Soon the men came back laden with their victims. They made several trips back and forth to gather up all the birds they had killed, but at last the task was completed and a high heap lay on the deck. Fortunately, large numbers of survivors still remained on the ledge, eating as unconcernedly as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. When the men saw what David had done they roared with laughter. “Wait until it wakes up,” one said. “It will make things hot for you. You’ll never manage it.” “I’m going to tie it,” David explained. “Here is a string that I bet will hold it.” At this they laughed louder than before. “Better use this wire,” one suggested, handing him one of the kind used in binding the bales of dried beef, and he accepted it, fastening one end to one of the bird’s legs and the other to the rail. “Now, I guess you’ll stay a while,” David commented. “I’m going to tame you and take you back home with me.” The remainder of the day was spent plucking and dressing the parrots and that night they ate quantities of them that had been boiled first and then roasted. The flesh was of excellent flavor, though many of the birds were tough in the extreme. However, they were a most welcome change from the everlasting dried beef and there were enough left for several days to come. CHAPTER XI IN THE RUBBER FOREST The rubber camp was a dismal place. The clusters of huts comprising the settlement stood in the deep shade cast by gigantic trees that grew close together; most of them were little more than shelters--peaked roofs on poles, and were of the flimsiest possible construction. The palm-leaf thatch was held in place by poles laid across it short distances apart, instead of being tied with strips of bark or creepers. However, the makeshift construction was entirely practicable as the hovels had to be replaced each year and they served their purpose well for one short season. The paths that had been worn between the huts were muddy and a number of lean pigs wallowed in them. The latter were the camp scavengers and were also relied upon to destroy scorpions, tarantulas and other obnoxious creatures that ventured near the human habitations. The smokehouses in which the rubber later was prepared, after it had been brought in from the forest, stood apart from the huts occupied as living quarters by the men. These had walls that enclosed them, but light filtered into the interior through the thin layer of leaves that extended from the roof to the ground. The earth floors were littered with an array of large tin cones, pails, bowls of various sizes, wooden paddles and heaps of the palm nuts burned to produce the acrid smoke needed to congeal the rubber milk. There were also numerous little fireplaces built of stones. David was to learn the use of all these utensils very soon.