Chapter 631

The piles of reeds caught fire together. It started as a few sparks, but soon the flames grew larger. The fire spread wider, filling the air with thick smoke. The wind happened to blow it toward the crocodiles. At first, the crocodiles just stared at the fire with their lifeless green eyes, but the smoke and heat from the flames soon frightened them. They started to scramble around in a small area. The crocodiles realized they might be either burned by the fire or suffocated by the smoke. They began to dive into the water one after another, swimming to the opposite bank. They only stopped when they were about 600 feet away from the river, anxiously watching the reeds burn away. The raft smoothly passed through the reeds and made a turn to continue downstream. Ryan and the women hurried across the grass to meet the raft downstream. Ryan continued to pull the raft, leading the five women downstream. Just as Ryan had estimated, they finally arrived at the river's estuary around 5