"Ah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed their guide; and, bending down, he pressed the leaves aside with the point of his knife till he saw the object which had fallen, and carefully took it up with his left finger and thumb to hold out before the others the head and about an inch or so of the little snake--one much thinner, but otherwise about the size of an English adder.
"Horrid-looking little thing," said Rob carelessly; "but I don"t think it"s poisonous."
Shaddy gave a grunt, and holding the neck tightly, he thrust the point of his knife in between the reptile"s jaws, opened them, and then shifting his fingers to the angle, he held the snake"s head upside down, and with the point of the blade raised from where they lay back on the roof of the mouth, close to the nose, two tiny gla.s.s-like teeth, the creature"s fangs, which could be held back or erected at its pleasure.
"Not much doubt about them, sir," said Shaddy.
"Not the slightest," replied Brazier, frowning. "We"ve both had narrow escapes, Rob."
"You have, sir, and all for want of knowing better, if you"ll excuse me.
What you"ve got to do is to look upon everything as dangerous till you"ve found out as it"s safe. And that you must do, please, for I can"t help you here. If it"s a clawing from a lion or tiger, or a dig from a deer"s horn, or a bite of "gator, or a broken limb, or spear wound, or even a bullet-hole, I"m all there. I"ll undertake to pull you through a bit of fever too, or any or"nary complaint, and all without pretending to be a doctor. But as to fighting against snake poison, I"m just like a baby. I couldn"t help you a bit, so don"t get running your hands among the things anywhere. They"ll get out of your way fast enough if you give them a chance; so just help me by minding that."
One of the boatmen came up and said something in a sour way to the speaker, who added,--
"They"ve skinned the tiger, and want to know what to do with the carkidge, sir. Come along with me, and I"ll show you something else."
"No, no: stop a moment. Look here!" cried Joe.
They all turned to where he stood holding the bunch on his gun-barrel, and saw his eyes fixed upon something playing about--a great humble-bee apparently--which paused before one of the orchid blossoms.
The little thing was dull-looking, and they saw directly after that it was probing the flowers with a long curved beak.
"Humming bird," cried Rob; "but I thought that they were bright-coloured."
In an instant, as if it had heard his words, the tiny creature changed its position to such an angle with the sun that for a few seconds its breast glowed with gorgeous green and flame-coloured scales, which looked as if they had been cut out of some wonderful metal to protect the bird"s breast. Its wings moved so rapidly that they were invisible, and the beautiful little object seemed to be surrounded by a filmy haze of a little more than the diameter of a cricket-ball.
Again there was a sharp motion, such as is noted in one kind of fly in an English summer, when it can be seen poised for a few moments apparently immovable, but with its wings beating at lightning speed.
And as the humming bird changed its position the breast feathers looked dark and dull, while its head displayed a crest of dazzling golden green.
It appeared to have no dread of the group of human beings close to it, but probed blossom after blossom as calmly as a bee would at home; and it was from no movement they made that it suddenly made a dart and was gone.
"Pretty creatures!" said Shaddy, smiling, and looking the last man in the world likely to admire a bird; "you"ve come to the right place for them, gentlemen. Those lads of mine would soon make blowpipes and arrows, and knock you a few down, or I could if you wanted "em, with one of your guns."
"The shots would cut them to pieces," said Brazier.
"To be sure they would, sir, and I shouldn"t use none. I"ve knocked one down with a charge of powder, shot off pretty close, and other times with half a teaspoonful of sand in the gun. But I tell you what acts best, only you can"t do it with a breechloader. It must be an old muzzle gun, and after you"ve rammed down your powder very tight with a strong wad, you pour in a little water, and fire soon as you can. You get a shower then as brings "em down without damaging your bird."
"Let"s look at the jaguar skin," said Rob; and stepping aside to where the boatmen stood in the broad sunshine, instead of gazing upon the tawny fur, with its rich spots of dark brown along back and flanks, shading off into soft white, he found, stretched out tightly by pegs, a sheet of unpleasant-looking fleshy skin, hardening in the ardent sunshine, which drove out its moisture at a rapid rate.
"Do it no end of good to stop like that till to-morrow," said Shaddy.
"It would be pretty nigh stiff and hard by then."
"But I don"t want it stiff and hard," cried Rob. "I want it soft, like a leather rug."
"Yes, sir, I know," replied the guide. "Let"s get it dry first; I can soon make it soft afterwards."
