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my feet were tormenting me. I walked at a steady pace, however, not stopping.

'I just have to make it to the Tuichi,' I mumbled to myself, 'I just have to make it to the Tuichi.'

Alone, deep in the jungle, so small and insignificant, pitted against nature, still I sensed someone watching me. Or watching over me. Someone could see me, someone was providing for me.

It began to grow dark, but I marched on determinedly. No way did I want to set up still another campsite for a night in the jungle. I had to get to the Tuichi. After only a short while I could make out its distant, constant drone, the familiar sound of the great river. Like a horse who catches wind of its stable, I forged ahead with renewed energy. One more bend – and there it was.

The river that I had been following widened, expanding into a torrent sixty or seventy feet across. The Tuichi itself was more than three hundred feet across. A broad shore stretched about me, and the whole place was reminiscent of the mouth of the Ipurama, where Kevin and I had parted from Karl and Marcus.

I was overcome with relief and joy. Now at least I knew exactly where I was. From now on I would stick with the Tuichi. I would move on along its banks.

The gathering darkness made me ill at ease, an indefinable dread. Nothing was clearly visible; I was surrounded by long shadows. Suddenly the