of a powerful fish.

+It was likely to pull George in.

+

+"Let go the line!" yelled Ken.

+

+But George was not letting go of any

+fish-lines.  He yelled for Pepe, and went down

+on his knees before Pepe got to him.  Both

+then pulled on the line.  The fish, or

+whatever it was at the other end, gave a mighty

+jerk that almost dragged the two off the bank.

+

+"Play him, play him!" shouted Ken.

+"You've got plenty of line.  Give him some."

+

+Hal now added his weight and strength,

+and the three of them, unmindful of Ken's

+advice, hauled back with might and main.

+The line parted and they sprawled on the

+grass.

+

+"What a sockdologer!" exclaimed Hal.

+

+"I had that hook baited with a big piece

+of duck meat," said George.  "We must have

+been hooked to a crocodile.  Things are

+happening to us."

+

+"Yes, so I've noticed," replied Ken, dryly.

+"But if you fellows hadn't pulled so hard you

+might have landed that thing, whatever it

+was.  All aboard now.  We must be on the

+move--we don't know what we have before us."

+

+When they got into the boat Ken took the

+oars, much to Pepe's surprise.  It was

+necessary to explain to him that Ken would handle

+the boat in swift water.  They shoved off,

+and Ken sent one regretful glance up the river,

+at the shady aisle between the green banks, at

+the white rapids, and the great colored dome

+of the mountain.  He almost hesitated, for

+he desired to see more of that jungle-covered

+mountain.  But something already warned

+Ken to lose no time in the trip down the Santa

+Rosa.  There did not seem to be any reason

+for hurry, yet he felt it necessary.  But he

+asked Pepe many questions and kept George

+busy interpreting names of trees and flowers

+and wild creatures.

+

+Going down-stream on any river, mostly,

+would have been pleasure, but drifting on the

+swift current of the Santa Rosa and rowing

+under the wonderful moss-bearded cypresses

+was almost like a dream.  It was too beautiful

+to seem real.  The smooth stretch before

+the first rapid was short, however, and then

+all Ken's attention had to be given to the

+handling of the boat.  He saw that George

+and Pepe both expected to get out and wade

+down the rapids as they had waded up.

+He had a surprise in store for them.  The

+rapids that he could not shoot would have to

+be pretty bad.

+

+"You're getting close," shouted George,

+warningly.

+

+With two sweeps of the oars Ken turned

+the boat stern first down-stream, then dipped

+on the low green incline, and sailed down

+toward the waves.  They struck the first wave

+with a shock, and the water flew all over the

+boys.  Pepe was tremendously excited; he

+yelled and made wild motions with his hands;

+George looked a little frightened.  Hal

+enjoyed it.  Whatever the rapid appeared to

+them, it was magnificent to Ken; and it was

+play to manage the boat in such water.  A

+little pull on one oar and then on the other

+kept the stern straight down-stream.  The

+channel he could make out a long way ahead.

+He amused himself by watching George and

+Pepe.  There were stones in the channel,

+and the water rose angrily about them.  A

+glance was enough to tell that he could float

+over these without striking.  But the boys

+thought they were going to hit every stone,

+and were uneasy all the time.  Twice he had

+to work to pass ledges and sunken trees upon

+which the current bore down hard.  When

+Ken neared one of these he dipped the oars

+and pulled back to stop or lessen the

+momentum; then a stroke turned the boat half

+broadside to the current.  That would force

+it to one side, and another stroke would turn

+the boat straight.  At the bottom of this

+rapid they encountered a long triangle of

+choppy waves that they bumped and splashed

+over.  They came through with nothing wet

+but the raised flap of canvas in the stern.

+

+Pepe regarded Ken with admiring eyes,

+and called him *grande mozo*.

+

+"Shooting rapids is great sport," proclaimed

+George.

+

+They drifted through several little rifts,

+and then stopped at the head of the narrow

+chute that had been such a stumbling-block

+on the way up.  Looked at from above, this

+long, narrow channel, with several S curves,

+was a fascinating bit of water for a canoeist.

+It tempted Ken to shoot it even with the boat.

+But he remembered the four-foot waves at

+the bottom, and besides he resented the

+importunity of the spirit of daring so early in

+the game.  Risk, and perhaps peril, would

+come soon enough.  So he decided to walk

+along the shore and float the boat through

+with a rope.

+

+The thing looked a good deal easier than it

+turned out to be.  Half-way through, at the

+narrowest point and most abrupt curve,

+Pepe misunderstood directions and pulled

+hard on the bow-rope, when he should have

+let it slack.

+

+The boat swung in, nearly smashing Ken

+against the bank, and the sweeping current

+began to swell dangerously near the gunwale.

+

+"Let go!  Let go!" yelled Ken.  "George,

+make him let go!"

+

+But George, who was trying to get the rope

+out of Pepe's muscular hands, suddenly made

+a dive for his rifle.

+

+"Deer! deer!" he cried, hurriedly throwing

+a shell into the chamber.  He shot downstream,

+and Ken, looking that way, saw several

+deer under the firs on a rocky flat.  George

+shot three more times, and the bullets went

+"spinging" into the trees.  The deer bounded

+out of sight.

+

+When Ken turned again, water was roaring

+into the boat.  He was being pressed harder

+into the bank, and he saw disaster ahead.

+

+"Loosen the rope--tell him, George," yelled Ken.

+

+Pepe only pulled the harder.

+

+"Quick, or we're ruined," cried Ken.

+

+George shouted in Spanish, and Pepe

+promptly dropped the rope in the water.

+That was the worst thing he could have done.

+

+"Grab the rope!" ordered Ken, wildly.

+"Grab the bow!  Don't let it swing out!  Hal!"

+

+Before either boy could reach it the bow

+swung out into the current.  Ken was not

+only helpless, but in a dangerous position.

+He struggled to get out from where the

+swinging stern was wedging him into the bank,

+but could not budge.  Fearing that all the

+outfit would be lost in the river, he held

+on to the boat and called for some one to

+catch the rope.

+

+George pushed Pepe head first into the swift

+current.  Pepe came up, caught the rope,

+and then went under again.  The boat swung

+round and, now half full of water, got away

+from Ken.  It gathered headway.  Ken leaped

+out on the ledge and ran along with the boat.

+It careened round the bad curve and shot

+down-stream.  Pepe was still under water.

+

+"He's drowned!  He's drowned!" cried George.

+

+Hal took a header right off the ledge, came

+up, and swam with a few sharp strokes to the

+drifting boat.  He gained the bow, grasped it,

+and then pulled on the rope.

+

+Ken had a sickening feeling that Pepe might

+be drowned.  Suddenly Pepe appeared like

+a brown porpoise.  He was touching bottom

+in places and holding back on the rope.

+Then the current rolled him over and over.

+The boat drifted back of a rocky point into

+shallow water.  Hal gave a haul that helped

+to swing it out of the dangerous current.

+Then Pepe came up, and he, too, pulled hard.

+Just as Ken plunged in the boat sank in two

+feet of water.  Ken's grip, containing camera,

+films, and other perishable goods, was on top,

+and he got it just in time.  He threw it out

+on the rocks.  Then together the boys lifted

+the boat and hauled the bow well up on the

+shore.

+

+"Pretty lucky!" exclaimed Ken, as he

+flopped down.

+

+"Doggone it!" yelled Hal, suddenly.  And

+he dove for the boat, and splashed round

+in the water under his seat, to bring forth a

+very limp and drenched little racoon.

+

+"Good! he's all right," said Ken.

+

+Pepe said "Mucho malo," and pointed

+to his shins, which bore several large bumps

+from contact with the rocks in the channel.

+

+"I should say mucha malo," growled George.

+

+He jerked open his grip, and, throwing out

+articles of wet clothing--for which he had no

+concern--he gazed in dismay at his whole

+store of cigarettes wet by the water.

+

+"So that's all you care for," said Ken,

+severely.  "Young man, I'll have something

+to say to you presently.  All hands now to

+unpack the boat."

+

+Fortunately nothing had been carried away.

+That part of the supplies which would have

+been affected by water was packed in tin cases,

+and so suffered no damage.  The ammunition

+was waterproof.  Ken's Parker hammerless

+and his 351 automatic rifle were full of water,

+and so were George's guns and Hal's.  While

+they took their weapons apart, wiped them,

+and laid them in the sun, Pepe spread out the

+rest of the things and then baled out the boat.

+The sun was so hot that everything dried

+quickly and was not any the worse for the

+wetting.  The boys lost scarcely an hour by

+the accident.  Before the start Ken took

+George and Pepe to task, and when he finished

+they were both very sober and quiet.

+

+Ken observed, however, that by the time

+they had run the next rapid they were

+enjoying themselves again.  Then came a long

+succession of rapids which Ken shot without

+anything approaching a mishap.  When they

+drifted into the level stretch Pepe relieved

+him at the oars.  They glided down-stream

+under the drooping bamboo, under the silken

+streamers of silvery moss, under the dark, cool

+bowers of matted vine and blossoming creepers.

+And as they passed this time the jungle

+silence awoke to the crack of George's .22

+and the discordant cry of river fowl.  Ken's

+guns were both at hand, and the rifle was

+loaded, but he did not use either.  He

+contented himself with snapping a picture here

+and there and watching the bamboo thickets

+and the mouths of the little dry ravines.

+

+That ride was again so interesting, so full

+of sound and action and color, that it seemed

+a very short one.  The murmur of the water

+on the rocks told Ken that it was time to

+change seats with Pepe.  They drifted down

+two short rapids, and then came to the gravelly

+channels between the islands noted on the

+way up.  The water was shallow down these

+rippling channels; and, fearing they might

+strike a stone, Ken tumbled out over the bow

+and, wading slowly, let the boat down to

+still water again.  He was about to get in

+when he espied what he thought was an

+alligator lying along a log near the river.

+He pointed it out to Pepe.

+

+That worthy yelled gleefully in Mexican,

+and reached for his *machete*.

+

+"Iguana!" exclaimed George.  "I've heard

+it's good to eat."

+

+The reptile had a body about four feet long

+and a very long tail.  Its color was a steely

+blue-black on top, and it had a blunt, rounded

+head.

+

+Pepe slipped out of the boat and began

+to wade ashore.  When the iguana raised

+itself on short, stumpy legs George shot at

+it, and missed, as usual.  But he effectually

+frightened the reptile, which started to climb

+the bank with much nimbleness.  Pepe began

+to run, brandishing his long *machete*.  George

+plunged into the water in hot pursuit, and then

+Hal yielded to the call of the chase.  Pepe

+reached the iguana before it got up the bank,

+aimed a mighty blow with his *machete*, and

+would surely have cut the reptile in two

+pieces if the blade had not caught on an

+overhanging branch.  Then Pepe fell up the bank

+and barely grasped the tail of the iguana.  Pepe

+hauled back, and Pepe was powerful.  The

+frantic creature dug its feet in the clay-bank

+and held on for dear life.  But Pepe was too

+strong.  He jerked the iguana down and

+flung it square upon George, who had begun

+to climb the bank.

+

+George uttered an awful yell, as if he

+expected to be torn asunder, and rolled down,

+with the reptile on top of him.  Ken saw

+that it was as badly frightened as George.

+But Hal did not see this.  And he happened

+to have gained a little sand-bar below the

+bank, in which direction the iguana started

+with wonderful celerity.  Then Hal made a

+jump that Ken believed was a record.

+

+Remarkably awkward as that iguana was,

+he could surely cover ground with his stumpy

+legs.  Again he dashed up the bank.  Pepe got

+close enough once more, and again he swung

+the *machete*.  The blow cut off a piece of the

+long tail, but the only effect this produced

+was to make the iguana run all the faster.

+It disappeared over the bank, with Pepe

+scrambling close behind.  Then followed a

+tremendous crashing in the dry thickets,

+after which the iguana could be heard

+rattling and tearing away through the jungle.

+Pepe returned to the boat with the

+crestfallen boys, and he was much concerned over

+the failure to catch the big lizard, which he

+said made fine eating.

+

+"What next?" asked George, ruefully, and

+at that the boys all laughed.

+

+"The fun is we don't have any idea what's

+coming off," said Hal.

+

+"Boys, if you brave hunters had thought

+to throw a little salt on that lizard's tail you

+might have caught him," added Ken.

+

+Presently Pepe espied another iguana in

+the forks of a tree, and he rowed ashore.

+This lizard was only a small one, not over two

+feet in length, but he created some

+excitement among the boys.  George wanted him

+to eat, and Hal wanted the skin for a

+specimen, and Ken wanted to see what the

+lizard looked like close at hand.  So they all

+clamored for Pepe to use caution and to be

+quick.

+

+When Pepe started up the tree the iguana

+came down on the other side, quick as a

+squirrel.  Then they had a race round the

+trunk until Pepe ended it with a well-directed

+blow from his *machete*.

+

+Hal began to skin the iguana.

+

+"Ken, I'm going to have trouble preserving

+specimens in this hot place," he said.

+

+"Salt and alum will do the trick.  Remember

+what old Hiram used to say," replied Ken.

+

+Shortly after that the boat passed the scene

+of the first camp, and then drifted under the

+railroad bridge.

+

+Hal and George, and Pepe too, looked as if

+they were occupied with the same thought

+troubling Ken--that once beyond the bridge

+they would plunge into the jungle wilderness

+from which there could be no turning back.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`THE FIRST TIGER-CAT`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   VIII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   THE FIRST TIGER-CAT

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+The Santa Rosa opened out wide, and ran

+swiftly over smooth rock.  Deep cracks, a

+foot or so wide, crossed the river diagonally,

+and fish darted in and out.

+

+The boys had about half a mile of this,

+when, after turning a hilly bend, they entered

+a long rapid.  It was a wonderful stretch

+of river to look down.

+

+"By George!" said Ken, as he stood up to

+survey it.  "This is great!"

+

+"It's all right *now*," added George, with

+his peculiar implication as to the future.

+

+"What gets me is the feeling of what

+might be round the next bend," said Hal.

+

+This indeed, Ken thought, made the

+fascination of such travel.  The water was

+swift and smooth and shallow.  There was

+scarcely a wave or ripple.  At times the boat

+stuck fast on the flat rock, and the boys would

+have to get out to shove off.  As far ahead as

+Ken could see extended this wide slant of

+water.  On the left rose a thick line of huge

+cypresses all festooned with gray moss that

+drooped to the water; on the right rose a bare

+bluff of crumbling rock.  It looked like blue

+clay baked and cracked by the sun.  A few

+palms fringed the top.

+

+"Say, we can beat this," said Ken, as for

+the twentieth time the boys had to step out

+and shove off a flat, shallow place.  "Two of

+you in the bow and Pepe with me in the stern,

+feet overboard."

+

+The little channels ran every way, making

+it necessary often to turn the boat.  Ken's

+idea was to drift along and keep the boat

+from grounding by an occasional kick.

+

+"Ken manages to think of something once

+in a while," observed Hal.

+

+Then the boat drifted down-stream, whirling

+round and round.  Here Pepe would drop

+his brown foot in and kick his end clear of a

+shallow ledge; there George would make a

+great splash when his turn came to ward off

+from a rock; and again Hal would give a

+greater kick than was necessary to the

+righting of the boat.  Probably Hal was much

+influenced by the fact that when he kicked

+hard he destroyed the lazy equilibrium of

+his companions.

+

+It dawned upon Ken that here was a new

+and unique way to travel down a river.  It

+was different from anything he had ever tried

+before.  The water was swift and seldom

+more than a foot deep, except in diagonal

+cracks that ribbed the river-bed.  This long,

+shut-in stretch appeared to be endless.  But

+for the quick, gliding movement of the boat,

+which made a little breeze, the heat would

+have been intolerable.  When one of Hal's

+kicks made Ken lurch overboard to sit down

+ludicrously, the cool water sent thrills over

+him.  Instead of retaliating on Hal, he was

+glad to be wet.  And the others, soon

+discovering the reason for Ken's remarkable

+good-nature, went overboard and lay flat in

+the cool ripples.  Then little clouds of steam

+began to rise from their soaked clothes.

+

+Ken began to have an idea that he had been

+wise in boiling the water which they drank.

+They all suffered from a parching thirst.

+Pepe scooped up water in his hand; George

+did likewise, and then Hal.

+

+"You've all got to stop that," ordered Ken,

+sharply.  "No drinking this water unless it's

+boiled."

+

+The boys obeyed, for the hour, but they

+soon forgot, or deliberately allayed their

+thirst despite Ken's command.  Ken himself

+found his thirst unbearable.  He squeezed

+the juice of a wild lime into a cup of water

+and drank that.  Then he insisted on giving

+the boys doses of quinine and anti-malaria

+pills, which treatment he meant to continue

+daily.

+

+Toward the lower part of that rapid, where

+the water grew deeper, fish began to be so

+numerous that the boys kicked at many as

+they darted under the boat.  There were

+thousands of small fish and some large ones.

+Occasionally, as a big fellow lunged for a

+crack in the rock, he would make the water

+roar.  There was a fish that resembled a mullet,

+and another that Hal said was some kind of

+bass with a blue tail.  Pepe chopped at them

+with his *machete*; George whacked with an

+oar; Hal stood up in the boat and shot at

+them with his .22 rifle.

+

+"Say, I've got to see what that blue-tailed

+bass looks like," said Ken.  "You fellows

+will never get one."

+

+Whereupon Ken jointed up a small rod

+and, putting on a spinner, began to cast it

+about.  He felt two light fish hit it.  Then

+came a heavy shock that momentarily checked

+the boat.  The water foamed as the line cut

+through, and Ken was just about to jump off

+the boat to wade and follow the fish, when

+it broke the leader.

+

+"That was a fine exhibition," remarked the

+critical Hal.

+

+"What's the matter with you?" retorted

+Ken, who was sensitive as to his fishing

+abilities.  "It was a big fish.  He broke

+things."

+

+"Haven't you got a reel on that rod and

+fifty yards of line?" queried Hal.

+

+Ken did not have another spinner, and he

+tried an artificial minnow, but could not get

+a strike on it.  He took Hal's gun and shot

+at several of the blue-tailed fish, but though

+he made them jump out of the water like

+a real northern black-bass, it was all of no

+avail.

+

+Then Hal caught one with a swoop of the

+landing net.  It was a beautiful fish, and it

+did have a blue tail.  Pepe could not name

+it, nor could Ken classify it, so Hal was sure

+he had secured a rare specimen.

+

+When the boat drifted round a bend to

+enter another long, wide, shallow rapid, the

+boys demurred a little at the sameness of

+things.  The bare blue bluffs persisted, and

+the line of gray-veiled cypresses and the

+strange formation of stream-bed.  Five more

+miles of drifting under the glaring sun made

+George and Hal lie back in the boat, under

+an improvised sun-shade.  The ride was novel

+and strange to Ken Ward, and did not pall

+upon him, though he suffered from the heat

+and glare.  He sat on the bow, occasionally

+kicking the boat off a rock.

+

+All at once a tense whisper from Pepe

+brought Ken round with a jerk.  Pepe was

+pointing down along the right-hand shore.

+George heard, and, raising himself, called

+excitedly: "Buck!  buck!"

+

+Ken saw a fine deer leap back from the water

+and start to climb the side of a gully that

+indented the bluff.  Snatching up the .351

+rifle, he shoved in the safety catch.  The

+distance was far--perhaps two hundred yards--but

+without elevating the sights he let

+drive.  A cloud of dust puffed up under the

+nose of the climbing deer.

+

+"Wow!" yelled George, and Pepe began to

+jabber.  Hal sprang up, nearly falling

+overboard, and he shouted: "Give it to him, Ken!"

+

+The deer bounded up a steep, winding trail,

+his white flag standing, his reddish coat

+glistening.  Ken fired again.  The bullet sent

+up a white puff of dust, this time nearer still.

+That shot gave Ken the range, and he pulled

+the automatic again--and again.  Each bullet

+hit closer.  The boys were now holding their

+breath, watching, waiting.  Ken aimed a little

+firmer and finer at the space ahead of the

+deer--for in that instant he remembered

+what the old hunter on Penetier had told

+him--and he pulled the trigger twice.

+

+The buck plunged down, slipped off the

+trail, and, raising a cloud of dust, rolled over

+and over.  Then it fell sheer into space,

+and whirled down to strike the rock with a

+sodden crash.

+

+It was Ken's first shooting on this trip,

+and he could not help adding a cry of exultation

+to the yells of his admiring comrades.

+

+"Guess you didn't plug him!" exclaimed

+Hal Ward, with flashing eyes.

+

+Wading, the boys pulled the boat ashore.

+Pepe pronounced the buck to be very large,

+but to Ken, remembering the deer in Coconino

+Forest, it appeared small.  If there was an

+unbroken bone left in that deer, Ken greatly

+missed his guess.  He and Pepe cut out the

+haunch least crushed by the fail.

+

+"There's no need to carry along more

+meat than we can use," said George.  "It

+spoils overnight.  That's the worst of this

+jungle, I've heard hunters say."

+

+Hal screwed up his face in the manner he

+affected when he tried to imitate old Hiram

+Bent.  "Wal, youngster, I reckon I'm right

+an' down proud of thet shootin'.  You air

+comin' along."

+

+Ken was as pleased as Hal, but he replied,

+soberly: "Well, kid, I hope I can hold as

+straight as that when we run up against a jaguar."

+

+"Do you think we'll see one?" asked Hal.

+

+"Just you wait!" exclaimed George, replying

+for Ken.  "Pepe says we'll have to sleep

+in the boat, and anchor the boat in the

+middle of the river."

+

+"What for?"

+

+"To keep those big yellow tigers from

+eating us up."

+

+"How nice!" replied Hal, with a rather

+forced laugh.

+

+So, talking and laughing, the boys resumed

+their down-stream journey.  Ken, who was

+always watching with sharp eyes, saw buzzards

+appear, as if by magic.  Before the boat was

+half a mile down the river buzzards were

+circling over the remains of the deer.  These

+birds of prey did not fly from the jungle on

+either side of the stream.  They sailed,

+dropped down from the clear blue sky where

+they had been invisible.  How wonderful

+that was to Ken!  Nature had endowed these

+vulture-like birds with wonderful scent or

+instinct or sight, or all combined.  But Ken

+believed that it was power of sight which

+brought the buzzards so quickly to the scene

+of the killing.  He watched them circling,

+sweeping down till a curve in the river hid

+them from view.

+

+And with this bend came a welcome change.

+The bluff played out in a rocky slope below

+which the green jungle was relief to aching

+eyes.  As the boys made this point, the

+evening breeze began to blow.  They beached

+the boat and unloaded to make camp.

+

+"We haven't had any work to-day, but

+we're all tired just the same," observed Ken.

+

+"The heat makes a fellow tired," said George.

+

+They were fortunate in finding a grassy

+plot where there appeared to be but few

+ticks and other creeping things.  That evening

+it was a little surprise to Ken to realize

+how sensitive he had begun to feel about

+these jungle vermin.

+

+Pepe went up the bank for fire-wood.  Ken

+heard him slashing away with his *machete*.

+Then this sound ceased, and Pepe yelled in

+fright.  Ken and George caught up guns as

+they bounded into the thicket; Hal started

+to follow, likewise armed.  Ken led the way

+through a thorny brake to come suddenly

+upon Pepe.  At the same instant Ken

+caught a glimpse of gray, black-striped forms

+slipping away in the jungle.  Pepe shouted

+out something.

+

+"Tiger-cats!" exclaimed George.

+

+Ken held up his finger to enjoin silence.

+With that he stole cautiously forward, the

+others noiselessly at his heels.  The thicket

+was lined with well-beaten trails, and by

+following these and stooping low it was

+possible to go ahead without rustling the

+brush.  Owing to the gathering twilight Ken

+could not see very far.  When he stopped to

+listen he heard the faint crackling of dead

+brush and soft, quick steps.  He had not

+proceeded far when pattering footsteps halted

+him.  Ken dropped to his knee.  The boys

+knelt behind him, and Pepe whispered.

+Peering along the trail Ken saw what he took for

+a wildcat.  Its boldness amazed him.  Surely

+it had heard him, but instead of bounding

+into the thicket it crouched not more than

+twenty-five feet away.  Ken took a quick

+shot at the gray huddled form.  It jerked,

+stretched out, and lay still.  Then a crashing

+in the brush, and gray streaks down the trail

+told Ken of more game.

+

+"There they go.  Peg away at them," called Ken.

+

+George and Hal burned a good deal of

+powder and sent much lead whistling through

+the dry branches, but the gray forms vanished

+in the jungle.

+

+"We got one, anyway," said Ken.

+

+He advanced to find his quarry quite dead.

+It was bigger than any wildcat Ken had

+ever seen.  The color was a grayish yellow,

+almost white, lined and spotted with black.

+Ken lifted it and found it heavy enough to

+make a good load.

+

+"He's a beauty," said Hal.

+

+"Pepe says it's a tiger-cat," remarked

+George.  "There are two or three kinds

+besides the big tiger.  We may run into a

+lot of them and get some skins."

+

+It was almost dark when they reached

+camp.  While Pepe and Hal skinned the

+tiger-cat and stretched the pelt over a framework

+of sticks the other boys got supper.  They

+were all very hungry and tired, and pleased

+with the events of the day.  As they sat

+round the camp-fire there was a constant

+whirring of water-fowl over their heads and

+an incessant hum of insects from the jungle.

+

+"Ken, does it feel as wild to you here as on

+Buckskin Mountain?" asked Hal.

+

+"Oh yes, much wilder, Hal," replied his

+brother.  "And it's different, somehow.  Out

+in Arizona there was always the glorious

+expectancy of to-morrow's fun or sport.  Here

+I have a kind of worry--a feeling--"

+

+But he concluded it wiser to keep to himself

+that strange feeling of dread which came

+over him at odd moments.

+

+"It suits me," said Hal.  "I want to get

+a lot of things and keep them alive.  Of course,

+I want specimens.  I'd like some skins for

+my den, too.  But I don't care so much

+about killing things."

+

+"Just wait!" retorted George, who evidently

+took Hal's remark as a reflection upon his

+weakness.  "Just wait!  You'll be shooting

+pretty soon for your life."

+

+"Now, George, what do you mean by

+that?" questioned Ken, determined to pin

+George down to facts.  "You said you didn't

+really know anything about this jungle.

+Why are you always predicting disaster for us?"

+

+"Why?  Because I've heard things about

+the jungle," retorted George.  "And Pepe

+says wait till we get down off the mountain.

+He doesn't *know* anything, either.  But it's

+his instinct--Pepe's half Indian.  So I say,

+too, wait till we get down in the jungle!"

+

+"Confound you!  Where are we now?" queried Ken.

+

+"The real jungle is the lowland.  There

+we'll find the tigers and the crocodiles and the

+wild cattle and wild pigs."

+

+"Bring on your old pigs and things," replied Hal.

+

+But Ken looked into the glowing embers

+of the camp-fire and was silent.  When he

+got out his note-book and began his drawing,

+he forgot the worry and dread in the interest

+of his task.  He was astonished at his memory,

+to see how he could remember every turn in

+the river and yet not lose his sense of

+direction.  He could tell almost perfectly the

+distance traveled, because he knew so well just

+how much a boat would cover in swift or

+slow waters in a given time.  He thought he

+could give a fairly correct estimate of the

+drop of the river.  And, as for descriptions

+of the jungle life along the shores, that was a

+delight, all except trying to understand and

+remember and spell the names given to him

+by Pepe.  Ken imagined Pepe spoke a mixture

+of Toltec, Aztec, Indian, Spanish, and English.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`IN THE WHITE WATER`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   IX

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   IN THE WHITE WATER

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Upon awakening next morning Ken found

+the sun an hour high.  He was stiff and

+sore and thirsty.  Pepe and the boys slept

+so soundly it seemed selfish to wake them.

+

+All around camp there was a melodious

+concourse of birds.  But the parrots did not

+make a visit that morning.  While Ken was

+washing in the river a troop of deer came down

+to the bar on the opposite side.  Ken ran for

+his rifle, and by mistake took up George's

+.32.  He had a splendid shot at less than one

+hundred yards.  But the bullet dropped

+fifteen feet in front of the leading buck.  The

+deer ran into the deep, bushy willows.

+

+"That gun's leaded," muttered Ken.  "It

+didn't shoot where I aimed."

+

+Pepe jumped up; George rolled out of his

+blanket with one eye still glued shut; and

+Hal stretched and yawned and groaned.

+

+"Do I have to get up?" he asked.

+

+"Shore, lad," said Ken, mimicking Jim Williams,

+"or I'll hev to be reconsiderin' that idee

+of mine about you bein' pards with me."

+

+Such mention of Hal's ranger friend brought

+the boy out of his lazy bed with amusing

+alacrity.

+

+"Rustle breakfast, now, you fellows," said

+Ken, and, taking his rifle, he started off to

+climb the high river bluff.

+

+It was his idea to establish firmly in mind

+the trend of the mountain-range, and the

+relation of the river to it.  The difficulty

+in mapping the river would come after it

+left the mountains to wind away into the

+wide lowlands.  The matter of climbing the

+bluff would have been easy but for the fact

+that he wished to avoid contact with grass,

+brush, trees, even dead branches, as all were

+covered with ticks.  The upper half of the

+bluff was bare, and when he reached that part

+he soon surmounted it.  Ken faced south

+with something of eagerness.  Fortunately

+the mist had dissolved under the warm rays

+of the sun, affording an unobstructed view.

+That scene was wild and haunting, yet

+different from what his fancy had pictured.  The

+great expanse of jungle was gray, the green

+line of cypress, palm, and bamboo following

+the southward course of the river.  The

+mountain-range some ten miles distant sloped

+to the south and faded away in the haze.

+The river disappeared in rich dark verdure,

+and but for it, which afforded a water-road

+back to civilization, Ken would have been

+lost in a dense gray-green overgrowth of

+tropical wilderness.  Once or twice he thought

+he caught the faint roar of a waterfall on the

+morning breeze, yet could not be sure, and he

+returned toward camp with a sober appreciation

+of the difficulty of his enterprise

+and a more thrilling sense of its hazard and

+charm.

+

+"Didn't see anything to peg at, eh?"

+greeted Hal.  "Well, get your teeth in some

+of this venison before it's all gone."

+

+Soon they were under way again, Pepe

+strong and willing at the oars.  This time

+Ken had his rifle and shotgun close at hand,

+ready for use.  Half a mile below, the river,

+running still and deep, entered a shaded

+waterway so narrow that in places the branches

+of wide-spreading and leaning cypresses met

+and intertwined their moss-fringed foliage.

+This lane was a paradise for birds, that ranged

+from huge speckled cranes, six feet high, to

+little yellow birds almost too small to see.

+

+Black squirrels were numerous and very

+tame.  In fact, all the creatures along this

+shaded stream were so fearless that it was

+easy to see they had never heard a shot.

+Ken awoke sleepy cranes with his fishing-rod

+and once pushed a blue heron off a log.

+He heard animals of some species running

+back from the bank, out could not see them.

+All at once a soft breeze coming up-stream

+bore a deep roar of tumbling rapids.  The

+sensation of dread which had bothered Ken

+occasionally now returned and fixed itself in

+his mind.  He was in the jungle of Mexico,

+and knew not what lay ahead of him.  But if

+he had been in the wilds of unexplored

+Brazil and had heard that roar, it would have

+been familiar to him.  In his canoe experience

+on the swift streams of Pennsylvania Ken Ward

+had learned, long before he came to rapids,

+to judge what they were from the sound.

+His attention wandered from the beautiful

+birds, the moss-shaded bowers, and the

+overhanging jungle.  He listened to the heavy,

+sullen roar of the rapids.

+

+"That water sounds different," remarked George.

+

+"Grande," said Pepe, with a smile.

+

+"Pretty heavy, Ken, eh?" asked Hal,

+looking quickly at his brother.

+

+But Ken Ward made his face a mask, and

+betrayed nothing of the grim nature of his

+thought.  Pepe and the boys had little idea

+of danger, and they had now a blind faith in Ken.

+

+"I dare say we'll get used to that roar,"

+replied Ken, easily, and he began to pack his

+guns away in their cases.

+

+Hal forgot his momentary anxiety; Pepe

+rowed on, leisurely; and George lounged in his

+seat.  There was no menace for them in that

+dull, continuous roar.

+

+But Ken knew they would soon be in fast

+water and before long would drop down into

+the real wilderness.  It was not now too late

+to go back up the river, but soon that would

+be impossible.  Keeping a sharp lookout

+ahead, Ken revolved in mind the necessity

+for caution and skilful handling of the boat.

+But he realized, too, that overzealousness on

+the side of caution was a worse thing for such

+a trip than sheer recklessness.  Good

+judgment in looking over rapids, a quick eye to

+pick the best channel, then a daring spirit--that

+was the ideal to be striven for in going

+down swift rivers.

+

+Presently Ken saw a break in the level

+surface of the water.  He took Pepe's place

+at the oars, and, as usual, turned the boat

+stern first down-stream.  The banks were low

+and shelved out in rocky points.  This

+relieved Ken, for he saw that he could land just

+above the falls.  What he feared was a

+narrow gorge impossible to portage round or go

+through.  As the boat approached the break

+the roar seemed to divide itself, hollow and

+shallow near at hand, rushing and heavy

+farther on.

+

+Ken rowed close to the bank and landed on

+the first strip of rock.  He got out and,

+walking along this ledge, soon reached the fall.

+It was a straight drop of some twelve or fifteen

+feet.  The water was shallow all the way across.

+

+"Boys, this is easy," said Ken.  "We'll

+pack the outfit round the fall, and slide the

+boat over."

+

+But Ken did not say anything about the

+white water extending below the fall as far

+as he could see.  From here came the sullen

+roar that had worried him.

+

+Portaging the supplies around that place

+turned out to be far from easy.  The portage

+was not long nor rugged, but the cracked,

+water-worn, rock made going very difficult.

+The boys often stumbled.  Pepe fell and

+broke open a box, and almost broke his leg.

+Ken had a hard knock.  Then, when it came

+to carrying the trunk, one at each corner,

+progress was laborious and annoying.  Full

+two hours were lost in transporting the

+outfit around the fall.

+

+Below there was a wide, shelving apron,

+over which the water ran a foot or so in depth.

+Ken stationed Pepe and the boys there, and

+went up to get the boat.  He waded out with

+it.  Ken saw that his end of this business was

+going to be simple enough, but he had doubts

+as to what would happen to the boys.

+

+"Brace yourselves, now," he yelled.  "When

+I drop her over she'll come a-humming.

+Hang on if she drags you a mile!"

+

+Wading out deeper Ken let the boat swing

+down with the current till the stern projected

+over the fall.  He had trouble in keeping

+his footing, for the rock was slippery.  Then

+with a yell he ran the stern far out over the

+drop, bore down hard on the bow, and

+shoved off.

+

+The boat shot out and down, to alight with

+a heavy souse.  Then it leaped into the swift

+current.  George got his hands on it first,

+and went down like a ninepin.  The boat

+floated over him.  The bow struck Hal, and

+would have dragged him away had not Pepe

+laid powerful hands on the stern.  They waded

+to the lower ledge.

+

+"Didn't ship a bucketful," said Hal.

+"Fine work, Ken."

+

+"I got all the water," added the drenched

+and dripping George.

+

+"Bail out, boys, and repack, while I look

+below," said Ken.

+

+He went down-stream a little way to take

+a survey of the rapids.  If those rapids had

+been back in Pennsylvania, Ken felt that he

+could have gone at them in delight.  If the

+jungle country had been such that damage to

+boat or supplies could have been remedied or

+replaced, these rapids would not have appeared

+so bad.  Ken walked up and down looking

+over the long white inclines more than was

+wise, and he hesitated about going into them.

+But it had to be done.  So he went back to

+the boys.  Then he took the oars with

+gripping fingers.

+

+"George, can you swim?" he asked.

+

+"I'm a second cousin to a fish," replied

+George.

+

+"All right.  We're off.  Now, if we upset,

+hang to the boat, if you can, and hold up

+your legs.  George, tell Pepe."

+

+Ken backed the boat out from the shore.

+To his right in the middle of the narrow river

+was a racy current that he kept out of as long

+as possible.  But presently he was drawn

+into it, and the boat shot forward, headed

+into the first incline, and went racing smoothly

+down toward the white waves of the rapids.

+

+This was a trying moment for Ken.  Grip

+as hard as he might, the oar-handles slipped

+in his sweaty hands.

+

+The boys were yelling, but Ken could not

+hear for the din of roaring waters.  The boat

+sailed down with swift, gliding motion.  When

+it thumped into the back-lash of the first

+big waves the water threshed around and over

+the boys.  Then they were in the thick of

+rush and roar.  Ken knew he was not

+handling the boat well.  It grazed stones that

+should have been easy to avoid, and bumped

+on hidden ones, and got half broadside to

+the current.  Pepe, by quick action with an

+oar, pushed the stern aside from collision with

+more than one rock.  Several times Ken

+missed a stroke when a powerful one was

+needed.  He passed between stones so close

+together that he had to ship the oars.  It was

+all rapid water, this stretch, but the bad

+places, with sunken rocks, falls, and big waves,

+were strung out at such distances apart that

+Ken had time to get the boat going right

+before entering them.

+

+Ken saw scarcely anything of the banks

+of the river.  They blurred in his sight.

+Sometimes they were near, sometimes far.

+The boat turned corners where rocky ledges

+pointed out, constricting the stream and

+making a curved channel.  What lay around the

+curve was always a question and a cause for

+suspense.  Often the boat raced down a

+chute and straight toward a rocky wall.

+Ken would pull back with all his might, and

+Pepe would break the shock by striking the

+wall with his oar.

+

+More than once Pepe had a narrow escape

+from being knocked overboard.  George tried

+to keep him from standing up.  Finally at

+the end of a long rapid, Pepe, who had the

+stern-seat, jumped up and yelled.  Ken saw

+a stone directly in the path of the boat, and

+he pulled back on the oars with a quick,

+strong jerk.  Pepe shot out of the stern as

+if he had been flung from a catapult.  He

+swam with the current while the boat drifted.

+He reached smooth water and the shore

+before Ken could pick him up.

+

+It was fun for everybody but Ken.  There

+were three inches of water in the boat.  The

+canvas, however, had been arranged to

+protect guns, grips, and supplies.  George had

+been wet before he entered the rapids, so a

+little additional water did not matter to him.

+Hal was almost as wet as Pepe.

+

+"I'm glad that's past," said Ken.

+

+With that long rapid behind him he felt

+different.  It was what he had needed.  His

+nervousness disappeared and he had no dread

+of the next fall.  While the boys bailed out

+the boat Ken rested and thought.  He had

+made mistakes in that rapid just passed.

+Luck had favored him.  He went over the

+mistakes and saw where he had been wrong,

+and how he could have avoided them if he

+had felt right.  Ken realized now that this

+was a daredevil trip.  And the daredevil

+in him had been shut up in dread.  It took

+just that nervous dread, and the hard work,

+blunders and accidents, the danger and luck,

+to liberate the spirit that would make the

+trip a success.  Pepe and George were loud

+in their praises of Ken.  But they did not

+appreciate the real hazard of the undertaking,

+and if Hal did he was too much of a wild

+boy to care.

+

+"All aboard," called George.

+

+Then they were on their way again.  Ken

+found himself listening for rapids.  It was no

+surprise to hear a dull roar round the next

+bend.  His hair rose stiffly under his hat.

+But this time he did not feel the chill, the

+uncertainty, the lack of confidence that had

+before weakened him.

+

+At the head of a long, shallow incline the

+boys tumbled overboard, Ken and Hal at

+the bow, Pepe and George at the stern.

+They waded with the bow up-stream.  The

+water tore around their legs, rising higher

+and higher.  Soon Pepe and George had to

+climb in the boat, for the water became so

+deep and swift they could not wade.

+

+"Jump in, Hal," called Ken.

+

+Then he held to the bow an instant longer,

+wading a little farther down.  This was

+ticklish business, and all depended upon

+Ken.  He got the stern of the boat straight

+in line with the channel he wanted to run,

+then he leaped aboard and made for the oars.

+The boat sped down.  At the bottom of this

+incline was a mass of leaping green and white

+waves.  The blunt stern of the boat made a

+great splash and the water flew over the boys.

+They came through the roar and hiss and spray

+to glide into a mill-race current.

+

+"Never saw such swift water!" exclaimed Ken.

+

+This incline ended in a sullen plunge

+between two huge rocks.  Ken saw the danger

+long before it became evident to his

+companions.  There was no other way to shoot the

+rapid.  He could not reach the shore.  He

+must pass between the rocks.  Ken pushed

+on one oar, then on the other, till he got the

+boat in line, and then he pushed with both

+oars.  The boat flew down that incline.  It

+went so swiftly that if it had hit one of the

+rocks it would have been smashed to kindling

+wood.  Hal crouched low.  George's face was

+white.  And Pepe leaned forward with his big

+arms outstretched, ready to try to prevent a

+collision.

+

+Down! down with the speed of the wind!

+The boat flashed between the black stones.

+Then it was raised aloft, light as a feather, to

+crash into the back-lashers.  The din deafened

+Ken; the spray blinded him.  The boat seemed

+to split a white pall of water, then, with many

+a bounce, drifted out of that rapid into little

+choppy waves, and from them into another

+long, smooth runway.

+

+Ken rested, and had nothing to say.  Pepe

+shook his black head.  Hal looked at his

+brother.  George had forgotten his rifle.  No

+one spoke.

+

+Soon Ken had more work on hand.  For

+round another corner lay more fast water.

+The boat dipped on a low fall, and went down

+into the midst of green waves with here and

+there ugly rocks splitting the current.  The

+stream-bed was continually new and strange

+to Ken, and he had never seen such queer

+formation of rocks.  This rapid, however, was

+easy to navigate.  A slanting channel of swift

+water connected it with another rapid.  Ken

+backed into that one, passed through, only

+to face another.  And so it went for a long

+succession of shallow rapids.

+

+A turn in the winding lane of cypresses

+revealed walls of gray, between which the

+river disappeared.

+

+"Aha!" muttered Ken.

+

+"Ken, I'll bet this is the place you've been

+looking for," said Hal.

+

+The absence of any roar of water

+emboldened Ken.  Nearing the head of the

+ravine, he stood upon the seat and looked

+ahead.  But Ken could not see many rods

+ahead.  The ravine turned, and it was the

+deceiving turns in the river that he had

+feared.  What a strange sensation Ken had

+when he backed the boat into the mouth of

+that gorge!  He was forced against his will.

+Yet there seemed to be a kind of blood-tingling

+pleasure in the prospect.

+

+The current caught the boat and drew

+it between the gray-green walls of rock.

+

+"It's coming to us," said the doubtful George.

+

+The current ran all of six miles an hour.

+This was not half as fast as the boys had

+traveled in rapids, but it appeared swift

+enough because of the nearness of the

+overshadowing walls.  In the shade the water

+took on a different coloring.  It was brown

+and oily.  It slid along silently.  It was

+deep, and the swirling current suggested

+power.  Here and there long, creeping ferns

+covered the steep stone sides, and above ran

+a stream of blue sky fringed by leaning palms.

+Once Hal put his hands to his lips and yelled:

+"Hel-lo!"  The yell seemed to rip the silence

+and began to clap from wall to wall.  It

+gathered quickness until it clapped in one

+fiendish rattle.  Then it wound away from

+the passage, growing fainter and fainter, and

+at last died in a hollow echo.

+

+"Don't do that again," ordered Ken.

+

+He began to wish he could see the end of

+that gorge.  But it grew narrower, and the

+shade changed to twilight, and there were

+no long, straight stretches.  The river kept

+turning corners.  Quick to note the slightest

+change in conditions, Ken felt a breeze,

+merely a zephyr, fan his hot face.  The

+current had almost imperceptibly quickened.

+Yet it was still silent.  Then on the gentle

+wind came a low murmur.  Ken's pulse

+beat fast.  Turning his ear down-stream, he

+strained his hearing.  The low murmur ceased.

+Perhaps he had imagined it.  Still he kept

+listening.  There!  Again it came, low, far

+away, strange.  It might have been the wind

+in the palms.  But no, he could not possibly

+persuade himself it was wind.  And as that

+faint breeze stopped he lost the sound once

+more.  The river was silent, and the boat,

+and the boys--it was a silent ride.  Ken

+divined that his companions were enraptured.

+But this ride had no beauty, no charm for him.

+

+There!  Another faint puff of wind, and

+again the low murmur!  He fancied it was

+louder.  He was beginning to feel an icy

+dread when all was still once more.  So the

+boat drifted swiftly on with never a gurgle

+of water about her gunwales.  The river

+gleamed in brown shadows.  Ken saw bubbles

+rise and break on the surface, and there

+was a slight rise or swell of the water toward

+the center of the channel.  This bothered him.

+He could not understand it.  But then there

+had been many other queer formations of

+rock and freaks of current along this river.

+

+The boat glided on and turned another

+corner, the sharpest one yet.  A long, shadowy

+water-lane, walled in to the very sides, opened

+up to Ken's keen gaze.  The water here

+began to race onward, still wonderfully silent.

+And now the breeze carried a low roar.  It

+was changeable yet persistent.  It deepened.

+

+Once more Ken felt his hair rise under

+his hat.  Cold sweat wet his skin.  Despite

+the pounding of his heart and the throb of

+his veins, his blood seemed to clog, to freeze,

+to stand still.

+

+That roar was the roar of rapids.  Impossible

+to go back!  If there had been four

+sets of oars, Ken and his comrades could not

+row the heavy boat back up that swift,

+sliding river.

+

+They must go on.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`LOST!`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   X

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   LOST!

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+"Ken, old man, do you hear that?"

+questioned Hal, waking from his trance.

+

+George likewise rose out of his lazy

+contentment.  "Must be rapids," he muttered.

+"If we strike rapids in this gorge it's all day

+with us.  What did I tell you!"

+

+Pepe's dark, searching eyes rested on Ken.

+

+But Ken had no word for any of them.

+He was fighting an icy numbness, and the

+weakness of muscle and the whirl of his

+mind.  It was thought of responsibility that

+saved him from collapse.

+

+"It's up to you, old man," said Hal, quietly.

+

+In a moment like this the boy could not

+wholly be deceived.

+

+Ken got a grip upon himself.  He looked

+down the long, narrow lane of glancing water.

+Some hundred yards on, it made another turn

+round a corner, and from this dim curve came

+the roar.  The current was hurrying the boat

+toward it, but not fast enough to suit Ken.

+He wanted to see the worst, to get into the

+thick of it, to overcome it.  So he helped the

+boat along.  A few moments sufficed to cover

+that gliding stretch of river, yet to Ken it

+seemed never to have an end.  The roar

+steadily increased.  The current became still

+stronger.  Ken saw eruptions of water rising

+as from an explosion beneath the surface.

+Whirlpools raced along with the boat.  The

+dim, high walls re-echoed the roaring of the

+water.

+

+The first thing Ken saw when he sailed

+round that corner was a widening of the chasm

+and bright sunlight ahead.  Perhaps an eighth

+of a mile below the steep walls ended abruptly.

+Next in quick glance he saw a narrow channel

+of leaping, tossing, curling white-crested waves

+under sunlighted mist and spray.

+

+Pulling powerfully back and to the left

+Ken brought the boat alongside the cliff.

+Then he shipped his oars.

+

+"Hold hard," he yelled, and he grasped the

+stone.  The boys complied, and thus stopped

+the boat.  Ken stood up on the seat.  It was

+a bad place he looked down into, but he could

+not see any rocks.  And rocks were what he

+feared most.

+

+"Hold tight, boys," he said.  Then he

+got Pepe to come to him and sit on the seat.

+Ken stepped up on Pepe's shoulders and, by

+holding to the rock, was able to get a good

+view of the rapid.  It was not a rapid at all,

+but a constriction of the channel, and also a

+steep slant.  The water rushed down so swiftly

+to get through that it swelled in the center

+in a long frothy ridge of waves.  The water

+was deep.  Ken could not see any bumps or

+splits or white-wreathed rocks, such as were

+conspicuous in a rapid.  The peril here for

+Ken was to let the boat hit the wall or turn

+broadside or get out of that long swelling

+ridge.

+

+He stepped down and turned to the white-faced

+boys.  He had to yell close to them to

+make them hear him in the roar.

+

+"I--can--run--this--place.  But--you've

+got--to help.  Pull--the canvas--up higher

+in the stern--and hold it."

+

+Then he directed Pepe to kneel in the

+bow of the boat with an oar and be ready to

+push off from the walls.

+

+If Ken had looked again or hesitated a

+moment he would have lost his nerve.  He

+recognized that fact.  And he shoved off

+instantly.  Once the boat had begun to

+glide down, gathering momentum, he felt

+his teeth grind hard and his muscles grow

+tense.  He had to bend his head from side to

+side to see beyond the canvas George and Hal

+were holding round their shoulders.  He

+believed with that acting as a buffer in the stern

+he could go pounding through those waves.

+Then he was in the middle of the channel,

+and the boat fairly sailed along.  Ken kept

+his oars poised, ready to drop either one for

+a stroke.  All he wanted was to enter those

+foaming, tumultuous waves with his boat

+pointed right.  He knew he could not hope

+to see anything low down after he entered

+the race.  He calculated that the last instant

+would give him an opportunity to get his

+direction in line with some object.

+

+Then, even as he planned it, the boat dipped

+on a beautiful glassy incline, and glided down

+toward the engulfing, roaring waves.  Above

+them, just in the center, Ken caught sight of

+the tufted top of a palm-tree.  That was his

+landmark!

+

+The boat shot into a great, curling,

+back-lashing wave.  There was a heavy shock, a

+pause, and then Ken felt himself lifted high,

+while a huge sheet of water rose fan-shape

+behind the buffer in the stern.  Walls and

+sky and tree faded under a watery curtain.

+Then the boat shot on again; the light came,

+the sky shone, and Ken saw his palm-tree.

+He pulled hard on the right oar to get the

+stern back in line.  Another heavy shock,

+a pause, a blinding shower of water, and then

+the downward rush!  Ken got a fleeting

+glimpse of his guiding mark, and sunk the left

+oar deep for a strong stroke.  The beating

+of the waves upon the upraised oars almost

+threw him out of the boat.  The wrestling

+waters hissed and bellowed.  Down the boat

+shot and up, to pound and pound, and then

+again shoot down.  Through the pall of mist

+and spray Ken always got a glimpse, quick as

+lightning, of the palm-tree, and like a demon

+he plunged in his oars to keep the boat in

+line.  He was only dimly conscious of the

+awfulness of the place.  But he was not

+afraid.  He felt his action as being inspirited

+by something grim and determined.  He was

+fighting the river.

+

+All at once a grating jar behind told him

+the bow had hit a stone or a wall.  He did

+not dare look back.  The most fleeting

+instant of time might be the one for him to

+see his guiding mark.  Then the boat lurched

+under him, lifted high with bow up, and

+lightened.  He knew Pepe had been pitched

+overboard.

+

+In spite of the horror of the moment, Ken

+realized that the lightening of the boat made

+it more buoyant, easier to handle.  That

+weight in the bow had given him an

+unbalanced craft.  But now one stroke here and

+one there kept the stern straight.  The

+palm-tree loomed higher and closer through the

+brightening mist.  Ken no longer felt the

+presence of the walls.  The thunderous roar

+had begun to lose some of its volume.

+Then with a crash through a lashing wave

+the boat raced out into the open light.  Ken

+saw a beautiful foam-covered pool, down

+toward which the boat kept bumping over a

+succession of diminishing waves.

+

+He gave a start of joy to see Pepe's black

+head bobbing in the choppy channel.  Pepe

+had beat the boat to the outlet.  He was

+swimming easily, and evidently he had not

+been injured.

+

+Ken turned the bow toward him.  But

+Pepe did not need any help, and a few more

+strokes put him in shallow water.  Ken

+discovered that the boat, once out of the current,

+was exceedingly loggy and hard to row.  It

+was half full of water.  Ken's remaining

+strength went to pull ashore, and there he

+staggered out and dropped on the rocky bank.

+

+The blue sky was very beautiful and sweet

+to look at just then.  But Ken had to close

+his eyes.  He did not have strength left to

+keep them open.  For a while all seemed dim

+and obscure to him.  Then he felt a dizziness,

+which in turn succeeded to a racing riot of

+his nerves and veins.  His heart gradually

+resumed a normal beat, and his bursting

+lungs seemed to heal.  A sickening languor

+lay upon him.  He could not hold little stones

+which he felt under his fingers.  He could

+not raise his hands.  The life appeared to

+have gone from his legs.

+

+All this passed, at length, and, hearing Hal's

+voice, Ken sat up.  The outfit was drying

+in the sun; Pepe was bailing out the boat;

+George was wiping his guns; and Hal was

+nursing a very disheveled little racoon.

+

+"You can bring on any old thing now, for

+all I care," said Hal.  "I'd shoot Lachine

+Rapids with Ken at the oars."

+

+"He's a fine boatman," replied George.

+"Weren't you scared when we were in the

+middle of that darned place?"

+

+"Me?  Naw!"

+

+"Well, I was scared, and don't you forget

+it," said Ken to them.

+

+"You were all in, Ken," replied Hal.

+"Never saw you so tuckered out.  The day

+you and Prince went after the cougar along

+that cañon precipice--you were all in that

+time.  George, it took Ken six hours to

+climb out of that hole."

+

+"Tell me about it," said George, all eyes.

+

+"No stories now," put in Ken.  "The

+sun is still high.  We've got to be on our

+way.  Let's look over the lay of the land."

+

+Below the pool was a bold, rocky bluff,

+round which the river split.  What branch

+to take was a matter of doubt and anxiety

+to Ken.  Evidently this bluff was an island.

+It had a yellow front and long bare ledges

+leading into the river.

+

+Ken climbed the bluff, accompanied by the

+boys, and found it covered with palm-trees.

+Up there everything was so dry and hot

+that it did not seem to be jungle at all.  Even

+the palms were yellow and parched.  Pepe

+stood the heat, but the others could not

+endure it.  Ken took one long look at the

+surrounding country, so wild and dry and still,

+and then led the way down the loose, dusty

+shelves.

+

+Thereupon he surveyed the right branch

+of the river and followed it a little distance.

+The stream here foamed and swirled among

+jagged rocks.  At the foot of this rapid

+stretched the first dead water Ken had

+encountered for miles.  A flock of wild geese

+rose from under his feet and flew down-stream.

+

+"Geese!" exclaimed Ken.  "I wonder if

+that means we are getting down near lagoons

+or big waters.  George, wild geese don't

+frequent little streams, do they?"

+

+"There's no telling where you'll find them

+in this country," answered George.  "I've

+chased them right in our orange groves."

+

+They returned to look at the left branch

+of the river.  It was open and one continuous

+succession of low steps.  That would have

+decided Ken even if the greater volume of

+water had not gone down on this left side.

+As far as he could see was a wide, open river

+running over little ledges.  It looked to be

+the easiest and swiftest navigation he had

+come upon, and so indeed it proved.  The

+water was swift, and always dropped over

+some ledge in a rounded fall that was safe

+for him to shoot.  It was great fun going

+over these places.  The boys hung their

+feet over the gunwales most of the time,

+sliding them along the slippery ledge or giving

+a kick to help the momentum.  When they

+came to a fall, Ken would drop off the bow,

+hold the boat back and swing it straight,

+then jump in, and over it would go--souse!

+

+There were so many of these ledges, and

+they were so close together, that going over

+them grew to be a habit.  It induced

+carelessness.  The boat drifted to a brow of a fall

+full four feet high.  Ken, who was at the bow.

+leaped off just in time to save the boat.  He

+held on while the swift water surged about

+his knees.  He yelled for the boys to jump.

+As the stern where they sat was already over

+the fall it was somewhat difficult to make the

+boys vacate quickly enough.

+

+"Tumble out!  Quick!" bawled Ken.  "Do

+you think I'm Samson?"

+

+Over they went, up to their necks in the

+boiling foam, and not a second too soon, for

+Ken could hold the boat no longer.  It went

+over smoothly, just dipping the stern under

+water.  If the boys had remained aboard,

+the boat would have swamped.  As it was,

+Pepe managed to catch the rope, which Ken

+had wisely thrown out, and he drifted down

+to the next ledge.  Ken found this nearly as

+high as the last one.  So he sent the boys

+below to catch the boat.  This worked all

+right.  The shelves slanted slightly, with the

+shallow part of the water just at the break of

+the ledge.  They passed half a dozen of these,

+making good time, and before they knew it were

+again in a deep, smooth jungle lane with

+bamboo and streamers of moss waving over them.

+

+The shade was cool, and Ken settled down

+in the stern-seat, grateful for a rest.  To his

+surprise, he did not see a bird.  The jungle

+was asleep.  Once or twice Ken fancied he

+heard the tinkle and gurgle of water running

+over rocks.  The boat glided along silently,

+with Pepe rowing leisurely, George asleep,

+Hal dreaming.

+

+Ken watched the beautiful green banks.

+They were high, a mass of big-leafed vines,

+flowering and fragrant, above which towered

+the jungle giants.  Ken wanted to get out

+and study those forest trees.  But he made

+no effort to act upon his good intentions, and

+felt that he must take the most of his forestry

+study at long range.  He was reveling in the

+cool recesses under the leaning cypresses, in

+the soft swish of bearded moss, and the

+strange rustle of palms, in the dreamy hum

+of the resting jungle, when his pleasure was

+brought to an abrupt end.

+

+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe.

+

+George woke up with a start.  Hal had

+been jarred out of his day-dream, and looked

+resentful.  Ken gazed about him with the

+feeling of a man going into a trance, instead

+of coming out of one.

+

+The boat was fast on a mud-bank.  That

+branch of the river ended right there.  The

+boys had come all those miles to run into a

+blind pocket.

+

+Ken's glance at the high yellow bank,

+here crumbling and bare, told him there was

+no outlet.  He had a sensation of blank dismay.

+

+"Gee!" exclaimed Hal, softly.

+

+George rubbed his eyes; and, searching for

+a cigarette, he muttered: "We're lost!  I said

+it was coming to us.  We've got to go back!"

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`AN ARMY OF SNAKES`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XI

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   AN ARMY OF SNAKES

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+For a moment Ken Ward was utterly

+crushed under the weight of this sudden

+blow.  It was so sudden that he had no time

+to think; or his mind was clamped on the

+idea of attempting to haul the boat up that

+long, insurmountable series of falls.

+

+"It 'll be an awful job," burst out Hal.

+

+No doubt in the mind of each boy was the

+same idea--the long haul, wading over

+slippery rocks; the weariness of pushing legs

+against the swift current; the packing of

+supplies uphill; and then the toil of lifting the

+heavy boat up over a fall.

+

+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and he groaned.

+That was significant, coming from a *mozo*,

+who thought nothing of rowing forty miles

+in a day.

+

+"Oh, but it's tough luck," cried Ken.

+"Why didn't I choose the right branch of this

+pesky river?"

+

+"I think you used your head at that,"

+said Hal.  "Most of the water came down

+on this side.  Where did it go?"

+

+Hal had hit the vital question, and it

+cleared Ken's brain.

+

+"Hal, you're talking sense.  Where did

+that water go?  It couldn't all have sunk into

+the earth.  We'll find out.  We won't try

+to go back.  We *can't* go back."

+

+Pepe shoved off the oozy mud, and, reluctantly,

+as if he appreciated the dilemma, he

+turned the boat and rowed along the shore.

+As soon as Ken had recovered somewhat he

+decided there must be an outlet which he had

+missed.  This reminded him that at a point

+not far back he had heard the tinkle and gurgle

+of unseen water flowing over rocks.

+

+He directed Pepe to row slowly along the

+bank that he thought was the island side.

+As they glided under the drooping bamboos

+and silky curtains of moss George began to

+call out: "Low bridge!  Low bridge!"  For a

+boy who was forever voicing ill-omened

+suggestions as to what might soon happen he

+was extraordinarily cheerful.

+

+There were places where all had to lie

+flat and others where Pepe had to use his

+*machete*.  This disturbed the *siesta* of many

+aquatic birds, most of which flew swiftly

+away.  But there were many of the

+gray-breasted, blue-backed bitterns that did not

+take to flight.  These croaked dismally, and

+looked down upon the boys with strange,

+protruding eyes.

+

+"Those darn birds 'll give me the willies,"

+declared Hal.  "George, you just look like

+them when you croak about what's coming

+to us."

+

+"Just wait!" retorted George.  "It 'll come,

+all right.  Then I'll have the fun of seeing

+you scared silly."

+

+"What!  You'll not do anything of the

+kind!" cried Hal, hotly.  "I've been in places

+where such--such a skinny little sap-head as

+you--"

+

+"Here, you kids stop wrangling," ordered

+Ken, who sensed hostilities in the air.  "We've

+got trouble enough."

+

+Suddenly Ken signaled Pepe to stop rowing.

+

+"Boys, I hear running water.  Aha!  Here's

+a current.  See--it's making right under this

+bank."

+

+Before them was a high wall of broad-leaved

+vines, so thick that nothing could be

+seen through them.  Apparently this

+luxuriant canopy concealed the bank.  Pepe poked

+an oar into it, but found nothing solid.

+

+"Pepe, cut a way through.  We've got

+to see where this water runs."

+

+It was then that Ken came to a full appreciation

+of a *machete*.  He had often fancied

+it a much less serviceable tool than an ax.

+Pepe flashed the long, bright blade up, down,

+and around, and presently the boat was its

+own length in a green tunnel.  Pepe kept on

+slashing while Ken poled the boat in and the

+other boys dumped the cut foliage overboard.

+Soon they got through this mass of hanging

+vine and creeper.  Much to Ken's surprise

+and delight, he found no high bank, but low,

+flat ground, densely wooded, through which

+ran a narrow, deep outlet of the river.

+

+"By all that's lucky!" ejaculated Ken.

+

+George and Hal whooped their pleasure,

+and Pepe rubbed his muscular hands.  Then

+all fell silent.  The deep, penetrating silence

+of that jungle was not provocative of speech.

+The shade was so black that when a ray of

+sunlight did manage to pierce the dense

+canopy overhead it resembled a brilliant

+golden spear.  A few lofty palms and a few

+clumps of bamboo rather emphasized the

+lack of these particular species in this forest.

+Nor was there any of the familiar streaming

+moss hanging from the trees.  This glen was

+green, cool, dark.  It did not smell exactly

+swampy, but rank, like a place where many

+water plants were growing.

+

+.. _`KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE`:

+

+.. figure:: images/img-130.jpg

+   :align: center

+   :alt: KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE

+

+   KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE

+

+The outlet was so narrow that Ken was not

+able to use the oars.  Still, as the current

+was swift, the boat went along rapidly.  He

+saw a light ahead and heard the babble of

+water.  The current quickened, and the boat

+drifted suddenly upon the edge of an oval

+glade, where the hot sun beat down.  A

+series of abrupt mossy benches, over which

+the stream slid almost noiselessly, blocked

+further progress.

+

+The first thing about this glade that Ken

+noted particularly, after the difficulties

+presented by the steep steps, was the multitude

+of snakes sunning themselves along the line

+of further progress.

+

+"Boys, it 'll be great wading down there,

+hey?" he queried.

+

+Pepe grumbled for the first time on the

+trip.  Ken gathered from the native's looks

+and speech that he did not like snakes.

+

+"Watch me peg 'em!" yelled Hal, and he

+began to throw stones with remarkable

+accuracy.  "Hike, you brown sons-of-guns!"

+

+George, not to be outdone, made a dive

+for his .22 and began to pop as if he had no

+love for snakes.  Ken had doubts about this

+species.  The snakes were short, thick, dull

+brown in color, and the way they slipped

+into the stream proved they were

+water-snakes.  Ken had never read of a brown

+water-moccasin, so he doubted that these belonged

+to that poisonous family.  Anyway, snakes

+were the least of his troubles.

+

+"Boys, you're doing fine," he said.  "There

+are about a thousand snakes there, and you've

+hit about six."

+

+He walked down through the glade into the

+forest, and was overjoyed to hear once more

+the heavy roar of rapids.  He went on.  The

+timber grew thinner, and light penetrated the

+jungle.  Presently he saw the gleam of water

+through the trees.  Then he hurried back.

+

+"All right, boys," he shouted.  "Here's

+the river."

+

+The boys were so immensely relieved that

+packing the outfit round the waterfalls was

+work they set about with alacrity.  Ken,

+who had on his boots, broke a trail through

+the ferns and deep moss.  Pepe, being barefoot,

+wasted time looking for snakes.  George

+teased him.  But Pepe was deadly serious.

+And the way he stepped and looked made

+Ken thoughtful.  He had made his last trip

+with supplies, and was about to start back

+to solve the problem of getting the boat

+down, when a hoarse yell resounded through

+the sleeping jungle.  Parrots screeched, and

+other birds set up a cackling.

+

+Ken bounded up the slope.

+

+"Santa Maria!" cried Pepe.

+

+Ken followed the direction indicated by

+Pepe's staring eyes and trembling finger.

+Hanging from a limb of a tree was a huge

+black-snake.  It was as thick as Ken's leg.

+The branch upon which it poised its neck

+so gracefully was ten feet high, and the tail

+curled into the ferns on the ground.

+

+"Boys, it's one of the big fellows," cried Ken.

+

+"Didn't I tell you!" yelled George, running

+down for his gun.

+

+Hal seemed rooted to the spot.  Pepe

+began to jabber.  Ken watched the snake,

+and felt instinctively from its sinister looks

+that it was dangerous.  George came running

+back with his .32 and waved it in the air as

+he shot.  He was so frightened that he

+forgot to aim.  Ken took the rifle from him.

+

+"You can't hit him with this.  Run after

+your shotgun.  Quick!"

+

+But the sixteen-gage was clogged with a

+shell that would not eject.  Ken's guns were

+in their cases.

+

+"Holy smoke!" cried George.  "He's coming down."

+

+The black-snake moved his body and began

+to slide toward the tree-trunk.

+

+Ken shot twice at the head of the snake.

+It was a slow-swaying mark hard to hit.

+The reptile stopped and poised wonderfully

+on the limb.  He was not coiled about it,

+but lay over it with about four feet of neck

+waving, swaying to and fro.  He watched

+the boys, and his tongue, like a thin, black

+streak, darted out viciously.

+

+Ken could not hit the head, so he sent a

+bullet through the thick part of the body.

+Swift as a gleam the snake darted from the limb.

+

+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe, and he ran off.

+

+"Look out, boys," shouted Ken.  He

+picked up Pepe's *machete* and took to his

+heels.  George and Hal scrambled before him.

+They ran a hundred yards or more, and Ken

+halted in an open rocky spot.  He was angry,

+and a little ashamed that he had run.  The

+snake did not pursue, and probably was as

+badly frightened as the boys had been.  Pepe

+stopped some distance away, and Hal and

+George came cautiously back.

+

+"I don't see anything of him," said Ken.

+"I'm going back."

+

+He walked slowly, keeping a sharp outlook,

+and, returning to the glade, found blood-stains

+under the tree.  The snake had disappeared

+without leaving a trail.

+

+"If I'd had my shotgun ready!" exclaimed

+Ken, in disgust.  And he made a note that in

+the future he would be prepared to shoot.

+

+"Wasn't he a whopper, Ken?" said Hal.

+"We ought to have got his hide.  What a

+fine specimen!"

+

+"Boys, you drive away those few little

+snakes while I figure on a way to get the boat

+down."

+

+"Not on your life!" replied Hal.

+

+George ably sustained Hal's objection.

+

+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and then added

+a loud "No" in English.

+

+"All right, my brave comrades," rejoined

+Ken, scornfully.  "As I've not done any work

+yet or taken any risks, I'll drive the snakes

+away."

+

+With Pepe's *machete* he cut a long forked

+pole, trimmed it, and, armed with this weapon,

+he assaulted the rolls and bands and balls

+of brown snakes.  He stalked boldly down

+upon them, pushed and poled, and even

+kicked them off the mossy banks.  Hal

+could not stand that, and presently he got

+a pole and went to Ken's assistance.

+

+"Who's hollering now?" he yelled to George.

+

+Whereupon George cut a long branch and

+joined the battle.  They whacked and threshed

+and pounded, keeping time with yells.

+Everywhere along the wet benches slipped and

+splashed the snakes.  But after they were

+driven into the water they did not swim away.

+They dove under the banks and then stretched

+out their pointed heads from the dripping

+edge of moss.

+

+"Say, fellows, we're making it worse for

+us," declared Ken.  "See, the brown devils

+won't swim off.  We'd better have left them

+on the bank.  Let's catch one and see if he'll

+bite."

+

+He tried to pick up one on his pole, but

+it slipped off.  George fished after another.

+Hal put the end of his stick down inside the

+coil of still another and pitched it.  The

+brown, wriggling, wet snake shot straight at

+the unsuspecting George, and struck him and

+momentarily wound about him.

+

+"Augrrh!" bawled George, flinging off the

+reptile and leaping back.  "What 'd you do

+that for?  I'll punch you!"

+

+"George, he didn't mean it," said Ken.

+"It was an accident.  Come on, let's tease

+that fellow and see if he'll bite."

+

+The snake coiled and raised his flat head

+and darted a wicked tongue out and watched

+with bright, beady eyes, but he did not

+strike.  Ken went as close as he thought

+safe and studied the snake.

+

+"Boys, his head isn't a triangle, and there

+are no little pits under his eyes.  Those are

+two signs of a poisonous snake.  I don't

+believe this fellow's one."

+

+"He'll be a dead snake, b' gosh," replied

+George, and he fell to pounding it with his

+pole.

+

+"Don't smash him.  I want the skin,"

+yelled Hal.

+

+Ken pondered on the situation before him.

+

+"Come, the sooner we get at this the better,"

+he said.

+

+There was a succession of benches through

+which the stream zigzagged and tumbled.

+These benches were rock ledges over which

+moss had grown fully a foot thick, and they

+were so oozy and slippery that it was no easy

+task to walk upon them.  Then they were

+steep, so steep that it was remarkable how

+the water ran over them so smoothly, with

+very little noise or break.  It was altogether

+a new kind of waterfall to Ken.  But if the

+snakes had not been hidden there, navigation

+would have presented an easier problem.

+

+"Come on boys, alongside now, and hold

+back," he ordered, gripping the bow.

+

+Exactly what happened the next few seconds

+was not clear in his mind.  There was a rush,

+and all were being dragged by the boat.

+The glade seemed to whizz past.  There were

+some sodden thumps, a great splashing, a check--and

+lo! they were over several benches.  It

+was the quickest and easiest descent he had

+ever made down a steep waterfall.

+

+"Fine!" ejaculated George, wiping the ooze

+from his face.

+

+"Yes, it was fine," Ken replied.  "But

+unless this boat has wings something 'll

+happen soon."

+

+Below was a long, swift curve of water,

+very narrow and steep, with a moss-covered

+rock dividing the lower end.  Ken imagined

+if there was a repetition of the first descent

+the boat would be smashed on that rock.

+He ordered Pepe, who was of course the strongest,

+to go below and jump to the rock.  There

+he might prevent a collision.

+

+Pepe obeyed, but as he went he yelled and

+doubled up in contortions as he leaped over

+snakes in the moss.

+

+Then gently, gingerly the boys started the

+boat off the bench, where it had lodged.

+George was at the stern, Ken and Hal at the

+bow.  Suddenly Hal shrieked and jumped

+straight up, to land in the boat.

+

+"Snakes!" he howled.

+

+"Give us a rest!" cried Ken, in disgust.

+

+The boat moved as if instinct with life.

+It dipped, then--*wheeze!* it dove over the

+bench.  Hal was thrown off his feet, fell

+back on the gunwale, and thence into the

+snaky moss.  George went sprawling face

+downward into the slimy ooze, and Ken was

+jerked clear off the bench into the stream.

+He got his footing and stood firm in water to

+his waist, and he had the bow-rope coiled

+round his hands.

+

+"Help!  Help!" he yelled, as he felt the

+dragging weight too much for him.

+

+If Ken retarded the progress of the boat at

+all, it was not much.  George saw his distress

+and the danger menacing the boat, and he

+leaped valiantly forward.  As he dashed down

+a slippery slant his feet flew up higher than

+where his head had been; he actually turned

+over in the air, and fell with a great sop.

+

+Hal had been trying to reach Ken, but

+here he stopped and roared with laughter.

+

+Despite Ken's anger and fear of snakes,

+and his greater fear for the boat, he likewise

+had to let out a peal of laughter.  That

+tumble of George's was great.  Then Ken's

+footing gave way and he went down.  His

+mouth filled with nasty water, nearly

+strangling him.  He was almost blinded, too.  His

+arms seemed to be wrenched out of their

+sockets, and he felt himself bumping over

+moss-covered rocks as soft as cushions.  Slimy

+ropes or roots of vegetation, that felt like

+snakes, brushed his face and made him cold

+and sick.  It was impossible to hold the boat

+any longer.  He lodged against a stone, and

+the swift water forced him upon it.  Blinking

+and coughing, he stuck fast.

+

+Ken saw the boat headed like a dart for

+the rock where Pepe stood.

+

+"Let 'er go!" yelled Ken.  "Don't try to

+stop her.  Pepe, you'll be smashed!"

