or
climber, one foot placed before the other, meant that much nearer to
home and safety. Such was now the simple operation of our stupefied
and tired brains, brains that could not hold one complex thought to
its end; too tired--tired!

At nightfall we stumbled into our old _tambo_ No. 7. There was no
thought of securing food, no possibility of getting any; we had
been too tired to even attempt to shoot game during the day. The two
monkeys which the Indian had killed with his blow-gun were the only
food we had and these we now broiled over the camp-fire and devoured
fiercely. After this meal, none too good, we slung our hammocks with
difficulty and dropped in. Jerome's numbness increased during the
night. We were up and on the trail again with the dawn.

In the afternoon we descended a hill to find ourselves confronted by
a swamp of unusual extent. The Chief was in the lead as we crossed the
swamp and we lost him from our sight for a few minutes. While crossing
this wide, slimy-bottomed place, I noticed a peculiar movement in the
water near me, and soon made out the slender bodies of swamp-snakes
as they whipped past among the branches and reeds. These snakes are
called by the Brazilians _jararacas_ and are very poisonous; however,
I had no fear for myself as I wore heavy buffalo-hide boots, but the
men walked barefooted, and were in great danger. I cried out a warning
to Jerome, who took care to thrash about him. We supposed that we had
passed this snake-hole without mishap when we rejoined the Chief on
"terra firma." He was leaning over, as we approached him, and he
turned a face to us that was stricken with fear. He pointed to the
instep of his right foot and there on the skin were two tiny spots,
marked by the fangs of the snake. Without a word we sank to the
ground beside him in despair. The unfortunate man, with dilated eyes
fixed upon the ground, crouched waiting for the coming of the pain
that would indicate that the poison was working its deadly course,
and that the end was near if something was not done immediately.

Losing no more time, I cried to Jerome to pour out some gunpowder
while I sucked the wound. While doing this I fumbled in the spacious
pockets of my khaki hunting-coat and secured the bistoury with which
I made a deep incision in the flesh over the wound, causing the blood
to flow freely. In the meantime, Jerome had filled a measure with
black powder and this was now emptied into the bleeding wo