An hour had passed when Doto suddenly grasped the lad’s arm and pulled him to the ground. At the same moment, an arrow whizzed over Bomba’s head. A second later another arrow followed and buried itself in a tree, where it hung quivering.
Bomba’s enemies were upon him!
CHAPTER II
AT GRIPS WITH DEATH
Like a flash, Bomba acted.
He knew that if he rose he would be offering himself as a target. At least two of his foes were near at hand. There might be more.
Not fifty feet away was a fallen tree, a veritable monarch of the jungle, that he and Doto had made their way over with difficulty. Its branches and foliage spread over a large area.
Turning in that direction, keeping on hands and knees and motioning Doto to follow, Bomba made his way through the intervening thickets with as much speed as possible.
Had his enemies followed at once, Bomba would probably have been discovered and overtaken. But they were wary, and from previous experiences of their fellows knew to what deadly effect Bomba could shoot. So, from their places of concealment, they waited for the target once more to present itself.
And when, a few minutes later, they were reinforced by some of their mates and rushed forward in a body to the place where Bomba had last been seen, their expected prey had vanished.
Bomba had utilized those few precious minutes to the utmost. Moving noiselessly and yet rapidly, he had reached the vast mass of branches and ensconced himself in their furthest depths.