As soon as the momentum slowed, he pulled his arm back and stabbed urgently again with the pole, four or five times in quick succession. The final thrust met no resistance, but even as he drew back to jab again into the depths, he felt something latch fiercely on to his arm. He tried to turn and strike back, but he was against the side of the boat, and it was a hand on his arm, the others heaving him out of the water.

Only now that he could feel his own waterlogged heaviness being hauled free of the river did the panic of what he’d just done set in and he kicked out again as if imagining the caiman might try one more time for him.

George said, “We’ve got you. You’re clear,” and it calmed him immediately. He fell into the boat and took a moment or two to see that they were all there, and that Jess and Barney had already started rowing fast. George shook his head and said, “Man, you’re just the gift that keeps giving.” He whooped and the dog barked in response and everyone laughed with relief.

It was only then that he noticed Alice staring down with horror at his leg. He looked down himself, saw the leg of his cargo pants torn and bloody, the exposed skin beneath slicked with blood.

He looked up and met her eyes, saying, “It’s okay. I’ve got another pair in my backpack.”

She laughed a little, but it was weak laughter and the smile fell away as Shen said, “I need to dress that, and I need to do it fast.”

Tom nodded, and Shen unlaced Tom’s boots and pulled them off. Tom undid the cargo pants and lifted himself up to push them down but immediately grimaced as the wet material started to move over the damaged skin, snagging at it.

Shen said, “Stop. I’ll use scissors to cut them free.”

He reached into his backpack for the first aid kit, opened it, but kept looking between the contents and Tom’s leg. He cut the material then and peeled it away from the wound, sending another stinging pain through him.

Everyone else watched, although he noticed a couple of them avert their eyes when his lower leg was revealed. Shen, on the other hand, sighed with what looked like relief and nodded to himself before turning back to Tom.

“I still need to clean it and dress it, but it appears to be an abrasion rather than a bite or claw wound. And it probably helps that it’s not the same leg as the snakebite.” He reached back into the kit as he said, “This is going to sting. A lot.”