The sunburst of dawn woke them from a night of restless sleep. Roger
sat up sleepily blinking against the garish rays of the rising sun, and
conscious of an indefinite sense of discomfort. Sleepily he stumbled
to his feet, seeking a drink of water, and then, fully awakened, he
understood. His tongue was hot and dry and his swollen throat was
crying for a drink of the brackish water which he must not touch.
"Hell!" said Higgins hoarsely as he awoke and felt his throat. "It's
getting us quick. This heat just boils the moisture out of you. Do
your eyes hurt yet?"
"No."
"Mine do. I ate more of that meat than you did."
They found a sweet-bay bush near by and chewed the fragrant leaves for
the moisture that was in them.
"I'll climb that tree and have another look round," said Roger.
"All right. While you're there I'll try out the mats I made last
night."
They looked together up toward the top of the dead cypress, and Higgins
swore. The buzzards were still waiting.
Roger climbed to the branch which offered a perch high up on the tree
trunk and once more searched the landscape for a sign of fresh water or
a solid path through the mud. The scene below him now resembled
nothing so much as a painter's palette streaked and splashed with all
the bright primary colors and all their possible hues, shades and
variations.
The black mud field was livid with a coating of most somber purple shot
with angry streaks of carmine and orange. On the foliage of the tiny
islands which dotted the expanse the sun was rosy. To the westward the
matted mass of the mangrove swamp seemed to be sheathed with a liquid
coat of gold. The mists of morning were rising above the swamp and
upon it the dawn played its full palette of colors with delicate
rainbow effect. Above the mists the sky was flushed and hectic; and in
the east the garishness of the sunburst was like the clang of a brazen
gong.
Payne moved his glasses inch by inch upward, scanning minutely the
treacherous ground over which they were soon to venture. Had there
been running water within sight the searching sun must have revealed
it. He saw none, nor did he catch any signs that indicated a
watercourse.
The mud and the tiny islands stretched northward to the blue streak on
the horizon, which might be timber highland or only mist.
"It works!" called Higgins from below.
By the time Payne had descended from his perch the engineer was out on
the mud, demonstrating the efficiency of the mats of thin saplings and
creepers which he had woven the evening before. While standing upon
one mat, which supported his weight and prevented him sinking into the
mud, he tossed a second one ahead, stepped upon it, drew the first mat
after him, and repeated the process. It was slow work, for the mud
clung to the mats, necessitating a heavy tug to free them, but it was
sure--so long as a man's strength remained. Payne followed tediously
in Higgins' trail and presently by virtue of greater length of leg and
arm, had caught up with him. They reached the first island at the same
time and found it no island at all, but a clump of mangrove trees
inextricably woven together above a salt-water hole in the mud.
They went on their tedious way without a pause, without a word. The
next island was the same, and the next and next. Still they crept
steadily on, buoyed and spurred by the hope that the island just ahead
would prove different. It was in the middle of the forenoon before
they permitted this hope to die. Each island, they now knew, was only
a hole of salt water with mangrove trees growing in it. And the
islands ran on and on into the distance.
The sun now was rising to the height of its power and its burning rays
beat mercilessly down upon the parched pair. Seeking a moment's relief
from its heat they thrust themselves into a clump of mangroves and
rested. Neither spoke. They had but one thought: "Water!" and each
feared to utter it because of the effect upon his companion. As they
leaned against the rootlike branches of the mangroves dark shadows
moved above them. They looked up. The buzzards were leisurely
following their progress.
Through the rest of the day they plunged ahead, the rest halts becoming
more and more frequent, and with no break in the monotony of mud and
islands. As evening approached they stopped and prepared for the
night. Higgins now was all but a wreck. His weight was beginning to
tell upon him and his thirst had become torture. With his knife Payne
cut armfuls of branches from the nearest island and piled them high
upon the mats for a sleeping place.
Higgins climbed to his improvised couch ere daylight had gone from the
sky and at once fell asleep. As he slept he babbled. He ordered bell
boys to bring him ice water, commanded Mexican water carriers to pass
him a canteen; and muttered fretfully that they brought him empty
vessels. Payne did not sleep. The evening passed; and the soft
Florida moon rode low in the blue mist of the warm night. The moon
disappeared; and through it all he lay awake, vibrant with a fear which
he dared not own, and which made him yearn for the return of daylight.
Higgins rose reluctantly next morning.
"I can't do it," he muttered at first. "I've got to have water."
Payne slapped him full in the face.
"Wake up! Talk like a man!"
The blood of anger flushed Higgins' face; he blinked and, wide awake,
understood.
"Oh! All right. Come on."
"Give me your gun," said Payne sharply.
"What? Oh, hell! I'm not that bad."
"Not yet; but we'll play safe. Hand it over."