+

+Pepe acted like a man determined to make

+up for past cowardice.  He made a great show

+of brave intentions.  He was not afraid of a

+boat.  He braced himself and reached out

+with his brawny arms.  Ken feared for the

+obstinate native's life, for the boat moved

+with remarkable velocity.

+

+At the last second Pepe's courage vanished.

+He turned tail to get out of the way.  But

+he slipped.  The boat shot toward him and

+the blunt stern struck him with a dull thud.

+Pepe sailed into the air, over the rock, and

+went down cleaving the water.

+

+The boat slipped over the stone as easily

+as if it had been a wave and, gliding into still

+water below, lodged on the bank.

+

+Ken crawled out of the stream, and when

+he ascertained that no one was injured he

+stretched himself on the ground and gave up

+to mirth.  Pepe resembled a drowned rat;

+Hal was an object to wonder at; and George,

+in his coating of slime and with strings of

+moss in his hair, was the funniest thing Ken

+had ever seen.  It was somewhat of a

+surprise to him to discover, presently, that the

+boys were convulsed with fiendish glee over

+the way he himself looked.

+

+By and by they recovered, and, with many

+a merry jest and chuckle of satisfaction, they

+repacked the boat and proceeded on their

+way.  No further obstacle hindered them.

+They drifted out of the shady jungle into the

+sunlit river.

+

+In half a mile of drifting the heat of the

+sun dried the boys' clothes.  The water was

+so hot that it fairly steamed.  Once more the

+boat entered a placid aisle over which the

+magnificent gray-wreathed cypresses bowed,

+and the west wind waved long ribbons of

+moss, and wild fowl winged reluctant flight.

+

+Ken took advantage of this tranquil stretch

+of river to work on his map.  He realized that

+he must use every spare moment and put

+down his drawings and notes as often as time

+and travel permitted.  It had dawned on

+Ken that rapids and snakes, and all the

+dangers along the river, made his task of

+observation and study one apt to be put into

+eclipse at times.  Once or twice he landed

+on shore to climb a bluff, and was pleased

+each time to see that he had lined a

+comparatively true course on his map.  He had

+doubts of its absolute accuracy, yet he could

+not help having pride in his work.  So far

+so good, he thought, and hoped for

+good-fortune farther down the river.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`CATCHING STRANGE FISH`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   CATCHING STRANGE FISH

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Beyond a bend in the river the boys

+came upon an island with a narrow,

+shaded channel on one side, a wide shoal on

+the other, and a group of huge cypresses at

+the up-stream end.

+

+"Looks good to me," said Hal.

+

+The instant Ken saw the island he knew it

+was the place he had long been seeking to

+make a permanent camp for a few days.

+They landed, to find an ideal camping site.

+The ground under the cypresses was flat,

+dry, and covered with short grass.  Not a ray

+of sunlight penetrated the foliage.  A pile

+of driftwood had lodged against one of the

+trees, and this made easy the question of

+fire-wood.

+

+"Great!" exclaimed Ken.  "Come on, let's

+look over the ground."

+

+The island was about two hundred yards

+long, and the lower end was hidden by a

+growth of willows.  Bursting through this,

+the boys saw a weedy flat leading into a wide,

+shallow back-eddy.  Great numbers of ducks

+were sporting and feeding.  The stones of

+the rocky shore were lined with sleeping ducks.

+Herons of all colors and sizes waded about,

+or slept on one leg.  Snipe ran everywhere.

+There was a great squawking and flapping of

+wings.  But at least half the number of

+waterfowl were too tame or too lazy to fly.

+

+Ken returned to camp with his comrades,

+all highly elated over the prospects.  The

+best feature about this beautiful island was

+the absence of ticks and snakes.

+

+"Boys, this is the place," said Ken.  "We'll

+hang up here for a while.  Maybe we won't

+strike another such nice place to stay."

+

+So they unloaded the boat, taking everything

+out, and proceeded to pitch a camp

+that was a delight.  They were all loud in

+expressions of satisfaction.  Then Pepe set

+about leisurely peeling potatoes; George took

+his gun and slipped off toward the lower end

+of the island; Hal made a pen for his racoon,

+and then more pens, as if he meant to capture

+a menagerie; and Ken made a comfortable

+lounging-bed under a cypress.  He wanted

+to forget that nagging worry as to farther

+descent of the river, and to enjoy this place.

+

+"Bang!" went George's sixteen-gage.  A

+loud whirring of wings followed, and the air

+was full of ducks.

+

+"Never touched one!" yelled Hal, in taunting voice.

+

+A flock of teal skimmed the water and

+disappeared up-stream.  The shot awakened

+parrots in the trees, where for a while there

+was clamor.  Ken saw George wade out

+into the shoal and pick up three ducks.

+

+"Pot-shot!" exclaimed Hal, disgustedly.

+"Why couldn't he be a sport and shoot them

+on the fly?"

+

+George crossed to the opposite shore and,

+climbing a bare place, stood looking before him.

+

+"Hey, George, don't go far," called Ken.

+

+"Fine place over here," replied George,

+and, waving his hand, he passed into the

+bushes out of sight.

+

+Ken lay back upon his blanket with a

+blissful sense of rest and contentment.  Many

+a time he had lain so, looking up through the

+broad leaves of a sycamore or the lacy foliage

+of a birch or the delicate crisscross of

+millions of pine needles.  This overhead canopy,

+however, was different.  Only here and there

+could he catch little slivers of blue sky.  The

+graceful streamers of exquisite moss hung

+like tassels of silver.  In the dead stillness

+of noonday they seemed to float curved in the

+shape in which the last soft breeze had left

+them.  High upon a branch he saw a

+red-headed parrot hanging back downward, after

+the fashion of a monkey.  Then there were

+two parrots asleep in the fork of a branch.

+It was the middle of the day, and all things

+seemed tired and sleepy.  The deep channel

+murmured drowsily, and the wide expanse

+of river on the other side lapped lazily at the

+shore.  The only other sound was the

+mourning of turtle-doves, one near and another far

+away.  Again the full richness, the mellow

+sweetness of this song struck Ken forcibly.

+He remembered that all the way down the

+river he had heard that mournful note.  It

+was beautiful but melancholy.  Somehow it

+made him think that it had broken the dreamy

+stillness of the jungle noonday long, long ago.

+It was sweet but sad and old.  He did not

+like to hear it.

+

+Ken yielded to the soothing influence of

+the hour and fell asleep.  When he awoke

+there was George, standing partially undressed

+and very soberly popping ticks.  He had

+enlisted the services of Pepe, and, to judge from

+the remarks of both, they needed still more

+assistance.

+

+"Say, Garrapato George, many ticks over there?"

+

+"Ticks!" shouted George, wildly, waving

+his cigarette.  "Millions of 'em!  And

+there's--ouch!  Kill that one, Pepe.  Wow! he's

+as big as a penny.  There's game over there.

+It's a flat with some kind of berry bush.

+There's lots of trails.  I saw cat-tracks, and I

+scared up wild turkeys--"

+

+"Turkeys!" Ken exclaimed, eagerly.

+

+"You bet.  I saw a dozen.  How they can

+run!  I didn't flush them.  Then I saw a

+flock of those black and white ducks, like the

+big fellow I shot.  They were feeding.  I

+believe they're Muscovy ducks."

+

+"I'm sure I don't know, but we can call

+them that."

+

+"Well, I'd got a shot, too, but I saw some

+gray things sneaking in the bushes.  I thought

+they were pigs, so I got out of there quick."

+

+"You mean javelin?"

+

+"Yep, I mean wild pigs.  Oh!  We've struck

+the place for game.  I'll bet it's coming to us."

+

+When George anticipated pleasurable events

+he was the most happy of companions.  It

+was good to look forward.  He was

+continually expecting things to happen; he was

+always looking ahead with great eagerness.

+But unfortunately he had a twist of mind

+toward the unfavorable side of events, and

+so always had the boys fearful.

+

+"Well, pigs or no pigs, ticks or no ticks,

+we'll hunt and fish, and see all there is to

+see," declared Ken, and he went back to his

+lounging.

+

+When he came out of that lazy spell,

+George and Hal were fishing.  George had

+Ken's rod, and it happened to be the one

+Ken thought most of.

+

+"Do you know how to fish?" he asked.

+

+"I've caught tarpon bigger'n you," retorted George.

+

+That fact was indeed too much for Ken,

+and he had nothing to do but risk his

+beloved rod in George's hands.  And the way

+George swung it about, slashed branches with

+it, dropped the tip in the water, was exceedingly

+alarming to Ken.  The boy would break

+the tip in a minute.  Yet Ken could not

+take his rod away from a boy who had caught

+tarpon.

+

+There were fish breaking water.  Where a

+little while before the river had been smooth,

+now it was ruffled by *ravalo*, gar, and other

+fish Pepe could not name.  But George and

+Hal did not get a bite.  They tried all their

+artificial flies and spoons and minnows, then

+the preserved mullet, and finally several

+kinds of meat.

+

+"Bah! they want pie," said Hal.

+

+For Ken Ward to see little and big fish

+capering around under his very nose and not

+be able to hook one was exasperating.  He

+shot a small fish, not unlike a pickerel, and

+had the boys bait with that.  Still no strike

+was forthcoming.

+

+This put Ken on his mettle.  He rigged

+up a minnow tackle, and, going to the lower

+end of the island, he tried to catch some

+minnows.  There were plenty of them in the

+shallow water, but they would not bite.

+Finally Ken waded in the shoal and turned

+over stones.  He found some snails almost

+as large as mussels, and with these he hurried

+back to the boys.

+

+"Here, if you don't get a bite on one of

+these I'm no fisherman," said Ken.  "Try one."

+

+George got his hands on the new bait in

+advance of Hal and so threw his hook into

+the water first.  No sooner had the bait

+sunk than he got a strong pull.

+

+"There!  Careful now," said Ken.

+

+George jerked up, hooking a fish that made

+the rod look like a buggy-whip.

+

+"Give me the rod," yelled Ken, trying to

+take it.

+

+"It's my fish," yelled back George.

+

+He held on and hauled with all his might.

+A long, finely built fish, green as emerald,

+split the water and churned it into foam.

+Then, sweeping out in strong dash, it broke

+Ken's rod square in the middle.  Ken eyed

+the wreck with sorrow, and George with no

+little disapproval.

+

+"You said you knew how to fish," protested Ken.

+

+"Those split-bamboo rods are no good,"

+replied George.  "They won't hold a fish."

+

+"George, you're a grand fisherman!"

+observed Hal, with a chuckle.  "Why, you

+only dreamed you've caught tarpon."

+

+Just then Hal had a tremendous strike.

+He was nearly hauled off the bank.  But he

+recovered his balance and clung to his nodding

+rod.  Hal's rod was heavy cane, and his line

+was thick enough to suit.  So nothing broke.

+The little brass reel buzzed and rattled.

+

+"I've got a whale!" yelled Hal.

+

+"It's a big gar--alligator-gar," said George.

+"You haven't got him.  He's got you."

+

+The fish broke water, showing long, open

+jaws with teeth like saw-teeth.  It threshed

+about and broke away.  Hal reeled in to

+find the hook straightened out.  Then George

+kindly commented upon the very skilful

+manner in which Hal had handled the gar.

+For a wonder Hal did not reply.

+

+By four o'clock, when Ken sat down to

+supper, he was so thirsty that his mouth

+puckered as dry as if he had been eating green

+persimmons.  This matter of thirst had

+become serious.  Twice each day Ken had

+boiled a pot of water, into which he mixed

+cocoa, sugar, and condensed milk, and begged

+the boys to drink that and nothing else.

+Nevertheless Pepe and George, and occasionally

+Hal, would drink unboiled water.  For

+this meal the boys had venison and duck,

+and canned vegetables and fruit, so they

+fared sumptuously.

+

+Pepe pointed to a string of Muscovy ducks

+sailing up the river.  George had a good shot

+at the tail end of the flock, and did not even

+loosen a feather.  Then a line of cranes and

+herons passed over the island.  When a

+small bunch of teal flew by, to be followed

+by several canvasbacks, Ken ran for his

+shotgun.  It was a fine hammerless, a

+hard-shooting gun, and one Ken used for

+grouse-hunting.  In his hurry he grasped a handful

+of the first shells he came to and, when he

+ran to the river-bank, found they were loads

+of small shot.  He decided to try them

+anyhow.

+

+While Pepe leisurely finished the supper

+Ken and George and Hal sat on the bank

+watching for ducks.  Just before the sun went

+down a hard wind blew, making difficult

+shooting.  Every few moments ducks would

+whir by.  George's gun missed fire often,

+and when it did work all right, he missed the

+ducks.  To Ken's surprise he found the

+load of small shot very deadly.  He could

+sometimes reach a duck at eighty yards.

+The little brown ducks and teal he stopped as

+if they had hit a stone wall.  He dropped a

+canvasback with the sheer dead plunge

+that he liked.  Ken thought a crippled duck

+enough to make a hunter quit shooting.

+With six ducks killed, he decided to lay aside

+his gun for that time, when Pepe pointed

+down the river.

+

+"Pato real," he said.

+

+Ken looked eagerly and saw three of the

+big black ducks flying as high as the

+treetops and coming fast.  Snapping a couple

+of shells in the gun, Ken stood ready.  At

+the end of the island two of the ducks wheeled

+to the left, but the big leader came on like

+a thunderbolt.  To Ken he made a canvasback

+seem slow.  Ken caught him over the

+sights of the gun, followed him up till he was

+abreast and beyond; then, sweeping a little

+ahead of him, Ken pulled both triggers.  The

+Muscovy swooped up and almost stopped

+in his flight while a cloud of black feathers

+puffed away on the wind.  He sagged a

+little, recovered, and flew on as strong as ever.

+The small shot were not heavy enough to

+stop him.

+

+"We'll need big loads for the Muscovies

+and the turkeys," said George.

+

+"We've all sizes up to BB's," replied Ken.

+"George, let's take a walk over there where

+you saw the turkeys.  It's early yet."

+

+Then Pepe told George if they wanted to

+see game at that hour the thing to do was to

+sit still in camp and watch the game come

+down to the river to drink.  And he pointed

+down-stream to a herd of small deer quietly

+walking out on the bar.

+

+"After all the noise we made!" exclaimed

+Ken.  "Well, this beats me.  George, we'll stay

+right here and not shoot again to-night.  I've

+an idea we'll see something worth while."

+

+It was Pepe's idea, but Ken instantly saw

+its possibilities.  There were no tributaries to

+the river or springs in that dry jungle, and,

+as manifestly the whole country abounded

+in game, it must troop down to the river in

+the cool of the evening to allay the hot day's

+thirst.  The boys were perfectly situated for

+watching the dark bank on the channel side

+of the island as well as the open bars on the

+other.  The huge cypresses cast shadows that

+even in daylight effectually concealed them.

+They put out the camp-fire and, taking

+comfortable seats in the folds of the great gnarled

+roots, began to watch and listen.

+

+The vanguard of thirsty deer had prepared

+Ken for something remarkable, and he was in

+no wise disappointed.  The trooping of deer

+down to the water's edge and the flight of

+wild fowl up-stream increased in proportion

+to the gathering shadows of twilight.  The

+deer must have got a scent, for they raised

+their long ears and stood still as statues,

+gazing across toward the upper end of the

+island.  But they showed no fear.  It was

+only when they had drunk their fill and

+wheeled about to go up the narrow trails

+over the bank that they showed uneasiness

+and haste.  This made Ken wonder if they

+were fearful of being ambushed by jaguars.

+Soon the dark line of deer along the shore

+shaded into the darkness of night.  Then

+Ken heard soft splashes and an occasional

+patter of hard hoofs.  The whir of wings

+had ceased.

+

+A low exclamation from Pepe brought

+attention to interesting developments closer

+at hand.

+

+"Javelin!" he whispered.

+

+On the channel side of the island was

+impenetrable pitchy blackness.  Ken tried to

+pierce it with straining eyes, but he could

+not even make out the shore-line that he knew

+was only ten yards distant.  Still he could

+hear, and that was thrilling enough.  Everywhere

+on this side, along the edge of the water

+and up the steep bank, were faint tickings of

+twigs and soft rustlings of leaves.  Then

+there was a continuous sound, so low as to

+be almost inaudible, that resembled nothing

+Ken could think of so much as a long line of

+softly dripping water.  It swelled in volume

+to a tiny roll, and ended in a sharp clicking

+on rocks and a gentle splashing in the water.

+A drove of *javelin* had come down to drink.

+Occasionally the glint of green eyes made

+the darkness all the more weird.  Suddenly a

+long, piercing wail, a keen cry almost human,

+quivered into the silence.

+

+"Panther!" Ken whispered, instantly, to

+the boys.  It was a different cry from that of

+the lion of the cañon, but there was a strange

+wild note that betrayed the species.  A

+stillness fell, dead as that of a subterranean

+cavern.  Strain his ears as he might, Ken

+could not detect the slightest sound.  It

+was as if no *javelin* or any other animals

+had come down to drink.  That listening,

+palpitating moment seemed endless.  What

+mystery of wild life it meant, that silence

+following the cry of the panther!  Then the

+jungle sounds recommenced--the swishing of

+water, the brushing in the thicket, stealthy

+padded footsteps, the faint snapping of twigs.

+Some kind of a cat uttered an unearthly squall.

+Close upon this the clattering of deer up the

+bank on the other side rang out sharply.

+The deer were running, and the striking of

+the little hoofs ceased in short order.  Ken

+listened intently.  From far over the bank came

+a sound not unlike a cough--deep, hoarse,

+inexpressibly wild and menacing.

+

+"Tigre!" cried Pepe, gripping Ken hard

+with both hands.  He could feel him

+trembling.  It showed how the native of the

+jungle-belt feared the jaguar.

+

+Again the cough rasped out, nearer and

+louder this time.  It was not a

+courage-provoking sound, and seemed on second

+thought more of a growl than a cough.  Ken

+felt safe on the island; nevertheless, he took

+up his rifle.

+

+"That's a tiger," whispered George.  "I

+heard one once from the porch of the Alamitas

+hacienda."

+

+A third time the jaguar told of his arrival

+upon the night scene.  Ken was excited, and

+had a thrill of fear.  He made up his mind

+to listen with clearer ears, but the cough or

+growl was not repeated.

+

+Then a silence set in, so unbroken that it

+seemed haunted by the echoes of those wild

+jungle cries.  Perhaps Ken had the haunting

+echoes in mind.  He knew what had sent

+the deer away and stilled the splashings and

+creepings.  It was the hoarse voice of the lord

+of the jungle.

+

+Pepe and the boys, too, fell under the spell

+of the hour.  They did not break the charm

+by talking.  Giant fireflies accentuated the

+ebony blackness and a low hum of insects

+riveted the attention on the stillness.  Ken

+could not understand why he was more

+thoughtful on this trip than he had ever been

+before.  Somehow he felt immeasurably older.

+Probably that was because it had seemed

+necessary for him to act like a man, even if he

+was only a boy.

+

+The black mantle of night lifted from under

+the cypresses, leaving a gloom that slowly

+paled.  Through the dark foliage, low down

+over the bank, appeared the white tropical

+moon.  Shimmering gleams chased the shadows

+across the ripples, and slowly the river

+brightened to a silver sheen.

+

+A great peace fell upon the jungle world.

+How white, how wild, how wonderful!  It

+only made the island more beautiful and

+lonely.  The thought of leaving it gave Ken

+Ward a pang.  Almost he wished he were a

+savage.

+

+And he lay there thinking of the wild places

+that he could never see, where the sun shone,

+the wind blew, the twilight shadowed, the

+rain fell; where the colors and beauties changed

+with the passing hours; where a myriad of

+wild creatures preyed upon each other and

+night never darkened but upon strife and death.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`A TURKEY-HUNT`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XIII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   A TURKEY-HUNT

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Upon awakening in the early morning

+Ken found his state one of huge

+enjoyment.  He was still lazily tired, but the

+dead drag and ache had gone from his bones.

+A cool breeze wafted the mist from the river,

+breaking it up into clouds, between which

+streamed rosy shafts of sunlight.  Wood-smoke

+from the fire Pepe was starting blew

+fragrantly over him.  A hundred thousand

+birds seemed to be trying to burst their

+throats.  The air was full of music.  He lay

+still, listening to this melodious herald of the

+day till it ceased.

+

+Then a flock of parrots approached and

+circled over the island, screeching like a band

+of flying imps.  Presently they alighted in

+the cypresses, bending the branches to a

+breaking-point and giving the trees a spotted

+appearance of green and red.  Pepe waved

+his hand toward another flock sweeping over.

+

+"Parrakeets," he said.

+

+These birds were a solid green, much smaller

+than the red-heads, with longer tails.  They

+appeared wilder than the red-heads, and flew

+higher, circling the same way and screeching,

+but they did not alight.  Other flocks sailed

+presently from all directions.  The last one

+was a cloud of parrots, a shining green and

+yellow mass several acres in extent.  They

+flew still higher than the parrakeets.

+

+"Yellow-heads!" shouted George.  "They're

+the big fellows, the talkers.  If there ain't a

+million of 'em!"

+

+The boys ate breakfast in a din that made

+conversation useless.  The red-heads swooped

+down upon the island, and the two unfriendly

+species flew back and forth, manifestly trying

+to drive the boys off.  The mist had blown

+away, the sun was shining bright, when the

+myriad of parrots, in large and small flocks,

+departed to other jungle haunts.

+

+Pepe rowed across the wide shoal to the

+sand-bars.  There in the soft ooze, among

+the hundreds of deer-tracks, Ken found a

+jaguar-track larger than his spread hand.

+It was different from a lion-track, yet he could

+not distinguish just what the difference was.

+Pepe, who had accompanied the boys to

+carry the rifles and game, pointed to the track

+and said, vehemently:

+

+"Tigre!" He pronounced it "tee-gray."  And

+he added, "Grande!"

+

+"Big he certainly is," Ken replied.  "Boys,

+we'll kill this jaguar.  We'll bait this

+drinking-trail with a deer carcass and watch to-night."

+

+Once upon the bank, Ken was surprised

+to see a wide stretch of comparatively flat

+land.  It was covered with a low vegetation,

+with here and there palm-trees on the little

+ridges and bamboo clumps down in the swales.

+Beyond the flat rose the dark line of dense

+jungle.  It was not clear to Ken why that low

+piece of ground was not overgrown with the

+matted thickets and vines and big trees

+characteristic of other parts of the jungle.

+They struck into one of the trails, and had

+not gone a hundred paces when they espied

+a herd of deer.  The grass and low bushes

+almost covered them.  George handed his

+shotgun to Pepe and took his rifle.

+

+"Shoot low," said Ken.

+

+George pulled the trigger, and with the

+report a deer went down, but it was not the one

+Ken was looking at, nor the one at which he

+believed George had aimed.  The rest of the

+herd bounded away, to disappear in a swale.

+Wading through bushes and grass, they found

+George's quarry, a small deer weighing

+perhaps sixty pounds.  Pepe carried it over to

+the trail.  Ken noted that he was exceedingly

+happy to carry the rifles.  They went on at

+random, somehow feeling that, no matter in

+what direction, they would run into something

+to shoot at.

+

+The first bamboo swale was alive with

+*chicalocki*.  Up to this time Ken had not

+seen this beautiful pheasant fly in the open,

+and he was astonished at its speed.  It

+would burst out of the thick bamboo, whir its

+wings swiftly, then sail.  That sail was a most

+graceful thing to see.  George pulled his

+16-gage twice, and missed both times.  He

+had the beginner's fault--shooting too soon.

+Presently Pepe beat a big cock *chicalocki*

+out of the bush.  He made such a fine target,

+he sailed so evenly, that Ken simply looked

+at him over the gun-sights and followed him

+till he was out of sight.  The next one he

+dropped like a plummet.  Shooting *chicalocki*

+was too easy, he decided; they presented so

+fair a mark that it was unfair to pull on them.

+

+George was an impetuous hunter.  Ken

+could not keep near him, nor coax or command

+him to stay near.  He would wander off by

+himself.  That was one mark in his favor:

+at least he had no fear.  Pepe hung close to

+Ken and Hal, with his dark eyes roving

+everywhere.  Ken climbed out on one side of the

+swale, George on the other.  Catching his

+whistle, Ken turned to look after him.  He

+waved, and, pointing ahead, began to stoop

+and slip along from bush to bush.  Presently

+a flock of Muscovy ducks rose before him,

+sailed a few rods, and alighted.  Then from

+right under his feet labored up great gray

+birds.  Wild geese!  Ken recognized them

+as George's gun went *bang*!  One tumbled

+over, the others wheeled toward the river.

+Ken started down into the swale to cross to

+where George was, when Pepe touched his arm.

+

+"Turkeys!" he whispered.

+

+That changed Ken's mind.  Pepe pointed

+into the low bushes ahead and slowly led

+Ken forward.  He heard a peculiar low

+thumping.  Trails led everywhere, and here and

+there were open patches covered with a scant

+growth of grass.  Across one of these flashed

+a bronze streak, then another and another.

+

+"Shoot!  Shoot!" said Pepe, tensely.

+

+Those bronze streaks were running turkeys!

+The thumpings were made by their rapidly

+moving feet!

+

+"Don't they flush--fly?" Ken queried of Pepe.

+

+"No--no--shoot!" exclaimed he, as another

+streak of brown crossed an open spot.  Ken

+hurriedly unbreached his gun and changed

+the light shells for others loaded with heavy

+shot.  He reached the edge of a bare spot

+across which a turkey ran with incredible

+swiftness.  He did not get the gun in line

+with it at all.  Then two more broke out

+of the bushes.  Run!  They were as swift as

+flying quail.  Ken took two snap-shots, and

+missed both times.  If any one had told him

+that he would miss a running turkey at fifty

+feet, he would have been insulted.  But he

+did not loosen a feather.  Loading again, he

+yelled for George.

+

+"Hey, George--turkeys!"

+

+He whooped, and started across on the run.

+

+"Gee!" said Hal.  "Ken, I couldn't do

+any worse shooting than you.  Let me take

+a few pegs."

+

+Ken handed over the heavy gun and fell

+back a little, giving Hal the lead.  They

+walked on, peering closely into the bushes.

+Suddenly a beautiful big gobbler ran out of a

+thicket, and then stopped to stretch out his

+long neck and look.

+

+"Shoot--hurry!" whispered Ken.  "What a chance!"

+

+"That's a tame turkey," said Hal.

+

+"Tame!  Why, you tenderfoot!  He's as

+wild as wild.  Can't you see that?"

+

+Ken's excitement and Pepe's intense

+eagerness all at once seemed communicated to Hal.

+He hauled up the gun, fingered the triggers

+awkwardly, then shot both barrels.  He tore

+a tremendous hole in the brush some few feet

+to one side of the turkey.  Then the great

+bird ran swiftly out of sight.

+

+"Didn't want to kill him sitting, anyhow,"

+said Hal, handing the gun back to Ken.

+

+"We want to eat some wild turkey, don't

+we?  Well, we'd better take any chance.

+These birds are game, Hal, and don't you

+forget that!"

+

+"What's all the shooting?" panted George,

+as he joined the march.

+

+Just then there was a roar in the bushes,

+and a brown blur rose and whizzed ahead like

+a huge bullet.  That turkey had flushed.

+Ken watched him fly till he went down out

+of sight into a distant swale.

+

+"Pretty nifty flier, eh?" said George.

+"He was too quick for me."

+

+"Great!" replied Ken.

+

+There was another roar, and a huge bronze

+cannon-ball sped straight ahead.  Ken shot

+both barrels, then George shot one, all clean

+misses.  Ken watched this turkey fly, and saw

+him clearer.  He had to admit that the wild

+turkey of the Tamaulipas jungle had a

+swifter and more beautiful flight than his

+favorite bird, the ruffled grouse.

+

+"Walk faster," said George.  "They'll flush

+better.  I don't see how I'm to hit one.  This

+goose I'm carrying weighs about a ton."

+

+The hunters hurried along, crashing through

+the bushes.  They saw turkey after turkey.

+*Bang!* went George's gun.

+

+Then a beautiful sight made Ken cry out

+and forget to shoot.  Six turkeys darted across

+an open patch--how swiftly they ran!--then

+rose in a bunch.  The roar they made, the

+wonderfully rapid action of their powerful

+wings, and then the size of them, their

+wildness and noble gameness made them the royal

+game for Ken.

+

+At the next threshing in the bushes his gun

+was leveled; he covered the whistling bronze

+thing that shot up.  The turkey went down

+with a crash.  Pepe yelled, and as he ran

+forward the air all about him was full of fine

+bronze feathers.  Ken hurried forward to

+see his bird.  Its strength and symmetry,

+and especially the beautiful shades of bronze,

+captivated his eye.

+

+"Come on, boys--this is the greatest game

+I ever hunted," he called.

+

+Again Pepe yelled, and this time he pointed.

+From where Ken stood he could not see

+anything except low, green bushes.  In great

+excitement George threw up his gun and shot.

+Ken heard a squealing.

+

+"Javelin!  Javelin!" yelled Pepe, in piercing

+alarm.

+

+George jerked a rifle from him and began to

+shoot.  Hal pumped his .22 into the bushes.

+The trampling of hard little hoofs and a

+cloud of dust warned Ken where the javelin

+were.  Suddenly Pepe broke and fled for the

+river.

+

+"Hyar, Pepe, fetch back my rifle," shouted

+Ken, angrily.

+

+Pepe ran all the faster.

+

+George turned and dashed away yelling:

+"Wild pigs!  Wild pigs!"

+

+"Look out, Ken!  Run!  Run!" added Hal;

+and he likewise took to his heels.

+

+It looked as if there was nothing else for Ken

+to do but to make tracks from that vicinity.

+Never before had he run from a danger which

+he had not seen; but the flight of the boys was

+irresistibly contagious, and this, coupled with

+the many stories he had heard of the *javelin*,

+made Ken execute a sprint that would have

+been a record but for the hampering weight

+of gun and turkey.  He vowed he would hold

+on to both, pigs or no pigs; nevertheless he

+listened as he ran and nervously looked back

+often.  It may have been excited imagination

+that the dust-cloud appeared to be traveling

+in his wake.  Fortunately, the distance to the

+river did not exceed a short quarter of a mile.

+Hot, winded, and thoroughly disgusted with

+himself, Ken halted on the bank.  Pepe was

+already in the boat, and George was

+scrambling aboard.

+

+"A fine--chase--you've given--me," Ken

+panted.  "There's nothing--after us."

+

+"Don't you fool yourself," returned George,

+quickly.  "I saw those pigs, and, like the ass

+I am, I blazed away at one with my shotgun."

+

+"Did he run at you?  That's what I want

+to know?" demanded Ken.

+

+George said he was not certain about that,

+but declared there always was danger if a

+wounded *javelin* squealed.  Pepe had little

+to say; he refused to go back after the deer

+left in the trail.  So they rowed across the

+shoal, and on the way passed within a rod of a

+big crocodile.

+

+"Look at that fellow," cried George.  "Wish

+I had my rifle loaded.  He's fifteen feet long."

+

+"Oh no, George, he's not more than ten

+feet," said Ken.

+

+"You don't see his tail.  He's a whopper.

+Pepe told me there was one in this pool.

+We'll get him, all right."

+

+They reached camp tired out, and all a

+little ruffled in temper, which certainly was

+not eased by the discovery that they were

+covered with ticks.  Following the cue of his

+companions, Ken hurriedly stripped off his

+clothes and hung them where they could

+singe over the camp-fire.  There were broad

+red bands of *pinilius* round both ankles, and

+reddish patches on the skin of his arms.  Here

+and there were black spots about the size

+of his little finger-nail, and these were

+*garrapatoes*.  He picked these off one by one, rather

+surprised to find them come off so easily.

+Suddenly he jumped straight up with a pain

+as fierce as if it had been a puncture from a

+red-hot wire.

+

+Pepe grinned; and George cried:

+

+"Aha! that was a garrapato bite, that was!

+You just wait!"

+

+George had a hundred or more of the big

+black ticks upon him, and he was remorselessly

+popping them with his cigarette.  Some

+of them were biting him, too, judging from the

+way he flinched.  Pepe had attracted to

+himself a million or more of the *pinilius*, but very

+few of the larger pests.  He generously came

+to Ken's assistance.  Ken was trying to pull

+off the *garrapato* that had bitten a hole in

+him.  Pepe said it had embedded its head,

+and if pulled would come apart, leaving the

+head buried in the flesh, which would cause

+inflammation.  Pepe held the glowing end

+of his cigarette close over the tick, and it

+began to squirm and pull out its head.  When

+it was free of the flesh Pepe suddenly touched

+it with the cigarette, and it exploded with a

+pop.  A difficult question was: Which hurt

+Ken the most, the burn from the cigarette or

+the bite of the tick?  Pepe scraped off as many

+*pinilius* as would come, and then rubbed

+Ken with *canya*, the native alcohol.  If this

+was not some kind of vitriol, Ken missed his

+guess.  It smarted so keenly he thought his

+skin was peeling off.  Presently, however,

+the smarting subsided, and so did the ticks.

+

+Hal, who by far was the most sensitive one

+in regard to the crawling and biting of the

+jungle pests, had been remarkably fortunate

+in escaping them.  So he made good use of

+his opportunity to poke fun at the others,

+particularly Ken.

+

+George snapped out: "Just wait, Hollering Hal!"

+

+"Don't you call me that!" said Hal,

+belligerently.

+

+Ken eyed his brother in silence, but with

+a dark, meaning glance.  It had occurred to

+Ken that here in this jungle was the only place

+in the world where he could hope to pay off

+old scores on Hal.  And plots began to form

+in his mind.

+

+They lounged about camp, resting in the

+shade during the hot midday hours.  For

+supper they had a superfluity of meat, the

+waste of which Ken deplored, and he

+assuaged his conscience by deciding to have

+a taste of each kind.  The wild turkey he

+found the most toothsome, delicious meat it

+had ever been his pleasure to eat.  What

+struck him at once was the flavor, and he

+could not understand it until Pepe explained

+that the jungle turkey lived upon a red pepper.

+So the Tamaulipas wild turkey turned out

+to be doubly the finest game he had ever shot.

+

+All afternoon the big crocodile sunned

+himself on the surface of the shoal.

+

+Ken wanted a crocodile-skin, and this was

+a chance to get one; but he thought it as well

+to wait, and kept the boys from wasting

+ammunition.

+

+Before sundown Pepe went across the river

+and fetched the deer carcass down to the

+sandbar, where the jaguar-trail led to the water.

+

+At twilight Ken stationed the boys at the

+lower end of the island, ambushed behind

+stones.  He placed George and Pepe some

+rods below his own position.  They had

+George's .32 rifle, and the 16-gage loaded with

+a solid ball.  Ken put Hal, with the

+double-barreled shotgun, also loaded with ball, some

+little distance above.  And Ken, armed with

+his automatic, hid just opposite the deer-trails.

+

+"Be careful where you shoot," Ken warned

+repeatedly.  "Be cool--think quick--and aim."

+

+Ken settled down for a long wait, some

+fifty yards from the deer carcass.  A

+wonderful procession of wild fowl winged swift

+flight over his head.  They flew very low.

+It was strange to note the difference in the

+sound of their flying.  The cranes and herons

+softly swished the air, the teal and canvasbacks

+whirred by, and the great Muscovies

+whizzed like bullets.

+

+When the first deer came down to drink it

+was almost dark, and when they left the moon

+was up, though obscured by clouds.  Faint

+sounds rose from the other side of the island.

+Ken listened until his ears ached, but he could

+hear nothing.  Heavier clouds drifted over

+the moon.  The deer carcass became

+indistinct, and then faded entirely, and the bar

+itself grew vague.  He was about to give up

+watching for that night when he heard a faint

+rustling below.  Following it came a grating

+or crunching of gravel.

+

+Bright flares split the darkness--*crack! crack!*

+rang out George's rifle, then the heavy

+*boom! boom!* of the shotgun.

+

+"There he is!" yelled George.  "He's down--we

+got him--there's two!  Look out!"

+

+*Boom!  Boom!* roared the heavy shotgun

+from Hal's covert.

+

+"George missed him!  I got him!" yelled

+Hal.  "No, there he goes--Ken!  Ken!"

+

+Ken caught the flash of a long gray body

+in the hazy gloom of the bar and took a

+quick shot at it.  The steel-jacketed bullet

+scattered the gravel and then hummed over

+the bank.  The gray body moved fast up the

+bank.  Ken could just see it.  He turned

+loose the little automatic and made the

+welkin ring.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XIV

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+When the echoes of the shots died away

+the stillness seemed all the deeper.  No

+rustle in the brush or scuffle on the sand

+gave evidence of a wounded or dying jaguar.

+George and Hal and Pepe declared there

+were two tigers, and that they had hit one.

+Ken walked out upon the stones till he could

+see the opposite bar, but was not rewarded

+by a sight of dead game.  Thereupon they

+returned to camp, somewhat discouraged at

+their ill luck, but planning another night-watch.

+

+In the morning George complained that he

+did not feel well.  Ken told him he had been

+eating too much fresh meat, and that he had

+better be careful.  Then Ken set off alone,

+crossed the river, and found that the deer

+carcass was gone.  In the sand near where

+it had lain were plenty of cat-tracks, but none

+of the big jaguar.  Upon closer scrutiny he

+found the cat-tracks to be those of a panther.

+He had half dragged, half carried the carcass

+up one of the steep trails, but from that point

+there was no further trace.

+

+Ken struck out across the fiat, intending

+to go as far as the jungle.  Turtle-doves

+fluttered before him in numberless flocks.

+Far to one side he saw Muscovy ducks rising,

+sailing a few rods, then alighting.  This

+occurred several times before he understood

+what it meant.  There was probably a large

+flock feeding on the flat, and the ones in the

+rear were continually flying to get ahead of

+those to the fore.

+

+Several turkeys ran through the bushes

+before Ken, but as he was carrying a rifle

+he paid little heed to them.  He kept a keen

+lookout for *javelin*.  Two or three times he

+was tempted to turn off the trail into little

+bamboo hollows; this, however, owing to a

+repugnance to ticks, he did not do.  Finally,

+as he neared the high moss-decked wall of

+the jungle, he came upon a runway leading

+through the bottom of a deep swale, and here

+he found tiger-tracks.

+

+Farther down the swale, under a great

+cluster of bamboo, he saw the scattered bones

+of several deer.  Ken was sure that in this

+spot the lord of the jungle had feasted more

+than once.  It was an open hollow, with the

+ground bare under the bamboos.  The runway

+led on into dense, leafy jungle.  Ken planned

+to bait that lair with a deer carcass and watch

+it during the late afternoon.

+

+First, it was necessary to get the deer.

+This might prove bothersome, for Ken's hands

+and wrists were already sprinkled with *pinilius*,

+and he certainly did not want to stay very

+long in the brush.  Ken imagined he felt an

+itching all the time, and writhed inside his

+clothes.

+

+"Say, blame you! bite!" he exclaimed,

+resignedly, and stepped into the low bushes.

+He went up and out of the swale.  Scarcely

+had he reached a level when he saw a troop

+of deer within easy range.  Before they

+winded danger Ken shot, and the one he had

+singled out took a few bounds, then fell over

+sideways.  The others ran off into the brush.

+Ken remembered that the old hunter on

+Penetier had told him how seldom a deer

+dropped at once.  When he saw the work of

+the soft-nose .351 bullet, he no longer

+wondered at this deer falling almost in his

+tracks.

+

+"If I ever hit a jaguar like that it will be all

+day with him," was Ken's comment.

+

+There were two things about hunting the

+jaguar that Ken had been bidden to keep in

+mind--fierce aggressiveness and remarkable

+tenacity of life.

+

+Ken dragged the deer down into the

+bamboo swale and skinned out a haunch.  Next

+to wild-turkey meat, he liked venison best.

+He was glad to have that as an excuse, for

+killing these tame tropical deer seemed like

+murder to Ken.  He left the carcass in a

+favorable place and then hurried back to camp.

+

+To Ken's relief, he managed to escape

+bringing any *garrapatoes* with him, but it

+took a half-hour to rid himself of the

+collection of *pinilius*.

+

+"George, ask Pepe what's the difference

+between a garrapato and a pinilius," said Ken.

+

+"The big tick is the little one's mother,"

+replied Pepe.

+

+"Gee! you fellows fuss a lot about ticks,"

+said Hal, looking up from his task.  He was

+building more pens to accommodate the

+turtles, snakes, snails, mice, and young birds

+that he had captured during the morning.

+

+Pepe said there were few ticks there in the

+uplands compared to the number down along

+the Panuco River.  In the lowlands where

+the cattle roamed there were millions in every

+square rod.  The under side of every leaf and

+blade of grass was red with ticks.  The size

+of these pests depended on whether or not they

+got a chance to stick to a steer or any beast.

+They appeared to live indefinitely, but if they

+could not suck blood they could not grow.

+The *pinilius* grew into a *garrapato*, and a

+*garrapato* bred a hundred thousand *pinilius*

+in her body.  Two singular things concerning

+these ticks were that they always crawled

+upward, and they vanished from the earth

+during the wet season.

+

+Ken soaked his Duxbax hunting-suit in

+kerosene in the hope that this method would

+enable him to spend a reasonable time

+hunting.  Then, while the other boys fished and

+played around, he waited for the long, hot

+hours to pass.  It was cool in the shade, but

+the sunlight resembled the heat of fire.  At

+last five o'clock came, and Ken put on the

+damp suit.  Soaked with the oil, it was

+heavier and hotter than sealskin, and before

+he got across the river he was nearly roasted.

+The evening wind sprang up, and the gusts

+were like blasts from a furnace.  Ken's body

+was bathed in perspiration; it ran down his

+wrists, over his hands, and wet the gun.

+This cure for ticks--if it were one--was

+worse than their bites.  When he reached the

+shade of the bamboo swale it was none too

+soon for him.  He threw off the coat, noticing

+there were more ticks upon it than at

+anytime before.  The bottom of his trousers,

+too, had gathered an exceeding quantity.  He

+brushed them off, muttering the while that

+he believed they liked kerosene, and looked

+as if they were drinking it.  Ken found it

+easy, however, to brush them off the wet

+Duxbax, and soon composed himself to rest

+and watch.

+

+The position chosen afforded Ken a clear

+view of the bare space under the bamboos

+and of the hollow where the runway

+disappeared in the jungle.  The deer carcass,

+which lay as he had left it, was about a

+hundred feet from him.  This seemed rather

+close, but he had to accept it, for if he had

+moved farther away he could not have

+commanded both points.

+

+Ken sat with his back against a clump of

+bamboos, the little rifle across his knees and

+an extra clip of cartridges on the ground

+at his left.  After taking that position he

+determined not to move a yard when the tiger

+came, and to kill him.

+

+Ken went over in mind the lessons he had

+learned hunting bear in Penetier Forest with

+old Hiram Bent and lassoing lions on the

+wild north-rim of the Grand Cañon.  Ken

+knew that the thing for a hunter to do, when

+his quarry was dangerous, was to make up

+his mind beforehand.  Ken had twelve powerful

+shells that he could shoot in the half of

+twelve seconds.  He would have been willing

+to face two jaguars.

+

+The sun set and the wind died down.

+What a relief was the cooling shade!  The

+little breeze that was left fortunately blew at

+right angles to the swale, so that there did

+not seem much danger of the tiger winding

+Ken down the jungle runway.

+

+For long moments he was tense and alert.

+He listened till he thought he had almost

+lost the sense of hearing.  The jungle leaves

+were whispering; the insects were humming.

+He had expected to hear myriad birds and

+see processions of deer, and perhaps a drove

+of *javelin*.  But if any living creatures

+ventured near him it was without his knowledge.

+The hour between sunset and twilight passed--a

+long wait; still he did not lose the feeling

+that something would happen.  Ken's faculties

+of alertness tired, however, and needed

+distraction.  So he took stock of the big

+clump of bamboos under which lay the deer

+carcass.

+

+It was a remarkable growth, that gracefully

+drooping cluster of slender bamboo poles.  He

+remembered how, as a youngster, not many

+years back, he had wondered where the

+fishing-poles came from.  Here Ken counted

+one hundred and sixty-nine in a clump no

+larger than a barrel.  They were yellow in

+color with black bands, and they rose straight

+for a few yards, then began to lean out, to

+bend slightly, at last to droop with their

+abundance of spiked leaves.  Ken was getting

+down to a real, interested study of this

+species of jungle growth when a noise startled

+him.

+

+He straightened out of his lounging position

+and looked around.  The sound puzzled him.

+He could not place its direction or name what

+it was.  The jungle seemed strangely quiet.

+He listened.  After a moment of waiting he

+again heard the sound.  Instantly Ken was

+as tense and vibrating as a violin string.  The

+thing he had heard was from the lungs of

+some jungle beast.  He was almost ready to

+pronounce it a cough.  Warily he glanced

+around, craning his neck.  Then a deep,

+hoarse growl made him whirl.

+

+There stood a jaguar with head up and paw

+on the deer carcass.  Ken imagined he felt

+perfectly cool, but he knew he was astounded.

+And even as he cautiously edged the rifle

+over his knee he took in the beautiful points

+of the jaguar.  He was yellow, almost white,

+with black spots.  He was short and stocky,

+with powerful stumpy bow-legs.  But his

+head most amazed Ken.  It was enormous.

+And the expression of his face was so

+singularly savage and wild that Ken seemed to

+realize instantly the difference between a

+mountain-lion and this fierce tropical brute.

+

+.. _`182`:

+

+The jaguar opened his jaws threateningly.

+He had an enormous stretch of jaw.  His long,

+yellow fangs gleamed.  He growled again.

+

+Not hurriedly, nor yet slowly, Ken fired.

+

+He heard the bullet strike him as plainly

+as if he had hit him with a board.  He saw

+dust fly from his hide.  Ken expected to see

+the jaguar roll over.  Instead of that he leaped

+straight up with a terrible roar.  Something

+within Ken shook.  He felt cold and sick.

+

+When the jaguar came down, sprawled on

+all fours, Ken pulled the automatic again,

+and he saw the fur fly.  Then the jaguar

+leaped forward with a strange, hoarse cry.

+Ken shot again, and knocked the beast flat.

+He tumbled and wrestled about, scattering the

+dust and brush.  Three times more Ken fired,

+too hastily, and inflicted only slight wounds.

+

+In reloading Ken tried to be deliberate in

+snapping in the second clip and pushing down

+the rod that threw the shell into the barrel.

+But his hands shook.  His fingers were all

+thumbs, and he fumbled at the breech of the

+rifle.

+

+In that interval, if the jaguar could have

+kept his sense of direction, he would have

+reached Ken.  But the beast zigzagged; he

+had lost his equilibrium; he was hard hit.

+

+Then he leaped magnificently.  He landed

+within twenty-five feet of Ken, and when

+he plunged down he rolled clear over.  Ken

+shot him through and through.  Yet he got

+up, wheezing blood, uttering a hoarse bellow,

+and made again at Ken.

+

+Ken had been cold, sick.  Now panic

+almost overpowered him.  The rifle wabbled.

+The bamboo glade blurred in his sight.  A

+terrible dizziness and numbness almost

+paralyzed him.  He was weakening, sinking, when

+thought of life at stake lent him a momentary

+grim and desperate spirit.

+

+Once while the jaguar was in the air Ken

+pulled, twice while he was down.  Then the

+jaguar stood up pawing the air with great

+spread claws, coughing, bleeding, roaring.

+He was horrible.

+

+Ken shot him straight between the

+wide-spread paws.

+

+With twisted body, staggering, and blowing

+bloody froth all over Ken, the big tiger blindly

+lunged forward and crashed to earth.

+

+Then began a furious wrestling.  Ken

+imagined it was the death-throes of the jaguar.

+Ken could not see him down among the leaves

+and vines; nevertheless, he shot into the

+commotion.  The struggles ceased.  Then a

+movement of the weeds showed Ken that the

+jaguar was creeping toward the jungle.

+

+Ken fell rather than sat down.  He found

+he was wringing wet with cold sweat.  He was

+panting hard.

+

+"Say, but--that--was--awful!" he gasped.

+"What--was--wrong--with me?"

+

+He began to reload the clips.  They were

+difficult to load for even a calm person, and

+now, in the reaction, Ken was the farthest

+removed from calm.  The jaguar crept steadily

+away, as Ken could tell by the swaying

+weeds and shaking vines.

+

+"What--a hard-lived beast!" muttered Ken.

+"I--must have shot--him all to pieces.  Yet

+he's getting away from me."

+

+At last Ken's trembling fingers pushed

+some shells in the two clips, and once more

+he reloaded the rifle.  Then he stood up,

+drew a deep, full breath, and made a strong

+effort at composure.

+

+"I've shot at bear--and deer--and lions

+out West," said Ken.  "But this was different.

+I'll never get over it."

+

+How close that jaguar came to reaching

+Ken was proved by the blood coughed into

+his face.  He recalled that he had felt the

+wind of one great sweeping paw.

+

+Ken regained his courage and determination.

+He meant to have that beautiful

+spotted skin for his den.  So he hurried along

+the runway and entered the jungle.  Beyond

+the edge, where the bushes made a dense

+thicket, it was dry forest, with little green

+low down.  The hollow gave place to a dry

+wash.  He could not see the jaguar, but he

+could hear him dragging himself through the

+brush, cracking sticks, shaking saplings.

+

+Presently Ken ran across a bloody trail

+and followed it.  Every little while he would

+stop to listen.  When the wounded jaguar

+was still, he waited until he started to move

+again.  It was hard going.  The brush was

+thick, and had to be broken and crawled

+under or through.  As Ken had left his coat

+behind, his shirt was soon torn to rags.  He

+peered ahead with sharp eyes, expecting every

+minute to come in sight of the poor, crippled

+beast.  He wanted to put him out of agony.

+So he kept on doggedly for what must have

+been a long time.

+

+The first premonition he had of carelessness

+was to note that the shadows were

+gathering in the jungle.  It would soon be

+night.  He must turn back while there was

+light enough to follow his back track out

+to the open.  The second came in shape of

+a hot pain in his arm, as keen as if he had

+jagged it with a thorn.  Holding it out, he

+discovered to his dismay that it was spotted

+with *garrapatoes*.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`THE VICIOUS GARRAPATOES`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XV

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   THE VICIOUS GARRAPATOES

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+At once Ken turned back, and if he thought

+again of the jaguar it was that he could

+come after him the next day or send Pepe.

+Another vicious bite, this time on his leg,

+confirmed his suspicions that many of the

+ticks had been on him long enough to get

+their heads in.  Then he was bitten in several

+places.

+

+Those bites were as hot as the touch of a

+live coal, yet they made Ken break out in

+dripping cold sweat.  It was imperative that

+he get back to camp without losing a moment

+which could be saved.  From a rapid walk

+he fell into a trot.  He got off his back trail

+and had to hunt for it.  Every time a tick

+bit he jumped as if stung.  The worst of it

+was that he knew he was collecting more

+*garrapatoes* with almost every step.  When

+he grasped a dead branch to push it out of

+the way he could feel the ticks cling to his

+hand.  Then he would whip his arm in the

+air, flinging some of them off to patter on the

+dry ground.  Impossible as it was to run

+through that matted jungle, Ken almost

+accomplished it.  When he got out into the

+open he did run, not even stopping for his

+coat, and he crossed the flat at top speed.

+

+It was almost dark when Ken reached the

+river-bank and dashed down to frighten a

+herd of drinking deer.  He waded the narrowest

+part of the shoal.  Running up the island

+he burst into the bright circle of camp-fire.

+Pepe dropped a stew-pan and began to jabber.

+George dove for a gun.

+

+"What's after you?" shouted Hal, in alarm.

+

+Ken was so choked up and breathless that

+at first he could not speak.  His fierce aspect

+and actions, as he tore off his sleeveless and

+ragged shirt and threw it into the fire, added

+to the boys' fright.

+

+"Good Lord! are you bug-house, Ken?"

+shrieked Hal.

+

+"*Bug-house!  Yes!*" roared Ken, swiftly

+undressing.  "Look at me!"

+

+In the bright glare he showed his arms

+black with *garrapatoes* and a sprinkling of

+black dots over the rest of his body.

+

+"Is that all?" demanded Hal, in real or

+simulated scorn.  "Gee! but you're a brave

+hunter.  I thought not less than six tigers

+were after you."

+

+"I'd rather have six tigers after me,"

+yelled Ken.  "You little freckle-faced redhead!"

+

+It was seldom indeed that Ken called his

+brother that name.  Hal was proof against

+any epithets except that one relating to his

+freckles and his hair.  But just now Ken

+felt that he was being eaten alive.  He was

+in an agony, and he lost his temper.  And

+therefore he laid himself open to Hal's

+scathing humor.

+

+"Never mind the kid," said Ken to Pepe

+and George.  "Hurry now, and get busy with

+these devils on me."

+

+It was well for Ken that he had a native

+like Pepe with him.  For Pepe knew just

+what to do.  First he dashed a bucket of cold

+water over Ken.  How welcome that was!

+

+"Pepe says for you to point out the ticks

+that 're biting the hardest," said George.

+

+In spite of his pain Ken stared in mute

+surprise.

+

+"Pepe wants you to point out the ticks

+that are digging in the deepest," explained

+George.  "Get a move on, now."

+

+"What!" roared Ken, glaring at Pepe and

+George.  He thought even the native might

+be having fun with him.  And for Ken this

+was not a funny time.

+

+But Pepe was in dead earnest.

+

+"Say, it's impossible to tell *where* I'm being

+bitten most!  It's all over!" protested Ken.

+

+Still he discovered that by absolute

+concentration on the pain he was enduring he

+was able to locate the severest points.  And

+that showed him the soundness of Pepe's

+advice.

+

+"Here--this one--here--there....  Oh! here,"

+began Ken, indicating certain ticks.

+

+"Not so fast, now," interrupted the

+imperturbable George, as he and Pepe set to

+work upon Ken.

+

+Then the red-hot cigarette-tips scorched

+Ken's skin.  Ken kept pointing and

+accompanying his directions with wild gestures

+and exclamations.

+

+"Here....  Oo-oo!  Here....  Wow!  Here....

+Ouch!--that one stung!  Here....  *Augh*!

+Say, can't you hurry?  Here! ... Oh! that

+one was in a mile!  Here....  *Hold on*!

+You're burning a hole in me! ... George,

+you're having fun out of this.  Pepe gets two

+to your one."

+

+"He's been popping ticks all his life," was

+George's reasonable protest.

+

+"Hurry!" cried Ken, in desperation.

+"George, if you monkey round--fool over

+this job--I'll--I'll punch you good."

+

+All this trying time Hal Ward sat on a

+log and watched the proceedings with great

+interest and humor.  Sometimes he smiled,

+at others he laughed, and yet again he burst

+out into uproarious mirth.

+

+"George, he wouldn't punch anybody,"

+said Hal.  "I tell you he's all in.  He hasn't

+any nerve left.  It's a chance of your life.

+You'll never get another.  He's been bossing

+you around.  Pay him up.  Make him holler.

+Why, what's a few little ticks?  Wouldn't

+phase me!  But Ken Ward's such a delicate,

+fine-skinned, sensitive, girly kind of a boy!

+He's too nice to be bitten by bugs.  Oh

+dear, yes, yes! ... Ken, why don't you show

+courage?"

+

+Ken shook his fist at Hal.

+

+"All right," said Ken, grimly.  "Have all

+the fun you can.  Because I'll get even with you."

+

+Hal relapsed into silence, and Ken began to

+believe he had intimidated his brother.  But

+he soon realized how foolish it was to suppose

+such a thing.  Hal had only been working

+his fertile brain.

+

+"George, here's a little verse for the

+occasion," said Hal.

+

+   |  "There was a brave hunter named Ken,

+   |  And he loved to get skins for his den,

+   |  Not afraid was he of tigers or pigs,

+   |  Or snakes or cats or any such things,

+   |  But one day in the jungle he left his clothes,

+   |  And came hollering back with *garrapatoes*."

+   |

+

+"Gre-at-t-t!" sputtered Ken.  "Oh, brother

+mine, we're a long way from home, I'll

+make you crawl."

+

+Pepe smoked, and wore out three cigarettes,

+and George two, before they had popped all

+the biting ticks.  Then Ken was still covered

+with them.  Pepe bathed him in *canya*,

+which was like a bath of fire, and soon removed

+them all.  Ken felt flayed alive, peeled of his

+skin, and sprinkled with fiery sparks.  When

+he lay down he was as weak as a sick cat.

+Pepe said the *canya* would very soon take the

+sting away, but it was some time before Ken

+was resting easily.

+

+It would not have been fair to ask Ken just

+then whether the prize for which he worked

+was worth his present gain.  *Garrapatoes* may

+not seem important to one who simply reads

+about them, but such pests are a formidable

+feature of tropical life.

+

+However, Ken presently felt that he was

+himself again.

+

+Then he put his mind to the serious problem

+of his note-book and the plotting of the

+island.  As far as his trip was concerned,

+Cypress Island was an important point.

+When he had completed his map down to

+the island, he went on to his notes.  He

+believed that what he had found out from his

+knowledge of forestry was really worth

+something.  He had seen a gradual increase in the

+size and number of trees as he had proceeded

+down the river, a difference in the density and

+color of the jungle, a flattening-out of the

+mountain range, and a gradual change from

+rocky to clayey soil.  And on the whole his

+note-book began to assume such a character

+that he was beginning to feel willing to submit

+it to his uncle.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XVI

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+That night Ken talked natural history to

+the boys and read extracts from a small

+copy of Sclater he had brought with him.

+

+They were all particularly interested in the

+cat tribe.

+

+The fore feet of all cats have five toes, the

+hind feet only four.  Their claws are curved

+and sharp, and, except in case of one species

+of leopard, can be retracted in their sheaths.

+The claws of the great cat species are kept

+sharp by pulling them down through bark

+of trees.  All cats walk on their toes.  And

+the stealthy walk is due to hairy pads or

+cushions.  The claws of a cat do not show in

+its track as do those of a dog.  The tongues

+of all cats are furnished with large papillæ.

+They are like files, and the use is to lick bones

+and clean their fur.  Their long whiskers are

+delicate organs of perception to aid them in

+finding their way on their night quests.  The

+eyes of all cats are large and full, and can be

+altered by contraction or expansion of iris,

+according to the amount of light they receive.

+The usual color is gray or tawny with dark

+spots or stripes.  The uniform tawny color

+of the lion and the panther is perhaps an

+acquired color, probably from the habit of

+these animals of living in desert countries.  It

+is likely that in primitive times cats were all

+spotted or striped.

+

+Naturally the boys were most interested

+in the jaguar, which is the largest of the cat

+tribe in the New World.  The jaguar ranges

+from northern Mexico to northern Patagonia.

+Its spots are larger than those of the leopard.

+Their ground color is a rich tan or yellow,

+sometimes almost gold.  Large specimens

+have been known nearly seven feet from nose

+to end of tail.

+

+The jaguar is an expert climber and

+swimmer.  Humboldt says that where the South

+American forests are subject to floods the

+jaguar sometimes takes to tree life, living on

+monkeys.  All naturalists agree on the

+ferocious nature of jaguars, and on the loudness

+and frequency of their cries.  There is no

+record of their attacking human beings

+without provocation.  Their favorite haunts are

+the banks of jungle rivers, and they often prey

+upon fish and turtles.

+

+The attack of a jaguar is terrible.  It

+leaps on the back of its prey and breaks its

+neck.  In some places there are well-known

+scratching trees where jaguars sharpen their

+claws.  The bark is worn smooth in front

+from contact with the breasts of the animals

+as they stand up, and there is a deep groove

+on each side.  When new scars appear on

+these trees it is known that jaguars are in the

+vicinity.  The cry of the jaguar is loud, deep,

+hoarse, something like *pu, pu, pu*.  There is

+much enmity between the panther, or mountain-lion,

+and the jaguar, and it is very strange

+that generally the jaguar fears the lion,

+although he is larger and more powerful.

+

+Pepe had interesting things to say about

+jaguars, or *tigres*, as he called them.  But

+Ken, of course, could not tell how much

+Pepe said was truth and how much just native

+talk.  At any rate, Pepe told of one Mexican

+who had a blind and deaf jaguar that he had

+tamed.  Ken knew that naturalists claimed

+the jaguar could not be tamed, but in this

+instance Ken was inclined to believe Pepe.

+This blind jaguar was enormous in size,

+terrible of aspect, and had been trained to

+trail anything his master set him to.  And

+Tigre, as he was called, never slept or stopped

+till he had killed the thing he was trailing.

+As he was blind and deaf, his power of scent

+had been abnormally developed.

+

+Pepe told of a fight between a huge crocodile

+and a jaguar in which both were killed.  He

+said jaguars stalked natives and had absolutely

+no fear.  He knew natives who said that

+jaguars had made off with children and eaten

+them.  Lastly, Pepe told of an incident that

+had happened in Tampico the year before.

+There was a ship at dock below Tampico,

+just on the outskirts where the jungle began,

+and one day at noon two big jaguars leaped

+on the deck.  They frightened the crew out

+of their wits.  George verified this story, and

+added that the jaguars had been chased by

+dogs, had boarded the ship, where they

+climbed into the rigging, and stayed there

+till they were shot.

+

+"Well," said Ken, thoughtfully, "from my

+experience I believe a jaguar would do anything."

+

+The following day promised to be a busy

+one for Hal, without any time for tricks.

+George went hunting before breakfast--in

+fact, before the others were up--and just as

+the boys were sitting down to eat he appeared

+on the nearer bank and yelled for Pepe.

+It developed that for once George had bagged game.

+

+He had a black squirrel, a small striped

+wildcat, a peccary, a three-foot crocodile, and a

+duck of rare plumage.

+

+After breakfast Hal straightway got busy,

+and his skill and knowledge earned praise

+from George and Pepe.  They volunteered

+to help, which offer Hal gratefully accepted.

+He had brought along a folding canvas tank,

+forceps, knives, scissors, several packages of

+preservatives, and tin boxes in which to pack

+small skins.

+

+His first task was to mix a salt solution

+in the canvas tank.  This was for immersing

+skins.  Then he made a paste of salt and

+alum, and after that a mixture of two-thirds

+glycerin and one-third water and carbolic

+acid, which was for preserving small skins

+and to keep them soft.

+

+And as he worked he gave George directions

+on how to proceed with the wildcat

+and squirrel skins.

+

+"Skin carefully and tack up the pelts fur

+side down.  Scrape off all the fat and oil,

+but don't scrape through.  To-morrow when

+the skins are dry soak them in cold water

+till soft.  Then take them out and squeeze

+dry.  I'll make a solution of three quarts

+water, one-half pint salt, and one ounce oil

+of vitriol.  Put the skins in that for half an

+hour.  Squeeze dry again, and hang in shade.

+That 'll tan the skin, and the moths will never

+hurt them."

+

+When Hal came to take up the duck he

+was sorry that some of the beautiful plumage

+had been stained.

+

+"I want only a few water-fowl," he said.

+"And particularly one of the big Muscovies.

+And you must keep the feathers from getting

+soiled."

+

+It was interesting to watch Hal handle

+that specimen.  First he took full measurements.

+Then, separating the feathers along

+the breast, he made an incision with a sharp

+knife, beginning high up on breast-bone and

+ending at tail.  He exercised care so as not

+to cut through the abdomen.  Raising the skin

+carefully along the cut as far as the muscles of

+the leg, he pushed out the knee joint and cut it

+off.  Then he loosened the skin from the legs

+and the back, and bent the tail down to cut

+through the tail joint.  Next he removed the

+skin from the body and cut off the wings at

+the shoulder joint.  Then he proceeded down

+the neck, being careful not to pull or stretch the

+skin.  Extreme care was necessary in cutting

+round the eyes.  Then, when he had loosened

+the skin from the skull, he severed the head

+and cleaned out the skull.  He coated all

+with the paste, filled the skull with cotton,

+and then immersed them in the glycerin bath.

+

+The skinning of the crocodile was an easy

+matter compared with that of the duck.  Hal

+made an incision at the throat, cut along the

+middle of the abdomen all the way to the tip

+of the tail, and then cut the skin away all

+around the carcass.  Then he set George and

+Pepe to scraping the skin, after which he

+immersed it in the tank.

+

+About that time Ken, who was lazily fishing

+in the shade of the cypresses, caught one of

+the blue-tailed fish.  Hal was delighted.  He

+had made a failure of the other specimen of

+this unknown fish.  This one was larger and

+exquisitely marked, being dark gold on the

+back, white along the belly, and its tail had

+a faint bluish tinge.  Hal promptly killed

+the fish, and then made a dive for his

+suitcase.  He produced several sheets of stiff

+cardboard and a small box of water-colors

+and brushes.  He laid the fish down on a

+piece of paper and outlined its exact size.

+Then, placing it carefully in an upright

+position on a box, he began to paint it in the

+actual colors of the moment.  Ken laughed

+and teased him.  George also was inclined to

+be amused.  But Pepe was amazed and

+delighted.  Hal worked on unmindful of his

+audience, and, though he did not paint a very

+artistic picture, he produced the vivid colors

+of the fish before they faded.

+

+His next move was to cover the fish with

+strips of thin cloth, which adhered to the scales

+and kept them from being damaged.  Then he

+cut along the middle line of the belly, divided

+the pelvic arch where the ventral fins joined,

+cut through the spines, and severed the fins

+from the bones.  Then he skinned down to the

+tail, up to the back, and cut through caudal

+processes.  The vertebral column he severed

+at the base of the skull.  He cleaned and

+scraped the entire inside of the skin, and then

+put it to soak.

+

+"Hal, you're much more likely to make good

+with Uncle Jim than I am," said Ken.

+"You've really got skill, and you know what

+to do.  Now, my job is different.  So far

+I've done fairly well with my map of the river.

+But as soon as we get on level ground I'll

+be stumped."

+

+"We'll cover a hundred miles before we get

+to low land," replied Hal, cheerily.  "That's

+enough, even if we do get lost for the rest

+of the way.  You'll win that trip abroad,

+Ken, never fear, and little Willie is going

+to be with you."

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`A MIXED-UP TIGER-HUNT`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XVII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   A MIXED-UP TIGER-HUNT

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Next morning Hal arose bright as a lark,

+but silent, mysterious, and with far-seeing

+eyes.  It made Ken groan in spirit to

+look at the boy.  Yes, indeed, they were far

+from home, and the person did not live on the

+earth who could play a trick on Hal Ward

+and escape vengeance.

+

+After breakfast Hal went off with a

+long-handled landing-net, obviously to capture

+birds or fish or mice or something.

+

+George said he did not feel very well, and

+he looked grouchy.  He growled around camp

+in a way that might have nettled Ken, but

+Ken, having had ten hours of undisturbed sleep,

+could not have found fault with anybody.

+

+"Garrapato George, come out of it.  Cheer

+up," said Ken.  "Why don't you take Pinilius

+Pepe as gun-bearer and go out to shoot

+something?  You haven't used up much

+ammunition yet."

+

+Ken's sarcasm was not lost upon George.

+

+"Well, if I do go, I'll not come running

+back to camp without some game."

+

+"My son," replied Ken, genially, "if you

+should happen to meet a jaguar you'd--you'd

+just let out one squawk and then never touch

+even the high places of the jungle.  You'd

+take that crazy .32 rifle for a golf-stick."

+

+"Would I?" returned George.  "All right."

+

+Ken watched George awhile that morning.

+The lad performed a lot of weird things around

+camp.  Then he bounced bullets off the water

+in vain effort to locate the basking crocodile.

+Then he tried his hand at fishing once more.

+He could get more bites than any fisherman

+Ken ever saw, but he could not catch anything.

+

+By and by the heat made Ken drowsy,

+and, stretching himself in the shade, he

+thought of a scheme to rid the camp of the

+noisy George.

+

+"Say, George, take my hammerless and get

+Pepe to row you up along the shady bank of

+the river," suggested Ken.  "Go sneaking

+along and you'll have some sport."

+

+George was delighted with that idea.  He

+had often cast longing eyes at the hammerless

+gun.  Pepe, too, looked exceedingly pleased.

+They got in the boat and were in the act of

+starting when George jumped ashore.  He

+reached for his .32 and threw the lever down

+to see if there was a shell in the chamber.

+Then he proceeded to fill his pockets with

+ammunition.

+

+"Might need a rifle," he said.  "You can't

+tell what you're going to see in this unholy

+jungle."

+

+Whereupon he went aboard again and Pepe

+rowed leisurely up-stream.

+

+"Be careful, boys," Ken called, and

+composed himself for a nap.  He promptly fell

+asleep.  How long he slept he had no idea,

+and when he awoke he lay with languor, not

+knowing at the moment what had awakened

+him.  Presently he heard a shout, then a

+rifle-shot.  Sitting up, he saw the boat some

+two hundred yards above, drifting along

+about the edge of the shade.  Pepe was in it

+alone.  He appeared to be excited, for Ken

+observed him lay down an oar and pick up a

+gun, and then reverse the performance.  Also

+he was jabbering to George, who evidently

+was out on the bank, but invisible to Ken.

+

+"Hey, Pepe!" Ken yelled.  "What 're you doing?"

+

+Strange to note, Pepe did not reply or even

+turn.

+

+"Now where in the deuce is George?" Ken

+said, impatiently.

+

+The hollow crack of George's .32 was a

+reply to the question.  Ken heard the singing

+of a bullet.  Suddenly, *spou!* it twanged

+on a branch not twenty feet over his head,

+and then went whining away.  He heard it

+tick a few leaves or twigs.  There was not

+any languor in the alacrity with which Ken

+put the big cypress-tree between him and

+up-stream.  Then he ventured to peep forth.

+

+"Look out where you're slinging lead!"

+he yelled.  He doubted not that George had

+treed a black squirrel or was pegging away at

+parrots.  Yet Pepe's motions appeared to

+carry a good deal of feeling, too much, he

+thought presently, for small game.  So Ken

+began to wake up thoroughly.  He lost sight

+of Pepe behind a low branch of a tree that

+leaned some fifty yards above the island.

+Then he caught sight of him again.  He was

+poling with an oar, evidently trying to go up

+or down--Ken could not tell which.

+

+*Spang*!  *Spang*!  George's .32 spoke twice

+more, and the bullets both struck in the middle

+of the stream and ricochetted into the far

+bank with little thuds.

+

+Something prompted Ken to reach for his

+automatic, snap the clip in tight, and push

+in the safety.  At the same time he muttered

+George's words: "You can never tell what's

+coming off in this unholy jungle."

+

+Then, peeping out from behind the cypress,

+Ken watched the boat drift down-stream.

+Pepe had stopped poling and was looking

+closely into the thick grass and vines of the

+bank.  Ken heard his voice, but could not

+tell what he said.  He watched keenly for

+some sight of George.  The moments passed,

+the boat drifted, and Ken began to think

+there was nothing unusual afoot.  In this

+interval Pepe drifted within seventy-five yards

+of camp.  Again Ken called to ask him what

+George was stalking, and this time Pepe yelled;

+but Ken did not know what he said.  Hard

+upon this came George's sharp voice:

+

+"Look out, there, on the island.  Get

+behind something.  I've got him between the

+river and the flat.  He's in this strip of shore

+brush.  There!"

+

+*Spang*!  *Spang*!  *Spang*!  Bullets hummed

+and whistled all about the island.  Ken was

+afraid to peep out with even one eye.  He

+began to fancy that George was playing

+Indian.

+

+"Fine, Georgie!  You're doing great!" he

+shouted.  "You couldn't come any closer to

+me if you were aiming at me.  What is it?"

+

+Then a crashing of brush and a flash of

+yellow low down along the bank changed the

+aspect of the situation.

+

+"Panther! or jaguar!" Ken ejaculated, in

+amaze.  In a second he was tight-muscled,

+cold, and clear-witted.  At that instant he

+saw George's white shirt about the top of the

+brush.

+

+"Go back!  Get out in the open!" Ken

+ordered.  "Do you hear me?"

+

+"Where is he?" shouted George, paying not

+the slightest attention to Ken.  Ken jumped

+from behind the tree, and, running to the

+head of the island, he knelt low near the water

+with rifle ready.

+

+"Tigre!  Tigre!  Tigre!" screamed Pepe,

+waving his arms, then pointing.

+

+George crashed into the brush.  Ken saw

+the leaves move, then a long yellow shape.

+With the quickness of thought and the aim

+of the wing-shot, Ken fired.  From the brush

+rose a strange wild scream.  George aimed

+at a shaking mass of grass and vines, but,

+before he could fire, a long, lean, ugly beast

+leaped straight out from the bank to drop

+into the water with a heavy splash.

+

+Like a man half scared to death Pepe waved

+Ken's double-barreled gun.  Then a yellow

+head emerged from the water.  It was in line

+with the boat.  Ken dared not shoot.

+

+"Kill him, George," yelled Ken.  "Tell

+Pepe to kill him."

+

+George seemed unaccountably silent.  But

+Ken had no time to look for him, for his

+eyes were riveted on Pepe.  The native did

+not know how to hold a gun properly, let

+alone aim it.  He had, however, sense enough

+to try.  He got the stock under his chin,

+and, pointing the gun, he evidently tried to

+fire.  But the hammerless did not go off.

