Afloat in the Forest; Or, A Voyage among the Tree-Tops

by Mayne Reid

  This was not so easy as might be supposed. Although the border of theverdant peninsula was scarce a quarter of a mile distant, there were buttwo in the party who could swim across to it. Had there existed thematerials for making a raft, their anxiety need not have lasted long.But nothing of the kind was within reach. The branches of the sapucaya,even if they could be broken off, were too heavy, in their green growingstate, to do more than to buoy up their own ponderous weight. So asapucaya raft was not to be thought of, although it was possible that,among the tree-tops which they were planning to reach, dead timber mightbe found sufficient to construct one. But this could be determined onlyafter a reconnoissance of the submerged forest by Richard Trevannion andthe Mundurucu, who alone could make it.

  To this the patron hardly consented,--indeed, he was not asked. Thereseemed to be a tacit understanding that it was the only course thatcould be adopted; and without further ado, the young Paraense, throwingoff such of his garments as might impede him, sprang from the tree, andstruck boldly out for the flooded forest. The Mundurucu, not beingdelayed by the necessity of stripping, had already taken to the water,and was fast cleaving his way across the open expanse that separated thesolitary sapucaya from its more social companions.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

  A FRACAS HEARD FROM AFAR.

  The castaways watched the explorers until they disappeared within theshadowy selvage. Then, having nothing else to do, they proceeded tomake themselves as comfortable as circumstances would permit, byselecting for their seats the softest branches of the sapucaya. To besure there was not much choice between the limbs, but the great fork,across which the galatea had broken, appeared to offer a position ratherbetter than any other. As the swell was no longer to be dreaded,Trevannion descended into the fork, taking little Rosa along with him,while the others sat on higher limbs, holding by the branches or stoutllianas growing above them. At best their situation was irksome, butphysical inconvenience was hardly felt in their mental sufferings.Their reflections could not be other than painful as they contemplatedthe future. Their shelter in the sapucaya could be only temporary, andyet it might continue to the end of their lives. They had no assurancethat they might be able to get out of it at all; and even if they shouldsucceed in reaching the other trees, it might be only to find them fortyfeet deep in water. The prospect was deplorable and their forebodingsgloomy.

  For nearly an hour they exchanged no word. The only sound heard was anoccasional scream from one of the pet birds, or the jabbering of themonkeys, of which there had been five or six, of different kinds, on thegalatea. Two only had found refuge on the tree,--a beautiful little_Ouistiti_, and a larger one, of the genus _Ateles_, the black Coaita.The others, chained or otherwise confined, had gone down with thegalatea. So, too, with the feathered favourites, of many rare andbeautiful kinds, collected during the long voyage on the Upper Amazon,some of which had been bought at large prices from their Indian owners,to carry across the Atlantic. The caged had perished with the wreck,others by the tornado, and, like the _quadrumana_, only two of the birdshad found an asylum on the tree. One was a splendid hyacinthine macaw,the _Araruna_ of the Indians (_Macrocercus hyacinthinus_); the other asmall paroquet, the very tiniest of its tribe, which had long dividedwith the little ouistiti the affections of Rosa.

  About an hour had elapsed since the departure of the swimming scouts,with no signs of their return. The party cast anxious glances towardsthe place where they had last been seen, listening for any sounds fromthe thicket that concealed them. Once or twice they fancied they heardtheir voices, and then they were all sure they heard shouts, butmingling with some mysterious sounds in a loud, confused chorus. Thecoaita heard, and chattered in reply; so, too, did the ouistiti andparoquet; but the macaw seemed most disturbed, and once or twice,spreading its hyacinthine wings, rose into the air, and appeareddetermined to part from its _ci-devant_ protectors. The call of Ralph,whose especial pet it was, allured it back to its perch, where, however,it only stayed in a state of screaming uncertainty. There was somethingstrange in this behaviour, though in the anxiety of the hour but littleheed was paid to it; and as the voices soon after ceased, the ararunabecame tranquillised, and sat quietly on the roost it had selected.

