134 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



at the same instant the croc caught the boy's 

 arm. A few minutes' struggle and both boys 

 were slowly dragged farther out into the river, 

 and finally the rescuer was compelled to loose 

 his hold. A throng of natives gathered and wan- 

 dered along the bank seeking some clew of their 

 kinsman's whereabouts. Finally, the crowd dis- 

 persed without finding him, but two hours 

 later several women, returning to the village 

 with fire-wood and unconscious of what had 

 happened, passed the spot and heard faint cries 

 for help. They searched the neighbourhood, but 

 the voice was weak and came so irregularly 

 that they abandoned the hunt and went to the 

 village for assistance. Some two hundred peo- 

 ple assembled. By keeping quiet they finally 

 located the cries, which apparently came from 

 the bowels of the earth at the base of a big 

 tree growing at the water's edge. Several 

 women began digging about the roots, and in 

 time the earth gave way and they discovered a 

 cavity where the waves had undermined the 

 bank so that when the water receded a ledge 

 was left. On this ledge the boy was found. 

 He was some fifty yards from the spot where 

 he had first disappeared. After the crocodile 



