Bomba hunted the banks for a long distance on the chance that he might find the canoe of some Indian, either abandoned or hidden in the sedge grass near the shore. He was an expert in navigating that type of craft, and would have felt much safer in it than on a raft that would be wholly at the mercy of the torrent.
But, search as he would, he could find no craft of any sort, and when he had fully convinced himself that there was no other alternative, he set to work to build his raft.
There were plenty of fallen trees and broken branches that had been victims of one of the storms that had swept the jungle, and the boy had little difficulty in getting enough of the right size and shape of logs to make the raft he had in mind. It was not to be an elaborate structure, but it must be strong, for upon its stability his life might depend.
He had no implements of any kind, except his machete. He had no nails or hammer with which to fasten a flooring to the logs to hold them together. But there was an abundance of withes and creepers that, twisted together, were as strong as any rope, and these he wound about the logs in such a way that they could not break loose from one another.
It did not add to his peace of mind to note from time to time an alligator’s body break the water. Sometimes they sank again after a lazy glance. More often they swam around sluggishly, watching Bomba with their little eyes as though calculating how long it would be before he could be depended on to furnish them a meal. It was evident that the river was fairly swarming with the terrible creatures.
But these were foes that could be reckoned with, foes that were not immune from arrow and knife. They were different from ghosts and demons, those vague, shadowy, yet awful things of which Hondura, Neram and Ashati had spoken.
Were there any such things? Bomba did not believe there were. Still, he would have given a great deal to have been perfectly sure on that point. And almost involuntarily at times his eyes would wander to the surrounding jungle.
After two days’ labor his work was done, and he surveyed it with satisfaction. It was as nearly square as he could make it and sufficiently large so that it would not easily overturn. In addition to the raft, he had shaped a rough paddle for his steering and a long pole to work the raft loose, if it grounded in a shallow.
He had been working close to the edge of the bank, and when the raft was completed he pushed it over into the water. Then he jumped on board and, standing near the front with the paddle in his hand, committed himself to the mercy of the current.
It was late in the afternoon when he started, so late, in fact, that he was almost tempted to wait till the following morning. But now that he was so near the completion of his journey the urge in him to hurry was too strong to be resisted.