Rainsford first gives Zaroff an intricate, convoluted trail to follow, "recalling all the lore of the fox hunt, and all the dodges of the fox". Then, "taking care to leave not the slightest mark", he climbs high up into a tree, and stretches out on a limb for some much-needed rest. Although Zaroff approaches the tree but does not actually discover him, Rainsford gets the feeling that his enemy knows where he is, and realizes that he will have to take much more desperate measures to survive.
Rainsford then makes a "Malay mancatcher" by balancing a dead tree on a living one, with the dead tree set to fall upon a rigged trigger being touched. Zaroff is injured in this trap, but not enough to have to cease his hunt; as he goes to dress his wound, he congratulates Rainsford on his ingenuity.
Rainsford next proceeds to dig a "Burmese tiger pit", which is lined at the bottom with deadly pointed stakes sticking up. One of Zaroffs dogs is killed in this contraption, but Zaroff himself is spared.
Desperate, Rainsford then tries "a native trick which he learned in Uganda, in which he fastens his knife to a sapling in such a way that it will be catapulted into the air when triggered. Although Ivan is killed by the weapon, Zaroff again emerges unscathed.
Rainsford finally leaps off a cliff into the sea and his apparent death, but he manages to swim back to Zaroff's residence, where he surprises his adversary and kills him.
No comments:
Post a Comment