The boys gathered their packs and resumed their hike along the rutted road.
"But how can music make snakes dance?" Kamuka asked abruptly. "In Brazil, our snakes hear nothing except a big loud noise, when somebody shoots a gun or whacks water with a paddle."
"In that case," said Biff, "it's probably more a matter of the snake sensing a vibration than any keen hearing. Maybe that's why the flute music sways them." He turned to Chandra. "Or is it?"
Chandra grinned. "Flute music makes me sway," he said, "so it makes the cobra sway."
"Because it watches you," Biff said, "not because it hears the music? So actually, you don't need the flute, do you?"
"But I do need it," insisted Chandra seriously. "Without it, I move too slow or too fast." He swung his head lazily, then bobbed it in jerky fashion. "But with music, I sway just right."
He brought out the flute and began to play it, giving his head and shoulders the easy, rhythmic weave that they had followed before.
"You've convinced us, Chandra, so put it away," Biff said. With pretended anxiety, he looked back over his shoulder. "Next thing, you'll have a pack of cobras following us!"
More such banter spiced the hike until they reached the quarries, where Biff called a halt because he wanted to study them. They were sandstone quarries, dating back many centuries, and they were still being worked, which interested Biff immensely. The road was much better from then on, because it had to be kept in shape for the trucks that hauled the stone. The boys passed a few of those trucks as they continued on their way.
It was afternoon when they reached the Grand Trunk Road, which lived up to expectations. The hiking was pleasant and easy, for there were many shade trees planted along the famous highway, some so tall that they arched across the road. The boys saw elephants and camels, but ox-carts were more common and seemed to be a highly popular mode of travel.