+Then Pepe fumbled at the safety-catch, which

+he evidently remembered seeing Ken use.

+

+The jaguar, swimming with difficulty,

+perhaps badly wounded, made right for the boat.

+Pepe was standing on the seat.  Awkwardly

+he aimed.

+

+*Boom*!  He had pulled both triggers.  The

+recoil knocked him backward.  The hammerless

+fell in the boat, and Pepe's broad back hit

+the water; his bare, muscular legs clung to

+the gunwale, and slipped loose.

+

+He had missed the jaguar, for it kept on

+toward the boat.  Still Ken dared not shoot.

+

+"George, what on earth is the matter with

+you?" shouted Ken.

+

+Then Ken saw him standing in the brush

+on the bank, fussing over the crazy .32.  Of

+course at the critical moment something had

+gone wrong with the old rifle.

+

+Pepe's head bobbed up just on the other

+side of the boat.  The jaguar was scarcely

+twenty feet distant and now in line with both

+boat and man.  At that instant a heavy swirl

+in the water toward the middle of the river

+drew Ken's attention.  He saw the big

+crocodile, and the great creature did not seem at

+all lazy at that moment.

+

+George began to scream in Spanish.  Ken

+felt his hair stiffen and his face blanch.  Pepe,

+who had been solely occupied with the

+jaguar, caught George's meaning and turned

+to see the peril in his rear.

+

+He bawled his familiar appeal to the saints.

+Then he grasped the gunwale of the boat

+just as it swung against the branches of the

+low-leaning tree.  He vaulted rather than

+climbed aboard.

+

+Ken forgot that Pepe could understand

+little English, and he yelled: "Grab an oar,

+Pepe.  Keep the jaguar in the water.  Don't

+let him in the boat."

+

+But Pepe, even if he had understood, had

+a better idea.  Nimble, he ran over the boat

+and grasped the branches of the tree just as

+the jaguar flopped paws and head over the

+stern gunwale.

+

+Ken had only a fleeting instant to get a

+bead on that yellow body, and before he could

+be sure of an aim the branch weighted with

+Pepe sank down to hide both boat and

+jaguar.  The chill of fear for Pepe changed to

+hot rage at this new difficulty.

+

+Then George began to shoot.

+

+*Spang*!

+

+Ken heard the bullet hit the boat.

+

+"George--wait!" shouted Ken.  "Don't

+shoot holes in the boat.  You'll sink it."

+

+*Spang*!  *Spang*!  *Spang*!  *Spang*!

+

+That was as much as George cared about

+such a possibility.  He stood on the bank and

+worked the lever of his .32 with wild haste.

+Ken plainly heard the spat of the bullets, and

+the sound was that of lead in contact with

+wood.  So he knew George was not hitting

+the jaguar.

+

+"You'll ruin the boat!" roared Ken.

+

+Pepe had worked up from the lower end

+of the branch, and as soon as he straddled

+it and hunched himself nearer shore the

+foliage rose out of the water, exposing the boat.

+George kept on shooting till his magazine was

+empty.  Ken's position was too low for him

+to see the jaguar.

+

+Then the boat swung loose from the branch

+and, drifting down, gradually approached the

+shore.

+

+"Pull yourself together, George," called

+Ken.  "Keep cool.  Make sure of your aim.

+We've got him now."

+

+"He's mine!  He's mine!  He's mine!

+Don't you dare shoot!" howled George.  "I

+got him!"

+

+"All right.  But steady up, can't you?

+Hit him once, anyway."

+

+Apparently without aim George fired.  Then,

+jerking the lever, he fired again.  The boat

+drifted into overhanging vines.  Once more

+Ken saw a yellow and black object, then a

+trembling trail of leaves.

+

+"He's coming out below you.  Look out,"

+yelled Ken.

+

+George disappeared.  Ken saw no sign of

+the jaguar and heard no shot or shout from

+George.  Pepe dropped from his branch to

+the bank and caught the boat.  Ken called,

+and while Pepe rowed over to the island, he

+got into some clothes fit to hunt in.  Then

+they hurried back across the channel to the

+bank.

+

+Ken found the trail of the jaguar, followed

+it up to the edge of the brush, and lost it in

+the weedy flat.  George came out of a patch

+of bamboos.  He looked white and shaky

+and wild with disappointment.

+

+"Oh, I had a dandy shot as he came out,

+but the blamed gun jammed again.  Come

+on, we'll get him.  He's all shot up.  I bet

+I hit him ten times.  He won't get away."

+

+Ken finally got George back to camp.  The

+boat was half full of water, making it necessary

+to pull it out on the bank and turn it over.

+There were ten bullet-holes in it.

+

+"George, you hit the boat, anyway," Ken

+said; "now we've a job on our hands."

+

+Hal came puffing into camp.  He was red

+of face, and the sweat stood out on his

+forehead.  He had a small animal of some kind

+in a sack, and his legs were wet to his knees.

+

+"What was--all the--pegging about?" he

+asked, breathlessly.  "I expected to find camp

+surrounded by Indians."

+

+"Kid, it's been pretty hot round here for a

+little.  George and Pepe rounded up a tiger.

+Tell us about it, George," said Ken.

+

+So while Ken began to whittle pegs to

+pound into the bullet-holes, George wiped his

+flushed, sweaty face and talked.

+

+"We were up there a piece, round the bend.

+I saw a black squirrel and went ashore to get

+him.  But I couldn't find him, and in

+kicking round in the brush I came into a kind of

+trail or runway.  Then I ran plumb into that

+darned jaguar.  I was so scared I couldn't

+remember my gun.  But the cat turned and

+ran.  It was lucky he didn't make at me.

+When I saw him run I got back my courage.

+I called for Pepe to row down-stream and keep

+a lookout.  Then I got into the flat.  I must

+have come down a good ways before I saw

+him.  I shot, and he dodged back into the

+brush again.  I fired into the moving bushes

+where he was.  And pretty soon I ventured

+to get in on the bank, where I had a better

+chance.  I guess it was about that time that

+I heard you yell.  Then it all happened.

+You hit him!  Didn't you hear him scream?

+What a jump he made!  If it hadn't been

+so terrible when your hammerless kicked

+Pepe overboard, I would have died laughing.

+Then I was paralyzed when the jaguar swam

+for the boat.  He was hurt, for the water was

+bloody.  Things came off quick, I tell you.

+Like a monkey Pepe scrambled into the tree.

+When I got my gun loaded the jaguar was

+crouched down in the bottom of the boat

+watching Pepe.  Then I began to shoot.  I

+can't realize he got away from us.  What

+was the reason you didn't knock him?"

+

+"Well, you see, George, there were two

+good reasons," Ken replied.  "The first was

+that at that time I was busy dodging bullets

+from your rifle.  And the second was that you

+threatened my life if I killed your jaguar."

+

+"Did I get as nutty as that?  But it was

+pretty warm there for a little....  Say, was

+he a big one?  My eyes were so hazy I didn't

+see him clear."

+

+"He wasn't big, not half as big as the one

+I lost yesterday.  Yours was a long, wiry

+beast, like a panther, and mean-looking."

+

+Pepe sat on the bank, and while he nursed

+his bruises he smoked.  Once he made a

+speech that was untranslatable, but Hal gave

+it an interpretation which was probably near

+correct.

+

+"That's right, Pepe.  Pretty punk

+tiger-hunters--mucho punk!"

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`WATCHING A RUNWAY`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XVIII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   WATCHING A RUNWAY

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+"I'll tell you what, fellows," said Hal.  "I

+know where we *can* get a tiger."

+

+"We'll get one in the neck if we don't

+watch out," replied George.

+

+Ken thought that Hal looked very frank

+and earnest, and honest and eager, but there

+was never any telling about him.

+

+"Where?" he asked, skeptically.

+

+"Down along the river.  You know I've

+been setting traps all along.  There's a flat

+sand-bar for a good piece down.  I came to

+a little gully full of big tracks, big as my

+two hands.  And fresh!"

+

+"Honest Injun, kid?" queried Ken.

+

+"Hope to die if I'm lyin'," replied Hal.

+"I want to see somebody kill a tiger.  Now

+let's go down there in the boat and wait for

+one to come to drink.  There's a big log with

+driftwood lodged on it.  We can hide

+behind that."

+

+"Great idea, Hal," said Ken.  "We'd be

+pretty safe in the boat.  I want to say that

+tigers have sort of got on my nerves.  I ought

+to go over in the jungle to look for the one I

+crippled.  He's dead by now.  But the longer

+I put it off the harder it is to go.  I'll back

+out yet....  Come, we'll have an early dinner.

+Then to watch for Hal's tiger."

+

+The sun had just set, and the hot breeze

+began to swirl up the river when Ken slid the

+boat into the water.  He was pleased to

+find that it did not leak.

+

+"We'll take only two guns," said Ken,

+"my .351 and the hammerless, with some

+ball-cartridges.  We want to be quiet to-night, and

+if you fellows take your guns you'll be pegging

+at ducks and things.  That won't do."

+

+Pepe sat at the oars with instructions to

+row easily.  George and Hal occupied the

+stern-seats, and Ken took his place in the bow,

+with both guns at hand.

+

+The hot wind roared in the cypresses, and

+the river whipped up little waves with white

+crests.  Long streamers of gray moss waved

+out over the water and branches tossed and

+swayed.  The blow did not last for many

+minutes.  Trees and river once more grew

+quiet.  And suddenly the heat was gone.

+

+As Pepe rowed on down the river, Cypress

+Island began to disappear round a bend, and

+presently was out of sight.  Ducks were

+already in flight.  They flew low over the boat,

+so low that Ken could almost have reached

+them with the barrel of his gun.  The river here

+widened.  It was full of huge snags.  A high,

+wooded bluff shadowed the western shore.  On

+the left, towering cypresses, all laced together

+in dense vine and moss webs, leaned out.

+

+Under Hal's direction Pepe rowed to a pile

+of driftwood, and here the boat was moored.

+The gully mentioned by Hal was some sixty

+yards distant.  It opened like the mouth of

+a cave.  Beyond the cypresses thick,

+intertwining bamboos covered it.

+

+"I wish we'd gone in to see the tracks,"

+said Ken.  "But I'll take your word, Hal."

+

+"Oh, they're there, all right."

+

+"I don't doubt it.  Looks great to me!

+That's a runway, Hal....  Now, boys, get a

+comfortable seat, and settle down to wait.

+Don't talk.  Just listen and watch.

+Remember, soon we'll be out of the jungle,

+back home.  So make hay while the sun

+shines.  Watch and listen!  Whoever sees

+or hears anything first is the best man."

+

+For once the boys were as obedient as

+lambs.  But then, Ken thought, the surroundings

+were so beautiful and wild and silent that

+any boys would have been watchful.

+

+There was absolutely no sound but the

+intermittent whir of wings.  The water-fowl

+flew by in companies--ducks, cranes, herons,

+snipe, and the great Muscovies.  Ken never

+would have tired of that procession.  It

+passed all too soon, and then only an

+occasional water-fowl swept swiftly by, as if

+belated.

+

+Slowly the wide river-lane shaded.  But it

+was still daylight, and the bank and the

+runway were clearly distinguishable.  There was

+a moment--Ken could not tell just how he

+knew--when the jungle awakened.  It was not

+only the faint hum of insects; it was a sense

+as if life stirred with the coming of twilight.

+

+Pepe was the first to earn honors at the

+listening game.  He held up a warning

+forefinger.  Then he pointed under the bluff.

+Ken saw a doe stepping out of a fringe of

+willows.

+

+"Don't move--don't make a noise," whispered Ken.

+

+The doe shot up long ears and watched the

+boat.  Then a little fawn trotted out and

+splashed in the water.  Both deer drank,

+then seemed in no hurry to leave the river.

+

+Next moment Hal heard something downstream

+and George saw something up-stream.

+Pepe again whispered.  As for Ken, he saw

+little dark shapes moving out of the shadow

+of the runway.  He heard a faint trampling

+of hard little hoofs.  But if these animals

+were *javelin*--of which he was sure--they did

+not come out into the open runway.  Ken

+tried to catch Pepe's attention without

+making a noise; however, Pepe was absorbed in

+his side of the river.  Ken then forgot he

+had companions.  All along the shores were

+faint splashings and rustlings and crackings.

+

+A loud, trampling roar rose in the runway

+and seemed to move backward toward the

+jungle, diminishing in violence.

+

+"Pigs running--something scared 'em,"

+said George.

+

+"S-s-s-sh!" whispered Ken.

+

+All the sounds ceased.  The jungle seemed

+to sleep in deep silence.

+

+Ken's eyes were glued to the light patch of

+sand-bank where it merged in the dark of the

+runway.  Then Ken heard a sound--what, he

+could not have told.  But it made his heart

+beat fast.

+

+There came a few pattering thuds, soft as

+velvet; and a shadow, paler than the dark

+background, moved out of the runway.

+

+With that a huge jaguar loped into the open.

+He did not look around.  He took a long, easy

+bound down to the water and began to lap.

+

+Either Pepe or George jerked so violently

+as to make the boat lurch.  They seemed to

+be stifling.

+

+"Oh, Ken, don't miss!" whispered Hal.

+

+Ken had the automatic over the log and in

+line.  His teeth were shut tight, and he was

+cold and steady.  He meant not to hurry.

+

+The jaguar was a heavy, squat, muscular

+figure, not graceful and beautiful like the one

+Ken had crippled.  Suddenly he raised his

+head and looked about.  He had caught a scent.

+

+It was then that Ken lowered the rifle till

+the sight covered the beast--lower yet to

+his huge paws, then still lower to the edge of

+the water.  Ken meant to shoot low enough

+this time.  Holding the rifle there, and

+holding it with all his strength, he pressed the

+trigger once--twice.  The two shots rang out

+almost simultaneously.  Ken expected to see

+this jaguar leap, but the beast crumpled up

+and sank in his tracks.

+

+Then the boys yelled, and Ken echoed

+them.  Pepe was wildly excited, and began

+to fumble with the oars.

+

+"Wait!  Wait, I tell you!" ordered Ken.

+

+"Oh, Ken, you pegged him!" cried Hal.

+"He doesn't move.  Let's go ashore.  What

+did I tell you?  It took me to find the tiger."

+

+Ken watched with sharp eyes and held his

+rifle ready, but the huddled form on the sand

+never so much as twitched.

+

+"I guess I plugged him," said Ken, with

+unconscious pride.

+

+Pepe rowed the boat ashore, and when near

+the sand-bar he reached out with an oar to

+touch the jaguar.  There was no doubt about

+his being dead.  The boys leaped ashore and

+straightened out the beast.  He was huge,

+dirty, spotted, bloody, and fiercely savage even

+in death.  Ken's bullets had torn through the

+chest, making fearful wounds.  Pepe jabbered,

+and the boys all talked at once.  When it

+came to lifting the jaguar into the boat they

+had no slight task.  The short, thick-set body

+was very heavy.  But at last they loaded

+it in the bow, and Pepe rowed back to the

+island.  It was still a harder task to get the

+jaguar up the high bank.  Pepe kindled a fire

+so they would have plenty of light, and then

+they set to work at the skinning.

+

+What with enthusiasm over the stalk, and

+talk of the success of the trip, and compliments

+to Ken's shooting, and care of the skinning,

+the boys were three hours at the job.  Ken,

+remembering Hiram Bent's teachings, skinned

+out the great claws himself.  They salted the

+pelt and nailed it up on the big cypress.

+

+"You'd never have got one but for me,"

+said Hal.  "That's how I pay you for the

+tricks you've played me!"

+

+"By George, Hal, it's a noble revenge!"

+cried Ken, who, in the warmth and glow of

+happiness of the time, quite believed his

+brother.

+

+Pepe went to bed first.  George turned in

+next.  Ken took a last look at the great pelt

+stretched on the cypress, and then he sought his

+blankets.  Hal, however, remained up.  Ken

+heard him pounding stakes in the ground.

+

+"Hal, what 're you doing?"

+

+"I'm settin' my trot-lines," replied Hal,

+cheerfully.

+

+"Well, come to bed."

+

+"Keep your shirt on, Ken, old boy.  I'll

+be along presently."

+

+Ken fell asleep.  He did not have peaceful

+slumbers.  He had been too excited to rest

+well.  He would wake up out of a nightmare,

+then go to sleep again.  He seemed to

+wake suddenly out of one of these black spells,

+and he was conscious of pain.  Something

+tugged at his leg.

+

+"What the dickens!" he said, and raised

+on his elbow.  Hal was asleep between George

+and Pepe, who were snoring.

+

+Just then Ken felt a violent jerk.  The

+blankets flew up at his feet, and his left leg

+went out across his brother's body.  There was

+a string--a rope--something fast round his

+ankle, and it was pulling hard.  It hurt.

+

+"Jiminy!" shouted Ken, reaching for his

+foot.  But before he could reach it another

+tug, more violent, pulled his leg straight out.

+Ken began to slide.

+

+"What on earth?" yelled Ken.  "Say!

+Something's got me!"

+

+The yells and Ken's rude exertions aroused

+the boys.  And they were frightened.  Ken

+got an arm around Hal and the other around

+George and held on for dear life.  He was

+more frightened than they.  Pepe leaped up,

+jabbering, and, tripping, he fell all in a heap.

+

+"Oh! my leg!" howled Ken.  "It's being

+pulled off.  Say, I can't be dreaming!"

+

+Most assuredly Ken was wide awake.  The

+moonlight showed his bare leg sticking out

+and round his ankle a heavy trot-line.  It was

+stretched tight.  It ran down over the bank.

+And out there in the river a tremendous fish

+or a crocodile was surging about, making the

+water roar.

+

+Pepe was trying to loosen the line or break

+it.  George, who was always stupid when first

+aroused, probably imagined he was being

+mauled by a jaguar, for he loudly bellowed.

+Ken had a strangle-hold on Hal.

+

+"Oh!  *Oh*!  *Oh-h-h*!" bawled Ken.  Not

+only was he scared out of a year's growth;

+he was in terrible pain.  Then his cries grew

+unintelligible.  He was being dragged out of

+the tent.  Still he clung desperately to the

+howling George and the fighting Hal.

+

+All at once something snapped.  The

+tension relaxed.  Ken fell back upon Hal.

+

+"Git off me, will you?" shouted Hal.

+"Are you c-c-cr-azy?"

+

+But Hal's voice had not the usual note

+when he was angry or impatient.  He

+was laughing so he could not speak naturally.

+

+"Uh-huh!" said Ken, and sat up.  "I guess

+here was where I got it.  Is my leg broken?

+What came off?"

+

+Pepe was staggering about on the bank,

+going through strange motions.  He had the

+line in his hands, and at the other end was

+a monster of some land threshing about in

+the water.  It was moonlight and Ken could

+see plainly.  Around the ankle that felt

+broken was a twisted loop of trot-line.  Hal

+had baited a hook and slipped the end of

+the trot-line over Ken's foot.  During the

+night the crocodile or an enormous fish had

+taken the bait.  Then Ken had nearly been

+hauled off the island.

+

+Pepe was doing battle with the hooked

+thing, whatever it was, and Ken was about

+to go to his assistance when again the line

+broke.

+

+"Great!  Hal, you have a nice disposition,"

+exclaimed Ken.  "You have a wonderful

+affection for your brother.  You care a lot

+about his legs or his life.  Idiot!  Can't you

+play a safe trick?  If I hadn't grabbed you

+and George, I'd been pulled into the river.

+Eaten up, maybe!  And my ankle is sprained.

+It won't be any good for a week.  You are a

+bright boy!"

+

+And in spite of his laughter Hal began to

+look ashamed.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XIX

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+The rest of that night Ken had more dreams;

+and they were not pleasant.  He awoke

+from one in a cold fright.

+

+It must have been late, for the moon was

+low.  His ankle pained and throbbed, and to

+that he attributed his nightmare.  He was

+falling asleep again when the clink of tin

+pans made him sit up with a start.  Some

+animal was prowling about camp.  He peered

+into the moonlit shadows, but could make

+out no unfamiliar object.  Still he was not

+satisfied; so he awoke Pepe.

+

+Certainly it was not Ken's intention to let

+Pepe get out ahead; nevertheless he was lame

+and slow, and before he started Pepe rolled

+out of the tent.

+

+"Santa Maria!" shrieked Pepe.

+

+Ken fumbled under his pillow for a gun.

+Hal raised up so quickly that he bumped Ken's

+head, making him see a million stars.  George

+rolled over, nearly knocking down the tent.

+

+From outside came a sliddery, rustling

+noise, then another yell that was deadened

+by a sounding splash.  Ken leaped out with

+his gun, George at his elbow.  Pepe stood

+just back of the tent, his arms upraised, and

+he appeared stunned.  The water near the

+bank was boiling and bubbling; waves were

+dashing on the shore and ripples spreading

+in a circle.

+

+George shouted in Spanish.

+

+"Crocodile!" cried Ken.

+

+"Si, si, Señor," replied Pepe.  Then he said

+that when he stepped out of the tent the

+crocodile was right in camp, not ten feet from

+where the boys lay.  Pepe also said that

+these brutes were man-eaters, and that he had

+better watch for the rest of the night.  Ken

+thought him, like all the natives, inclined

+to exaggerate; however, he made no objection

+to Pepe's holding watch over the crocodile.

+

+"What'd I tell you?" growled George.

+"Why didn't you let me shoot him?  Let's

+go back to bed."

+

+In the morning when Ken got up he viewed

+his body with great curiosity.  The ticks

+and the cigarette burns had left him a

+beautifully tattoed specimen of aborigine.  His

+body, especially his arms, bore hundreds of

+little reddish scars--bites and burns

+together.  There was not, however, any itching

+or irritation, for which he made sure he had

+to thank Pepe's skill and the *canya*.

+

+George did not get up when Ken called

+him.  Thinking his sleep might have been

+broken, Ken let him alone a while longer, but

+when breakfast was smoking he gave him a

+prod.  George rolled over, looking haggard

+and glum.

+

+"I'm sick," he said.

+

+Ken's cheerfulness left him, for he knew

+what sickness or injury did to a camping trip.

+George complained of aching bones, headache

+and cramps, and showed a tongue with a

+yellow coating.  Ken said he had eaten too

+much fresh meat, but Pepe, after looking

+George over, called it a name that sounded

+like *calentura*.

+

+"What's that?" Ken inquired.

+

+"Tropic fever," replied George.  "I've had

+it before."

+

+For a while he was a very sick boy.  Ken

+had a little medicine-case, and from it he

+administered what he thought was best, and

+George grew easier presently.  Then Ken sat

+down to deliberate on the situation.

+

+Whatever way he viewed it, he always came

+back to the same thing--they must get out

+of the jungle; and as they could not go back,

+they must go on down the river.  That was a

+bad enough proposition without being

+hampered by a sick boy.  It was then Ken had a

+subtle change of feeling; a shade of gloom

+seemed to pervade his spirit.

+

+By nine o'clock they were packed, and,

+turning into the shady channel, soon were out

+in the sunlight saying good-by to Cypress

+Island.  At the moment Ken did not feel

+sorry to go, yet he knew that feeling would

+come by and by, and that Cypress Island

+would take its place in his memory as one

+more haunting, calling wild place.

+

+They turned a curve to run under a rocky

+bluff from which came a muffled roar of rapids.

+A long, projecting point of rock extended across

+the river, allowing the water to rush through

+only at a narrow mill-race channel close to

+the shore.  It was an obstacle to get around.

+There was no possibility of lifting the boat

+over the bridge of rock, and the alternative

+was shooting the channel.  Ken got out

+upon the rocks, only to find that drifting the

+boat round the sharp point was out of the

+question, owing to a dangerously swift

+current.  Ken tried the depth of the

+water--about four feet.  Then he dragged the boat

+back a little distance and stepped into the river.

+

+"Look!  Look!" cried Pepe, pointing to the bank.

+

+About ten yards away was a bare shelf of

+mud glistening with water and showing the

+deep tracks of a crocodile.  It was a slide,

+and manifestly had just been vacated.  The

+crocodile-tracks resembled the imprints of a

+giant's hand.

+

+"Come out!" yelled George, and Pepe

+jabbered to his saints.

+

+"We've got to go down this river," Ken

+replied, and he kept on wading till he got the

+boat in the current.  He was frightened, of

+course, but he kept on despite that.  The

+boat lurched into the channel, stern first, and

+he leaped up on the bow.  It shot down with

+the speed of a toboggan, and the boat whirled

+before he could scramble to the oars.  What

+was worse, an overhanging tree with dead

+snags left scarce room to pass beneath.  Ken

+ducked to prevent being swept overboard,

+and one of the snags that brushed and scraped

+him ran under his belt and lifted him into the

+air.  He grasped at the first thing he could

+lay hands on, which happened to be a box,

+but he could not hold to it because the boat

+threatened to go on, leaving him kicking in

+midair and holding up a box of potatoes.  Ken

+clutched a gunwale, only to see the water

+swell dangerously over the edge.  In angry

+helplessness he loosened his hold.  Then the

+snag broke, just in the nick of time, for in

+a second more the boat would have been

+swept away.  Ken fell across the bow, held

+on, and soon drifted from under the threshing

+branches, and seized the oars.

+

+Pepe and George and Hal walked round the

+ledge and, even when they reached Ken,

+had not stopped laughing.

+

+"Boys, it wasn't funny," declared Ken, soberly.

+

+"I said it was coming to us," replied George.

+

+There were rapids below, and Ken went at

+them with stern eyes and set lips.  It was the

+look of men who face obstacles in getting out

+of the wilderness.  More than one high wave

+circled spitefully round Pepe's broad shoulders.

+

+They came to a fall where the river dropped

+a few feet straight down.  Ken sent the boys

+below.  Hal and George made a detour.  But

+Pepe jumped off the ledge into shallow water.

+

+"*Ah-h!*" yelled Pepe.

+

+Ken was becoming accustomed to Pepe's

+wild yell, but there was a note in this which

+sent a shiver over him.  Before looking, Ken

+snatched his rifle from the boat.

+

+Pepe appeared to be sailing out into the

+pool.  But his feet were not moving.

+

+Ken had only an instant, but in that he saw

+under Pepe a long, yellow, swimming shape,

+leaving a wake in the water.  Pepe had

+jumped upon the back of a crocodile.  He

+seemed paralyzed, or else he was wisely

+trusting himself there rather than in the water.

+Ken was too shocked to offer advice.  Indeed,

+he would not have known how to meet this

+situation.

+

+Suddenly Pepe leaped for a dry stone, and

+the energy of his leap carried him into the

+river beyond.  Like a flash he was out again,

+spouting water.

+

+Ken turned loose the automatic on the

+crocodile and shot a magazine of shells.  The

+crocodile made a tremendous surge, churning

+up a slimy foam, then vanished in a pool.

+

+"Guess this 'll be crocodile day," said

+Ken, changing the clip in his rifle.  "I'll bet

+I made a hole in that one.  Boys, look out

+below."

+

+Ken shoved the boat over the ledge in line

+with Pepe, and it floated to him, while Ken

+picked his way round the rocky shore.  The

+boys piled aboard again.  The day began to

+get hot.  Ken cautioned the boys to avoid

+wading, if possible, and to be extremely

+careful where they stepped.  Pepe pointed now

+and then to huge bubbles breaking on the

+surface of the water and said they were made

+by crocodiles.

+

+From then on Ken's hands were full.  He

+struck swift water, where rapid after rapid,

+fall on fall, took the boat downhill at a rate to

+afford him satisfaction.  The current had a

+five or six mile speed, and, as Ken had no

+portages to make and the corrugated rapids of big

+waves gave him speed, he made by far the best

+time of the voyage.

+

+The hot hours passed--cool for the boys

+because they were always wet.  The sun sank

+behind a hill.  The wind ceased to whip the

+streamers of moss.  At last, in a gathering

+twilight, Ken halted at a wide, flat rock to

+make camp.

+

+"Forty miles to-day if we made an inch!"

+exclaimed Ken.

+

+The boys said more.

+

+They built a fire, cooked supper, and then,

+weary and silent, Hal and George and Pepe

+rolled into their blankets.  But Ken doggedly

+worked an hour at his map and notes.  That

+hard forty miles meant a long way toward

+the success of his trip.

+

+Next morning the mists had not lifted from

+the river when they shoved off, determined to

+beat the record of yesterday.  Difficulties beset

+them from the start--the highest waterfall of

+the trip, a leak in the boat, deep, short rapids,

+narrows with choppy waves, and a whirlpool

+where they turned round and round, unable

+to row out.  Nor did they get free till Pepe

+lassoed a snag and pulled them out.

+

+About noon they came to another narrow

+chute brawling down into a deep, foamy pool.

+Again Ken sent the boys around, and he backed

+the boat into the chute; and just as the

+current caught it he leaped aboard.  He was

+either tired or careless, for he drifted too close

+to a half-submerged rock, and, try as he

+might, at the last moment he could not avoid

+a collision.

+

+As the stern went hard on the rock Ken

+expected to break something, but was

+surprised at the soft thud with which he struck.

+It flashed into his mind that the rock was

+moss-covered.

+

+Quick as the thought there came a rumble

+under the boat, the stern heaved up, there

+was a great sheet-like splash, and then a blow

+that splintered the gunwale.  Then the boat

+shunted off, affording the astounded Ken a

+good view of a very angry crocodile.  He had

+been sleeping on the rock.

+

+The boys were yelling and crowding down

+to the shore where Ken was drifting in.

+Pepe waded in to catch the boat.

+

+"What was it hit you, Ken?" asked Hal.

+

+"Mucho malo," cried Pepe.

+

+"The boat's half full of water--the

+gunwale's all split!" ejaculated George.

+

+"Only an accident of river travel," replied

+Ken, with mock nonchalance.  "Say, Garrapato,

+*when*, about *when* is it coming to me?"

+

+"Well, if he didn't get slammed by a

+crocodile!" continued George.

+

+They unloaded, turned out the water,

+broke up a box to use for repairs, and mended

+the damaged gunwale--work that lost more

+than a good hour.  Once again under way,

+Ken made some interesting observations.  The

+river ceased to stand on end in places;

+crocodiles slipped off every muddy promontory,

+and wide trails ridged the steep clay-banks.

+

+"Cattle-trails, Pepe says," said George.

+"Wild cattle roam all through the jungle along

+the Panuco."

+

+It was a well-known fact that the

+rancheros of Tamaulipas State had no idea how

+many cattle they owned.  Ken was so eager

+to see if Pepe had been correct that he went

+ashore, to find the trails were, indeed, those of

+cattle.

+

+"Then, Pepe, we must be somewhere near

+the Panuco River," he said.

+

+"Quien sabe?" rejoined he, quietly.

+

+When they rounded the curve they came

+upon a herd of cattle that clattered up the

+bank, raising a cloud of dust.

+

+"Wilder than deer!" Ken exclaimed.

+

+From that point conditions along the river

+changed.  The banks were no longer green; the

+beautiful cypresses gave place to other trees,

+as huge, as moss-wound, but more rugged

+and of gaunt outline; the flowers and vines

+and shady nooks disappeared.  Everywhere

+wide-horned steers and cows plunged up the

+banks.  Everywhere buzzards rose from

+gruesome feasts.  The shore was lined with dead

+cattle, and the stench of putrefying flesh was

+almost unbearable.  They passed cattle mired

+in the mud, being slowly tortured to death

+by flies and hunger; they passed cattle that

+had slipped off steep banks and could not get

+back and were bellowing dismally; and also

+strangely acting cattle that Pepe said had

+gone crazy from ticks in their ears.  Ken

+would have put these miserable beasts out of

+their misery had not George restrained him

+with a few words about Mexican law.

+

+A sense of sickness came to Ken, and though

+he drove the feeling from him, it continually

+returned.  George and Hal lay flat on the

+canvas, shaded with a couple of palm leaves;

+Pepe rowed on and on, growing more and more

+serious and quiet.  His quick, responsive smile

+was wanting now.

+

+By way of diversion, and also in the hope

+of securing a specimen, Ken began to shoot

+at the crocodiles.  George came out of his

+lethargy and took up his rifle.  He would

+have had to be ill indeed, to forswear any

+possible shooting; and, now that Ken had

+removed the bar, he forgot he had fever.

+Every hundred yards or so they would come

+upon a crocodile measuring somewhere from

+about six feet upward, and occasionally they

+would see a great yellow one, as large as a

+log.  Seldom did they get within good range

+of these huge fellows, and shooting from a

+moving boat was not easy.  The smaller

+ones, however, allowed the boat to approach

+quite close.  George bounced many a .32

+bullet off the bank, but he never hit a

+crocodile.  Ken allowed him to have the shots for

+the fun of it, and, besides, he was watching

+for a big one.

+

+"George, that rifle of yours is leaded.  It

+doesn't shoot where you aim."

+

+When they got unusually close to a small

+crocodile George verified Ken's statement by

+missing his game some yards.  He promptly

+threw the worn-out rifle overboard, an act

+that caused Pepe much concern.

+

+Whereupon Ken proceeded to try his luck.

+Instructing Pepe to row about in the middle

+of the stream, he kept eye on one shore while

+George watched the other.  He shot half a

+dozen small crocodiles, but they slipped off

+the bank before Pepe could get ashore.  This

+did not appear to be the fault of the rifle, for

+some of the reptiles were shot almost in two

+pieces.  But Ken had yet to learn more about

+the tenacity of life of these water-brutes.

+Several held still long enough for Ken to shoot

+them through, then with a plunge they went

+into the water, sinking at once in a bloody

+foam.  He knew he had shot them through,

+for he saw large holes in the mud-banks

+lined with bits of bloody skin and bone.

+

+"There's one," said George, pointing.  "Let's

+get closer, so we can grab him.  He's got

+a good piece to go before he reaches the

+water."

+

+Pepe rowed slowly along, guiding the boat

+a little nearer the shore.  At forty feet the

+crocodile raised up, standing on short legs,

+so that all but his tail was free of the ground.

+He opened his huge jaws either in astonishment

+or to intimidate them, and then Ken

+shot him straight down the throat.  He

+flopped convulsively and started to slide and

+roll.  When he reached the water he turned

+over on his back, with his feet sticking up,

+resembling a huge frog.  Pepe rowed hard to

+the shore, just as the crocodile with one last

+convulsion rolled off into deeper water.  Ken

+reached over, grasped his foot, and was

+drawing it up when a sight of cold, glassy eyes

+and open-fanged jaws made him let go.

+Then the crocodile sank in water where Pepe

+could not touch bottom with an oar.

+

+"Let's get one if it takes a week," declared

+George.  The lad might be sick, but there was

+nothing wrong with his spirit.  "Look there!"

+he exclaimed.  "Oh, I guess it's a log.  Too big!"

+

+They had been unable to tell the difference

+between a crocodile and a log of driftwood

+until it was too late.  In this instance a

+long, dirty-gray object lay upon a low bank.

+Despite its immense size, which certainly

+made the chances in favor of its being a log,

+Ken determined this time to be fooled on the

+right side.  He had seen a dozen logs--as he

+thought--suddenly become animated and slip

+into the river.

+

+"Hold steady, Pepe.  I'll take a crack at

+that just for luck."

+

+The distance was about a hundred yards,

+a fine range for the little rifle.  Resting on

+his knee, he sighted low, under the gray

+object, and pulled the trigger twice.  There were

+two spats so close together as to be barely

+distinguishable.  The log of driftwood leaped

+into life.

+

+"Whoop!" shouted Hal.

+

+"It's a crocodile!" yelled George.  "You

+hit--you hit!  Will you listen to that?"

+

+"Row hard, Pepe--pull!"

+

+He bent to the oars, and the boat flew shoreward.

+

+The huge crocodile, opening yard-long jaws,

+snapped them shut with loud cracks.  Then

+he beat the bank with his tail.  It was as

+limber as a willow, but he seemed unable to

+move his central parts, his thick bulk, where

+Ken had sent the two mushroom bullets.

+*Whack*!  *Whack*!  *Whack*!  The sodden blows

+jarred pieces from the clay-bank above him.

+Each blow was powerful enough to have staved

+in the planking of a ship.  All at once he

+lunged upward and, falling over backward,

+slid down his runway into a few inches of

+water, where he stuck.

+

+"Go in above him, Pepe," Ken shouted.

+"Here--  Heavens!  What a monster!"

+

+Deliberately, at scarce twenty feet, Ken

+shot the remaining four shells into the

+crocodile.  The bullets tore through his horny

+hide, and blood and muddy water spouted up.

+George and Pepe and Hal yelled, and Ken

+kept time with them.  The terrible lashing

+tail swung back and forth almost too swiftly

+for the eye to catch.  A deluge of mud and

+water descended upon the boys, bespattering,

+blinding them and weighing down the boat.

+They jumped out upon the bank to escape it.

+They ran to and fro in aimless excitement.

+Ken still clutched the rifle, but he had no

+shells for it.  George was absurd enough to

+fling a stone into the blood-tinged cloud of

+muddy froth and spray that hid the threshing

+leviathan.  Presently the commotion subsided

+enough for them to see the great crocodile

+lying half on his back, with belly all torn

+and bloody and huge claw-like hands pawing

+the air.  He was edging, slipping off into

+deeper water.

+

+"He'll get away--he'll get away!" cried

+Hal.  "What 'll we do?"

+

+Ken racked his brains.

+

+"Pepe, get your lasso--rope him--rope

+him!  Hurry! he's slipping!" yelled George.

+

+Pepe snatched up his lariat, and, without

+waiting to coil it, cast the loop.  He caught

+one of the flippers and hauled tight on it just as

+the crocodile slipped out of sight off the muddy

+ledge.  The others ran to the boat, and,

+grasping hold of the lasso with Pepe, squared

+away and began to pull.  Plain it was that

+the crocodile was not coming up so easily.

+They could not budge him.

+

+"Hang on, boys!" Ken shouted.  "It's a

+tug-of-war."

+

+The lasso was suddenly jerked out with a

+kind of twang.  Crash! went Pepe and Hal

+into the bottom of the boat.  Ken went

+sprawling into the mud, and George, who had

+the last hold, went to his knees, but valiantly

+clung to the slipping rope.  Bounding up,

+Ken grasped it from him and wound it round

+the sharp nose of the bowsprit.

+

+"Get in--hustle!" he called, falling aboard.

+"You're always saying it's coming to us.

+Here's where!"

+

+George had hardly got into the boat when

+the crocodile pulled it off shore, and away it

+went, sailing down-stream.

+

+"Whoop!  All aboard for Panuco!" yelled Hal.

+

+"Now, Pepe, you don't need to row any

+more--we've a water-horse," Ken added.

+

+But Pepe did not enter into the spirit of

+the occasion.  He kept calling on the saints

+and crying, "Mucho malo."  George and Ken

+and Hal, however, were hilarious.  They had

+not yet had experience enough to know crocodiles.

+

+Faster and faster they went.  The water

+began to surge away from the bow and leave

+a gurgling wake behind the stern.  Soon the

+boat reached the middle of the river where the

+water was deepest, and the lasso went almost

+straight down.

+

+Ken felt the stern of the boat gradually

+lifted, and then, in alarm, he saw the front

+end sinking in the water.  The crocodile was

+hauling the bow under.

+

+"Pepe--your machete--cut the lasso!" he

+ordered, sharply.  George had to repeat the

+order.

+

+Wildly Pepe searched under the seat and

+along the gunwales.  He could not find the

+*machete*.

+

+"Cut the rope!" Ken thundered.  "Use

+a knife, the ax--anything--only cut

+it--and cut it quick!"

+

+Pepe could find nothing.  Knife in hand,

+Ken leaped over his head, sprawled headlong

+over the trunk, and slashed the taut lasso

+just as the water began to roar into the

+boat.  The bow bobbed up as a cork that had

+been under.  But the boat had shipped six

+inches of water.

+

+.. _`KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE TAUT LASSO`:

+

+.. figure:: images/img-242.jpg

+   :align: center

+   :alt: KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE TAUT LASSO

+

+   KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE TAUT LASSO

+

+"Row ashore, Pepe.  Steady, there.  Trim

+the boat, George."

+

+They beached at a hard clay-bank and

+rested a little before unloading to turn out the

+water.

+

+"Grande!" observed Pepe.

+

+"Yes; he was big," assented George.

+

+"I wonder what's going to happen to us

+next," added Hal.

+

+Ken Ward looked at these companions of

+his and he laughed outright.  "Well, if you

+all don't take the cake for nerve!"

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`TREED BY WILD PIGS`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XX

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   TREED BY WILD PIGS

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Pepe's long years of *mozo* work, rowing

+for tarpon fishermen, now stood the boys

+in good stead.  All the hot hours of the day

+he bent steadily to the oars.  Occasionally

+they came to rifts, but these were not difficult

+to pass, being mere swift, shallow channels

+over sandy bottom.  The rocks and the rapids

+were things of the past.

+

+George lay in a kind of stupor, and Hal

+lolled in his seat.  Ken, however, kept alert,

+and as the afternoon wore on began to be

+annoyed at the scarcity of camp-sites.

+

+The muddy margins of the river, the steep

+banks, and the tick-infested forests offered few

+places where it was possible to rest, to say

+nothing of sleep.  Every turn in the widening

+river gave Ken hope, which resulted in

+disappointment.  He found consolation,

+however, in the fact that every turn and every

+hour put him so much farther on the way.

+

+About five o'clock Ken had unexpected

+good luck in shape of a small sand-bar cut

+off from the mainland, and therefore free of

+cattle-tracks.  It was clean and dry, with a

+pile of driftwood at one end.

+

+"Tumble out, boys," called Ken, as Pepe

+beached the boat.  "We'll pitch camp here."

+

+Neither Hal nor George showed any alacrity.

+Ken watched his brother; he feared to see

+some of the symptoms of George's sickness.

+Both lads, however, seemed cheerful, though

+too tired to be of much use in the pitching of

+camp.

+

+Ken could not recover his former good

+spirits.  There was a sense of foreboding in

+his mind that all was not well, that he must

+hurry, hurry.  And although George appeared

+to be holding his own, Hal healthy enough,

+and Pepe's brooding quiet at least no worse,

+Ken could not rid himself of gloom.  If he

+had answered the question that knocked at

+his mind he would have admitted a certainty

+of disaster.  So he kept active, and when

+there were no more tasks for that day he

+worked on his note-book, and then watched

+the flight of wild fowl.

+

+The farther down the river the boys

+traveled the more numerous were the herons

+and cranes and ducks.  But they saw no more

+of the beautiful *pato real*, as Pepe called them,

+or the little russet-colored ducks, or the

+dismal-voiced bitterns.  On the other hand, wild

+geese were common, and there were flocks

+and flocks of teal and canvasbacks.

+

+Pepe, as usual, cooked duck.  And he had

+to eat it.  George had lost his appetite

+altogether.  Hal had lost his taste for meat,

+at least.  And Ken made a frugal meal of rice.

+

+"Boys," he said, "the less you eat from now

+on the better for you."

+

+It took resolution to drink the cocoa, for

+Ken could not shut out remembrance of the

+green water and the shore-line of dead and

+decaying cattle.  Still, he was parched with

+thirst; he had to drink.  That night he slept

+ten hours without turning over.  Next

+morning he had to shake Pepe to rouse him.

+

+Ken took turns at the oars with Pepe.

+It was not only that he fancied Pepe was

+weakening and in need of an occasional rest,

+but the fact that he wanted to be occupied,

+and especially to keep in good condition.

+They made thirty miles by four o'clock, and

+most of it against a breeze.  Not in the whole

+distance did they pass half a dozen places

+fit for a camp.  Toward evening the river

+narrowed again, resembling somewhat the

+Santa Rosa of earlier acquaintance.  The

+magnificent dark forests crowded high on

+the banks, always screened and curtained by

+gray moss, as if to keep their secrets.

+

+The sun was just tipping with gold the

+mossy crests of a grove of giant ceibas, when

+the boys rounded a bend to come upon the

+first ledge of rocks for two days.  A low,

+grassy promontory invited the eyes searching

+for camping-ground.  This spot appeared

+ideal; it certainly was beautiful.  The ledge

+jutted into the river almost to the opposite

+shore, forcing the water to rush through a

+rocky trough into a great foam-spotted pool

+below.

+

+They could not pitch the tent, since the

+stony ground would not admit stakes, so

+they laid the canvas flat.  Pepe went up

+the bank with his *machete* in search of

+firewood.  To Ken's utmost delight he found a

+little spring of sweet water trickling from the

+ledge, and by digging a hole was enabled to

+get a drink, the first one in more than a week.

+

+A little later, as he was spreading the

+blankets, George called his attention to shouts

+up in the woods.

+

+"Pepe's treed something," Ken said.  "Take

+your gun and hunt him up."

+

+Ken went on making a bed and busying

+himself about camp, with little heed to

+George's departure.  Presently, however, he

+was startled by unmistakable sounds of alarm.

+George and Pepe were yelling in unison, and,

+from the sound, appeared to be quite a

+distance away.

+

+"What the deuce!" Ken ejaculated, snatching

+up his rifle.  He snapped a clip in the

+magazine and dropped several loaded clips

+and a box of extra shells into his coat pocket.

+After his adventure with the jaguar he decided

+never again to find himself short of ammunition.

+Running up the sloping bank, he entered

+the forest, shouting for his companions.

+Answering cries came from in front and a little

+to the left.  He could not make out what was

+said.

+

+Save for drooping moss the forest was

+comparatively open, and at a hundred paces

+from the river-bank were glades covered with

+thickets and long grass and short palm-trees.

+The ground sloped upward quite perceptibly.

+

+"Hey, boys, where are you?" called Ken.

+

+Pepe's shrill yells mingled with George's

+shouts.  At first their meaning was

+unintelligible, but after calling twice Ken

+understood.

+

+"Javelin!  Go back!  Javelin!  We're treed!

+Wild pigs!  Santa Maria!  Run for your life!"

+

+This was certainly enlightening and rather

+embarrassing.  Ken remembered the other

+time the boys had made him run, and he grew

+hot with anger.

+

+"I'll be blessed if I'll run!" he said, in the

+pride of conceit and wounded vanity.  Whereupon

+he began to climb the slope, stopping

+every few steps to listen and look.  Ken

+wondered what had made Pepe go so far for

+fire-wood; still, there was nothing but green

+wood all about.  Walking round a clump of

+seared and yellow palms that rustled in the

+breeze, Ken suddenly espied George's white

+shirt.  He was in a scrubby sapling not

+fifteen feet from the ground.  Then Ken

+espied Pepe, perched in the forks of a ceiba,

+high above the thickets and low shrubbery.

+Ken was scarcely more than a dozen rods from

+them down the gradual slope.  Both saw him

+at once.

+

+"Run, you Indian!  Run!" bawled George,

+waving his hands.

+

+George implored Ken to fly to save his

+precious life.

+

+"What for? you fools!  I don't see anything

+to run from," Ken shouted back.  His temper

+had soured a little during the last few days.

+

+"You'd better run, or you'll have to climb,"

+replied George.  "Wild pigs--a thousand of 'em!"

+

+"Where?"

+

+"Right under us.  There!  Oh, if they

+see you!  Listen to this."  He broke off a

+branch, trimmed it of leaves, and flung it

+down.  Ken heard a low, trampling roar of

+many hard little feet, brushings in the thicket,

+and cracking of twigs.  As close as he was,

+however, he could not see a moving object.

+The dead grass and brush were several feet

+high, up to his waist in spots, and, though he

+changed position several times, no *javelin*

+did he see.

+

+"You want to look out.  Say, man, these

+are wild pigs--boars, I tell you!  They'll

+kill you!" bellowed George.

+

+"Are you going to stay up there all night?"

+Ken asked, sarcastically.

+

+"We'll stay till they go away."

+

+"All right, I'll scare them away," Ken

+replied, and, suiting action to word, he worked

+the automatic as fast as it would shoot,

+aiming into the thicket under George.

+

+Of all the foolish things a nettled hunter

+ever did that was the worst.  A roar answered

+the echoes of the rifle, and the roar rose from

+every side of the trees the victims were in.

+Nervously Ken clamped a fresh clip of shells

+into the rifle.  Clouds of dust arose, and

+strange little squeals and grunts seemed to

+come from every quarter.  Then the grass

+and bushes were suddenly torn apart by swift

+gray forms with glittering eyes.  They were

+everywhere.

+

+"*Run*!  *Run*!" shrieked George, high above

+the tumult.

+

+For a thrilling instant Ken stood his ground

+and fired at the bobbing gray backs.  But

+every break made in the ranks by the powerful

+shells filled in a flash.  Before that vicious

+charge he wavered, then ran as if pursued by

+demons.

+

+The way was downhill.  Ken tripped, fell,

+rolled over and over, then, still clutching

+the rifle, rose with a bound and fled.  The

+javelin had gained.  They were at his heels.

+He ran like a deer.  Then, seeing a low branch,

+he leaped for it, grasped it with one hand, and,

+crooking an elbow round it, swung with the

+old giant swing.

+

+Before Ken knew how it had happened he

+was astride a dangerously swaying branch

+directly over a troop of brownish-gray,

+sharp-snouted, fiendish-eyed little peccaries.

+

+Some were young and sleek, others were

+old and rough; some had little yellow teeth or

+tusks, and all pointed their sharp noses

+upward, as if expecting him to fall into their

+very mouths.  Feeling safe, once more Ken

+loaded the rifle and began to kill the biggest,

+most vicious *javelin*.  When he had killed

+twelve in twelve shots, he saw that shooting a

+few would be of no avail.  There were

+hundreds, it seemed, and he had scarcely fifty

+shells left.  Moreover, the rifle-barrel grew so

+hot that it burnt his hands.  Hearing George's

+yell, he replied, somewhat to his disgust:

+

+"I'm all right, George--only treed.  How 're you?"

+

+"Pigs all gone--they chased you--Pepe

+thinks we can risk running."

+

+"Don't take any chances," Ken yelled, in answer.

+

+"Hi!  Hi!  What's wrong with you gazabos?"

+came Hal's yell from down the slope.

+

+"Go back to the boat," shouted Ken.

+

+"What for?"

+

+"We're all treed by javelin--wild pigs."

+

+"I've got to see that," was Hal's reply.

+

+Ken called a sharp, angry order for Hal

+to keep away.  But Hal did not obey.  Ken

+heard him coming, and presently saw him

+enter one of the little glades.  He had Ken's

+shotgun, and was peering cautiously about.

+

+"Ken, where are you?"

+

+"Here!  Didn't I tell you to keep away?

+The pigs heard you--some of them are edging

+out there.  Look out!  Run, kid, run!"

+

+A troop of *javelin* flashed into the glade.

+Hal saw them and raised the shotgun.

+

+*Boom*!  He shot both barrels.

+

+The shot tore through the brush all around

+Ken, but fortunately beneath him.  Neither

+the noise nor the lead stopped the pugnacious

+little peccaries.

+

+Hal dropped Ken's hammerless and fled.

+

+"Run faster!" yelled George, who evidently

+enjoyed Hal's plight.  "They'll get you!

+Run hard!"

+

+The lad was running close to the record

+when he disappeared.

+

+In trying to find a more comfortable posture,

+so he could apply himself to an interesting

+study of his captors, Ken made the startling

+discovery that the branch which upheld him

+was splitting from the tree-trunk.  His heart

+began to pound in his breast; then it went

+up into his throat.  Every move he made--for

+he had started to edge toward the

+tree--widened the little white split.

+

+"Boys, my branch is breaking!" he called,

+piercingly.

+

+"Can't you get another?" returned George.

+

+"No; I daren't move!  Hurry, boys!  If

+you don't scare these brutes off I'm a goner!"

+

+Ken's eyes were riveted upon the gap

+where the branch was slowly separating from

+the tree-trunk.  He glanced about to see if

+he could not leap to another branch.  There

+was nothing near that would hold him.  In

+desperation he resolved to drop the rifle,

+cautiously get to his feet upon the branch, and

+with one spring try to reach the tree.  When

+about to act upon this last chance he heard

+Pepe's shrill yell and a crashing in the brush.

+Then followed the unmistakable roar and

+crackling of fire.  Pepe had fired the

+brush--no, he was making his way toward Ken, armed

+with a huge torch.

+

+"Pepe, you'll fire the jungle!" cried Ken,

+forgetting what was at stake and that Pepe

+could not understand much English.  But

+Ken had been in one forest-fire and

+remembered it with horror.

+

+The *javelin* stirred uneasily, and ran around

+under Ken, tumbling over one another.

+

+When Pepe burst through the brush,

+holding before him long-stemmed palm leaves

+flaring in hissing flames, the whole pack of

+pigs bowled away into the forest at breakneck

+speed.

+

+Ken leaped down, and the branch came with

+him.  George came running up, his face white,

+his eyes big.  Behind him rose a roar that Ken

+thought might be another drove of pigs till

+he saw smoke and flame.

+

+"Boys, the jungle's on fire.  Run for the river!"

+

+In their hurry they miscalculated the

+location of camp and dashed out of the jungle

+over a steep bank, and they all had a tumble.

+It was necessary to wade to reach the rocky

+ledge.

+

+Ken shook hands with Pepe.

+

+"George, tell him that was a nervy thing

+to do.  He saved my life, I do believe."

+

+"You fellows did a lot of hollering," said

+Hal, from his perch in the boat.

+

+"Say, young man, you've got to go back

+after my gun.  Why didn't you do what

+I told you?  Foolish, to run into danger that

+way!" declared Ken, severely.

+

+"You don't suppose I was going to overlook

+a chance to see Ken Ward treed, do you?"

+

+"Well, you saw him, and that was no joke.

+But I wish Pepe could have scared those pigs

+off without firing the jungle."

+

+"Pepe says it 'll give the ticks a good

+roasting," said George.

+

+"We'll have roast pig, anyway," added Ken.

+

+He kept watching the jungle back of the

+camp as if he expected it to blow up like

+a powder-mine.  But this Tamaulipas jungle

+was not Penetier Forest.  A cloud of smoke

+rolled up; there was a frequent roaring of dry

+palms; but the green growths did not burn.

+It was not much of a forest-fire, and Ken

+concluded that it would soon burn out.

+

+So he took advantage of the waning

+daylight to spread out his map and plot in the

+day's travel.  This time Hal watched him

+with a quiet attention that was both

+flattering and stimulating; and at the conclusion

+of the task he said:

+

+"Well, Ken, we're having sport, but we're

+doing something more--something worth while."

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`THE LEAPING TARPON`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XXI

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   THE LEAPING TARPON

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Just before dark, when the boys were at

+supper, a swarm of black mosquitoes

+swooped down upon camp.

+

+Pepe could not have shown more fear at

+angry snakes, and he began to pile green

+wood and leaves on the fire to make a heavy

+smoke.

+

+These mosquitoes were very large, black-bodied,

+with white-barred wings.  Their bite

+was as painful as the sting of a bee.  After

+threshing about until tired out the boys went

+to bed.  But it was only to get up again, for

+the mosquitoes could bite through two

+thicknesses of blanket.

+

+For a wonder every one was quiet.  Even

+George did not grumble.  The only thing to

+do was to sit or stand in the smoke of the

+campfire.  The boys wore their gloves and wrapped

+blankets round heads and shoulders.  They

+crouched over the fire until tired of that

+position, then stood up till they could stand

+no longer.  It was a wretched, sleepless night

+with the bloodthirsty mosquitoes humming

+about like a swarm of bees.  They did not

+go away until dawn.

+

+"That's what I get for losing the mosquito-netting,"

+said Ken, wearily.

+

+Breakfast was not a cheerful meal, despite

+the fact that the boys all tried to brace up.

+

+George's condition showed Ken the necessity

+for renewed efforts to get out of the jungle.

+Pepe appeared heavy and slow, and, what was

+more alarming, he had lost his appetite.  Hal

+was cross, but seemed to keep well.  It was

+hard enough for Ken to persuade George and

+Pepe to take the bitter doses of quinine, and

+Hal positively refused.

+

+"It makes me sick, I tell you," said Hal,

+impatiently.

+

+"But Hal, you ought to be guided by my

+judgment now," replied Ken, gently.

+

+"I don't care.  I've had enough of bitter pills."

+

+"I ask you--as a favor?" persisted Ken, quietly.

+

+"No!"

+

+"Well, then, I'll have to make you take them."

+

+"Wha-at?" roared Hal.

+

+"If necessary, I'll throw you down and pry

+open your mouth and get Pepe to stuff these

+pills down your throat.  There!" went on

+Ken, and now he did not recognize his own

+voice.

+

+Hal looked quickly at his brother, and was

+amazed and all at once shaken.

+

+"Why, Ken--" he faltered.

+

+"I ought to have made you take them

+before," interrupted Ken.  "But I've been

+too easy.  Now, Hal, listen--and you, too,

+George.  I've made a bad mess of this trip.

+I got you into this jungle, and I ought to have

+taken better care of you, whether you would

+or not.  George has fever.  Pepe is getting

+it.  I'm afraid you won't escape.  You all

+*would* drink unboiled water."

+

+"Ken, that's all right, but you can get

+fever from the bites of the ticks," said George.

+

+"I dare say.  But just the same you could

+have been careful about the water.  Not only

+that--look how careless we have been.  Think

+of the things that have happened!  We've

+gotten almost wild on this trip.  We don't

+realize.  But wait till we get home.  Then

+we'll hardly be able to believe we ever had

+these adventures.  But our foolishness, our

+carelessness, must stop right here.  If we can't

+profit by our lucky escapes yesterday--from

+that lassoed crocodile and the wild pigs--we

+are simply no good.  I love fun and sport.

+But there's a limit.  Hal, remember what old

+Hiram told you about being foolhardily brave.

+I think we have been wonderfully lucky.

+Now let's deserve our good luck.  Let's not

+prove what that Tampico hotel-man said.

+Let's show we are not just wild-goose-chasing

+boys.  I put it to you straight.  I think the

+real test is yet to come, and I want you to

+help me.  No more tricks.  No more drinking

+unboiled water.  No more shooting except

+in self-defense.  We must not eat any more

+meat.  No more careless wandering up the

+banks.  No chances.  See?  And fight the

+fever.  Don't give up.  Then when we get

+out of this awful jungle we can look back at

+our adventures--and, better, we can be sure

+we've learned a lot.  We shall have accomplished

+something, and that's learning.  Now,

+how about it?  Will you help me?"

+

+"You can just bet your life," replied George,

+and he held out his hand.

+

+"Ken, I'm with you," was Hal's quiet

+promise; and Ken knew from the way the lad

+spoke that he was in dead earnest.  When it

+came to the last ditch Hal Ward was as true

+as steel.  He took the raw, bitter quinine Ken

+offered and swallowed it without a grimace.

+

+"Good!" exclaimed Ken.  "Now, boys, let's

+pack.  Hal, you let your menagerie go.

+There's no use keeping your pets any longer.

+George, you make yourself a bed on the trunk,

+and fix a palm-leaf sun-shelter.  Then lie

+down."

+

+When the boat had been packed and all was

+in readiness for the start, George was sound

+asleep.  They shoved off into the current.

+Pepe and Ken took turns at the oars, making

+five miles an hour.

+

+As on the day before, they glided under the

+shadows of the great moss-twined cypresses,

+along the muddy banks where crocodiles

+basked in the sun and gaunt cattle came down

+to drink.  Once the boat turned a bushy point

+to startle a large flock of wild turkeys,

+perhaps thirty-five in number.  They had been

+resting in the cool sand along the river.  Some

+ran up the bank, some half-dozen flew right

+over the boat, and most of them squatted down

+as if to evade detection.  Thereafter turkeys

+and ducks and geese became so common as to

+be monotonous.

+

+About one o'clock Ken sighted a thatched

+bamboo and palm-leaf hut on the bank.

+

+"Oh, boys, look! look!" cried Ken, joyfully.

+

+Hal was as pleased as Ken, and George

+roused out of his slumber.  Pepe grinned and

+nodded his head.

+

+Some naked little children ran like quail.

+A disheveled black head peeped out of a

+door, then swiftly vanished.

+

+"Indians," said George.

+

+"I don't care," replied Ken, "they're human

+beings--people.  We're getting somewhere."

+

+From there on the little bamboo huts were

+frequently sighted.  And soon Ken saw a large

+one situated upon a high bluff.  Ken was

+wondering if these natives would be hospitable.

+

+Upon rounding the next bend the boys

+came unexpectedly upon a connecting river.

+It was twice as wide as the Santa Rosa, and

+quite swift.

+

+"Tamaulipas," said Pepe.

+

+"Hooray! boys, this is the source of the

+Panuco, sure as you're born," cried Ken.  "I

+told you we were getting somewhere."

+

+He was overcome with the discovery.  This

+meant success.

+

+"Savalo!  Savalo!" exclaimed Pepe, pointing.

+

+"Tarpon!  Tarpon!  What do you think

+of that?  'Way up here!  We must be a long

+distance from tide-water," said George.

+

+Ken looked around over the broad pool

+below the junction of the two rivers.  And

+here and there he saw swirls, and big splashes,

+and then the silver sides of rolling tarpon.

+

+"Boys, seeing we've packed that can of

+preserved mullet all the way, and those

+thundering heavy tackles, let's try for

+tarpon," suggested Ken.

+

+It was wonderful to see how the boys

+responded.  Pepe was no longer slow and

+heavy.  George forgot he was sick.  Hal,

+who loved to fish better than to hunt, was as

+enthusiastic as on the first day.

+

+"Ken, let me boss this job," said George,

+as he began to rig the tackles.  "Pepe will

+row; you and Hal sit back here and troll.

+I'll make myself useful.  Open the can.

+See, I hook the mullet just back of the head,

+letting the bar come out free.  There!  Now

+run out about forty feet of line.  Steady the

+butt of the rod under your leg.  Put your left

+hand above the reel.  Hold the handle of the

+reel in your right, and hold it hard.  The

+drag is in the handle.  Now when a tarpon

+takes the bait, jerk with all your might.

+Their mouths are like iron, and it's hard to get

+a hook to stick."

+

+Pepe rowed at a smooth, even stroke and

+made for the great curve of the pool where

+tarpon were breaking water.

+

+"If they're on the feed, we'll have more

+sport than we've had yet," said George.

+

+Ken was fascinated, and saw that Hal was

+going to have the best time of the trip.  Also

+Ken was very curious to have a tarpon strike.

+He had no idea what it would be like.  Presently,

+when the boat glided among the rolling

+fish and there was prospect of one striking

+at any moment, Ken could not subdue a

+mounting excitement.

+

+"Steady now--be ready," warned George.

+

+Suddenly Hal's line straightened.  The lad

+yelled and jerked at the same instant.  There

+came a roar of splitting waters, and a beautiful

+silver fish, longer than Hal himself, shot

+up into the air.  The tarpon shook himself

+and dropped back into the water with a crash.

+

+Hal was speechless.  He wound in his line

+to find the bait gone.

+

+"Threw the hook," said George, as he

+reached into the can for another bait.  "He

+wasn't so big.  You'll get used to losing 'em.

+There! try again."

+

+Ken had felt several gentle tugs at his line,

+as if tarpon were rolling across it.  And

+indeed he saw several fish swim right over where

+his line disappeared in the water.  There were

+splashes all around the boat, some gentle

+swishes and others hard, cutting rushes.

+Then his line straightened with a heavy

+jerk.  He forgot to try to hook the fish;

+indeed, he had no time.  The tarpon came half

+out of the water, wagged his head, and plumped

+back.  Ken had not hooked the fish, nor had

+the fish got the bait.  So Ken again let out his

+line.

+

+The next thing which happened was that

+the boys both had strikes at the same instant.

+Hal stood up, and as his tarpon leaped it

+pulled him forward, and he fell into the

+stern-seat.  His reel-handle rattled on the gunwale.

+The line hissed.  Ken leaned back and jerked.

+His fish did not break water, but he was

+wonderfully active under the surface.  Pepe was

+jabbering.  George was yelling.  Hal's fish

+was tearing the water to shreds.  He crossed

+Ken's fish; the lines fouled, and then slacked.

+Ken began to wind in.  Hal rose to do likewise.

+

+"Gee!" he whispered, with round eyes.

+

+Both lines had been broken.  George made

+light of this incident, and tied on two more

+leaders and hooks and baited afresh.

+

+"The fish are on the feed, boys.  It's a

+cinch you'll each catch one.  Better troll one

+at a time, unless you can stand for crossed

+lines."

+

+But Ken and Hal were too eager to catch a

+tarpon to troll one at a time, so once more

+they let their lines out.  A tarpon took Hal's

+bait right under the stern of the boat.  Hal

+struck with all his might.  This fish came up

+with a tremendous splash, drenching the boys.

+His great, gleaming silver sides glistened in

+the sun.  He curved his body and straightened

+out with a snap like the breaking of a board,

+and he threw the hook whistling into the air.

+

+Before Hal had baited up, Ken got another

+strike.  This fish made five leaps, one after

+the other, and upon the last threw the hook

+like a bullet.  As he plunged down, a

+beautiful rainbow appeared in the misty spray.

+

+"Hal, do you see that rainbow?" cried Ken,

+quickly.  "There's a sight for a fisherman!"

+

+This time in turn, before Ken started to

+troll, Hal hooked another tarpon.  This one

+was not so large, but he was active.  His

+first rush was a long surge on the surface.

+He sent the spray in two streaks like a

+motor-boat.  Then he sounded.

+

+"Hang on, Hal!" yelled George and Ken

+in unison.

+

+Hal was bent almost double and his head

+was bobbing under the strain.  He could

+not hold the drag.  The line was whizzing out.

+

+"You got that one hooked," shouted

+George.  "Let go the reel--drop the handle.

+Let him run."

+

+He complied, and then his fish began a

+marvelous exhibition of lofty tumbling.  He

+seemed never to stay down at all.  Now he

+shot up, mouth wide, gills spread, eyes wild,

+and he shook himself like a wet dog.  Then

+he dropped back, and before the boys had

+time to think where he might be he came

+up several rods to the right and cracked his

+gills like pistol-shots.  He skittered on his

+tail and stood on his head and dropped flat

+with a heavy smack.  Then he stayed under

+and began to tug.

+

+"Hang on, now," cried George.  "Wind

+in.  Hold him tight.  Don't give him an

+inch unless he jumps."

+

+This was heartbreaking work for Hal.  He

+toiled to keep the line in.  He grew red in the

+face.  He dripped with sweat.  He panted for

+breath.  But he hung on.

+

+Ken saw how skilfully Pepe managed the

+boat.  The *mozo* seemed to know just which

+way the fish headed, and always kept the boat

+straight.  Sometimes he rowed back and lent

+his help to Hal.  But this appeared to anger

+the tarpon, for the line told he was coming

+to the surface.  Then, as Pepe ceased to let

+him feel the weight of the boat, the tarpon

+sank again.  So the battle went on round and

+round the great pool.  After an hour of it

+Hal looked ready to drop.

+

+"Land him alone if you can," said Ken.

+"He's tiring, Hal."

+

+"I'll--land him--or--or bust!" panted Hal.

+

+"Look out, now!" warned George again.

+"He's coming up.  See the line.  Be ready

+to trim the boat if he drops aboard.  *Wow!*"

+

+The tarpon slipped smoothly out of the

+water and shot right over the bow of the boat.

+Quick-witted George flung out his hand and

+threw Hal's rod round in time to save the line

+from catching.  The fish went down, came

+up wagging his head, and then fell with

+sullen splash.

+

+"He's done," yelled George.  "Now, Hal,

+hold him for all you're worth.  Not an inch

+of line!"

+

+Pepe headed the boat for a sandy beach;

+and Hal, looking as if about to have a stroke

+of apoplexy, clung desperately to the bending

+rod.  The tarpon rolled and lashed his tail,

+but his power was mostly gone.  Gradually he

+ceased to roll, until by the time Pepe reached

+shore he was sliding wearily through the water,

+his silvery side glittering in the light.

+

+The boat grated on the sand.  Pepe leaped

+out.  Then he grasped Hal's line, slipped his

+hands down to the long wire leader, and

+with a quick, powerful pull slid the tarpon

+out upon the beach.

+

+"Oh-h!" gasped Hal, with glistening eyes.

+"Oh-h!  Ken, just look!"

+

+"I'm looking, son, and don't you forget it."

+

+The tarpon lay inert, a beautiful silver-scaled

+creature that looked as if he had just

+come from a bath of melted opals.  The great

+dark eyes were fixed and staring, the tail

+moved feebly, the long dorsal fin quivered.

+

+He measured five feet six inches in length,

+which was one inch more than Hal's height.

+

+"Ken, the boys back home will never believe

+I caught him," said Hal, in distress.

+

+"Take his picture to prove it," replied Ken.

+

+Hal photographed his catch.  Pepe took

+out the hook, showing, as he did so, the great

+iron-like plates in the mouth of the fish.

+

+"No wonder it's hard to hook them," said Ken.

+

+Hal certainly wanted his beautiful fish to

+go back, free and little hurt, to the river.

+But also he wanted him for a specimen.  Hal

+deliberated.  Evidently he was considering the

+labor of skinning such a huge fish and the

+difficulty of preserving and packing the hide.

+

+"Say, Hal, wouldn't you like to see me hook

+one?" queried Ken, patiently.

+

+That brought Hal to his senses.

+

+"Sure, Ken, old man, I want you to catch

+one--a big one--bigger than mine," replied

+Hal, and restored the fish to the water.

+

+They all watched the liberated tarpon swim

+wearily off and slip down under the water.

+

+"He'll have something to tell the rest,

+won't he?" said George.

+

+In a few minutes the boat was again in the

+center of the great pool among the rolling

+tarpon.  Ken had a strike immediately.

+He missed.  Then he tried again.  And in a

+short space of time he saw five tarpon in the

+air, one after the other, and not one did he

+hook securely.  He got six leaps out of one,

+however, and that was almost as good as

+landing him.

+

+"There 're some whales here," said George.

+

+"Grande savalo," added Pepe, and he rowed

+over to where a huge fish was rolling.

+

+"Oh, I don't want to hook the biggest one

+first," protested Ken.

+

+Pepe rowed to and fro.  The boys were busy

+trying to see the rolling tarpon.  There would

+be a souse on one side, then a splash on the

+other, then a thump behind.  What with

+trying to locate all these fish and still keep an

+eye on Ken's line the boys almost dislocated

+their necks.

+

+Then, quick as a flash, Ken had a strike

+that pulled him out of his seat to his knees.

+He could not jerk.  His line was like a wire.

+It began to rise.  With all his strength he

+held on.  The water broke in a hollow, slow

+roar, and a huge humpbacked tarpon seemed

+to be climbing into the air.  But he did not

+get all the way out, and he plunged back

+with a thunderous crash.  He made as much

+noise as if a horse had fallen off a bridge.

+

+The handle of the reel slipped out of Ken's

+grasp, and it was well.  The tarpon made a

+long, wonderful run and showed on the surface

+a hundred yards from the boat.  He was

+irresistibly powerful.  Ken was astounded and

+thrilled at his strength and speed.  There,

+far away from the boat, the tarpon leaped

+magnificently, clearing the water, and then

+went down.  He did not come up again.

+

+"Ken, he's a whale," said George.  "I

+believe he's well hooked.  He won't jump any

+more.  And you've got a job on your hands."

+

+"I want him to jump."

+

+"The big ones seldom break water after

+the first rush or so."

+

+"Ken, it's coming to you with that

+fellow," said Hal.  "My left arm is paralyzed.

+Honestly, I can pinch it and not feel the pain."

+

+Pepe worked the boat closer and Ken

+reeled in yard after yard of line.  The tarpon

+was headed down-stream, and he kept up a

+steady, strong strain.

+

+"Let him tow the boat," said George.

+"Hold the drag, Ken.  Let him tow the boat."

+

+"What!" exclaimed Ken, in amaze.

+

+"Oh, he'll do it, all right."

+

+And so it proved.  Ken's tarpon, once

+headed with the current, did not turn, and

+he towed the boat.

+

+"This is a new way for me to tire out a

+fish," said Ken.  "What do you think of it, Hal?"

+

+Hal's eyes glistened.

+

+"This is fishing.  Ken, did you see him

+when he came up?"

+

+"Not very clearly.  I had buck-fever.  You

+know how a grouse looks when he flushes

+right under your feet--a kind of brown blur.

+Well, this was the same, only silver."

+

+At the end of what Ken judged to be a

+mile the tarpon was still going.  At the end

+of the second mile he was tired.  And three

+miles down the river from where the fish was

+hooked Pepe beached the boat on a sandbar

+and hauled ashore a tarpon six feet ten

+inches long.

+

+Here Ken echoed Hal's panting gasp

+of wonder and exultation.  As he sat down

+on the boat to rest he had no feeling in

+his left arm, and little in his right.  His

+knuckles were skinned and bloody.  No

+game of baseball he had ever pitched had

+taken his strength like the conquest of this

+magnificent fish.

+

+"Hal, we'll have some more of this fishing

+when we get to Tampico," said Ken.  "Why,

+this beats hunting.  You have the sport, and

+you needn't kill anything.  This tarpon isn't

+hurt."

