CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
HOW BILLY WIDGEON WENT SOMEWHERE.
The preparations were soon made, and directly after breakfast, in spite of Mr Morgan's desire to be of the company, the little band of half the occupants of the isle gathered for the start.

Mr Gregory was obliged to remain and take charge of the camp, leaving the captain free to be the head, with the major for his lieutenant, Small, Billy Widgeon, and two other men.
Mark was to be left behind, but a piteous appeal reversed the edict, and, armed with a gun, he took his place with the expedition folk ready for the start.
They took a bag or two for fruit and game, a small amount of luncheon for each, and their arms and ammunition.

Thus equipped and with the good wishes of those they left behind, the party set off for the creek where the nipah-palms grew, and up the path followed by Mark and the major before, but with the intention of turning off where the steam issued from the earth, as everyone seemed to select the jungle between that and the mountain-slope as being the spot from whence the roaring sounds were heard.
Backed by the knowledge already gained, there was not much difficulty in reaching the scene of the fright with the supposed serpent; and here they paused to try the ground, which sent out puffs of steam with a loud hiss directly it was pierced.
Billy Widgeon shook his head at it and looked at Small, who frowned, took off his cap, and scratched his head, as if he did not approve of the place as one for a walk.
Just then there was a capital opportunity for a shot at the great pigeons; but shooting was forbidden until their return, the object being to trace the strange creature if possible and see what it was like.
"It can't be a crocodile," said the major, "for there is no river up this way except this bit of a stream; great snake I can't believe it is; what is it, then ?" "The only way is to examine every bit of soft ground for traces of footprints," said the captain.

"Nearly every beast has its times for going to drink; so we ought to get some inkling of what it is like at the various springs." They were not long in coming to one in a hollow beneath a great pile of moss-grown rock down whose sides trickled the water to form at last a good-sized pool of the most limpid kind; but the mossy boggy earth around was untrodden, the water clear, and no trace to be seen of a single footprint other than their own.
The water was delicious on that hot day in the steamy jungle, and the band was refreshed--Mark having hard work to refrain from chasing some gorgeous butterfly of green and gold, or with wings painted in pearl-blue, steel, and burnished silver.

At other times some lovely kingfisher, with elongated tail, settled almost within reach.