“I’ll say there was!” declared Rawlins. “By glory! Didn’t we hear him yell?”
The explorer smiled. “That was no jaguar,” he replied positively. “I’m not surprised the Indians were terrified. This man was struck down by the Kenaima!”
“What!” ejaculated Mr. Pauling, looking up in amazement. “You mean to say--”
“That we arrived in the nick of time to save this rascal from the fate of his red-bearded friend,” declared the explorer. “The avenger crept upon him and struck him down, but was undoubtedly frightened off by hearing us approach--remember he cannot be seen by human beings until his mission is accomplished--and he had no time to finish his job.”
“By glory, you’re right!” exclaimed the diver who had been examining the earth while Mr. Thorne spoke. “There’s a trail of bare feet leading away from here, but nary a track of a big cat.”
“Well my thanks to the Kenaima,” remarked Mr. Pauling. “I guess you hit nearer the mark than you thought when you said he was ‘plenty good fren’ of ours. But I’m mighty glad he didn’t finish this chap off. Dead men tell no tales and I’ve hopes this rascal will live to tell a lot.”
“Well, I’m sorry for that poor devil of a Kenaima lad,” declared Rawlins. “According to Hoyle, as you might say, he’ll have to go on bumping people off indefinitely as long as he didn’t run a stick through the old High Muck a Muck here.”
Mr. Thorne chuckled. “I don’t think you need worry over him,” he responded. “I expect he’ll consider that as long as he did a good job with the other victim, he’s fulfilled the spirit if not the letter of the law. But I’d like to know what these two rascals did to bring the Kenaima after them.”
“I’ll say they did a plenty!” said Rawlins. “Leave it to them to do dirty work--even if they’re in an uninhabited jungle.”
“Well they won’t do any more,” averred Mr. Pauling who, with the others’ assistance, was dressing and bandaging the man’s wound. “If we get him out of the bush alive, he’ll rue the day he ever went into the jungle.”