+

+So Ken photographed his prize and measured

+him, and, taking a last lingering glance at the

+great green back, the silver-bronze sides, the

+foot-wide flukes of the tail, at the whole

+quivering fire-tinted length, he slid the tarpon

+back into the river.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`STRICKEN DOWN`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XXII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   STRICKEN DOWN

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Much as Ken would have liked to go back

+to that pool, he did not think of it twice.

+And as soon as the excitement had subsided

+and the journey was resumed, George and Hal,

+and Pepe, too, settled down into a silent

+weariness that made Ken anxious.

+

+During the afternoon Ken saw Pepe slowly

+droop lower and lower at the oars till the time

+came when he could scarcely lift them to

+make a stroke.  And when Ken relieved him

+of them, Pepe fell like a log in the boat.

+

+George slept.  Hal seemed to be fighting

+stupor.  Pepe lay motionless on his seat.  They

+were all going down with the fever, that

+Ken knew, and it took all his courage to face

+the situation.  It warmed his heart to see how

+Hal was trying to bear up under a languor

+that must have been well-nigh impossible to

+resist.  At last Hal said:

+

+"Ken, let me row."  He would not admit

+that he was sick.

+

+Ken thought it would do Hal no harm to

+work.  But Ken did not want to lose time.

+So he hit upon a plan that pleased him.

+There was an extra pair of oars in the boat.

+Ken fashioned rude pegs from a stick and

+drove these down into the cleat inside the

+gunwales.  With stout rope he tied the oars

+to the pegs, which answered fairly well as

+oarlocks.  Then they had a double set of

+oars going, and made much better time.

+

+George woke and declared that he must take

+a turn at the oars.  So Ken let him row, too,

+and rested himself.  He had a grim foreboding

+that he would need all his strength.

+

+The succeeding few hours before sunset

+George and Hal more than made up for all

+their delinquencies of the past.  At first it was

+not very hard for them to row; but soon they

+began to weary, then weaken.  Neither one,

+however, would give up.  Ken let them

+row, knowing that it was good for them.

+Slower and slower grew George's strokes,

+there were times when he jerked up

+spasmodically and made an effort, only to weaken

+again.  At last, with a groan he dropped the

+oars.  Ken had to lift him back into the bow.

+

+Hal was not so sick as George, and therefore

+not so weak.  He lasted longer.  Ken

+had seen the lad stick to many a hard job,

+but never as he did to this one.  Hal was

+making good his promise.  There were times when

+his breath came in whistles.  He would stop

+and pant awhile, then row on.  Ken pretended

+he did not notice.  But he had never been

+so proud of his brother nor loved him so well.

+

+"Ken, old man," said Hal, presently.  "I

+was--wrong--about the water.  I ought to

+have obeyed you.  I--I'm pretty sick."

+

+What a confession for Hal Ward!

+

+Ken turned in time to see Hal vomit over

+the gunwale.

+

+"It's pretty tough, Hal," said Ken, as he

+reached out to hold his brother's head; "but

+you're game.  I'm so glad to see that."

+

+Whereupon Hal went back to his oars and

+stayed till he dropped.  Ken lifted him and

+laid him beside George.

+

+Ken rowed on with his eyes ever in search

+of a camping-site.  But there was no place to

+camp.  The muddy banks were too narrow

+at the bottom, too marshy and filthy.  And

+they were too steep to climb to the top.

+

+The sun set.  Twilight fell.  Darkness came

+on, and still Ken rowed down the river.  At

+last he decided to make a night of it at the

+oars.  He preferred to risk the dangers of the

+river at night rather than spend miserable

+hours in the mud.  Rousing the boys, he

+forced them to swallow a little cold rice and

+some more quinine.  Then he covered them

+with blankets, and had scarce completed the

+task when they were deep in slumber.

+

+Then the strange, dense tropical night

+settled down upon Ken.  The oars were

+almost noiseless, and the water gurgled softly

+from the bow.  Overhead the expanse was

+dark blue, with a few palpitating stars.  The

+river was shrouded in gray gloom, and the

+banks were lost in black obscurity.  Great

+fireflies emphasized the darkness.  He trusted

+a good deal to luck in the matter of going

+right; yet he kept his ear keen for the sound

+of quickening current, and turned every few

+strokes to peer sharply into the gloom.  He

+seemed to have little sense of peril, for, though

+he hit submerged logs and stranded on bars,

+he kept on unmindful, and by and by lost what

+anxiety he had felt.  The strange wildness

+of the river at night, the gray, veiled space into

+which he rowed unheeding began to work

+upon his mind.

+

+That was a night to remember--a night

+of sounds and smells, of the feeling of the cool

+mist, the sight of long, dark forest-line and

+a golden moon half hidden by clouds.  Prominent

+among these was the trill of river frogs.

+The trill of a northern frog was music, but

+that of these great, silver-throated jungle

+frogs was more than music.  Close at hand one

+would thrill Ken with mellow, rich notes;

+and then from far would come the answer,

+a sweet, high tenor, wilder than any other

+wilderness sound, long sustained, dying away

+till he held his breath to listen.

+

+So the hours passed; and the moon went

+down into the weird shadows, and the Southern

+Cross rose pale and wonderful.

+

+Gradually the stars vanished in a kind of

+brightening gray, and dawn was at hand.

+Ken felt weary for sleep, and his arms and back

+ached.  Morning came, with its steely light

+on the river, the rolling and melting of vapors,

+the flight of ducks and call of birds.  The

+rosy sun brought no cheer.

+

+Ken beached the boat on a sand-bar.

+While he was building a fire George raised

+his head and groaned.  But neither Pepe nor

+Hal moved.  Ken cooked rice and boiled

+cocoa, which he choked down.  He opened

+a can of fruit and found that most welcome.

+Then he lifted George's head, shook him,

+roused him, and held him, and made him eat

+and drink.  Nor did he neglect to put a

+liberal dose of quinine in the food.  Pepe was

+easily managed, but poor Hal was almost

+unable to swallow.  Something terribly grim

+mingled with a strong, passionate thrill as

+Ken looked at Hal's haggard face.  Then

+Ken Ward knew how much he could stand,

+what work he could do to get his brother out

+of the jungle.

+

+He covered the boys again and pushed out

+the boat.  At the moment he felt a strength

+that he had never felt before.  There was a

+good, swift current in the river, and Ken was

+at great pains to keep in it.  The channel

+ran from one side of the river to the other.

+Many times Ken stranded on sandy shoals

+and had to stand up and pole the boat into

+deeper water.  This was work that required

+all his attention.  It required more than

+patience.  But as he rowed and poled and

+drifted he studied the shallow ripples and

+learned to avoid the places where the boat

+would not float.

+

+There were stretches of river where the

+water was comparatively deep, and along

+these he rested and watched the shores as he

+drifted by.  He saw no Indian huts that

+morning.  The jungle loomed high and dark,

+a matted gray wall.  The heat made the

+river glare and smoke.  Then where the

+current quickened he rowed steadily and easily,

+husbanding his strength.

+

+More than all else, even the ravings of Hal

+in fever, the thing that wore on Ken and made

+him gloomy was the mourning of turtle-doves.

+As there had been thousands of these

+beautiful birds along the Santa Rosa River, so

+there were millions along the Panuco.  Trees

+were blue with doves.  There was an

+incessant soft, sad moaning.  He fought his

+nervous, sensitive imaginings.  And for a

+time he would conquer the sense of some sad

+omen sung by the doves.  Then the monotony,

+the endless sweet "coo-ooo-ooo," seemed

+to drown him in melancholy sound.  There were

+three distinct tones--a moan, swelling to full

+ring, and dying away: "Coo-*ooo*-ooo--coo-*ooo*-ooo."

+

+All the afternoon the mourning, haunting

+song filled Ken Ward's ears.  And when the

+sun set and night came, with relief to his

+tortured ear but not to mind, Ken kept on

+without a stop.

+

+The day had slipped behind Ken with the

+miles, and now it was again dark.  It seemed

+that he had little sense of time.  But his

+faculties of sight and hearing were singularly

+acute.  Otherwise his mind was like the weird

+gloom into which he was drifting.

+

+Before the stars came out the blackness was

+as thick as pitch.  He could not see a yard

+ahead.  He backed the boat stern first

+down-stream and listened for the soft murmur

+of ripples on shoals.  He avoided these by

+hearing alone.  Occasionally a huge, dark

+pile of driftwood barred his passage, and he

+would have to go round it.  Snags loomed up

+specter-like in his path, seemingly to reach for

+him with long, gaunt arms.  Sometimes he

+drifted upon sand-bars, from which he would

+patiently pole the boat.

+

+When the heavy dew began to fall he put

+on his waterproof coat.  The night grew

+chill.  Then the stars shone out.  This

+lightened the river.  Yet everywhere were shadows.

+Besides, clouds of mist hung low, in places

+obscuring the stars.

+

+Ken turned the boat bow first downstream

+and rowed with slow, even stroke.

+He no longer felt tired.  He seemed to have

+the strength of a giant.  He fancied that with

+one great heave he could lift the boat out of

+the water or break the oars.  From time to

+time he ceased to row, and, turning his head,

+he looked and listened.  The river had numerous

+bends, and it was difficult for Ken to keep

+in the middle channel.  He managed pretty

+well to keep right by watching the dark

+shore-line where it met the deep-blue sky.

+In the bends the deepest water ran close to

+the shore of the outside curve.  And under

+these high banks and the leaning cypresses

+shadows were thicker and blacker than in the

+earlier night.  There was mystery in them

+that Ken felt.

+

+The sounds he heard when he stopped

+during these cautious resting intervals were

+the splashes of fish breaking water, the low

+hum of insects, and the trill of frogs.  The

+mourning of the doves during daylight had

+haunted him, and now he felt the same

+sensation at this long-sustained, exquisitely sweet

+trill.  It pierced him, racked him, and at last,

+from sheer exhaustion of his sensibilities, he

+seemed not to hear it any more, but to have

+it in his brain.

+

+The moon rose behind the left-hand jungle

+wall, silvered half of the river and the

+opposite line of cypresses, then hid under clouds.

+

+Suddenly, near or far away, down the river

+Ken saw a wavering light.  It was too large

+for a firefly, and too steady.  He took it

+for a Jack-o'-lantern.  And for a while it

+enhanced the unreality, the ghostliness of the

+river.  But it was the means of bringing

+Ken out of his dreamy gloom.  It made him

+think.  The light was moving.  It was too

+wavering for a Jack-o'-lantern.  It was

+coming up-stream.  It grew larger.

+

+Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it

+vanished.  Ken lost sight of it under a deep

+shadow of overhanging shore.  As he reached

+a point opposite to where it disappeared he

+thought he heard a voice.  But he could not

+be sure.  He did not trust his ears.  The

+incident, however, gave him a chill.  What

+a lonesome ride!  He was alone on that

+unknown river with three sick boys in the boat.

+Their lives depended upon his care, his

+strength, his skill, his sight and hearing.

+And the realization, striking him afresh,

+steeled his arms again and his spirit.

+

+The night wore on.  The moon disappeared

+entirely.  The mists hung low like dim sheets

+along the water.  Ken was wringing-wet with

+dew.  Long periods of rowing he broke with

+short intervals of drifting, when he rested at

+the oars.

+

+Then drowsiness attacked him.  For hours

+it seemed he fought it off.  But at length it

+grew overpowering.  Only hard rowing would

+keep him awake.  And, as he wanted to

+reserve his strength, he did not dare exert

+himself violently.  He could not keep his eyes

+open.  Time after time he found himself

+rowing when he was half asleep.  The boat

+drifted against a log and stopped.  Ken

+drooped over his oars and slept, and yet he

+seemed not altogether to lose consciousness.

+He roused again to row on.

+

+It occurred to him presently that he might

+let the boat drift and take naps between

+whiles.  When he drifted against a log or a

+sand-bar the jar would awaken him.  The

+current was sluggish.  There seemed to be

+no danger whatever.  He must try to keep

+his strength.  A little sleep would refresh

+him.  So he reasoned, and fell asleep over

+the oars.

+

+Sooner or later--he never knew how long

+after he had fallen asleep--a little jar awakened

+him.  Then the gurgle and murmur of water

+near him and the rush and roar of a swift

+current farther off made him look up with a

+violent start.  All about him was wide, gray

+gloom.  Yet he could see the dark, glancing

+gleam of the water.  Movement of the oars

+told him the boat was fast on a sand-bar.

+That relieved him, for he was not drifting at

+the moment into the swift current he heard.

+Ken peered keenly into the gloom.  Gradually

+he made out a long, dark line running

+diagonally ahead of him and toward the

+right-hand shore.  It could not be an island or a

+sand-bar or a shore-line.  It could not be

+piles of driftwood.  There was a strange

+regularity in the dark upheavals of this

+looming object.  Ken studied it.  He studied the

+black, glancing water.  Whatever the line

+was, it appeared to shunt the current over to

+the right, whence came the low rush and roar.

+

+Altogether it was a wild, strange place.

+Ken felt a fear of something he could not name.

+It was the river--the night--the loneliness--the

+unknown about him and before him.

+

+Suddenly he saw a dull, red light far down

+the river.  He stiffened in his seat.  Then

+he saw another red light.  They were like

+two red eyes.  Ken shook himself to see if

+he had nightmare.  No; the boat was there;

+the current was there; the boys were there,

+dark and silent under their blankets.  This

+was no dream.  Ken's fancy conjured up

+some red-eyed river demon come to destroy

+him and his charges.  He scorned the fancy,

+laughed at it.  But, all the same, in that dark,

+weird place, with the murmuring of notes

+in his ears and with those strange red eyes

+glowing in the distance, he could not help

+what his emotions made the truth.  He was

+freezing to the marrow, writhing in a clammy

+sweat when a low "chug-chug-chug" enlightened

+him.  The red eyes were those of a steamboat.

+

+A steamboat on the wild Panuco!  Ken

+scarcely believed his own judgment.  Then

+he remembered that George said there were

+a couple of boats plying up and down the

+lower Panuco, mostly transporting timber and

+cattle.  Besides, he had proof of his judgment

+in the long, dark line that had so puzzled

+him--it was a breakwater.  It turned the

+current to the left, where there evidently was

+a channel.

+

+The great, red eyes gleamed closer, the

+"chug-chug-chug" sounded louder.  Then

+another sound amazed Ken--a man's voice

+crying out steadily and monotonously.

+

+Ken wanted to rouse the boys and Pepe,

+but he refrained.  It was best for them to

+sleep.  How surprised they would be when he

+told them about the boat that passed in the

+night!  Ken now clearly heard the splashing

+of paddles, the chug of machinery, and the

+man's voice.  He was singsonging: "Dos y

+media, dos y media, dos y media."

+

+Ken understood a little Mexican, and

+this strange cry became clear to him.  The

+man was taking soundings with a lead and

+crying out to the pilot.  *Dos y media* meant two

+and a half feet of water.  Then the steam-boat

+loomed black in the gray gloom.  It was

+pushing a low, flat barge.  Ken could not

+see the man taking soundings, but he heard

+him and knew he was on the front end of the

+barge.  The boat passed at fair speed, and it

+cheered Ken.  For he certainly ought to be

+able to take a rowboat where a steamboat

+had passed.  And, besides, he must be getting

+somewhere near the little village of Panuco.

+

+He poled off the bar and along the breakwater

+to the channel.  It was narrow and swift.

+He wondered how the pilot of the steamboat

+had navigated in the gloom.  He slipped

+down-stream, presently to find himself once

+more in a wide river.  Refreshed by his sleep

+and encouraged by the meeting with the

+steamboat, Ken settled down to steady rowing.

+

+The stars paled, the mist thickened, fog

+obscured the water and shore; then all turned

+gray, lightened, and dawn broke.  The sun

+burst out.  Ken saw thatched huts high on

+the banks and occasionally natives.  This

+encouraged him all the more.

+

+He was not hungry, but he was sick for a

+drink.  He had to fight himself to keep from

+drinking the dirty river-water.  How different

+it was here from the clear green of the upper

+Santa Rosa!  Ken would have given his best

+gun for one juicy orange.  George was

+restless and rolling about, calling for water;

+Hal lay in slumber or stupor; and Pepe sat

+up.  He was a sick-looking fellow, but he

+was better; and that cheered Ken as nothing

+yet had.

+

+Ken beached the boat on a sandy shore,

+and once again forced down a little rice and

+cocoa.  Pepe would not eat, yet he drank a

+little.  George was burning up with fever,

+and drank a full cup.  Hal did not stir, and

+Ken thought it best to let him lie.

+

+As Ken resumed the journey the next thing

+to attract his attention was a long canoe

+moored below one of the thatched huts.

+This afforded him great satisfaction.  At

+least he had passed the jungle wilderness,

+where there was nothing that even suggested

+civilization.  In the next few miles he noticed

+several canoes and as many natives.  Then

+he passed a canoe that was paddled by two

+half-naked bronze Indians.  Pepe hailed them,

+but either they were too unfriendly to reply

+or they did not understand him.

+

+Some distance below Pepe espied a banana

+grove, and he motioned Ken to row ashore.

+Ken did so with pleasure at the thought of

+getting some fresh fruit.  There was a canoe

+moored to the roots of a tree and a path

+leading up the steep bank.  Pepe got out and

+laboriously toiled up the bare path.  He was

+gone a good while.

+

+Presently Ken heard shouts, then the bang

+of a lightly loaded gun, then yells from Pepe.

+

+"What on earth!" cried Ken, looking up in

+affright.

+

+Pepe appeared with his arms full of red

+bananas.  He jumped and staggered down

+the path and almost fell into the boat.  But

+he hung on to the bananas.

+

+"Santa Maria!" gasped Pepe, pointing to

+little bloody spots on the calf of his leg.

+

+"Pepe, you've been shot!" ejaculated Ken.

+"You stole the fruit--somebody shot you!"

+

+Pepe howled his affirmative.  Ken was

+angry at himself, angrier at Pepe, and angriest

+at the native who had done the shooting.

+With a strong shove Ken put the boat out

+and then rowed hard down-stream.  As he

+rounded a bend a hundred yards below he saw

+three natives come tumbling down the path.

+They had a gun.  They leaped into the canoe.

+They meant pursuit.

+

+"Say, but this is a pretty kettle of fish!"

+muttered Ken, and he bent to the oars.

+

+Of course Pepe had been in the wrong.

+He should have paid for the bananas or asked

+for them.  All the same, Ken was not in any

+humor to be fooled with by excitable natives.

+He had a sick brother in the boat and meant

+to get that lad out of the jungle as quickly

+as will and strength could do it.  He

+certainly did not intend to be stopped by a few

+miserable Indians angry over the loss of a few

+bananas.  If it had not been for the gun,

+Ken would have stopped long enough to pay

+for the fruit.  But he could not risk it now.

+So he pulled a strong stroke down-stream.

+

+The worst of the matter developed when

+Pepe peeled one of the bananas.  It was too

+green to eat.

+

+Presently the native canoe hove in sight

+round the bend.  All three men were paddling.

+They made the long craft fly through

+the water.  Ken saw instantly that they would

+overhaul him in a long race, and this added

+to his resentment.  Pepe looked back and

+jabbered and shook his brawny fists at the

+natives.  Ken was glad to see that the long

+stretch of river below did not show a canoe

+or hut along the banks.  He preferred to be

+overhauled, if he had to be, in a rather lonely spot.

+

+It was wonderful how those natives propelled

+that log canoe.  And when one of the

+three dropped his paddle to pick up the gun,

+the speed of the canoe seemed not to diminish.

+They knew the channels, and so gained on

+Ken.  He had to pick the best he could

+choose at short notice, and sometimes he

+chose poorly.

+

+Two miles or more below the bend the

+natives with the gun deliberately fired,

+presumably at Pepe.  The shot scattered and

+skipped along the water and did not come

+near the boat.  Nevertheless, as the canoe

+was gaining and the crazy native was reloading,

+Ken saw he would soon be within range.

+Something had to be done.

+

+Ken wondered if he could not frighten

+those natives.  They had probably never

+heard the quick reports of a repeating rifle,

+let alone the stinging cracks of an automatic.

+Ken decided it would be worth trying.  But

+he must have a chance to get the gun out of

+its case and load it.

+

+That chance came presently.  The natives,

+in paddling diagonally across a narrow

+channel, ran aground in the sand.  They were

+fast for only a few moments, but in that time

+Ken had got out the little rifle and loaded it.

+

+Pepe's dark face turned a dirty white, and

+his eyes dilated.  He imagined Ken was

+going to kill some of his countrymen.  But

+Pepe never murmured.  He rubbed the place

+in his leg where he had been shot, and looked

+back.

+

+Ken rowed on, now leisurely.  There was

+a hot anger within him, but he had it in

+control.  He knew what he was about.  Again

+the native fired, and again his range was short.

+The distance was perhaps two hundred yards.

+

+Ken waited until the canoe, in crossing

+one of the many narrow places, was broadside

+toward him.  Then he raised the automatic.

+There were at least ten feet in the

+middle of the canoe where it was safe for him

+to hit without harm to the natives.  And

+there he aimed.  The motion of his boat made

+it rather hard to keep the sights right.  He was

+cool, careful; he aimed low, between gunwale

+and the water, and steadily he pulled the

+trigger--once, twice, three times, four, five.

+

+The steel-jacketed bullets "spoued" on

+the water and "cracked" into the canoe.

+They evidently split both gunwales low down

+at the water-line.  The yelling, terror-stricken

+natives plunged about, and what with

+their actions and the great split in the middle

+the canoe filled and sank.  The natives were

+not over their depth; that was plainly evident.

+Moreover, it was equally evident that they

+dared not wade in the quicksand.  So they

+swam to the shallower water, and there, like

+huge turtles, floundered toward the shore.

+

+

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. _`OUT OF THE JUNGLE`:

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   XXIII

+

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+   OUT OF THE JUNGLE

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+Before the natives had reached the

+shore they were hidden from Ken's

+sight by leaning cypress-trees.  Ken,

+however, had no fear for their safety.  He was

+sorry to cause the Indians' loss of a gun and

+a canoe; nevertheless, he was not far from

+echoing Pepe's repeated: "Bueno!  Bueno!

+Bueno!"

+

+Upon examination Ken found two little

+bloody holes in the muscles of Pepe's leg.

+A single shot had passed through.  Ken

+bathed the wounds with an antiseptic lotion

+and bound them with clean bandages.

+

+Pepe appeared to be pretty weak, so Ken

+did not ask him to take the oars.  Then,

+pulling with long, steady stroke, Ken set out

+to put a long stretch between him and the

+angry natives.  The current was swift, and

+Ken made five miles or more an hour.  He

+kept that pace for three hours without a rest.

+And then he gave out.  It seemed that all at

+once he weakened.  His back bore an

+immense burden.  His arms were lead, and his

+hands were useless.  There was an occasional

+mist or veil before his sight.  He was wet,

+hot, breathless, numb.  But he knew he was

+safe from pursuit.  So he rested and let the

+boat drift.

+

+George sat up, green in the face, a most

+miserable-looking boy.  But that he could

+sit up at all was hopeful.

+

+"Oh, my head!" he moaned.  "Is there

+anything I can drink?  My mouth is

+dry--pasted shut."

+

+Ken had two lemons he had been saving.

+He cut one in halves and divided it between

+Pepe and George.  The relief the sour lemon

+afforded both showed Ken how wise he had

+been to save the lemons.  Then he roused

+Hal, and, lifting the lad's head, made him

+drink a little of the juice.  Hal was a sick

+boy, too weak to sit up without help.

+

+"Don't--you worry--Ken," he said.  "I'm

+going--to be--all right."

+

+Hal was still fighting.

+

+Ken readjusted the palm-leaf shelter over

+the boys so as to shade them effectually from

+the hot sun, and then he went back to the

+oars.

+

+As he tried once more to row, Ken was

+reminded of the terrible lassitude that had

+overtaken him the day he had made the six-hour

+climb out of the Grand Cañon.  The

+sensation now was worse, but Ken had others

+depending upon his exertions, and that spurred

+him to the effort which otherwise would have

+been impossible.

+

+It was really not rowing that Ken accomplished.

+It was a weary puttering with oars

+he could not lift, handles he could not hold.

+At best he managed to guide the boat into

+the swiftest channels.  Whenever he felt that

+he was just about to collapse, then he would

+look at Hal's pale face.  That would revive

+him.  So the hot hours dragged by.

+

+They came, after several miles, upon more

+huts and natives.  And farther down they

+met canoes on the river.  Pepe interrogated

+the natives.  According to George, who

+listened, Panuco was far, far away, many

+kilometers.  This was most disheartening.  Another

+native said the village was just round the

+next bend.  This was most nappy information.

+But it turned out to be a lie.  There

+was no village around any particular

+bend--nothing save bare banks for miles.  The

+stretches of the river were long, and bends

+far apart.

+

+Ken fell asleep.  When he awoke he found

+Pepe at the oars.  Watching him, Ken fancied

+he was recovering, and was overjoyed.

+

+About four o'clock in the afternoon Pepe

+rowed ashore and beached the boat at the

+foot of a trail leading up to a large bamboo

+and thatch hut.  This time Ken thought it

+well to accompany Pepe.  And as he climbed

+the path he found his legs stiffer and shakier

+than ever before.

+

+Ken saw a cleared space in which were

+several commodious huts, gardens, and flowers.

+There was a grassy yard in which little naked

+children were playing with tame deer and

+tiger-cats.  Parrots were screeching, and other

+tame birds fluttered about.  It appeared a real

+paradise to Ken.

+

+Two very kindly disposed and wondering

+native women made them welcome.  Then

+Ken and Pepe went down to the boat and

+carried Hal up, and went back for George.

+

+It developed that the native women knew

+just what to do for the fever-stricken boys.

+They made some kind of a native drink for

+them, and after that gave them hot milk and

+chicken and rice soup.  George improved

+rapidly, and Hal brightened a little and showed

+signs of gathering strength.

+

+Ken could not eat until he had something

+to quench his thirst.  Upon inquiring, Pepe

+found that the natives used the river-water.

+Ken could not drink that.  Then Pepe pointed

+out an orange-tree, and Ken made a dive

+for it.  The ground was littered with oranges.

+Collecting an armful, Ken sat under the tree

+and with wild haste began to squeeze the juice

+into his mouth.  Never had anything before

+tasted so cool, so sweet, so life-giving!  He

+felt a cool, wet sensation steal all through his

+body.  He never knew till that moment how

+really wonderful and precious an orange could

+be.  He thought that as he would hate

+mourning turtle-doves all the rest of his life,

+so he would love the sight and smell and taste

+of oranges.  And he demolished twenty-two

+before he satisfied his almost insatiable thirst.

+After that the chicken and rice made him feel

+like a new boy.

+

+Then Ken made beds under a kind of porch,

+and he lay down in one, stretched out

+languidly and gratefully, as if he never intended

+to move again, and his eyes seemed to be

+glued shut.

+

+When he awoke the sun was shining in his

+face.  When he had gone to bed it had been

+shining at his back.  He consulted his watch.

+He had slept seventeen hours.

+

+When he got up and found Pepe as well as

+before he had been taken with the fever and

+George on his feet and Hal awake and

+actually smiling, Ken experienced a sensation

+of unutterable thankfulness.  A terrible

+burden slipped from his shoulders.  For a

+moment he felt a dimming of his eyes and a lump

+in his throat.

+

+"How about you, Ken, old man?" inquired

+Hal, with a hint of his usual spirit.

+

+"Wal, youngster, I reckon fer a man who's

+been through some right pert happenin's,

+I'm in tol'able shape," drawled Ken.

+

+"I'll bet two dollars you've been up

+against it," declared Hal, solemnly.

+

+Then, as they sat to an appetizing breakfast,

+Ken gave them a brief account of the

+incidents of the two days and two nights

+when they were too ill to know anything.

+

+It was a question whether George's voluble

+eulogy of Ken's feat or Hal's silent,

+bright-eyed pride in his brother was the greater

+compliment.

+

+Finally Hal said: "Won't that tickle Jim

+Williams when we tell him how you split

+up the Indians' canoe and spilled them into

+the river?"

+

+Then Ken conceived the idea of climbing

+into the giant ceiba that stood high on the

+edge of the bluff.  It was hard work, but he

+accomplished it, and from a fork in the

+top-most branches he looked out.  That was a

+warm, rich, wonderful scene.  Ken felt that

+he would never forget it.  His interest now,

+however, was not so much in its beauty and

+wildness.  His keen eye followed the river

+as it wound away into the jungle, and when

+he could no longer see the bright ribbon of

+water he followed its course by the line of

+magnificent trees.  It was possible to trace

+the meandering course of the river clear to

+the rise of the mountains, dim and blue in

+the distance.  And from here Ken made more

+observations and notes.

+

+As he went over in his mind the map and

+notes and report he had prepared he felt that

+he had made good.  He had explored and

+mapped more than a hundred miles of wild

+jungle river.  He felt confident that he had

+earned the trip to England and the German

+forests.  He might win a hunting trip on the

+vast uplands of British East Africa.  But he

+felt also that the reward of his uncle's and

+his father's pride would be more to him.  That

+was a great moment for Ken Ward.  And

+there was yet much more that he could do to

+make this exploring trip a success.

+

+.. _`Ken Ward's Map`:

+

+.. figure:: images/img-301.jpg

+   :align: center

+   :alt: Ken Ward's Map

+

+   Ken Ward's Map

+

+When he joined the others he found that

+Pepe had learned that the village of Panuco

+was distant a day or a night by canoe.  How

+many miles or kilometers Pepe could not learn.

+Ken decided it would be best to go on at once.

+It was not easy to leave that pleasant place,

+with its music of parrots and other birds, and

+the tiger-cats that played like kittens, and the

+deer that ate from the hand.  The women

+would accept no pay, so Ken made them

+presents.

+

+Once more embarked, Ken found his mood

+reverting to that of the last forty-eight hours.

+He could not keep cheerful.  The river was

+dirty and the smell sickening.  The sun was

+like the open door of a furnace.  And Ken

+soon discovered he was tired, utterly tired.

+

+That day was a repetition of the one before,

+hotter, wearier, and the stretches of river were

+longer, and the natives met in canoes were

+stolidly ignorant of distance.  The mourning

+of turtle-doves almost drove Ken wild.  There

+were miles and miles of willows, and every tree

+was full of melancholy doves.  At dusk the

+boys halted on a sand-bar, too tired to cook a

+dinner, and sprawled in the warm sand to sleep

+like logs.

+

+In the morning they brightened up a little,

+for surely just around the bend they would

+come to Panuco.  Pepe rowed faithfully on,

+and bend after bend lured Ken with deceit.

+He was filled with weariness and disgust, so

+tired he could hardly lift his hand, so sleepy

+he could scarcely keep his eyes open.  He

+hated the wide, glassy stretches of river and

+the muddy banks and dusty cattle.

+

+At noon they came unexpectedly upon a

+cluster of thatched huts, to find that they made

+up the village of Panuco.  Ken was sick, for he

+had expected a little town where they could

+get some drinking-water and hire a launch

+to speed them down to Tampico.  This

+appeared little more than the other places he

+had passed, and he climbed up the bank

+wearily, thinking of the long fifty miles still

+to go.

+

+But Panuco was bigger and better than it

+looked from the river.  The boys found a

+clean, comfortable inn, where they dined well,

+and learned to their joy that a coach left in

+an hour for Tamos to meet the five-o'clock

+train to Tampico.

+

+They hired a *mozo* to row the boat to

+Tampico and, carrying the lighter things,

+boarded the coach, and, behind six mules,

+were soon bowling over a good level road.

+

+It was here that the spirit of Ken's mood

+again changed, and somehow seemed subtly

+conveyed to the others.  The gloom faded

+away as Ken had seen the mist-clouds

+dissolve in the morning sunlight.  It was the

+end of another wild trip.  Hal was ill, but

+a rest and proper care would soon bring him

+around.  Ken had some trophies and pictures,

+but he also had memories.  And he believed

+he had acquired an accurate knowledge of

+the jungle and its wild nature, and he had

+mapped the river from Micas Falls to Panuco.

+

+"Well, it certainly *did come* to us, didn't

+it?" asked George, naïvely, for the hundredth

+time.  "Didn't I tell you?  By gosh, I can't

+remember what did come off.  But we had

+a dandy time."

+

+"Great!" replied Ken.  "I had more than

+I wanted.  I'll never spring another stunt like

+this one!"

+

+Hal gazed smilingly at his brother.

+

+"Bah!  Ken Ward, bring on your next old trip!"

+

+Which proved decidedly that Hal was getting

+better and that he alone understood his

+brother.

+

+Pepe listened and rubbed his big hands,

+and there was a light in his dark eyes.

+

+Ken laughed.  It was good to feel happy

+just then; it was enough to feel safe and glad

+in the present, with responsibility removed,

+without a thought of the future.

+

+Yet, when some miles across country he saw

+the little town of Tamos shining red-roofed

+against the sky, he came into his own again.

+The old calling, haunting love of wild places

+and wild nature returned, and with dreamy

+eyes he looked out.  He saw the same beauty

+and life and wildness.  Beyond the glimmering

+lagoons stretched the dim, dark jungle.

+A flock of flamingoes showed pink across the

+water.  Ducks dotted the weedy marshes.

+And low down on the rosy horizon a long

+curved line of wild geese sailed into the sunset.

+

+When the boys arrived at Tampico and

+George had secured comfortable lodgings for

+them, the first thing Ken did was to put Hal

+to bed.  It required main strength to do this.

+Ken was not taking any chances with tropical

+fever, and he sent for a doctor.

+

+It was not clear whether the faces Hal

+made were at the little dried-up doctor or at

+the medicine he administered.  However, it

+was very clear that Hal made fun of him

+and grew bolder the more he believed the man

+could not understand English.

+

+Ken liked the silent, kindly physician, and

+remonstrated with Hal, and often, just to

+keep Hal's mind occupied, he would talk of

+the university and baseball, topics that were

+absorbing to the boy.

+

+And one day, as the doctor was leaving,

+he turned to Ken with a twinkle in his eyes

+and said in perfect English: "I won't need to

+come any more."

+

+Hal's jaw began to drop.

+

+"Your brother is all right," went on the

+doctor.  "But he's a fresh kid, and he'll

+never make the Wayne Varsity--or a good

+explorer, either--till he gets over that

+freshness.  I'm a Wayne man myself.  Class of '82.

+Good day, boys."

+

+Ken Ward was astounded.  "By George!

+What do you think of that?  He's a Wayne

+med.  I'll have to look him up.  And, Hal, he

+was just right about you."

+

+Hal looked extremely crestfallen and remorseful.

+

+"I'm always getting jars."

+

+It took a whole day for him to recover his

+usual spirits.

+

+Ken had promptly sent the specimens and

+his notes to his uncle, and as the days passed

+the boys began to look anxiously for some

+news.  In ten days Hal was as well as ever,

+and then the boys had such sport with the

+tarpon and big sharks and alligator-gars that

+they almost forgot about the rewards they had

+striven so hard for and hoped to win.  But

+finally, when the mail arrived from home,

+they were at once happy and fearful.  George

+was with them that evening, and shared their

+excitement and suspense.  Hal's letters were

+from his mother and his sister, and they were

+read first.  Judge Ward's letter to Ken was

+fatherly and solicitous, but brief.  He gave

+the boys six more weeks, cautioned them to be

+sensible and to profit by their opportunity,

+and he inclosed a bank-draft.  Not a word

+about rewards!

+

+Ken's fingers trembled a little as he tore

+open the uncle's letter.  He read it aloud:

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+DEAR KEN,--Congratulations!  You've done well.

+You win the trip to Africa.  Hal's work also was

+good--several specimens accepted by the Smithsonian.

+I'll back you for the Yucatan trip.  Will send letters

+to the American consul at Progreso, and arrange for

+you to meet the Austrian archæologist Maler, who I

+hope will take you in hand.

+

+I want you to make a study of some of the ruins

+of Yucatan, which I believe are as wonderful as any

+in Egypt.  I advise you to make this trip short and to

+the point, for there are indications of coming

+revolution throughout Mexico.

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+   With best wishes,

+      UNCLE G.

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+The old varsity cheer rang out from Ken,

+and Hal began a war-dance.  Then both boys

+pounced upon George, and for a few moments

+made life miserable for him.

+

+"And I can't go with you!" he exclaimed,

+sorrowfully.

+

+Both Ken and Hal shared his disappointment.

+But presently.  George brightened up.

+The smile came back which he always wore

+when prophesying the uncertain adventures of

+the future.

+

+"Well, anyway, I'll be safe home.  And you

+fellows!  You'll be getting yours when you're

+lost in the wilderness of Yucatan!"

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center

+

+   THE END

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. class:: center white-space-pre-line

+

+   \*      \*      \*      \*      \*      \*      \*      \*

+

+.. vspace:: 4

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+   *There's More to Follow!*

+

+.. vspace:: 2

+

+More stories of the sort you like;

+more, probably, by the author of this

+one; more than 500 titles all told by

+writers of world-wide reputation, in

+the Authors' Alphabetical List which

+you will find on the *reverse side* of the

+wrapper of this book.  Look it over

+before you lay it aside.  There are

+books here you are sure to want--some,

+possibly, that you have *always* wanted.

+

+It is a *selected* list; every book in it

+has achieved a certain measure of

+success.

+

+The Grosset & Dunlap list is not only

+the greatest Index of Good Fiction

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+

+In case the wrapper is lost write to

+the publishers for a complete catalog.

+

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center white-space-pre-line

+

+   \*      \*      \*      \*      \*      \*      \*      \*

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+ZANE GREY'S NOVELS

+

+.. class:: center small

+

+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list.

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+THE CALL OF THE CANYON

+WANDERER OF THE WASTELAND

+TO THE LAST MAN

+THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER

+THE MAN OF THE FOREST

+THE DESERT OF WHEAT

+THE U. P. TRAIL

+WILDFIRE

+THE BORDER LEGION

+THE RAINBOW TRAIL

+THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT

+RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE

+THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS

+THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN

+THE LONE STAR RANGER

+DESERT GOLD

+BETTY ZANE

+THE DAY OF THE BEAST

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+   \*      \*      \*      \*      \*

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent

+

+LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS

+

+The life story of "Buffalo Bill" by his sister Helen Cody

+Wetmore, with Foreword and conclusion by Zane Grey.

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+ZANE GREY'S BOOKS FOR BOYS

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE

+THE YOUNG LION HUNTER

+THE YOUNG FORESTER

+THE YOUNG PITCHER

+THE SHORT STOP

+THE RED-HEADED OUTFIELD AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES

+

+

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center white-space-pre-line

+

+   \*      \*      \*      \*      \*

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE

+

+.. class:: center small

+

+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+BIG-TOWN ROUND-UP, THE

+BRAND BLOTTERS

+BUCKY O'CONNOR

+CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT

+DAUGHTER OF THE DONS, A

+DESERT'S PRICE, THE

+FIGHTING EDGE, THE

+GUNSIGHT PASS

+HIGHGRADER, THE

+IRONHEART

+MAN FOUR-SQUARE, A

+MAN-SIZE

+MAVERICKS

+OH, YOU TEX!

+PIRATE OF PANAMA, THE

+RIDGWAY OF MONTANA

+SHERIFF'S SON, THE

+STEVE YEAGER

+TANGLED TRAILS

+TEXAS RANGER, A

+VISION SPLENDID, THE

+WYOMING

+YUKON TRAIL, THE

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center white-space-pre-line

+

+   \*      \*      \*      \*      \*

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD'S

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+STORIES OF ADVENTURE

+

+.. class:: center small

+

+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+THE COUNTRY BEYOND

+THE FLAMING FOREST

+THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN

+THE RIVER'S END

+THE GOLDEN SNARE

+NOMADS OF THE NORTH

+KAZAN

+BAREE, SON OF KAZAN

+THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM

+THE DANGER TRAIL

+THE HUNTED WOMAN

+THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH

+THE GRIZZLY KING

+ISOBEL

+THE WOLF HUNTERS

+THE GOLD HUNTERS

+THE COURAGE OF MARGE O'DOONE

+BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent small

+

+*Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction*

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center white-space-pre-line

+

+   \*      \*      \*      \*      \*

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center large bold

+

+EDGAR RICE BURROUGH'S NOVELS

+

+.. class:: center small

+

+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list

+

+.. vspace:: 1

+

+.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line

+

+BANDIT OF HELL'S BEND, THE

+CAVE GIRL, THE

+LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE

+TARZAN AND THE ANT MEN

+TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION

+TARZAN THE TERRIBLE

+TARZAN THE UNTAMED

+JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN

+AT THE EARTH'S CORE

+THE MUCKER

+A PRINCESS OF MARS

+THE GODS OF MARS

+THE WARLORD OF MARS

+THUVIA, MAID OF MARS

+THE CHESSMEN OF MARS

+

+.. vspace:: 3

+

+.. class:: center medium bold

+

+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK

+

+.. vspace:: 6

+

+.. pgfooter::