  Once more, however, the shouting and strange cries came pealing acrossthe water, and again the araruna gave evidence of excitement. This timethe noise was of shorter duration, and soon terminated in completetranquillity. Nearly two hours had now expired, and the countenances ofall began to wear an expression of the most sombre character. Certainlythey had heard the voices of Richard and the Mundurucu mingling withthose unearthly sounds. There was time enough for them to have gone farinto the unknown forest, and return. What could detain them? Theirvoices had been heard only in shouts and sharp exclamations, thatproclaimed them to be in some critical, perhaps perilous situation. Andnow they were silent! Had they succumbed to some sad fate? Were theydead?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

  THE JARARACA.

  There are bodily sensations stronger than many mental emotions. Suchare hunger and thirst. The castaways in the tree-top began toexperience both in an extreme degree. By good fortune, the means ofsatisfying them were within reach. With a "monkey-cup" emptied of itstriangular kernels they could draw up water at will, and with itscontents conquer the cravings of hunger. At his father's request, andstimulated by his own sensations, Ralph began climbing higher, toprocure some of the huge fruit-capsules suspended--as is the case withmost South American forest-trees--from the extremities of the branches.The boy was a bold and skilful climber among the crags and cliffs of hisnative Cordilleras. Still a tree did not come amiss to him, and in atwinkling he had ascended to the top branches of the sapucaya, the macawmaking the ascent with him, perched upon his crown. All at once thebird began to scream, as if startled by some terrible apparition; andwithout losing an instant, it forsook its familiar place, and commencedfluttering around the top of the tree, still continuing its cries. Whatcould be the cause? The boy looked above and about him, but coulddiscover nothing. The screams of the araruna were instantly answered bythe little paroquet in a tiny treble, but equally in accents of terror,while both the coaita and ouistiti, chattering in alarm, came boundingup the tree. The paroquet had already joined the macaw, and, as if inimitation of its great congener, flew fluttering among the top branches,in a state of the wildest excitement! Guided by the birds, that keptcircling around one particular spot, the boy at length discovered thecause of the alarm; and the sight was one calculated to stir terror.

  It was a serpent coiled around a lliana that stretched diagonallybetween two branches. It was of a yellowish-brown colour, near to thatof the lliana itself; and but for its smooth, shining skin, and theelegant convolutions of its body, might have been mistaken for oneparasite entwining another. Its head, however, was in motion, its longneck stretched out, apparently in readiness to seize upon one of thebirds as soon as it should come within striking distance.

  Ralph was not so much alarmed. A snake was no uncommon sight, and theone in question was not so monstrous as to appear very formidable. Thefirst thought was to call off the birds, or in some way get them out ofreach of the snake; for the imprudent creatures, instead of retreatingfrom such a dangerous enemy, seemed determined to fling themselves uponits fangs, which Ralph could see erect and glistening, as at intervalsit extended its jaws. The little paroquet was especially imprudent,recklessly approaching within a few inches of the serpent, and evenalighting on the lliana around which it had warped itself. Ralph wasascending still higher, to take the bird in his hand, and carry it clearof the danger, when his climbing was suddenly arrested by a shout fromMozey, the Mozambique, that proclaimed both caution and terror. "Fo'you life doant, Mass'r Raff!" cried the negro, following up hisexclamation of warning. "Fo' you life doant go near um! You no knowwhat am dat ar snake? It am de _Jararaca_!"

  "Jararaca!" mechanically rejoined Ralph.

  "Ya--ya--de moas pi
senous sarpin in all de valley ob de Amazon. I'sehear de Injine say so a score ob times. Come down, Mass'r! come down!"

  Attracted by the screaming of the birds and the chattering of themonkeys, the others listened attentively below. But upon the negro'squick cry of warning, and the dialogue that ensued, Trevannion ascendedhigher, followed by Tipperary Tom,--Rosa remained alone below, in thefork where her father had left her. Trevannion, on coming in sight ofthe snake, at once recognised it as all that Mozey had alleged,--themost poisonous of the Amazon valley,--a species of _Craspedocephalus_.He knew it from having seen one before, which the Mundurucu had killednear Coary, and had described in similar terms,--adding that its bitewas almost instantly fatal, that it will attack man or beast without anyprovocation, that it can spring upon its enemy from a distance, and,finally, that it was more feared than any other creature in the country,not excepting the jaguar and jacare!

