UP A TREE IN THE JUNGLE 203 



Ants and mosquitoes swarmed over us. Trying 

 to find some protection against them, we wrapped 

 our hands and faces in sarongs. But we were as 

 helpless against insects as against seladangs. 



Morning came and wore away to noon, and still 

 the beast stayed by his post. Then the fever began 

 to hit me and my head throbbed. I propped my- 

 self up against the trunk of the tree, saving all 

 my strength until the moment when I should need 

 it most. 



Ali's body was unrecognizable; he had been 

 gored repeatedly in the tossing and now he was 

 simply a mass of torn, trampled flesh. The beast 

 returned to it again and again to sniff and paw, 

 and the sight made me weak and ill. 



The ten natives were scattered through the trees 

 near me and we talked back and forth. They, of 

 course, depended upon me and my "magic" to save 

 them, and I, with the fever burning more fiercely 

 every minute, realized that something must be done 

 immediately. My thirst was becoming unendur- 

 able and my strength was leaving me rapidly. I 

 called to the men to join me in my tree, and they 

 swung from limb to limb until we were together. 

 The seladang took up his position beneath us, 

 bellowing and pawing. 



I counted the arms in the party; we had, besides 

 our parangs, four spears and three krises. With 

 the parangs we cut stout branches: then we tore 

 our sarongs into strips and bound the krises to 