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+                         KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+
+
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost
+no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
+under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
+eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+
+
+Title: Ken Ward in the Jungle
+Author: Zane Grey
+Release Date: June 14, 2014 [EBook #45974]
+Language: English
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Cover art]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE JAGUAR OPENED HIS JAWS THREATENINGLY (see page 182)]
+
+
+
+
+                                KEN WARD
+                             IN THE JUNGLE
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+                               ZANE GREY
+
+                               AUTHOR OF
+                          THE YOUNG FORESTER,
+                           THE YOUNG PITCHER,
+                         THE YOUNG LION HUNTER,
+                         THE U. P. TRAIL, ETC.
+
+
+
+                              ILLUSTRATED
+
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                            GROSSET & DUNLAP
+                               PUBLISHERS
+
+            Published by Arrangement with Harper & Brothers
+                  Made in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+                 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY HARPER & BROTHERS
+
+                PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+                               *CONTENTS*
+
+CHAP.
+
+      I. The Prize
+     II. The Home of the Tarpon
+    III. An Indian Boatman
+     IV. At the Jungle River
+      V. The First Camp
+     VI. Wilderness Life
+    VII. Running the Rapids
+   VIII. The First Tiger-cat
+     IX. In the White Water
+      X. Lost!
+     XI. An Army of Snakes
+    XII. Catching Strange Fish
+   XIII. A Turkey-Hunt
+    XIV. A Fight with a Jaguar
+     XV. The Vicious Garrapatoes
+    XVI. Field Work of a Naturalist
+   XVII. A Mixed-up Tiger-hunt
+  XVIII. Watching a Runway
+    XIX. Adventures with Crocodiles
+     XX. Treed by Wild Pigs
+    XXI. The Leaping Tarpon
+   XXII. Stricken Down
+  XXIII. Out of the Jungle
+
+
+
+
+                        *KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE*
+
+
+
+                                  *I*
+
+                              *THE PRIZE*
+
+
+"What a change from the Arizona desert!"
+
+The words broke from the lips of Ken Ward as he leaned from the window
+of the train which was bearing his brother and himself over the plateau
+to Tampico in Tamaulipas, the southeastern state of Mexico.  He had
+caught sight of a river leaping out between heavily wooded slopes and
+plunging down in the most beautiful waterfall he had ever seen.
+
+"Look, Hal," he cried.
+
+The first fall was a long white streak, ending in a dark pool; below
+came cascade after cascade, fall after fall, some wide, others narrow,
+and all white and green against the yellow rock.  Then the train curved
+round a spur of the mountain, descended to a level, to be lost in a
+luxuriance of jungle growth.
+
+It was indeed a change for Ken Ward, young forester, pitcher of the
+varsity nine at school, and hunter of lions in the Arizona canons.  Here
+he was entering the jungle of the tropics.  The rifles and the camp
+outfit on the seat beside his brother Hal and himself spoke of coming
+adventures.  Before them lay an unknown wilderness--the semi-tropical
+jungle.  And the future was to show that the mystery of the jungle was
+stranger even than their imaginings.
+
+It was not love of adventure alone or interest in the strange new forest
+growths that had drawn Ken to the jungle.  His uncle, the one who had
+gotten Ken letters from the Forestry Department at Washington, had been
+proud of Ken's Arizona achievements. This uncle was a member of the
+American Geographical Society and a fellow of the New York Museum of
+Natural History.  He wanted Ken to try his hand at field work in the
+jungle of Mexico, and if that was successful, then to explore the ruined
+cities of wild Yucatan. If Ken made good as an explorer his reward was
+to be a trip to Equatorial Africa after big game.  And of course that
+trip meant opportunity to see England and France, and, what meant more
+to Ken, a chance to see the great forests of Germany, where forestry had
+been carried on for three hundred years.
+
+In spite of the fact that the inducement was irresistible, and that
+Ken's father was as proud and eager as Ken's uncle to have him make a
+name for himself, and that Hal would be allowed to go with him, Ken had
+hesitated.  There was the responsibility for Hal and the absolute
+certainty that Hal could not keep out of mischief.  Still Ken simply
+could not have gone to Mexico leaving his brother at home
+broken-hearted.
+
+At last the thing had been decided.  It was Hal's ambition to be a
+naturalist and to collect specimens, and the uncle had held out possible
+recognition from the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.  Perhaps he
+might find a new variety of some animal to which the scientists would
+attach his name.  Then the lad was passionately eager to see Ken win
+that trip to Africa.  There had been much study of maps and books of
+travel, science, and natural history.  There had been the most careful
+instruction and equipment for semi-tropical camp life.  The uncle had
+given Ken valuable lessons in map-drawing, in estimating distance and
+topography, and he had indicated any one of several rivers in the jungle
+belt of Mexico. Traversing one hundred miles of unknown jungle river,
+with intelligent observation and accurate reports, would win the prize
+for Ken Ward.  Now the race was on.  Would Ken win?
+
+Presently the train crossed a bridge.  Ken Ward had a brief glance at
+clear green water, at great cypress-trees, gray and graceful with long,
+silvery, waving moss, and at the tangled, colorful banks.  A water-fowl
+black as coal, with white-crested wings, skimmed the water in swift wild
+flight, to disappear up the shady river-lane.  Then the train clattered
+on, and, a mile or more beyond the bridge, stopped at a station called
+Valles.  In the distance could be seen the thatched palm-leaf huts and
+red-tiled roofs of a hamlet.
+
+The boys got out to stretch their legs.  The warm, sweet, balmy air was
+a new and novel thing to them.  They strolled up and down the gravel
+walk, watching the natives.  Hal said he rather liked the looks of their
+brown bare feet and the thin cotton trousers and shirts, but he fancied
+the enormous sombreros were too heavy and unwieldy.  Ken spoke to
+several pleasant-faced Mexicans, each of whom replied: "No sabe, Senor."
+
+The ticket agent at the station was an American, and from the way he
+smiled and spoke Ken knew he was more than glad to see one of his own
+kind.  So, after Ken had replied to many questions about the States, he
+began to ask some of his own.
+
+"What's the name of the waterfall we passed?"
+
+"Micas Falls," replied the agent.
+
+"And the river?"
+
+"It's called the Santa Rosa."
+
+"Where does it go?"
+
+The agent did not know, except that it disappeared in the jungle.
+Southward the country was wild.  The villages were few and all along the
+railroad; and at Valles the river swung away to the southwest.
+
+"But it must flow into the Panuco River," said Ken.  He had studied maps
+of Mexico and had learned all that it was possible to learn before he
+undertook the journey.
+
+"Why, yes, it must find the Panuco somewhere down over the mountain,"
+answered the agent.
+
+"Then there are rapids in this little river?" asked Ken, in growing
+interest.
+
+"Well, I guess.  It's all rapids."
+
+"How far to Tampico by rail?" went on Ken.
+
+"Something over a hundred miles."
+
+"Any game in the jungle hereabouts--or along the Santa Rosa?" continued
+Ken.
+
+The man laughed, and laughed in such a way that Ken did not need his
+assertion that it was not safe to go into the jungle.
+
+Whereupon Ken Ward became so thoughtful that he did not hear the talk
+that followed between the agent and Hal.  The engine bell roused him
+into action, and with Hal he hurried back to their seats.  And then the
+train sped on.  But the beauty of Micas Falls and the wildness of the
+Santa Rosa remained with Ken.  Where did that river go?  How many
+waterfalls and rapids did it have?  What teeming life must be along its
+rich banks!  It haunted Ken.  He wanted to learn the mystery of the
+jungle.  There was the same longing which had gotten him into the wild
+adventures in Penetier Forest and the Grand Canon country of Arizona.
+And all at once flashed over him the thought that here was the jungle
+river for him to explore.
+
+"Why, that's the very thing," he said, thinking aloud.
+
+"What's wrong with you," asked Hal, "talking to yourself that way?"
+
+Ken did not explain.  The train clattered between green walls of jungle,
+and occasionally stopped at a station.  But the thought of the jungle
+haunted him until the train arrived at Tampico.
+
+Ken had the name of an American hotel, and that was all he knew about
+Tampico. The station was crowded with natives.  Man after man accosted
+the boys, jabbering excitedly in Mexican.  Some of these showed brass
+badges bearing a number and the word _Cargodore_.
+
+"Hal, I believe these fellows are porters or baggage-men," said Ken.
+And he showed his trunk check to one of them.  The fellow jerked it out
+of Ken's hand and ran off. The boys ran after him.  They were relieved
+to see him enter a shed full of baggage.  And they were amazed to see
+him kneel down and take their trunk on his back.  It was a big trunk and
+heavy.  The man was small and light.
+
+"It 'll smash him!" cried Hal.
+
+But the little _cargodore_ walked off with the trunk on his back.  Then
+Ken and Hal saw other _cargodores_ packing trunks.  The boys kept close
+to their man and used their eyes with exceeding interest.  The sun was
+setting, and the square, colored buildings looked as if they were in a
+picture of Spain.
+
+"Look at the boats--canoes!" cried Hal, as they crossed a canal.
+
+Ken saw long narrow canoes that had been hollowed out from straight
+tree-trunks.  They were of every size, and some of the paddles were
+enormous.  Crowds of natives were jabbering and jostling each other at a
+rude wharf.
+
+"Look back," called Hal, who seemed to have a hundred eyes.
+
+Ken saw a wide, beautiful river, shining red in the sunset.  Palm-trees
+on the distant shore showed black against the horizon.
+
+"Hal, that's the Panuco.  What a river!"
+
+"Makes the Susquehanna look like a creek," was Hal's comment.
+
+The _cargodore_ led the boys through a plaza, down a narrow street to
+the hotel.  Here they were made to feel at home.  The proprietor was a
+kindly American.  The hotel was crowded, and many of the guests were
+Englishmen there for the tarpon-fishing, with sportsmen from the States,
+and settlers coming in to take up new lands.  It was pleasant for Ken
+and Hal to hear their own language once more.  After dinner they sallied
+forth to see the town.  But the narrow dark streets and the blanketed
+natives stealing silently along were not particularly inviting.  The
+boys got no farther than the plaza, where they sat down on a bench.  It
+was wholly different from any American town.  Ken suspected that Hal was
+getting homesick, for the boy was quiet and inactive.
+
+"I don't like this place," said Hal.  "What 'd you ever want to drag me
+way down here for?"
+
+"Humph! drag you?  Say, you pestered the life out of me, and bothered
+Dad till he was mad, and worried mother sick to let you come on this
+trip."
+
+Hal hung his head.
+
+"Now, you're not going to show a streak of yellow?" asked Ken.  He knew
+how to stir his brother.
+
+Hal rose to the attack and scornfully repudiated the insinuation.  Ken
+replied that they were in a new country and must not reach conclusions
+too hastily.
+
+"I liked it back up there at the little village where we saw the green
+river and the big trees with the gray streamers on them," said Hal.
+
+"Well, I liked that myself," rejoined Ken. "I'd like to go back there
+and put a boat in the river and come all the way here."
+
+Ken had almost unconsciously expressed the thought that had been forming
+in his mind.  Hal turned slowly and looked at his brother.
+
+"Ken, that 'd be great--that's what we came for!"
+
+"I should say so," replied Ken.
+
+"Well?" asked Hal, simply.
+
+That question annoyed Ken.  Had he not come south to go into the jungle?
+Had he come with any intention of shirking the danger of a wild trip?
+There was a subtle flattery in Hal's question.
+
+"That Santa Rosa River runs through the jungle," went on Hal.  "It flows
+into the Panuco somewhere.  You know we figured out on the map that the
+Panuco's the only big river in this jungle.  That's all we want to know.
+And, Ken, you know you're a born boatman.  Why, look at the rapids we've
+shot on the Susquehanna.  Remember that trip we came down the Juniata?
+The water was high, too.  Ken, you can take a boat down that Santa
+Rosa!"
+
+"By George!  I believe I can," exclaimed Ken, and he thrilled at the
+thought.
+
+"Ken, let's go.  You'll win the prize, and I'll get specimens.  Think
+what we'd have to tell Jim Williams and Dick Leslie when we go West next
+summer!"
+
+"Oh, Hal, I know--but this idea of a trip seems too wild."
+
+"Maybe it wouldn't be so wild."
+
+In all fairness Ken could not deny this, so he kept silent.
+
+"Ken, listen," went on Hal, and now he was quite cool.  "If we'd
+promised the Governor not to take a wild trip I wouldn't say another
+word.  But we're absolutely free."
+
+"That's why we ought to be more careful. Dad trusts me."
+
+"He trusts you because he knows you can take care of yourself, and me,
+too.  You're a wonder, Ken.  Why, if you once made up your mind, you'd
+make that Santa Rosa River look like a canal."
+
+Ken began to fear that he would not be proof against the haunting call
+of that jungle river and the flattering persuasion of his brother and
+the ever-present ambition to show his uncle what he could do.
+
+"Hal, if I didn't have you with me I'd already have made up my mind to
+tackle this river."
+
+That appeared to insult Hal.
+
+"All I've got to say is I'd be a help to you--not a drag," he said, with
+some warmth.
+
+"You're always a help, Hal.  I can't say anything against your
+willingness.  But you know your weakness.  By George! you made trouble
+enough for me in Arizona.  On a trip such as this you'd drive me crazy."
+
+"Ken, I won't make any rash promises. I don't want to queer myself with
+you. But I'm all right."
+
+"Look here, Hal; let's wait.  We've only got to Tampico.  Maybe such a
+trip is impracticable--impossible.  Let's find out more about the
+country."
+
+Hal appeared to take this in good spirit. The boys returned to the hotel
+and went to bed.  Hal promptly fell asleep.  But Ken Ward lay awake a
+long time thinking of the green Santa Rosa, with its magnificent
+moss-festooned cypresses.  And when he did go to sleep it was to dream
+of the beautiful waterfowl with the white-crested wings, and he was
+following it on its wild flight down the dark, mysterious river-trail
+into the jungle.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *II*
+
+                        *THE HOME OF THE TARPON*
+
+
+Hal's homesickness might never have been in evidence at all, to judge
+from the way the boy, awakening at dawn, began to talk about the Santa
+Rosa trip.
+
+"Well," said Ken, as he rolled out of bed, "I guess we're in for it."
+
+"Ken, will we go?" asked Hal, eagerly.
+
+"I'm on the fence."
+
+"But you're leaning on the jungle side?"
+
+"Yes, kid--I'm slipping."
+
+Hal opened his lips to let out a regular Hiram Bent yell, when Ken
+clapped a hand over his mouth.
+
+"Hold on--we're in the hotel yet."
+
+It took the brothers long to dress, because they could not keep away
+from the window. The sun was rising in rosy glory over misty lagoons.
+Clouds of creamy mist rolled above the broad Panuco.  Wild ducks were
+flying low.  The tiled roofs of the stone houses gleamed brightly, and
+the palm-trees glistened with dew.  The soft breeze that blew in was
+warm, sweet, and fragrant.
+
+After breakfast the boys went out to the front and found the hotel lobby
+full of fishermen and their native boatmen.  It was an interesting
+sight, as well as a surprise, for Ken and Hal did not know that Tampico
+was as famous for fishing as it was for hunting.  The huge rods and
+reels amazed them.
+
+"What kind of fish do these fellows fish for?" asked Hal.
+
+Ken was well enough acquainted with sport to know something about
+tarpon, but he had never seen one of the great silver fish. And he was
+speechless when Hal led him into a room upon the walls of which were
+mounted specimens of tarpon from six to seven feet in length and half as
+wide as a door.
+
+"Say, Ken!  We've come to the right place.  Those fishermen are all
+going out to fish for such whales as these here."
+
+"Hal, we never saw a big fish before," said Ken.  "And before we leave
+Tampico we'll know what it means to hook tarpon."
+
+"I'm with you," replied Hal, gazing doubtfully and wonderingly at a fish
+almost twice as big as himself.
+
+Then Ken, being a practical student of fishing, as of other kinds of
+sport, began to stroll round the lobby with an intent to learn. He
+closely scrutinized the tackle.  And he found that the bait used was a
+white mullet six to ten inches long, a little fish which resembled the
+chub.  Ken did not like the long, cruel gaff which seemed a necessary
+adjunct to each outfit of tackle, and he vowed that in his fishing for
+tarpon he would dispense with it.
+
+Ken was not backward about asking questions, and he learned that
+Tampico, during the winter months, was a rendezvous for sportsmen from
+all over the world.  For the most part, they came to catch the leaping
+tarpon; the shooting along the Panuco, however, was as well worth while
+as the fishing. But Ken could not learn anything about the Santa Rosa
+River.  The _tierra caliente_, or hot belt, along the curve of the Gulf
+was intersected by small streams, many of them unknown and unnamed.  The
+Panuco swung round to the west and had its source somewhere up in the
+mountains.  Ken decided that the Santa Rosa was one of its headwaters.
+Valles lay up on the first swell of higher ground, and was distant from
+Tampico some six hours by train.  So, reckoning with the meandering
+course of jungle streams, Ken calculated he would have something like
+one hundred and seventy-five miles to travel by water from Valles to
+Tampico. There were Indian huts strung along the Panuco River, and fifty
+miles inland a village named Panuco.  What lay between Panuco and
+Valles, up over the wild steppes of that jungle, Ken Ward could only
+conjecture.
+
+Presently he came upon Hal in conversation with an American boy, who at
+once volunteered to show them around.  So they set out, and were soon
+becoming well acquainted.  Their guide said he was from Kansas; had been
+working in the railroad offices for two years; and was now taking a
+vacation.  His name was George Alling. Under his guidance the boys spent
+several interesting hours going about the city. During this walk Hal
+showed his first tendency to revert to his natural bent of mind.  Not
+for long could Hal Ward exist without making trouble for something.  In
+this case it was buzzards, of which the streets of Tampico were full.
+In fact, George explained, the buzzards were the only street-cleaning
+department in the town.  They were as tame as tame turkeys, and Hal
+could not resist the desire to chase them.  And he could be made to stop
+only after a white-helmeted officer had threatened him.  George
+explained further that although Tampico had no game-laws it protected
+these buzzard-scavengers of the streets.
+
+The market-house at the canal wharf was one place where Ken thought Hal
+would forget himself in the bustle and din and color. All was so strange
+and new.  Indeed, for a time Hal appeared to be absorbed in his
+surroundings, but when he came to a stall where a man had parrots and
+racoons and small deer, and three little yellow, black-spotted
+tiger-cats, as George called them, then once more Ken had to take Hal in
+tow.  Outside along the wharf were moored a hundred or more canoes of
+manifold variety.  All had been hewn from solid tree-trunks.  Some were
+long, slender, graceful, pretty to look at, and easy to handle in
+shallow lagoons, but Ken thought them too heavy and cumbersome for fast
+water.  Happening just then to remember Micas Falls, Ken had a momentary
+chill and a check to his enthusiasm for the jungle trip.  What if he
+encountered, in coming down the Santa Rosa, some such series of cascades
+as those which made Micas Falls!
+
+It was about noon when George led the boys out to the banks of the broad
+Panuco. Both Hal and Ken were suffering from the heat.  They had removed
+their coats, and were now very glad to rest in the shade.
+
+"This is a nice cool day," said George, and he looked cool.
+
+"We've got on our heavy clothes, and this tropic sun is new to us,"
+replied Ken.  "Say, Hal--"
+
+A crash in the water near the shore interrupted Ken.
+
+"Was that a rhinoceros?" inquired Hal.
+
+"Savalo," said George.
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"Silver king.  A tarpon.  Look around and you'll see one break water.
+There are some fishermen trolling down-stream.  Watch. Maybe one will
+hook a fish presently.  Then you'll see some jumping."
+
+It was cool in the shade, as the brothers soon discovered, and they
+spent a delightful hour watching the river and the wild fowl and the
+tarpon.  Ken and Hal were always lucky.  Things happened for their
+benefit and pleasure.  Not only did they see many tarpon swirl like bars
+of silver on the water, but a fisherman hooked one of the great fish not
+fifty yards from where the boys sat. And they held their breath, and
+with starting eyes watched the marvelous leaps and dashes of the tarpon
+till, as he shot up in a last mighty effort, wagging his head, slapping
+his huge gills, and flinging the hook like a bullet, he plunged back
+free.
+
+"Nine out of ten get away," remarked George.
+
+"Did you ever catch one?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sure."
+
+"Hal, I've got to have some of this fishing," said Ken.  "But if we
+start at it now--would we ever get that jungle trip?"
+
+"Oh, Ken, you've made up your mind to go!" exclaimed Hal, in glee.
+
+"No, I haven't," protested Ken.
+
+"Yes, you have," declared Hal.  "I know you."  And the whoop that he had
+suppressed in the hotel he now let out with good measure.
+
+Naturally George was interested, and at his inquiry Ken told him the
+idea for the Santa Rosa trip.
+
+"Take me along," said George.  There was a note of American spirit in
+his voice, a laugh on his lips, and a flash in his eyes that made Ken
+look at him attentively.  He was a slim youth, not much Hal's senior,
+and Ken thought if ever a boy had been fashioned to be a boon comrade of
+Hal Ward this George Alling was the boy.
+
+"What do you think of the trip?" inquired Ken, curiously.
+
+"Fine.  We'll have some fun.  We'll get a boat and a mozo--"
+
+"What's a mozo?"
+
+"A native boatman."
+
+"That's a good idea.  I hadn't thought of a boatman to help row.  But
+the boat is the particular thing.  I wouldn't risk a trip in one of
+those canoes."
+
+"Come on, I'll find a boat," said George.
+
+And before he knew it George and Hal were leading him back from the
+river.  George led him down narrow lanes, between painted stone houses
+and iron-barred windows, till they reached the canal.  They entered a
+yard where buzzards, goats, and razor-back pigs were contesting over the
+scavenger rights. George went into a boat-house and pointed out a long,
+light, wide skiff with a flat bottom. Ken did not need George's praise,
+or the shining light in Hal's eyes, or the boat-keeper's importunities
+to make him eager to try this particular boat.  Ken Ward knew a boat
+when he saw one.  He jumped in, shoved it out, rowed up the canal,
+pulled and turned, backed water, and tried every stroke he knew.  Then
+he rested on the oars and whistled.  Hal's shout of delight made him
+stop whistling.  Those two boys would have him started on the trip if he
+did not look sharp.
+
+"It's a dandy boat," said Ken.
+
+"Only a peso a day, Ken," went on Hal. "One dollar Mex--fifty cents in
+our money. Quick, Ken, hire it before somebody else gets it."
+
+"Sure I'll hire the boat," replied Ken; "but Hal, it's not for that
+Santa Rosa trip.  We'll have to forget that."
+
+"Forget your grandmother!" cried Hal. And then it was plain that he
+tried valiantly to control himself, to hide his joy, to pretend to agree
+with Ken's ultimatum.
+
+Ken had a feeling that his brother knew him perfectly, and he was
+divided between anger and amusement.  They returned to the hotel and
+lounged in the lobby.  The proprietor was talking with some Americans,
+and as he now appeared to be at leisure he introduced the brothers and
+made himself agreeable.  Moreover, he knew George Alling well.  They
+began to chat, and Ken was considerably annoyed to hear George calmly
+state that he and his new-found friends intended to send a boat up to
+Valles and come down an unknown jungle river.
+
+The proprietor laughed, and, though the laugh was not unpleasant,
+somehow it nettled Ken Ward.
+
+"Why not go?" he asked, quietly, and he looked at the hotel man.
+
+"My boy, you can't undertake any trip like that."
+
+"Why not?" persisted Ken.  "Is there any law here to prevent our going
+into the jungle?"
+
+"There's no law.  No one could stop you. But, my lad, what's the sense
+of taking such a fool trip?  The river here is full of tarpon right now.
+There are millions of ducks and geese on the lagoons.  You can shoot
+deer and wild turkey right on the edge of town. If you want tiger and
+javelin, go out to one of the ranches where they have dogs to hunt with,
+where you'll have a chance for your life.  These tigers and boars will
+kill a man. There's all the sport any one wants right close to Tampico."
+
+"I don't see how all that makes a reason why we shouldn't come down the
+Santa Rosa," replied Ken.  "We want to explore--map the river."
+
+The hotel man seemed nettled in return.
+
+"You're only kids.  It 'd be crazy to start out on that wild trip."
+
+It was on Ken's lips to mention a few of the adventures which he
+believed justly gave him a right to have pride and confidence in his
+ability.  But he forbore.
+
+"It's a fool trip," continued the proprietor. "You don't know this
+river.  You don't know where you'll come out.  It's wild up in that
+jungle.  I've hunted up at Valles, and no native I ever met would go a
+mile from the village.  If you take a mozo he'll get soaked with canya.
+He'll stick a knife in you or run off and leave you when you most need
+help.  Nobody ever explored that river.  It 'll likely be full of
+swamps, sandbars, bogs.  You'd get fever.  Then the crocodiles, the
+boars, the bats, the snakes, the tigers!  Why, if you could face these
+you'd still have the ticks--the worst of all.  The ticks would drive men
+crazy, let alone boys. It's no undertaking for a boy."
+
+The mention of all these dangers would have tipped the balance for Ken
+in favor of the Santa Rosa trip, even if the hint of his callowness had
+not roused his spirit.
+
+"Thank you.  I'm sure you mean kindly," said Ken.  "But I'm going to
+Valles and I'll come down that jungle river."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *III*
+
+                          *AN INDIAN BOATMAN*
+
+
+The moment the decision was made Ken felt both sorry and glad.  He got
+the excited boys outside away from the critical and anxious proprietor.
+And Ken decided it was incumbent upon him to adopt a serious and
+responsible manner, which he was far from feeling.  So he tried to be as
+cool as Hiram Bent, with a fatherly interest in the two wild boys who
+were to accompany him down the Santa Rosa.
+
+"Now, George, steer us around till we find a mozo," said Ken.  "Then
+we'll buy an outfit and get started on this trip before you can say Jack
+Robinson."
+
+All the mozos the boys interviewed were eager to get work; however, when
+made acquainted with the nature of the trip they refused point blank.
+
+"Tigre!" exclaimed one.
+
+"Javelin!" exclaimed another.
+
+The big spotted jaguar of the jungle and the wild boar, or peccary, were
+held in much dread by the natives.
+
+"These natives will climb a tree at sight of a tiger or pig," said
+George.  "For my part I'm afraid of the garrapatoes and the pinilius."
+
+"What 're they?" asked Hal.
+
+"Ticks--jungle ticks.  Just wait till you make their acquaintance."
+
+Finally the boys met a _mozo_ named Pepe, who had often rowed a boat for
+George. Pepe looked sadly in need of a job; still he did not ask for it.
+George said that Pepe had been one of the best boatmen on the river
+until _canya_, the fiery white liquor to which the natives were
+addicted, had ruined his reputation.  Pepe wore an old sombrero, a
+cotton, shirt and sash, and ragged trousers. He was barefooted.  Ken
+noted the set of his muscular neck, his brawny shoulders and arms, and
+appreciated the years of rowing that had developed them.  But Pepe's
+haggard face, deadened eyes, and listless manner gave Ken pause.  Still,
+Ken reflected, there was never any telling what a man might do, if
+approached right.  Pepe's dejection excited Ken's sympathy.  So Ken
+clapped him on the shoulder, and, with George acting as interpreter,
+offered Pepe work for several weeks at three pesos a day.  That was more
+than treble the _mozo's_ wage.  Pepe nearly fell off the canal bridge,
+where he was sitting, and a light as warm and bright as sunshine flashed
+into his face.
+
+"Si, Senor--Si, Senor," he began to jabber, and waved his brown hands.
+
+Ken suspected that Pepe needed a job and a little kind treatment.  He
+was sure of it when George said Pepe's wife and children were in want.
+Somehow Ken conceived a liking for Pepe, and believed he could trust
+him.  He thought he knew how to deal with poor Pepe.  So he gave him
+money, told him to get a change of clothes and a pair of shoes, and come
+to the hotel next day.
+
+"He'll spend the money for canya, and not show up to-morrow," said
+George.
+
+"I don't know anything about your natives, but that fellow will come,"
+declared Ken.
+
+It appeared that the whole American colony in Tampico had been
+acquainted with Ken Ward's project, and made a business to waylay the
+boys at each corner.  They called the trip a wild-goose chase.  They
+declared it was a dime-novel idea, and could hardly take Ken seriously.
+They mingled astonishment with amusement and concern.  They advised Ken
+not to go, and declared they would not let him go.  Over and over again
+the boys were assured of the peril from ticks, bats, boars, crocodiles,
+snakes, tigers, and fevers.
+
+"That's what I'm taking the trip for," snapped Ken, driven to
+desperation by all this nagging.
+
+"Well, young man, I admire your nerve," concluded the hotel man.  "If
+you're determined to go, we can't stop you.  And there's some things we
+would like you to find out for us.  How far do tarpon run up the Panuco
+River?  Do they spawn up there? How big are the new-born fish?  I'll
+furnish you with tackle and preserved mullet, for bait.  We've always
+wondered about how far tarpon go up into fresh water.  Keep your eye
+open for signs of oil.  Also look at the timber.  And be sure to make a
+map of the river."
+
+When it came to getting the boat shipped the boys met with more
+obstacles.  But for the friendly offices of a Texan, an employee of the
+railroad, they would never have been able to convince the native
+shipping agent that a boat was merchandise.  The Texan arranged the
+matter and got Ken a freight bill.  He took an entirely different view
+of Ken's enterprise, compared with that of other Americans, and in a
+cool, drawling voice, which somehow reminded Ken of Jim Williams, he
+said:
+
+"Shore you-all will have the time of your lives.  I worked at Valles for
+a year. That jungle is full of game.  I killed three big tigers.
+You-all want to look out for those big yellow devils.  One in every
+three will jump for a man.  There's nothing but shoot, then.  And the
+wild pigs are bad. They put me up a tree more than once. I don't know
+much about the Santa Rosa. Its source is above Micas Falls.  Never heard
+where it goes.  I know it's full of crocodiles and rapids.  Never saw a
+boat or a canoe at Valles.  And say--there are big black snakes in the
+jungle.  Look out for them, too. Shore you-all have sport a-comin'."
+
+Ken thanked the Texan, and as he went on up-street, for all his sober
+thoughtfulness, he was as eager as Hal or George.  However, his position
+as their guardian would not permit any show of extravagant enthusiasm.
+
+Ken bought blankets, cooking utensils, and supplies for three weeks.
+There was not such a thing as a tent in Tampico.  The best the boys
+could get for a shelter was a long strip of canvas nine feet wide.
+
+"That 'll keep off the wet," said Ken, "but it won't keep out the
+mosquitoes and things."
+
+"Couldn't keep 'em out if we had six tents," replied George.
+
+The remainder of that day the boys were busy packing the outfit.
+
+Pepe presented himself at the hotel next morning an entirely different
+person.  He was clean-shaven, and no longer disheveled.  He wore a new
+sombrero, a white cotton shirt, a red sash, and blue trousers.  He
+earned a small bundle, a pair of shoes, and a long _machete_.  The
+dignity with which he approached before all the other _mozos_ was not
+lost upon Ken Ward.  A sharp scrutiny satisfied him that Pepe had not
+been drinking.  Ken gave him several errands to do. Then he ordered the
+outfit taken to the station in Pepe's charge.
+
+The boys went down early in the afternoon. It was the time when the
+_mozos_ were returning from the day's tarpon-fishing on the river, and
+they, with the _cargodores_, streamed to and fro on the platform.  Pepe
+was there standing guard over Ken's outfit.  He had lost his fame among
+his old associates, and for long had been an outsider.  Here he was in
+charge of a pile of fine guns, fishing-tackle, baggage, and supplies--a
+collection representing a fortune to him and his simple class. He had
+been trusted with it.  It was under his eye.  All his old associates
+passed by to see him there.  That was a great time for Pepe.  He looked
+bright, alert, and supremely happy.  It would have fared ill with
+thieves or loafers who would have made themselves free with any of the
+articles under his watchful eye.
+
+The train pulled out of Tampico at five o'clock, and Hal's "We're off!"
+was expressive.
+
+The railroad lay along the river-bank, and the broad Panuco was rippling
+with the incoming tide.  If Ken and Hal had not already found George to
+be invaluable as a companion in this strange country they would have
+discovered it then.  For George could translate Pepe's talk, and explain
+much that otherwise would have been dark to the brothers.  Wild ducks
+dotted the green surface, and spurts showed where playful _ravalo_ were
+breaking water.  Great green-backed tarpon rolled their silver sides
+against the little waves.  White cranes and blue herons stood like
+statues upon the reedy bars.  Low down over the opposite bank of the
+river a long line of wild geese winged its way toward a shimmering
+lagoon.  And against the gold and crimson of the sunset sky a flight of
+wild fowl stood out in bold black relief.  The train crossed the Tamesi
+River and began to draw away from the Panuco.  On the right, wide
+marshes, gleaming purple in the darkening light, led the eye far beyond
+to endless pale lagoons.  Birds of many kinds skimmed the weedy flats.
+George pointed out a flock of aigrets, the beautiful wild fowl with the
+priceless plumes.  Then there was a string of pink flamingoes, tall,
+grotesque, wading along with waddling stride, feeding with heads under
+water.
+
+"Great!" exclaimed Ken Ward.
+
+"It's all so different from Arizona," said Hal.
+
+At Tamos, twelve miles out of Tampico, the train entered the jungle.
+Thereafter the boys could see nothing but the impenetrable green walls
+that lined the track.  At dusk the train reached a station called Las
+Palmas, and then began to ascend the first step of the mountain.  The
+ascent was steep, and, when it was accomplished, Ken looked down and
+decided that step of the mountain was between two and three thousand
+feet high.  The moon was in its first quarter, and Ken, studying this
+tropical moon, found it large, radiant, and a wonderful green-gold. It
+shed a soft luminous glow down upon the sleeping, tangled web of jungle.
+It was new and strange to Ken, so vastly different from barren desert or
+iron-ribbed canon, and it thrilled him with nameless charm.
+
+The train once more entered jungle walls, and as the boys could not see
+anything out of the windows they lay back in their seats and waited for
+the ride to end.  They were due at Valles at ten o'clock, and the
+impatient Hal complained that they would never get there.  At length a
+sharp whistle from the engine caused Pepe to turn to the boys with a
+smile.
+
+"Valles," he said.
+
+With rattle and clank the train came to a halt.  Ken sent George and
+Pepe out, and he and Hal hurriedly handed the luggage through the open
+window.  When the last piece had been passed into Pepe's big hands the
+boys made a rush for the door, and jumped off as the train started.
+
+"Say, but it's dark," said Hal.
+
+As the train with its lights passed out of sight Ken found himself in
+what seemed a pitchy blackness.  He could not see the boys. And he felt
+a little cold sinking of his heart at the thought of such black nights
+on an unknown jungle river.
+
+IV
+
+AT THE JUNGLE RIVER
+
+Presently, as Ken's eyes became accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of chattering natives, with wide
+sombreros on their heads and blankets over their shoulders, moved round
+the little stone station.  Visitors were rare in Valles, as was
+manifested by the curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile of luggage.
+
+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for the night," said Ken to
+George.
+
+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon was lost in the crowd.
+Awhile after, as Ken was making up his mind they might have to camp on
+the station platform, a queer low 'bus drawn by six little mules creaked
+up. Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and began to stow the
+luggage away in the 'bus. Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The soft voices of natives greeted
+their passing.
+
+Valles appeared to be about a mile from the station, and as they entered
+the village Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here and there a
+more pretentious habitation of stone.  At length the driver halted
+before a rambling house, partly stone and partly thatch.  There were no
+lights; in fact, Ken did not see a light in the village.  George told
+the boys to take what luggage each could carry and follow the guide.
+Inside the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The boys bumped into
+things and fell over each other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed to a kind of loft, where the
+moonlight streamed in at the open sides.
+
+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal, who had struggled with a heavy
+load of luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to fetch up the remainder
+of the outfit.  Ken thought it best to stand still until he knew just
+where he was.  But Hal and George began moving about in the loft.  It
+was very large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full of objects.  Hal
+jostled into something which creaked and fell with a crash.  Then
+followed a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and a scuffling
+about.
+
+"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.
+
+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward. "One thing--I busted my shin."
+
+"He knocked over a bed with some one sleeping in it," said George.
+
+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon soothed the injured feelings of
+the native who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then led the boys to
+their cots, which were no more than heavy strips of canvas stretched
+over tall frameworks.  They appeared to be enormously high for beds.
+Ken's was as high as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.
+
+"Say, I'll never get up into this thing," burst out Hal.  "These people
+must be afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why are these cots so
+high?"
+
+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and all that from sleeping with the
+natives," answered George.  "Besides, the higher you sleep in Mexico the
+farther you get from creeping, crawling things."
+
+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on the floor, but George's remark
+had persuaded him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most awkward to climb
+into.  Ken tried several times without success, and once he just escaped
+a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good vault he finally landed in the
+center of his canvas.  From there he listened to his more
+
+
+
+
+                                  *IV*
+
+                         *AT THE JUNGLE RIVER*
+
+
+Presently, as Ken's eyes became accustomed to the change, the darkness
+gave place to pale moonlight.  A crowd of chattering natives, with wide
+sombreros on their heads and blankets over their shoulders, moved round
+the little stone station.  Visitors were rare in Valles, as was
+manifested by the curiosity aroused by the boys and the pile of luggage.
+
+"Ask Pepe to find some kind of lodging for the night," said Ken to
+George.
+
+Pepe began to question the natives, and soon was lost in the crowd.
+Awhile after, as Ken was making up his mind they might have to camp on
+the station platform, a queer low 'bus drawn by six little mules creaked
+up. Pepe jumped off the seat beside the driver, and began to stow the
+luggage away in the 'bus. Then the boys piled in behind, and were soon
+bowling along a white moonlit road.  The soft voices of natives greeted
+their passing.
+
+Valles appeared to be about a mile from the station, and as they entered
+the village Ken made out rows of thatched huts, and here and there a
+more pretentious habitation of stone.  At length the driver halted
+before a rambling house, partly stone and partly thatch.  There were no
+lights; in fact, Ken did not see a light in the village.  George told
+the boys to take what luggage each could carry and follow the guide.
+Inside the house it was as dark as a dungeon.  The boys bumped into
+things and fell over each other trying to keep close to the barefooted
+and mysterious guide.  Finally they climbed to a kind of loft, where the
+moonlight streamed in at the open sides.
+
+"What do you think of this?" panted Hal, who had struggled with a heavy
+load of luggage.  Pepe and the guide went down to fetch up the remainder
+of the outfit.  Ken thought it best to stand still until he knew just
+where he was.  But Hal and George began moving about in the loft.  It
+was very large and gloomy, and seemed open, yet full of objects.  Hal
+jostled into something which creaked and fell with a crash.  Then
+followed a yell, a jabbering of a frightened native, and a scuffling
+about.
+
+"Hal, what 'd you do?" called Ken, severely.
+
+"You can search me," replied Hal Ward. "One thing--I busted my shin."
+
+"He knocked over a bed with some one sleeping in it," said George.
+
+Pepe arrived in the loft then and soon soothed the injured feelings of
+the native who had been so rudely disturbed.  He then led the boys to
+their cots, which were no more than heavy strips of canvas stretched
+over tall frameworks.  They appeared to be enormously high for beds.
+Ken's was as high as his head, and Ken was tall for his age.
+
+"Say, I'll never get up into this thing," burst out Hal.  "These people
+must be afraid to sleep near the floor.  George, why are these cots so
+high?"
+
+"I reckon to keep the pigs and dogs and all that from sleeping with the
+natives," answered George.  "Besides, the higher you sleep in Mexico the
+farther you get from creeping, crawling things."
+
+Ken had been of half a mind to sleep on the floor, but George's remark
+had persuaded him to risk the lofty cot.  It was most awkward to climb
+into.  Ken tried several times without success, and once he just escaped
+a fall.  By dint of muscle and a good vault he finally landed in the
+center of his canvas.  From there he listened to his more unfortunate
+comrades.  Pepe got into his without much difficulty.  George, however,
+in climbing up, on about the fifth attempt swung over too hard and
+rolled off on the other side.  The thump he made when he dropped jarred
+the whole loft.  From the various growls out of the darkness it
+developed that the loft was full of sleepers, who were not pleased at
+this invasion.  Then Hal's cot collapsed, and went down with a crash.
+And Hal sat on the flattened thing and laughed.
+
+"Mucho malo," Pepe said, and he laughed, too.  Then he had to get out
+and put up Hal's trestle bed.  Hal once again went to climbing up the
+framework, and this time, with Pepe's aid, managed to surmount it.
+
+"George, what does Pepe mean by _mucho malo_?" asked Hal.
+
+"Bad--very much bad," replied George.
+
+"Nix--tell him nix.  This is fine," said Hal.
+
+"Boys, if you don't want to sleep yourselves, shut up so the rest of us
+can," ordered Ken.
+
+He liked the sense of humor and the good fighting spirit of the boys,
+and fancied they were the best attributes in comrades on a wild trip.
+For a long time he heard a kind of shuddering sound, which he imagined
+was Hal's cot quivering as the boy laughed.  Then absolute quiet
+prevailed, the boys slept, and Ken felt himself drifting.
+
+When he awakened the sun was shining through the holes in the thatched
+roof. Pepe was up, and the other native sleepers were gone.  Ken and the
+boys descended from their perches without any tumbles, had a breakfast
+that was palatable--although even George could not name what they
+ate--and then were ready for the day.
+
+Valles consisted of a few stone houses and many thatched huts of bamboo
+and palm. There was only one street, and it was full of pigs, dogs, and
+buzzards.  The inhabitants manifested a kindly interest and curiosity,
+which changed to consternation when they learned of the boys' project.
+Pepe questioned many natives, and all he could learn about the Santa
+Rosa was that there was an impassable waterfall some few kilometers
+below Valles.  Ken gritted his teeth and said they would have to get
+past it.  Pepe did not encounter a man who had ever heard of the
+headwaters of the Panuco River.  There were only a few fields under
+cultivation around Valles, and they were inclosed by impenetrable
+jungle.  It seemed useless to try to find out anything about the river.
+But Pepe's advisers in the village told enough about _tigre_ and
+_javelin_ to make Hal's hair stand on end, and George turn pale, and Ken
+himself wish they had not come.  It all gave Ken both a thrill and a
+shock.
+
+There was not much conversation among the boys on the drive back to the
+station. However, sight of the boat, which had come by freight, stirred
+Ken with renewed spirit, and through him that was communicated to the
+others.
+
+The hardest task, so far, developed in the matter of transporting boat
+and supplies out to the river.  Ken had hoped to get a handcar and haul
+the outfit on the track down to where the bridge crossed the Santa Rosa.
+But there was no hand-car.  Then came the staggering information that
+there was no wagon which would carry the boat, and then worse still in
+the fact that there was no road. This discouraged Ken; nevertheless he
+had not the least idea of giving up.  He sent Pepe out to tell the
+natives there must be some way to get the outfit to the river.
+
+Finally Pepe found a fellow who had a cart. This fellow claimed he knew
+a trail that went to a point from which it would be easy to carry the
+boat to the river.  Ken had Pepe hire the man at once.
+
+"Bring on your old cart," said the irrepressible Hal.
+
+That cart turned out to be a remarkable vehicle.  It consisted of a
+narrow body between enormously high wheels.  A trio of little mules was
+hitched to it.  The driver willingly agreed to haul the boat and outfit
+for one _peso_, but when he drove up to the platform to be surrounded by
+neighbors, he suddenly discovered that he could not possibly accommodate
+the boys.  Patiently Pepe tried to persuade him.  No, the thing was
+impossible.  He made no excuses, but he looked mysterious.
+
+"George, tell Pepe to offer him five pesos," said Ken.
+
+Pepe came out bluntly with the inducement, and the driver began to
+sweat.  From the look of his eyes Ken fancied he had not earned so much
+money in a year.  Still he was cunning, and his whispering neighbors
+lent him support.  He had the only cart in the village, and evidently it
+seemed that fortune had come to knock at least once at his door.  He
+shook his head.
+
+Ken held up both hands with fingers spread. "Ten pesos," he said.
+
+The driver, like a crazy man, began to jabber his consent.
+
+The boys lifted the boat upon the cart, and tied it fast in front so
+that the stern would not sag.  Then they packed the rest of the outfit
+inside.
+
+Ken was surprised to see how easily the little mules trotted off with
+such a big load. At the edge of the jungle he looked back toward the
+station.  The motley crowd of natives were watching, making excited
+gestures, and all talking at once.  The driver drove into a narrow
+trail, which closed behind him.  Pepe led on foot, brushing aside the
+thick foliage.  Ken drew a breath of relief as he passed into the cool
+shade.  The sun was very hot.  Hal and George brought up the rear,
+talking fast.
+
+The trail was lined and overgrown with slender trees, standing very
+close, making dense shade.  Many birds, some of beautiful coloring,
+flitted in the branches.  In about an hour the driver entered a little
+clearing where there were several thatched huts. Ken heard the puffing
+of an engine, and, looking through the trees, he saw the railroad and
+knew they had arrived at the pumping-station and the bridge over the
+Santa Rosa.
+
+Pepe lost no time in rounding up six natives to carry the boat.  They
+did not seem anxious to oblige Pepe, although they plainly wanted the
+money he offered.  The trouble was the boat, at which they looked
+askance. As in the case with the driver, however, the weight and
+clinking of added silver overcame their reluctance.  They easily lifted
+the boat upon their shoulders.  And as they entered the trail, making a
+strange procession in the close-bordering foliage, they encountered two
+natives, who jumped and ran, yelling: "La diable!  La diable!"
+
+"What ails those gazabos?" asked Hal.
+
+"They're scared," replied George.  "They thought the boat was the
+devil."
+
+If Ken needed any more than had already come to him about the wildness
+of the Santa Rosa, he had it in the frightened cries and bewilderment of
+these natives.  They had never seen a boat.  The Santa Rosa was a
+beautiful wild river upon which boats were unknown.  Ken had not hoped
+for so much. And now that the die was cast he faced the trip with
+tingling gladness.
+
+"George and Hal, you stay behind to watch the outfit.  Pepe and I will
+carry what we can and follow the boat.  I'll send back after you," said
+Ken.
+
+Then as he followed Pepe and the natives down the trail there was a deep
+satisfaction within him.  He heard the soft rush of water over stones
+and the mourning of turtledoves. He rounded a little hill to come
+abruptly upon the dense green mass of river foliage.  Giant
+cypress-trees, bearded with gray moss, fringed the banks.  Through the
+dark green of leaves Ken caught sight of light-green water.  Birds rose
+all about him. There were rustlings in the thick underbrush and the whir
+of ducks.  The natives penetrated the dark shade and came out to an
+open, grassy point.
+
+The Santa Rosa, glistening, green, swift, murmured at Ken's feet.  The
+natives dropped the boat into the water, and with Pepe went back for the
+rest of the outfit.  Ken looked up the shady lane of the river and
+thought of the moment when he had crossed the bridge in the train.
+Then, as much as he had longed to be there, he had not dared to hope it.
+And here he was!  How strange it was, just then, to see a large black
+duck with white-crested wings sweep by as swift as the wind!  Ken had
+seen that wild fowl, or one of his kind, and it had haunted him.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *V*
+
+                            *THE FIRST CAMP*
+
+
+In less than an hour all the outfit had been carried down to the river,
+and the boys sat in the shade, cooling off, happily conscious that they
+had made an auspicious start.
+
+It took Ken only a moment to decide to make camp there and the next day
+try to reach Micas Falls.  The mountains appeared close at hand, and
+were so lofty that, early in the afternoon as it was, the westering sun
+hung over the blue summits.  The notch where the Santa Rosa cut through
+the range stood out clear, and at most it was not more than eighteen
+miles distant.  So Ken planned to spend a day pulling up the river, and
+then to turn for the down-stream trip.
+
+"Come, boys, let's make camp," said Ken.
+
+He sent Pepe with his long _machete_ into the brush to cut fire-wood.
+Hal he set to making a stone fireplace, which work the boy rather prided
+himself upon doing well.  Ken got George to help him to put up the strip
+of canvas.  They stretched a rope between two trees, threw the canvas
+over it, and pegged down the ends.
+
+"Say, how 're we going to sleep?" inquired Hal, suddenly.
+
+"Sleep?  Why, on our backs, of course," retorted Ken, who could read
+Hal's mind.
+
+"If we don't have some hot old times keeping things out of this tent,
+I'm a lobster," said George, dubiously.  "I'm going to sleep in the
+middle."
+
+"You're a brave boy, George," replied Ken.
+
+"Me for between Ken and Pepe," added Hal.
+
+"And you're twice as brave," said Ken. "I dare say Pepe and I will be
+able to keep things from getting at you."
+
+Just as Pepe came into camp staggering under a load of wood, a flock of
+russet-colored ducks swung round the bend.  They alighted near the shore
+at a point opposite the camp. The way George and Hal made headers into
+the pile of luggage for their guns gave Ken an inkling of what he might
+expect from these lads.  He groaned, and then he laughed. George came up
+out of the luggage first, and he had a .22-caliber rifle, which he
+quickly loaded and fired into the flock.  He crippled one; the others
+flew up-stream.  Then George began to waste shells trying to kill the
+crippled duck.  Hal got into action with his .22. They bounced bullets
+off the water all around the duck, but they could not hit it.
+
+Pepe grew as excited as the boys, and he jumped into the boat and with a
+long stick began to pole out into the stream.  Ken had to caution George
+and Hal to lower their guns and not shoot Pepe.  Below camp and just
+under the bridge the water ran into a shallow rift.  The duck got onto
+the current and went round the bend, with Pepe poling in pursuit and
+George and Hal yelling along the shore.  When they returned a little
+later, they had the duck, which was of an unknown species to Ken.  Pepe
+had fallen overboard; George was wet to his knees; and, though Hal did
+not show any marks of undue exertion, his eyes would have enlightened
+any beholder.  The fact was that they were glowing with the excitement
+of the chase. It amused Ken.  He felt that he had to try to stifle his
+own enthusiasm.  There had to be one old head in the party.  But if he
+did have qualms over the possibilities of the boys to worry him with
+their probable escapades, he still felt happy at their boundless life
+and spirit.
+
+It was about the middle of the afternoon, and the heat had become
+intense.  Ken realized it doubly when he saw Pepe favoring the shade.
+George and Hal were hot, but they appeared to be too supremely satisfied
+with their surroundings to care about that.
+
+During this hot spell, which lasted from three o'clock until five, there
+was a quiet and a lack of life around camp that surprised Ken.  It was
+slumberland; even the insects seemed drowsy.  Not a duck and scarcely a
+bird passed by.  Ken heard the mourning of turtle-doves, and was at once
+struck with the singular deep, full tone. Several trains crossed the
+bridge, and at intervals the engine at the pumping-tank puffed and
+chugged.  From time to time a native walked out upon the bridge to stare
+long and curiously at the camp.
+
+When the sun set behind the mountain a hard breeze swept down the river.
+Ken did not know what to make of it, and at first thought there was
+going to be a storm.  Pepe explained that the wind blew that way every
+day after sunset.  For a while it tossed the willows, and waved the
+Spaniard's-beard upon the cypresses.  Then as suddenly as it had come it
+died away, taking the heat with it.
+
+Whereupon the boys began to get supper.
+
+"George, do you know anything about this water?" asked Ken.  "Is it
+safe?"
+
+George supposed it was all right, but he did not know.  The matter of
+water had bothered Ken more than any other thing in consideration of the
+trip.  This river-water was cool and clear; it apparently was safe. But
+Ken decided not to take any chances, and to boil all the water used.
+All at once George yelled, "Canvasbacks!" and made a dive for his gun.
+Ken saw a flock of ducks swiftly winging flight up-stream.
+
+"Hold on, George; don't shoot," called Ken.  "Let's go a little slow at
+the start."
+
+George appeared to be disappointed, though he promptly obeyed.
+
+Then the boys had supper, finding the russet duck much to their taste.
+Ken made a note of Pepe's capacity, and was glad there were prospects of
+plenty of meat.  While they were eating, a group of natives gathered on
+the bridge.  Ken would not have liked to interpret their opinion of his
+party from their actions.
+
+Night came on almost before the boys were ready for it.  They
+replenished the camp-fire, and sat around it, looking into the red blaze
+and then out into the flickering shadows.  Ken thought the time
+propitious for a little lecture he had to give the boys, and he
+remembered how old Hiram Bent had talked to him and Hal that first night
+down under the great black rim-wall of the Grand Canon.
+
+"Well, fellows," began Ken, "we're started, we're here, and the trip
+looks great to me. Now, as I am responsible, I intend to be boss. I want
+you boys to do what I tell you.  I may make mistakes, but if I do I'll
+take them on my shoulders.  Let's try to make the trip a great success.
+Let's be careful.  We're not game-hogs.  We'll not kill any more than we
+can eat.  I want you boys to be careful with your guns.  Think all the
+time where you're pointing them.  And as to thinking, we'd do well to
+use our heads all the time. We've no idea what we're going up against in
+this jungle."
+
+Both boys listened to Ken with attention and respect, but they did not
+bind themselves by any promises.
+
+Ken had got out the mosquito-netting, expecting any moment to find it
+very serviceable; however, to his surprise it was not needed.  When it
+came time to go to bed, Hal and George did not forget to slip in between
+Pepe and Ken.  The open-sided tent might keep off rain or dew, but for
+all the other protection it afforded, the boys might as well have slept
+outside.  Nevertheless they were soon fast asleep.  Ken awoke a couple
+of times during the night and rolled over to find a softer spot in the
+hard bed.  These times he heard only the incessant hum of insects.
+
+When he opened his eyes in the gray morning light, he did hear something
+that made him sit up with a start.  It was a deep booming sound,
+different from anything that he had ever heard.  Ken called Pepe, and
+that roused the boys.
+
+"Listen," said Ken.
+
+In a little while the sound was repeated, a heavy "boo-oom! ...
+boo-oom!"  There was a resemblance to the first strong beats of a
+drumming grouse, only infinitely wilder.
+
+Pepe called it something like "_faisan real_."
+
+"What's that?" asked Hal.
+
+The name was as new to Ken as the noise itself.  Pepe explained through
+George that it was made by a huge black bird not unlike a turkey.  It
+had a golden plume, and could run as fast as a deer.  The boys rolled
+out, all having conceived a desire to see such a strange bird.  The
+sound was not repeated. Almost immediately, however, the thicket across
+the river awoke to another sound, as much a contrast to the boom as
+could be imagined.  It was a bird medley.  At first Ken thought of
+magpies, but Pepe dispelled this illusion with another name hard to
+pronounce.
+
+"Chicalocki," he said.
+
+And that seemed just like what they were singing.  It was a sharp, clear
+song--"Chic-a-lock-i ... chic-a-lock-i," and to judge from the full
+chorus there must have been many birds.
+
+"They're a land of pheasant," added George, "and make fine pot-stews."
+
+The _chicalocki_ ceased their salute to the morning, and then, as the
+river mist melted away under the rising sun, other birds took it up.
+Notes new to Ken burst upon the air. And familiar old songs thrilled
+him, made him think of summer days on the Susquehanna--the sweet carol
+of the meadow-lark, the whistle of the quail, the mellow, sad call of
+the swamp-blackbird.  The songs blended in an exquisite harmony.
+
+"Why, some of them are our own birds come south for the winter,"
+declared Hal.
+
+"It's music," said Ken.
+
+"Just wait," laughed George.
+
+It dawned upon Ken then that George was a fellow who had the mysterious
+airs of a prophet hinting dire things.
+
+Ken did not know what to wait for, but he enjoyed the suggestion and
+anticipated much.  Ducks began to whir by; flocks of blackbirds alighted
+in the trees across the river.  Suddenly Hal jumped up, and Ken was
+astounded at a great discordant screeching and a sweeping rush of
+myriads of wings. Ken looked up to see the largest flock of birds he had
+ever seen.
+
+"Parrots," he yelled.
+
+Indeed they were, and they let the boys know it.  They flew across the
+river, wheeled to come back, all the time screeching, and then they
+swooped down into the tops of the cypress-trees.
+
+"Red-heads," said George.  "Just wait till you see the yellow-heads!"
+
+At the moment the red-heads were quite sufficient for Ken.  They broke
+out into a chattering, screaming, cackling discordance. It was plainly
+directed at the boys.  These intelligent birds were curious and
+resentful. As Pepe put it, they were scolding.  Ken enjoyed it for a
+full half-hour and reveled in the din.  That morning serenade was worth
+the trip.  Presently the parrots flew away, and Ken was surprised to
+find that most of the other birds had ceased singing.  They had set
+about the business of the day--something it was nigh time for Ken to
+consider.
+
+Breakfast over, the boys broke camp, eager for the adventures that they
+felt to be before them.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *VI*
+
+                           *WILDERNESS LIFE*
+
+
+"Now for the big job, boys," called Ken. "Any ideas will be welcome, but
+don't all talk at once."
+
+And this job was the packing of the outfit in the boat.  It was a study
+for Ken, and he found himself thanking his lucky stars that he had
+packed boats for trips on rapid rivers.  George and Hal came to the fore
+with remarkable advice which Ken was at the pains of rejecting.  And as
+fast as one wonderful idea emanated from the fertile minds another one
+came in.  At last Ken lost patience.
+
+"Kids, it's going to take brains to pack this boat," he said, with some
+scorn.
+
+And when Hal remarked that in that case he did not see how they ever
+were going to pack the boat, Ken drove both boys away and engaged Pepe
+to help.
+
+The boat had to be packed for a long trip, with many things taken into
+consideration. The very best way to pack it must be decided upon and
+thereafter held to strictly.  Balance was all-important; comfort and
+elbow-room were not to be overlooked; a flat surface easy to crawl and
+jump over was absolutely necessary.  Fortunately, the boat was large and
+roomy, although not heavy.  The first thing Ken did was to cut out the
+narrow bow-seat.  Here he packed a small bucket of preserved mullet,
+some bottles of kerosene and _canya_, and a lantern.  The small, flat
+trunk, full of supplies, went in next.  Two boxes with the rest of the
+supplies filled up the space between the trunk and the rowing-seat.  By
+slipping an extra pair of oars, coils of rope, the ax, and a few other
+articles between the gunwales and the trunk and boxes Ken made them fit
+snugly.  He cut off a piece of the canvas, and, folding it, he laid it
+with the blankets lengthwise over the top. This made a level surface,
+one that could be gotten over quickly, or a place to sleep, for that
+matter, and effectually disposed of the bow half of the boat.  Of course
+the boat sank deep at the bow, but Ken calculated when they were all
+aboard their weight would effect an even balance.
+
+The bags with clothing Ken put under the second seat.  Then he arranged
+the other piece of canvas so that it projected up back of the stern of
+the boat.  He was thinking of the waves to be buffeted in going stern
+first down-stream through the rapids.  The fishing-tackle and guns he
+laid flat from seat to seat.  Last of all he placed the ammunition on
+one side next the gunwale, and the suit-case carrying camera, films,
+medicines, on the other.
+
+"Come now, fellows," called Ken.  "Hal, you and George take the second
+seat.  Pepe will take the oars.  I'll sit in the stern."
+
+Pepe pushed off, jumped to his place, and grasped the oars.  Ken was
+delighted to find the boat trim, and more buoyant than he had dared to
+hope.
+
+"We're off," cried Hal, and he whooped. And George exercised his already
+well-developed faculty of imitating Hal.
+
+Pepe bent to the oars, and under his powerful strokes the boat glided
+up-stream.  Soon the bridge disappeared.  Ken had expected a long, shady
+ride, but it did not turn out so. Shallow water and gravelly rapids made
+rowing impossible.
+
+"Pile out, boys, and pull," said Ken.
+
+The boys had dressed for wading and rough work, and went overboard with
+a will.  Pulling, at first, was not hard work.  They were fresh and
+eager, and hauled the boat up swift, shallow channels, making nearly as
+good time as when rowing in smooth water. Then, as the sun began to get
+hot, splashing in the cool river was pleasant.  They passed little
+islands green with willows and came to high clay-banks gradually wearing
+away, and then met with rocky restrictions in the stream-bed.  From
+round a bend came a hollow roar of a deeper rapid.  Ken found it a
+swift-rushing incline, very narrow, and hard to pull along.  The margin
+of the river was hidden and obstructed by willows so that the boys could
+see very little ahead.
+
+When they got above this fall the water was deep and still.  Entering
+the boat again, they turned a curve into a long, beautiful stretch of
+river.
+
+"Ah! this 's something like," said Hal.
+
+The green, shady lane was alive with birds and water-fowl.  Ducks of
+various kinds rose before the boat.  White, blue, gray, and speckled
+herons, some six feet tall, lined the low bars, and flew only at near
+approach. There were many varieties of bitterns, one kind with a purple
+back and white breast. They were very tame and sat on the overhanging
+branches, uttering dismal croaks. Everywhere was the flash and glitter
+and gleam of birds in flight, up and down and across the river.
+
+Hal took his camera and tried to get pictures.
+
+The strangeness, beauty, and life of this jungle stream absorbed Ken.
+He did not take his guns from their cases.  The water was bright green
+and very deep; here and there were the swirls of playing fish.  The
+banks were high and densely covered with a luxuriant foliage.  Huge
+cypress-trees, moss-covered, leaned half-way across the river. Giant
+gray-barked ceibas spread long branches thickly tufted with aloes,
+orchids, and other jungle parasites.  Palm-trees lifted slender stems
+and graceful broad-leaved heads. Clumps of bamboo spread an enormous
+green arch out over the banks.  These bamboo-trees were particularly
+beautiful to Ken. A hundred yellow, black-circled stems grew out of the
+ground close together, and as they rose high they gracefully leaned
+their bodies and drooped their tips.  The leaves were arrowy, exquisite
+in their fineness.
+
+He looked up the long river-lane, bright in the sun, dark and still
+under the moss-veiled cypresses, at the turning vines and blossoming
+creepers, at the changeful web of moving birds, and indulged to the
+fullest that haunting sense for wild places.
+
+"Chicalocki," said Pepe, suddenly.
+
+A flock of long-tailed birds, resembling the pheasant in body, was
+sailing across the river.  Again George made a dive for a gun. This one
+was a sixteen-gage and worn out. He shot twice at the birds on the wing.
+Then Pepe rowed under the overhanging branches, and George killed three
+_chicalocki_ with his rifle.  They were olive green in color, and the
+long tail had a brownish cast. Heavy and plump, they promised fine
+eating.
+
+"Pato real!" yelled Pepe, pointing excitedly up the river.
+
+Several black fowl, as large as geese, hove in sight, flying pretty low.
+Ken caught a glimpse of wide, white-crested wings, and knew then that
+these were the birds he had seen.
+
+"Load up and get ready," he said to George.  "They're coming fast--shoot
+ahead of them."
+
+How swift and powerful they were on the wing!  They swooped up when they
+saw the boat, and offered a splendid target.  The little sixteen-gage
+rang out.  Ken heard the shot strike.  The leader stopped in midair,
+dipped, and plunged with a sounding splash. Ken picked him up and found
+him to be most beautiful, and as large and heavy as a goose. His black
+feathers shone with the latent green luster of an opal, and the pure
+white of the shoulder of the wings made a remarkable contrast.
+
+"George, we've got enough meat for to-day, more than we can use.  Don't
+shoot any more," said Ken.
+
+Pepe resumed rowing, and Ken told him to keep under the overhanging
+branches and to row without splashing.  He was skilled in the use of the
+oars, so the boat glided along silently.  Ken felt he was rewarded for
+this stealth.  Birds of rare and brilliant plumage flitted among the
+branches.  There was one, a long, slender bird, gold and black with a
+white ring round its neck.  There were little yellow-breasted
+kingfishers no larger than a wren, and great red-breasted kingfishers
+with blue backs and tufted heads.  The boat passed under a leaning
+ceiba-tree that was covered with orchids.  Ken saw the slim, sharp head
+of a snake dart from among the leaves.  His neck was as thick as Ken's
+wrist.
+
+"What kind of a snake, Pepe?" whispered Ken, as he fingered the trigger
+of George's gun.  But Pepe did not see the snake, and then Ken thought
+better of disturbing the silence with a gunshot.  He was reminded,
+however, that the Texan had told him of snakes in this jungle, some of
+which measured more than fifteen feet and were as large as a man's leg.
+
+Most of the way the bank was too high and steep and overgrown for any
+animal to get down to the water.  Still there were dry gullies, or
+arroyos, every few hundred yards, and these showed the tracks of
+animals, but Pepe could not tell what species from the boat.  Often Ken
+heard the pattering of hard feet, and then he would see a little cloud
+of dust in one of these drinking-places. So he cautioned Pepe to row
+slower and closer in to the bank.
+
+"Look there! lemme out!" whispered Hal, and he seemed to be on the point
+of jumping overboard.
+
+"Coons," said George.  "Oh, a lot of them.  There--some young ones."
+
+Ken saw that they had come abruptly upon a band of racoons, not less
+than thirty in number, some big, some little, and a few like tiny balls
+of fur, and all had long white-ringed tails.  What a scampering the big
+ones set up!  The little ones were frightened, and the smallest so tame
+they scarcely made any effort to escape.  Pepe swung the boat in to the
+bank, and reaching out he caught a baby racoon and handed it to Hal.
+
+"Whoop!  We'll catch things and tame them," exclaimed Hal, much
+delighted, and he proceeded to tie the little racoon under the seat.
+
+"Sure, we'll get a whole menagerie," said George.
+
+So they went on up-stream.  Often Ken motioned Pepe to stop in dark,
+cool places under the golden-green canopy of bamboos. He was as much
+fascinated by the beautiful foliage and tree growths as by the wild
+life. Hal appeared more taken up with the fluttering of birds in the
+thick jungle, rustlings, and soft, stealthy steps.  Then as they moved
+on Ken whispered and pointed out a black animal vanishing in the
+thicket.  Three times he caught sight of a spotted form slipping away in
+the shade.  George saw it the last time, and whispered: "Tiger-cat!
+Let's get him."
+
+"What's that, Ken, a kind of a wildcat?" asked Hal.
+
+"Yes."  Ken took George's .32-caliber and tried to find a way up the
+bank.  There was no place to climb up unless he dragged himself up
+branches of trees or drooping bamboos, and this he did not care to
+attempt encumbered with a rifle.  Only here and there could he see over
+the matted roots and creepers. Then the sound of rapids put hunting out
+of his mind.
+
+"Boys, we've got Micas Falls to reach," he said, and told Pepe to row
+on.
+
+The long stretch of deep river ended in a wide, shallow, noisy rapid.
+Fir-trees lined the banks.  The palms, cypresses, bamboos, and the
+flowery, mossy growths were not here in evidence.  Thickly wooded hills
+rose on each side.  The jungle looked sear and yellow.
+
+The boys began to wade up the rapid, and before they had reached the
+head of it Pepe yelled and jumped back from where he was wading at the
+bow.  He took an oar and began to punch at something in the water, at
+the same time calling out.
+
+"Crocodile!" cried George, and he climbed in the boat.  Hal was not slow
+in following suit.  Then Ken saw Pepe hitting a small crocodile, which
+lashed out with its tail and disappeared.
+
+"Come out of there," called Ken to the boys. "We can't pull you
+up-stream."
+
+"Say, I don't want to step on one of those ugly brutes," protested Hal.
+
+"Look sharp, then.  Come out."
+
+Above the rapid extended a quarter-mile stretch where Pepe could row,
+and beyond that another long rapid.  When the boys had waded up that it
+was only to come to another.  It began to be hard work.  But Ken kept
+the boys buckled down, and they made fair progress.  They pulled up
+through eighteen rapids, and covered distance that Ken estimated to be
+about ten miles.  The blue mountain loomed closer and higher, yet Ken
+began to have doubts of reaching Micas Falls that day.
+
+Moreover, as they ascended the stream, the rapids grew rougher.
+
+"It 'll be great coming down," panted Hal.
+
+Finally they reached a rapid which had long dinned in Ken's ears.  All
+the water in the river rushed down on the right-hand side through a
+channel scarcely twenty feet wide. It was deep and swift.  With the aid
+of ropes, and by dint of much hard wading and pulling, the boys got the
+boat up.  A little farther on was another bothersome rapid.  At last
+they came to a succession of falls, steps in the river, that barred
+farther advance up-stream.
+
+Here Ken climbed up on the bank, to find the country hilly and open,
+with patches of jungle and palm groves leading up to the mountains.
+Then he caught a glint of Micas Falls, and decided that it would be
+impossible to get there.  He made what observations he could, and
+returned to camp.
+
+"Boys, here's where we stop," said Ken. "It 'll be all down-stream now,
+and I'm glad."
+
+There was no doubt that the boys were equally glad.  They made camp on a
+grassy bench above a foam-flecked pool. Ken left the others to get
+things in shape for supper, and, taking his camera, he hurried off to
+try to get a picture of Micas Falls.  He found open places and by-paths
+through the brushy forest.  He saw evidences of forest fire, and then
+knew what had ruined that part of the jungle.  There were no birds.  It
+was farther than he had estimated to the foothill he had marked, but,
+loath to give up, he kept on and finally reached a steep, thorny ascent.
+Going up he nearly suffocated with heat. He felt rewarded for his
+exertions when he saw Micas Falls glistening in the distance. It was
+like a string of green fans connected by silver ribbons.  He remained
+there watching it while the sun set in the golden notch between the
+mountains.
+
+On the way back to camp he waded through a flat overgrown with coarse
+grass and bushes. Here he jumped a herd of deer, eight in number.  These
+small, sleek, gray deer appeared tame, and if there had been sufficient
+light, Ken would have photographed them.  It cost him an effort to
+decide not to fetch his rifle, but as he had meat enough in camp there
+was nothing to do except let the deer go.
+
+When he got back to the river Pepe grinned at him, and, pointing to
+little red specks on his shirt, he said:
+
+"Pinilius."
+
+"Aha! the ticks!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+They were exceedingly small, not to be seen without close scrutiny.
+They could not be brushed off, so Ken began laboriously to pick them
+off.  Pepe and George laughed, and Hal appeared to derive some sort of
+enjoyment from the incident.
+
+"Say, these ticks don't bother me any," declared Ken.
+
+Pepe grunted; and George called out, "Just wait till you get the big
+fellows--the garrapatoes."
+
+It developed presently that the grass and bushes on the camp-site
+contained millions of the ticks.  Ken found several of the larger
+ticks--almost the size of his little finger-nail--but he did not get
+bitten.  Pepe and George, however, had no such good luck, as was
+manifested at different times.  By the time they had cut down the bushes
+and carried in a stock of fire-wood, both were covered with the little
+pests.  Hal found a spot where there appeared to be none, and here he
+stayed.
+
+Pepe and George had the bad habit of smoking, and Ken saw them burning
+the ticks off shirt-sleeves and trousers-legs, using the fiery end of
+their cigarettes.  This feat did not puzzle Ken anything like the one
+where they held the red point of the cigarettes close to their naked
+flesh.  Ken, and Hal, too, had to see that performance at close range.
+
+"Why do you do that?" asked Ken.
+
+"Popping ticks," replied George.  He and Pepe were as sober as judges.
+
+The fact of the matter was soon clear to Ken.  The ticks stuck on as if
+glued.  When the hot end of the burning cigarette was held within a
+quarter of an inch of them they simply blew up, exploded with a pop.
+Ken could easily distinguish between the tiny pop of an exploding
+_pinilius_ and the heavier pop of a _garrapato_.
+
+"But, boy, while you're taking time to do that, half a dozen other ticks
+can bite you!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+"Sure they can," replied George.  "But if they get on me I'll kill 'em.
+I don't mind the little ones--it's the big boys I hate."
+
+On the other hand, Pepe seemed to mind most the _pinilius_.
+
+"Say, from now on you fellows will be Garrapato George and Pinilius
+Pepe."
+
+"Pretty soon you'll laugh on the other side of your face," said George.
+"In three days you'll be popping ticks yourself."
+
+Just then Hal let out a yell and began to hunt for a tick that had bit
+him.  If there was anything that could bother Hal Ward it was a crawling
+bug of some kind.
+
+"I'll have to christen you too, brother," said Ken, gurgling with mirth.
+"A very felicitous name--Hollering Hal!"
+
+Despite the humor of the thing, Ken really saw its serious side.  When
+he found the grass under his feet alive with ticks he cast about in his
+mind for some way to get rid of them.  And he hit upon a remedy.  On the
+ridge above the bench was a palm-tree, and under it were many dead palm
+leaves.  These were large in size, had long stems, and were as dry as
+tinder.  Ken lighted one, and it made a flaming hot torch.  It did not
+take him long to scorch all the ticks near that camp.
+
+The boys had supper and enjoyed it hugely. The scene went well with the
+camp-fire and game-dinner.  They gazed out over the foaming pool, the
+brawling rapids, to the tufted palm-trees, and above them the dark-blue
+mountain.  At dusk Hal and George were so tired they went to bed and at
+once dropped into slumber.  Pepe sat smoking before the slumbering fire.
+
+And Ken chose that quiet hour to begin the map of the river, and to set
+down in his note-book his observations on the mountains and in the
+valley, and what he had seen that day of bird, animal, and plant life in
+the jungle.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *VII*
+
+                          *RUNNING THE RAPIDS*
+
+
+Some time in the night a yell awakened Ken.  He sat up, clutching his
+revolver. The white moonlight made all as clear as day.  Hal lay deep in
+slumber.  George was raising himself, half aroused.  But Pepe was gone.
+
+Ken heard a thrashing about outside. Leaping up he ran out, and was
+frightened to see Pepe beating and clawing and tearing at himself like a
+man possessed of demons.
+
+"Pepe, what's wrong?" shouted Ken.
+
+It seemed that Pepe only grew more violent in his wrestling about.  Then
+Ken was sure Pepe had been stung by a scorpion or bitten by a snake.
+
+But he was dumfounded to see George bound like an apparition out of the
+tent and begin evolutions that made Pepe's look slow.
+
+"Hey, what's wrong with you jumping-jacks?" yelled Ken.
+
+George was as grimly silent as an Indian running the gantlet, but Ken
+thought it doubtful if any Indian ever slapped and tore at his body in
+George's frantic manner.  To add to the mystery Hal suddenly popped out
+of the tent.  He was yelling in a way to do justice to the name Ken had
+lately given him, and, as for wild and whirling antics, his were simply
+marvelous.
+
+"Good land!" ejaculated Ken.  Had the boys all gone mad?  Despite his
+alarm, Ken had to roar with laughter at those three dancing figures in
+the moonlight.  A rush of ideas went through Ken's confused mind. And
+the last prompted him to look in the tent.
+
+He saw a wide bar of black crossing the moonlit ground, the grass, and
+the blankets. This bar moved.  It was alive.  Bending low Ken descried
+that it was made by ants. An army of jungle ants on a march!  They had
+come in a straight line along the base of the little hill and their
+passageway led under the canvas.  Pepe happened to be the first in line,
+and they had surged over him.  As he had awakened, and jumped up of
+course, the ants had begun to bite.  The same in turn happened to George
+and then Hal.
+
+Ken was immensely relieved, and had his laugh out.  The stream of ants
+moved steadily and quite rapidly, and soon passed from sight.  By this
+time Pepe and the boys had threshed themselves free of ants and into
+some degree of composure.
+
+"Say, you nightmare fellows!  Come back to bed," said Ken.  "Any one
+would think something had really happened to you."
+
+Pepe snorted, which made Ken think the native understood something of
+English.  And the boys grumbled loudly.
+
+"Ants!  Ants as big as wasps!  They bit worse than helgramites,"
+declared Hal.  "Oh, they missed you.  You always are lucky. I'm not
+afraid of all the old jaguars in this jungle.  But I can't stand biting,
+crawling bugs.  I wish you hadn't made me come on this darn trip."
+
+"Ha!  Ha!" laughed Ken.
+
+"Just wait, Hal," put in George, grimly. "Just wait.  It's coming to
+him!"
+
+The boys slept well the remainder of the night and, owing to the break
+in their rest, did not awaken early.  The sun shone hot when Ken rolled
+out; a creamy mist was dissolving over the curve of the mountain-range;
+parrots were screeching in the near-by trees.
+
+After breakfast Ken set about packing the boat as it had been done the
+day before.
+
+"I think we'll do well to leave the trunk in the boat after this, unless
+we find a place where we want to make a permanent camp for a while,"
+said Ken.
+
+Before departing he carefully looked over the ground to see that nothing
+was left, and espied a heavy fish-line which George had baited, set, and
+forgotten.
+
+"Hey, George, pull up your trot-line. It looks pretty much stretched to
+me.  Maybe you've got a fish."
+
+Ken happened to be busy at the boat when George started to take in the
+line.  An exclamation from Pepe, George's yell, and a loud splash made
+Ken jump up in double-quick time.  Hal also came running.
+
+George was staggering on the bank, leaning back hard on the heavy line.
+A long, angry swirl in the pool told of a powerful fish. It was likely
+to pull George in.
+
+"Let go the line!" yelled Ken.
+
+But George was not letting go of any fish-lines.  He yelled for Pepe,
+and went down on his knees before Pepe got to him.  Both then pulled on
+the line.  The fish, or whatever it was at the other end, gave a mighty
+jerk that almost dragged the two off the bank.
+
+"Play him, play him!" shouted Ken. "You've got plenty of line.  Give him
+some."
+
+Hal now added his weight and strength, and the three of them, unmindful
+of Ken's advice, hauled back with might and main. The line parted and
+they sprawled on the grass.
+
+"What a sockdologer!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+"I had that hook baited with a big piece of duck meat," said George.
+"We must have been hooked to a crocodile.  Things are happening to us."
+
+"Yes, so I've noticed," replied Ken, dryly. "But if you fellows hadn't
+pulled so hard you might have landed that thing, whatever it was.  All
+aboard now.  We must be on the move--we don't know what we have before
+us."
+
+When they got into the boat Ken took the oars, much to Pepe's surprise.
+It was necessary to explain to him that Ken would handle the boat in
+swift water.  They shoved off, and Ken sent one regretful glance up the
+river, at the shady aisle between the green banks, at the white rapids,
+and the great colored dome of the mountain.  He almost hesitated, for he
+desired to see more of that jungle-covered mountain.  But something
+already warned Ken to lose no time in the trip down the Santa Rosa.
+There did not seem to be any reason for hurry, yet he felt it necessary.
+But he asked Pepe many questions and kept George busy interpreting names
+of trees and flowers and wild creatures.
+
+Going down-stream on any river, mostly, would have been pleasure, but
+drifting on the swift current of the Santa Rosa and rowing under the
+wonderful moss-bearded cypresses was almost like a dream.  It was too
+beautiful to seem real.  The smooth stretch before the first rapid was
+short, however, and then all Ken's attention had to be given to the
+handling of the boat.  He saw that George and Pepe both expected to get
+out and wade down the rapids as they had waded up. He had a surprise in
+store for them.  The rapids that he could not shoot would have to be
+pretty bad.
+
+"You're getting close," shouted George, warningly.
+
+With two sweeps of the oars Ken turned the boat stern first down-stream,
+then dipped on the low green incline, and sailed down toward the waves.
+They struck the first wave with a shock, and the water flew all over the
+boys.  Pepe was tremendously excited; he yelled and made wild motions
+with his hands; George looked a little frightened.  Hal enjoyed it.
+Whatever the rapid appeared to them, it was magnificent to Ken; and it
+was play to manage the boat in such water.  A little pull on one oar and
+then on the other kept the stern straight down-stream.  The channel he
+could make out a long way ahead. He amused himself by watching George