  The appearance of the reptile itself was sufficient to confirm thisaccount. Its flat triangular head, connected with the body by a longthin neck, its glittering eyes and red forking tongue, projected atintervals more than an inch beyond its snout, gave the creature amonstrous and hideous aspect. It looked as if specially designed tocause death and destruction. It was not of great size,--scarcely sixfeet long, and not thicker than a girl's wrist; but it needed not bulkto make it dangerous. No one knew exactly what to do. All were withoutarms, or weapons of any kind. These had long since gone to the bottomof the Gapo; and for some minutes no movement was made except by youngRalph, who on being warned of his danger, had hastened to descend thetree. The birds were left to themselves, and still continued screamingand fluttering above. Up to this time the snake had remainedmotionless, except his oscillating head and neck. Its body now began tomove, and the glittering folds slowly to relax their hold upon thelliana.

  "Great God! he is coming down the tree!" The words had hardly leftTrevannion's lips before the snake was seen crawling along the lliana,and the next moment transferring its body to a branch which grewslantingly from the main trunk. This was soon reached; and then, bymeans of another lliana lying parallel to it, the reptile continued itsdescent. All those who stood by the trunk hastily forsook the perilousplace, and retreated outward along the branches. The jararaca seemed totake no note either of their presence or flight, but continued down thelimb towards the fork of the main stem, where stood little Rosa. "Oheavens!" cried Trevannion, in a voice of anguish, "my child is lost!"

  The girl had risen to her feet, being already fearful of the dangerthreatening her friends above; but on looking up, she beheld the hideousreptile coming straight towards her. Her situation was most perilous.The lliana by which the snake was descending rose right up from the forkof the sapucaya. The child was even clasping it in her hand, to keepherself erect. The reptile could not pass without touching her. Infact, it must pass over her person to get down from the tree. There wasno likelihood of its gliding on without striking her. Its well-knowncharacter--as the most malicious of venomous serpents--forbade thesupposition. The snake was scarce ten feet above her head, stillgliding onward and downward! It was at this crisis that her father hadgiven voice to that despairing exclamation. He was about to scrambledown to the trunk, with the design of launching himself upon theserpent, and grappling it with his naked hands, reckless ofconsequences, when a sign from Mozey, accompanied by some words quicklyspoken, caused him to hesitate.

  "No use, Mass'r!" cried the negro, "no use,--you be too late. Jump,lilly Rosy!" he continued, calling to the child in a loud, commandingvoice. "It's you only chance. Jump into de water, an ole Mozey he comedown sabe you. Jump!" To stimulate the child by his example, thenegro, with his last word, sprang out from his branch and plunged intothe water. In an instant he was upon the surface again, continuing hiscries of encouragement. Rosa Trevannion was a girl of spirit; and, inthis fearful alternative, hesitated not a moment to obey. Short as wasthe time, however, it would have proved too long had the snake continuedits descent without interruption. Fortunately it did not. When itshideous head was close to the child's hand, where the latter grasped thelliana, it suddenly stopped,--not to prepare itself for the fatal dart,but because the negro's heavy fall had splashed much water against thetree, sprinkling child and jararaca too. It was the momentary surpriseof this unexpected shower-bath that had checked the serpent, while Rosadropped down into the Gapo, and was caught by her sable preserver.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

  HOLD ON!

  Mozey's noble conduct elicited a cry of admiration. It was the morenoble as the negro was a poor swimmer, and therefore risked his ownlife. But this produced another effect, and in the shout there was notone of triumph. The child was perhaps only rescued from the reptile tobe swallowed with her preserver by a monster far more; voracious, theingulfing Gapo. Nor was it yet certain that she had been saved from theserpent. The jararaca is a snake eminently amphibious, alike at home onland or at sea. It might follow, and attack them in the water. Then,too, it would have a double advantage; for while it could swim like afish, Mozey could just keep himself afloat, weighted as he was with hispowerless burden. In view of this, Trevannion's heart was filled withmost painful anxiety, and for some time neither he nor any beside himcould think what course to pursue. It was some slight relief to them toperceive that the snake did not continue the pursuit into the water; foron reaching the fork of the tree it had thrown itself into a coil, as ifdetermined to remain there.

