Disclaimer and other information in Prologue.
Chapter Two
"How's that mosquito bite, Marguerite? Is the salve helping?" Challenger questioned the heiress a few mornings later.
" It's fine, thank you." She replied wondering if she had imagined the smug note to the professor's voice. The amused smirk on Roxton's face as she glanced over at him indicated that she had probably not been hearing things.
In truth the salve had done little to nothing else than relieving the horrible itch for a minute or two at a time. The jar the cream was in was already half empty and Marguerite's patience was rapidly running out.
The group was heading out today for an expedition to explore a new cave that Challenger and Ned had come across previously whilst hunting for new lab specimens. Their own explorations had been cut short by the rapidly setting sun but it was mutually agreed that it was worth looking into, if nothing else to add it to the rapidly growing collection of sketches and maps of the mysterious plateau. Marguerite was less than enthusiastic about walking the distance to the site, especially with the onset of fatigue she had been feeling the last couple of days, but was even less motivated to spend the night by herself in the tree house.
And so they set out, Veronica and Challenger taking up the lead while Ned and Roxton amused each other with stories of some sort and Marguerite lagging behind.
" Come on, Marguerite!" Roxton teased the heiress. " I think a tortoise just passed you by!"
" Funny." She muttered back with a scowl that only caused the hunter to chuckle. Clenching her fists as if to summon all her strength she picked up the pace as much as she was able, stomping by the two men to join Veronica and Challenger at the front. By now the persistent headache that she had been battling with had gone from a dull throb to a pounding roar and the sooner they got to the cave and set up camp the better. Roxton and Ned chuckled softly at Marguerite's characteristic haughtiness and continued on.
Dusk was already tinting the sky a dark orange and pink when the adventurers finally set up camp a few miles away from their final destination. Marguerite gratefully collapsed on a fallen log as the others bustled about to set up the camp. Ignoring the glares aimed in her direction she gulped down a generous amount of water from the canteen she had been hording all day. Her throat felt like it was on fire and her limbs felt as if she had ran the entire distance. Sliding off the log onto the ground next to the large trunk she laid her head back onto the wooden surface letting her hat slip down to shield her eyes from the dimming light.
"Marguerite!" was the next thing the heiress heard being shouted in her ear. The earth was moving under her and she realized that someone was shaking her by the shoulders none too gently. Blinking rapidly she focused on Roxton who was looking down at her with a mixture of concern and irritation. " Nice of you to join us, Sleeping Beauty." He said sarcastically.
" What time is it?" she asked groggily; the smell of the campfire drifting over to her.
" It's already dark I'll have you know. You're lucky to have such good friends who will wake you for the supper they worked to cook while you napped."
"Supper?" Marguerite groaned as a wave of nausea swept over her. " I'm not very hungry."
"Marguerite? What is it?" John asked, his irritation rapidly turning to worry as her face turned pale.
" Nothing, I must have caught a little bug or something. I think I just need to lie down."
" Are you sure? Do you want Challenger-?"
"No! No, I'm sure it's nothing, John. A good night's sleep should be just the thing." She said adamantly, wavering a little as she pulled her rebellious body into a standing position.
"Whoa." Roxton said as he put an arm around her waist to steady her. His forehead creased in concern as he helped her over to the tent she would be sharing with Veronica.
" Roxton?" Challenger asked standing up quickly as soon as he noticed Marguerite's condition.
" It's ok, George." The hunter said sharing a look of understanding with his friend.
" Here you are now." Roxton said, gently lowering the half conscious Marguerite onto a blanket inside the tent. Smoothing a mislaid curl away from her forehead he watched as she slipped into a deep sleep. Kissing her temple softly he tucked her into the makeshift bed and quickly walked out of the tent to confer with Challenger.
" What was that all about?" Ned questioned the hunter as he appeared from the folds of the lean to.
" Seems our Marguerite has picked up some sort of virus. Have you seen anything like this before?" He questioned, aiming the inquiry at both Veronica and Challenger.
" It could be a simple bout with influenza or a similar illness. Although where she would have contracted such a virus is beyond my knowledge." Challenger replied thoughtfully.
" I'll keep an eye on her tonight." Veronica offered.
" Don't worry, old boy," Challenger said to Roxton as they dispersed to their various sleeping quarters, " Things will look better in the morning."
Roxton nodded inattentively as he glanced toward the tent in which his love soundly slept. Opting to take the first watch, the hunter leaned against a tree in which he could keep an eye on the tent as well as the rest of the jungle and settled in for the duration.
