The brown men were like dead men.
But inch by inch he had drawn the rope slack until he was able to
unwind it from his wrists. Then by half inches he moved his hands
free, slipping one of them from behind him to his side. It seemed to
him as though Nature herself had paused to watch and listen. He turned
now with his free hand beneath him. Slowly his fingers crept towards
his chest, grasped the sheath, freed the blade, and then back to his
side once more. He turned to his back, his hand behind him, his
fingers grasping the horn handle.

His feet were still bound, but he figured that he could raise himself
to a sitting posture and sever these with a single slash at the moment
he sprang. But he must be quick--must be strong--must be calm. To this
end he stretched himself upon his back and waited. If he were able to
kill the first man with a single blow, he felt he would stand more
than an equal chance with the two others. He was an adept in the use
of the knife.

In a flash he was upright; in another he had cut through the rope on
his ankles. He leaped forward, striking deep as his feet touched the
earth. The knife sank to the hilt in the brown body. One of the others
was reaching for his sword as Stubbs struck home again. But as he drew
out his knife, the third was rushing for him with his long sword in
his hands. He never reached him. With the skill of long experience,
Stubbs threw his knife with the speed of an arrow from a bow. It
struck the man just above the heart and he stumbled over his own feet.
Stubbs melted into the shadow of the trees.

Once out of sight of the scene of this struggle, he stopped and
listened. If this were all of them, there were several things he would
get before he returned to the heights. A light breeze rustled the
heavy tops above him, but otherwise the world seemed sound asleep.
There was not the cracking of a twig--not the movement of a shadow. He
ventured back. The three forms, save that they had settled into
awkward positions, looked very much as they had a few minutes ago when
they had stood between him and freedom. He passed them, stopping to
recover his knife, and then moved on to where he had hidden the
provisions. He took a rope, a can of beef, some crackers, and a small
quantity of coca leaves. Then he went to the spring nearby and soothed
his sore throat and mouth with water. He also filled a quart flask
which he tied behind him. Returning to the cache, he covered it up
again