“I know. But this is not real bellbird. Listen.”
Biff listened. The sharp note came clear again, from exactly the same direction. Biff could detect no difference between it and the anvil chorus of earlier in the day. But Kamuka could.
“Somebody is hitting metal with hammer,” the Indian boy insisted. “We look for them. We find them—if we hurry.”
Kamuka waved his arm for Biff to follow, as he started a quick jog along the jungle path, hoping to reach the source of the well-faked bird call before the sounds ceased. Straight ahead, low tree branches formed a thick green arch, darkening the path between two low banks that were vivid with colorful flowers.
Mostly, they were magnificent orchids that thrived on dampness as well as heat, but Biff was unaware of that. Kamuka, though schooled in jungle knowledge, ignored the flowers in his haste. He had turned his head to see if Biff had responded to his call, when suddenly, the green carpeting of the path gave way beneath his weight.
A moment later, Kamuka was waist deep in slimy ooze, squirming, twisting about to grab at bushes on the solid ground that he had left. The tufts of grass that he clutched simply pulled loose from the soft earth. With each quickly repeated snatch, he had still less chance of gaining a hold, for he was sinking to his armpits as he panted:
“Look out, Biff! Don’t come close! Quicksand!”
CHAPTER VII
The Deadly Coils
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.