CHAPTER VI
MAN AND GENTLEMAN
Night had almost passed, and all three, soothed by the refreshing coolness which preceded the dawn, were sleeping their soundest, when a sudden fierce roar followed instantly by a piercing squeal caused even Blake to start up in panic. Miss Leslie, too terrified to scream, clung to Winthrope, who crouched on his haunches, little less overcome.
Blake was the first to recover and puzzle out the meaning of the crashing in the jungle and the ferocious growls directly beneath them.
“Lie still,” he whispered. “We’re all right. It’s only a beast that’s killed something down below us.”
All sat listening, and as the noise of the animals in the thicket died away, they could hear the beast beneath them tear at the body of its victim.
“The air feels like dawn,” whispered Winthrope. “We’ll soon be able to see the brute.”
“And he us,” rejoined Blake.
In this both were mistaken. During the brief false dawn they were puzzled by the odd appearance of the ground. The sudden flood of full daylight found them staring down into a dense white fog.
“So they have that here!” muttered Blake–“fever-fog!”
“Beastly shame!” echoed Winthrope. “I’m sure the creature has gone off.”