He was stretched full length
on the ground, listening as only a native can listen, and we waited for
his report. We had much respect for Kaipi's hearing after checking the
signals he made concerning the approaching "tivo" dancer on the previous
afternoon.
"What is it?" asked Holman.
"Some one go by, much hurry," murmured the Fijian.
We crouched in the bushes and listened. It was hardly likely that Leith
had changed his route, and the only person that we knew to be in our
neighbourhood was the dancer.
"If we could get hold of him we might use the third degree on him to
guide us to the spot that Leith is making for," said Holman. "We'll be
outgeneralled completely if he gets into those caverns on the hills. If
he has provisions he can snap his fingers at a regiment."
I agreed with him on that point. The valley inside the basalt cliffs,
and which, as far as we could judge, could only be entered by the
slippery pathway in the Vermilion Pit, was about the finest natural
hiding place in the world. Without taking the caves into consideration,
the luxurious vegetation in the cup between the hills made the finding
of a person a matter of extreme luck.
Pages:
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240