"
Holman was crashing through the bushes before Kaipi had finished his
recital, and I followed him, with the excited Fijian bringing up the
rear. Leith was rushing the Professor and his daughters toward the black
hills and we had to do something immediately.
For over an hour we stumbled along the track, making no effort to keep
under cover in case Leith should have prepared an ambush. It was useless
to argue with Holman, and my own feelings were such that I preferred to
take the risks of the route which Soma's axe had cut, to the delays
which the task of forcing our own passage through the labyrinth would
bring upon us. Prudence was thrust into the background by the intense
hate we entertained for the devil who had entrapped us.
It was near midday when our pursuit met with an interruption. A revolver
cracked in a clump of wild ginger directly in front, and we took cover
immediately. The bullet had whizzed close to Holman's head, and as we
lay panting in the ribbon-grass we congratulated ourselves on the fact
that we had been met with a single shot instead of a volley.
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