Brazier was looking round the open patch of slightly sloping ground, about half an acre in extent, forming quite a nook in the forest through which the river ran.
"There is plenty of work here for a day or two," he said; "and it is a suitable place for our halt."
"Couldn"t be better, sir. We shan"t find another so good."
"Then we"ll stop for one day, certain."
""Cording to that, then," said Shaddy thoughtfully, "we"d better take the carkidge somewhere else."
"Of course--get rid of it or bury it. Before long in this sun it will be offensive. Why not throw it in the river?"
"That"s what I meant to do, sir; but I was a bit scared about drawing the "gators about us. Don"t want their company. If they see that came from here they"ll be waiting about for more. I dunno, though; perhaps the stream"ll carry it down half a mile before they pull it under or it sinks."
He made a sign to the boatmen, who seized the carca.s.s of the jaguar, bore it just below where the boat was moored, and the two lads followed to see it consigned to the swift river.
Here the men stood close to the edge, and acting in concert under Shaddy"s direction, they swung the carca.s.s to and fro two or three times, gathering impetus at every sway, and then with one tremendous effort and a loud expiration of the breath they sent it flying several yards, for it to fall with a tremendous splash and sink slowly, the lighter-coloured portions being quite plain in the clear water as it settled down, sending great rings to each sh.o.r.e. Then the carca.s.s rose slowly to the surface and began to float down-stream.
"Look," cried Rob the next instant, as the smooth water suddenly became agitated, and dark shadows appeared to be moving beneath the surface.
Then the jaguar moved suddenly to one side, as if it were alive, then back, to alter its course directly straight away from them, and again to begin travelling up stream; while the water boiled all round about it, and several silvery fish flashed out of the water and fell back; then heads and tails appeared as the fierce occupants of the river fought for morsels which they bit out of the flanks and limbs of the dead animal.
"Makes "em mad to get at it," said Shaddy, as the water grew more disturbed; "they"re coming up the river in shoals. You see there"s no skin to get through and fill their teeth with hair. Say, youngsters, talk about ground bait, don"t you wish you"d got your tackle ready?
Might catch some good ones for supper."
"And eat them after they"ve been feeding on that animal?"
"Better have them after feeding on that, Rob," said Brazier, "than after a feast of I don"t know what. Why not try, Naylor?"
"No meat for a bait, sir. Let"s wait till they"ve done, and then I"ll fish for a dorado. We"ve got some oranges left."
He ceased speaking, and they stood watching the carca.s.s, which still floated, from the simple fact that a shoal of fish were attacking it from below, while so many came swarming, up from lower down the stream, attracted by the odour of the pieces of the jaguar, and the many fragments which ascended and floated away, that the carca.s.s not only could not sink but was driven higher and higher toward the main river.
"Hah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Shaddy suddenly, "I thought that was coming."
For suddenly there were dozens of silvery fish leaping in the air to fall back into the water, which ceased to boil, and a wave formed by the shoal swept down-stream.
"What"s that mean?" cried Rob. "Why, they"ve left it."
"Yes, sir, _they_ have," said Shaddy, emphasising the personal p.r.o.noun.
"Look!"
A fresh splash about twenty yards from them had already taken Rob"s attention, and then there was another caused by a peculiar dark-looking object, which rose above the surface.
""Gator"s tail," said Shaddy, grimly. "It"s their turn now, and the hungry fishes have to make room."
Just then a long black, muddy-looking snout glided out of the water, followed by the head, shoulders and back of a hideous lizard-like creature, which glided over the carca.s.s of the jaguar and disappeared, followed directly by a head twice as large, and as it rose clear of the water the jaws opened wide and closed with a loud snap. Directly after this head sank down out of sight there was a tremendous swirl in the water, and then it began to settle down, but only to be disturbed once more about opposite to where the party stood, and again some twenty yards lower down, after which the river ran swiftly and smoothly once more.
"That was an old bull "gator," said Shaddy. "The small ones, three or four, came first and scared off all the fish that didn"t want to be eaten, and then the old chap came and soon sent them to the right-about, and he has carried off the carkidge to enjoy all to himself down in some hole under the bank."
"Plenty of natural history for you here, boys," said Brazier, "eh?"
"Yes; but how horrid!" cried Rob. "And yet how beautiful it all is to compensate!" said Brazier, thoughtfully. "But what about something fresh to eat, Naylor? We must shoot something, or you must fish.