owth out there in the
sunlight; and before he was half-way there he stumbled and nearly fell,
but gathered himself up with a faint cry of fear, for there was a low
growl and a rush, as something bounded out, and he just caught a glimpse
of the long lithe tawny body of a puma as it sprang into a fresh tangle
of bush and reed, while Rob stood fast, and then turned to look at
Shaddy.

The man's face was wrinkled up, and for the moment he evidently shared
the boy's thoughts. Stepping close to him, he began to peer about
amongst the thick growth from which the animal had sprung, while Rob
felt sick as his imagination figured in the puma's lair the torn and
bleeding body of his friend; and as Shaddy suddenly exclaimed, "Here's
the place, sir!" he dared not look, but stood with averted eyes, till
the man exclaimed:

"Had his nest here, sir, and he was asleep. Bah! I ought to have
known. I never heard of a puma meddling with a man."

"Then Mr Brazier is not there?" said Rob faintly.

"Why, of course he ain't," replied the man sourly. "Come along, sir,
and let's see if he's in the hut."

They rushed to their newly thatched-in shelter, and Rob seized the side
and peered in, where all was black darkness to him, coming as he did
from the brilliant sunshine.

"Mr Brazier," he cried huskily; but there was no reply. "Mr Brazier,"
he shouted, "why don't you answer?"

"'Cause he ain't there, my lad," said Shaddy gruffly. "Here, wait till
I've doctored this iguana thing and hung it up. No, I'll cover it with
grass here in the cool, and then we must make back tracks and find Mr
Brazier before night."

"Oh, Shaddy!" cried Rob in an anguished tone, "then he has been horribly
hurt--perhaps killed!"

The man made no reply, but hurriedly cut open and cleaned the lizard at
some distance from the hut, then buried it beneath quite a pile of
grass, dead leaves and twigs, before stepping back to his companion in
misfortune.

"Oh, why did you stop to do that," cried Rob, "when Mr Brazier may be
lying dying somewhere in the forest?"

"Because when we find him, we must have food to eat, lad, and something
for him too. That thing may save all our lives. Don't you think I
don't want to get to him, because I do. Now then, sir, we've got to go
straight back the way we came, and find him."

"You'll go right back to where the spots--I mean, where we found the
piece of string?" whispered Rob, whose feeling of weariness seemed to
d