It was terribly darksome and gloomy, with very little undergrowth, and as they knew there were lions about they ventured forward with great caution, keeping close together, treading lightly, and keeping a good look-out on every side.
They had not gone far before they found that this great woodland was the abode of creatures, probably quite as much to be dreaded even as lions.
The first part they traversed, however, was apparently a land of delight, just as it was a land of the most brilliant flowering trees and shrubs, among which thousands of bright-winged birds chattered and sang, while parrots by the score mimicked them.
"Surely," said Frank, "we have come to paradise at last! Did ever you see such glorious fruit? Oh, we must indulge, Duncan, and carry back some guavas and mangoes to poor lonely Conal and Viking."
They did indulge, and that too without stint.
But this paradise soon drew to an end.
"Anyhow, Duncan," said Frank, cheerfully, "we shall know now where to find both fish and fruit."
"Hark!"
Well might he say hark.
The sounds that now broke harsh and terrible upon their ears would have appalled older and stouter hearts than theirs.