CHAPTER VII.
ADRIFT ON A FLOATING ISLAND.
The voices grew nearer and suddenly to his amazement Frank heard hisown name mentioned. The next moment both lads broke into a loudexclamation of surprise.
Those approaching their place of concealment were Billy Barnes and BenStubbs.
It would be difficult to say which pair of adventurers were moreastonished as they met on the beach.
"Shiver my timbers!" exclaimed Ben, "whar did you boys come from? Didyou turn back?"
"Turn back?" echoed Frank, "no, we've been keeping right on."
"Wall," drawled Ben, "then what I was afeard of at first is true."
"What's that, Ben?"
"Why, that we are on an island."
"On an island!"
"Yes, a floating island."
For a moment they were all dumb with amazement. Then Ben went on:
"I've heard old sailors tell of such things off of this yer coast.These islands--as they are called--are nothing more or less than hugesections of forest torn from the banks of the Amazon when it is inflood and floated out ter sea on its current."
"But how can they keep afloat?" asked Harry.
"Why the tangled roots and tree limbs keep 'em up for a long time,"rejoined Ben, "and then they sink."
"I hope our island isn't sinking," exclaimed Frank, anxiously lookingabout him.
"Not much fear of that; but it's moving, all right," replied the oldsailor, "just fix your eyes on that cloud for a minute."
The boys did as directed, and, sure enough, the island, as they nowknew it, was moving slowly along, doubtless urged by some current ofthe ocean.
"Suppose the ship never finds us," gasped Billy.
"Now, just put thoughts like that out of your head, youngster,"exclaimed Ben sharply. "I've been in worse fixes than this and got outof them. What we had best do now is to gather up some of those bigcocoanuts that's scattered about there and make waterholders out ofthem."
"But there's plenty of water flowing from the springs. We passedseveral of them," objected Harry.
"That's just the water that has soaked into the ground after therain," said Ben. "It will soon dry up as the day goes on."
The adventurers at once set to work gathering up cocoanuts and withtheir knives scooping out their shells so as to form sort of pots outof them. These were filled with water at the nearest of the littlesprings and placed in the shade.
"Now to gather some more oysters and we'll have dinner," said Ben,when the boys had filled what he pronounced to be a sufficient numberof the improvised pots.
The boys set to work at the task at once, stripping from the lowhanging branches the oysters that clung to them. These were roasted inthe same manner as the previous night and washed down with water andcocoanut milk.
"Well, we shan't starve for a while, anyhow," said Ben, as theyconcluded their meal. "If the worst comes to the worst I guess we canlive on cocoanuts for a while."
After some talk about their situation and the prospects of their beingrescued from it Ben announced that he was going to explore theinterior of the island and see if he could find some tree up which itwould be possible to swarm and attach a sort of signal or at any rateobtain an extended view of the sea.
The boys, who felt tired and dispirited, said that they would remainin the camp--if camp it could be called.
Ben had been gone perhaps half an hour, when they were aroused by asudden shout. At the sound they all sprang to their feet from therestful postures they had assumed.
There was a note of terror in the cry.
"Help, boys, help!"
The sound rang through the forest and then died away, as if theshouter had been suddenly silenced.
"It's Ben," shouted Frank.
"What can have happened?" gasped Harry.
"He is in trouble of some kind," shouted Billy Barnes.
"Come on, boys," exclaimed Frank, drawing his revolver, "get yourknives ready, we may need all the weapons we have."
They plunged into the forest in the direction from which they judgedthe cries had proceeded and after a few minutes pushing through thedense brush, which greatly hampered their progress, they heard atremendous noise of breaking tree limbs and a violent threshing aboutas if some huge body was rushing through the woods.
"What can it be?" gasped Frank, his face pale at the sound of thestruggle.
In almost the same breath his question was answered. Pushing asidesome brush the boys saw before them a small glade or clearing.
In the midst of this stood Ben, his face transfixed with horror andbrandishing a seaman's knife.
Facing him, and seemingly about to dart forward, was the largestserpent they had ever seen; the sunlight checkered its bright coloredfolds. Its red tongue darted wickedly in and out as it faced the braveseaman.
"Shoot, Frank. Shoot and kill it," implored Harry.
With a white, tense face the elder boy leveled his revolver. He pulledthe trigger and, before the sharp report that followed had died away,the monstrous, snake was threshing its huge body about in agony.
But as they started to cheer the effect of the shot a cry of horrorbroke from the boys. In its struggles the monster had convulsed itsfolds till Frank, who was caught off his guard, was within theirreach.
In a second he was wrapped in the giant reptile's grip without havingtime to utter even an outcry.
Powerless, with only their puny knives with which to give battle tothe serpent, the boys stood petrified with terror. Even Ben, to whomhis rescue and Frank's peril had been unfolded so swiftly that he washalf-dazed, seemed unable to determine what to do.
But indecision only held for a moment. Then with a cry he jumpedforward and picked up Frank's revolver, which the boy had dropped whenthe serpent seized him. With a prayer on his lips the old sailorfired.
Almost with the rapidity of a single bullet the whole contents of theautomatic's magazine poured out and every missile took effect in thereptile's huge head. In its death agony it straightened out its foldsand Frank's senseless body dropped from them, seemingly limp andlifeless.
The boys started to rush in, but Ben held them back with a warninghand.
"Hold on; it may not be dead yet," he warned.
But a brief inspection proved that the great snake had succumbed toBen's fusillade and, this settled, they dragged Frank to a low bank,where the extent of his injuries could be ascertained.
"No bones broken," pronounced Ben, after a careful examination. It wasnot long before the boy opened his eyes and in a short time hedeclared he felt as well as ever.
The serpent on being measured with Frank's pocket rule proved to be atrifle over twenty feet long and of great girth.
"It's an anaconda," said Ben, "there are lots of 'em up along theAmazon and they are as deadly a snake as there is. I've heard tellthey can crush a horse in their folds."
"I hope there are no more of them on the island," exclaimed Billy.
"We shall have to be careful," rejoined Ben, "there may be otherdangerous creatures here, too. This island, as I should judge, must beall of six miles around and there's room for a lot of ugly critters inthat space."
Leaving the dead body of the snake the adventurers made their way backto camp. The first thing that all wanted was a drink of water. Theymade for the place in which the drinking fluid had been left.
As soon as his eyes fell on the row of improvised water pots Frankgave an exclamation of dismay.
"Look here," he shouted, "there's some one on this island besidesourselves."
"What!" was the amazed chorus.
"There must be," went on the lad, "see here, there were twentycocoanut shells of water when we went away, and now there are onlyfifteen."
"Five gone!" exclaimed Ben in an alarmed voice, "and the spring hasalready dried up."
"Hullo! What's that?" suddenly cried Billy, as something came crashingthrough the branches.
The next moment one of the missing shells was rolled with greatviolenc
e into the middle of the group of adventurers. Before they hadrecovered from their astonishment a strange sharp scream filled theforest. There was a derisive note in its tones.
A strange fear filled the boys' hearts. Their faces paled.
"The island is haunted!" shouted Ben.