+and Pepe.  There were stones in the channel, and the water rose angrily
+about them.  A glance was enough to tell that he could float over these
+without striking.  But the boys thought they were going to hit every
+stone, and were uneasy all the time.  Twice he had to work to pass
+ledges and sunken trees upon which the current bore down hard.  When Ken
+neared one of these he dipped the oars and pulled back to stop or lessen
+the momentum; then a stroke turned the boat half broadside to the
+current.  That would force it to one side, and another stroke would turn
+the boat straight.  At the bottom of this rapid they encountered a long
+triangle of choppy waves that they bumped and splashed over.  They came
+through with nothing wet but the raised flap of canvas in the stern.
+
+Pepe regarded Ken with admiring eyes, and called him _grande mozo_.
+
+"Shooting rapids is great sport," proclaimed George.
+
+They drifted through several little rifts, and then stopped at the head
+of the narrow chute that had been such a stumbling-block on the way up.
+Looked at from above, this long, narrow channel, with several S curves,
+was a fascinating bit of water for a canoeist. It tempted Ken to shoot
+it even with the boat. But he remembered the four-foot waves at the
+bottom, and besides he resented the importunity of the spirit of daring
+so early in the game.  Risk, and perhaps peril, would come soon enough.
+So he decided to walk along the shore and float the boat through with a
+rope.
+
+The thing looked a good deal easier than it turned out to be.  Half-way
+through, at the narrowest point and most abrupt curve, Pepe
+misunderstood directions and pulled hard on the bow-rope, when he should
+have let it slack.
+
+The boat swung in, nearly smashing Ken against the bank, and the
+sweeping current began to swell dangerously near the gunwale.
+
+"Let go!  Let go!" yelled Ken.  "George, make him let go!"
+
+But George, who was trying to get the rope out of Pepe's muscular hands,
+suddenly made a dive for his rifle.
+
+"Deer! deer!" he cried, hurriedly throwing a shell into the chamber.  He
+shot downstream, and Ken, looking that way, saw several deer under the
+firs on a rocky flat.  George shot three more times, and the bullets
+went "spinging" into the trees.  The deer bounded out of sight.
+
+When Ken turned again, water was roaring into the boat.  He was being
+pressed harder into the bank, and he saw disaster ahead.
+
+"Loosen the rope--tell him, George," yelled Ken.
+
+Pepe only pulled the harder.
+
+"Quick, or we're ruined," cried Ken.
+
+George shouted in Spanish, and Pepe promptly dropped the rope in the
+water. That was the worst thing he could have done.
+
+"Grab the rope!" ordered Ken, wildly. "Grab the bow!  Don't let it swing
+out!  Hal!"
+
+Before either boy could reach it the bow swung out into the current.
+Ken was not only helpless, but in a dangerous position. He struggled to
+get out from where the swinging stern was wedging him into the bank, but
+could not budge.  Fearing that all the outfit would be lost in the
+river, he held on to the boat and called for some one to catch the rope.
+
+George pushed Pepe head first into the swift current.  Pepe came up,
+caught the rope, and then went under again.  The boat swung round and,
+now half full of water, got away from Ken.  It gathered headway.  Ken
+leaped out on the ledge and ran along with the boat. It careened round
+the bad curve and shot down-stream.  Pepe was still under water.
+
+"He's drowned!  He's drowned!" cried George.
+
+Hal took a header right off the ledge, came up, and swam with a few
+sharp strokes to the drifting boat.  He gained the bow, grasped it, and
+then pulled on the rope.
+
+Ken had a sickening feeling that Pepe might be drowned.  Suddenly Pepe
+appeared like a brown porpoise.  He was touching bottom in places and
+holding back on the rope. Then the current rolled him over and over. The
+boat drifted back of a rocky point into shallow water.  Hal gave a haul
+that helped to swing it out of the dangerous current. Then Pepe came up,
+and he, too, pulled hard. Just as Ken plunged in the boat sank in two
+feet of water.  Ken's grip, containing camera, films, and other
+perishable goods, was on top, and he got it just in time.  He threw it
+out on the rocks.  Then together the boys lifted the boat and hauled the
+bow well up on the shore.
+
+"Pretty lucky!" exclaimed Ken, as he flopped down.
+
+"Doggone it!" yelled Hal, suddenly.  And he dove for the boat, and
+splashed round in the water under his seat, to bring forth a very limp
+and drenched little racoon.
+
+"Good! he's all right," said Ken.
+
+Pepe said "Mucho malo," and pointed to his shins, which bore several
+large bumps from contact with the rocks in the channel.
+
+"I should say mucha malo," growled George.
+
+He jerked open his grip, and, throwing out articles of wet clothing--for
+which he had no concern--he gazed in dismay at his whole store of
+cigarettes wet by the water.
+
+"So that's all you care for," said Ken, severely.  "Young man, I'll have
+something to say to you presently.  All hands now to unpack the boat."
+
+Fortunately nothing had been carried away. That part of the supplies
+which would have been affected by water was packed in tin cases, and so
+suffered no damage.  The ammunition was waterproof.  Ken's Parker
+hammerless and his 351 automatic rifle were full of water, and so were
+George's guns and Hal's.  While they took their weapons apart, wiped
+them, and laid them in the sun, Pepe spread out the rest of the things
+and then baled out the boat. The sun was so hot that everything dried
+quickly and was not any the worse for the wetting.  The boys lost
+scarcely an hour by the accident.  Before the start Ken took George and
+Pepe to task, and when he finished they were both very sober and quiet.
+
+Ken observed, however, that by the time they had run the next rapid they
+were enjoying themselves again.  Then came a long succession of rapids
+which Ken shot without anything approaching a mishap.  When they drifted
+into the level stretch Pepe relieved him at the oars.  They glided
+down-stream under the drooping bamboo, under the silken streamers of
+silvery moss, under the dark, cool bowers of matted vine and blossoming
+creepers. And as they passed this time the jungle silence awoke to the
+crack of George's .22 and the discordant cry of river fowl.  Ken's guns
+were both at hand, and the rifle was loaded, but he did not use either.
+He contented himself with snapping a picture here and there and watching
+the bamboo thickets and the mouths of the little dry ravines.
+
+That ride was again so interesting, so full of sound and action and
+color, that it seemed a very short one.  The murmur of the water on the
+rocks told Ken that it was time to change seats with Pepe.  They drifted
+down two short rapids, and then came to the gravelly channels between
+the islands noted on the way up.  The water was shallow down these
+rippling channels; and, fearing they might strike a stone, Ken tumbled
+out over the bow and, wading slowly, let the boat down to still water
+again.  He was about to get in when he espied what he thought was an
+alligator lying along a log near the river. He pointed it out to Pepe.
+
+That worthy yelled gleefully in Mexican, and reached for his _machete_.
+
+"Iguana!" exclaimed George.  "I've heard it's good to eat."
+
+The reptile had a body about four feet long and a very long tail.  Its
+color was a steely blue-black on top, and it had a blunt, rounded head.
+
+Pepe slipped out of the boat and began to wade ashore.  When the iguana
+raised itself on short, stumpy legs George shot at it, and missed, as
+usual.  But he effectually frightened the reptile, which started to
+climb the bank with much nimbleness.  Pepe began to run, brandishing his
+long _machete_.  George plunged into the water in hot pursuit, and then
+Hal yielded to the call of the chase.  Pepe reached the iguana before it
+got up the bank, aimed a mighty blow with his _machete_, and would
+surely have cut the reptile in two pieces if the blade had not caught on
+an overhanging branch.  Then Pepe fell up the bank and barely grasped
+the tail of the iguana.  Pepe hauled back, and Pepe was powerful.  The
+frantic creature dug its feet in the clay-bank and held on for dear
+life.  But Pepe was too strong.  He jerked the iguana down and flung it
+square upon George, who had begun to climb the bank.
+
+George uttered an awful yell, as if he expected to be torn asunder, and
+rolled down, with the reptile on top of him.  Ken saw that it was as
+badly frightened as George. But Hal did not see this.  And he happened
+to have gained a little sand-bar below the bank, in which direction the
+iguana started with wonderful celerity.  Then Hal made a jump that Ken
+believed was a record.
+
+Remarkably awkward as that iguana was, he could surely cover ground with
+his stumpy legs.  Again he dashed up the bank.  Pepe got close enough
+once more, and again he swung the _machete_.  The blow cut off a piece
+of the long tail, but the only effect this produced was to make the
+iguana run all the faster. It disappeared over the bank, with Pepe
+scrambling close behind.  Then followed a tremendous crashing in the dry
+thickets, after which the iguana could be heard rattling and tearing
+away through the jungle. Pepe returned to the boat with the crestfallen
+boys, and he was much concerned over the failure to catch the big
+lizard, which he said made fine eating.
+
+"What next?" asked George, ruefully, and at that the boys all laughed.
+
+"The fun is we don't have any idea what's coming off," said Hal.
+
+"Boys, if you brave hunters had thought to throw a little salt on that
+lizard's tail you might have caught him," added Ken.
+
+Presently Pepe espied another iguana in the forks of a tree, and he
+rowed ashore. This lizard was only a small one, not over two feet in
+length, but he created some excitement among the boys.  George wanted
+him to eat, and Hal wanted the skin for a specimen, and Ken wanted to
+see what the lizard looked like close at hand.  So they all clamored for
+Pepe to use caution and to be quick.
+
+When Pepe started up the tree the iguana came down on the other side,
+quick as a squirrel.  Then they had a race round the trunk until Pepe
+ended it with a well-directed blow from his _machete_.
+
+Hal began to skin the iguana.
+
+"Ken, I'm going to have trouble preserving specimens in this hot place,"
+he said.
+
+"Salt and alum will do the trick.  Remember what old Hiram used to say,"
+replied Ken.
+
+Shortly after that the boat passed the scene of the first camp, and then
+drifted under the railroad bridge.
+
+Hal and George, and Pepe too, looked as if they were occupied with the
+same thought troubling Ken--that once beyond the bridge they would
+plunge into the jungle wilderness from which there could be no turning
+back.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *VIII*
+
+                         *THE FIRST TIGER-CAT*
+
+
+The Santa Rosa opened out wide, and ran swiftly over smooth rock.  Deep
+cracks, a foot or so wide, crossed the river diagonally, and fish darted
+in and out.
+
+The boys had about half a mile of this, when, after turning a hilly
+bend, they entered a long rapid.  It was a wonderful stretch of river to
+look down.
+
+"By George!" said Ken, as he stood up to survey it.  "This is great!"
+
+"It's all right _now_," added George, with his peculiar implication as
+to the future.
+
+"What gets me is the feeling of what might be round the next bend," said
+Hal.
+
+This indeed, Ken thought, made the fascination of such travel.  The
+water was swift and smooth and shallow.  There was scarcely a wave or
+ripple.  At times the boat stuck fast on the flat rock, and the boys
+would have to get out to shove off.  As far ahead as Ken could see
+extended this wide slant of water.  On the left rose a thick line of
+huge cypresses all festooned with gray moss that drooped to the water;
+on the right rose a bare bluff of crumbling rock.  It looked like blue
+clay baked and cracked by the sun.  A few palms fringed the top.
+
+"Say, we can beat this," said Ken, as for the twentieth time the boys
+had to step out and shove off a flat, shallow place.  "Two of you in the
+bow and Pepe with me in the stern, feet overboard."
+
+The little channels ran every way, making it necessary often to turn the
+boat.  Ken's idea was to drift along and keep the boat from grounding by
+an occasional kick.
+
+"Ken manages to think of something once in a while," observed Hal.
+
+Then the boat drifted down-stream, whirling round and round.  Here Pepe
+would drop his brown foot in and kick his end clear of a shallow ledge;
+there George would make a great splash when his turn came to ward off
+from a rock; and again Hal would give a greater kick than was necessary
+to the righting of the boat.  Probably Hal was much influenced by the
+fact that when he kicked hard he destroyed the lazy equilibrium of his
+companions.
+
+It dawned upon Ken that here was a new and unique way to travel down a
+river.  It was different from anything he had ever tried before.  The
+water was swift and seldom more than a foot deep, except in diagonal
+cracks that ribbed the river-bed.  This long, shut-in stretch appeared
+to be endless.  But for the quick, gliding movement of the boat, which
+made a little breeze, the heat would have been intolerable.  When one of
+Hal's kicks made Ken lurch overboard to sit down ludicrously, the cool
+water sent thrills over him.  Instead of retaliating on Hal, he was glad
+to be wet.  And the others, soon discovering the reason for Ken's
+remarkable good-nature, went overboard and lay flat in the cool ripples.
+Then little clouds of steam began to rise from their soaked clothes.
+
+Ken began to have an idea that he had been wise in boiling the water
+which they drank. They all suffered from a parching thirst. Pepe scooped
+up water in his hand; George did likewise, and then Hal.
+
+"You've all got to stop that," ordered Ken, sharply.  "No drinking this
+water unless it's boiled."
+
+The boys obeyed, for the hour, but they soon forgot, or deliberately
+allayed their thirst despite Ken's command.  Ken himself found his
+thirst unbearable.  He squeezed the juice of a wild lime into a cup of
+water and drank that.  Then he insisted on giving the boys doses of
+quinine and anti-malaria pills, which treatment he meant to continue
+daily.
+
+Toward the lower part of that rapid, where the water grew deeper, fish
+began to be so numerous that the boys kicked at many as they darted
+under the boat.  There were thousands of small fish and some large ones.
+Occasionally, as a big fellow lunged for a crack in the rock, he would
+make the water roar.  There was a fish that resembled a mullet, and
+another that Hal said was some kind of bass with a blue tail.  Pepe
+chopped at them with his _machete_; George whacked with an oar; Hal
+stood up in the boat and shot at them with his .22 rifle.
+
+"Say, I've got to see what that blue-tailed bass looks like," said Ken.
+"You fellows will never get one."
+
+Whereupon Ken jointed up a small rod and, putting on a spinner, began to
+cast it about.  He felt two light fish hit it.  Then came a heavy shock
+that momentarily checked the boat.  The water foamed as the line cut
+through, and Ken was just about to jump off the boat to wade and follow
+the fish, when it broke the leader.
+
+"That was a fine exhibition," remarked the critical Hal.
+
+"What's the matter with you?" retorted Ken, who was sensitive as to his
+fishing abilities.  "It was a big fish.  He broke things."
+
+"Haven't you got a reel on that rod and fifty yards of line?" queried
+Hal.
+
+Ken did not have another spinner, and he tried an artificial minnow, but
+could not get a strike on it.  He took Hal's gun and shot at several of
+the blue-tailed fish, but though he made them jump out of the water like
+a real northern black-bass, it was all of no avail.
+
+Then Hal caught one with a swoop of the landing net.  It was a beautiful
+fish, and it did have a blue tail.  Pepe could not name it, nor could
+Ken classify it, so Hal was sure he had secured a rare specimen.
+
+When the boat drifted round a bend to enter another long, wide, shallow
+rapid, the boys demurred a little at the sameness of things.  The bare
+blue bluffs persisted, and the line of gray-veiled cypresses and the
+strange formation of stream-bed.  Five more miles of drifting under the
+glaring sun made George and Hal lie back in the boat, under an
+improvised sun-shade.  The ride was novel and strange to Ken Ward, and
+did not pall upon him, though he suffered from the heat and glare.  He
+sat on the bow, occasionally kicking the boat off a rock.
+
+All at once a tense whisper from Pepe brought Ken round with a jerk.
+Pepe was pointing down along the right-hand shore. George heard, and,
+raising himself, called excitedly: "Buck!  buck!"
+
+Ken saw a fine deer leap back from the water and start to climb the side
+of a gully that indented the bluff.  Snatching up the .351 rifle, he
+shoved in the safety catch.  The distance was far--perhaps two hundred
+yards--but without elevating the sights he let drive.  A cloud of dust
+puffed up under the nose of the climbing deer.
+
+"Wow!" yelled George, and Pepe began to jabber.  Hal sprang up, nearly
+falling overboard, and he shouted: "Give it to him, Ken!"
+
+The deer bounded up a steep, winding trail, his white flag standing, his
+reddish coat glistening.  Ken fired again.  The bullet sent up a white
+puff of dust, this time nearer still. That shot gave Ken the range, and
+he pulled the automatic again--and again.  Each bullet hit closer.  The
+boys were now holding their breath, watching, waiting.  Ken aimed a
+little firmer and finer at the space ahead of the deer--for in that
+instant he remembered what the old hunter on Penetier had told him--and
+he pulled the trigger twice.
+
+The buck plunged down, slipped off the trail, and, raising a cloud of
+dust, rolled over and over.  Then it fell sheer into space, and whirled
+down to strike the rock with a sodden crash.
+
+It was Ken's first shooting on this trip, and he could not help adding a
+cry of exultation to the yells of his admiring comrades.
+
+"Guess you didn't plug him!" exclaimed Hal Ward, with flashing eyes.
+
+Wading, the boys pulled the boat ashore. Pepe pronounced the buck to be
+very large, but to Ken, remembering the deer in Coconino Forest, it
+appeared small.  If there was an unbroken bone left in that deer, Ken
+greatly missed his guess.  He and Pepe cut out the haunch least crushed
+by the fail.
+
+"There's no need to carry along more meat than we can use," said George.
+"It spoils overnight.  That's the worst of this jungle, I've heard
+hunters say."
+
+Hal screwed up his face in the manner he affected when he tried to
+imitate old Hiram Bent.  "Wal, youngster, I reckon I'm right an' down
+proud of thet shootin'.  You air comin' along."
+
+Ken was as pleased as Hal, but he replied, soberly: "Well, kid, I hope I
+can hold as straight as that when we run up against a jaguar."
+
+"Do you think we'll see one?" asked Hal.
+
+"Just you wait!" exclaimed George, replying for Ken.  "Pepe says we'll
+have to sleep in the boat, and anchor the boat in the middle of the
+river."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"To keep those big yellow tigers from eating us up."
+
+"How nice!" replied Hal, with a rather forced laugh.
+
+So, talking and laughing, the boys resumed their down-stream journey.
+Ken, who was always watching with sharp eyes, saw buzzards appear, as if
+by magic.  Before the boat was half a mile down the river buzzards were
+circling over the remains of the deer.  These birds of prey did not fly
+from the jungle on either side of the stream.  They sailed, dropped down
+from the clear blue sky where they had been invisible.  How wonderful
+that was to Ken!  Nature had endowed these vulture-like birds with
+wonderful scent or instinct or sight, or all combined.  But Ken believed
+that it was power of sight which brought the buzzards so quickly to the
+scene of the killing.  He watched them circling, sweeping down till a
+curve in the river hid them from view.
+
+And with this bend came a welcome change. The bluff played out in a
+rocky slope below which the green jungle was relief to aching eyes.  As
+the boys made this point, the evening breeze began to blow.  They
+beached the boat and unloaded to make camp.
+
+"We haven't had any work to-day, but we're all tired just the same,"
+observed Ken.
+
+"The heat makes a fellow tired," said George.
+
+They were fortunate in finding a grassy plot where there appeared to be
+but few ticks and other creeping things.  That evening it was a little
+surprise to Ken to realize how sensitive he had begun to feel about
+these jungle vermin.
+
+Pepe went up the bank for fire-wood.  Ken heard him slashing away with
+his _machete_. Then this sound ceased, and Pepe yelled in fright.  Ken
+and George caught up guns as they bounded into the thicket; Hal started
+to follow, likewise armed.  Ken led the way through a thorny brake to
+come suddenly upon Pepe.  At the same instant Ken caught a glimpse of
+gray, black-striped forms slipping away in the jungle.  Pepe shouted out
+something.
+
+"Tiger-cats!" exclaimed George.
+
+Ken held up his finger to enjoin silence. With that he stole cautiously
+forward, the others noiselessly at his heels.  The thicket was lined
+with well-beaten trails, and by following these and stooping low it was
+possible to go ahead without rustling the brush.  Owing to the gathering
+twilight Ken could not see very far.  When he stopped to listen he heard
+the faint crackling of dead brush and soft, quick steps.  He had not
+proceeded far when pattering footsteps halted him.  Ken dropped to his
+knee.  The boys knelt behind him, and Pepe whispered. Peering along the
+trail Ken saw what he took for a wildcat.  Its boldness amazed him.
+Surely it had heard him, but instead of bounding into the thicket it
+crouched not more than twenty-five feet away.  Ken took a quick shot at
+the gray huddled form.  It jerked, stretched out, and lay still.  Then a
+crashing in the brush, and gray streaks down the trail told Ken of more
+game.
+
+"There they go.  Peg away at them," called Ken.
+
+George and Hal burned a good deal of powder and sent much lead whistling
+through the dry branches, but the gray forms vanished in the jungle.
+
+"We got one, anyway," said Ken.
+
+He advanced to find his quarry quite dead. It was bigger than any
+wildcat Ken had ever seen.  The color was a grayish yellow, almost
+white, lined and spotted with black. Ken lifted it and found it heavy
+enough to make a good load.
+
+"He's a beauty," said Hal.
+
+"Pepe says it's a tiger-cat," remarked George.  "There are two or three
+kinds besides the big tiger.  We may run into a lot of them and get some
+skins."
+
+It was almost dark when they reached camp.  While Pepe and Hal skinned
+the tiger-cat and stretched the pelt over a framework of sticks the
+other boys got supper.  They were all very hungry and tired, and pleased
+with the events of the day.  As they sat round the camp-fire there was a
+constant whirring of water-fowl over their heads and an incessant hum of
+insects from the jungle.
+
+"Ken, does it feel as wild to you here as on Buckskin Mountain?" asked
+Hal.
+
+"Oh yes, much wilder, Hal," replied his brother.  "And it's different,
+somehow.  Out in Arizona there was always the glorious expectancy of
+to-morrow's fun or sport.  Here I have a kind of worry--a feeling--"
+
+But he concluded it wiser to keep to himself that strange feeling of
+dread which came over him at odd moments.
+
+"It suits me," said Hal.  "I want to get a lot of things and keep them
+alive.  Of course, I want specimens.  I'd like some skins for my den,
+too.  But I don't care so much about killing things."
+
+"Just wait!" retorted George, who evidently took Hal's remark as a
+reflection upon his weakness.  "Just wait!  You'll be shooting pretty
+soon for your life."
+
+"Now, George, what do you mean by that?" questioned Ken, determined to
+pin George down to facts.  "You said you didn't really know anything
+about this jungle. Why are you always predicting disaster for us?"
+
+"Why?  Because I've heard things about the jungle," retorted George.
+"And Pepe says wait till we get down off the mountain. He doesn't _know_
+anything, either.  But it's his instinct--Pepe's half Indian.  So I say,
+too, wait till we get down in the jungle!"
+
+"Confound you!  Where are we now?" queried Ken.
+
+"The real jungle is the lowland.  There we'll find the tigers and the
+crocodiles and the wild cattle and wild pigs."
+
+"Bring on your old pigs and things," replied Hal.
+
+But Ken looked into the glowing embers of the camp-fire and was silent.
+When he got out his note-book and began his drawing, he forgot the worry
+and dread in the interest of his task.  He was astonished at his memory,
+to see how he could remember every turn in the river and yet not lose
+his sense of direction.  He could tell almost perfectly the distance
+traveled, because he knew so well just how much a boat would cover in
+swift or slow waters in a given time.  He thought he could give a fairly
+correct estimate of the drop of the river.  And, as for descriptions of
+the jungle life along the shores, that was a delight, all except trying
+to understand and remember and spell the names given to him by Pepe.
+Ken imagined Pepe spoke a mixture of Toltec, Aztec, Indian, Spanish, and
+English.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *IX*
+
+                          *IN THE WHITE WATER*
+
+
+Upon awakening next morning Ken found the sun an hour high.  He was
+stiff and sore and thirsty.  Pepe and the boys slept so soundly it
+seemed selfish to wake them.
+
+All around camp there was a melodious concourse of birds.  But the
+parrots did not make a visit that morning.  While Ken was washing in the
+river a troop of deer came down to the bar on the opposite side.  Ken
+ran for his rifle, and by mistake took up George's .32.  He had a
+splendid shot at less than one hundred yards.  But the bullet dropped
+fifteen feet in front of the leading buck.  The deer ran into the deep,
+bushy willows.
+
+"That gun's leaded," muttered Ken.  "It didn't shoot where I aimed."
+
+Pepe jumped up; George rolled out of his blanket with one eye still
+glued shut; and Hal stretched and yawned and groaned.
+
+"Do I have to get up?" he asked.
+
+"Shore, lad," said Ken, mimicking Jim Williams, "or I'll hev to be
+reconsiderin' that idee of mine about you bein' pards with me."
+
+Such mention of Hal's ranger friend brought the boy out of his lazy bed
+with amusing alacrity.
+
+"Rustle breakfast, now, you fellows," said Ken, and, taking his rifle,
+he started off to climb the high river bluff.
+
+It was his idea to establish firmly in mind the trend of the
+mountain-range, and the relation of the river to it.  The difficulty in
+mapping the river would come after it left the mountains to wind away
+into the wide lowlands.  The matter of climbing the bluff would have
+been easy but for the fact that he wished to avoid contact with grass,
+brush, trees, even dead branches, as all were covered with ticks.  The
+upper half of the bluff was bare, and when he reached that part he soon
+surmounted it.  Ken faced south with something of eagerness.
+Fortunately the mist had dissolved under the warm rays of the sun,
+affording an unobstructed view. That scene was wild and haunting, yet
+different from what his fancy had pictured.  The great expanse of jungle
+was gray, the green line of cypress, palm, and bamboo following the
+southward course of the river.  The mountain-range some ten miles
+distant sloped to the south and faded away in the haze. The river
+disappeared in rich dark verdure, and but for it, which afforded a
+water-road back to civilization, Ken would have been lost in a dense
+gray-green overgrowth of tropical wilderness.  Once or twice he thought
+he caught the faint roar of a waterfall on the morning breeze, yet could
+not be sure, and he returned toward camp with a sober appreciation of
+the difficulty of his enterprise and a more thrilling sense of its
+hazard and charm.
+
+"Didn't see anything to peg at, eh?" greeted Hal.  "Well, get your teeth
+in some of this venison before it's all gone."
+
+Soon they were under way again, Pepe strong and willing at the oars.
+This time Ken had his rifle and shotgun close at hand, ready for use.
+Half a mile below, the river, running still and deep, entered a shaded
+waterway so narrow that in places the branches of wide-spreading and
+leaning cypresses met and intertwined their moss-fringed foliage. This
+lane was a paradise for birds, that ranged from huge speckled cranes,
+six feet high, to little yellow birds almost too small to see.
+
+Black squirrels were numerous and very tame.  In fact, all the creatures
+along this shaded stream were so fearless that it was easy to see they
+had never heard a shot. Ken awoke sleepy cranes with his fishing-rod and
+once pushed a blue heron off a log. He heard animals of some species
+running back from the bank, out could not see them. All at once a soft
+breeze coming up-stream bore a deep roar of tumbling rapids.  The
+sensation of dread which had bothered Ken occasionally now returned and
+fixed itself in his mind.  He was in the jungle of Mexico, and knew not
+what lay ahead of him.  But if he had been in the wilds of unexplored
+Brazil and had heard that roar, it would have been familiar to him.  In
+his canoe experience on the swift streams of Pennsylvania Ken Ward had
+learned, long before he came to rapids, to judge what they were from the
+sound. His attention wandered from the beautiful birds, the moss-shaded
+bowers, and the overhanging jungle.  He listened to the heavy, sullen
+roar of the rapids.
+
+"That water sounds different," remarked George.
+
+"Grande," said Pepe, with a smile.
+
+"Pretty heavy, Ken, eh?" asked Hal, looking quickly at his brother.
+
+But Ken Ward made his face a mask, and betrayed nothing of the grim
+nature of his thought.  Pepe and the boys had little idea of danger, and
+they had now a blind faith in Ken.
+
+"I dare say we'll get used to that roar," replied Ken, easily, and he
+began to pack his guns away in their cases.
+
+Hal forgot his momentary anxiety; Pepe rowed on, leisurely; and George
+lounged in his seat.  There was no menace for them in that dull,
+continuous roar.
+
+But Ken knew they would soon be in fast water and before long would drop
+down into the real wilderness.  It was not now too late to go back up
+the river, but soon that would be impossible.  Keeping a sharp lookout
+ahead, Ken revolved in mind the necessity for caution and skilful
+handling of the boat. But he realized, too, that overzealousness on the
+side of caution was a worse thing for such a trip than sheer
+recklessness.  Good judgment in looking over rapids, a quick eye to pick
+the best channel, then a daring spirit--that was the ideal to be striven
+for in going down swift rivers.
+
+Presently Ken saw a break in the level surface of the water.  He took
+Pepe's place at the oars, and, as usual, turned the boat stern first
+down-stream.  The banks were low and shelved out in rocky points.  This
+relieved Ken, for he saw that he could land just above the falls.  What
+he feared was a narrow gorge impossible to portage round or go through.
+As the boat approached the break the roar seemed to divide itself,
+hollow and shallow near at hand, rushing and heavy farther on.
+
+Ken rowed close to the bank and landed on the first strip of rock.  He
+got out and, walking along this ledge, soon reached the fall. It was a
+straight drop of some twelve or fifteen feet.  The water was shallow all
+the way across.
+
+"Boys, this is easy," said Ken.  "We'll pack the outfit round the fall,
+and slide the boat over."
+
+But Ken did not say anything about the white water extending below the
+fall as far as he could see.  From here came the sullen roar that had
+worried him.
+
+Portaging the supplies around that place turned out to be far from easy.
+The portage was not long nor rugged, but the cracked, water-worn, rock
+made going very difficult. The boys often stumbled.  Pepe fell and broke
+open a box, and almost broke his leg. Ken had a hard knock.  Then, when
+it came to carrying the trunk, one at each corner, progress was
+laborious and annoying.  Full two hours were lost in transporting the
+outfit around the fall.
+
+Below there was a wide, shelving apron, over which the water ran a foot
+or so in depth. Ken stationed Pepe and the boys there, and went up to
+get the boat.  He waded out with it.  Ken saw that his end of this
+business was going to be simple enough, but he had doubts as to what
+would happen to the boys.
+
+"Brace yourselves, now," he yelled.  "When I drop her over she'll come
+a-humming. Hang on if she drags you a mile!"
+
+Wading out deeper Ken let the boat swing down with the current till the
+stern projected over the fall.  He had trouble in keeping his footing,
+for the rock was slippery.  Then with a yell he ran the stern far out
+over the drop, bore down hard on the bow, and shoved off.
+
+The boat shot out and down, to alight with a heavy souse.  Then it
+leaped into the swift current.  George got his hands on it first, and
+went down like a ninepin.  The boat floated over him.  The bow struck
+Hal, and would have dragged him away had not Pepe laid powerful hands on
+the stern.  They waded to the lower ledge.
+
+"Didn't ship a bucketful," said Hal. "Fine work, Ken."
+
+"I got all the water," added the drenched and dripping George.
+
+"Bail out, boys, and repack, while I look below," said Ken.
+
+He went down-stream a little way to take a survey of the rapids.  If
+those rapids had been back in Pennsylvania, Ken felt that he could have
+gone at them in delight.  If the jungle country had been such that
+damage to boat or supplies could have been remedied or replaced, these
+rapids would not have appeared so bad.  Ken walked up and down looking
+over the long white inclines more than was wise, and he hesitated about
+going into them. But it had to be done.  So he went back to the boys.
+Then he took the oars with gripping fingers.
+
+"George, can you swim?" he asked.
+
+"I'm a second cousin to a fish," replied George.
+
+"All right.  We're off.  Now, if we upset, hang to the boat, if you can,
+and hold up your legs.  George, tell Pepe."
+
+Ken backed the boat out from the shore. To his right in the middle of
+the narrow river was a racy current that he kept out of as long as
+possible.  But presently he was drawn into it, and the boat shot
+forward, headed into the first incline, and went racing smoothly down
+toward the white waves of the rapids.
+
+This was a trying moment for Ken.  Grip as hard as he might, the
+oar-handles slipped in his sweaty hands.
+
+The boys were yelling, but Ken could not hear for the din of roaring
+waters.  The boat sailed down with swift, gliding motion.  When it
+thumped into the back-lash of the first big waves the water threshed
+around and over the boys.  Then they were in the thick of rush and roar.
+Ken knew he was not handling the boat well.  It grazed stones that
+should have been easy to avoid, and bumped on hidden ones, and got half
+broadside to the current.  Pepe, by quick action with an oar, pushed the
+stern aside from collision with more than one rock.  Several times Ken
+missed a stroke when a powerful one was needed.  He passed between
+stones so close together that he had to ship the oars.  It was all rapid
+water, this stretch, but the bad places, with sunken rocks, falls, and
+big waves, were strung out at such distances apart that Ken had time to
+get the boat going right before entering them.
+
+Ken saw scarcely anything of the banks of the river.  They blurred in
+his sight. Sometimes they were near, sometimes far. The boat turned
+corners where rocky ledges pointed out, constricting the stream and
+making a curved channel.  What lay around the curve was always a
+question and a cause for suspense.  Often the boat raced down a chute
+and straight toward a rocky wall. Ken would pull back with all his
+might, and Pepe would break the shock by striking the wall with his oar.
+
+More than once Pepe had a narrow escape from being knocked overboard.
+George tried to keep him from standing up.  Finally at the end of a long
+rapid, Pepe, who had the stern-seat, jumped up and yelled.  Ken saw a
+stone directly in the path of the boat, and he pulled back on the oars
+with a quick, strong jerk.  Pepe shot out of the stern as if he had been
+flung from a catapult.  He swam with the current while the boat drifted.
+He reached smooth water and the shore before Ken could pick him up.
+
+It was fun for everybody but Ken.  There were three inches of water in
+the boat.  The canvas, however, had been arranged to protect guns,
+grips, and supplies.  George had been wet before he entered the rapids,
+so a little additional water did not matter to him. Hal was almost as
+wet as Pepe.
+
+"I'm glad that's past," said Ken.
+
+With that long rapid behind him he felt different.  It was what he had
+needed.  His nervousness disappeared and he had no dread of the next
+fall.  While the boys bailed out the boat Ken rested and thought.  He
+had made mistakes in that rapid just passed. Luck had favored him.  He
+went over the mistakes and saw where he had been wrong, and how he could
+have avoided them if he had felt right.  Ken realized now that this was
+a daredevil trip.  And the daredevil in him had been shut up in dread.
+It took just that nervous dread, and the hard work, blunders and
+accidents, the danger and luck, to liberate the spirit that would make
+the trip a success.  Pepe and George were loud in their praises of Ken.
+But they did not appreciate the real hazard of the undertaking, and if
+Hal did he was too much of a wild boy to care.
+
+"All aboard," called George.
+
+Then they were on their way again.  Ken found himself listening for
+rapids.  It was no surprise to hear a dull roar round the next bend.
+His hair rose stiffly under his hat. But this time he did not feel the
+chill, the uncertainty, the lack of confidence that had before weakened
+him.
+
+At the head of a long, shallow incline the boys tumbled overboard, Ken
+and Hal at the bow, Pepe and George at the stern. They waded with the
+bow up-stream.  The water tore around their legs, rising higher and
+higher.  Soon Pepe and George had to climb in the boat, for the water
+became so deep and swift they could not wade.
+
+"Jump in, Hal," called Ken.
+
+Then he held to the bow an instant longer, wading a little farther down.
+This was ticklish business, and all depended upon Ken.  He got the stern
+of the boat straight in line with the channel he wanted to run, then he
+leaped aboard and made for the oars. The boat sped down.  At the bottom
+of this incline was a mass of leaping green and white waves.  The blunt
+stern of the boat made a great splash and the water flew over the boys.
+They came through the roar and hiss and spray to glide into a mill-race
+current.
+
+"Never saw such swift water!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+This incline ended in a sullen plunge between two huge rocks.  Ken saw
+the danger long before it became evident to his companions.  There was
+no other way to shoot the rapid.  He could not reach the shore.  He must
+pass between the rocks.  Ken pushed on one oar, then on the other, till
+he got the boat in line, and then he pushed with both oars.  The boat
+flew down that incline.  It went so swiftly that if it had hit one of
+the rocks it would have been smashed to kindling wood.  Hal crouched
+low.  George's face was white.  And Pepe leaned forward with his big
+arms outstretched, ready to try to prevent a collision.
+
+Down! down with the speed of the wind! The boat flashed between the
+black stones. Then it was raised aloft, light as a feather, to crash
+into the back-lashers.  The din deafened Ken; the spray blinded him.
+The boat seemed to split a white pall of water, then, with many a
+bounce, drifted out of that rapid into little choppy waves, and from
+them into another long, smooth runway.
+
+Ken rested, and had nothing to say.  Pepe shook his black head.  Hal
+looked at his brother.  George had forgotten his rifle.  No one spoke.
+
+Soon Ken had more work on hand.  For round another corner lay more fast
+water. The boat dipped on a low fall, and went down into the midst of
+green waves with here and there ugly rocks splitting the current.  The
+stream-bed was continually new and strange to Ken, and he had never seen
+such queer formation of rocks.  This rapid, however, was easy to
+navigate.  A slanting channel of swift water connected it with another
+rapid.  Ken backed into that one, passed through, only to face another.
+And so it went for a long succession of shallow rapids.
+
+A turn in the winding lane of cypresses revealed walls of gray, between
+which the river disappeared.
+
+"Aha!" muttered Ken.
+
+"Ken, I'll bet this is the place you've been looking for," said Hal.
+
+The absence of any roar of water emboldened Ken.  Nearing the head of
+the ravine, he stood upon the seat and looked ahead.  But Ken could not
+see many rods ahead.  The ravine turned, and it was the deceiving turns
+in the river that he had feared.  What a strange sensation Ken had when
+he backed the boat into the mouth of that gorge!  He was forced against
+his will. Yet there seemed to be a kind of blood-tingling pleasure in
+the prospect.
+
+The current caught the boat and drew it between the gray-green walls of
+rock.
+
+"It's coming to us," said the doubtful George.
+
+The current ran all of six miles an hour. This was not half as fast as
+the boys had traveled in rapids, but it appeared swift enough because of
+the nearness of the overshadowing walls.  In the shade the water took on
+a different coloring.  It was brown and oily.  It slid along silently.
+It was deep, and the swirling current suggested power.  Here and there
+long, creeping ferns covered the steep stone sides, and above ran a
+stream of blue sky fringed by leaning palms. Once Hal put his hands to
+his lips and yelled: "Hel-lo!"  The yell seemed to rip the silence and
+began to clap from wall to wall.  It gathered quickness until it clapped
+in one fiendish rattle.  Then it wound away from the passage, growing
+fainter and fainter, and at last died in a hollow echo.
+
+"Don't do that again," ordered Ken.
+
+He began to wish he could see the end of that gorge.  But it grew
+narrower, and the shade changed to twilight, and there were no long,
+straight stretches.  The river kept turning corners.  Quick to note the
+slightest change in conditions, Ken felt a breeze, merely a zephyr, fan
+his hot face.  The current had almost imperceptibly quickened. Yet it
+was still silent.  Then on the gentle wind came a low murmur.  Ken's
+pulse beat fast.  Turning his ear down-stream, he strained his hearing.
+The low murmur ceased. Perhaps he had imagined it.  Still he kept
+listening.  There!  Again it came, low, far away, strange.  It might
+have been the wind in the palms.  But no, he could not possibly persuade
+himself it was wind.  And as that faint breeze stopped he lost the sound
+once more.  The river was silent, and the boat, and the boys--it was a
+silent ride.  Ken divined that his companions were enraptured. But this
+ride had no beauty, no charm for him.
+
+There!  Another faint puff of wind, and again the low murmur!  He
+fancied it was louder.  He was beginning to feel an icy dread when all
+was still once more.  So the boat drifted swiftly on with never a gurgle
+of water about her gunwales.  The river gleamed in brown shadows.  Ken
+saw bubbles rise and break on the surface, and there was a slight rise
+or swell of the water toward the center of the channel.  This bothered
+him. He could not understand it.  But then there had been many other
+queer formations of rock and freaks of current along this river.
+
+The boat glided on and turned another corner, the sharpest one yet.  A
+long, shadowy water-lane, walled in to the very sides, opened up to
+Ken's keen gaze.  The water here began to race onward, still wonderfully
+silent. And now the breeze carried a low roar.  It was changeable yet
+persistent.  It deepened.
+
+Once more Ken felt his hair rise under his hat.  Cold sweat wet his
+skin.  Despite the pounding of his heart and the throb of his veins, his
+blood seemed to clog, to freeze, to stand still.
+
+That roar was the roar of rapids.  Impossible to go back!  If there had
+been four sets of oars, Ken and his comrades could not row the heavy
+boat back up that swift, sliding river.
+
+They must go on.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *X*
+
+                                *LOST!*
+
+
+"Ken, old man, do you hear that?" questioned Hal, waking from his
+trance.
+
+George likewise rose out of his lazy contentment.  "Must be rapids," he
+muttered. "If we strike rapids in this gorge it's all day with us.  What
+did I tell you!"
+
+Pepe's dark, searching eyes rested on Ken.
+
+But Ken had no word for any of them. He was fighting an icy numbness,
+and the weakness of muscle and the whirl of his mind.  It was thought of
+responsibility that saved him from collapse.
+
+"It's up to you, old man," said Hal, quietly.
+
+In a moment like this the boy could not wholly be deceived.
+
+Ken got a grip upon himself.  He looked down the long, narrow lane of
+glancing water. Some hundred yards on, it made another turn round a
+corner, and from this dim curve came the roar.  The current was hurrying
+the boat toward it, but not fast enough to suit Ken. He wanted to see
+the worst, to get into the thick of it, to overcome it.  So he helped
+the boat along.  A few moments sufficed to cover that gliding stretch of
+river, yet to Ken it seemed never to have an end.  The roar steadily
+increased.  The current became still stronger.  Ken saw eruptions of
+water rising as from an explosion beneath the surface. Whirlpools raced
+along with the boat.  The dim, high walls re-echoed the roaring of the
+water.
+
+The first thing Ken saw when he sailed round that corner was a widening
+of the chasm and bright sunlight ahead.  Perhaps an eighth of a mile
+below the steep walls ended abruptly. Next in quick glance he saw a
+narrow channel of leaping, tossing, curling white-crested waves under
+sunlighted mist and spray.
+
+Pulling powerfully back and to the left Ken brought the boat alongside
+the cliff. Then he shipped his oars.
+
+"Hold hard," he yelled, and he grasped the stone.  The boys complied,
+and thus stopped the boat.  Ken stood up on the seat.  It was a bad
+place he looked down into, but he could not see any rocks.  And rocks
+were what he feared most.
+
+"Hold tight, boys," he said.  Then he got Pepe to come to him and sit on
+the seat. Ken stepped up on Pepe's shoulders and, by holding to the
+rock, was able to get a good view of the rapid.  It was not a rapid at
+all, but a constriction of the channel, and also a steep slant.  The
+water rushed down so swiftly to get through that it swelled in the
+center in a long frothy ridge of waves.  The water was deep.  Ken could
+not see any bumps or splits or white-wreathed rocks, such as were
+conspicuous in a rapid.  The peril here for Ken was to let the boat hit
+the wall or turn broadside or get out of that long swelling ridge.
+
+He stepped down and turned to the white-faced boys.  He had to yell
+close to them to make them hear him in the roar.
+
+"I--can--run--this--place.  But--you've got--to help.  Pull--the
+canvas--up higher in the stern--and hold it."
+
+Then he directed Pepe to kneel in the bow of the boat with an oar and be
+ready to push off from the walls.
+
+If Ken had looked again or hesitated a moment he would have lost his
+nerve.  He recognized that fact.  And he shoved off instantly.  Once the
+boat had begun to glide down, gathering momentum, he felt his teeth
+grind hard and his muscles grow tense.  He had to bend his head from
+side to side to see beyond the canvas George and Hal were holding round
+their shoulders.  He believed with that acting as a buffer in the stern
+he could go pounding through those waves. Then he was in the middle of
+the channel, and the boat fairly sailed along.  Ken kept his oars
+poised, ready to drop either one for a stroke.  All he wanted was to
+enter those foaming, tumultuous waves with his boat pointed right.  He
+knew he could not hope to see anything low down after he entered the
+race.  He calculated that the last instant would give him an opportunity
+to get his direction in line with some object.
+
+Then, even as he planned it, the boat dipped on a beautiful glassy
+incline, and glided down toward the engulfing, roaring waves.  Above
+them, just in the center, Ken caught sight of the tufted top of a
+palm-tree.  That was his landmark!
+
+The boat shot into a great, curling, back-lashing wave.  There was a
+heavy shock, a pause, and then Ken felt himself lifted high, while a
+huge sheet of water rose fan-shape behind the buffer in the stern.
+Walls and sky and tree faded under a watery curtain. Then the boat shot
+on again; the light came, the sky shone, and Ken saw his palm-tree. He
+pulled hard on the right oar to get the stern back in line.  Another
+heavy shock, a pause, a blinding shower of water, and then the downward
+rush!  Ken got a fleeting glimpse of his guiding mark, and sunk the left
+oar deep for a strong stroke.  The beating of the waves upon the
+upraised oars almost threw him out of the boat.  The wrestling waters
+hissed and bellowed.  Down the boat shot and up, to pound and pound, and
+then again shoot down.  Through the pall of mist and spray Ken always
+got a glimpse, quick as lightning, of the palm-tree, and like a demon he
+plunged in his oars to keep the boat in line.  He was only dimly
+conscious of the awfulness of the place.  But he was not afraid.  He
+felt his action as being inspirited by something grim and determined.
+He was fighting the river.
+
+All at once a grating jar behind told him the bow had hit a stone or a
+wall.  He did not dare look back.  The most fleeting instant of time
+might be the one for him to see his guiding mark.  Then the boat lurched
+under him, lifted high with bow up, and lightened.  He knew Pepe had
+been pitched overboard.
+
+In spite of the horror of the moment, Ken realized that the lightening
+of the boat made it more buoyant, easier to handle.  That weight in the
+bow had given him an unbalanced craft.  But now one stroke here and one
+there kept the stern straight.  The palm-tree loomed higher and closer
+through the brightening mist.  Ken no longer felt the presence of the
+walls.  The thunderous roar had begun to lose some of its volume. Then
+with a crash through a lashing wave the boat raced out into the open
+light.  Ken saw a beautiful foam-covered pool, down toward which the
+boat kept bumping over a succession of diminishing waves.
+
+He gave a start of joy to see Pepe's black head bobbing in the choppy
+channel.  Pepe had beat the boat to the outlet.  He was swimming easily,
+and evidently he had not been injured.
+
+Ken turned the bow toward him.  But Pepe did not need any help, and a
+few more strokes put him in shallow water.  Ken discovered that the
+boat, once out of the current, was exceedingly loggy and hard to row.
+It was half full of water.  Ken's remaining strength went to pull
+ashore, and there he staggered out and dropped on the rocky bank.
+
+The blue sky was very beautiful and sweet to look at just then.  But Ken
+had to close his eyes.  He did not have strength left to keep them open.
+For a while all seemed dim and obscure to him.  Then he felt a
+dizziness, which in turn succeeded to a racing riot of his nerves and
+veins.  His heart gradually resumed a normal beat, and his bursting
+lungs seemed to heal.  A sickening languor lay upon him.  He could not
+hold little stones which he felt under his fingers.  He could not raise
+his hands.  The life appeared to have gone from his legs.
+
+All this passed, at length, and, hearing Hal's voice, Ken sat up.  The
+outfit was drying in the sun; Pepe was bailing out the boat; George was
+wiping his guns; and Hal was nursing a very disheveled little racoon.
+
+"You can bring on any old thing now, for all I care," said Hal.  "I'd
+shoot Lachine Rapids with Ken at the oars."
+
+"He's a fine boatman," replied George. "Weren't you scared when we were
+in the middle of that darned place?"
+
+"Me?  Naw!"
+
+"Well, I was scared, and don't you forget it," said Ken to them.
+
+"You were all in, Ken," replied Hal. "Never saw you so tuckered out.
+The day you and Prince went after the cougar along that canon
+precipice--you were all in that time.  George, it took Ken six hours to
+climb out of that hole."
+
+"Tell me about it," said George, all eyes.
+
+"No stories now," put in Ken.  "The sun is still high.  We've got to be
+on our way.  Let's look over the lay of the land."
+
+Below the pool was a bold, rocky bluff, round which the river split.
+What branch to take was a matter of doubt and anxiety to Ken.  Evidently
+this bluff was an island. It had a yellow front and long bare ledges
+leading into the river.
+
+Ken climbed the bluff, accompanied by the boys, and found it covered
+with palm-trees. Up there everything was so dry and hot that it did not
+seem to be jungle at all.  Even the palms were yellow and parched.  Pepe
+stood the heat, but the others could not endure it.  Ken took one long
+look at the surrounding country, so wild and dry and still, and then led
+the way down the loose, dusty shelves.
+
+Thereupon he surveyed the right branch of the river and followed it a
+little distance. The stream here foamed and swirled among jagged rocks.
+At the foot of this rapid stretched the first dead water Ken had
+encountered for miles.  A flock of wild geese rose from under his feet
+and flew down-stream.
+
+"Geese!" exclaimed Ken.  "I wonder if that means we are getting down
+near lagoons or big waters.  George, wild geese don't frequent little
+streams, do they?"
+
+"There's no telling where you'll find them in this country," answered
+George.  "I've chased them right in our orange groves."
+
+They returned to look at the left branch of the river.  It was open and
+one continuous succession of low steps.  That would have decided Ken
+even if the greater volume of water had not gone down on this left side.
+As far as he could see was a wide, open river running over little
+ledges.  It looked to be the easiest and swiftest navigation he had come
+upon, and so indeed it proved.  The water was swift, and always dropped
+over some ledge in a rounded fall that was safe for him to shoot.  It
+was great fun going over these places.  The boys hung their feet over
+the gunwales most of the time, sliding them along the slippery ledge or
+giving a kick to help the momentum.  When they came to a fall, Ken would
+drop off the bow, hold the boat back and swing it straight, then jump
+in, and over it would go--souse!
+
+There were so many of these ledges, and they were so close together,
+that going over them grew to be a habit.  It induced carelessness.  The
+boat drifted to a brow of a fall full four feet high.  Ken, who was at
+the bow. leaped off just in time to save the boat.  He held on while the
+swift water surged about his knees.  He yelled for the boys to jump. As
+the stern where they sat was already over the fall it was somewhat
+difficult to make the boys vacate quickly enough.
+
+"Tumble out!  Quick!" bawled Ken.  "Do you think I'm Samson?"
+
+Over they went, up to their necks in the boiling foam, and not a second
+too soon, for Ken could hold the boat no longer.  It went over smoothly,
+just dipping the stern under water.  If the boys had remained aboard,
+the boat would have swamped.  As it was, Pepe managed to catch the rope,
+which Ken had wisely thrown out, and he drifted down to the next ledge.
+Ken found this nearly as high as the last one.  So he sent the boys
+below to catch the boat.  This worked all right.  The shelves slanted
+slightly, with the shallow part of the water just at the break of the
+ledge.  They passed half a dozen of these, making good time, and before
+they knew it were again in a deep, smooth jungle lane with bamboo and
+streamers of moss waving over them.
+
+The shade was cool, and Ken settled down in the stern-seat, grateful for
+a rest.  To his surprise, he did not see a bird.  The jungle was asleep.
+Once or twice Ken fancied he heard the tinkle and gurgle of water
+running over rocks.  The boat glided along silently, with Pepe rowing
+leisurely, George asleep, Hal dreaming.
+
+Ken watched the beautiful green banks. They were high, a mass of
+big-leafed vines, flowering and fragrant, above which towered the jungle
+giants.  Ken wanted to get out and study those forest trees.  But he
+made no effort to act upon his good intentions, and felt that he must
+take the most of his forestry study at long range.  He was reveling in
+the cool recesses under the leaning cypresses, in the soft swish of
+bearded moss, and the strange rustle of palms, in the dreamy hum of the
+resting jungle, when his pleasure was brought to an abrupt end.
+
+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe.
+
+George woke up with a start.  Hal had been jarred out of his day-dream,
+and looked resentful.  Ken gazed about him with the feeling of a man
+going into a trance, instead of coming out of one.
+
+The boat was fast on a mud-bank.  That branch of the river ended right
+there.  The boys had come all those miles to run into a blind pocket.
+
+Ken's glance at the high yellow bank, here crumbling and bare, told him
+there was no outlet.  He had a sensation of blank dismay.
+
+"Gee!" exclaimed Hal, softly.
+
+George rubbed his eyes; and, searching for a cigarette, he muttered:
+"We're lost!  I said it was coming to us.  We've got to go back!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XI*
+
+                          *AN ARMY OF SNAKES*
+
+
+For a moment Ken Ward was utterly crushed under the weight of this
+sudden blow.  It was so sudden that he had no time to think; or his mind
+was clamped on the idea of attempting to haul the boat up that long,
+insurmountable series of falls.
+
+"It 'll be an awful job," burst out Hal.
+
+No doubt in the mind of each boy was the same idea--the long haul,
+wading over slippery rocks; the weariness of pushing legs against the
+swift current; the packing of supplies uphill; and then the toil of
+lifting the heavy boat up over a fall.
+
+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and he groaned. That was significant, coming
+from a _mozo_, who thought nothing of rowing forty miles in a day.
+
+"Oh, but it's tough luck," cried Ken. "Why didn't I choose the right
+branch of this pesky river?"
+
+"I think you used your head at that," said Hal.  "Most of the water came
+down on this side.  Where did it go?"
+
+Hal had hit the vital question, and it cleared Ken's brain.
+
+"Hal, you're talking sense.  Where did that water go?  It couldn't all
+have sunk into the earth.  We'll find out.  We won't try to go back.  We
+_can't_ go back."
+
+Pepe shoved off the oozy mud, and, reluctantly, as if he appreciated the
+dilemma, he turned the boat and rowed along the shore. As soon as Ken
+had recovered somewhat he decided there must be an outlet which he had
+missed.  This reminded him that at a point not far back he had heard the
+tinkle and gurgle of unseen water flowing over rocks.
+
+He directed Pepe to row slowly along the bank that he thought was the
+island side. As they glided under the drooping bamboos and silky
+curtains of moss George began to call out: "Low bridge!  Low bridge!"
+For a boy who was forever voicing ill-omened suggestions as to what
+might soon happen he was extraordinarily cheerful.
+
+There were places where all had to lie flat and others where Pepe had to
+use his _machete_.  This disturbed the _siesta_ of many aquatic birds,
+most of which flew swiftly away.  But there were many of the
+gray-breasted, blue-backed bitterns that did not take to flight.  These
+croaked dismally, and looked down upon the boys with strange, protruding
+eyes.
+
+"Those darn birds 'll give me the willies," declared Hal.  "George, you
+just look like them when you croak about what's coming to us."
+
+"Just wait!" retorted George.  "It 'll come, all right.  Then I'll have
+the fun of seeing you scared silly."
+
+"What!  You'll not do anything of the kind!" cried Hal, hotly.  "I've
+been in places where such--such a skinny little sap-head as you--"
+
+"Here, you kids stop wrangling," ordered Ken, who sensed hostilities in
+the air.  "We've got trouble enough."
+
+Suddenly Ken signaled Pepe to stop rowing.
+
+"Boys, I hear running water.  Aha!  Here's a current.  See--it's making
+right under this bank."
+
+Before them was a high wall of broad-leaved vines, so thick that nothing
+could be seen through them.  Apparently this luxuriant canopy concealed
+the bank.  Pepe poked an oar into it, but found nothing solid.
+
+"Pepe, cut a way through.  We've got to see where this water runs."
+
+It was then that Ken came to a full appreciation of a _machete_.  He had
+often fancied it a much less serviceable tool than an ax. Pepe flashed
+the long, bright blade up, down, and around, and presently the boat was
+its own length in a green tunnel.  Pepe kept on slashing while Ken poled
+the boat in and the other boys dumped the cut foliage overboard. Soon
+they got through this mass of hanging vine and creeper.  Much to Ken's
+surprise and delight, he found no high bank, but low, flat ground,
+densely wooded, through which ran a narrow, deep outlet of the river.
+
+"By all that's lucky!" ejaculated Ken.
+
+George and Hal whooped their pleasure, and Pepe rubbed his muscular
+hands.  Then all fell silent.  The deep, penetrating silence of that
+jungle was not provocative of speech. The shade was so black that when a
+ray of sunlight did manage to pierce the dense canopy overhead it
+resembled a brilliant golden spear.  A few lofty palms and a few clumps
+of bamboo rather emphasized the lack of these particular species in this
+forest. Nor was there any of the familiar streaming moss hanging from
+the trees.  This glen was green, cool, dark.  It did not smell exactly
+swampy, but rank, like a place where many water plants were growing.
+
+[Illustration: KEN SHOT TWICE AT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE]
+
+The outlet was so narrow that Ken was not able to use the oars.  Still,
+as the current was swift, the boat went along rapidly.  He saw a light
+ahead and heard the babble of water.  The current quickened, and the
+boat drifted suddenly upon the edge of an oval glade, where the hot sun
+beat down.  A series of abrupt mossy benches, over which the stream slid
+almost noiselessly, blocked further progress.
+
+The first thing about this glade that Ken noted particularly, after the
+difficulties presented by the steep steps, was the multitude of snakes
+sunning themselves along the line of further progress.
+
+"Boys, it 'll be great wading down there, hey?" he queried.
+
+Pepe grumbled for the first time on the trip.  Ken gathered from the
+native's looks and speech that he did not like snakes.
+
+"Watch me peg 'em!" yelled Hal, and he began to throw stones with
+remarkable accuracy.  "Hike, you brown sons-of-guns!"
+
+George, not to be outdone, made a dive for his .22 and began to pop as
+if he had no love for snakes.  Ken had doubts about this species.  The
+snakes were short, thick, dull brown in color, and the way they slipped
+into the stream proved they were water-snakes.  Ken had never read of a
+brown water-moccasin, so he doubted that these belonged to that
+poisonous family.  Anyway, snakes were the least of his troubles.
+
+"Boys, you're doing fine," he said.  "There are about a thousand snakes
+there, and you've hit about six."
+
+He walked down through the glade into the forest, and was overjoyed to
+hear once more the heavy roar of rapids.  He went on.  The timber grew
+thinner, and light penetrated the jungle.  Presently he saw the gleam of
+water through the trees.  Then he hurried back.
+
+"All right, boys," he shouted.  "Here's the river."
+
+The boys were so immensely relieved that packing the outfit round the
+waterfalls was work they set about with alacrity.  Ken, who had on his
+boots, broke a trail through the ferns and deep moss.  Pepe, being
+barefoot, wasted time looking for snakes.  George teased him.  But Pepe
+was deadly serious. And the way he stepped and looked made Ken
+thoughtful.  He had made his last trip with supplies, and was about to
+start back to solve the problem of getting the boat down, when a hoarse
+yell resounded through the sleeping jungle.  Parrots screeched, and
+other birds set up a cackling.
+
+Ken bounded up the slope.
+
+"Santa Maria!" cried Pepe.
+
+Ken followed the direction indicated by Pepe's staring eyes and
+trembling finger. Hanging from a limb of a tree was a huge black-snake.
+It was as thick as Ken's leg. The branch upon which it poised its neck
+so gracefully was ten feet high, and the tail curled into the ferns on
+the ground.
+
+"Boys, it's one of the big fellows," cried Ken.
+
+"Didn't I tell you!" yelled George, running down for his gun.
+
+Hal seemed rooted to the spot.  Pepe began to jabber.  Ken watched the
+snake, and felt instinctively from its sinister looks that it was
+dangerous.  George came running back with his .32 and waved it in the
+air as he shot.  He was so frightened that he forgot to aim.  Ken took
+the rifle from him.
+
+"You can't hit him with this.  Run after your shotgun.  Quick!"
+
+But the sixteen-gage was clogged with a shell that would not eject.
+Ken's guns were in their cases.
+
+"Holy smoke!" cried George.  "He's coming down."
+
+The black-snake moved his body and began to slide toward the tree-trunk.
+
+Ken shot twice at the head of the snake. It was a slow-swaying mark hard
+to hit. The reptile stopped and poised wonderfully on the limb.  He was
+not coiled about it, but lay over it with about four feet of neck
+waving, swaying to and fro.  He watched the boys, and his tongue, like a
+thin, black streak, darted out viciously.
+
+Ken could not hit the head, so he sent a bullet through the thick part
+of the body. Swift as a gleam the snake darted from the limb.
+
+"Santa Maria!" yelled Pepe, and he ran off.
+
+"Look out, boys," shouted Ken.  He picked up Pepe's _machete_ and took
+to his heels.  George and Hal scrambled before him. They ran a hundred
+yards or more, and Ken halted in an open rocky spot.  He was angry, and
+a little ashamed that he had run.  The snake did not pursue, and
+probably was as badly frightened as the boys had been.  Pepe stopped
+some distance away, and Hal and George came cautiously back.
+
+"I don't see anything of him," said Ken. "I'm going back."
+
+He walked slowly, keeping a sharp outlook, and, returning to the glade,
+found blood-stains under the tree.  The snake had disappeared without
+leaving a trail.
+
+"If I'd had my shotgun ready!" exclaimed Ken, in disgust.  And he made a
+note that in the future he would be prepared to shoot.
+
+"Wasn't he a whopper, Ken?" said Hal. "We ought to have got his hide.
+What a fine specimen!"
+
+"Boys, you drive away those few little snakes while I figure on a way to
+get the boat down."
+
+"Not on your life!" replied Hal.
+
+George ably sustained Hal's objection.
+
+"Mucho malo," said Pepe, and then added a loud "No" in English.
+
+"All right, my brave comrades," rejoined Ken, scornfully.  "As I've not
+done any work yet or taken any risks, I'll drive the snakes away."
+
+With Pepe's _machete_ he cut a long forked pole, trimmed it, and, armed
+with this weapon, he assaulted the rolls and bands and balls of brown
+snakes.  He stalked boldly down upon them, pushed and poled, and even
+kicked them off the mossy banks.  Hal could not stand that, and
+presently he got a pole and went to Ken's assistance.
+
+"Who's hollering now?" he yelled to George.
+
+Whereupon George cut a long branch and joined the battle.  They whacked
+and threshed and pounded, keeping time with yells. Everywhere along the
+wet benches slipped and splashed the snakes.  But after they were driven
+into the water they did not swim away. They dove under the banks and
+then stretched out their pointed heads from the dripping edge of moss.
+
+"Say, fellows, we're making it worse for us," declared Ken.  "See, the
+brown devils won't swim off.  We'd better have left them on the bank.
+Let's catch one and see if he'll bite."
+
+He tried to pick up one on his pole, but it slipped off.  George fished
+after another. Hal put the end of his stick down inside the coil of
+still another and pitched it.  The brown, wriggling, wet snake shot
+straight at the unsuspecting George, and struck him and momentarily
+wound about him.
+
+"Augrrh!" bawled George, flinging off the reptile and leaping back.
+"What 'd you do that for?  I'll punch you!"
+
+"George, he didn't mean it," said Ken. "It was an accident.  Come on,
+let's tease that fellow and see if he'll bite."
+
+The snake coiled and raised his flat head and darted a wicked tongue out
+and watched with bright, beady eyes, but he did not strike.  Ken went as
+close as he thought safe and studied the snake.
+
+"Boys, his head isn't a triangle, and there are no little pits under his
+eyes.  Those are two signs of a poisonous snake.  I don't believe this
+fellow's one."
+
+"He'll be a dead snake, b' gosh," replied George, and he fell to
+pounding it with his pole.
+
+"Don't smash him.  I want the skin," yelled Hal.
+
+Ken pondered on the situation before him.
+
+"Come, the sooner we get at this the better," he said.
+
+There was a succession of benches through which the stream zigzagged and
+tumbled. These benches were rock ledges over which moss had grown fully
+a foot thick, and they were so oozy and slippery that it was no easy
+task to walk upon them.  Then they were steep, so steep that it was
+remarkable how the water ran over them so smoothly, with very little
+noise or break.  It was altogether a new kind of waterfall to Ken.  But
+if the snakes had not been hidden there, navigation would have presented
+an easier problem.
+
+"Come on boys, alongside now, and hold back," he ordered, gripping the
+bow.
+
+Exactly what happened the next few seconds was not clear in his mind.
+There was a rush, and all were being dragged by the boat. The glade
+seemed to whizz past.  There were some sodden thumps, a great splashing,
+a check--and lo! they were over several benches.  It was the quickest
+and easiest descent he had ever made down a steep waterfall.
+
+"Fine!" ejaculated George, wiping the ooze from his face.
+
+"Yes, it was fine," Ken replied.  "But unless this boat has wings
+something 'll happen soon."
+
+Below was a long, swift curve of water, very narrow and steep, with a
+moss-covered rock dividing the lower end.  Ken imagined if there was a
+repetition of the first descent the boat would be smashed on that rock.
+He ordered Pepe, who was of course the strongest, to go below and jump
+to the rock.  There he might prevent a collision.
+
+Pepe obeyed, but as he went he yelled and doubled up in contortions as
+he leaped over snakes in the moss.
+
+Then gently, gingerly the boys started the boat off the bench, where it
+had lodged. George was at the stern, Ken and Hal at the bow.  Suddenly
+Hal shrieked and jumped straight up, to land in the boat.
+
+"Snakes!" he howled.
+
+"Give us a rest!" cried Ken, in disgust.
+
+The boat moved as if instinct with life. It dipped, then--_wheeze!_ it
+dove over the bench.  Hal was thrown off his feet, fell back on the
+gunwale, and thence into the snaky moss.  George went sprawling face
+downward into the slimy ooze, and Ken was jerked clear off the bench
+into the stream. He got his footing and stood firm in water to his
+waist, and he had the bow-rope coiled round his hands.
+
+"Help!  Help!" he yelled, as he felt the dragging weight too much for
+him.
+
+If Ken retarded the progress of the boat at all, it was not much.
+George saw his distress and the danger menacing the boat, and he leaped
+valiantly forward.  As he dashed down a slippery slant his feet flew up
+higher than where his head had been; he actually turned over in the air,
+and fell with a great sop.
+
+Hal had been trying to reach Ken, but here he stopped and roared with
+laughter.
+
+Despite Ken's anger and fear of snakes, and his greater fear for the
+boat, he likewise had to let out a peal of laughter.  That tumble of
+George's was great.  Then Ken's footing gave way and he went down.  His
+mouth filled with nasty water, nearly strangling him.  He was almost
+blinded, too.  His arms seemed to be wrenched out of their sockets, and
+he felt himself bumping over moss-covered rocks as soft as cushions.
+Slimy ropes or roots of vegetation, that felt like snakes, brushed his
+face and made him cold and sick.  It was impossible to hold the boat any
+longer.  He lodged against a stone, and the swift water forced him upon
+it.  Blinking and coughing, he stuck fast.
+
+Ken saw the boat headed like a dart for the rock where Pepe stood.
+
+"Let 'er go!" yelled Ken.  "Don't try to stop her.  Pepe, you'll be
+smashed!"
+
+Pepe acted like a man determined to make up for past cowardice.  He made
+a great show of brave intentions.  He was not afraid of a boat.  He
+braced himself and reached out with his brawny arms.  Ken feared for the
+obstinate native's life, for the boat moved with remarkable velocity.
+
+At the last second Pepe's courage vanished. He turned tail to get out of
+the way.  But he slipped.  The boat shot toward him and the blunt stern
+struck him with a dull thud. Pepe sailed into the air, over the rock,
+and went down cleaving the water.
+
+The boat slipped over the stone as easily as if it had been a wave and,
+gliding into still water below, lodged on the bank.
+
+Ken crawled out of the stream, and when he ascertained that no one was
+injured he stretched himself on the ground and gave up to mirth.  Pepe
+resembled a drowned rat; Hal was an object to wonder at; and George, in
+his coating of slime and with strings of moss in his hair, was the
+funniest thing Ken had ever seen.  It was somewhat of a surprise to him
+to discover, presently, that the boys were convulsed with fiendish glee
+over the way he himself looked.
+
+By and by they recovered, and, with many a merry jest and chuckle of
+satisfaction, they repacked the boat and proceeded on their way.  No
+further obstacle hindered them. They drifted out of the shady jungle
+into the sunlit river.
+
+In half a mile of drifting the heat of the sun dried the boys' clothes.
+The water was so hot that it fairly steamed.  Once more the boat entered
+a placid aisle over which the magnificent gray-wreathed cypresses bowed,
+and the west wind waved long ribbons of moss, and wild fowl winged
+reluctant flight.
+
+Ken took advantage of this tranquil stretch of river to work on his map.
+He realized that he must use every spare moment and put down his
+drawings and notes as often as time and travel permitted.  It had dawned
+on Ken that rapids and snakes, and all the dangers along the river, made
+his task of observation and study one apt to be put into eclipse at
+times.  Once or twice he landed on shore to climb a bluff, and was
+pleased each time to see that he had lined a comparatively true course
+on his map.  He had doubts of its absolute accuracy, yet he could not
+help having pride in his work.  So far so good, he thought, and hoped
+for good-fortune farther down the river.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XII*
+
+                        *CATCHING STRANGE FISH*
+
+
+Beyond a bend in the river the boys came upon an island with a narrow,
+shaded channel on one side, a wide shoal on the other, and a group of
+huge cypresses at the up-stream end.
+
+"Looks good to me," said Hal.
+
+The instant Ken saw the island he knew it was the place he had long been
+seeking to make a permanent camp for a few days. They landed, to find an
+ideal camping site. The ground under the cypresses was flat, dry, and
+covered with short grass.  Not a ray of sunlight penetrated the foliage.
+A pile of driftwood had lodged against one of the trees, and this made
+easy the question of fire-wood.
+
+"Great!" exclaimed Ken.  "Come on, let's look over the ground."
+
+The island was about two hundred yards long, and the lower end was
+hidden by a growth of willows.  Bursting through this, the boys saw a
+weedy flat leading into a wide, shallow back-eddy.  Great numbers of
+ducks were sporting and feeding.  The stones of the rocky shore were
+lined with sleeping ducks. Herons of all colors and sizes waded about,
+or slept on one leg.  Snipe ran everywhere. There was a great squawking
+and flapping of wings.  But at least half the number of waterfowl were
+too tame or too lazy to fly.
+
+Ken returned to camp with his comrades, all highly elated over the
+prospects.  The best feature about this beautiful island was the absence
+of ticks and snakes.
+
+"Boys, this is the place," said Ken.  "We'll hang up here for a while.
+Maybe we won't strike another such nice place to stay."
+
+So they unloaded the boat, taking everything out, and proceeded to pitch
+a camp that was a delight.  They were all loud in expressions of
+satisfaction.  Then Pepe set about leisurely peeling potatoes; George
+took his gun and slipped off toward the lower end of the island; Hal
+made a pen for his racoon, and then more pens, as if he meant to capture
+a menagerie; and Ken made a comfortable lounging-bed under a cypress.
+He wanted to forget that nagging worry as to farther descent of the
+river, and to enjoy this place.
+
+"Bang!" went George's sixteen-gage.  A loud whirring of wings followed,
+and the air was full of ducks.
+
+"Never touched one!" yelled Hal, in taunting voice.
+
+A flock of teal skimmed the water and disappeared up-stream.  The shot
+awakened parrots in the trees, where for a while there was clamor.  Ken
+saw George wade out into the shoal and pick up three ducks.
+
+"Pot-shot!" exclaimed Hal, disgustedly. "Why couldn't he be a sport and
+shoot them on the fly?"
+
+George crossed to the opposite shore and, climbing a bare place, stood
+looking before him.
+
+"Hey, George, don't go far," called Ken.
+
+"Fine place over here," replied George, and, waving his hand, he passed
+into the bushes out of sight.
+
+Ken lay back upon his blanket with a blissful sense of rest and
+contentment.  Many a time he had lain so, looking up through the broad
+leaves of a sycamore or the lacy foliage of a birch or the delicate
+crisscross of millions of pine needles.  This overhead canopy, however,
+was different.  Only here and there could he catch little slivers of
+blue sky.  The graceful streamers of exquisite moss hung like tassels of
+silver.  In the dead stillness of noonday they seemed to float curved in
+the shape in which the last soft breeze had left them.  High upon a
+branch he saw a red-headed parrot hanging back downward, after the
+fashion of a monkey.  Then there were two parrots asleep in the fork of
+a branch. It was the middle of the day, and all things seemed tired and
+sleepy.  The deep channel murmured drowsily, and the wide expanse of
+river on the other side lapped lazily at the shore.  The only other
+sound was the mourning of turtle-doves, one near and another far away.
+Again the full richness, the mellow sweetness of this song struck Ken
+forcibly. He remembered that all the way down the river he had heard
+that mournful note.  It was beautiful but melancholy.  Somehow it made
+him think that it had broken the dreamy stillness of the jungle noonday
+long, long ago. It was sweet but sad and old.  He did not like to hear
+it.
+
+Ken yielded to the soothing influence of the hour and fell asleep.  When
+he awoke there was George, standing partially undressed and very soberly
+popping ticks.  He had enlisted the services of Pepe, and, to judge from
+the remarks of both, they needed still more assistance.
+
+"Say, Garrapato George, many ticks over there?"
+
+"Ticks!" shouted George, wildly, waving his cigarette.  "Millions of
+'em!  And there's--ouch!  Kill that one, Pepe.  Wow! he's as big as a
+penny.  There's game over there. It's a flat with some kind of berry
+bush. There's lots of trails.  I saw cat-tracks, and I scared up wild
+turkeys--"
+
+"Turkeys!" Ken exclaimed, eagerly.
+
+"You bet.  I saw a dozen.  How they can run!  I didn't flush them.  Then
+I saw a flock of those black and white ducks, like the big fellow I
+shot.  They were feeding.  I believe they're Muscovy ducks."
+
+"I'm sure I don't know, but we can call them that."
+
+"Well, I'd got a shot, too, but I saw some gray things sneaking in the
+bushes.  I thought they were pigs, so I got out of there quick."
+
+"You mean javelin?"
+
+"Yep, I mean wild pigs.  Oh!  We've struck the place for game.  I'll bet
+it's coming to us."
+
+When George anticipated pleasurable events he was the most happy of
+companions.  It was good to look forward.  He was continually expecting
+things to happen; he was always looking ahead with great eagerness. But
+unfortunately he had a twist of mind toward the unfavorable side of
+events, and so always had the boys fearful.
+
+"Well, pigs or no pigs, ticks or no ticks, we'll hunt and fish, and see
+all there is to see," declared Ken, and he went back to his lounging.
+
+When he came out of that lazy spell, George and Hal were fishing.
+George had Ken's rod, and it happened to be the one Ken thought most of.
+
+"Do you know how to fish?" he asked.
+
+"I've caught tarpon bigger'n you," retorted George.
+
+That fact was indeed too much for Ken, and he had nothing to do but risk
+his beloved rod in George's hands.  And the way George swung it about,
+slashed branches with it, dropped the tip in the water, was exceedingly
+alarming to Ken.  The boy would break the tip in a minute.  Yet Ken
+could not take his rod away from a boy who had caught tarpon.
+
+There were fish breaking water.  Where a little while before the river
+had been smooth, now it was ruffled by _ravalo_, gar, and other fish
+Pepe could not name.  But George and Hal did not get a bite.  They tried
+all their artificial flies and spoons and minnows, then the preserved
+mullet, and finally several kinds of meat.
+
+"Bah! they want pie," said Hal.
+
+For Ken Ward to see little and big fish capering around under his very
+nose and not be able to hook one was exasperating.  He shot a small
+fish, not unlike a pickerel, and had the boys bait with that.  Still no
+strike was forthcoming.
+
+This put Ken on his mettle.  He rigged up a minnow tackle, and, going to
+the lower end of the island, he tried to catch some minnows.  There were
+plenty of them in the shallow water, but they would not bite. Finally
+Ken waded in the shoal and turned over stones.  He found some snails
+almost as large as mussels, and with these he hurried back to the boys.
+
+"Here, if you don't get a bite on one of these I'm no fisherman," said
+Ken.  "Try one."
+
+George got his hands on the new bait in advance of Hal and so threw his
+hook into the water first.  No sooner had the bait sunk than he got a
+strong pull.
+
+"There!  Careful now," said Ken.
+
+George jerked up, hooking a fish that made the rod look like a
+buggy-whip.
+
+"Give me the rod," yelled Ken, trying to take it.
+
+"It's my fish," yelled back George.
+
+He held on and hauled with all his might. A long, finely built fish,
+green as emerald, split the water and churned it into foam. Then,
+sweeping out in strong dash, it broke Ken's rod square in the middle.
+Ken eyed the wreck with sorrow, and George with no little disapproval.
+
+"You said you knew how to fish," protested Ken.
+
+"Those split-bamboo rods are no good," replied George.  "They won't hold
+a fish."
+
+"George, you're a grand fisherman!" observed Hal, with a chuckle.  "Why,
+you only dreamed you've caught tarpon."
+
+Just then Hal had a tremendous strike. He was nearly hauled off the
+bank.  But he recovered his balance and clung to his nodding rod.  Hal's
+rod was heavy cane, and his line was thick enough to suit.  So nothing
+broke. The little brass reel buzzed and rattled.
+
+"I've got a whale!" yelled Hal.
+
+"It's a big gar--alligator-gar," said George. "You haven't got him.
+He's got you."
+
+The fish broke water, showing long, open jaws with teeth like saw-teeth.
+It threshed about and broke away.  Hal reeled in to find the hook
+straightened out.  Then George kindly commented upon the very skilful
+manner in which Hal had handled the gar. For a wonder Hal did not reply.
+
+By four o'clock, when Ken sat down to supper, he was so thirsty that his
+mouth puckered as dry as if he had been eating green persimmons.  This
+matter of thirst had become serious.  Twice each day Ken had boiled a
+pot of water, into which he mixed cocoa, sugar, and condensed milk, and
+begged the boys to drink that and nothing else. Nevertheless Pepe and
+George, and occasionally Hal, would drink unboiled water.  For this meal
+the boys had venison and duck, and canned vegetables and fruit, so they
+fared sumptuously.
+
+Pepe pointed to a string of Muscovy ducks sailing up the river.  George
+had a good shot at the tail end of the flock, and did not even loosen a
+feather.  Then a line of cranes and herons passed over the island.  When
+a small bunch of teal flew by, to be followed by several canvasbacks,
+Ken ran for his shotgun.  It was a fine hammerless, a hard-shooting gun,
+and one Ken used for grouse-hunting.  In his hurry he grasped a handful
+of the first shells he came to and, when he ran to the river-bank, found
+they were loads of small shot.  He decided to try them anyhow.
+
+While Pepe leisurely finished the supper Ken and George and Hal sat on
+the bank watching for ducks.  Just before the sun went down a hard wind
+blew, making difficult shooting.  Every few moments ducks would whir by.
+George's gun missed fire often, and when it did work all right, he
+missed the ducks.  To Ken's surprise he found the load of small shot
+very deadly.  He could sometimes reach a duck at eighty yards. The
+little brown ducks and teal he stopped as if they had hit a stone wall.
+He dropped a canvasback with the sheer dead plunge that he liked.  Ken
+thought a crippled duck enough to make a hunter quit shooting. With six
+ducks killed, he decided to lay aside his gun for that time, when Pepe
+pointed down the river.
+
+"Pato real," he said.
+
+Ken looked eagerly and saw three of the big black ducks flying as high
+as the treetops and coming fast.  Snapping a couple of shells in the
+gun, Ken stood ready.  At the end of the island two of the ducks wheeled
+to the left, but the big leader came on like a thunderbolt.  To Ken he
+made a canvasback seem slow.  Ken caught him over the sights of the gun,
+followed him up till he was abreast and beyond; then, sweeping a little
+ahead of him, Ken pulled both triggers.  The Muscovy swooped up and
+almost stopped in his flight while a cloud of black feathers puffed away
+on the wind.  He sagged a little, recovered, and flew on as strong as
+ever. The small shot were not heavy enough to stop him.
+
+"We'll need big loads for the Muscovies and the turkeys," said George.
+
+"We've all sizes up to BB's," replied Ken. "George, let's take a walk
+over there where you saw the turkeys.  It's early yet."
+
+Then Pepe told George if they wanted to see game at that hour the thing
+to do was to sit still in camp and watch the game come down to the river
+to drink.  And he pointed down-stream to a herd of small deer quietly
+walking out on the bar.
+
+"After all the noise we made!" exclaimed Ken.  "Well, this beats me.
+George, we'll stay right here and not shoot again to-night.  I've an
+idea we'll see something worth while."
+
+It was Pepe's idea, but Ken instantly saw its possibilities.  There were
+no tributaries to the river or springs in that dry jungle, and, as
+manifestly the whole country abounded in game, it must troop down to the
+river in the cool of the evening to allay the hot day's thirst.  The
+boys were perfectly situated for watching the dark bank on the channel
+side of the island as well as the open bars on the other.  The huge
+cypresses cast shadows that even in daylight effectually concealed them.
+They put out the camp-fire and, taking comfortable seats in the folds of
