74 BIG GAME FIELDS 



way or the other. To put it mildly, my prospects 

 were not good. At length the rain passed over, 

 but every few minutes I would be seized with 

 another chill. When I realized that I was in a 

 maze out of which no human being could possibly 

 find his way, excepting it were a native Indian, 

 a horror of loneliness gripped me as I felt myself 

 being completely swallowed up in the immensity 

 of the jungle. 



Could John Charley trail me after that sea of 

 rain had swept away every sign? I didn't know. 

 But I did know that every bit of wild craft he 

 possessed would be taxed to its utmost to do so. 

 I climbed high up in a tree to see if some solution 

 of my predicament would present itself. 



The sun was slowly sinking below the great, 

 undulating roof of the jungle; the prospect of 

 spending the night in such an ill-chosen place was 

 gradually commencing to assert itself. As I 

 stared out over these fastnesses my heart was 

 smitten with a sudden sense of infinite and eter- 

 nal desolation. Then I felt another chill coming 

 on, so I quickly slid to the ground. Pale shapes 

 took form before my vision made and unmade 

 themselves the whole jungle swayed, moved a 

 pace forward, then back ; I was in the grip of the 

 jungle fever ! After a short interval I recovered 



