@@@@@He and Martinez talked about it, and
@@@@@He and Martinez talked about it, and Martinez selected a tall tree off the stream and began to climb it
He clambered up by grasping the vines that circled about it, using the nodes of the trunk for his footholdsWhen he reached the highest fork, he crawled out on a limb, edging himself forward cautiouslyHigh up, he halted and surveyed the terrainThe jungle spread beneath him in a green velvet napHe could no longer see the river, but not more than half a mile away the jungle ended abruptly, and a progression of bare yellow hills mounted toward the distant slopes of Mount AnakaMartinez drew out his compass, and determined the directionHe was feeling the satisfaction of doing a job at which he knew he was proficient
He climbed down, and talked to Croft and the Lieutenant"We follow this one," he said, pointing to one of the tributaries, "maybe two-three hundred yard, then we cut trailNo river in the hill right there He pointed toward the open country he had seenThe information had not surprised him
The platoon began marching againThe stream Martinez had chosen was very narrow, and the jungle closed over it almost completelyAfter a hundred yards they were forced to slough through the water on their hands and knees, ducking their heads to avoid the leaves and brambles that drooped into the streamIt became shortly no wider than a footpath and began shredding into many tiny runs of water which seeped from the rocks of the forestBefore they had gone a quarter of a mile, Croft decided to cut trailThe stream took a bend back toward the ocean, and it would be worthless to follow it any longer
"I'm gonna divide up the platoon for cutting trail," he told Hearn, "but I'm gonna leave us out of it, 'cause we'll have enough to doHe had no idea of what was customary on something like this, and he was too fatigued to care much"Anything you say, Sergeant Afterward he was a little worriedWhen you were with Croft, it was too easy to let him handle all the decisions
Croft took a sight with his compass in the direction he wanted to travel, and found a tree, in the brush about fifty yards away, which would be a good tar