And he wasn’t kidding. It felt like a fire tearing through his leg, such a white heat that it was as if he could feel it actively burning the germs away. He clenched his teeth, his eyes watering, and when it subsided slightly, he laughed at the shock of how much it stung.

He looked back at Alice, who was smiling now, nodding, relieved. Then he looked at Kate, who was helping Emma find dry clothes, though Tom could feel his T-shirt drying in the sun even as he sat there. And then he saw Sandeep where he was still slumped against the side of the boat, staring back at him.

As soon as they made eye contact, Sandeep said, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be—you didn’t do anything wrong. You okay?”

He nodded, looking overwhelmed, and Alice turned to him and said, “Which is your backpack, Sandeep? You should change out of some of those clothes.”

They all went silent for a while, with Shen dressing Tom’s leg and Barney and Jess rowing. It wasn’t until ten minutes later, when they were sure the danger was behind them, that Emma said, “I just hope the others are okay.”

George said, “They’ll be okay. Tom gave that thing such a beating, it won’t be attacking anyone anytime soon.”

They laughed, even though they knew it wasn’t true. The other boat was coming, probably too loud, already declaring itself to the caiman that was waiting below. And there was nothing any of them could do about it. They rowed on, away from danger, but they all remained silent now, listening, hoping.

CHAPTER 46

They didn’t hear anything from the other boat, but it was a long while before anyone spoke about it again.

Finally, Barney said, “Oh, well, no news is good news.”

It was met with subdued laughter, but little by little they started to talk again, and perhaps Barney was right. If the caiman had attacked, they would surely have heard screams or a commotion. They would have heard something, just as Joel and the others might have heard the noise of their own boat being attacked.

A little while later, they rounded a bend and found a smooth, flat rock sitting in the middle of the river like a giant stepping stone. It was easy enough for them to push into the channel to one side of it, but they passed more in the next twenty minutes, as if they’d entered into some new geological area. It meant they had to be more vigilant, but they made steady progress.

They followed another bend, long and sweeping and with trees overhanging on both shores, and when they came into the next straight section, Shen looked ahead with concern. There were more stones worn smooth, but his eyes were focused beyond them, where the river seemed to disappear into a blur.