“Here’s Mr. Whitman coming with the whole safari! We’re safe now, Kamuka! Come on!”
With that, Biff dashed forward, only to be caught by the shoulders and spun full about, his arm twisted in back of him. Biff’s captor shoved him straight toward the leader of the safari, and the boy saw for the first time that the man in white wasn’t Mr. Whitman.
Looking down from beneath the pith helmet was the ever-smiling face of Nicholas Serbot, tinted an unearthly green in the subdued glow of the jungle. Over Biff’s shoulder leered the face of his captor, Big Pepito!
CHAPTER XII
Between Two Fires
Biff’s first concern was for Kamuka. He managed to dart a quick look along the trail hoping to shout a warning to his companion. Then, Biff caught himself, fearful that such a call would turn attention in Kamuka’s direction.
The warning wasn’t needed. Kamuka had witnessed Biff’s rapid capture and had taken action on his own. With uncanny instinct, Kamuka had found an opening in the seemingly solid wall of jungle and had already dived from sight.
One man, however, had seen the green mass close behind Kamuka’s quick-moving form. That man was Urubu. He raised his rifle and fired into the thick foliage, three times in quick succession.
As Urubu paused, Biff appealed frantically to Serbot:
“Don’t let him shoot again—”
Serbot ordered Urubu to lower his rifle, which the guide did. At the same time, Urubu grinned, for he had seen no ripple in the jungle leaves beyond the spot where he had first aimed.