Already, high-pitched cries of glee were sounding from within the very walls of the crumbling temple that the thugs had turned into a trap baited with their idol, Kali.
VIII
"Move along, Biff—just a little—"
Chandra, crouched on the ledge, was holding a chunk of stone in his extended hand as he pressed Biff slightly to one side. Chandra dropped the stone, and Biff watched it plummet downward into the courtyard well, where it struck with a splash that sent ripples spreading like a bull's eye.
"Now watch me," said Chandra. He tossed his pack down into the courtyard and stood straight up at the exact spot where he had crouched. "My feet are here, by this mark. I step off to there"—he extended his arm again—"and bring hands at sides, feet together…."
Chandra finished by doing just that. He stepped out into space, hands at sides, brought his other foot forward and arrowed straight downward! Biff and Kamuka watched amazed, expecting a crash landing. Instead, Chandra followed the exact path of the stone that he had dropped. The circular well seemed to spread its opening wide to receive him as he hit the water with a sharp plunk and vanished.
Then, after what seemed interminable seconds, Chandra popped up from the
surface, reached his arms wide and pulled himself out of the well, which
Biff was pleased to see was larger in diameter than it looked. That,
Biff realized, was the real mental hazard.
"Either look straight ahead, Kamuka," he told his friend, tossing his pack-kit and his Sikh turban down into the court, "or just shut your eyes the way I am going to do. Anyway, stand right on Chandra's mark"—Biff took that position as he spoke—"step off, bring your feet together—"
With that, Biff, too, dropped. Never before had he known a split second to divide itself into as many moments as those. All the way down, he was wondering if his step had been too long or too short, or whether he had let his body waver. Thirty feet seemed like thirty years, until Biff punched the water squarely and went deep, deep, deep, then came upward faster, faster, and hauled himself out the way Chandra had.
Before Chandra could extend congratulations to Biff, another pack-kit hit the paving beside them. Kamuka was ready to take off, and for the first time, Chandra expressed the worry that he really felt.
"Climb up quick, Biff!" he said, from his side of the well. "If Kamuka misses—if he wiggles—we must keep him from hitting stones too hard!"