“Very!” replied the curator, abstractedly. He was off on one of his mental explorations—explorer’s dreams for the future welfare of the world that come to him who opens up new territory for mankind. His very silence awakened a strange presentment of wonders to come in the boy’s mind. Gee! it was great to delve into the world’s secrets, where no white man had ever been before! He longed for the time for the New Guinea trip to come. A few days more on Aru, and then—into a wild and dangerous country, in search of new discoveries that might prove of the greatest value to the civilized world. It was wonderful to be part of this expedition!
III
PIRATE VISITATIONS
MEANWHILE Nicky and Sadok had been exploring into the untracked jungle to the southward. The low hills of Aru grew more rocky, and the rank jungle gave way to sparse open growth, with rocky soil and wild grass swales here and there. It was hot, out here in the sun, and their canteens were in frequent use. Presently a wild brush turkey jumped from cover and ran cackling and gobbling through the bush growth. He went like a deer, as Nicky whipped out the Officer’s Colt and fired on the run. At the same time Sadok’s sumpitan coughed and its dart flashed across the grass tops.
“Doubled!” shouted Nicky, as the turkey tumbled and lay kicking stiffly. They ran out to retrieve it. Only the dart of the sumpitan stuck in its side.
“Missed, by hookey!” laughed Nicky at himself. “Judged by Dyak standards, I’m a mere swine, I suppose. Eh, Sadok? Say, what poison are you using now?” he exclaimed suddenly. “That turkey fell over like a shot. The upas-tree stuff takes some time—three hours for a man, they tell me.”
Sadok held up the little pot of bamboo for him to smell. “Upas vine, Orang-kichil” (little chief), he explained. “Him different tree. Red bark. Ver’ quick!”
“Smells like strychnia to me,” said the boy, wonderingly. “Beats all how nature has provided a specimen of that family of trees all over the tropics throughout the world. India, the nux vomica; South America, the wourali; here, some new one that I don’t know. I’ll ask the curator some day.”
They broiled two great steaks from the breast of the turkey for the midday meal, for the poison from the darts does not reduce the edibility at all, and Sadok stowed the legs for further food. After the lunch they set out in a generally southeasterly direction, as Nicky knew it would bring them at length to another of those odd channels that divide Aru, and he wanted to see something of Vorkai, the southernmost island. A large screw pine came in sight. Its almost bare branches twisted high into the bright sunlight, and the spikes of daggerlike leaves growing in clusters at the branch tips drew an exclamation of pleasure from Sadok, for he was nearly out of pandanus leaf to wrap “spec’mens” in. They went over to it.
“Hi!” called Nicky. “Look who’s here!”
A large brown animal was climbing around up near the tops.