Crouch looked up. There was a twinkle in his only eye.
"So much for science," said he. "When you get back to London, you can tell the doctors they're wrong. If it amuses 'em to play with antiseptics--and they're fond of the smell of carbolic--they're welcome to do what they like. As for me, I've used this remedy for twenty years, and I'm not inclined to try another."
Max looked worried. He was convinced that Crouch would die of blood-poisoning, and was beginning to wonder how, in that benighted, tropical forest, he was going to amputate the captain's leg.
"Don't you fret," said Crouch, tying the bandage himself. "Maybe, one brand of tobacco's not so good as another. It's my belief that if they cut off your head, you could stick it on again with Bull's Eye Shag." By then he had got to his feet. "Come on," said he; "this man won't let us get away if he can help it. Follow me."
So saying, he plunged into the jungle, and though he was now limping like a lame dog, it was all Max could do to keep up with him.
Time and again he dived through what had looked like impenetrable thickets. He seemed to know by instinct where to go. He avoided quagmires. He sprang over fallen trees. He wormed his way through creepers, the branches of which were thick as ropes.
Frequently he stopped to listen, and sometimes placed his ear to the ground.
"They're after us!" he cried once. He pulled out his compass and looked at it. "We must get back to the canoe," he said. "The river's to the east."
Soon after they struck what to all intents and purposes was a path. It was, in fact, the "run" of some wild animals, and doubtless led to the place where they were in the habit of drinking. It was no more than two feet across; and about four feet from the ground the undergrowth from either side met in a kind of roof; so that they found themselves in a tunnel, along which, if they stooped sufficiently, they were able to make good headway.
Suddenly Crouch, who was still leading, stopped dead, and held his rifle at the ready. Max stopped, too, and listened.