  Biff stopped a dozen feet short of the spot where Kamuka, arms emerging from the mire, was frantically waving him back. Biff felt the soft bank giving way beneath him, and he immediately sprang back to solid ground, knowing that only from there could he hope to save his friend. Kamuka was still sinking in the quicksand, though more slowly now. That gave Biff a few more minutes in which to help him; but how to help was still a question. There was no use throwing a liana vine to Kamuka; it would be too flimsy. A tree branch would be better, but the only boughs strong enough to support a person’s weight were those that overhung the mire itself. Biff couldn’t wrench those branches loose from their trunks in time to save Kamuka. In fact, to push anything out from the bank looked like a hopeless plan. The best way to help would be by a pull straight up. Biff realized that, when he saw Kamuka look up toward the lowest bough, six feet or more above his head. Biff felt the soft bank giving way beneath him If only Kamuka could reach that far! That thought gave Biff the answer. Skirting the quicksand, he climbed one of the trees and started working out on its lowest thick branch, hand over hand, toward the spot where Kamuka, now nearly shoulder-deep in the muck, still looked up hopefully. So far, Biff had been worrying whether the bough would prove strong enough. Now he was wishing that it would bend more. Biff was dangling near Kamuka, but not quite above him; and it was impossible for the Indian boy to shift his position in the quicksand. But Biff was able to do the next best thing. Locking his hands over the thick branch, Biff began a pendulum swing, out and back—out and back—bringing his ankles closer to Kamuka’s reach. Kamuka made one clutch and missed, but on the next swing Biff practically placed his ankle in the Indian boy’s grasp. Kamuka caught Biff’s other ankle in the same fashion, and Biff, slanting a glance downward, saw the other boy’s face smiling grimly from between those upstretched arms. Kamuka’s voice came calmly. “Hold tight, Biff. I will pull up slowly.” Now Biff was glad that the bough was a stout one, for he could feel it give under Kamuka’s added weight. Biff tried to work himself higher by bending his arms and turning them along the branch, so that he could use his hands to grip his opposite wrists. That helped at first, but Kamuka’s weight kept increasing as he emerged gradually from the ooze, and the strain made Biff’s shoulders feel as if they would pull from their sockets. But by then, Kamuka had worked clear of the quicksand’s suction. He caught Biff’s belt with one hand; then the other. Next, he was clamping Biff’s shoulder and finally the tree branch. The strain lessened then, with both boys dangling from the bough. Practically side by side, they made a hand-over-hand trip toward the tree trunk and dropped to solid ground. There they sat a moment, panting and rubbing their shoulders as they looked at each other, a bit bewildered by their short but strenuous adventure. From the distance came that clear metallic note that they had heard before. Kamuka looked at Biff. “We still go find it—maybe?” “All right, Kamuka. Let’s go find it.” They skirted the quicksand and took the path that Kamuka had missed in his hurry. It divided into lesser paths, but they continued to pick a course in the general direction of the clanging sound. “Somebody use that for a signal,” declared Kamuka. “When we find it, you will see that I am right—” “You are right,” Biff whispered. “Look there!” A figure had cut into the path well ahead of them and was continuing on. Softly, Kamuka whispered the name: “Luiz!” The boys were fortunate. Luiz hadn’t spotted them. Evidently, the guide had left the camp by another path and had followed a roundabout course to reach his present goal. Luiz, judging by the eager expression on his scheming face, was also following the call of the false bellbird. Cautiously, the boys took up Luiz’s trail until he reached a clearing. There, they sidled into a patch of jungle and spread the foliage just enough to view the open space in front of them. A big man was sitting on a camp stool beside a tent. In front of him was a small anvil, and he gave it a ringing stroke with a hammer as the boys watched. Kamuka was the first to recognize the hawkish face that turned in Luiz’s direction as the guide approached. Kamuka