"Challenger!" Veronica shouted early the next morning causing the men to jump up in alarm.
" Veronica?" Challenger said, running to the entrance of the lean to the women were staying in.
" She's burning up." Veronica said indicating the writhing Marguerite who was clearly under the throes of a high fever. Sweat glistened on her forehead and chest and a soft moan escaped her lips as her head tossed rapidly to the side.
" Marguerite!" Roxton gasped, moving to kneel next to the ailing woman. He cradled her head in his lap placing a cool hand on her brow. The heat that met with his skin was alarming and he glanced up in fear at Challenger who was staring pensively at the side of Marguerite's face.
"Dear God!" the scientist exclaimed. " The insect bite! I should have seen this sooner."
"Challenger?" Ned asked, waiting for an explanation to this cryptic outburst.
"I'm afraid that Marguerite may have been afflicted with a bite from the Triatomid bug; the specimen that she released from my lab."
" Why do you think that?" Veronica said skeptically.
" This particular insect is called the "kissing bug" with good reason. It leaves a red welt on the cheek of its victim, the place it usually tends to bite. That bite that Marguerite received coincides with the release of the bug; it's logical to conclude that was or is somewhere in the house and went looking for a victim."
"That's all well and good, George, but what the hell do we do about it?" Roxton said sharply.
" I'm not quite sure, Roxton. Researchers have been experimenting with different types of antibiotics for this affliction but none have proven to be consistent in their effectiveness. Finding such medicine on the plateau could take much more time than we have to spare."
"Veronica, do you think the Zanga would know of a remedy?" Ned queried.
"They could. I've never heard of this bug before but if it is native to the jungle someone has to have had an encounter with it before."
" Ned, why don't you and Veronica enlist the help of the Zanga? Roxton and I will stay here and keep her comfortable for the time being."
Ned nodded solemnly, and the two blondes hastily grabbed their equipment and scrambled to dress. Before long their retreating forms were lost in the jungle foliage.
" I'll gather some supplies to try and get that fever down. You'd better stay here and keep an eye on her. Try wetting some cloth to cool her down." Challenger directed.
" Like I'd be anywhere else." Roxton murmured softly at the fitfully sleeping Marguerite.
Chapter Two
"How's that mosquito bite, Marguerite? Is the salve helping?" Challenger questioned the heiress a few mornings later.
" It's fine, thank you." She replied wondering if she had imagined the smug note to the professor's voice. The amused smirk on Roxton's face as she glanced over at him indicated that she had probably not been hearing things.
In truth the salve had done little to nothing else than relieving the horrible itch for a minute or two at a time. The jar the cream was in was already half empty and Marguerite's patience was rapidly running out.
The group was heading out today for an expedition to explore a new cave that Challenger and Ned had come across previously whilst hunting for new lab specimens. Their own explorations had been cut short by the rapidly setting sun but it was mutually agreed that it was worth looking into, if nothing else to add it to the rapidly growing collection of sketches and maps of the mysterious plateau. Marguerite was less than enthusiastic about walking the distance to the site, especially with the onset of fatigue she had been feeling the last couple of days, but was even less motivated to spend the night by herself in the tree house.
And so they set out, Veronica and Challenger taking up the lead while Ned and Roxton amused each other with stories of some sort and Marguerite lagging behind.
" Come on, Marguerite!" Roxton teased the heiress. " I think a tortoise just passed you by!"
" Funny." She muttered back with a scowl that only caused the hunter to chuckle. Clenching her fists as if to summon all her strength she picked up the pace as much as she was able, stomping by the two men to join Veronica and Challenger at the front. By now the persistent headache that she had been battling with had gone from a dull throb to a pounding roar and the sooner they got to the cave and set up camp the better. Roxton and Ned chuckled softly at Marguerite's characteristic haughtiness and continued on.
Dusk was already tinting the sky a dark orange and pink when the adventurers finally set up camp a few miles away from their final destination. Marguerite gratefully collapsed on a fallen log as the others bustled about to set up the camp. Ignoring the glares aimed in her direction she gulped down a generous amount of water from the canteen she had been hording all day. Her throat felt like it was on fire and her limbs felt as if she had ran the entire distance. Sliding off the log onto the ground next to the large trunk she laid her head back onto the wooden surface letting her hat slip down to shield her eyes from the dimming light.
