Andy Adams

“ There is danger! Another riot has started, outside our very gate!"
As Chand unlocked the office door and opened it, the babble rose to a bedlam of howls, shrieks, and the clang of metal as the mob battered at the big gate. At Chand's mention of the ruby, Biff had thrust his hand into his pocket to see if he still had the chamois bag that he had placed there. It was safe, and as Biff clenched it tensely, his palm seemed to burn as though the gem were actually glowing through its wrappings. ”

“ I would be near the village of Supari, where Chandra's uncle lives.
Naturally, Chandra would bring you there."
"But how did we happen to come along just when you were here for a tiger hunt and the villagers were so terribly excited over it?"
"They are always tiger hunting here at Keewal," replied Barma Shah with a smile, "and the people in Supari are easily excited. If Matapar cries, 'Tiger! Tiger!' he knows that Thakur will bring out the villagers as beaters by day and even as bait by night." ”

“ Thakur, coming to his knees, aimed at the spot where the tiger crouched, but as he fired the second barrel, the furred fury made another high, hard spring, clearing the path of aim. Again, the cage was jarred, and now Thakur, desperate, grabbed a spear from Chandra and jabbed wildly through the bars, blindly trying to drive off the snarling killer that he could not see. ”

“ Chandra knew this from occasional experience in such a setting, as any Indian boy would who had lived in a native village like Supari. But Kamuka, the boy from Brazil, recognized it instinctively, for he was jungle born and bred, though in the opposite hemisphere.
"Remember, Biff?" queried Kamuka. "The time the big jaguar jumped at you?"
"I remember," replied Biff, "because it was you who stopped it, Kamuka."
"I just helped," said Kamuka. "But this jungle reminds me of jaguars. Do they have them here?"
"They have cheetahs, leopards, and tigers. Those should be enough—and more." ”

“ Thakur was in the cage, gripping a big shotgun and flanked by Chandra and Kamuka, each armed with a spear. Barma Shah had picked himself a platform up in a tree. Matapar and other shikaris were up on their platforms, all at ideal range. Biff was as far off in the jeep as space would allow, down at the end of a long, smooth gully that practically formed a roadway to the clearing. In the back seat, two more shikaris sat ready with their rifles.
But as dusk gathered, tension grew. The cage was the focal spot. If the tiger approached too close, Thakur was to drive him back with quick shots. ”

“ Biff turned to Chandra. "He means a boa constrictor. We ran into a big one up the Amazon, a snake the size of your python."
"What about Macu?" demanded Kamuka.
"Head hunters," translated Biff to Chandra. "He wants to know if you have them, too."
"We have something much worse," declared Chandra solemnly. "We have thugs, or stranglers, who ride on trains with us. They are after your ruby, Biff, if you still have it." ”

“ Chandra began to chuckle happily and finally exploded into mirth.
"They will never guess where we have gone," the Indian boy said gleefully. "They will wait, those followers of Kali, thinking that we will come creeping back like the monkeys and the cobras. They will look for us and will think that we are hiding, waiting, somewhere in the ancient temple."
"Maybe," put in Kamuka, "they will look where we jumped."
"What then?" rejoined Chandra. "They will find nothing. Everything will be dry around the well by that time."
"I'll say it will," agreed Biff. "Our clothes are dry already. ”

“ The patwari shook his head. "The bars are to keep the tiger out, so the living bait will be safe inside the cage."
"But don't you just stake out some animal?" asked Biff. "So the tiger will think it is loose?"
"Usually we do that with a pig or buffalo," replied Chandra's uncle, "but this tiger has tasted human blood. So tonight we will try human bait. That is the purpose of the cage."
"And the bait," put in Chandra proudly, "will be Kamuka and myself. We are going in with Thakur, the head watchman and chief hunter of the village." ”

“ The yaks pulled the party through. They bulldozed their way through the snow, chest deep, clearing it like living snowplows, so that the people had no difficulty following them. Oddly, as the trail climbed higher, it led to barren ground, totally free from snow. Apparently, the storm clouds hadn't managed to gain that altitude.
Early that afternoon, the party halted at a roaring mountain stream and stared at the remnants of a crude wooden bridge that had been washed away by the flood. Sadly, Tikse petted one yak after another, while the porters relieved the stolid beasts of their burdens. ”

“ The higher the plane rose, the more the mountains loomed above it. Avoiding those vast peaks, Charles Keene worked the plane above valleys and passes that formed openings in the massive barrier. The ranges rose skyward like great steps until the plane reached the fertile Katmandu Valley near the center of Nepal, a great green oasis in a vast desert of rocky crags and the perpetual snow of the surrounding Himalayas. ”

