ned footpath leading from the shore into the heart of the high
woods. This they at once proceeded to follow, George leading the way
with his drawn sword in his right hand and a musket in his left, while
Dyer, close behind him, assiduously repeated his mysterious call at
frequent intervals.

At a distance of but a few yards from the beach the sombre shadow of the
woods was so deep that the explorers at first found it exceedingly
difficult to trace the footpath in the subdued light, but in the course
of a few minutes their eyes grew accustomed to the gloom and they were
able to perceive something of their more immediate surroundings. They
found themselves hemmed-in on every hand by giant tree trunks, dimly
revealed in the green twilight which penetrated with difficulty the vast
overarching masses of foliage, the space between the enormous trunks
being choked with undergrowth of a thousand varied forms, conspicuous
among which were immense ferns towering high above their heads, while
above these, and drooping in many cases right down to the ground, was an
inextricable maze and tangle of lianas, or "monkey rope," intertwined
with which were countless festoons of flowering creepers, the mingled
perfumes of which were almost overpowering in their pungency. Long
pliant twigs thickly studded with needle-sharp thorns constantly
protruded across the path, menacing their faces and tenaciously
grappling their clothing, so that they had to halt at almost every other
step to free themselves; and frequent quick rustlings among the long
tangled herbage underfoot warned them of the presence of many hidden
creeping things, some at least of which, as Dyer grimly suggested, were
certain to be snakes or some other kind of venomous creature. The truth
of this was very soon afterward rather unpleasantly demonstrated, for as
George was battling with an exceptionally thick tangle of thorns which
obstructed his way, he suddenly felt beneath his right foot a thick,
cable-like something that yielded and squirmed beneath his tread, and
like a flash there came a fierce hiss instantly followed by a sharp blow
upon his boot. He at once realised that it was a snake upon which he
was treading, and had enough presence of mind to throw his whole, weight
upon his right foot, thus pinning the reptile firmly to the ground. The
blows upon his boot were repeated some half a dozen times before he was
able to clear away the herbage about his feet, when he f