  At first there appeared no great advantage in this. In its position,the monster could prevent the swimmers from returning to the tree; andas it craned its long neck outward, and looked maliciously at the twoforms struggling below, one could have fancied that it had set itself tocarry out this exact design. For a short time only Trevannion wasspeechless, and then thought, speech, and action came together. "Swimround to the other side!" he shouted to the negro. "Get under the greatbranch. Ho, Tom! You and Ralph climb aloft to the one above. Tear offthe lliana you see there, and let it down to me. Quick, quick!"

  As he delivered these instructions, he moved out along the limb with asmuch rapidity as was consistent with safety, while Tipperary and Ralphclimbed up to carry out his commands. The branch taken by Trevannionhimself was that to which he had directed the negro to swim, and was thesame by which Tipperary Tom had made his first ascent into the tree, andfrom which he had been washed off again. It extended horizontallyoutward, at its extremity dipping slightly towards the water. Though inthe swell caused by the tornado it had been at intervals submerged, itwas now too far above the surface to have been grasped by any one frombelow. The weight of Trevannion's body, as he crept outward upon it,brought it nearer to the water, but not near enough for a swimmer to layhold. He saw that, by going too far out, the branch would not bear hisown weight, and might snap short off, thus leaving the swimmers in aworse position than ever. It was for this reason he had ordered theuntwining of the creeper that was clinging above. His orders wereobeyed with the utmost alacrity by Tom and Ralph, as if their own livesdepended on the speed. Almost before he was ready to receive it, thelong lliana was wrenched from its tendril fastenings, and camestraggling down over the branch on which he sat, like the stay of a shiploosened from her mast-head.

  Meanwhile Mozey,--making as much noise as a young whale, blowing like aporpoise, spurting and spitting like an angry cat,--still carrying thechild safe on his shoulders, had arrived under the limb, and, withstrokes somewhat irregularly given and quickly repeated, was doing hisvery best to keep himself and her above water. It was evident to all,that the over-weighted swimmer was wellnigh exhausted; and had not theend of the long lliana plumped down in the nick of time, the Mozambiquemust indubitably have gone to the bottom, taking his charge with him.Just in time, however, the tree-cable came within his clutch, and,seizing it with all his remaining strength, Rosa relieved him of herweight by laying hold herself, and the two were drawn up into the treeamidst cries of "Hold on! hold on!" ending in general
congratulation.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

  THE PAROQUET.

  Alas! there was one circumstance that hindered their triumph from beingcomplete. The jararaca was still in the tree. So long as this terribletenant shared their abode, there could be neither confidence norcomfort. There it lay coiled upon its scaly self, snugly ensconced inthe fork below, with skin glittering brightly, and eyes gleamingfiercely in the golden sunlight that now fell slantingly against thetree. How long would the monster remain in this tranquil attitude, wasthe question that presented itself to the minds of all, as soon as thefirst transport of their joy had subsided. It was evident it had nointention of taking to the water, though it could have done so withoutfear. No doubt the sapucaya was its habitual haunt; and it was notlikely to forsake it just to accommodate some half-score of strangecreatures who had chosen to intrude. Surely some time or other it wouldre-ascend the tree, and then--?

  But all speculations on this point were soon interrupted. The littleparoquet, which had shown such excitement on first discovering thesnake, had been quiet while all were engaged in the salvage of Mozey andthe child. Now that a certain quietness had been restored, the bird wasseen returning to the jararaca for the supposed purpose of renewing itsimpotent attack. For some minutes it kept fluttering over the serpent,now alighting upon a branch, anon springing off again, and descending toone lower and nearer to the jararaca, until it had almost reached itshead. Strange to say, there appeared no hostility in the bird'smovements; its actions betrayed rather the semblance of fear, confirmedby the tremulous quivering of its frame whenever it came to rest upon aperch. The spectators' suspicion was further strengthened by the littlecreature's continued cries. It was not the angry chattering by whichthese birds usually convey their hostility, but a sort of plaintivescreaming that betokened terror. At each flight it approached closer tothe serpent's forked tongue, and then retreated, as if vacillating andirresolute.