The native with the skewered hand
picked himself up and dashed toward the trees, but the other remained at
the foot of the pillar, and his position led us to believe that his neck
had been broken by the fall.
"My knife!" cried Kaipi. "He knocked my knife down!"
The Fijian swung himself over the edge, and with monkey-like agility
slipped down the pillar. He shouted up to us that he thought that the
man on the ground was dead, but having found his precious knife, he
proceeded to set all doubts upon the matter at rest.
"Soma better dodge that little fire eater," muttered Holman. "I thought
him a coward last night, but it looks as if he's a fighter when once he
gets started."
As we were unable to slip down the stone pillar in the same manner as
the natives, we found the piece of rope by which the three dancers had
hauled us up to the top, and making it secure upon a stone projection we
lowered ourselves to the ground.
"Now," said Holman, "we must make a new start, and if we get beat in
this round we deserve all that the big fiend who has brought all this
trouble about can do to us.
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