+the great gnarled roots, began to watch and listen.
+
+The vanguard of thirsty deer had prepared Ken for something remarkable,
+and he was in no wise disappointed.  The trooping of deer down to the
+water's edge and the flight of wild fowl up-stream increased in
+proportion to the gathering shadows of twilight.  The deer must have got
+a scent, for they raised their long ears and stood still as statues,
+gazing across toward the upper end of the island.  But they showed no
+fear.  It was only when they had drunk their fill and wheeled about to
+go up the narrow trails over the bank that they showed uneasiness and
+haste.  This made Ken wonder if they were fearful of being ambushed by
+jaguars. Soon the dark line of deer along the shore shaded into the
+darkness of night.  Then Ken heard soft splashes and an occasional
+patter of hard hoofs.  The whir of wings had ceased.
+
+A low exclamation from Pepe brought attention to interesting
+developments closer at hand.
+
+"Javelin!" he whispered.
+
+On the channel side of the island was impenetrable pitchy blackness.
+Ken tried to pierce it with straining eyes, but he could not even make
+out the shore-line that he knew was only ten yards distant.  Still he
+could hear, and that was thrilling enough.  Everywhere on this side,
+along the edge of the water and up the steep bank, were faint tickings
+of twigs and soft rustlings of leaves.  Then there was a continuous
+sound, so low as to be almost inaudible, that resembled nothing Ken
+could think of so much as a long line of softly dripping water.  It
+swelled in volume to a tiny roll, and ended in a sharp clicking on rocks
+and a gentle splashing in the water. A drove of _javelin_ had come down
+to drink. Occasionally the glint of green eyes made the darkness all the
+more weird.  Suddenly a long, piercing wail, a keen cry almost human,
+quivered into the silence.
+
+"Panther!" Ken whispered, instantly, to the boys.  It was a different
+cry from that of the lion of the canon, but there was a strange wild
+note that betrayed the species.  A stillness fell, dead as that of a
+subterranean cavern.  Strain his ears as he might, Ken could not detect
+the slightest sound.  It was as if no _javelin_ or any other animals had
+come down to drink.  That listening, palpitating moment seemed endless.
+What mystery of wild life it meant, that silence following the cry of
+the panther!  Then the jungle sounds recommenced--the swishing of water,
+the brushing in the thicket, stealthy padded footsteps, the faint
+snapping of twigs. Some kind of a cat uttered an unearthly squall. Close
+upon this the clattering of deer up the bank on the other side rang out
+sharply. The deer were running, and the striking of the little hoofs
+ceased in short order.  Ken listened intently.  From far over the bank
+came a sound not unlike a cough--deep, hoarse, inexpressibly wild and
+menacing.
+
+"Tigre!" cried Pepe, gripping Ken hard with both hands.  He could feel
+him trembling.  It showed how the native of the jungle-belt feared the
+jaguar.
+
+Again the cough rasped out, nearer and louder this time.  It was not a
+courage-provoking sound, and seemed on second thought more of a growl
+than a cough.  Ken felt safe on the island; nevertheless, he took up his
+rifle.
+
+"That's a tiger," whispered George.  "I heard one once from the porch of
+the Alamitas hacienda."
+
+A third time the jaguar told of his arrival upon the night scene.  Ken
+was excited, and had a thrill of fear.  He made up his mind to listen
+with clearer ears, but the cough or growl was not repeated.
+
+Then a silence set in, so unbroken that it seemed haunted by the echoes
+of those wild jungle cries.  Perhaps Ken had the haunting echoes in
+mind.  He knew what had sent the deer away and stilled the splashings
+and creepings.  It was the hoarse voice of the lord of the jungle.
+
+Pepe and the boys, too, fell under the spell of the hour.  They did not
+break the charm by talking.  Giant fireflies accentuated the ebony
+blackness and a low hum of insects riveted the attention on the
+stillness.  Ken could not understand why he was more thoughtful on this
+trip than he had ever been before.  Somehow he felt immeasurably older.
+Probably that was because it had seemed necessary for him to act like a
+man, even if he was only a boy.
+
+The black mantle of night lifted from under the cypresses, leaving a
+gloom that slowly paled.  Through the dark foliage, low down over the
+bank, appeared the white tropical moon.  Shimmering gleams chased the
+shadows across the ripples, and slowly the river brightened to a silver
+sheen.
+
+A great peace fell upon the jungle world. How white, how wild, how
+wonderful!  It only made the island more beautiful and lonely.  The
+thought of leaving it gave Ken Ward a pang.  Almost he wished he were a
+savage.
+
+And he lay there thinking of the wild places that he could never see,
+where the sun shone, the wind blew, the twilight shadowed, the rain
+fell; where the colors and beauties changed with the passing hours;
+where a myriad of wild creatures preyed upon each other and night never
+darkened but upon strife and death.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIII*
+
+                            *A TURKEY-HUNT*
+
+
+Upon awakening in the early morning Ken found his state one of huge
+enjoyment.  He was still lazily tired, but the dead drag and ache had
+gone from his bones. A cool breeze wafted the mist from the river,
+breaking it up into clouds, between which streamed rosy shafts of
+sunlight.  Wood-smoke from the fire Pepe was starting blew fragrantly
+over him.  A hundred thousand birds seemed to be trying to burst their
+throats.  The air was full of music.  He lay still, listening to this
+melodious herald of the day till it ceased.
+
+Then a flock of parrots approached and circled over the island,
+screeching like a band of flying imps.  Presently they alighted in the
+cypresses, bending the branches to a breaking-point and giving the trees
+a spotted appearance of green and red.  Pepe waved his hand toward
+another flock sweeping over.
+
+"Parrakeets," he said.
+
+These birds were a solid green, much smaller than the red-heads, with
+longer tails.  They appeared wilder than the red-heads, and flew higher,
+circling the same way and screeching, but they did not alight.  Other
+flocks sailed presently from all directions.  The last one was a cloud
+of parrots, a shining green and yellow mass several acres in extent.
+They flew still higher than the parrakeets.
+
+"Yellow-heads!" shouted George.  "They're the big fellows, the talkers.
+If there ain't a million of 'em!"
+
+The boys ate breakfast in a din that made conversation useless.  The
+red-heads swooped down upon the island, and the two unfriendly species
+flew back and forth, manifestly trying to drive the boys off.  The mist
+had blown away, the sun was shining bright, when the myriad of parrots,
+in large and small flocks, departed to other jungle haunts.
+
+Pepe rowed across the wide shoal to the sand-bars.  There in the soft
+ooze, among the hundreds of deer-tracks, Ken found a jaguar-track larger
+than his spread hand. It was different from a lion-track, yet he could
+not distinguish just what the difference was. Pepe, who had accompanied
+the boys to carry the rifles and game, pointed to the track and said,
+vehemently:
+
+"Tigre!" He pronounced it "tee-gray."  And he added, "Grande!"
+
+"Big he certainly is," Ken replied.  "Boys, we'll kill this jaguar.
+We'll bait this drinking-trail with a deer carcass and watch to-night."
+
+Once upon the bank, Ken was surprised to see a wide stretch of
+comparatively flat land.  It was covered with a low vegetation, with
+here and there palm-trees on the little ridges and bamboo clumps down in
+the swales. Beyond the flat rose the dark line of dense jungle.  It was
+not clear to Ken why that low piece of ground was not overgrown with the
+matted thickets and vines and big trees characteristic of other parts of
+the jungle. They struck into one of the trails, and had not gone a
+hundred paces when they espied a herd of deer.  The grass and low bushes
+almost covered them.  George handed his shotgun to Pepe and took his
+rifle.
+
+"Shoot low," said Ken.
+
+George pulled the trigger, and with the report a deer went down, but it
+was not the one Ken was looking at, nor the one at which he believed
+George had aimed.  The rest of the herd bounded away, to disappear in a
+swale. Wading through bushes and grass, they found George's quarry, a
+small deer weighing perhaps sixty pounds.  Pepe carried it over to the
+trail.  Ken noted that he was exceedingly happy to carry the rifles.
+They went on at random, somehow feeling that, no matter in what
+direction, they would run into something to shoot at.
+
+The first bamboo swale was alive with _chicalocki_.  Up to this time Ken
+had not seen this beautiful pheasant fly in the open, and he was
+astonished at its speed.  It would burst out of the thick bamboo, whir
+its wings swiftly, then sail.  That sail was a most graceful thing to
+see.  George pulled his 16-gage twice, and missed both times.  He had
+the beginner's fault--shooting too soon. Presently Pepe beat a big cock
+_chicalocki_ out of the bush.  He made such a fine target, he sailed so
+evenly, that Ken simply looked at him over the gun-sights and followed
+him till he was out of sight.  The next one he dropped like a plummet.
+Shooting _chicalocki_ was too easy, he decided; they presented so fair a
+mark that it was unfair to pull on them.
+
+George was an impetuous hunter.  Ken could not keep near him, nor coax
+or command him to stay near.  He would wander off by himself.  That was
+one mark in his favor: at least he had no fear.  Pepe hung close to Ken
+and Hal, with his dark eyes roving everywhere.  Ken climbed out on one
+side of the swale, George on the other.  Catching his whistle, Ken
+turned to look after him.  He waved, and, pointing ahead, began to stoop
+and slip along from bush to bush.  Presently a flock of Muscovy ducks
+rose before him, sailed a few rods, and alighted.  Then from right under
+his feet labored up great gray birds.  Wild geese!  Ken recognized them
+as George's gun went _bang_!  One tumbled over, the others wheeled
+toward the river. Ken started down into the swale to cross to where
+George was, when Pepe touched his arm.
+
+"Turkeys!" he whispered.
+
+That changed Ken's mind.  Pepe pointed into the low bushes ahead and
+slowly led Ken forward.  He heard a peculiar low thumping.  Trails led
+everywhere, and here and there were open patches covered with a scant
+growth of grass.  Across one of these flashed a bronze streak, then
+another and another.
+
+"Shoot!  Shoot!" said Pepe, tensely.
+
+Those bronze streaks were running turkeys! The thumpings were made by
+their rapidly moving feet!
+
+"Don't they flush--fly?" Ken queried of Pepe.
+
+"No--no--shoot!" exclaimed he, as another streak of brown crossed an
+open spot.  Ken hurriedly unbreached his gun and changed the light
+shells for others loaded with heavy shot.  He reached the edge of a bare
+spot across which a turkey ran with incredible swiftness.  He did not
+get the gun in line with it at all.  Then two more broke out of the
+bushes.  Run!  They were as swift as flying quail.  Ken took two
+snap-shots, and missed both times.  If any one had told him that he
+would miss a running turkey at fifty feet, he would have been insulted.
+But he did not loosen a feather.  Loading again, he yelled for George.
+
+"Hey, George--turkeys!"
+
+He whooped, and started across on the run.
+
+"Gee!" said Hal.  "Ken, I couldn't do any worse shooting than you.  Let
+me take a few pegs."
+
+Ken handed over the heavy gun and fell back a little, giving Hal the
+lead.  They walked on, peering closely into the bushes. Suddenly a
+beautiful big gobbler ran out of a thicket, and then stopped to stretch
+out his long neck and look.
+
+"Shoot--hurry!" whispered Ken.  "What a chance!"
+
+"That's a tame turkey," said Hal.
+
+"Tame!  Why, you tenderfoot!  He's as wild as wild.  Can't you see
+that?"
+
+Ken's excitement and Pepe's intense eagerness all at once seemed
+communicated to Hal. He hauled up the gun, fingered the triggers
+awkwardly, then shot both barrels.  He tore a tremendous hole in the
+brush some few feet to one side of the turkey.  Then the great bird ran
+swiftly out of sight.
+
+"Didn't want to kill him sitting, anyhow," said Hal, handing the gun
+back to Ken.
+
+"We want to eat some wild turkey, don't we?  Well, we'd better take any
+chance. These birds are game, Hal, and don't you forget that!"
+
+"What's all the shooting?" panted George, as he joined the march.
+
+Just then there was a roar in the bushes, and a brown blur rose and
+whizzed ahead like a huge bullet.  That turkey had flushed. Ken watched
+him fly till he went down out of sight into a distant swale.
+
+"Pretty nifty flier, eh?" said George. "He was too quick for me."
+
+"Great!" replied Ken.
+
+There was another roar, and a huge bronze cannon-ball sped straight
+ahead.  Ken shot both barrels, then George shot one, all clean misses.
+Ken watched this turkey fly, and saw him clearer.  He had to admit that
+the wild turkey of the Tamaulipas jungle had a swifter and more
+beautiful flight than his favorite bird, the ruffled grouse.
+
+"Walk faster," said George.  "They'll flush better.  I don't see how I'm
+to hit one.  This goose I'm carrying weighs about a ton."
+
+The hunters hurried along, crashing through the bushes.  They saw turkey
+after turkey. _Bang!_ went George's gun.
+
+Then a beautiful sight made Ken cry out and forget to shoot.  Six
+turkeys darted across an open patch--how swiftly they ran!--then rose in
+a bunch.  The roar they made, the wonderfully rapid action of their
+powerful wings, and then the size of them, their wildness and noble
+gameness made them the royal game for Ken.
+
+At the next threshing in the bushes his gun was leveled; he covered the
+whistling bronze thing that shot up.  The turkey went down with a crash.
+Pepe yelled, and as he ran forward the air all about him was full of
+fine bronze feathers.  Ken hurried forward to see his bird.  Its
+strength and symmetry, and especially the beautiful shades of bronze,
+captivated his eye.
+
+"Come on, boys--this is the greatest game I ever hunted," he called.
+
+Again Pepe yelled, and this time he pointed. From where Ken stood he
+could not see anything except low, green bushes.  In great excitement
+George threw up his gun and shot. Ken heard a squealing.
+
+"Javelin!  Javelin!" yelled Pepe, in piercing alarm.
+
+George jerked a rifle from him and began to shoot.  Hal pumped his .22
+into the bushes. The trampling of hard little hoofs and a cloud of dust
+warned Ken where the javelin were.  Suddenly Pepe broke and fled for the
+river.
+
+"Hyar, Pepe, fetch back my rifle," shouted Ken, angrily.
+
+Pepe ran all the faster.
+
+George turned and dashed away yelling: "Wild pigs!  Wild pigs!"
+
+"Look out, Ken!  Run!  Run!" added Hal; and he likewise took to his
+heels.
+
+It looked as if there was nothing else for Ken to do but to make tracks
+from that vicinity. Never before had he run from a danger which he had
+not seen; but the flight of the boys was irresistibly contagious, and
+this, coupled with the many stories he had heard of the _javelin_, made
+Ken execute a sprint that would have been a record but for the hampering
+weight of gun and turkey.  He vowed he would hold on to both, pigs or no
+pigs; nevertheless he listened as he ran and nervously looked back
+often.  It may have been excited imagination that the dust-cloud
+appeared to be traveling in his wake.  Fortunately, the distance to the
+river did not exceed a short quarter of a mile. Hot, winded, and
+thoroughly disgusted with himself, Ken halted on the bank.  Pepe was
+already in the boat, and George was scrambling aboard.
+
+"A fine--chase--you've given--me," Ken panted.  "There's nothing--after
+us."
+
+"Don't you fool yourself," returned George, quickly.  "I saw those pigs,
+and, like the ass I am, I blazed away at one with my shotgun."
+
+"Did he run at you?  That's what I want to know?" demanded Ken.
+
+George said he was not certain about that, but declared there always was
+danger if a wounded _javelin_ squealed.  Pepe had little to say; he
+refused to go back after the deer left in the trail.  So they rowed
+across the shoal, and on the way passed within a rod of a big crocodile.
+
+"Look at that fellow," cried George.  "Wish I had my rifle loaded.  He's
+fifteen feet long."
+
+"Oh no, George, he's not more than ten feet," said Ken.
+
+"You don't see his tail.  He's a whopper. Pepe told me there was one in
+this pool. We'll get him, all right."
+
+They reached camp tired out, and all a little ruffled in temper, which
+certainly was not eased by the discovery that they were covered with
+ticks.  Following the cue of his companions, Ken hurriedly stripped off
+his clothes and hung them where they could singe over the camp-fire.
+There were broad red bands of _pinilius_ round both ankles, and reddish
+patches on the skin of his arms.  Here and there were black spots about
+the size of his little finger-nail, and these were _garrapatoes_.  He
+picked these off one by one, rather surprised to find them come off so
+easily. Suddenly he jumped straight up with a pain as fierce as if it
+had been a puncture from a red-hot wire.
+
+Pepe grinned; and George cried:
+
+"Aha! that was a garrapato bite, that was! You just wait!"
+
+George had a hundred or more of the big black ticks upon him, and he was
+remorselessly popping them with his cigarette.  Some of them were biting
+him, too, judging from the way he flinched.  Pepe had attracted to
+himself a million or more of the _pinilius_, but very few of the larger
+pests.  He generously came to Ken's assistance.  Ken was trying to pull
+off the _garrapato_ that had bitten a hole in him.  Pepe said it had
+embedded its head, and if pulled would come apart, leaving the head
+buried in the flesh, which would cause inflammation.  Pepe held the
+glowing end of his cigarette close over the tick, and it began to squirm
+and pull out its head.  When it was free of the flesh Pepe suddenly
+touched it with the cigarette, and it exploded with a pop.  A difficult
+question was: Which hurt Ken the most, the burn from the cigarette or
+the bite of the tick?  Pepe scraped off as many _pinilius_ as would
+come, and then rubbed Ken with _canya_, the native alcohol.  If this was
+not some kind of vitriol, Ken missed his guess.  It smarted so keenly he
+thought his skin was peeling off.  Presently, however, the smarting
+subsided, and so did the ticks.
+
+Hal, who by far was the most sensitive one in regard to the crawling and
+biting of the jungle pests, had been remarkably fortunate in escaping
+them.  So he made good use of his opportunity to poke fun at the others,
+particularly Ken.
+
+George snapped out: "Just wait, Hollering Hal!"
+
+"Don't you call me that!" said Hal, belligerently.
+
+Ken eyed his brother in silence, but with a dark, meaning glance.  It
+had occurred to Ken that here in this jungle was the only place in the
+world where he could hope to pay off old scores on Hal.  And plots began
+to form in his mind.
+
+They lounged about camp, resting in the shade during the hot midday
+hours.  For supper they had a superfluity of meat, the waste of which
+Ken deplored, and he assuaged his conscience by deciding to have a taste
+of each kind.  The wild turkey he found the most toothsome, delicious
+meat it had ever been his pleasure to eat.  What struck him at once was
+the flavor, and he could not understand it until Pepe explained that the
+jungle turkey lived upon a red pepper. So the Tamaulipas wild turkey
+turned out to be doubly the finest game he had ever shot.
+
+All afternoon the big crocodile sunned himself on the surface of the
+shoal.
+
+Ken wanted a crocodile-skin, and this was a chance to get one; but he
+thought it as well to wait, and kept the boys from wasting ammunition.
+
+Before sundown Pepe went across the river and fetched the deer carcass
+down to the sandbar, where the jaguar-trail led to the water.
+
+At twilight Ken stationed the boys at the lower end of the island,
+ambushed behind stones.  He placed George and Pepe some rods below his
+own position.  They had George's .32 rifle, and the 16-gage loaded with
+a solid ball.  Ken put Hal, with the double-barreled shotgun, also
+loaded with ball, some little distance above.  And Ken, armed with his
+automatic, hid just opposite the deer-trails.
+
+"Be careful where you shoot," Ken warned repeatedly.  "Be cool--think
+quick--and aim."
+
+Ken settled down for a long wait, some fifty yards from the deer
+carcass.  A wonderful procession of wild fowl winged swift flight over
+his head.  They flew very low. It was strange to note the difference in
+the sound of their flying.  The cranes and herons softly swished the
+air, the teal and canvasbacks whirred by, and the great Muscovies
+whizzed like bullets.
+
+When the first deer came down to drink it was almost dark, and when they
+left the moon was up, though obscured by clouds.  Faint sounds rose from
+the other side of the island. Ken listened until his ears ached, but he
+could hear nothing.  Heavier clouds drifted over the moon.  The deer
+carcass became indistinct, and then faded entirely, and the bar itself
+grew vague.  He was about to give up watching for that night when he
+heard a faint rustling below.  Following it came a grating or crunching
+of gravel.
+
+Bright flares split the darkness--_crack! crack!_ rang out George's
+rifle, then the heavy _boom! boom!_ of the shotgun.
+
+"There he is!" yelled George.  "He's down--we got him--there's two!
+Look out!"
+
+_Boom!  Boom!_ roared the heavy shotgun from Hal's covert.
+
+"George missed him!  I got him!" yelled Hal.  "No, there he goes--Ken!
+Ken!"
+
+Ken caught the flash of a long gray body in the hazy gloom of the bar
+and took a quick shot at it.  The steel-jacketed bullet scattered the
+gravel and then hummed over the bank.  The gray body moved fast up the
+bank.  Ken could just see it.  He turned loose the little automatic and
+made the welkin ring.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIV*
+
+                        *A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR*
+
+
+When the echoes of the shots died away the stillness seemed all the
+deeper.  No rustle in the brush or scuffle on the sand gave evidence of
+a wounded or dying jaguar. George and Hal and Pepe declared there were
+two tigers, and that they had hit one. Ken walked out upon the stones
+till he could see the opposite bar, but was not rewarded by a sight of
+dead game.  Thereupon they returned to camp, somewhat discouraged at
+their ill luck, but planning another night-watch.
+
+In the morning George complained that he did not feel well.  Ken told
+him he had been eating too much fresh meat, and that he had better be
+careful.  Then Ken set off alone, crossed the river, and found that the
+deer carcass was gone.  In the sand near where it had lain were plenty
+of cat-tracks, but none of the big jaguar.  Upon closer scrutiny he
+found the cat-tracks to be those of a panther. He had half dragged, half
+carried the carcass up one of the steep trails, but from that point
+there was no further trace.
+
+Ken struck out across the fiat, intending to go as far as the jungle.
+Turtle-doves fluttered before him in numberless flocks. Far to one side
+he saw Muscovy ducks rising, sailing a few rods, then alighting.  This
+occurred several times before he understood what it meant.  There was
+probably a large flock feeding on the flat, and the ones in the rear
+were continually flying to get ahead of those to the fore.
+
+Several turkeys ran through the bushes before Ken, but as he was
+carrying a rifle he paid little heed to them.  He kept a keen lookout
+for _javelin_.  Two or three times he was tempted to turn off the trail
+into little bamboo hollows; this, however, owing to a repugnance to
+ticks, he did not do.  Finally, as he neared the high moss-decked wall
+of the jungle, he came upon a runway leading through the bottom of a
+deep swale, and here he found tiger-tracks.
+
+Farther down the swale, under a great cluster of bamboo, he saw the
+scattered bones of several deer.  Ken was sure that in this spot the
+lord of the jungle had feasted more than once.  It was an open hollow,
+with the ground bare under the bamboos.  The runway led on into dense,
+leafy jungle.  Ken planned to bait that lair with a deer carcass and
+watch it during the late afternoon.
+
+First, it was necessary to get the deer. This might prove bothersome,
+for Ken's hands and wrists were already sprinkled with _pinilius_, and
+he certainly did not want to stay very long in the brush.  Ken imagined
+he felt an itching all the time, and writhed inside his clothes.
+
+"Say, blame you! bite!" he exclaimed, resignedly, and stepped into the
+low bushes. He went up and out of the swale.  Scarcely had he reached a
+level when he saw a troop of deer within easy range.  Before they winded
+danger Ken shot, and the one he had singled out took a few bounds, then
+fell over sideways.  The others ran off into the brush. Ken remembered
+that the old hunter on Penetier had told him how seldom a deer dropped
+at once.  When he saw the work of the soft-nose .351 bullet, he no
+longer wondered at this deer falling almost in his tracks.
+
+"If I ever hit a jaguar like that it will be all day with him," was
+Ken's comment.
+
+There were two things about hunting the jaguar that Ken had been bidden
+to keep in mind--fierce aggressiveness and remarkable tenacity of life.
+
+Ken dragged the deer down into the bamboo swale and skinned out a
+haunch.  Next to wild-turkey meat, he liked venison best. He was glad to
+have that as an excuse, for killing these tame tropical deer seemed like
+murder to Ken.  He left the carcass in a favorable place and then
+hurried back to camp.
+
+To Ken's relief, he managed to escape bringing any _garrapatoes_ with
+him, but it took a half-hour to rid himself of the collection of
+_pinilius_.
+
+"George, ask Pepe what's the difference between a garrapato and a
+pinilius," said Ken.
+
+"The big tick is the little one's mother," replied Pepe.
+
+"Gee! you fellows fuss a lot about ticks," said Hal, looking up from his
+task.  He was building more pens to accommodate the turtles, snakes,
+snails, mice, and young birds that he had captured during the morning.
+
+Pepe said there were few ticks there in the uplands compared to the
+number down along the Panuco River.  In the lowlands where the cattle
+roamed there were millions in every square rod.  The under side of every
+leaf and blade of grass was red with ticks.  The size of these pests
+depended on whether or not they got a chance to stick to a steer or any
+beast. They appeared to live indefinitely, but if they could not suck
+blood they could not grow. The _pinilius_ grew into a _garrapato_, and a
+_garrapato_ bred a hundred thousand _pinilius_ in her body.  Two
+singular things concerning these ticks were that they always crawled
+upward, and they vanished from the earth during the wet season.
+
+Ken soaked his Duxbax hunting-suit in kerosene in the hope that this
+method would enable him to spend a reasonable time hunting.  Then, while
+the other boys fished and played around, he waited for the long, hot
+hours to pass.  It was cool in the shade, but the sunlight resembled the
+heat of fire.  At last five o'clock came, and Ken put on the damp suit.
+Soaked with the oil, it was heavier and hotter than sealskin, and before
+he got across the river he was nearly roasted. The evening wind sprang
+up, and the gusts were like blasts from a furnace.  Ken's body was
+bathed in perspiration; it ran down his wrists, over his hands, and wet
+the gun. This cure for ticks--if it were one--was worse than their
+bites.  When he reached the shade of the bamboo swale it was none too
+soon for him.  He threw off the coat, noticing there were more ticks
+upon it than at anytime before.  The bottom of his trousers, too, had
+gathered an exceeding quantity.  He brushed them off, muttering the
+while that he believed they liked kerosene, and looked as if they were
+drinking it.  Ken found it easy, however, to brush them off the wet
+Duxbax, and soon composed himself to rest and watch.
+
+The position chosen afforded Ken a clear view of the bare space under
+the bamboos and of the hollow where the runway disappeared in the
+jungle.  The deer carcass, which lay as he had left it, was about a
+hundred feet from him.  This seemed rather close, but he had to accept
+it, for if he had moved farther away he could not have commanded both
+points.
+
+Ken sat with his back against a clump of bamboos, the little rifle
+across his knees and an extra clip of cartridges on the ground at his
+left.  After taking that position he determined not to move a yard when
+the tiger came, and to kill him.
+
+Ken went over in mind the lessons he had learned hunting bear in
+Penetier Forest with old Hiram Bent and lassoing lions on the wild
+north-rim of the Grand Canon.  Ken knew that the thing for a hunter to
+do, when his quarry was dangerous, was to make up his mind beforehand.
+Ken had twelve powerful shells that he could shoot in the half of twelve
+seconds.  He would have been willing to face two jaguars.
+
+The sun set and the wind died down. What a relief was the cooling shade!
+The little breeze that was left fortunately blew at right angles to the
+swale, so that there did not seem much danger of the tiger winding Ken
+down the jungle runway.
+
+For long moments he was tense and alert. He listened till he thought he
+had almost lost the sense of hearing.  The jungle leaves were
+whispering; the insects were humming. He had expected to hear myriad
+birds and see processions of deer, and perhaps a drove of _javelin_.
+But if any living creatures ventured near him it was without his
+knowledge. The hour between sunset and twilight passed--a long wait;
+still he did not lose the feeling that something would happen.  Ken's
+faculties of alertness tired, however, and needed distraction.  So he
+took stock of the big clump of bamboos under which lay the deer carcass.
+
+It was a remarkable growth, that gracefully drooping cluster of slender
+bamboo poles.  He remembered how, as a youngster, not many years back,
+he had wondered where the fishing-poles came from.  Here Ken counted one
+hundred and sixty-nine in a clump no larger than a barrel.  They were
+yellow in color with black bands, and they rose straight for a few
+yards, then began to lean out, to bend slightly, at last to droop with
+their abundance of spiked leaves.  Ken was getting down to a real,
+interested study of this species of jungle growth when a noise startled
+him.
+
+He straightened out of his lounging position and looked around.  The
+sound puzzled him. He could not place its direction or name what it was.
+The jungle seemed strangely quiet. He listened.  After a moment of
+waiting he again heard the sound.  Instantly Ken was as tense and
+vibrating as a violin string.  The thing he had heard was from the lungs
+of some jungle beast.  He was almost ready to pronounce it a cough.
+Warily he glanced around, craning his neck.  Then a deep, hoarse growl
+made him whirl.
+
+There stood a jaguar with head up and paw on the deer carcass.  Ken
+imagined he felt perfectly cool, but he knew he was astounded. And even
+as he cautiously edged the rifle over his knee he took in the beautiful
+points of the jaguar.  He was yellow, almost white, with black spots.
+He was short and stocky, with powerful stumpy bow-legs.  But his head
+most amazed Ken.  It was enormous. And the expression of his face was so
+singularly savage and wild that Ken seemed to realize instantly the
+difference between a mountain-lion and this fierce tropical brute.
+
+The jaguar opened his jaws threateningly. He had an enormous stretch of
+jaw.  His long, yellow fangs gleamed.  He growled again.
+
+Not hurriedly, nor yet slowly, Ken fired.
+
+He heard the bullet strike him as plainly as if he had hit him with a
+board.  He saw dust fly from his hide.  Ken expected to see the jaguar
+roll over.  Instead of that he leaped straight up with a terrible roar.
+Something within Ken shook.  He felt cold and sick.
+
+When the jaguar came down, sprawled on all fours, Ken pulled the
+automatic again, and he saw the fur fly.  Then the jaguar leaped forward
+with a strange, hoarse cry. Ken shot again, and knocked the beast flat.
+He tumbled and wrestled about, scattering the dust and brush.  Three
+times more Ken fired, too hastily, and inflicted only slight wounds.
+
+In reloading Ken tried to be deliberate in snapping in the second clip
+and pushing down the rod that threw the shell into the barrel. But his
+hands shook.  His fingers were all thumbs, and he fumbled at the breech
+of the rifle.
+
+In that interval, if the jaguar could have kept his sense of direction,
+he would have reached Ken.  But the beast zigzagged; he had lost his
+equilibrium; he was hard hit.
+
+Then he leaped magnificently.  He landed within twenty-five feet of Ken,
+and when he plunged down he rolled clear over.  Ken shot him through and
+through.  Yet he got up, wheezing blood, uttering a hoarse bellow, and
+made again at Ken.
+
+Ken had been cold, sick.  Now panic almost overpowered him.  The rifle
+wabbled. The bamboo glade blurred in his sight.  A terrible dizziness
+and numbness almost paralyzed him.  He was weakening, sinking, when
+thought of life at stake lent him a momentary grim and desperate spirit.
+
+Once while the jaguar was in the air Ken pulled, twice while he was
+down.  Then the jaguar stood up pawing the air with great spread claws,
+coughing, bleeding, roaring. He was horrible.
+
+Ken shot him straight between the wide-spread paws.
+
+With twisted body, staggering, and blowing bloody froth all over Ken,
+the big tiger blindly lunged forward and crashed to earth.
+
+Then began a furious wrestling.  Ken imagined it was the death-throes of
+the jaguar. Ken could not see him down among the leaves and vines;
+nevertheless, he shot into the commotion.  The struggles ceased.  Then a
+movement of the weeds showed Ken that the jaguar was creeping toward the
+jungle.
+
+Ken fell rather than sat down.  He found he was wringing wet with cold
+sweat.  He was panting hard.
+
+"Say, but--that--was--awful!" he gasped. "What--was--wrong--with me?"
+
+He began to reload the clips.  They were difficult to load for even a
+calm person, and now, in the reaction, Ken was the farthest removed from
+calm.  The jaguar crept steadily away, as Ken could tell by the swaying
+weeds and shaking vines.
+
+"What--a hard-lived beast!" muttered Ken. "I--must have shot--him all to
+pieces.  Yet he's getting away from me."
+
+At last Ken's trembling fingers pushed some shells in the two clips, and
+once more he reloaded the rifle.  Then he stood up, drew a deep, full
+breath, and made a strong effort at composure.
+
+"I've shot at bear--and deer--and lions out West," said Ken.  "But this
+was different. I'll never get over it."
+
+How close that jaguar came to reaching Ken was proved by the blood
+coughed into his face.  He recalled that he had felt the wind of one
+great sweeping paw.
+
+Ken regained his courage and determination. He meant to have that
+beautiful spotted skin for his den.  So he hurried along the runway and
+entered the jungle.  Beyond the edge, where the bushes made a dense
+thicket, it was dry forest, with little green low down.  The hollow gave
+place to a dry wash.  He could not see the jaguar, but he could hear him
+dragging himself through the brush, cracking sticks, shaking saplings.
+
+Presently Ken ran across a bloody trail and followed it.  Every little
+while he would stop to listen.  When the wounded jaguar was still, he
+waited until he started to move again.  It was hard going.  The brush
+was thick, and had to be broken and crawled under or through.  As Ken
+had left his coat behind, his shirt was soon torn to rags.  He peered
+ahead with sharp eyes, expecting every minute to come in sight of the
+poor, crippled beast.  He wanted to put him out of agony. So he kept on
+doggedly for what must have been a long time.
+
+The first premonition he had of carelessness was to note that the
+shadows were gathering in the jungle.  It would soon be night.  He must
+turn back while there was light enough to follow his back track out to
+the open.  The second came in shape of a hot pain in his arm, as keen as
+if he had jagged it with a thorn.  Holding it out, he discovered to his
+dismay that it was spotted with _garrapatoes_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XV*
+
+                       *THE VICIOUS GARRAPATOES*
+
+
+At once Ken turned back, and if he thought again of the jaguar it was
+that he could come after him the next day or send Pepe. Another vicious
+bite, this time on his leg, confirmed his suspicions that many of the
+ticks had been on him long enough to get their heads in.  Then he was
+bitten in several places.
+
+Those bites were as hot as the touch of a live coal, yet they made Ken
+break out in dripping cold sweat.  It was imperative that he get back to
+camp without losing a moment which could be saved.  From a rapid walk he
+fell into a trot.  He got off his back trail and had to hunt for it.
+Every time a tick bit he jumped as if stung.  The worst of it was that
+he knew he was collecting more _garrapatoes_ with almost every step.
+When he grasped a dead branch to push it out of the way he could feel
+the ticks cling to his hand.  Then he would whip his arm in the air,
+flinging some of them off to patter on the dry ground.  Impossible as it
+was to run through that matted jungle, Ken almost accomplished it.  When
+he got out into the open he did run, not even stopping for his coat, and
+he crossed the flat at top speed.
+
+It was almost dark when Ken reached the river-bank and dashed down to
+frighten a herd of drinking deer.  He waded the narrowest part of the
+shoal.  Running up the island he burst into the bright circle of
+camp-fire. Pepe dropped a stew-pan and began to jabber. George dove for
+a gun.
+
+"What's after you?" shouted Hal, in alarm.
+
+Ken was so choked up and breathless that at first he could not speak.
+His fierce aspect and actions, as he tore off his sleeveless and ragged
+shirt and threw it into the fire, added to the boys' fright.
+
+"Good Lord! are you bug-house, Ken?" shrieked Hal.
+
+"_Bug-house!  Yes!_" roared Ken, swiftly undressing.  "Look at me!"
+
+In the bright glare he showed his arms black with _garrapatoes_ and a
+sprinkling of black dots over the rest of his body.
+
+"Is that all?" demanded Hal, in real or simulated scorn.  "Gee! but
+you're a brave hunter.  I thought not less than six tigers were after
+you."
+
+"I'd rather have six tigers after me," yelled Ken.  "You little
+freckle-faced redhead!"
+
+It was seldom indeed that Ken called his brother that name.  Hal was
+proof against any epithets except that one relating to his freckles and
+his hair.  But just now Ken felt that he was being eaten alive.  He was
+in an agony, and he lost his temper.  And therefore he laid himself open
+to Hal's scathing humor.
+
+"Never mind the kid," said Ken to Pepe and George.  "Hurry now, and get
+busy with these devils on me."
+
+It was well for Ken that he had a native like Pepe with him.  For Pepe
+knew just what to do.  First he dashed a bucket of cold water over Ken.
+How welcome that was!
+
+"Pepe says for you to point out the ticks that 're biting the hardest,"
+said George.
+
+In spite of his pain Ken stared in mute surprise.
+
+"Pepe wants you to point out the ticks that are digging in the deepest,"
+explained George.  "Get a move on, now."
+
+"What!" roared Ken, glaring at Pepe and George.  He thought even the
+native might be having fun with him.  And for Ken this was not a funny
+time.
+
+But Pepe was in dead earnest.
+
+"Say, it's impossible to tell _where_ I'm being bitten most!  It's all
+over!" protested Ken.
+
+Still he discovered that by absolute concentration on the pain he was
+enduring he was able to locate the severest points.  And that showed him
+the soundness of Pepe's advice.
+
+"Here--this one--here--there....  Oh! here," began Ken, indicating
+certain ticks.
+
+"Not so fast, now," interrupted the imperturbable George, as he and Pepe
+set to work upon Ken.
+
+Then the red-hot cigarette-tips scorched Ken's skin.  Ken kept pointing
+and accompanying his directions with wild gestures and exclamations.
+
+"Here....  Oo-oo!  Here....  Wow!  Here.... Ouch!--that one stung!
+Here....  _Augh_! Say, can't you hurry?  Here! ... Oh! that one was in a
+mile!  Here....  _Hold on_! You're burning a hole in me! ... George,
+you're having fun out of this.  Pepe gets two to your one."
+
+"He's been popping ticks all his life," was George's reasonable protest.
+
+"Hurry!" cried Ken, in desperation. "George, if you monkey round--fool
+over this job--I'll--I'll punch you good."
+
+All this trying time Hal Ward sat on a log and watched the proceedings
+with great interest and humor.  Sometimes he smiled, at others he
+laughed, and yet again he burst out into uproarious mirth.
+
+"George, he wouldn't punch anybody," said Hal.  "I tell you he's all in.
+He hasn't any nerve left.  It's a chance of your life. You'll never get
+another.  He's been bossing you around.  Pay him up.  Make him holler.
+Why, what's a few little ticks?  Wouldn't phase me!  But Ken Ward's such
+a delicate, fine-skinned, sensitive, girly kind of a boy! He's too nice
+to be bitten by bugs.  Oh dear, yes, yes! ... Ken, why don't you show
+courage?"
+
+Ken shook his fist at Hal.
+
+"All right," said Ken, grimly.  "Have all the fun you can.  Because I'll
+get even with you."
+
+Hal relapsed into silence, and Ken began to believe he had intimidated
+his brother.  But he soon realized how foolish it was to suppose such a
+thing.  Hal had only been working his fertile brain.
+
+"George, here's a little verse for the occasion," said Hal.
+
+    "There was a brave hunter named Ken,
+    And he loved to get skins for his den,
+    Not afraid was he of tigers or pigs,
+    Or snakes or cats or any such things,
+    But one day in the jungle he left his clothes,
+    And came hollering back with _garrapatoes_."
+
+
+"Gre-at-t-t!" sputtered Ken.  "Oh, brother mine, we're a long way from
+home, I'll make you crawl."
+
+Pepe smoked, and wore out three cigarettes, and George two, before they
+had popped all the biting ticks.  Then Ken was still covered with them.
+Pepe bathed him in _canya_, which was like a bath of fire, and soon
+removed them all.  Ken felt flayed alive, peeled of his skin, and
+sprinkled with fiery sparks.  When he lay down he was as weak as a sick
+cat. Pepe said the _canya_ would very soon take the sting away, but it
+was some time before Ken was resting easily.
+
+It would not have been fair to ask Ken just then whether the prize for
+which he worked was worth his present gain.  _Garrapatoes_ may not seem
+important to one who simply reads about them, but such pests are a
+formidable feature of tropical life.
+
+However, Ken presently felt that he was himself again.
+
+Then he put his mind to the serious problem of his note-book and the
+plotting of the island.  As far as his trip was concerned, Cypress
+Island was an important point. When he had completed his map down to the
+island, he went on to his notes.  He believed that what he had found out
+from his knowledge of forestry was really worth something.  He had seen
+a gradual increase in the size and number of trees as he had proceeded
+down the river, a difference in the density and color of the jungle, a
+flattening-out of the mountain range, and a gradual change from rocky to
+clayey soil.  And on the whole his note-book began to assume such a
+character that he was beginning to feel willing to submit it to his
+uncle.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XVI*
+
+                      *FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST*
+
+
+That night Ken talked natural history to the boys and read extracts from
+a small copy of Sclater he had brought with him.
+
+They were all particularly interested in the cat tribe.
+
+The fore feet of all cats have five toes, the hind feet only four.
+Their claws are curved and sharp, and, except in case of one species of
+leopard, can be retracted in their sheaths. The claws of the great cat
+species are kept sharp by pulling them down through bark of trees.  All
+cats walk on their toes.  And the stealthy walk is due to hairy pads or
+cushions.  The claws of a cat do not show in its track as do those of a
+dog.  The tongues of all cats are furnished with large papillae. They
+are like files, and the use is to lick bones and clean their fur.  Their
+long whiskers are delicate organs of perception to aid them in finding
+their way on their night quests.  The eyes of all cats are large and
+full, and can be altered by contraction or expansion of iris, according
+to the amount of light they receive. The usual color is gray or tawny
+with dark spots or stripes.  The uniform tawny color of the lion and the
+panther is perhaps an acquired color, probably from the habit of these
+animals of living in desert countries.  It is likely that in primitive
+times cats were all spotted or striped.
+
+Naturally the boys were most interested in the jaguar, which is the
+largest of the cat tribe in the New World.  The jaguar ranges from
+northern Mexico to northern Patagonia. Its spots are larger than those
+of the leopard. Their ground color is a rich tan or yellow, sometimes
+almost gold.  Large specimens have been known nearly seven feet from
+nose to end of tail.
+
+The jaguar is an expert climber and swimmer.  Humboldt says that where
+the South American forests are subject to floods the jaguar sometimes
+takes to tree life, living on monkeys.  All naturalists agree on the
+ferocious nature of jaguars, and on the loudness and frequency of their
+cries.  There is no record of their attacking human beings without
+provocation.  Their favorite haunts are the banks of jungle rivers, and
+they often prey upon fish and turtles.
+
+The attack of a jaguar is terrible.  It leaps on the back of its prey
+and breaks its neck.  In some places there are well-known scratching
+trees where jaguars sharpen their claws.  The bark is worn smooth in
+front from contact with the breasts of the animals as they stand up, and
+there is a deep groove on each side.  When new scars appear on these
+trees it is known that jaguars are in the vicinity.  The cry of the
+jaguar is loud, deep, hoarse, something like _pu, pu, pu_.  There is
+much enmity between the panther, or mountain-lion, and the jaguar, and
+it is very strange that generally the jaguar fears the lion, although he
+is larger and more powerful.
+
+Pepe had interesting things to say about jaguars, or _tigres_, as he
+called them.  But Ken, of course, could not tell how much Pepe said was
+truth and how much just native talk.  At any rate, Pepe told of one
+Mexican who had a blind and deaf jaguar that he had tamed.  Ken knew
+that naturalists claimed the jaguar could not be tamed, but in this
+instance Ken was inclined to believe Pepe. This blind jaguar was
+enormous in size, terrible of aspect, and had been trained to trail
+anything his master set him to.  And Tigre, as he was called, never
+slept or stopped till he had killed the thing he was trailing. As he was
+blind and deaf, his power of scent had been abnormally developed.
+
+Pepe told of a fight between a huge crocodile and a jaguar in which both
+were killed.  He said jaguars stalked natives and had absolutely no
+fear.  He knew natives who said that jaguars had made off with children
+and eaten them.  Lastly, Pepe told of an incident that had happened in
+Tampico the year before. There was a ship at dock below Tampico, just on
+the outskirts where the jungle began, and one day at noon two big
+jaguars leaped on the deck.  They frightened the crew out of their wits.
+George verified this story, and added that the jaguars had been chased
+by dogs, had boarded the ship, where they climbed into the rigging, and
+stayed there till they were shot.
+
+"Well," said Ken, thoughtfully, "from my experience I believe a jaguar
+would do anything."
+
+The following day promised to be a busy one for Hal, without any time
+for tricks. George went hunting before breakfast--in fact, before the
+others were up--and just as the boys were sitting down to eat he
+appeared on the nearer bank and yelled for Pepe. It developed that for
+once George had bagged game.
+
+He had a black squirrel, a small striped wildcat, a peccary, a
+three-foot crocodile, and a duck of rare plumage.
+
+After breakfast Hal straightway got busy, and his skill and knowledge
+earned praise from George and Pepe.  They volunteered to help, which
+offer Hal gratefully accepted. He had brought along a folding canvas
+tank, forceps, knives, scissors, several packages of preservatives, and
+tin boxes in which to pack small skins.
+
+His first task was to mix a salt solution in the canvas tank.  This was
+for immersing skins.  Then he made a paste of salt and alum, and after
+that a mixture of two-thirds glycerin and one-third water and carbolic
+acid, which was for preserving small skins and to keep them soft.
+
+And as he worked he gave George directions on how to proceed with the
+wildcat and squirrel skins.
+
+"Skin carefully and tack up the pelts fur side down.  Scrape off all the
+fat and oil, but don't scrape through.  To-morrow when the skins are dry
+soak them in cold water till soft.  Then take them out and squeeze dry.
+I'll make a solution of three quarts water, one-half pint salt, and one
+ounce oil of vitriol.  Put the skins in that for half an hour.  Squeeze
+dry again, and hang in shade. That 'll tan the skin, and the moths will
+never hurt them."
+
+When Hal came to take up the duck he was sorry that some of the
+beautiful plumage had been stained.
+
+"I want only a few water-fowl," he said. "And particularly one of the
+big Muscovies. And you must keep the feathers from getting soiled."
+
+It was interesting to watch Hal handle that specimen.  First he took
+full measurements. Then, separating the feathers along the breast, he
+made an incision with a sharp knife, beginning high up on breast-bone
+and ending at tail.  He exercised care so as not to cut through the
+abdomen.  Raising the skin carefully along the cut as far as the muscles
+of the leg, he pushed out the knee joint and cut it off.  Then he
+loosened the skin from the legs and the back, and bent the tail down to
+cut through the tail joint.  Next he removed the skin from the body and
+cut off the wings at the shoulder joint.  Then he proceeded down the
+neck, being careful not to pull or stretch the skin.  Extreme care was
+necessary in cutting round the eyes.  Then, when he had loosened the
+skin from the skull, he severed the head and cleaned out the skull.  He
+coated all with the paste, filled the skull with cotton, and then
+immersed them in the glycerin bath.
+
+The skinning of the crocodile was an easy matter compared with that of
+the duck.  Hal made an incision at the throat, cut along the middle of
+the abdomen all the way to the tip of the tail, and then cut the skin
+away all around the carcass.  Then he set George and Pepe to scraping
+the skin, after which he immersed it in the tank.
+
+About that time Ken, who was lazily fishing in the shade of the
+cypresses, caught one of the blue-tailed fish.  Hal was delighted.  He
+had made a failure of the other specimen of this unknown fish.  This one
+was larger and exquisitely marked, being dark gold on the back, white
+along the belly, and its tail had a faint bluish tinge.  Hal promptly
+killed the fish, and then made a dive for his suitcase.  He produced
+several sheets of stiff cardboard and a small box of water-colors and
+brushes.  He laid the fish down on a piece of paper and outlined its
+exact size. Then, placing it carefully in an upright position on a box,
+he began to paint it in the actual colors of the moment.  Ken laughed
+and teased him.  George also was inclined to be amused.  But Pepe was
+amazed and delighted.  Hal worked on unmindful of his audience, and,
+though he did not paint a very artistic picture, he produced the vivid
+colors of the fish before they faded.
+
+His next move was to cover the fish with strips of thin cloth, which
+adhered to the scales and kept them from being damaged.  Then he cut
+along the middle line of the belly, divided the pelvic arch where the
+ventral fins joined, cut through the spines, and severed the fins from
+the bones.  Then he skinned down to the tail, up to the back, and cut
+through caudal processes.  The vertebral column he severed at the base
+of the skull.  He cleaned and scraped the entire inside of the skin, and
+then put it to soak.
+
+"Hal, you're much more likely to make good with Uncle Jim than I am,"
+said Ken. "You've really got skill, and you know what to do.  Now, my
+job is different.  So far I've done fairly well with my map of the
+river. But as soon as we get on level ground I'll be stumped."
+
+"We'll cover a hundred miles before we get to low land," replied Hal,
+cheerily.  "That's enough, even if we do get lost for the rest of the
+way.  You'll win that trip abroad, Ken, never fear, and little Willie is
+going to be with you."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XVII*
+
+                        *A MIXED-UP TIGER-HUNT*
+
+
+Next morning Hal arose bright as a lark, but silent, mysterious, and
+with far-seeing eyes.  It made Ken groan in spirit to look at the boy.
+Yes, indeed, they were far from home, and the person did not live on the
+earth who could play a trick on Hal Ward and escape vengeance.
+
+After breakfast Hal went off with a long-handled landing-net, obviously
+to capture birds or fish or mice or something.
+
+George said he did not feel very well, and he looked grouchy.  He
+growled around camp in a way that might have nettled Ken, but Ken,
+having had ten hours of undisturbed sleep, could not have found fault
+with anybody.
+
+"Garrapato George, come out of it.  Cheer up," said Ken.  "Why don't you
+take Pinilius Pepe as gun-bearer and go out to shoot something?  You
+haven't used up much ammunition yet."
+
+Ken's sarcasm was not lost upon George.
+
+"Well, if I do go, I'll not come running back to camp without some
+game."
+
+"My son," replied Ken, genially, "if you should happen to meet a jaguar
+you'd--you'd just let out one squawk and then never touch even the high
+places of the jungle.  You'd take that crazy .32 rifle for a
+golf-stick."
+
+"Would I?" returned George.  "All right."
+
+Ken watched George awhile that morning. The lad performed a lot of weird
+things around camp.  Then he bounced bullets off the water in vain
+effort to locate the basking crocodile. Then he tried his hand at
+fishing once more. He could get more bites than any fisherman Ken ever
+saw, but he could not catch anything.
+
+By and by the heat made Ken drowsy, and, stretching himself in the
+shade, he thought of a scheme to rid the camp of the noisy George.
+
+"Say, George, take my hammerless and get Pepe to row you up along the
+shady bank of the river," suggested Ken.  "Go sneaking along and you'll
+have some sport."
+
+George was delighted with that idea.  He had often cast longing eyes at
+the hammerless gun.  Pepe, too, looked exceedingly pleased. They got in
+the boat and were in the act of starting when George jumped ashore.  He
+reached for his .32 and threw the lever down to see if there was a shell
+in the chamber. Then he proceeded to fill his pockets with ammunition.
+
+"Might need a rifle," he said.  "You can't tell what you're going to see
+in this unholy jungle."
+
+Whereupon he went aboard again and Pepe rowed leisurely up-stream.
+
+"Be careful, boys," Ken called, and composed himself for a nap.  He
+promptly fell asleep.  How long he slept he had no idea, and when he
+awoke he lay with languor, not knowing at the moment what had awakened
+him.  Presently he heard a shout, then a rifle-shot.  Sitting up, he saw
+the boat some two hundred yards above, drifting along about the edge of
+the shade.  Pepe was in it alone.  He appeared to be excited, for Ken
+observed him lay down an oar and pick up a gun, and then reverse the
+performance.  Also he was jabbering to George, who evidently was out on
+the bank, but invisible to Ken.
+
+"Hey, Pepe!" Ken yelled.  "What 're you doing?"
+
+Strange to note, Pepe did not reply or even turn.
+
+"Now where in the deuce is George?" Ken said, impatiently.
+
+The hollow crack of George's .32 was a reply to the question.  Ken heard
+the singing of a bullet.  Suddenly, _spou!_ it twanged on a branch not
+twenty feet over his head, and then went whining away.  He heard it tick
+a few leaves or twigs.  There was not any languor in the alacrity with
+which Ken put the big cypress-tree between him and up-stream.  Then he
+ventured to peep forth.
+
+"Look out where you're slinging lead!" he yelled.  He doubted not that
+George had treed a black squirrel or was pegging away at parrots.  Yet
+Pepe's motions appeared to carry a good deal of feeling, too much, he
+thought presently, for small game.  So Ken began to wake up thoroughly.
+He lost sight of Pepe behind a low branch of a tree that leaned some
+fifty yards above the island. Then he caught sight of him again.  He was
+poling with an oar, evidently trying to go up or down--Ken could not
+tell which.
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  George's .32 spoke twice more, and the bullets both
+struck in the middle of the stream and ricochetted into the far bank
+with little thuds.
+
+Something prompted Ken to reach for his automatic, snap the clip in
+tight, and push in the safety.  At the same time he muttered George's
+words: "You can never tell what's coming off in this unholy jungle."
+
+Then, peeping out from behind the cypress, Ken watched the boat drift
+down-stream. Pepe had stopped poling and was looking closely into the
+thick grass and vines of the bank.  Ken heard his voice, but could not
+tell what he said.  He watched keenly for some sight of George.  The
+moments passed, the boat drifted, and Ken began to think there was
+nothing unusual afoot.  In this interval Pepe drifted within
+seventy-five yards of camp.  Again Ken called to ask him what George was
+stalking, and this time Pepe yelled; but Ken did not know what he said.
+Hard upon this came George's sharp voice:
+
+"Look out, there, on the island.  Get behind something.  I've got him
+between the river and the flat.  He's in this strip of shore brush.
+There!"
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!  Bullets hummed and whistled all about the
+island.  Ken was afraid to peep out with even one eye.  He began to
+fancy that George was playing Indian.
+
+"Fine, Georgie!  You're doing great!" he shouted.  "You couldn't come
+any closer to me if you were aiming at me.  What is it?"
+
+Then a crashing of brush and a flash of yellow low down along the bank
+changed the aspect of the situation.
+
+"Panther! or jaguar!" Ken ejaculated, in amaze.  In a second he was
+tight-muscled, cold, and clear-witted.  At that instant he saw George's
+white shirt about the top of the brush.
+
+"Go back!  Get out in the open!" Ken ordered.  "Do you hear me?"
+
+"Where is he?" shouted George, paying not the slightest attention to
+Ken.  Ken jumped from behind the tree, and, running to the head of the
+island, he knelt low near the water with rifle ready.
+
+"Tigre!  Tigre!  Tigre!" screamed Pepe, waving his arms, then pointing.
+
+George crashed into the brush.  Ken saw the leaves move, then a long
+yellow shape. With the quickness of thought and the aim of the
+wing-shot, Ken fired.  From the brush rose a strange wild scream.
+George aimed at a shaking mass of grass and vines, but, before he could
+fire, a long, lean, ugly beast leaped straight out from the bank to drop
+into the water with a heavy splash.
+
+Like a man half scared to death Pepe waved Ken's double-barreled gun.
+Then a yellow head emerged from the water.  It was in line with the
+boat.  Ken dared not shoot.
+
+"Kill him, George," yelled Ken.  "Tell Pepe to kill him."
+
+George seemed unaccountably silent.  But Ken had no time to look for
+him, for his eyes were riveted on Pepe.  The native did not know how to
+hold a gun properly, let alone aim it.  He had, however, sense enough to
+try.  He got the stock under his chin, and, pointing the gun, he
+evidently tried to fire.  But the hammerless did not go off. Then Pepe
+fumbled at the safety-catch, which he evidently remembered seeing Ken
+use.
+
+The jaguar, swimming with difficulty, perhaps badly wounded, made right
+for the boat. Pepe was standing on the seat.  Awkwardly he aimed.
+
+_Boom_!  He had pulled both triggers.  The recoil knocked him backward.
+The hammerless fell in the boat, and Pepe's broad back hit the water;
+his bare, muscular legs clung to the gunwale, and slipped loose.
+
+He had missed the jaguar, for it kept on toward the boat.  Still Ken
+dared not shoot.
+
+"George, what on earth is the matter with you?" shouted Ken.
+
+Then Ken saw him standing in the brush on the bank, fussing over the
+crazy .32.  Of course at the critical moment something had gone wrong
+with the old rifle.
+
+Pepe's head bobbed up just on the other side of the boat.  The jaguar
+was scarcely twenty feet distant and now in line with both boat and man.
+At that instant a heavy swirl in the water toward the middle of the
+river drew Ken's attention.  He saw the big crocodile, and the great
+creature did not seem at all lazy at that moment.
+
+George began to scream in Spanish.  Ken felt his hair stiffen and his
+face blanch.  Pepe, who had been solely occupied with the jaguar, caught
+George's meaning and turned to see the peril in his rear.
+
+He bawled his familiar appeal to the saints. Then he grasped the gunwale
+of the boat just as it swung against the branches of the low-leaning
+tree.  He vaulted rather than climbed aboard.
+
+Ken forgot that Pepe could understand little English, and he yelled:
+"Grab an oar, Pepe.  Keep the jaguar in the water.  Don't let him in the
+boat."
+
+But Pepe, even if he had understood, had a better idea.  Nimble, he ran
+over the boat and grasped the branches of the tree just as the jaguar
+flopped paws and head over the stern gunwale.
+
+Ken had only a fleeting instant to get a bead on that yellow body, and
+before he could be sure of an aim the branch weighted with Pepe sank
+down to hide both boat and jaguar.  The chill of fear for Pepe changed
+to hot rage at this new difficulty.
+
+Then George began to shoot.
+
+_Spang_!
+
+Ken heard the bullet hit the boat.
+
+"George--wait!" shouted Ken.  "Don't shoot holes in the boat.  You'll
+sink it."
+
+_Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!  _Spang_!
+
+That was as much as George cared about such a possibility.  He stood on
+the bank and worked the lever of his .32 with wild haste. Ken plainly
+heard the spat of the bullets, and the sound was that of lead in contact
+with wood.  So he knew George was not hitting the jaguar.
+
+"You'll ruin the boat!" roared Ken.
+
+Pepe had worked up from the lower end of the branch, and as soon as he
+straddled it and hunched himself nearer shore the foliage rose out of
+the water, exposing the boat. George kept on shooting till his magazine
+was empty.  Ken's position was too low for him to see the jaguar.
+
+Then the boat swung loose from the branch and, drifting down, gradually
+approached the shore.
+
+"Pull yourself together, George," called Ken.  "Keep cool.  Make sure of
+your aim. We've got him now."
+
+"He's mine!  He's mine!  He's mine! Don't you dare shoot!" howled
+George.  "I got him!"
+
+"All right.  But steady up, can't you? Hit him once, anyway."
+
+Apparently without aim George fired.  Then, jerking the lever, he fired
+again.  The boat drifted into overhanging vines.  Once more Ken saw a
+yellow and black object, then a trembling trail of leaves.
+
+"He's coming out below you.  Look out," yelled Ken.
+
+George disappeared.  Ken saw no sign of the jaguar and heard no shot or
+shout from George.  Pepe dropped from his branch to the bank and caught
+the boat.  Ken called, and while Pepe rowed over to the island, he got
+into some clothes fit to hunt in.  Then they hurried back across the
+channel to the bank.
+
+Ken found the trail of the jaguar, followed it up to the edge of the
+brush, and lost it in the weedy flat.  George came out of a patch of
+bamboos.  He looked white and shaky and wild with disappointment.
+
+"Oh, I had a dandy shot as he came out, but the blamed gun jammed again.
+Come on, we'll get him.  He's all shot up.  I bet I hit him ten times.
+He won't get away."
+
+Ken finally got George back to camp.  The boat was half full of water,
+making it necessary to pull it out on the bank and turn it over. There
+were ten bullet-holes in it.
+
+"George, you hit the boat, anyway," Ken said; "now we've a job on our
+hands."
+
+Hal came puffing into camp.  He was red of face, and the sweat stood out
+on his forehead.  He had a small animal of some kind in a sack, and his
+legs were wet to his knees.
+
+"What was--all the--pegging about?" he asked, breathlessly.  "I expected
+to find camp surrounded by Indians."
+
+"Kid, it's been pretty hot round here for a little.  George and Pepe
+rounded up a tiger. Tell us about it, George," said Ken.
+
+So while Ken began to whittle pegs to pound into the bullet-holes,
+George wiped his flushed, sweaty face and talked.
+
+"We were up there a piece, round the bend. I saw a black squirrel and
+went ashore to get him.  But I couldn't find him, and in kicking round
+in the brush I came into a kind of trail or runway.  Then I ran plumb
+into that darned jaguar.  I was so scared I couldn't remember my gun.
+But the cat turned and ran.  It was lucky he didn't make at me. When I
+saw him run I got back my courage. I called for Pepe to row down-stream
+and keep a lookout.  Then I got into the flat.  I must have come down a
+good ways before I saw him.  I shot, and he dodged back into the brush
+again.  I fired into the moving bushes where he was.  And pretty soon I
+ventured to get in on the bank, where I had a better chance.  I guess it
+was about that time that I heard you yell.  Then it all happened. You
+hit him!  Didn't you hear him scream? What a jump he made!  If it hadn't
+been so terrible when your hammerless kicked Pepe overboard, I would
+have died laughing. Then I was paralyzed when the jaguar swam for the
+boat.  He was hurt, for the water was bloody.  Things came off quick, I
+tell you. Like a monkey Pepe scrambled into the tree. When I got my gun
+loaded the jaguar was crouched down in the bottom of the boat watching
+Pepe.  Then I began to shoot.  I can't realize he got away from us.
+What was the reason you didn't knock him?"
+
+"Well, you see, George, there were two good reasons," Ken replied.  "The
+first was that at that time I was busy dodging bullets from your rifle.
+And the second was that you threatened my life if I killed your jaguar."
+
+"Did I get as nutty as that?  But it was pretty warm there for a
+little....  Say, was he a big one?  My eyes were so hazy I didn't see
+him clear."
+
+"He wasn't big, not half as big as the one I lost yesterday.  Yours was
+a long, wiry beast, like a panther, and mean-looking."
+
+Pepe sat on the bank, and while he nursed his bruises he smoked.  Once
+he made a speech that was untranslatable, but Hal gave it an
+interpretation which was probably near correct.
+
+"That's right, Pepe.  Pretty punk tiger-hunters--mucho punk!"
+
+
+
+
+                                *XVIII*
+
+                          *WATCHING A RUNWAY*
+
+
+"I'll tell you what, fellows," said Hal.  "I know where we _can_ get a
+tiger."
+
+"We'll get one in the neck if we don't watch out," replied George.
+
+Ken thought that Hal looked very frank and earnest, and honest and
+eager, but there was never any telling about him.
+
+"Where?" he asked, skeptically.
+
+"Down along the river.  You know I've been setting traps all along.
+There's a flat sand-bar for a good piece down.  I came to a little gully
+full of big tracks, big as my two hands.  And fresh!"
+
+"Honest Injun, kid?" queried Ken.
+
+"Hope to die if I'm lyin'," replied Hal. "I want to see somebody kill a
+tiger.  Now let's go down there in the boat and wait for one to come to
+drink.  There's a big log with driftwood lodged on it.  We can hide
+behind that."
+
+"Great idea, Hal," said Ken.  "We'd be pretty safe in the boat.  I want
+to say that tigers have sort of got on my nerves.  I ought to go over in
+the jungle to look for the one I crippled.  He's dead by now.  But the
+longer I put it off the harder it is to go.  I'll back out yet....
+Come, we'll have an early dinner. Then to watch for Hal's tiger."
+
+The sun had just set, and the hot breeze began to swirl up the river
+when Ken slid the boat into the water.  He was pleased to find that it
+did not leak.
+
+"We'll take only two guns," said Ken, "my .351 and the hammerless, with
+some ball-cartridges.  We want to be quiet to-night, and if you fellows
+take your guns you'll be pegging at ducks and things.  That won't do."
+
+Pepe sat at the oars with instructions to row easily.  George and Hal
+occupied the stern-seats, and Ken took his place in the bow, with both
+guns at hand.
+
+The hot wind roared in the cypresses, and the river whipped up little
+waves with white crests.  Long streamers of gray moss waved out over the
+water and branches tossed and swayed.  The blow did not last for many
+minutes.  Trees and river once more grew quiet.  And suddenly the heat
+was gone.
+
+As Pepe rowed on down the river, Cypress Island began to disappear round
+a bend, and presently was out of sight.  Ducks were already in flight.
+They flew low over the boat, so low that Ken could almost have reached
+them with the barrel of his gun.  The river here widened.  It was full
+of huge snags.  A high, wooded bluff shadowed the western shore.  On the
+left, towering cypresses, all laced together in dense vine and moss
+webs, leaned out.
+
+Under Hal's direction Pepe rowed to a pile of driftwood, and here the
+boat was moored. The gully mentioned by Hal was some sixty yards
+distant.  It opened like the mouth of a cave.  Beyond the cypresses
+thick, intertwining bamboos covered it.
+
+"I wish we'd gone in to see the tracks," said Ken.  "But I'll take your
+word, Hal."
+
+"Oh, they're there, all right."
+
+"I don't doubt it.  Looks great to me! That's a runway, Hal....  Now,
+boys, get a comfortable seat, and settle down to wait. Don't talk.  Just
+listen and watch. Remember, soon we'll be out of the jungle, back home.
+So make hay while the sun shines.  Watch and listen!  Whoever sees or
+hears anything first is the best man."
+
+For once the boys were as obedient as lambs.  But then, Ken thought, the
+surroundings were so beautiful and wild and silent that any boys would
+have been watchful.
+
+There was absolutely no sound but the intermittent whir of wings.  The
+water-fowl flew by in companies--ducks, cranes, herons, snipe, and the
+great Muscovies.  Ken never would have tired of that procession.  It
+passed all too soon, and then only an occasional water-fowl swept
+swiftly by, as if belated.
+
+Slowly the wide river-lane shaded.  But it was still daylight, and the
+bank and the runway were clearly distinguishable.  There was a
+moment--Ken could not tell just how he knew--when the jungle awakened.
+It was not only the faint hum of insects; it was a sense as if life
+stirred with the coming of twilight.
+
+Pepe was the first to earn honors at the listening game.  He held up a
+warning forefinger.  Then he pointed under the bluff. Ken saw a doe
+stepping out of a fringe of willows.
+
+"Don't move--don't make a noise," whispered Ken.
+
+The doe shot up long ears and watched the boat.  Then a little fawn
+trotted out and splashed in the water.  Both deer drank, then seemed in
+no hurry to leave the river.
+
+Next moment Hal heard something downstream and George saw something
+up-stream. Pepe again whispered.  As for Ken, he saw little dark shapes
+moving out of the shadow of the runway.  He heard a faint trampling of
+hard little hoofs.  But if these animals were _javelin_--of which he was
+sure--they did not come out into the open runway.  Ken tried to catch
+Pepe's attention without making a noise; however, Pepe was absorbed in
+his side of the river.  Ken then forgot he had companions.  All along
+the shores were faint splashings and rustlings and crackings.
+
+A loud, trampling roar rose in the runway and seemed to move backward
+toward the jungle, diminishing in violence.
+
+"Pigs running--something scared 'em," said George.
+
+"S-s-s-sh!" whispered Ken.
+
+All the sounds ceased.  The jungle seemed to sleep in deep silence.
+
+Ken's eyes were glued to the light patch of sand-bank where it merged in
+the dark of the runway.  Then Ken heard a sound--what, he could not have
+told.  But it made his heart beat fast.
+
+There came a few pattering thuds, soft as velvet; and a shadow, paler
+than the dark background, moved out of the runway.
+
+With that a huge jaguar loped into the open. He did not look around.  He
+took a long, easy bound down to the water and began to lap.
+
+Either Pepe or George jerked so violently as to make the boat lurch.
+They seemed to be stifling.
+
+"Oh, Ken, don't miss!" whispered Hal.
+
+Ken had the automatic over the log and in line.  His teeth were shut
+tight, and he was cold and steady.  He meant not to hurry.
+
+The jaguar was a heavy, squat, muscular figure, not graceful and
+beautiful like the one Ken had crippled.  Suddenly he raised his head
+and looked about.  He had caught a scent.
+
+It was then that Ken lowered the rifle till the sight covered the
+beast--lower yet to his huge paws, then still lower to the edge of the
+water.  Ken meant to shoot low enough this time.  Holding the rifle
+there, and holding it with all his strength, he pressed the trigger
+once--twice.  The two shots rang out almost simultaneously.  Ken
+expected to see this jaguar leap, but the beast crumpled up and sank in
+his tracks.
+
+Then the boys yelled, and Ken echoed them.  Pepe was wildly excited, and
+began to fumble with the oars.
+
+"Wait!  Wait, I tell you!" ordered Ken.
+
+"Oh, Ken, you pegged him!" cried Hal. "He doesn't move.  Let's go
+ashore.  What did I tell you?  It took me to find the tiger."
+
+Ken watched with sharp eyes and held his rifle ready, but the huddled
+form on the sand never so much as twitched.
+
+"I guess I plugged him," said Ken, with unconscious pride.
+
+Pepe rowed the boat ashore, and when near the sand-bar he reached out
+with an oar to touch the jaguar.  There was no doubt about his being
+dead.  The boys leaped ashore and straightened out the beast.  He was
+huge, dirty, spotted, bloody, and fiercely savage even in death.  Ken's
+bullets had torn through the chest, making fearful wounds.  Pepe
+jabbered, and the boys all talked at once.  When it came to lifting the
+jaguar into the boat they had no slight task.  The short, thick-set body
+was very heavy.  But at last they loaded it in the bow, and Pepe rowed
+back to the island.  It was still a harder task to get the jaguar up the
+high bank.  Pepe kindled a fire so they would have plenty of light, and
+then they set to work at the skinning.
+
+What with enthusiasm over the stalk, and talk of the success of the
+trip, and compliments to Ken's shooting, and care of the skinning, the
+boys were three hours at the job.  Ken, remembering Hiram Bent's
+teachings, skinned out the great claws himself.  They salted the pelt
+and nailed it up on the big cypress.
+
+"You'd never have got one but for me," said Hal.  "That's how I pay you
+for the tricks you've played me!"
+
+"By George, Hal, it's a noble revenge!" cried Ken, who, in the warmth
+and glow of happiness of the time, quite believed his brother.
+
+Pepe went to bed first.  George turned in next.  Ken took a last look at
+the great pelt stretched on the cypress, and then he sought his
+blankets.  Hal, however, remained up.  Ken heard him pounding stakes in
+the ground.
+
+"Hal, what 're you doing?"
+
+"I'm settin' my trot-lines," replied Hal, cheerfully.
+
+"Well, come to bed."
+
+"Keep your shirt on, Ken, old boy.  I'll be along presently."
+
+Ken fell asleep.  He did not have peaceful slumbers.  He had been too
+excited to rest well.  He would wake up out of a nightmare, then go to
+sleep again.  He seemed to wake suddenly out of one of these black
+spells, and he was conscious of pain.  Something tugged at his leg.
+
+"What the dickens!" he said, and raised on his elbow.  Hal was asleep
+between George and Pepe, who were snoring.
+
+Just then Ken felt a violent jerk.  The blankets flew up at his feet,
+and his left leg went out across his brother's body.  There was a
+string--a rope--something fast round his ankle, and it was pulling hard.
+It hurt.
+
+"Jiminy!" shouted Ken, reaching for his foot.  But before he could reach
+it another tug, more violent, pulled his leg straight out. Ken began to
+slide.
+
+"What on earth?" yelled Ken.  "Say! Something's got me!"
+
+The yells and Ken's rude exertions aroused the boys.  And they were
+frightened.  Ken got an arm around Hal and the other around George and
+held on for dear life.  He was more frightened than they.  Pepe leaped
+up, jabbering, and, tripping, he fell all in a heap.
+
+"Oh! my leg!" howled Ken.  "It's being pulled off.  Say, I can't be
+dreaming!"
+
+Most assuredly Ken was wide awake.  The moonlight showed his bare leg
+sticking out and round his ankle a heavy trot-line.  It was stretched
+tight.  It ran down over the bank. And out there in the river a
+tremendous fish or a crocodile was surging about, making the water roar.
+
+Pepe was trying to loosen the line or break it.  George, who was always
+stupid when first aroused, probably imagined he was being mauled by a
+jaguar, for he loudly bellowed. Ken had a strangle-hold on Hal.
+
+"Oh!  _Oh_!  _Oh-h-h_!" bawled Ken.  Not only was he scared out of a
+year's growth; he was in terrible pain.  Then his cries grew
+unintelligible.  He was being dragged out of the tent.  Still he clung
+desperately to the howling George and the fighting Hal.
+
+All at once something snapped.  The tension relaxed.  Ken fell back upon
+Hal.
+
+"Git off me, will you?" shouted Hal. "Are you c-c-cr-azy?"
+
+But Hal's voice had not the usual note when he was angry or impatient.
+He was laughing so he could not speak naturally.
+
+"Uh-huh!" said Ken, and sat up.  "I guess here was where I got it.  Is
+my leg broken? What came off?"
+
+Pepe was staggering about on the bank, going through strange motions.
+He had the line in his hands, and at the other end was a monster of some
+land threshing about in the water.  It was moonlight and Ken could see
+plainly.  Around the ankle that felt broken was a twisted loop of
+trot-line.  Hal had baited a hook and slipped the end of the trot-line
+over Ken's foot.  During the night the crocodile or an enormous fish had
+taken the bait.  Then Ken had nearly been hauled off the island.
+
+Pepe was doing battle with the hooked thing, whatever it was, and Ken
+was about to go to his assistance when again the line broke.
+
+"Great!  Hal, you have a nice disposition," exclaimed Ken.  "You have a
+wonderful affection for your brother.  You care a lot about his legs or
+his life.  Idiot!  Can't you play a safe trick?  If I hadn't grabbed you
+and George, I'd been pulled into the river. Eaten up, maybe!  And my
+ankle is sprained. It won't be any good for a week.  You are a bright
+boy!"
+
+And in spite of his laughter Hal began to look ashamed.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XIX*
+
+                      *ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES*
+
+
+The rest of that night Ken had more dreams; and they were not pleasant.
+He awoke from one in a cold fright.
+
+It must have been late, for the moon was low.  His ankle pained and
+throbbed, and to that he attributed his nightmare.  He was falling
+asleep again when the clink of tin pans made him sit up with a start.
+Some animal was prowling about camp.  He peered into the moonlit
+shadows, but could make out no unfamiliar object.  Still he was not
+satisfied; so he awoke Pepe.
+
+Certainly it was not Ken's intention to let Pepe get out ahead;
+nevertheless he was lame and slow, and before he started Pepe rolled out
+of the tent.
+
+"Santa Maria!" shrieked Pepe.
+
+Ken fumbled under his pillow for a gun. Hal raised up so quickly that he
+bumped Ken's head, making him see a million stars.  George rolled over,
+nearly knocking down the tent.
+
+From outside came a sliddery, rustling noise, then another yell that was
+deadened by a sounding splash.  Ken leaped out with his gun, George at
+his elbow.  Pepe stood just back of the tent, his arms upraised, and he
+appeared stunned.  The water near the bank was boiling and bubbling;
+waves were dashing on the shore and ripples spreading in a circle.
+
+George shouted in Spanish.
+
+"Crocodile!" cried Ken.
+
+"Si, si, Senor," replied Pepe.  Then he said that when he stepped out of
+the tent the crocodile was right in camp, not ten feet from where the
+boys lay.  Pepe also said that these brutes were man-eaters, and that he
+had better watch for the rest of the night.  Ken thought him, like all
+the natives, inclined to exaggerate; however, he made no objection to
+Pepe's holding watch over the crocodile.
+
+"What'd I tell you?" growled George. "Why didn't you let me shoot him?
+Let's go back to bed."
+
+In the morning when Ken got up he viewed his body with great curiosity.
+The ticks and the cigarette burns had left him a beautifully tattoed
+specimen of aborigine.  His body, especially his arms, bore hundreds of
+little reddish scars--bites and burns together.  There was not, however,
+any itching or irritation, for which he made sure he had to thank Pepe's
+skill and the _canya_.
+
+George did not get up when Ken called him.  Thinking his sleep might
+have been broken, Ken let him alone a while longer, but when breakfast
+was smoking he gave him a prod.  George rolled over, looking haggard and
+glum.
+
+"I'm sick," he said.
+
+Ken's cheerfulness left him, for he knew what sickness or injury did to
+a camping trip. George complained of aching bones, headache and cramps,
+and showed a tongue with a yellow coating.  Ken said he had eaten too
+much fresh meat, but Pepe, after looking George over, called it a name
+that sounded like _calentura_.
+
+"What's that?" Ken inquired.
+
+"Tropic fever," replied George.  "I've had it before."
+
+For a while he was a very sick boy.  Ken had a little medicine-case, and
+from it he administered what he thought was best, and George grew easier
+presently.  Then Ken sat down to deliberate on the situation.
+
+Whatever way he viewed it, he always came back to the same thing--they
+must get out of the jungle; and as they could not go back, they must go
+on down the river.  That was a bad enough proposition without being
+hampered by a sick boy.  It was then Ken had a subtle change of feeling;
+a shade of gloom seemed to pervade his spirit.
+
+By nine o'clock they were packed, and, turning into the shady channel,
+soon were out in the sunlight saying good-by to Cypress Island.  At the
+moment Ken did not feel sorry to go, yet he knew that feeling would come
+by and by, and that Cypress Island would take its place in his memory as
+one more haunting, calling wild place.
+
+They turned a curve to run under a rocky bluff from which came a muffled
+roar of rapids. A long, projecting point of rock extended across the
+river, allowing the water to rush through only at a narrow mill-race
+channel close to the shore.  It was an obstacle to get around. There was
+no possibility of lifting the boat over the bridge of rock, and the
+alternative was shooting the channel.  Ken got out upon the rocks, only
+to find that drifting the boat round the sharp point was out of the
+question, owing to a dangerously swift current.  Ken tried the depth of
+the water--about four feet.  Then he dragged the boat back a little
+distance and stepped into the river.
+
+"Look!  Look!" cried Pepe, pointing to the bank.
+
+About ten yards away was a bare shelf of mud glistening with water and
+showing the deep tracks of a crocodile.  It was a slide, and manifestly
+had just been vacated.  The crocodile-tracks resembled the imprints of a
+giant's hand.
+
+"Come out!" yelled George, and Pepe jabbered to his saints.
+
+"We've got to go down this river," Ken replied, and he kept on wading
+till he got the boat in the current.  He was frightened, of course, but
+he kept on despite that.  The boat lurched into the channel, stern
+first, and he leaped up on the bow.  It shot down with the speed of a
+toboggan, and the boat whirled before he could scramble to the oars.
+What was worse, an overhanging tree with dead snags left scarce room to
+pass beneath.  Ken ducked to prevent being swept overboard, and one of
+the snags that brushed and scraped him ran under his belt and lifted him
+into the air.  He grasped at the first thing he could lay hands on,
+which happened to be a box, but he could not hold to it because the boat
+threatened to go on, leaving him kicking in midair and holding up a box
+of potatoes.  Ken clutched a gunwale, only to see the water swell
+dangerously over the edge.  In angry helplessness he loosened his hold.
+Then the snag broke, just in the nick of time, for in a second more the
+boat would have been swept away.  Ken fell across the bow, held on, and
+soon drifted from under the threshing branches, and seized the oars.
+
+Pepe and George and Hal walked round the ledge and, even when they
+reached Ken, had not stopped laughing.
+
+"Boys, it wasn't funny," declared Ken, soberly.
+
+"I said it was coming to us," replied George.
+
+There were rapids below, and Ken went at them with stern eyes and set
+lips.  It was the look of men who face obstacles in getting out of the
+wilderness.  More than one high wave circled spitefully round Pepe's
+broad shoulders.
+
+They came to a fall where the river dropped a few feet straight down.
+Ken sent the boys below.  Hal and George made a detour.  But Pepe jumped
+off the ledge into shallow water.
+
+"_Ah-h!_" yelled Pepe.
+
+Ken was becoming accustomed to Pepe's wild yell, but there was a note in
+this which sent a shiver over him.  Before looking, Ken snatched his
+rifle from the boat.
+
+Pepe appeared to be sailing out into the pool.  But his feet were not
+moving.
+
+Ken had only an instant, but in that he saw under Pepe a long, yellow,
+swimming shape, leaving a wake in the water.  Pepe had jumped upon the
+back of a crocodile.  He seemed paralyzed, or else he was wisely
+trusting himself there rather than in the water. Ken was too shocked to
+offer advice.  Indeed, he would not have known how to meet this
+situation.
+
+Suddenly Pepe leaped for a dry stone, and the energy of his leap carried
+him into the river beyond.  Like a flash he was out again, spouting
+water.
+
+Ken turned loose the automatic on the crocodile and shot a magazine of
+shells.  The crocodile made a tremendous surge, churning up a slimy
+foam, then vanished in a pool.
+
+"Guess this 'll be crocodile day," said Ken, changing the clip in his
+rifle.  "I'll bet I made a hole in that one.  Boys, look out below."
+
+Ken shoved the boat over the ledge in line with Pepe, and it floated to
+him, while Ken picked his way round the rocky shore.  The boys piled
+aboard again.  The day began to get hot.  Ken cautioned the boys to
+avoid wading, if possible, and to be extremely careful where they
+stepped.  Pepe pointed now and then to huge bubbles breaking on the
+surface of the water and said they were made by crocodiles.
+
+From then on Ken's hands were full.  He struck swift water, where rapid
+after rapid, fall on fall, took the boat downhill at a rate to afford
+him satisfaction.  The current had a five or six mile speed, and, as Ken
+had no portages to make and the corrugated rapids of big waves gave him
+speed, he made by far the best time of the voyage.
+
+The hot hours passed--cool for the boys because they were always wet.
+The sun sank behind a hill.  The wind ceased to whip the streamers of
+moss.  At last, in a gathering twilight, Ken halted at a wide, flat rock
+to make camp.
+
