When daylight came there was nothing to do but resume the tramp of the day before, for he had been unable to think of a better plan. Fortunately, he came across a giant armadillo digging for grubs in a decayed stump, and promptly killed it before the stupid creature withdrew its head from the rubbish to discover his presence. It was a monster of its kind and weighed half a hundredweight. The head, body, legs and tail were completely encased in bony armor, and the claws it used in procuring its food would have measured eight inches long. David built a fire on the spot and soon pieces of the tender white flesh, roasted thoroughly, were satisfying the hunger of two days’ duration. He cooked every morsel, wrapped what he did not eat in leaves, and then fastened the pack to his back with strips of bark. It might be days before another opportunity to procure food so easily presented itself. When the third day had passed the seriousness of his position came to David in an unexpected manner. The thing that caused him to stop suddenly while a feeling of terror came over him was the first sign of oncoming fever. That dread scourge of the tropical jungle struck without warning and David had read and heard enough about it to recognize it at the first onslaught--a feeling of utter exhaustion, followed by chills that made his teeth chatter even though the vegetation, high overhead, was wilting in the glare of the brassy sun. His entire body trembled violently as he sank in a heap to the ground. After that came a burning fever, so that for an hour he tossed in intense agony. The attack finally subsided, leaving him limp and helpless. After a time he gathered enough strength to kindle a fire, beside which he spent a miserable night. Once he sank into a light sleep; he was awakened by the sound of shuffling footsteps in the dry leaves. Some large animal was watching him, although he could not see it in the darkness. He threw wood on the fire and as the flames leaped up there was a heavy crashing in the underbrush as the startled creature dashed away. The malady returned at increasingly frequent intervals, like some insidious enemy sure of its victim but in no undue haste to accomplish its vile purpose. David could not bear up under the repeated attacks. At the end of a week he was too ill to continue the ceaseless and now hopeless tramp that took him nowhere.