In the vicinity of this, Bomba frequently felt slight tremors of the earth, one of them so pronounced that it nearly threw him from his feet. And the humming was much louder here than it had been when Bomba was on the river.
Bomba knew that he was in a volcanic region, and the discovery did not contribute to his peace of mind. The terrible scenes that had attended the eruption of the Moving Mountain and the earthquake that had accompanied it were still too fresh in his memory not to stir him unpleasantly in retrospect.
At almost every moment Bomba expected to come upon some hut or village in the jungle. From the inhabitants of these, he had planned to get information as to the village or town in which Japazy dwelt. But though he saw once in a while some ramshackle cabin, it proved invariably to be deserted. In some places the lush vegetation of the jungle had almost overgrown the hut. No beaten path led to the door. Not the rudest of native furniture was within.
After two or three experiences of this kind Bomba grasped the situation. The jaguars that had given the island its name must abound in such numbers that no solitary dweller in the jungle would be safe. Probably every one of these deserted cabins had been the scene of a tragedy. Undoubtedly the inhabitants had had to gather into one town for mutual protection.
Bomba thanked his stars that it was daylight and that most of the nocturnal prowlers had retired to their dens where they would sleep the day away in preparation for the next foray. But all the same, there might be one or more about, and he kept a vigilant eye upon every tree and thicket.
He had searched about for perhaps three hours when he heard the twang of a bow string. With it was blended a roar of rage and pain. Then followed an excited babbling of voices.
The sound had come from the further side of a group of rocks that seemed to have been thrown about in confusion by some convulsion of nature. They were not more than fifty yards away.
With the speed and at the same time the stealthiness of a panther, Bomba glided to the biggest group of bowlders. He squeezed himself in a crevice between two of them.
Now he could hear the voices of two natives talking vociferously.