He planned to go out to the far end of the limb, swing from its extremity and drop to the ground, landing on the ether bank of the cut.
The ocelot could not get hold or balance to venture as far out on the limb as the lad dared to go. Jack calculated that the time it lost in getting down to the ground again, would enable him to meantime put a considerable distance between himself and the enemy.
The lad sat astride the dead tree branch and began to walk himself outward from the main trunk of the tree.
The ocelot reached the crotch, surveyed Jack with a savage growl, and carefully planting its feet, started out after him.
Its progress was slow. Jack hitched himself along more rapidly. The branch began to creak. Our hero doubted if it would sustain their double weight.
However, he trusted to the wary instinct of the ocelot, which kept coming right forward. Jack was about eight feet from the end of the branch when it gave a very ominous crack. In fact, he saw the white splinters show where it joined the tree.
He swung both feet to one side of the limb, held on only by his fingers, and planned to get to its end hand over hand.
Snap! Jack hurried progress, but it was no use. He saw the ocelot crouch and hug the limb. It gave way at its base. Jack let go. He landed directly on the smooth, sandy bottom of that portion of the ravine.
He struck the ground upright, squarely with both feet. Glancing quickly at the tree, he saw that the branch had whipped right down against the trunk.
The limb had not entirely broken loose, but swayed from several sustaining wood filaments. The ocelot, still hugging the limb, was clawing frantically at the main trunk of the tree to get a new hold there to keep from a tumble.
"It won"t do to stop, I see that," murmured Jack. "Ugh! what kind of a mushy mess have I got into?"
Jack looked down at his feet. They had sunk into the sand and were covered to the ankles. With the greatest difficulty he pulled out one foot.
The instant he put it down again in a new spot, however, it sank afresh.
He released the other. This threw his weight on a single foot, which went down half way to the knee.
It was not ten feet to the bank of the ravine. Jack lost all interest in the ocelot as he thrilled at a startling discovery.
"Quicksand!" he breathed hastily. "There is not a moment to lose!"
Our hero tugged to get the sunken foot free. He succeeded. Then, half-dancing about, he threw himself flat.
His idea was to make a hurried scramble for the bank on hands and knees.
But he uttered a cry of the greatest alarm as his hands went down into the treacherous ma.s.s clear to the wrists.
It took a great effort to get upright again. By the time he had done so, Jack realized that he was in a most serious and critical situation.
He was sunk now clear to the knees in a weaving, shifting ma.s.s. It circled his imprisoned limbs like great moving ropes, pulling him downward with a suction force that was tremendous.
The youth uttered a grasp of real horror. He could not budge either limb.
As he sank to the thighs, he gave himself up for lost.
He saw that no help of any kind whatever was at hand. He knew that the camp of the men who had come with him must be near. He raised his voice to a desperate pitch.
He let out a series of the most piercing yells. But his heart sank, as from the neighboring jungle there instantly arose a mocking imitation from the throats of several parrots.
They drowned out his cries for help. Jack shuddered as the shifting sands wound about his waist. He drew up his tingling fingers with a shock as the ma.s.s swept them in ominous, warning contact.
"It is the last of me," thought Jack, as tears of despair came to his eyes. "Jenny and the folks will never know my fate!"
Jack looked up at the dark sky, sick at heart, but trying to resign himself to the terrible fate that hung over him.
His glance shifted to the tree. He instinctively dodged his head to one side as he did so. Something spirited was happening there.
The ocelot had got a clutch on the main tree trunk, now. As it let go of the dangling limb, however, this parted under the strain.
Its small end struck the ground, and it swung out, coming for Jack and threatened to crush him.
The limb fell with a crash, the big end just reaching the west side of the ravine. Its centre grazed our hero"s shoulder.
"I am saved!" cried Jack.
He threw one arm tightly around the limb, then the other. Now he was clinging to a natural bridge spanning the ravine from one side to the other.
Jack held on and tugged hard to draw himself up from this quicksand bath.
It was hard work. Finally he got one limb free, then the other. They were numb, and felt like pieces of lead.
Jack was so exhausted with the effort that, crawling on top of the limb, he lay there lengthwise, almost exhausted.
Chapter XXVI
A Night in the Jungle
It was a good quarter of an hour before Jack felt like making another move. As he lay on the log he kept a lookout for the ocelots, but neither of the beasts appeared, the larger having gone to the cave-like opening to learn what was the matter with its mate.
"I must get away from this vicinity," thought our hero, and at last started off.
He scarcely knew in what direction to turn, for the running away of his pony and his adventures with the wild beasts and in the quicksands had completely bewildered him.
"I"d give a good round sum to be back with our party," he thought, as he pushed his way through the jungle. "I wonder if they are out searching for me?"
At last he had to rest again, and thinking himself safe for the time being he set about cleaning his hands and face, and also his outfit.
"This is certainly treasure hunting with a vengeance," he mused. "I think I would have done better had I stuck to the nitrates. Maybe I"ll lose my life and the vultures will pick my bones, just as they did poor Plum"s."
It made our hero more dismal than ever to think of how Plum had departed, and he was very sober as night drew on and he still found himself alone and with no idea of where he was.
"I"ll have to stay here alone in the dark," he said, half aloud. "That won"t be pleasant, but it can"t be helped."
Soon it was so dark that to advance further would have been foolish.
Accordingly Jack came to a halt, and looked around for some means of making himself comfortable for the night.