There was the rough hillside that we had climbed in terror; there was the
marsh with its still pools, its lush herbage, and the "road" that wound
from the muddy beach to the forest on our left. But in the marsh, scattered
here and there--! The truth dawned on us slowly. All at once Blodgett
slapped his thin legs and leaned back and laughed until tears started from
his faded eyes; Neddie Benson stared at him stupidly, then poured out a
flood of silly oaths. The cook burst into a hoarse guffaw, and Roger and
Davie Paine chuckled softly. We stopped and looked at each other and then
laughed together until we had to sit down on the ground and hold our aching
sides.
In the midst of the marsh were feeding a great number of big, long-horned
water buffaloes. We now realized that the road we had followed was one of
their trails that the guttural calls and blasts from rude trumpets were
their snorts and blats, that the spears we had seen were their horns viewed
from lower ground.
The ebbing tide had left our boat far from the water, and since we were
faint from our long fast, it was plain that, if we were to survive our
experience, we must find help soon.
"If I was asked," Davie remarked thoughtfully, "I'd say the thing to do was
to follow along the edge of that there swamp to the forest, where maybe
we'll find a bit of a spring and some kind of an animal Mr.
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