Three nights and two days! What was this dawn bringing to them? Rain,
hunger and thirst again? Westy wondered.
Where there had been nothing but blackness above and beneath them there
were now little faint touches of light in the dark void above the trees.
It grew lighter with Rip’s every second breath. He was turning and
twisting his head in Westy’s lap and mumbling incoherently.
Poor Westy was aching in every muscle, feverish from thirst and
sickeningly hungry. Also greater than his wants was the despair he felt
over Rip’s alarming condition.
He listened as he thought he heard a lull in the falling of the rain.
Then it gradually lessened and stopped as the dawn broke clear and
promising overhead.
The next thing to do was awaken Rip and Westy hated doing it in his
condition. He talked to him and the sick boy opened his eyes and stared.
“We have to get down, Rip, do you understand?”
Rip nodded and sat up and Westy slid to the ground and helped him down.
He obeyed just like a child, but said nothing and immediately laid down
on the earth again and closed his eyes. He was asleep within a very few
minutes.
Westy turned and watched the sun peeping through the curtain of dawn, so
warm and friendly. It made him feel warm and partially dry for the first
time in three days, but his spirits sank as he saw that the tracks were
leading further into the forest and not where they had hoped. And his
hunger and thirst were distracting him.
He noted that Rip’s breathing was easier and his temperature seemed to
have dropped. But fever acted that way, Westy thought, and got bad at
night. Still, if it wasn’t so bad during the day he could go on a little
with help. He’d see how he felt, but meanwhile he must get something to
eat first.
There wasn’t a berry bush in sight and as he looked at the stagnant pool
a little distance from him he shook his head and reached up in one of
the limbs of the tree.
Pulling the leaves off one after the other, he sucked the moisture out
of them greedily, but with delight. It took the worst of the parched
feeling away and then he gave some to Rip, who chewed leaf and all.
Looking at his eyes, Westy saw that Rip was so bad as to be incognizant
of his surroundings and stared blankly ahead.
It was deplorable, but they would have to go on whether the boy was in
his right mind or not, but Westy was sure of one thing and that was that
he wouldn’t leave Rip alone for any length of time. Better not to leave
him at all--still he had to have something to eat....
Just then he saw a large bird!