"Right, lad," said Jack. "Zounds! here's something that pleases me quite as much as the Spanish silver pieces. Here is the old knife I have carried with me on so many jaunts that it seems a part of myself. It had slipped down between the lining and the outside cloth of my jacket. In this jungle one feels better to have something with which to defend himself, even if it is nothing more than a good, stout knife, with a blade that has been tried and tested in some tough scrimmages. I think more of the old knife than ever."
The revival of Jack's usual good spirits served to encourage Ronie to somewhat forget their perils and uncertainty.
"Let's see," said Jack, dropping the coin back into his pocket, but holding the knife firmly in his hand, "if I'm not mistaken, by going due west we shall eventually reach the shore of Lake Maracaibo. We shall not have much difficulty then in reaching the city, from which we can go by rail to Caracas; if not all of the way, nearly so."
"In that case the compass will come in handy," said Ronie, and having selected their course, they now pushed forward with better courage than at any period since they had come to land.
It must have been half an hour later, and the sun was now sending its bright bars of light down through the umbrageous branches of the forest trees, one kind of which was laden with a profusion of bright and beautiful flowers, making the largest and most magnificent bouquets of floral offerings Ronie had ever seen, even in the Philippines, where the vegetation abounds on the grandest scale, when they were attracted by the sound of a human voice.
"There we get what a few minutes ago I was willing to give a big silver piece to hear," declared Jack. "By my faith, the fellow has lusty lungs. He must be getting excited, too."
"His tone shows he is in great fear," said Ronie. "Whoever he be, he is in some great danger or critical situation."
"Perhaps we had better push ahead, so as to lend him a helping hand in case he needs one."
Quickening their pace they tore through the tropical vegetation, the undergrowth of which stood high over their shoulders, in the direction of the appeals for help. These grew rapidly louder and more fraught with terror.