I shuddered.
He dragged the thing a few feet away, and I heard him slashing
away at it with his spear. A minute later he came running over to
us with his hands full of something.
That was not exactly a pretty meal. How Desiree, in her
frightfully weakened condition, ever managed to get the stuff
down and keep it there is beyond me. But she did, and I was not
behind her. And, after all, it was fresh. Harry said it was
"sweet." Well, perhaps it was.
We bathed Desiree's hands and face and gave her water to drink,
and soon after she passed into a seemingly healthy sleep. There
was about ten pounds of meat left. Harry washed it in the stream
and stowed it away on a rock beneath the surface of the water.
Then he announced his intention of going back for more.
"I'm going with you," I declared. "Here--help me fix Desiree."
"Hardly," said Harry. "Didn't I say there are millions of those
things over there? Anyway, there are hundreds. If they should
happen to scatter in this direction and find her, she wouldn't
stand a chance. You take the other spear and stay here."
So I sat still, with Desiree's body in my arms, and waited for
him.
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