@@@@@Crossing the rapids had drained them, and
@@@@@Crossing the rapids had drained them, and most of the men were too weary to lift their legsWhen they came to a new shelf of rock, they flopped their bodies over the edge and slid their legs up behind them with the motions of salmon laboring upstream for the spawning seasonThe river was dividing into its tributaries; every hundred yards a rill or tiny brook would trickle out of the jungle, and Croft would halt, examine it for a moment, and then move on againAfter his solo across the rapids, Hearn had been content to let Croft manage the platoon again for a timeHe plodded behind with the others, still unable to regain his wind
They came to a junction where the stream divided in twoIn the jungle, unable to see the sun, it was impossible for anyone but Martinez or him to know in what direction they were travelingCroft had noticed earlier that the larger trees leaned toward the northwest; he had checked it with his compass, and decided they had been wrenched that way in a hurricane when they were youngHe accepted it as a reliable guide, and all that morning as they had moved up the river he had been noting the direction in which they marchedHe guessed that they must be very close to the end of the jungle; they had walked more than three miles, and the river generally had moved toward the hillsBut here it was impossible to determine which stream to follow; both veered off at an angle, and it was conceivable they might meander for miles through the jungle, parallel to the open hillsHe and Martinez talked about it, and Martinez selected a tall tree off the stream and began to climb it
He clambered up by grasping the vines that circled about it, using the nodes of the trunk for his footholdsWhen he reached the highest fork, he crawled out on a limb, edging himself forward cautiouslyHigh up, he halted and surveyed the terrainThe jungle spread beneath him in a green velvet napHe could no longer see the river, but not more than half a mile away the jungle ended abruptly, and a progression of bare yellow hills mounted toward the distant slopes of Mount AnakaMartinez drew out his compass, and determined the directionHe was feeling the satisfaction of doing a job at which he knew he was proficient
He climbed down, and talked to Croft and the Lieutenant"We follow this one," he said, pointing to one of the tributaries, "maybe two-three hundred yard, then we cut trailNo river in the hill right there He pointed toward the open country he had seenThe information had not surprised him
The platoon began marching again