whispered, “Urubu!” Biff had scarcely noticed Urubu. Instead, he was staring in total amazement at two other men who had come from the tent. “One of those men is Nicholas Serbot,” he told Kamuka. “The other is his sidekick, Big Pepito. But they were in Manaus, the night we left there. How did they get here?” “Airplane come upriver ahead of you,” replied Kamuka. “Stop at maloca near rubber camp.” By maloca Kamuka meant a native village some distance back from the Rio Negro. Quickly, Biff exclaimed: “That’s where they met Urubu! They must have paid him to make trouble for us!” Kamuka gave a chuckle. “Look like they pay Luiz, too.” Urubu was introducing Luiz to Serbot and Pepito. In the background were several native bearers, apparently under orders to keep their distance. Serbot and Pepito were watching them to make sure they did. Biff took advantage of that. “We can move up closer,” he told Kamuka. “Maybe close enough to hear what they are saying.” Kamuka silently agreed, for he crawled along with Biff until they reached the very fringe of the thinner brush, only a dozen yards from where the four men stood. There, Kamuka whispered, “This far enough.” The grass here was tall and studded with brilliant flowers and shrubs that had cropped up since the brush was thinned. By keeping almost flat on their stomachs, the boys remained completely hidden. Most of the discussion was in Portuguese, with a sprinkling of dialect, so between them Biff and Kamuka were able to understand most of what was said. “I come for money, Senhor,” Luiz told Serbot. “Like Urubu said you would give me if I delay safari.” “You will get your money later,” promised Serbot. “You can’t spend it here in the jungle anyway. If you even showed it, Brewster and Whitman would wonder where it came from.” Luiz started to babble an objection, only to have Urubu interrupt him. “You have only done half your job, Luiz,” Urubu reminded him. “You gave our safari time to catch up with yours. Now you must see that we have time to get ahead.” “For that,” injected Luiz, “I should be paid double.” “You will be,” agreed Serbot, “if you can tell us where Brewster intends to go, so we can get there ahead of him.” Biff saw Luiz’s teeth gleam in a knowing smile. The small guide spoke in dialect to Urubu, who made a prompt reply. Kamuka understood the talk and whispered to Biff: “Luiz says he can tell them what they want to know. He asks Urubu if he can trust them. Urubu says yes.” By then, Luiz had turned to Serbot. Biff’s heart sank as he heard Luiz triumphantly announce: “They go to Piedra Del Cucuy!” “The big boundary rock!” exclaimed Serbot. “That must have been Nara’s boat that took Brewster and the boy up the river. Now, they probably plan to meet Nara there.” He turned to Urubu. “Can you get us to Piedra Del Cucuy first?” he demanded. “Easily,” assured Urubu, “if Luiz takes them the long way.” “Maybe I should leave them,” put in Luiz, “and come with you. Then they will have no guide and will not find the way at all.” “That would be all right,” decided Serbot, “but learn what else you can first. Did Brewster mention the name Nara?” “Nao, Senhor.” “Did he say anything about a map?” “Nao, Senhor.” “Find out what you can about both. If you can get word to us, good. If Brewster becomes suspicious, join us. But your big job is to delay their safari. Use whatever way seems best.” That ended the parley, except for parting words from Urubu to Luiz, which greatly interested the listening boys. “Tomorrow, I signal before we start.” Urubu gestured toward the hammer and anvil. “If you do not come to join us, we will know you are staying with the safari—to guide them the long way.” Urubu and Luiz were turning in the direction of the spot where the boys lay hidden. Biff whispered to Kamuka: “Let’s crawl out of here fast—” “Stay still!” Kamuka’s interruption came as a warning hiss. “Do not move—not one inch!” Biff let his eyes turn in the direction of Kamuka’s stare. Despite the intense heat of the jungle, Biff could actually feel himself freeze. Coming straight toward them through the tall grass was the head of a huge snake! Behind it, the grass rippled from the slithering coils that followed. Fully twenty feet in length, the gigantic creature could only be an anaconda, greatest of all boa constrictors. To be caught within those crushing coils would mean sure death! |
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