"Marguerite!" was the next thing the heiress heard being shouted in her ear. The earth was moving under her and she realized that someone was shaking her by the shoulders none too gently. Blinking rapidly she focused on Roxton who was looking down at her with a mixture of concern and irritation. " Nice of you to join us, Sleeping Beauty." He said sarcastically.
" What time is it?" she asked groggily; the smell of the campfire drifting over to her.
" It's already dark I'll have you know. You're lucky to have such good friends who will wake you for the supper they worked to cook while you napped."
"Supper?" Marguerite groaned as a wave of nausea swept over her. " I'm not very hungry."
"Marguerite? What is it?" John asked, his irritation rapidly turning to worry as her face turned pale.
" Nothing, I must have caught a little bug or something. I think I just need to lie down."
" Are you sure? Do you want Challenger-?"
"No! No, I'm sure it's nothing, John. A good night's sleep should be just the thing." She said adamantly, wavering a little as she pulled her rebellious body into a standing position.
"Whoa." Roxton said as he put an arm around her waist to steady her. His forehead creased in concern as he helped her over to the tent she would be sharing with Veronica.
" Roxton?" Challenger asked standing up quickly as soon as he noticed Marguerite's condition.
" It's ok, George." The hunter said sharing a look of understanding with his friend.
" Here you are now." Roxton said, gently lowering the half conscious Marguerite onto a blanket inside the tent. Smoothing a mislaid curl away from her forehead he watched as she slipped into a deep sleep. Kissing her temple softly he tucked her into the makeshift bed and quickly walked out of the tent to confer with Challenger.
" What was that all about?" Ned questioned the hunter as he appeared from the folds of the lean to.
" Seems our Marguerite has picked up some sort of virus. Have you seen anything like this before?" He questioned, aiming the inquiry at both Veronica and Challenger.
" It could be a simple bout with influenza or a similar illness. Although where she would have contracted such a virus is beyond my knowledge." Challenger replied thoughtfully.
" I'll keep an eye on her tonight." Veronica offered.
" Don't worry, old boy," Challenger said to Roxton as they dispersed to their various sleeping quarters, " Things will look better in the morning."
Roxton nodded inattentively as he glanced toward the tent in which his love soundly slept. Opting to take the first watch, the hunter leaned against a tree in which he could keep an eye on the tent as well as the rest of the jungle and settled in for the duration.
"Challenger!" Veronica shouted early the next morning causing the men to jump up in alarm.
" Veronica?" Challenger said, running to the entrance of the lean to the women were staying in.
" She's burning up." Veronica said indicating the writhing Marguerite who was clearly under the throes of a high fever. Sweat glistened on her forehead and chest and a soft moan escaped her lips as her head tossed rapidly to the side.
" Marguerite!" Roxton gasped, moving to kneel next to the ailing woman. He cradled her head in his lap placing a cool hand on her brow. The heat that met with his skin was alarming and he glanced up in fear at Challenger who was staring pensively at the side of Marguerite's face.
"Dear God!" the scientist exclaimed. " The insect bite! I should have seen this sooner."
"Challenger?" Ned asked, waiting for an explanation to this cryptic outburst.
"I'm afraid that Marguerite may have been afflicted with a bite from the Triatomid bug; the specimen that she released from my lab."
" Why do you think that?" Veronica said skeptically.
" This particular insect is called the "kissing bug" with good reason. It leaves a red welt on the cheek of its victim, the place it usually tends to bite. That bite that Marguerite received coincides with the release of the bug; it's logical to conclude that was or is somewhere in the house and went looking for a victim."
"That's all well and good, George, but what the hell do we do about it?" Roxton said sharply.
" I'm not quite sure, Roxton. Researchers have been experimenting with different types of antibiotics for this affliction but none have proven to be consistent in their effectiveness. Finding such medicine on the plateau could take much more time than we have to spare."
"Veronica, do you think the Zanga would know of a remedy?" Ned queried.
"They could. I've never heard of this bug before but if it is native to the jungle someone has to have had an encounter with it before."
" Ned, why don't you and Veronica enlist the help of the Zanga? Roxton and I will stay here and keep her comfortable for the time being."
Ned nodded solemnly, and the two blondes hastily grabbed their equipment and scrambled to dress. Before long their retreating forms were lost in the jungle foliage.
" I'll gather some supplies to try and get that fever down. You'd better stay here and keep an eye on her. Try wetting some cloth to cool her down." Challenger directed.
" Like I'd be anywhere else." Roxton murmured softly at the fitfully sleeping Marguerite.
