m. Piang broke into a native chant:

"Ee-ung pee-ang, unk ah-wang!" As it resounded through the forest in
his high-pitched, nasal tones, he was answered from the trees, and
little, gray monkeys came swinging along to see who their visitor might
be. Piang mischievously tossed a piece of the smoking moss to the bank
and paused to see the fun. Their almost human coughs, as the smoke
was wafted their way, made him laugh. They scampered down, tumbling
over each other in their anxiety to be first, and one little fellow,
who succeeded in out-distancing the others, stuck its hand into the
smoldering embers. Astonished, at first, it nursed the injured member,
but gradually becoming infuriated, it finally shrieked and jumped up
and down. It began to pelt the smudge madly with stones, chattering
excitedly to its companions, as if describing the tragedy. The others
had climbed back into the trees, paying no attention to Piang, but
keeping a watchful eye on the danger that had been hurled among them.

Piang lazily plied his paddle, laughing to himself at the foolishness
of monkeys. He tried to peer through the dense trees that crowded
toward the river, hiding the secrets of the jungle. He wanted to know
those secrets, wanted to match his strength against the numberless
dangers that are always veiled by that twilight, which the sun strives
in vain to penetrate, year after year, turning away discouraged. Piang
listlessly examined the river, little knowing the perilous adventure
that waited for him just beyond the bend.

One lone log, majestic in its solitude, floated down the river,
resisting the efforts of tenacious creepers to bind and hold it
prisoner. Piang poked it with his paddle. Another was floating in
its wake, and he idly tapped this, also. It stirred, turned over,
and disappeared under the boat.

"_Boia!_" ("Crocodile!") breathed the startled boy. He had disturbed
one of the sleeping monsters! Piang's heart beat very fast, and a
shudder passed through him as he felt something bump the bottom of
the boat. The crocodile was just beneath him and if it rose suddenly,
it would upset him. One, two, three seconds he waited, but they were
the longest seconds Piang had ever known. There was a slight movement
astern; the boat tipped forward, swerved, and before Piang could right
himself, a vicious snort startled him. The crocodile was lashing the
water with its tail, and the light shell was pitching and rolling
dangerously. Piang