the Central was not in sight. Then they set out on their journey, Si carrying the remainder of the cormorant, and Walter with the pistol, ready to shoot should anything dangerous show itself.
But all the morning and well into the afternoon nothing living came to light but a few birds, that scattered speedily at their approach. Once they fancied they heard human voices at a distance and went into hiding for several minutes. But the alarm proved a false one, and they went on more confidently than ever.
When they rested that night both calculated that they had covered fifteen miles,—a goodly distance when the roughness of the country was taken into consideration. They halted at the top of a small mountain, at the base of which they made out a native village located on the bank of a winding stream.
On their journey they had come across some nuts which were sweet to the taste, and had eaten considerable of them, regardless of the fact that they might be poisonous. They realized that they were in desperate straits and must take many risks. The cormorant had been "sampled" several times, and they knew that the following morning would see the last of the bird.
