passes Sao Gabriel. But we now know exactly where to meet him. That will be at Piedra Del Cucuy.”

“That’s better than floundering around the headwaters of the Rio Negro,” Whitman agreed. “I was afraid we would be on a wild goose chase, trying to find him there. It’s lucky that you met up with Nara.”

“Let’s say that Nara met up with us,” Mr. Brewster chuckled. “We’ll meet again at Piedra Del Cucuy, provided Nara dodges those head-hunters. Since the rapids will delay him, we should reach the great rock as soon as Nara does.”

“I’ll talk to Luiz and see if he knows the best route—”

“Not yet!” warned Mr. Brewster. “Wait until we are deep in the jungle, with no chance of any spies being about, before we even mention Piedra Del Cucuy. Do you understand?”

The final query was meant for Biff as well as Mr. Whitman. Biff nodded, then went to join Kamuka, who was waiting to help him get his pack on his back. That done, they fell into the procession as it started out.

The first few miles gave Biff the false impression that a jungle trek was easy. The trail was smooth, well-trodden by multitudes of natives who had scoured the back country in search of balata. But as paths diverged, they became rougher.

Biff began stumbling over big roots that crossed the path, and when he kept his eyes turned down to watch for them, he lost sight of the bearers ahead of him and had trouble getting into line behind them. Once, Biff lost the trail entirely, and Kamuka overtook him just as he was blundering squarely into a fallen tree.

The obstacle was at shoulder level, and Kamuka, sighting the bearers taking a turn in the path beyond, suggested: “We climb over. Take short way back to trail.”

Biff pressed aside some projecting branches as he clambered across the tree trunk, pack and all. His hands became sticky with some clinging substance.

“Spider web. Thick here,” Kamuka said. He helped Biff brush away the fine-spun threads, and pointed into the sunlight that filtered through the jungle foliage.

Kamuka cleared the branches with hard, expert slashes

Glistening between the tree branches were the largest, thickest spider webs that Biff had ever seen. There were multitudes of them, forming what at first glance seemed an impassible barrier.

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