Some other animal, with a long, sinuous body, crept down to the margin and lapped the water.

Paul did not know what it was, and he could not break the silence to ask the others; but after drinking for a few minutes it drew its long, lithe body back through the undergrowth, and passed out of sight.

Then nothing came for a while, because this was a ferocious beast of prey, and to the harmless creatures of the wilderness the air about the drinking place was filled for a space with poison.
But as the wind continued to blow lightly from the south, the dread odor passed away and the air became pure and fresh again.

Back in the deeps of the forest the timid creatures found courage once more, and they crept down to the water's edge to slake their thirst.

But they were small, and the ambushed marksmen in the boat still waited, silent and motionless.
Paul saw them sometimes, and sometimes he did not.