“I hope the others will be less strenuous in their attentions,” declared Mr. Chadwick. “I think that fellow must have dented his nose.”
“I don’t care about his nose so long as he hasn’t damaged us,” declared Tom. “I’m going to shoot one of those fellows if I get a chance.”
“Are they good to eat?” Jack inquired of Captain Sprowl.
“Yes, the natives like ‘em,” was the reply. “I’ve eaten Maneater steaks myself, but they’re as tough as all Billy-get-up; however, as a novelty I suppose they’re all right, as the fellow said when they asked him to eat a dish of French snails.”
Several bends of the river were made in this leisurely fashion. They had proceeded some five miles when Captain Sprowl drew attention to a lawn-like patch of ground sloping down to the river, which was hemmed in by dark-foliaged mahogany trees.
“Looks to me like that would make a pretty fair camping ground,” he said. “I don’t know how you all feel, but I know that, personally, some supper would go about as good as anything I can think of.”
This appealed to all of them, and Jack ran the craft in alongshore. The water was quite deep, even at the edge of the little natural clearing, due to the rapid course of the river which had eaten the bank away into a steep, precipitous ridge. The craft was made fast, bow and stern, to two tree trunks, and they disembarked, carrying Judkins ashore, despite his protests that he was quite able to walk.
Mr. Chadwick, who was somewhat of a doctor among his other accomplishments, took a good look at the man’s injuries. He found that his ankle was badly crushed but not broken, and with care would get all right again. His wrist was more badly hurt, but with the help of the medicine chest which they had brought along, that, too, ought to yield to good treatment.
“Now there ain’t much more of daylight,” said Captain Sprowl, when they had disembarked, “and we want to get grub as soon as possible. I’ll fix up the camp while you boys scatter and get some wood.”
The boys hailed this opportunity to explore the forest about them with a whoop of joy. But as they were starting off, Captain Sprowl hailed them sharply.