"It's lucky you showed us how, Chandra," Biff said. "We never would have tried it on our own. Would we, Kamuka?"
Kamuka shook his head emphatically. "I should say not!" he responded.
Fortunately, Biff, who was a good diver, had often stepped off springboards or diving platforms as a stunt. Kamuka, too, had used the same technique from the edge of high piers on the Amazon, when boats were moored too close to allow a normal dive. So they had been ready and able to copy Chandra's well jump without hesitation, when the time had called for instant action.
A few hours of steady plodding along the gradually descending path brought the boys to a level clearing studded with the remains of a long-abandoned town. Piles of ancient bricks represented the walls of houses, though enough were still standing to mark the lines of streets and market squares. A slightly higher clearing showed a row of sculptured stone pillars, remains of an ancient temple. From another such space loomed the ruins of what must have been a maharajah's palace, for its walls gleamed like alabaster in the sunlight.
"I have heard of this place," nodded Chandra. "They have been making excavations here. Down a road we will come to a waterfall, then we will go past big quarries, then finally we will reach the Grand Trunk Road."
Though the boys were practically sure that they had outdistanced any pursuit, they still were taking no chances. They found the road that Chandra mentioned, and though it was scarcely more than wheel ruts, the hiking was good along it. After a few miles they came to the waterfall, which tumbled from a rocky ledge amid the massed green foliage, forty feet above. Its sheer descent ended in a rock-rimmed pool, which brought a whimsical comment from Kamuka.
"Looks like the waterfall is trying a well jump itself. Maybe we should go up and drop down with it, no?"
"No," agreed Biff. "But that pool looks deep enough for a good swim.
What's stopping us?"
Nothing was stopping them. By now, they were drenched with perspiration after their steady hike, so a swim was in order. Soon they were cavorting in the cool water, which was even deeper than they had thought, and swimming close enough to the foot of the falls to catch its spray, yet avoiding the pounding mass of falling water.
As Biff climbed out, Chandra called to him from the pool: