“Plenty. I saw a small porker and followed him. He really looked young. But when he got all hot and bothered he turned and squealed angrily at me. And boy! His tusks seemed to be at least two feet long. I went up a tree, which was a job in itself. Anyway, there was a strange bird up in that tree. I wanted to have a look at that bird,” Stew ended with a drawl.
“Not a rooster?” Jack grinned.
“The rooster came later,” Stew sighed. “He was a dandy! But he refused to be caught. So—o,” Stew sighed once more, “I decided on fish for supper. And one thing more,” he grinned. “While you played the violin, I saw two huge, dark-skinned men with six-foot spears all set along the points with flying squirrels’ teeth. They were looking up at you. They didn’t spear you, did they?”
“It’s a wonder they didn’t let me have it!”
“Probably thought they might injure the violin,” Stew chuckled. “Come on. Let’s go down.”
In silence they trudged down the ridge and through the shadowy forest.
They approached their camp in the bright afterglow, and in that sudden burst of light Jack thought he caught a glimpse of a figure darting into the shadows of a great mango tree. He could not be sure, so he tramped on in silence.
“I’ll bet you were so lost in your dreams you never even heard that jet plane return,” said Stew.
“That’s right. I didn’t,” Jack admitted. “Did it really come in?”
“It sure did. And do you know,” Stew said thoughtfully, “their landing was so different from the one they made the other day that you’d have said another pilot was at the stick. He made two false landings, then zoomed up, and finally seemed to come in straight from the sea.”