Bomba patted the great brute on the head and intertwined his fingers in the shaggy mane.
“Bomba is glad that Polulu is strong again,” the lad said. “Now Polulu can go back to his mate and tell her how he came to the help of Bomba when the jaguars were hungry for his life. If he had lost his life, Bomba would have grieved for Polulu. Bomba will never forget his friend. But now Bomba must go on, for he has lost much time.”
The puma whined, pressed against him, and looked up into his face as though beseeching that he might go with him.
But Bomba shook his head sadly.
“Where Bomba goes he must go alone,” he said. “The man he goes to see would be afraid if he saw Polulu, and would tell his people to kill him. Then Bomba’s heart would be heavy. No, Polulu cannot go. But Bomba will come back, if it is so decreed, and then he will talk and feast with Polulu again.”
He pointed back in the direction from which Polulu had come, and the brute reluctantly obeyed. Bomba listened until the padding of the animal’s feet had died away and then once more turned his face and steps toward Jaguar Island.
He had been warned by the attack of the jaguar that he must now be doubly on his guard. He realized that, whereas the big cats usually hesitated to attack unless they themselves were attacked or were sorely pressed by hunger, here in this desolate region they would assail him boldly, fearlessly, knowing little of man and his strange powers.
The forces of the jungle would now be unleashed upon him, and in the matter of mere physical strength they were stronger than he was. From now on he must pit his wit against brute strength, trusting to his keen brain to win against odds that would otherwise be overwhelming.
So, though he stepped swiftly, he stepped softly, constantly on the alert, bow and arrows, machete and revolver ready at hand in case of need, eyes searching out every moving shadow in the underbrush.
Before long his supply of meat was exhausted, for he had had to eat freely to maintain his strength. He hated to devote any more time to hunting than he had to, for it meant that much delay in his journey. Berries and nuts and turtle eggs helped to eke out his supplies, but he needed meat.