+"Forty miles to-day if we made an inch!" exclaimed Ken.
+
+The boys said more.
+
+They built a fire, cooked supper, and then, weary and silent, Hal and
+George and Pepe rolled into their blankets.  But Ken doggedly worked an
+hour at his map and notes.  That hard forty miles meant a long way
+toward the success of his trip.
+
+Next morning the mists had not lifted from the river when they shoved
+off, determined to beat the record of yesterday.  Difficulties beset
+them from the start--the highest waterfall of the trip, a leak in the
+boat, deep, short rapids, narrows with choppy waves, and a whirlpool
+where they turned round and round, unable to row out.  Nor did they get
+free till Pepe lassoed a snag and pulled them out.
+
+About noon they came to another narrow chute brawling down into a deep,
+foamy pool. Again Ken sent the boys around, and he backed the boat into
+the chute; and just as the current caught it he leaped aboard.  He was
+either tired or careless, for he drifted too close to a half-submerged
+rock, and, try as he might, at the last moment he could not avoid a
+collision.
+
+As the stern went hard on the rock Ken expected to break something, but
+was surprised at the soft thud with which he struck. It flashed into his
+mind that the rock was moss-covered.
+
+Quick as the thought there came a rumble under the boat, the stern
+heaved up, there was a great sheet-like splash, and then a blow that
+splintered the gunwale.  Then the boat shunted off, affording the
+astounded Ken a good view of a very angry crocodile.  He had been
+sleeping on the rock.
+
+The boys were yelling and crowding down to the shore where Ken was
+drifting in. Pepe waded in to catch the boat.
+
+"What was it hit you, Ken?" asked Hal.
+
+"Mucho malo," cried Pepe.
+
+"The boat's half full of water--the gunwale's all split!" ejaculated
+George.
+
+"Only an accident of river travel," replied Ken, with mock nonchalance.
+"Say, Garrapato, _when_, about _when_ is it coming to me?"
+
+"Well, if he didn't get slammed by a crocodile!" continued George.
+
+They unloaded, turned out the water, broke up a box to use for repairs,
+and mended the damaged gunwale--work that lost more than a good hour.
+Once again under way, Ken made some interesting observations.  The river
+ceased to stand on end in places; crocodiles slipped off every muddy
+promontory, and wide trails ridged the steep clay-banks.
+
+"Cattle-trails, Pepe says," said George. "Wild cattle roam all through
+the jungle along the Panuco."
+
+It was a well-known fact that the rancheros of Tamaulipas State had no
+idea how many cattle they owned.  Ken was so eager to see if Pepe had
+been correct that he went ashore, to find the trails were, indeed, those
+of cattle.
+
+"Then, Pepe, we must be somewhere near the Panuco River," he said.
+
+"Quien sabe?" rejoined he, quietly.
+
+When they rounded the curve they came upon a herd of cattle that
+clattered up the bank, raising a cloud of dust.
+
+"Wilder than deer!" Ken exclaimed.
+
+From that point conditions along the river changed.  The banks were no
+longer green; the beautiful cypresses gave place to other trees, as
+huge, as moss-wound, but more rugged and of gaunt outline; the flowers
+and vines and shady nooks disappeared.  Everywhere wide-horned steers
+and cows plunged up the banks.  Everywhere buzzards rose from gruesome
+feasts.  The shore was lined with dead cattle, and the stench of
+putrefying flesh was almost unbearable.  They passed cattle mired in the
+mud, being slowly tortured to death by flies and hunger; they passed
+cattle that had slipped off steep banks and could not get back and were
+bellowing dismally; and also strangely acting cattle that Pepe said had
+gone crazy from ticks in their ears.  Ken would have put these miserable
+beasts out of their misery had not George restrained him with a few
+words about Mexican law.
+
+A sense of sickness came to Ken, and though he drove the feeling from
+him, it continually returned.  George and Hal lay flat on the canvas,
+shaded with a couple of palm leaves; Pepe rowed on and on, growing more
+and more serious and quiet.  His quick, responsive smile was wanting
+now.
+
+By way of diversion, and also in the hope of securing a specimen, Ken
+began to shoot at the crocodiles.  George came out of his lethargy and
+took up his rifle.  He would have had to be ill indeed, to forswear any
+possible shooting; and, now that Ken had removed the bar, he forgot he
+had fever. Every hundred yards or so they would come upon a crocodile
+measuring somewhere from about six feet upward, and occasionally they
+would see a great yellow one, as large as a log.  Seldom did they get
+within good range of these huge fellows, and shooting from a moving boat
+was not easy.  The smaller ones, however, allowed the boat to approach
+quite close.  George bounced many a .32 bullet off the bank, but he
+never hit a crocodile.  Ken allowed him to have the shots for the fun of
+it, and, besides, he was watching for a big one.
+
+"George, that rifle of yours is leaded.  It doesn't shoot where you
+aim."
+
+When they got unusually close to a small crocodile George verified Ken's
+statement by missing his game some yards.  He promptly threw the
+worn-out rifle overboard, an act that caused Pepe much concern.
+
+Whereupon Ken proceeded to try his luck. Instructing Pepe to row about
+in the middle of the stream, he kept eye on one shore while George
+watched the other.  He shot half a dozen small crocodiles, but they
+slipped off the bank before Pepe could get ashore.  This did not appear
+to be the fault of the rifle, for some of the reptiles were shot almost
+in two pieces.  But Ken had yet to learn more about the tenacity of life
+of these water-brutes. Several held still long enough for Ken to shoot
+them through, then with a plunge they went into the water, sinking at
+once in a bloody foam.  He knew he had shot them through, for he saw
+large holes in the mud-banks lined with bits of bloody skin and bone.
+
+"There's one," said George, pointing.  "Let's get closer, so we can grab
+him.  He's got a good piece to go before he reaches the water."
+
+Pepe rowed slowly along, guiding the boat a little nearer the shore.  At
+forty feet the crocodile raised up, standing on short legs, so that all
+but his tail was free of the ground. He opened his huge jaws either in
+astonishment or to intimidate them, and then Ken shot him straight down
+the throat.  He flopped convulsively and started to slide and roll.
+When he reached the water he turned over on his back, with his feet
+sticking up, resembling a huge frog.  Pepe rowed hard to the shore, just
+as the crocodile with one last convulsion rolled off into deeper water.
+Ken reached over, grasped his foot, and was drawing it up when a sight
+of cold, glassy eyes and open-fanged jaws made him let go. Then the
+crocodile sank in water where Pepe could not touch bottom with an oar.
+
+"Let's get one if it takes a week," declared George.  The lad might be
+sick, but there was nothing wrong with his spirit.  "Look there!" he
+exclaimed.  "Oh, I guess it's a log.  Too big!"
+
+They had been unable to tell the difference between a crocodile and a
+log of driftwood until it was too late.  In this instance a long,
+dirty-gray object lay upon a low bank. Despite its immense size, which
+certainly made the chances in favor of its being a log, Ken determined
+this time to be fooled on the right side.  He had seen a dozen logs--as
+he thought--suddenly become animated and slip into the river.
+
+"Hold steady, Pepe.  I'll take a crack at that just for luck."
+
+The distance was about a hundred yards, a fine range for the little
+rifle.  Resting on his knee, he sighted low, under the gray object, and
+pulled the trigger twice.  There were two spats so close together as to
+be barely distinguishable.  The log of driftwood leaped into life.
+
+"Whoop!" shouted Hal.
+
+"It's a crocodile!" yelled George.  "You hit--you hit!  Will you listen
+to that?"
+
+"Row hard, Pepe--pull!"
+
+He bent to the oars, and the boat flew shoreward.
+
+The huge crocodile, opening yard-long jaws, snapped them shut with loud
+cracks.  Then he beat the bank with his tail.  It was as limber as a
+willow, but he seemed unable to move his central parts, his thick bulk,
+where Ken had sent the two mushroom bullets. _Whack_!  _Whack_!
+_Whack_!  The sodden blows jarred pieces from the clay-bank above him.
+Each blow was powerful enough to have staved in the planking of a ship.
+All at once he lunged upward and, falling over backward, slid down his
+runway into a few inches of water, where he stuck.
+
+"Go in above him, Pepe," Ken shouted. "Here--  Heavens!  What a
+monster!"
+
+Deliberately, at scarce twenty feet, Ken shot the remaining four shells
+into the crocodile.  The bullets tore through his horny hide, and blood
+and muddy water spouted up. George and Pepe and Hal yelled, and Ken kept
+time with them.  The terrible lashing tail swung back and forth almost
+too swiftly for the eye to catch.  A deluge of mud and water descended
+upon the boys, bespattering, blinding them and weighing down the boat.
+They jumped out upon the bank to escape it. They ran to and fro in
+aimless excitement. Ken still clutched the rifle, but he had no shells
+for it.  George was absurd enough to fling a stone into the blood-tinged
+cloud of muddy froth and spray that hid the threshing leviathan.
+Presently the commotion subsided enough for them to see the great
+crocodile lying half on his back, with belly all torn and bloody and
+huge claw-like hands pawing the air.  He was edging, slipping off into
+deeper water.
+
+"He'll get away--he'll get away!" cried Hal.  "What 'll we do?"
+
+Ken racked his brains.
+
+"Pepe, get your lasso--rope him--rope him!  Hurry! he's slipping!"
+yelled George.
+
+Pepe snatched up his lariat, and, without waiting to coil it, cast the
+loop.  He caught one of the flippers and hauled tight on it just as the
+crocodile slipped out of sight off the muddy ledge.  The others ran to
+the boat, and, grasping hold of the lasso with Pepe, squared away and
+began to pull.  Plain it was that the crocodile was not coming up so
+easily. They could not budge him.
+
+"Hang on, boys!" Ken shouted.  "It's a tug-of-war."
+
+The lasso was suddenly jerked out with a kind of twang.  Crash! went
+Pepe and Hal into the bottom of the boat.  Ken went sprawling into the
+mud, and George, who had the last hold, went to his knees, but valiantly
+clung to the slipping rope.  Bounding up, Ken grasped it from him and
+wound it round the sharp nose of the bowsprit.
+
+"Get in--hustle!" he called, falling aboard. "You're always saying it's
+coming to us. Here's where!"
+
+George had hardly got into the boat when the crocodile pulled it off
+shore, and away it went, sailing down-stream.
+
+"Whoop!  All aboard for Panuco!" yelled Hal.
+
+"Now, Pepe, you don't need to row any more--we've a water-horse," Ken
+added.
+
+But Pepe did not enter into the spirit of the occasion.  He kept calling
+on the saints and crying, "Mucho malo."  George and Ken and Hal,
+however, were hilarious.  They had not yet had experience enough to know
+crocodiles.
+
+Faster and faster they went.  The water began to surge away from the bow
+and leave a gurgling wake behind the stern.  Soon the boat reached the
+middle of the river where the water was deepest, and the lasso went
+almost straight down.
+
+Ken felt the stern of the boat gradually lifted, and then, in alarm, he
+saw the front end sinking in the water.  The crocodile was hauling the
+bow under.
+
+"Pepe--your machete--cut the lasso!" he ordered, sharply.  George had to
+repeat the order.
+
+Wildly Pepe searched under the seat and along the gunwales.  He could
+not find the _machete_.
+
+"Cut the rope!" Ken thundered.  "Use a knife, the ax--anything--only cut
+it--and cut it quick!"
+
+Pepe could find nothing.  Knife in hand, Ken leaped over his head,
+sprawled headlong over the trunk, and slashed the taut lasso just as the
+water began to roar into the boat.  The bow bobbed up as a cork that had
+been under.  But the boat had shipped six inches of water.
+
+[Illustration: KNIFE IN HAND, KEN LEAPED OVER HIS HEAD AND SLASHED THE
+TAUT LASSO]
+
+"Row ashore, Pepe.  Steady, there.  Trim the boat, George."
+
+They beached at a hard clay-bank and rested a little before unloading to
+turn out the water.
+
+"Grande!" observed Pepe.
+
+"Yes; he was big," assented George.
+
+"I wonder what's going to happen to us next," added Hal.
+
+Ken Ward looked at these companions of his and he laughed outright.
+"Well, if you all don't take the cake for nerve!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  *XX*
+
+                          *TREED BY WILD PIGS*
+
+
+Pepe's long years of _mozo_ work, rowing for tarpon fishermen, now stood
+the boys in good stead.  All the hot hours of the day he bent steadily
+to the oars.  Occasionally they came to rifts, but these were not
+difficult to pass, being mere swift, shallow channels over sandy bottom.
+The rocks and the rapids were things of the past.
+
+George lay in a kind of stupor, and Hal lolled in his seat.  Ken,
+however, kept alert, and as the afternoon wore on began to be annoyed at
+the scarcity of camp-sites.
+
+The muddy margins of the river, the steep banks, and the tick-infested
+forests offered few places where it was possible to rest, to say nothing
+of sleep.  Every turn in the widening river gave Ken hope, which
+resulted in disappointment.  He found consolation, however, in the fact
+that every turn and every hour put him so much farther on the way.
+
+About five o'clock Ken had unexpected good luck in shape of a small
+sand-bar cut off from the mainland, and therefore free of cattle-tracks.
+It was clean and dry, with a pile of driftwood at one end.
+
+"Tumble out, boys," called Ken, as Pepe beached the boat.  "We'll pitch
+camp here."
+
+Neither Hal nor George showed any alacrity. Ken watched his brother; he
+feared to see some of the symptoms of George's sickness. Both lads,
+however, seemed cheerful, though too tired to be of much use in the
+pitching of camp.
+
+Ken could not recover his former good spirits.  There was a sense of
+foreboding in his mind that all was not well, that he must hurry, hurry.
+And although George appeared to be holding his own, Hal healthy enough,
+and Pepe's brooding quiet at least no worse, Ken could not rid himself
+of gloom.  If he had answered the question that knocked at his mind he
+would have admitted a certainty of disaster.  So he kept active, and
+when there were no more tasks for that day he worked on his note-book,
+and then watched the flight of wild fowl.
+
+The farther down the river the boys traveled the more numerous were the
+herons and cranes and ducks.  But they saw no more of the beautiful
+_pato real_, as Pepe called them, or the little russet-colored ducks, or
+the dismal-voiced bitterns.  On the other hand, wild geese were common,
+and there were flocks and flocks of teal and canvasbacks.
+
+Pepe, as usual, cooked duck.  And he had to eat it.  George had lost his
+appetite altogether.  Hal had lost his taste for meat, at least.  And
+Ken made a frugal meal of rice.
+
+"Boys," he said, "the less you eat from now on the better for you."
+
+It took resolution to drink the cocoa, for Ken could not shut out
+remembrance of the green water and the shore-line of dead and decaying
+cattle.  Still, he was parched with thirst; he had to drink.  That night
+he slept ten hours without turning over.  Next morning he had to shake
+Pepe to rouse him.
+
+Ken took turns at the oars with Pepe. It was not only that he fancied
+Pepe was weakening and in need of an occasional rest, but the fact that
+he wanted to be occupied, and especially to keep in good condition. They
+made thirty miles by four o'clock, and most of it against a breeze.  Not
+in the whole distance did they pass half a dozen places fit for a camp.
+Toward evening the river narrowed again, resembling somewhat the Santa
+Rosa of earlier acquaintance.  The magnificent dark forests crowded high
+on the banks, always screened and curtained by gray moss, as if to keep
+their secrets.
+
+The sun was just tipping with gold the mossy crests of a grove of giant
+ceibas, when the boys rounded a bend to come upon the first ledge of
+rocks for two days.  A low, grassy promontory invited the eyes searching
+for camping-ground.  This spot appeared ideal; it certainly was
+beautiful.  The ledge jutted into the river almost to the opposite
+shore, forcing the water to rush through a rocky trough into a great
+foam-spotted pool below.
+
+They could not pitch the tent, since the stony ground would not admit
+stakes, so they laid the canvas flat.  Pepe went up the bank with his
+_machete_ in search of firewood.  To Ken's utmost delight he found a
+little spring of sweet water trickling from the ledge, and by digging a
+hole was enabled to get a drink, the first one in more than a week.
+
+A little later, as he was spreading the blankets, George called his
+attention to shouts up in the woods.
+
+"Pepe's treed something," Ken said.  "Take your gun and hunt him up."
+
+Ken went on making a bed and busying himself about camp, with little
+heed to George's departure.  Presently, however, he was startled by
+unmistakable sounds of alarm. George and Pepe were yelling in unison,
+and, from the sound, appeared to be quite a distance away.
+
+"What the deuce!" Ken ejaculated, snatching up his rifle.  He snapped a
+clip in the magazine and dropped several loaded clips and a box of extra
+shells into his coat pocket. After his adventure with the jaguar he
+decided never again to find himself short of ammunition. Running up the
+sloping bank, he entered the forest, shouting for his companions.
+Answering cries came from in front and a little to the left.  He could
+not make out what was said.
+
+Save for drooping moss the forest was comparatively open, and at a
+hundred paces from the river-bank were glades covered with thickets and
+long grass and short palm-trees. The ground sloped upward quite
+perceptibly.
+
+"Hey, boys, where are you?" called Ken.
+
+Pepe's shrill yells mingled with George's shouts.  At first their
+meaning was unintelligible, but after calling twice Ken understood.
+
+"Javelin!  Go back!  Javelin!  We're treed! Wild pigs!  Santa Maria!
+Run for your life!"
+
+This was certainly enlightening and rather embarrassing.  Ken remembered
+the other time the boys had made him run, and he grew hot with anger.
+
+"I'll be blessed if I'll run!" he said, in the pride of conceit and
+wounded vanity.  Whereupon he began to climb the slope, stopping every
+few steps to listen and look.  Ken wondered what had made Pepe go so far
+for fire-wood; still, there was nothing but green wood all about.
+Walking round a clump of seared and yellow palms that rustled in the
+breeze, Ken suddenly espied George's white shirt.  He was in a scrubby
+sapling not fifteen feet from the ground.  Then Ken espied Pepe, perched
+in the forks of a ceiba, high above the thickets and low shrubbery. Ken
+was scarcely more than a dozen rods from them down the gradual slope.
+Both saw him at once.
+
+"Run, you Indian!  Run!" bawled George, waving his hands.
+
+George implored Ken to fly to save his precious life.
+
+"What for? you fools!  I don't see anything to run from," Ken shouted
+back.  His temper had soured a little during the last few days.
+
+"You'd better run, or you'll have to climb," replied George.  "Wild
+pigs--a thousand of 'em!"
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Right under us.  There!  Oh, if they see you!  Listen to this."  He
+broke off a branch, trimmed it of leaves, and flung it down.  Ken heard
+a low, trampling roar of many hard little feet, brushings in the
+thicket, and cracking of twigs.  As close as he was, however, he could
+not see a moving object. The dead grass and brush were several feet
+high, up to his waist in spots, and, though he changed position several
+times, no _javelin_ did he see.
+
+"You want to look out.  Say, man, these are wild pigs--boars, I tell
+you!  They'll kill you!" bellowed George.
+
+"Are you going to stay up there all night?" Ken asked, sarcastically.
+
+"We'll stay till they go away."
+
+"All right, I'll scare them away," Ken replied, and, suiting action to
+word, he worked the automatic as fast as it would shoot, aiming into the
+thicket under George.
+
+Of all the foolish things a nettled hunter ever did that was the worst.
+A roar answered the echoes of the rifle, and the roar rose from every
+side of the trees the victims were in. Nervously Ken clamped a fresh
+clip of shells into the rifle.  Clouds of dust arose, and strange little
+squeals and grunts seemed to come from every quarter.  Then the grass
+and bushes were suddenly torn apart by swift gray forms with glittering
+eyes.  They were everywhere.
+
+"_Run_!  _Run_!" shrieked George, high above the tumult.
+
+For a thrilling instant Ken stood his ground and fired at the bobbing
+gray backs.  But every break made in the ranks by the powerful shells
+filled in a flash.  Before that vicious charge he wavered, then ran as
+if pursued by demons.
+
+The way was downhill.  Ken tripped, fell, rolled over and over, then,
+still clutching the rifle, rose with a bound and fled.  The javelin had
+gained.  They were at his heels. He ran like a deer.  Then, seeing a low
+branch, he leaped for it, grasped it with one hand, and, crooking an
+elbow round it, swung with the old giant swing.
+
+Before Ken knew how it had happened he was astride a dangerously swaying
+branch directly over a troop of brownish-gray, sharp-snouted,
+fiendish-eyed little peccaries.
+
+Some were young and sleek, others were old and rough; some had little
+yellow teeth or tusks, and all pointed their sharp noses upward, as if
+expecting him to fall into their very mouths.  Feeling safe, once more
+Ken loaded the rifle and began to kill the biggest, most vicious
+_javelin_.  When he had killed twelve in twelve shots, he saw that
+shooting a few would be of no avail.  There were hundreds, it seemed,
+and he had scarcely fifty shells left.  Moreover, the rifle-barrel grew
+so hot that it burnt his hands.  Hearing George's yell, he replied,
+somewhat to his disgust:
+
+"I'm all right, George--only treed.  How 're you?"
+
+"Pigs all gone--they chased you--Pepe thinks we can risk running."
+
+"Don't take any chances," Ken yelled, in answer.
+
+"Hi!  Hi!  What's wrong with you gazabos?" came Hal's yell from down the
+slope.
+
+"Go back to the boat," shouted Ken.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"We're all treed by javelin--wild pigs."
+
+"I've got to see that," was Hal's reply.
+
+Ken called a sharp, angry order for Hal to keep away.  But Hal did not
+obey.  Ken heard him coming, and presently saw him enter one of the
+little glades.  He had Ken's shotgun, and was peering cautiously about.
+
+"Ken, where are you?"
+
+"Here!  Didn't I tell you to keep away? The pigs heard you--some of them
+are edging out there.  Look out!  Run, kid, run!"
+
+A troop of _javelin_ flashed into the glade. Hal saw them and raised the
+shotgun.
+
+_Boom_!  He shot both barrels.
+
+The shot tore through the brush all around Ken, but fortunately beneath
+him.  Neither the noise nor the lead stopped the pugnacious little
+peccaries.
+
+Hal dropped Ken's hammerless and fled.
+
+"Run faster!" yelled George, who evidently enjoyed Hal's plight.
+"They'll get you! Run hard!"
+
+The lad was running close to the record when he disappeared.
+
+In trying to find a more comfortable posture, so he could apply himself
+to an interesting study of his captors, Ken made the startling discovery
+that the branch which upheld him was splitting from the tree-trunk.  His
+heart began to pound in his breast; then it went up into his throat.
+Every move he made--for he had started to edge toward the tree--widened
+the little white split.
+
+"Boys, my branch is breaking!" he called, piercingly.
+
+"Can't you get another?" returned George.
+
+"No; I daren't move!  Hurry, boys!  If you don't scare these brutes off
+I'm a goner!"
+
+Ken's eyes were riveted upon the gap where the branch was slowly
+separating from the tree-trunk.  He glanced about to see if he could not
+leap to another branch.  There was nothing near that would hold him.  In
+desperation he resolved to drop the rifle, cautiously get to his feet
+upon the branch, and with one spring try to reach the tree.  When about
+to act upon this last chance he heard Pepe's shrill yell and a crashing
+in the brush. Then followed the unmistakable roar and crackling of fire.
+Pepe had fired the brush--no, he was making his way toward Ken, armed
+with a huge torch.
+
+"Pepe, you'll fire the jungle!" cried Ken, forgetting what was at stake
+and that Pepe could not understand much English.  But Ken had been in
+one forest-fire and remembered it with horror.
+
+The _javelin_ stirred uneasily, and ran around under Ken, tumbling over
+one another.
+
+When Pepe burst through the brush, holding before him long-stemmed palm
+leaves flaring in hissing flames, the whole pack of pigs bowled away
+into the forest at breakneck speed.
+
+Ken leaped down, and the branch came with him.  George came running up,
+his face white, his eyes big.  Behind him rose a roar that Ken thought
+might be another drove of pigs till he saw smoke and flame.
+
+"Boys, the jungle's on fire.  Run for the river!"
+
+In their hurry they miscalculated the location of camp and dashed out of
+the jungle over a steep bank, and they all had a tumble. It was
+necessary to wade to reach the rocky ledge.
+
+Ken shook hands with Pepe.
+
+"George, tell him that was a nervy thing to do.  He saved my life, I do
+believe."
+
+"You fellows did a lot of hollering," said Hal, from his perch in the
+boat.
+
+"Say, young man, you've got to go back after my gun.  Why didn't you do
+what I told you?  Foolish, to run into danger that way!" declared Ken,
+severely.
+
+"You don't suppose I was going to overlook a chance to see Ken Ward
+treed, do you?"
+
+"Well, you saw him, and that was no joke. But I wish Pepe could have
+scared those pigs off without firing the jungle."
+
+"Pepe says it 'll give the ticks a good roasting," said George.
+
+"We'll have roast pig, anyway," added Ken.
+
+He kept watching the jungle back of the camp as if he expected it to
+blow up like a powder-mine.  But this Tamaulipas jungle was not Penetier
+Forest.  A cloud of smoke rolled up; there was a frequent roaring of dry
+palms; but the green growths did not burn. It was not much of a
+forest-fire, and Ken concluded that it would soon burn out.
+
+So he took advantage of the waning daylight to spread out his map and
+plot in the day's travel.  This time Hal watched him with a quiet
+attention that was both flattering and stimulating; and at the
+conclusion of the task he said:
+
+"Well, Ken, we're having sport, but we're doing something
+more--something worth while."
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XXI*
+
+                          *THE LEAPING TARPON*
+
+
+Just before dark, when the boys were at supper, a swarm of black
+mosquitoes swooped down upon camp.
+
+Pepe could not have shown more fear at angry snakes, and he began to
+pile green wood and leaves on the fire to make a heavy smoke.
+
+These mosquitoes were very large, black-bodied, with white-barred wings.
+Their bite was as painful as the sting of a bee.  After threshing about
+until tired out the boys went to bed.  But it was only to get up again,
+for the mosquitoes could bite through two thicknesses of blanket.
+
+For a wonder every one was quiet.  Even George did not grumble.  The
+only thing to do was to sit or stand in the smoke of the campfire.  The
+boys wore their gloves and wrapped blankets round heads and shoulders.
+They crouched over the fire until tired of that position, then stood up
+till they could stand no longer.  It was a wretched, sleepless night
+with the bloodthirsty mosquitoes humming about like a swarm of bees.
+They did not go away until dawn.
+
+"That's what I get for losing the mosquito-netting," said Ken, wearily.
+
+Breakfast was not a cheerful meal, despite the fact that the boys all
+tried to brace up.
+
+George's condition showed Ken the necessity for renewed efforts to get
+out of the jungle. Pepe appeared heavy and slow, and, what was more
+alarming, he had lost his appetite.  Hal was cross, but seemed to keep
+well.  It was hard enough for Ken to persuade George and Pepe to take
+the bitter doses of quinine, and Hal positively refused.
+
+"It makes me sick, I tell you," said Hal, impatiently.
+
+"But Hal, you ought to be guided by my judgment now," replied Ken,
+gently.
+
+"I don't care.  I've had enough of bitter pills."
+
+"I ask you--as a favor?" persisted Ken, quietly.
+
+"No!"
+
+"Well, then, I'll have to make you take them."
+
+"Wha-at?" roared Hal.
+
+"If necessary, I'll throw you down and pry open your mouth and get Pepe
+to stuff these pills down your throat.  There!" went on Ken, and now he
+did not recognize his own voice.
+
+Hal looked quickly at his brother, and was amazed and all at once
+shaken.
+
+"Why, Ken--" he faltered.
+
+"I ought to have made you take them before," interrupted Ken.  "But I've
+been too easy.  Now, Hal, listen--and you, too, George.  I've made a bad
+mess of this trip. I got you into this jungle, and I ought to have taken
+better care of you, whether you would or not.  George has fever.  Pepe
+is getting it.  I'm afraid you won't escape.  You all _would_ drink
+unboiled water."
+
+"Ken, that's all right, but you can get fever from the bites of the
+ticks," said George.
+
+"I dare say.  But just the same you could have been careful about the
+water.  Not only that--look how careless we have been.  Think of the
+things that have happened!  We've gotten almost wild on this trip.  We
+don't realize.  But wait till we get home.  Then we'll hardly be able to
+believe we ever had these adventures.  But our foolishness, our
+carelessness, must stop right here.  If we can't profit by our lucky
+escapes yesterday--from that lassoed crocodile and the wild pigs--we are
+simply no good.  I love fun and sport. But there's a limit.  Hal,
+remember what old Hiram told you about being foolhardily brave. I think
+we have been wonderfully lucky. Now let's deserve our good luck.  Let's
+not prove what that Tampico hotel-man said. Let's show we are not just
+wild-goose-chasing boys.  I put it to you straight.  I think the real
+test is yet to come, and I want you to help me.  No more tricks.  No
+more drinking unboiled water.  No more shooting except in self-defense.
+We must not eat any more meat.  No more careless wandering up the banks.
+No chances.  See?  And fight the fever.  Don't give up.  Then when we
+get out of this awful jungle we can look back at our adventures--and,
+better, we can be sure we've learned a lot.  We shall have accomplished
+something, and that's learning.  Now, how about it?  Will you help me?"
+
+"You can just bet your life," replied George, and he held out his hand.
+
+"Ken, I'm with you," was Hal's quiet promise; and Ken knew from the way
+the lad spoke that he was in dead earnest.  When it came to the last
+ditch Hal Ward was as true as steel.  He took the raw, bitter quinine
+Ken offered and swallowed it without a grimace.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed Ken.  "Now, boys, let's pack.  Hal, you let your
+menagerie go. There's no use keeping your pets any longer. George, you
+make yourself a bed on the trunk, and fix a palm-leaf sun-shelter.  Then
+lie down."
+
+When the boat had been packed and all was in readiness for the start,
+George was sound asleep.  They shoved off into the current. Pepe and Ken
+took turns at the oars, making five miles an hour.
+
+As on the day before, they glided under the shadows of the great
+moss-twined cypresses, along the muddy banks where crocodiles basked in
+the sun and gaunt cattle came down to drink.  Once the boat turned a
+bushy point to startle a large flock of wild turkeys, perhaps
+thirty-five in number.  They had been resting in the cool sand along the
+river.  Some ran up the bank, some half-dozen flew right over the boat,
+and most of them squatted down as if to evade detection.  Thereafter
+turkeys and ducks and geese became so common as to be monotonous.
+
+About one o'clock Ken sighted a thatched bamboo and palm-leaf hut on the
+bank.
+
+"Oh, boys, look! look!" cried Ken, joyfully.
+
+Hal was as pleased as Ken, and George roused out of his slumber.  Pepe
+grinned and nodded his head.
+
+Some naked little children ran like quail. A disheveled black head
+peeped out of a door, then swiftly vanished.
+
+"Indians," said George.
+
+"I don't care," replied Ken, "they're human beings--people.  We're
+getting somewhere."
+
+From there on the little bamboo huts were frequently sighted.  And soon
+Ken saw a large one situated upon a high bluff.  Ken was wondering if
+these natives would be hospitable.
+
+Upon rounding the next bend the boys came unexpectedly upon a connecting
+river. It was twice as wide as the Santa Rosa, and quite swift.
+
+"Tamaulipas," said Pepe.
+
+"Hooray! boys, this is the source of the Panuco, sure as you're born,"
+cried Ken.  "I told you we were getting somewhere."
+
+He was overcome with the discovery.  This meant success.
+
+"Savalo!  Savalo!" exclaimed Pepe, pointing.
+
+"Tarpon!  Tarpon!  What do you think of that?  'Way up here!  We must be
+a long distance from tide-water," said George.
+
+Ken looked around over the broad pool below the junction of the two
+rivers.  And here and there he saw swirls, and big splashes, and then
+the silver sides of rolling tarpon.
+
+"Boys, seeing we've packed that can of preserved mullet all the way, and
+those thundering heavy tackles, let's try for tarpon," suggested Ken.
+
+It was wonderful to see how the boys responded.  Pepe was no longer slow
+and heavy.  George forgot he was sick.  Hal, who loved to fish better
+than to hunt, was as enthusiastic as on the first day.
+
+"Ken, let me boss this job," said George, as he began to rig the
+tackles.  "Pepe will row; you and Hal sit back here and troll. I'll make
+myself useful.  Open the can. See, I hook the mullet just back of the
+head, letting the bar come out free.  There!  Now run out about forty
+feet of line.  Steady the butt of the rod under your leg.  Put your left
+hand above the reel.  Hold the handle of the reel in your right, and
+hold it hard.  The drag is in the handle.  Now when a tarpon takes the
+bait, jerk with all your might. Their mouths are like iron, and it's
+hard to get a hook to stick."
+
+Pepe rowed at a smooth, even stroke and made for the great curve of the
+pool where tarpon were breaking water.
+
+"If they're on the feed, we'll have more sport than we've had yet," said
+George.
+
+Ken was fascinated, and saw that Hal was going to have the best time of
+the trip.  Also Ken was very curious to have a tarpon strike. He had no
+idea what it would be like.  Presently, when the boat glided among the
+rolling fish and there was prospect of one striking at any moment, Ken
+could not subdue a mounting excitement.
+
+"Steady now--be ready," warned George.
+
+Suddenly Hal's line straightened.  The lad yelled and jerked at the same
+instant.  There came a roar of splitting waters, and a beautiful silver
+fish, longer than Hal himself, shot up into the air.  The tarpon shook
+himself and dropped back into the water with a crash.
+
+Hal was speechless.  He wound in his line to find the bait gone.
+
+"Threw the hook," said George, as he reached into the can for another
+bait.  "He wasn't so big.  You'll get used to losing 'em. There! try
+again."
+
+Ken had felt several gentle tugs at his line, as if tarpon were rolling
+across it.  And indeed he saw several fish swim right over where his
+line disappeared in the water.  There were splashes all around the boat,
+some gentle swishes and others hard, cutting rushes. Then his line
+straightened with a heavy jerk.  He forgot to try to hook the fish;
+indeed, he had no time.  The tarpon came half out of the water, wagged
+his head, and plumped back.  Ken had not hooked the fish, nor had the
+fish got the bait.  So Ken again let out his line.
+
+The next thing which happened was that the boys both had strikes at the
+same instant. Hal stood up, and as his tarpon leaped it pulled him
+forward, and he fell into the stern-seat.  His reel-handle rattled on
+the gunwale. The line hissed.  Ken leaned back and jerked. His fish did
+not break water, but he was wonderfully active under the surface.  Pepe
+was jabbering.  George was yelling.  Hal's fish was tearing the water to
+shreds.  He crossed Ken's fish; the lines fouled, and then slacked. Ken
+began to wind in.  Hal rose to do likewise.
+
+"Gee!" he whispered, with round eyes.
+
+Both lines had been broken.  George made light of this incident, and
+tied on two more leaders and hooks and baited afresh.
+
+"The fish are on the feed, boys.  It's a cinch you'll each catch one.
+Better troll one at a time, unless you can stand for crossed lines."
+
+But Ken and Hal were too eager to catch a tarpon to troll one at a time,
+so once more they let their lines out.  A tarpon took Hal's bait right
+under the stern of the boat.  Hal struck with all his might.  This fish
+came up with a tremendous splash, drenching the boys. His great,
+gleaming silver sides glistened in the sun.  He curved his body and
+straightened out with a snap like the breaking of a board, and he threw
+the hook whistling into the air.
+
+Before Hal had baited up, Ken got another strike.  This fish made five
+leaps, one after the other, and upon the last threw the hook like a
+bullet.  As he plunged down, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the misty
+spray.
+
+"Hal, do you see that rainbow?" cried Ken, quickly.  "There's a sight
+for a fisherman!"
+
+This time in turn, before Ken started to troll, Hal hooked another
+tarpon.  This one was not so large, but he was active.  His first rush
+was a long surge on the surface. He sent the spray in two streaks like a
+motor-boat.  Then he sounded.
+
+"Hang on, Hal!" yelled George and Ken in unison.
+
+Hal was bent almost double and his head was bobbing under the strain.
+He could not hold the drag.  The line was whizzing out.
+
+"You got that one hooked," shouted George.  "Let go the reel--drop the
+handle. Let him run."
+
+He complied, and then his fish began a marvelous exhibition of lofty
+tumbling.  He seemed never to stay down at all.  Now he shot up, mouth
+wide, gills spread, eyes wild, and he shook himself like a wet dog.
+Then he dropped back, and before the boys had time to think where he
+might be he came up several rods to the right and cracked his gills like
+pistol-shots.  He skittered on his tail and stood on his head and
+dropped flat with a heavy smack.  Then he stayed under and began to tug.
+
+"Hang on, now," cried George.  "Wind in.  Hold him tight.  Don't give
+him an inch unless he jumps."
+
+This was heartbreaking work for Hal.  He toiled to keep the line in.  He
+grew red in the face.  He dripped with sweat.  He panted for breath.
+But he hung on.
+
+Ken saw how skilfully Pepe managed the boat.  The _mozo_ seemed to know
+just which way the fish headed, and always kept the boat straight.
+Sometimes he rowed back and lent his help to Hal.  But this appeared to
+anger the tarpon, for the line told he was coming to the surface.  Then,
+as Pepe ceased to let him feel the weight of the boat, the tarpon sank
+again.  So the battle went on round and round the great pool.  After an
+hour of it Hal looked ready to drop.
+
+"Land him alone if you can," said Ken. "He's tiring, Hal."
+
+"I'll--land him--or--or bust!" panted Hal.
+
+"Look out, now!" warned George again. "He's coming up.  See the line.
+Be ready to trim the boat if he drops aboard.  _Wow!_"
+
+The tarpon slipped smoothly out of the water and shot right over the bow
+of the boat. Quick-witted George flung out his hand and threw Hal's rod
+round in time to save the line from catching.  The fish went down, came
+up wagging his head, and then fell with sullen splash.
+
+"He's done," yelled George.  "Now, Hal, hold him for all you're worth.
+Not an inch of line!"
+
+Pepe headed the boat for a sandy beach; and Hal, looking as if about to
+have a stroke of apoplexy, clung desperately to the bending rod.  The
+tarpon rolled and lashed his tail, but his power was mostly gone.
+Gradually he ceased to roll, until by the time Pepe reached shore he was
+sliding wearily through the water, his silvery side glittering in the
+light.
+
+The boat grated on the sand.  Pepe leaped out.  Then he grasped Hal's
+line, slipped his hands down to the long wire leader, and with a quick,
+powerful pull slid the tarpon out upon the beach.
+
+"Oh-h!" gasped Hal, with glistening eyes. "Oh-h!  Ken, just look!"
+
+"I'm looking, son, and don't you forget it."
+
+The tarpon lay inert, a beautiful silver-scaled creature that looked as
+if he had just come from a bath of melted opals.  The great dark eyes
+were fixed and staring, the tail moved feebly, the long dorsal fin
+quivered.
+
+He measured five feet six inches in length, which was one inch more than
+Hal's height.
+
+"Ken, the boys back home will never believe I caught him," said Hal, in
+distress.
+
+"Take his picture to prove it," replied Ken.
+
+Hal photographed his catch.  Pepe took out the hook, showing, as he did
+so, the great iron-like plates in the mouth of the fish.
+
+"No wonder it's hard to hook them," said Ken.
+
+Hal certainly wanted his beautiful fish to go back, free and little
+hurt, to the river. But also he wanted him for a specimen.  Hal
+deliberated.  Evidently he was considering the labor of skinning such a
+huge fish and the difficulty of preserving and packing the hide.
+
+"Say, Hal, wouldn't you like to see me hook one?" queried Ken,
+patiently.
+
+That brought Hal to his senses.
+
+"Sure, Ken, old man, I want you to catch one--a big one--bigger than
+mine," replied Hal, and restored the fish to the water.
+
+They all watched the liberated tarpon swim wearily off and slip down
+under the water.
+
+"He'll have something to tell the rest, won't he?" said George.
+
+In a few minutes the boat was again in the center of the great pool
+among the rolling tarpon.  Ken had a strike immediately. He missed.
+Then he tried again.  And in a short space of time he saw five tarpon in
+the air, one after the other, and not one did he hook securely.  He got
+six leaps out of one, however, and that was almost as good as landing
+him.
+
+"There 're some whales here," said George.
+
+"Grande savalo," added Pepe, and he rowed over to where a huge fish was
+rolling.
+
+"Oh, I don't want to hook the biggest one first," protested Ken.
+
+Pepe rowed to and fro.  The boys were busy trying to see the rolling
+tarpon.  There would be a souse on one side, then a splash on the other,
+then a thump behind.  What with trying to locate all these fish and
+still keep an eye on Ken's line the boys almost dislocated their necks.
+
+Then, quick as a flash, Ken had a strike that pulled him out of his seat
+to his knees. He could not jerk.  His line was like a wire. It began to
+rise.  With all his strength he held on.  The water broke in a hollow,
+slow roar, and a huge humpbacked tarpon seemed to be climbing into the
+air.  But he did not get all the way out, and he plunged back with a
+thunderous crash.  He made as much noise as if a horse had fallen off a
+bridge.
+
+The handle of the reel slipped out of Ken's grasp, and it was well.  The
+tarpon made a long, wonderful run and showed on the surface a hundred
+yards from the boat.  He was irresistibly powerful.  Ken was astounded
+and thrilled at his strength and speed.  There, far away from the boat,
+the tarpon leaped magnificently, clearing the water, and then went down.
+He did not come up again.
+
+"Ken, he's a whale," said George.  "I believe he's well hooked.  He
+won't jump any more.  And you've got a job on your hands."
+
+"I want him to jump."
+
+"The big ones seldom break water after the first rush or so."
+
+"Ken, it's coming to you with that fellow," said Hal.  "My left arm is
+paralyzed. Honestly, I can pinch it and not feel the pain."
+
+Pepe worked the boat closer and Ken reeled in yard after yard of line.
+The tarpon was headed down-stream, and he kept up a steady, strong
+strain.
+
+"Let him tow the boat," said George. "Hold the drag, Ken.  Let him tow
+the boat."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Ken, in amaze.
+
+"Oh, he'll do it, all right."
+
+And so it proved.  Ken's tarpon, once headed with the current, did not
+turn, and he towed the boat.
+
+"This is a new way for me to tire out a fish," said Ken.  "What do you
+think of it, Hal?"
+
+Hal's eyes glistened.
+
+"This is fishing.  Ken, did you see him when he came up?"
+
+"Not very clearly.  I had buck-fever.  You know how a grouse looks when
+he flushes right under your feet--a kind of brown blur. Well, this was
+the same, only silver."
+
+At the end of what Ken judged to be a mile the tarpon was still going.
+At the end of the second mile he was tired.  And three miles down the
+river from where the fish was hooked Pepe beached the boat on a sandbar
+and hauled ashore a tarpon six feet ten inches long.
+
+Here Ken echoed Hal's panting gasp of wonder and exultation.  As he sat
+down on the boat to rest he had no feeling in his left arm, and little
+in his right.  His knuckles were skinned and bloody.  No game of
+baseball he had ever pitched had taken his strength like the conquest of
+this magnificent fish.
+
+"Hal, we'll have some more of this fishing when we get to Tampico," said
+Ken.  "Why, this beats hunting.  You have the sport, and you needn't
+kill anything.  This tarpon isn't hurt."
+
+So Ken photographed his prize and measured him, and, taking a last
+lingering glance at the great green back, the silver-bronze sides, the
+foot-wide flukes of the tail, at the whole quivering fire-tinted length,
+he slid the tarpon back into the river.
+
+
+
+
+                                 *XXII*
+
+                            *STRICKEN DOWN*
+
+
+Much as Ken would have liked to go back to that pool, he did not think
+of it twice. And as soon as the excitement had subsided and the journey
+was resumed, George and Hal, and Pepe, too, settled down into a silent
+weariness that made Ken anxious.
+
+During the afternoon Ken saw Pepe slowly droop lower and lower at the
+oars till the time came when he could scarcely lift them to make a
+stroke.  And when Ken relieved him of them, Pepe fell like a log in the
+boat.
+
+George slept.  Hal seemed to be fighting stupor.  Pepe lay motionless on
+his seat.  They were all going down with the fever, that Ken knew, and
+it took all his courage to face the situation.  It warmed his heart to
+see how Hal was trying to bear up under a languor that must have been
+well-nigh impossible to resist.  At last Hal said:
+
+"Ken, let me row."  He would not admit that he was sick.
+
+Ken thought it would do Hal no harm to work.  But Ken did not want to
+lose time. So he hit upon a plan that pleased him. There was an extra
+pair of oars in the boat. Ken fashioned rude pegs from a stick and drove
+these down into the cleat inside the gunwales.  With stout rope he tied
+the oars to the pegs, which answered fairly well as oarlocks.  Then they
+had a double set of oars going, and made much better time.
+
+George woke and declared that he must take a turn at the oars.  So Ken
+let him row, too, and rested himself.  He had a grim foreboding that he
+would need all his strength.
+
+The succeeding few hours before sunset George and Hal more than made up
+for all their delinquencies of the past.  At first it was not very hard
+for them to row; but soon they began to weary, then weaken.  Neither
+one, however, would give up.  Ken let them row, knowing that it was good
+for them. Slower and slower grew George's strokes, there were times when
+he jerked up spasmodically and made an effort, only to weaken again.  At
+last, with a groan he dropped the oars.  Ken had to lift him back into
+the bow.
+
+Hal was not so sick as George, and therefore not so weak.  He lasted
+longer.  Ken had seen the lad stick to many a hard job, but never as he
+did to this one.  Hal was making good his promise.  There were times
+when his breath came in whistles.  He would stop and pant awhile, then
+row on.  Ken pretended he did not notice.  But he had never been so
+proud of his brother nor loved him so well.
+
+"Ken, old man," said Hal, presently.  "I was--wrong--about the water.  I
+ought to have obeyed you.  I--I'm pretty sick."
+
+What a confession for Hal Ward!
+
+Ken turned in time to see Hal vomit over the gunwale.
+
+"It's pretty tough, Hal," said Ken, as he reached out to hold his
+brother's head; "but you're game.  I'm so glad to see that."
+
+Whereupon Hal went back to his oars and stayed till he dropped.  Ken
+lifted him and laid him beside George.
+
+Ken rowed on with his eyes ever in search of a camping-site.  But there
+was no place to camp.  The muddy banks were too narrow at the bottom,
+too marshy and filthy.  And they were too steep to climb to the top.
+
+The sun set.  Twilight fell.  Darkness came on, and still Ken rowed down
+the river.  At last he decided to make a night of it at the oars.  He
+preferred to risk the dangers of the river at night rather than spend
+miserable hours in the mud.  Rousing the boys, he forced them to swallow
+a little cold rice and some more quinine.  Then he covered them with
+blankets, and had scarce completed the task when they were deep in
+slumber.
+
+Then the strange, dense tropical night settled down upon Ken.  The oars
+were almost noiseless, and the water gurgled softly from the bow.
+Overhead the expanse was dark blue, with a few palpitating stars.  The
+river was shrouded in gray gloom, and the banks were lost in black
+obscurity.  Great fireflies emphasized the darkness.  He trusted a good
+deal to luck in the matter of going right; yet he kept his ear keen for
+the sound of quickening current, and turned every few strokes to peer
+sharply into the gloom.  He seemed to have little sense of peril, for,
+though he hit submerged logs and stranded on bars, he kept on unmindful,
+and by and by lost what anxiety he had felt.  The strange wildness of
+the river at night, the gray, veiled space into which he rowed unheeding
+began to work upon his mind.
+
+That was a night to remember--a night of sounds and smells, of the
+feeling of the cool mist, the sight of long, dark forest-line and a
+golden moon half hidden by clouds.  Prominent among these was the trill
+of river frogs. The trill of a northern frog was music, but that of
+these great, silver-throated jungle frogs was more than music.  Close at
+hand one would thrill Ken with mellow, rich notes; and then from far
+would come the answer, a sweet, high tenor, wilder than any other
+wilderness sound, long sustained, dying away till he held his breath to
+listen.
+
+So the hours passed; and the moon went down into the weird shadows, and
+the Southern Cross rose pale and wonderful.
+
+Gradually the stars vanished in a kind of brightening gray, and dawn was
+at hand. Ken felt weary for sleep, and his arms and back ached.  Morning
+came, with its steely light on the river, the rolling and melting of
+vapors, the flight of ducks and call of birds.  The rosy sun brought no
+cheer.
+
+Ken beached the boat on a sand-bar. While he was building a fire George
+raised his head and groaned.  But neither Pepe nor Hal moved.  Ken
+cooked rice and boiled cocoa, which he choked down.  He opened a can of
+fruit and found that most welcome. Then he lifted George's head, shook
+him, roused him, and held him, and made him eat and drink.  Nor did he
+neglect to put a liberal dose of quinine in the food.  Pepe was easily
+managed, but poor Hal was almost unable to swallow.  Something terribly
+grim mingled with a strong, passionate thrill as Ken looked at Hal's
+haggard face.  Then Ken Ward knew how much he could stand, what work he
+could do to get his brother out of the jungle.
+
+He covered the boys again and pushed out the boat.  At the moment he
+felt a strength that he had never felt before.  There was a good, swift
+current in the river, and Ken was at great pains to keep in it.  The
+channel ran from one side of the river to the other. Many times Ken
+stranded on sandy shoals and had to stand up and pole the boat into
+deeper water.  This was work that required all his attention.  It
+required more than patience.  But as he rowed and poled and drifted he
+studied the shallow ripples and learned to avoid the places where the
+boat would not float.
+
+There were stretches of river where the water was comparatively deep,
+and along these he rested and watched the shores as he drifted by.  He
+saw no Indian huts that morning.  The jungle loomed high and dark, a
+matted gray wall.  The heat made the river glare and smoke.  Then where
+the current quickened he rowed steadily and easily, husbanding his
+strength.
+
+More than all else, even the ravings of Hal in fever, the thing that
+wore on Ken and made him gloomy was the mourning of turtle-doves. As
+there had been thousands of these beautiful birds along the Santa Rosa
+River, so there were millions along the Panuco.  Trees were blue with
+doves.  There was an incessant soft, sad moaning.  He fought his
+nervous, sensitive imaginings.  And for a time he would conquer the
+sense of some sad omen sung by the doves.  Then the monotony, the
+endless sweet "coo-ooo-ooo," seemed to drown him in melancholy sound.
+There were three distinct tones--a moan, swelling to full ring, and
+dying away: "Coo-_ooo_-ooo--coo-_ooo_-ooo."
+
+All the afternoon the mourning, haunting song filled Ken Ward's ears.
+And when the sun set and night came, with relief to his tortured ear but
+not to mind, Ken kept on without a stop.
+
+The day had slipped behind Ken with the miles, and now it was again
+dark.  It seemed that he had little sense of time.  But his faculties of
+sight and hearing were singularly acute.  Otherwise his mind was like
+the weird gloom into which he was drifting.
+
+Before the stars came out the blackness was as thick as pitch.  He could
+not see a yard ahead.  He backed the boat stern first down-stream and
+listened for the soft murmur of ripples on shoals.  He avoided these by
+hearing alone.  Occasionally a huge, dark pile of driftwood barred his
+passage, and he would have to go round it.  Snags loomed up specter-like
+in his path, seemingly to reach for him with long, gaunt arms.
+Sometimes he drifted upon sand-bars, from which he would patiently pole
+the boat.
+
+When the heavy dew began to fall he put on his waterproof coat.  The
+night grew chill.  Then the stars shone out.  This lightened the river.
+Yet everywhere were shadows. Besides, clouds of mist hung low, in places
+obscuring the stars.
+
+Ken turned the boat bow first downstream and rowed with slow, even
+stroke. He no longer felt tired.  He seemed to have the strength of a
+giant.  He fancied that with one great heave he could lift the boat out
+of the water or break the oars.  From time to time he ceased to row,
+and, turning his head, he looked and listened.  The river had numerous
+bends, and it was difficult for Ken to keep in the middle channel.  He
+managed pretty well to keep right by watching the dark shore-line where
+it met the deep-blue sky. In the bends the deepest water ran close to
+the shore of the outside curve.  And under these high banks and the
+leaning cypresses shadows were thicker and blacker than in the earlier
+night.  There was mystery in them that Ken felt.
+
+The sounds he heard when he stopped during these cautious resting
+intervals were the splashes of fish breaking water, the low hum of
+insects, and the trill of frogs.  The mourning of the doves during
+daylight had haunted him, and now he felt the same sensation at this
+long-sustained, exquisitely sweet trill.  It pierced him, racked him,
+and at last, from sheer exhaustion of his sensibilities, he seemed not
+to hear it any more, but to have it in his brain.
+
+The moon rose behind the left-hand jungle wall, silvered half of the
+river and the opposite line of cypresses, then hid under clouds.
+
+Suddenly, near or far away, down the river Ken saw a wavering light.  It
+was too large for a firefly, and too steady.  He took it for a
+Jack-o'-lantern.  And for a while it enhanced the unreality, the
+ghostliness of the river.  But it was the means of bringing Ken out of
+his dreamy gloom.  It made him think.  The light was moving.  It was too
+wavering for a Jack-o'-lantern.  It was coming up-stream.  It grew
+larger.
+
+Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.  Ken lost sight of it
+under a deep shadow of overhanging shore.  As he reached a point
+opposite to where it disappeared he thought he heard a voice.  But he
+could not be sure.  He did not trust his ears.  The incident, however,
+gave him a chill.  What a lonesome ride!  He was alone on that unknown
+river with three sick boys in the boat. Their lives depended upon his
+care, his strength, his skill, his sight and hearing. And the
+realization, striking him afresh, steeled his arms again and his spirit.
+
+The night wore on.  The moon disappeared entirely.  The mists hung low
+like dim sheets along the water.  Ken was wringing-wet with dew.  Long
+periods of rowing he broke with short intervals of drifting, when he
+rested at the oars.
+
+Then drowsiness attacked him.  For hours it seemed he fought it off.
+But at length it grew overpowering.  Only hard rowing would keep him
+awake.  And, as he wanted to reserve his strength, he did not dare exert
+himself violently.  He could not keep his eyes open.  Time after time he
+found himself rowing when he was half asleep.  The boat drifted against
+a log and stopped.  Ken drooped over his oars and slept, and yet he
+seemed not altogether to lose consciousness. He roused again to row on.
+
+It occurred to him presently that he might let the boat drift and take
+naps between whiles.  When he drifted against a log or a sand-bar the
+jar would awaken him.  The current was sluggish.  There seemed to be no
+danger whatever.  He must try to keep his strength.  A little sleep
+would refresh him.  So he reasoned, and fell asleep over the oars.
+
+Sooner or later--he never knew how long after he had fallen asleep--a
+little jar awakened him.  Then the gurgle and murmur of water near him
+and the rush and roar of a swift current farther off made him look up
+with a violent start.  All about him was wide, gray gloom.  Yet he could
+see the dark, glancing gleam of the water.  Movement of the oars told
+him the boat was fast on a sand-bar. That relieved him, for he was not
+drifting at the moment into the swift current he heard. Ken peered
+keenly into the gloom.  Gradually he made out a long, dark line running
+diagonally ahead of him and toward the right-hand shore.  It could not
+be an island or a sand-bar or a shore-line.  It could not be piles of
+driftwood.  There was a strange regularity in the dark upheavals of this
+looming object.  Ken studied it.  He studied the black, glancing water.
+Whatever the line was, it appeared to shunt the current over to the
+right, whence came the low rush and roar.
+
+Altogether it was a wild, strange place. Ken felt a fear of something he
+could not name. It was the river--the night--the loneliness--the unknown
+about him and before him.
+
+Suddenly he saw a dull, red light far down the river.  He stiffened in
+his seat.  Then he saw another red light.  They were like two red eyes.
+Ken shook himself to see if he had nightmare.  No; the boat was there;
+the current was there; the boys were there, dark and silent under their
+blankets.  This was no dream.  Ken's fancy conjured up some red-eyed
+river demon come to destroy him and his charges.  He scorned the fancy,
+laughed at it.  But, all the same, in that dark, weird place, with the
+murmuring of notes in his ears and with those strange red eyes glowing
+in the distance, he could not help what his emotions made the truth.  He
+was freezing to the marrow, writhing in a clammy sweat when a low
+"chug-chug-chug" enlightened him.  The red eyes were those of a
+steamboat.
+
+A steamboat on the wild Panuco!  Ken scarcely believed his own judgment.
+Then he remembered that George said there were a couple of boats plying
+up and down the lower Panuco, mostly transporting timber and cattle.
+Besides, he had proof of his judgment in the long, dark line that had so
+puzzled him--it was a breakwater.  It turned the current to the left,
+where there evidently was a channel.
+
+The great, red eyes gleamed closer, the "chug-chug-chug" sounded louder.
+Then another sound amazed Ken--a man's voice crying out steadily and
+monotonously.
+
+Ken wanted to rouse the boys and Pepe, but he refrained.  It was best
+for them to sleep.  How surprised they would be when he told them about
+the boat that passed in the night!  Ken now clearly heard the splashing
+of paddles, the chug of machinery, and the man's voice.  He was
+singsonging: "Dos y media, dos y media, dos y media."
+
+Ken understood a little Mexican, and this strange cry became clear to
+him.  The man was taking soundings with a lead and crying out to the
+pilot.  _Dos y media_ meant two and a half feet of water.  Then the
+steam-boat loomed black in the gray gloom.  It was pushing a low, flat
+barge.  Ken could not see the man taking soundings, but he heard him and
+knew he was on the front end of the barge.  The boat passed at fair
+speed, and it cheered Ken.  For he certainly ought to be able to take a
+rowboat where a steamboat had passed.  And, besides, he must be getting
+somewhere near the little village of Panuco.
+
+He poled off the bar and along the breakwater to the channel.  It was
+narrow and swift. He wondered how the pilot of the steamboat had
+navigated in the gloom.  He slipped down-stream, presently to find
+himself once more in a wide river.  Refreshed by his sleep and
+encouraged by the meeting with the steamboat, Ken settled down to steady
+rowing.
+
+The stars paled, the mist thickened, fog obscured the water and shore;
+then all turned gray, lightened, and dawn broke.  The sun burst out.
+Ken saw thatched huts high on the banks and occasionally natives.  This
+encouraged him all the more.
+
+He was not hungry, but he was sick for a drink.  He had to fight himself
+to keep from drinking the dirty river-water.  How different it was here
+from the clear green of the upper Santa Rosa!  Ken would have given his
+best gun for one juicy orange.  George was restless and rolling about,
+calling for water; Hal lay in slumber or stupor; and Pepe sat up.  He
+was a sick-looking fellow, but he was better; and that cheered Ken as
+nothing yet had.
+
+Ken beached the boat on a sandy shore, and once again forced down a
+little rice and cocoa.  Pepe would not eat, yet he drank a little.
+George was burning up with fever, and drank a full cup.  Hal did not
+stir, and Ken thought it best to let him lie.
+
+As Ken resumed the journey the next thing to attract his attention was a
+long canoe moored below one of the thatched huts. This afforded him
+great satisfaction.  At least he had passed the jungle wilderness, where
+there was nothing that even suggested civilization.  In the next few
+miles he noticed several canoes and as many natives.  Then he passed a
+canoe that was paddled by two half-naked bronze Indians.  Pepe hailed
+them, but either they were too unfriendly to reply or they did not
+understand him.
+
+Some distance below Pepe espied a banana grove, and he motioned Ken to
+row ashore. Ken did so with pleasure at the thought of getting some
+fresh fruit.  There was a canoe moored to the roots of a tree and a path
+leading up the steep bank.  Pepe got out and laboriously toiled up the
+bare path.  He was gone a good while.
+
+Presently Ken heard shouts, then the bang of a lightly loaded gun, then
+yells from Pepe.
+
+"What on earth!" cried Ken, looking up in affright.
+
+Pepe appeared with his arms full of red bananas.  He jumped and
+staggered down the path and almost fell into the boat.  But he hung on
+to the bananas.
+
+"Santa Maria!" gasped Pepe, pointing to little bloody spots on the calf
+of his leg.
+
+"Pepe, you've been shot!" ejaculated Ken. "You stole the fruit--somebody
+shot you!"
+
+Pepe howled his affirmative.  Ken was angry at himself, angrier at Pepe,
+and angriest at the native who had done the shooting. With a strong
+shove Ken put the boat out and then rowed hard down-stream.  As he
+rounded a bend a hundred yards below he saw three natives come tumbling
+down the path. They had a gun.  They leaped into the canoe. They meant
+pursuit.
+
+"Say, but this is a pretty kettle of fish!" muttered Ken, and he bent to
+the oars.
+
+Of course Pepe had been in the wrong. He should have paid for the
+bananas or asked for them.  All the same, Ken was not in any humor to be
+fooled with by excitable natives. He had a sick brother in the boat and
+meant to get that lad out of the jungle as quickly as will and strength
+could do it.  He certainly did not intend to be stopped by a few
+miserable Indians angry over the loss of a few bananas.  If it had not
+been for the gun, Ken would have stopped long enough to pay for the
+fruit.  But he could not risk it now. So he pulled a strong stroke
+down-stream.
+
+The worst of the matter developed when Pepe peeled one of the bananas.
+It was too green to eat.
+
+Presently the native canoe hove in sight round the bend.  All three men
+were paddling. They made the long craft fly through the water.  Ken saw
+instantly that they would overhaul him in a long race, and this added to
+his resentment.  Pepe looked back and jabbered and shook his brawny
+fists at the natives.  Ken was glad to see that the long stretch of
+river below did not show a canoe or hut along the banks.  He preferred
+to be overhauled, if he had to be, in a rather lonely spot.
+
+It was wonderful how those natives propelled that log canoe.  And when
+one of the three dropped his paddle to pick up the gun, the speed of the
+canoe seemed not to diminish. They knew the channels, and so gained on
+Ken.  He had to pick the best he could choose at short notice, and
+sometimes he chose poorly.
+
+Two miles or more below the bend the natives with the gun deliberately
+fired, presumably at Pepe.  The shot scattered and skipped along the
+water and did not come near the boat.  Nevertheless, as the canoe was
+gaining and the crazy native was reloading, Ken saw he would soon be
+within range. Something had to be done.
+
+Ken wondered if he could not frighten those natives.  They had probably
+never heard the quick reports of a repeating rifle, let alone the
+stinging cracks of an automatic. Ken decided it would be worth trying.
+But he must have a chance to get the gun out of its case and load it.
+
+That chance came presently.  The natives, in paddling diagonally across
+a narrow channel, ran aground in the sand.  They were fast for only a
+few moments, but in that time Ken had got out the little rifle and
+loaded it.
+
+Pepe's dark face turned a dirty white, and his eyes dilated.  He
+imagined Ken was going to kill some of his countrymen.  But Pepe never
+murmured.  He rubbed the place in his leg where he had been shot, and
+looked back.
+
+Ken rowed on, now leisurely.  There was a hot anger within him, but he
+had it in control.  He knew what he was about.  Again the native fired,
+and again his range was short. The distance was perhaps two hundred
+yards.
+
+Ken waited until the canoe, in crossing one of the many narrow places,
+was broadside toward him.  Then he raised the automatic. There were at
+least ten feet in the middle of the canoe where it was safe for him to
+hit without harm to the natives.  And there he aimed.  The motion of his
+boat made it rather hard to keep the sights right.  He was cool,
+careful; he aimed low, between gunwale and the water, and steadily he
+pulled the trigger--once, twice, three times, four, five.
+
+The steel-jacketed bullets "spoued" on the water and "cracked" into the
+canoe. They evidently split both gunwales low down at the water-line.
+The yelling, terror-stricken natives plunged about, and what with their
+actions and the great split in the middle the canoe filled and sank.
+The natives were not over their depth; that was plainly evident.
+Moreover, it was equally evident that they dared not wade in the
+quicksand.  So they swam to the shallower water, and there, like huge
+turtles, floundered toward the shore.
+
+
+
+
+                                *XXIII*
+
+                          *OUT OF THE JUNGLE*
+
+
+Before the natives had reached the shore they were hidden from Ken's
+sight by leaning cypress-trees.  Ken, however, had no fear for their
+safety.  He was sorry to cause the Indians' loss of a gun and a canoe;
+nevertheless, he was not far from echoing Pepe's repeated: "Bueno!
+Bueno! Bueno!"
+
+Upon examination Ken found two little bloody holes in the muscles of
+Pepe's leg. A single shot had passed through.  Ken bathed the wounds
+with an antiseptic lotion and bound them with clean bandages.
+
+Pepe appeared to be pretty weak, so Ken did not ask him to take the
+oars.  Then, pulling with long, steady stroke, Ken set out to put a long
+stretch between him and the angry natives.  The current was swift, and
+Ken made five miles or more an hour.  He kept that pace for three hours
+without a rest. And then he gave out.  It seemed that all at once he
+weakened.  His back bore an immense burden.  His arms were lead, and his
+hands were useless.  There was an occasional mist or veil before his
+sight.  He was wet, hot, breathless, numb.  But he knew he was safe from
+pursuit.  So he rested and let the boat drift.
+
+George sat up, green in the face, a most miserable-looking boy.  But
+that he could sit up at all was hopeful.
+
+"Oh, my head!" he moaned.  "Is there anything I can drink?  My mouth is
+dry--pasted shut."
+
+Ken had two lemons he had been saving. He cut one in halves and divided
+it between Pepe and George.  The relief the sour lemon afforded both
+showed Ken how wise he had been to save the lemons.  Then he roused Hal,
+and, lifting the lad's head, made him drink a little of the juice.  Hal
+was a sick boy, too weak to sit up without help.
+
+"Don't--you worry--Ken," he said.  "I'm going--to be--all right."
+
+Hal was still fighting.
+
+Ken readjusted the palm-leaf shelter over the boys so as to shade them
+effectually from the hot sun, and then he went back to the oars.
+
+As he tried once more to row, Ken was reminded of the terrible lassitude
+that had overtaken him the day he had made the six-hour climb out of the
+Grand Canon.  The sensation now was worse, but Ken had others depending
+upon his exertions, and that spurred him to the effort which otherwise
+would have been impossible.
+
+It was really not rowing that Ken accomplished. It was a weary puttering
+with oars he could not lift, handles he could not hold. At best he
+managed to guide the boat into the swiftest channels.  Whenever he felt
+that he was just about to collapse, then he would look at Hal's pale
+face.  That would revive him.  So the hot hours dragged by.
+
+They came, after several miles, upon more huts and natives.  And farther
+down they met canoes on the river.  Pepe interrogated the natives.
+According to George, who listened, Panuco was far, far away, many
+kilometers.  This was most disheartening.  Another native said the
+village was just round the next bend.  This was most nappy information.
+But it turned out to be a lie.  There was no village around any
+particular bend--nothing save bare banks for miles.  The stretches of
+the river were long, and bends far apart.
+
+Ken fell asleep.  When he awoke he found Pepe at the oars.  Watching
+him, Ken fancied he was recovering, and was overjoyed.
+
+About four o'clock in the afternoon Pepe rowed ashore and beached the
+boat at the foot of a trail leading up to a large bamboo and thatch hut.
+This time Ken thought it well to accompany Pepe.  And as he climbed the
+path he found his legs stiffer and shakier than ever before.
+
+Ken saw a cleared space in which were several commodious huts, gardens,
+and flowers. There was a grassy yard in which little naked children were
+playing with tame deer and tiger-cats.  Parrots were screeching, and
+other tame birds fluttered about.  It appeared a real paradise to Ken.
+
+Two very kindly disposed and wondering native women made them welcome.
+Then Ken and Pepe went down to the boat and carried Hal up, and went
+back for George.
+
+It developed that the native women knew just what to do for the
+fever-stricken boys. They made some kind of a native drink for them, and
+after that gave them hot milk and chicken and rice soup.  George
+improved rapidly, and Hal brightened a little and showed signs of
+gathering strength.
+
+Ken could not eat until he had something to quench his thirst.  Upon
+inquiring, Pepe found that the natives used the river-water. Ken could
+not drink that.  Then Pepe pointed out an orange-tree, and Ken made a
+dive for it.  The ground was littered with oranges. Collecting an
+armful, Ken sat under the tree and with wild haste began to squeeze the
+juice into his mouth.  Never had anything before tasted so cool, so
+sweet, so life-giving!  He felt a cool, wet sensation steal all through
+his body.  He never knew till that moment how really wonderful and
+precious an orange could be.  He thought that as he would hate mourning
+turtle-doves all the rest of his life, so he would love the sight and
+smell and taste of oranges.  And he demolished twenty-two before he
+satisfied his almost insatiable thirst. After that the chicken and rice
+made him feel like a new boy.
+
+Then Ken made beds under a kind of porch, and he lay down in one,
+stretched out languidly and gratefully, as if he never intended to move
+again, and his eyes seemed to be glued shut.
+
+When he awoke the sun was shining in his face.  When he had gone to bed
+it had been shining at his back.  He consulted his watch. He had slept
+seventeen hours.
+
+When he got up and found Pepe as well as before he had been taken with
+the fever and George on his feet and Hal awake and actually smiling, Ken
+experienced a sensation of unutterable thankfulness.  A terrible burden
+slipped from his shoulders.  For a moment he felt a dimming of his eyes
+and a lump in his throat.
+
+"How about you, Ken, old man?" inquired Hal, with a hint of his usual
+spirit.
+
+"Wal, youngster, I reckon fer a man who's been through some right pert
+happenin's, I'm in tol'able shape," drawled Ken.
+
+"I'll bet two dollars you've been up against it," declared Hal,
+solemnly.
+
+Then, as they sat to an appetizing breakfast, Ken gave them a brief
+account of the incidents of the two days and two nights when they were
+too ill to know anything.
+
+It was a question whether George's voluble eulogy of Ken's feat or Hal's
+silent, bright-eyed pride in his brother was the greater compliment.
+
+Finally Hal said: "Won't that tickle Jim Williams when we tell him how
+you split up the Indians' canoe and spilled them into the river?"
+
+Then Ken conceived the idea of climbing into the giant ceiba that stood
+high on the edge of the bluff.  It was hard work, but he accomplished
+it, and from a fork in the top-most branches he looked out.  That was a
+warm, rich, wonderful scene.  Ken felt that he would never forget it.
+His interest now, however, was not so much in its beauty and wildness.
+His keen eye followed the river as it wound away into the jungle, and
+when he could no longer see the bright ribbon of water he followed its
+course by the line of magnificent trees.  It was possible to trace the
+meandering course of the river clear to the rise of the mountains, dim
+and blue in the distance.  And from here Ken made more observations and
+notes.
+
+As he went over in his mind the map and notes and report he had prepared
+he felt that he had made good.  He had explored and mapped more than a
+hundred miles of wild jungle river.  He felt confident that he had
+earned the trip to England and the German forests.  He might win a
+hunting trip on the vast uplands of British East Africa.  But he felt
+also that the reward of his uncle's and his father's pride would be more
+to him.  That was a great moment for Ken Ward.  And there was yet much
+more that he could do to make this exploring trip a success.
+
+[Illustration: Ken Ward's Map]
+
+When he joined the others he found that Pepe had learned that the
+village of Panuco was distant a day or a night by canoe.  How many miles
+or kilometers Pepe could not learn. Ken decided it would be best to go
+on at once. It was not easy to leave that pleasant place, with its music
+of parrots and other birds, and the tiger-cats that played like kittens,
+and the deer that ate from the hand.  The women would accept no pay, so
+Ken made them presents.
+
+Once more embarked, Ken found his mood reverting to that of the last
+forty-eight hours. He could not keep cheerful.  The river was dirty and
+the smell sickening.  The sun was like the open door of a furnace.  And
+Ken soon discovered he was tired, utterly tired.
+
+That day was a repetition of the one before, hotter, wearier, and the
+stretches of river were longer, and the natives met in canoes were
+stolidly ignorant of distance.  The mourning of turtle-doves almost
+drove Ken wild.  There were miles and miles of willows, and every tree
+was full of melancholy doves.  At dusk the boys halted on a sand-bar,
+too tired to cook a dinner, and sprawled in the warm sand to sleep like
+logs.
+
+In the morning they brightened up a little, for surely just around the
+bend they would come to Panuco.  Pepe rowed faithfully on, and bend
+after bend lured Ken with deceit. He was filled with weariness and
+disgust, so tired he could hardly lift his hand, so sleepy he could
+scarcely keep his eyes open.  He hated the wide, glassy stretches of
+river and the muddy banks and dusty cattle.
+
+At noon they came unexpectedly upon a cluster of thatched huts, to find
+that they made up the village of Panuco.  Ken was sick, for he had
+expected a little town where they could get some drinking-water and hire
+a launch to speed them down to Tampico.  This appeared little more than
+the other places he had passed, and he climbed up the bank wearily,
+thinking of the long fifty miles still to go.
+
+But Panuco was bigger and better than it looked from the river.  The
+boys found a clean, comfortable inn, where they dined well, and learned
+to their joy that a coach left in an hour for Tamos to meet the
+five-o'clock train to Tampico.
+
+They hired a _mozo_ to row the boat to Tampico and, carrying the lighter
+things, boarded the coach, and, behind six mules, were soon bowling over
+a good level road.
+
+It was here that the spirit of Ken's mood again changed, and somehow
+seemed subtly conveyed to the others.  The gloom faded away as Ken had
+seen the mist-clouds dissolve in the morning sunlight.  It was the end
+of another wild trip.  Hal was ill, but a rest and proper care would
+soon bring him around.  Ken had some trophies and pictures, but he also
+had memories.  And he believed he had acquired an accurate knowledge of
+the jungle and its wild nature, and he had mapped the river from Micas
+Falls to Panuco.
+
+"Well, it certainly _did come_ to us, didn't it?" asked George, naively,
+for the hundredth time.  "Didn't I tell you?  By gosh, I can't remember
+what did come off.  But we had a dandy time."
+
+"Great!" replied Ken.  "I had more than I wanted.  I'll never spring
+another stunt like this one!"
+
+Hal gazed smilingly at his brother.
+
+"Bah!  Ken Ward, bring on your next old trip!"
+
+Which proved decidedly that Hal was getting better and that he alone
+understood his brother.
+
+Pepe listened and rubbed his big hands, and there was a light in his
+dark eyes.
+
+Ken laughed.  It was good to feel happy just then; it was enough to feel
+safe and glad in the present, with responsibility removed, without a
+thought of the future.
+
+Yet, when some miles across country he saw the little town of Tamos
+shining red-roofed against the sky, he came into his own again. The old
+calling, haunting love of wild places and wild nature returned, and with
+dreamy eyes he looked out.  He saw the same beauty and life and
+wildness.  Beyond the glimmering lagoons stretched the dim, dark jungle.
+A flock of flamingoes showed pink across the water.  Ducks dotted the
+weedy marshes. And low down on the rosy horizon a long curved line of
+wild geese sailed into the sunset.
+
+When the boys arrived at Tampico and George had secured comfortable
+lodgings for them, the first thing Ken did was to put Hal to bed.  It
+required main strength to do this. Ken was not taking any chances with
+tropical fever, and he sent for a doctor.
+
+It was not clear whether the faces Hal made were at the little dried-up
+doctor or at the medicine he administered.  However, it was very clear
+that Hal made fun of him and grew bolder the more he believed the man
+could not understand English.
+
+Ken liked the silent, kindly physician, and remonstrated with Hal, and
+often, just to keep Hal's mind occupied, he would talk of the university
+and baseball, topics that were absorbing to the boy.
+
+And one day, as the doctor was leaving, he turned to Ken with a twinkle
+in his eyes and said in perfect English: "I won't need to come any
+more."
+
+Hal's jaw began to drop.
+
+"Your brother is all right," went on the doctor.  "But he's a fresh kid,
+and he'll never make the Wayne Varsity--or a good explorer, either--till
+he gets over that freshness.  I'm a Wayne man myself.  Class of '82.
+Good day, boys."
+
+Ken Ward was astounded.  "By George! What do you think of that?  He's a
+Wayne med.  I'll have to look him up.  And, Hal, he was just right about
+you."
+
+Hal looked extremely crestfallen and remorseful.
+
+"I'm always getting jars."
+
+It took a whole day for him to recover his usual spirits.
+
+Ken had promptly sent the specimens and his notes to his uncle, and as
+the days passed the boys began to look anxiously for some news.  In ten
+days Hal was as well as ever, and then the boys had such sport with the
+tarpon and big sharks and alligator-gars that they almost forgot about
+the rewards they had striven so hard for and hoped to win.  But finally,
+when the mail arrived from home, they were at once happy and fearful.
+George was with them that evening, and shared their excitement and
+suspense.  Hal's letters were from his mother and his sister, and they
+were read first.  Judge Ward's letter to Ken was fatherly and
+solicitous, but brief.  He gave the boys six more weeks, cautioned them
+to be sensible and to profit by their opportunity, and he inclosed a
+bank-draft.  Not a word about rewards!
+
+Ken's fingers trembled a little as he tore open the uncle's letter.  He
+read it aloud:
+
+
+DEAR KEN,--Congratulations!  You've done well. You win the trip to
+Africa.  Hal's work also was good--several specimens accepted by the
+Smithsonian. I'll back you for the Yucatan trip.  Will send letters to
+the American consul at Progreso, and arrange for you to meet the
+Austrian archaeologist Maler, who I hope will take you in hand.
+
+I want you to make a study of some of the ruins of Yucatan, which I
+believe are as wonderful as any in Egypt.  I advise you to make this
+trip short and to the point, for there are indications of coming
+revolution throughout Mexico.
+
+With best wishes,
+       UNCLE G.
+
+
+The old varsity cheer rang out from Ken, and Hal began a war-dance.
+Then both boys pounced upon George, and for a few moments made life
+miserable for him.
+
+"And I can't go with you!" he exclaimed, sorrowfully.
+
+Both Ken and Hal shared his disappointment. But presently.  George
+brightened up. The smile came back which he always wore when prophesying
+the uncertain adventures of the future.
+
+"Well, anyway, I'll be safe home.  And you fellows!  You'll be getting
+yours when you're lost in the wilderness of Yucatan!"
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+           *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+                      _*There's More to Follow!*_
+
+
+More stories of the sort you like; more, probably, by the author of this
+one; more than 500 titles all told by writers of world-wide reputation,
+in the Authors' Alphabetical List which you will find on the _reverse
+side_ of the wrapper of this book.  Look it over before you lay it
+aside.  There are books here you are sure to want--some, possibly, that
+you have _always_ wanted.
+
+It is a _selected_ list; every book in it has achieved a certain measure
+of success.
+
+The Grosset & Dunlap list is not only the greatest Index of Good Fiction
+available, it represents in addition a generally accepted Standard of
+Value. It will pay you to
+
+_Look on the Other Side of the Wrapper!_
+
+In case the wrapper is lost write to the publishers for a complete
+catalog.
+
+
+
+           *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                          *ZANE GREY'S NOVELS*
+
+May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list.
+
+THE CALL OF THE CANYON
+WANDERER OF THE WASTELAND
+TO THE LAST MAN
+THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER
+THE MAN OF THE FOREST
+THE DESERT OF WHEAT
+THE U. P. TRAIL
+WILDFIRE
+THE BORDER LEGION
+THE RAINBOW TRAIL
+THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT
+RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
+THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS
+THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN
+THE LONE STAR RANGER
+DESERT GOLD
+BETTY ZANE
+THE DAY OF THE BEAST
+
+*      *      *      *      *
+
+LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS
+
+The life story of "Buffalo Bill" by his sister Helen Cody Wetmore, with
+Foreword and conclusion by Zane Grey.
+
+
+
+                      *ZANE GREY'S BOOKS FOR BOYS*
+
+KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
+THE YOUNG LION HUNTER
+THE YOUNG FORESTER
+THE YOUNG PITCHER
+THE SHORT STOP
+THE RED-HEADED OUTFIELD AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                       *NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE*
+
+                        *WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE*
+
+  May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list
+
+BIG-TOWN ROUND-UP, THE
+BRAND BLOTTERS
+BUCKY O'CONNOR
+CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT
+DAUGHTER OF THE DONS, A
+DESERT'S PRICE, THE
+FIGHTING EDGE, THE
+GUNSIGHT PASS
+HIGHGRADER, THE
+IRONHEART
+MAN FOUR-SQUARE, A
+MAN-SIZE
+MAVERICKS
+OH, YOU TEX!
+PIRATE OF PANAMA, THE
+RIDGWAY OF MONTANA
+SHERIFF'S SON, THE
+STEVE YEAGER
+TANGLED TRAILS
+TEXAS RANGER, A
+VISION SPLENDID, THE
+WYOMING
+YUKON TRAIL, THE
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                        *JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD'S*
+
+                         *STORIES OF ADVENTURE*
+
+  May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list
+
+THE COUNTRY BEYOND
+THE FLAMING FOREST
+THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN
+THE RIVER'S END
+THE GOLDEN SNARE
+NOMADS OF THE NORTH
+KAZAN
+BAREE, SON OF KAZAN
+THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM
+THE DANGER TRAIL
+THE HUNTED WOMAN
+THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH
+THE GRIZZLY KING
+ISOBEL
+THE WOLF HUNTERS
+THE GOLD HUNTERS
+THE COURAGE OF MARGE O'DOONE
+BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY
+
+_Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_
+
+
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+                     *EDGAR RICE BURROUGH'S NOVELS*
+
+ May be had wherever books are sold.  Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's list
+
+BANDIT OF HELL'S BEND, THE
+CAVE GIRL, THE
+LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE
+TARZAN AND THE ANT MEN
+TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION
+TARZAN THE TERRIBLE
+TARZAN THE UNTAMED
+JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN
+AT THE EARTH'S CORE
+THE MUCKER
+A PRINCESS OF MARS
+THE GODS OF MARS
+THE WARLORD OF MARS
+THUVIA, MAID OF MARS
+THE CHESSMEN OF MARS
+
+
+
+                *GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK*
+
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE ***
+
+
+
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