SEA TRAGEDY OF THE JUNGLE FOLK 141 



reached out and grabbed a native by the throat, 

 whipping him through the air and breaking his 

 neck. The native struck the ground several yards 

 away, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. 



I yelled to the men to cast the second net and 

 secure it to the trees. The orangs kept up a con- 

 stant battle, lashing and heaving under the ropes 

 that pressed them to the ground. Their arms and 

 legs became entangled in the meshes of the nets, 

 and they wasted their strength in wrenching and 

 squirming, while we fastened them down. The 

 natives, crazy with excitement, pressed in, tumbling 

 over one another. 



Our material had been put to the greatest test and 

 would hold the animals, I knew, for they could not 

 again equal the struggle of the first few minutes. 

 So, because I wanted them to have room to become 

 thoroughly tangled in the nets, I ordered the ropes 

 slackened a trifle. 



Just then, while I was standing near the nets, 

 superintending the work of making them fast, a 

 huge paw shot out and grabbed my ankle. I was 

 jerked off the ground and, as I fell, my hands 

 caught the limb of a tree. I clung to it with all 

 my strength, feeling my fingers weaken and slip 

 while the brute pulled. The joints at my hip and 

 knee pained me for an instant ; then my leg became 

 numb. The men stood terrified and I could not yell 

 at them! I felt myself growing dizzy and I simply 

 wondered why some one did not do something. 



