George fell flat on the ground immediately

GEORGE HALL WAS AN English botanist who had come to Sarawak with the intention of studying tropical plants. He wanted to collect specimens of various plants, growing in the jungles of Sarawak.

    One fine day, George went on a jungle expendition with several of his friends. They carried with them, specimen containers, maps, compasses and relevent equipment.

    Deep in the jungle, they penetrated through wild undergrowth, saw numerous, giant equatorial trees, walked over mangrove swamps and encountered many wild birds, beasts and animals. The group stopped occasionally to collect specimens of plants. Each specimen was carefully uprooted and labelled. Notes were also made regarding each specimen's environment and habitat.

    After many weary miles, George was near collapsing. He was both hungry and exhausted. He had been wandering for two days, and many parts of his body were imprinted with deep cuts and scratches. Leeches, mosquitoes and jungle insects preyed on him. Presently, he came to a small jungle clearing and saw several shabbily-dressed persons. Some were carrying crude rifles while others were burdened with heavy loads on their backs. They did not seem to notice George and continued to move on.

    George was deeply fascinated by the things he saw. Most of the species were entirely foreign he saw. Most of the secies were entirely foreign to him. Gradually, attracted by the glorious hues of some of the plants and their blooms, George drifted further into the jungle. He was so engrossed at studying the different plants that he was not conscious of the distance he had set between himself and his companions. It was quite a while before the thought of joining them leapt into his mind. To George's dismay, he found that he could not recognise the track leading to the group's main resting spot. All around him, the leafy jungle looked very much the same. He realised that he was lost. There were no compasses or maps to guide him in this never-ending jungle. Relentlessy, despite his despair, he wandered on, in the hope of encountering a search party.

    Suddenly, an ear-splitting yell of command "Fall down!" and "Fire!" rang in George's ears from behind. The loud bursts from machine guns disturbed the rranquility of the jungle. George fell flat on the ground immediately. He saw a few of the shabbily-dressed men drop, while the remaining ones returned fire as they started fleeing. George was caught in a crossfire! Then a stray bullet creased his forehead, and he knew no more.

    When he finally came to his senses, George saw, through blurred vision, a jungle green-clad army doctor who was anxiously enquiring whether he was feeling better. The doctor then informed the English-man that he had nearly spoiled the military ambush, and many of the terrorists might have escaped, had the Security Forces hesitated. However, George recovered rapidly form his small wound, but the memory of being caught in a crossfire would always stay with him.