“ Sometimes at night, we take full moon as target. We drop a stone from a high riverbank, where the moon shows in the water. Then we step off like we three just did."
"It's lucky you showed us how, Chandra," Biff said. "We never would have tried it on our own. Would we, Kamuka?"
Kamuka shook his head emphatically. "I should say not!" he responded.
Fortunately, Biff, who was a good diver, had often stepped off springboards or diving platforms as a stunt. Kamuka, too, had used the same technique from the edge of high piers on the Amazon, when boats were moored too close to allow a normal dive. ”

“ Chandra had dropped the branch and flung himself in the opposite direction, jolting Biff away from danger in case the cobra turned and tried to strike anew.
Kamuka, by then, was peppering the snake with stones that he had gathered while bringing the tree branch. Under that barrage, the cobra hastily sought refuge in the rubble, where Biff, after his close shave with death, was very glad to see it go. "Whew!" he said, wiping perspiration from his forehead. "Thanks, fellows! You're good men to know! How did you learn to charm snakes, Chandra?" he asked. "Did Jinnah Jad teach you that, too?" ”

“ The boys gathered their packs and resumed their hike along the rutted road.
"But how can music make snakes dance?" Kamuka asked abruptly. "In Brazil, our snakes hear nothing except a big loud noise, when somebody shoots a gun or whacks water with a paddle."
"In that case," said Biff, "it's probably more a matter of the snake sensing a vibration than any keen hearing. Maybe that's why the flute music sways them." He turned to Chandra. "Or is it?"
Chandra grinned. "Flute music makes me sway," he said, "so it makes the cobra sway." ”

“ Day after day, they see tracks in the snow and think they are Yeti footprints. Instead, they are just bear tracks. The big bear followed, hoping people have yaks that bear can kill and eat. Instead, people kill bear and eat it. But people who kill bear are Changpas, not Ladakhi!"
When they stopped for a noonday meal, the Changpa bowmen were still arguing whose arrow had killed the big bear. While the other boys were watching and quietly getting a wallop out of the pantomime, Chandra drew Biff aside and asked:
"Who do you think really killed the bear?" ”

“ What Biff had seen tumble into the gorge were the bulky packs that the porters had flung aside. Those bulging burdens, when falling, had looked exactly like a pair of huddled humans. Now, Uncle Charlie and the two boys were lightening weight by letting their own packs follow the path of the others. ”

“ Kamuka was correct about the path. It was a real one, for soon it veered away from the stream entirely and brought the boys to a jutting promontory that gave them a good view over the green wave of the jungle slope below. There they rested again, while Biff traced the course of the road that they had left.
"If we could only cut across and strike the road a few miles up the line," he said, "we would really shake off those thugs. But no such luck, I guess. We'd never hack our way through all that growth. Let's stick to the path." ”

“ You have heard of the giant ape-man of the Himalayas, haven't you? The creature they call the Abominable Snowman? That's their name for it: Yeti—"
"I remember now!" exclaimed Charles Keene. "I was sure I'd heard the word before. But I thought that yarn was spiked long ago."
"Not in these mountains," rejoined Barma Shah. "Here in Ladakh, as well as Kashmir, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and even as far away as Yarkand, the Yeti is very real. The natives will run away if they even think such a creature is around."
"And we thought they meant the plane!" exclaimed Li. ”

“ The Chonsi Lama broke off to greet the newcomers who were being ushered in. To Charles Keene, he said cordially, "I know you must be Biff's uncle." Then, turning to the other man, he added, "And you are Barma Shah—"
Mr. Brewster was coming forward in quick interruption to confront the bland man with the broad face and the wide ears. Biff, accustomed to his father's calm, was surprised to hear Mr. Brewster exclaim excitedly, "Wait! This man is not Barma Shah. He is an impostor! ”

“ Instead of mentioning Yetis, Li made a quick switch. "For instance, we have Lamas. You don't have people like that in the Andes."
"Sure we do," rejoined Kamuka. "Only they don't look like people. They look like yaks."
That brought a laugh from Biff, in which Mike joined. Chandra and Chuba were still puzzled, so Biff explained:
"Li means a Lama, spelled with one 'L' like Li. The Lamas are important people. We are on our way to see one now. But Kamuka is talking about llamas, spelled with a double 'l.' They are animals that carry packs in the Andes, as yaks do here." ”