“The clothes they have aren’t in such good condition that they could stand any sort of scrubbing, anyhow,” Tom agreed. “It certainly is a primitive sight—but look! They’re running and hiding!”
As they approached the women, the latter dropped what they had, leaving the things to drift in the slow current, and raced across the beach and into the heavy jungle. The jungle came close to the water and was as thick and seemingly impenetrable as any tropical growth could be; yet the women disappeared into it.
“That’s a shame,” Cliff cried. “Their things will all be lost—row over faster, Nicky. We’ll save the clothes.”
They spent a busy half hour recovering the pieces of cloth from the water and piling them on shore. Though they called and tried to make the hidden watchers understand that they meant them no harm, the boys got no response. Rather disgusted with the Indians, they sat under a shady clump of brush, surrounded by vividly colored birds and butterflies and ate their lunch of sweet yams, a tin of meat and a thermos bottle of warm cocoa. Not a very appetizing lunch to one accustomed to refrigerators and well-stocked markets, but, to tropical appetites, after a long row, a meal which was eaten with gusto.
“Did you ever see butterflies like these?” asked Nicky, pointing to a bluish-silver beauty whose wings seemed iridescent in the sunlight.
“I know that father would love to have some of them,” Cliff said. “He hasn’t any of these great silvery ones, or the deep, blue-winged kind, in his collection.”
“Neither have I!” declared Nicky. “Let’s catch some!”
“Take the rifle along, if you go into the brush,” warned Tom. “We might meet a jaguar or a tapir or some old thing—or snakes!—watch out for snakes!”
Cliff put the rifle under his arm, and the trio, darting after the bright-winged insects, raced up the beach, and into the heavy fringe of brush.
They kept quite close together, at first, but when they had thrust a little way into the dense growth they saw that they came out into a fairy-land, and, forgetting all caution in the thrill of the beautiful sight, they paused for a moment and then pressed forward.