ches stirred,
and he sprang back with a cry.

"_Babui!_" ("Wild boar!") he gasped. The creature's head shook
with fury; its teeth were bared, and the tiny red eyes flamed
with anger. The babui had the largest tusks Piang had ever seen,
and he grasped his bolo firmly to meet the rush. One second, two
seconds--the suspense was fearful, and Piang wondered why the boar
did not attack. Strained almost beyond his endurance, he stood, rigid
and cold, waiting. The wind sucked at his breath; the torrents of
water, dashing in his face, kept him blinking and gasping, and still
that wild thing pawed and snorted. Fascinated, Piang gazed into the
vicious, bleary eyes, and finally he realized that they were losing
some of their fury; the tusks sank into the spongy earth; the head
fell lower. The babui was a prisoner, pinioned to the ground by a
fallen tree! Relief was Piang's first sensation, but pity for the
animal and fear for himself, roused him to the realization of new
dangers yet to be faced. He must plunge into the dense jungle; it was
only a short distance now. He glanced back to be sure that the babui
could not free itself; it was swaying and moaning, unable to move.

As Piang paused to get his directions, the earth gave a tremendous
jerk, which threw him on his face. He lay stunned for a few minutes and
when he rose to his knees, he had the sensation of floating gently,
softly. The jerking and trembling had ceased, and the ground swayed
soothingly. Piang turned toward the jungle, to the spot where he
had been about to step. Could he believe his eyes? Almost numb with
terror, he gazed stupidly into the receding jungle. He was on land,
but he was floating. He was sailing away from the jungle! Piang had
taken refuge on a floating island.

In despair he gazed about him, trying to penetrate the thickly driving
rain. He was on the very edge of the island and he wondered why he had
not been swept into the lake. The mass of vegetation, wrenched from
its bed, trailed along in the water as the nomad island whirled and
danced on the angry waves. A tree, the branches of which were hanging
in the water, was pulled from its bed, dragging part of the island
with it. One long vine struggled to right itself against the current,
to gain the shelter of the island again. It seemed most lifelike, and
suddenly Piang realized with a shudder that it was alive. A python had
been knocked from the falling tree and was being dragged along. Only
the