“My plane? Is it ready?” asked Terry.
“All ready!” replied the black.
Pedro started to lead them back to the harbor, but Rosa stood in his way, frowning and talking in a high pitched voice. The chief explained to the young people that the tribe wished to give the flyers a farewell feast.
“Guess we’ll have to wait long enough to eat something,” said Terry under her breath to Allan.
“But we really ought to be going when luck is with us. You can’t tell what may happen!”
“It’s impossible, boys. It’s the only way we have to repay these people for their kindness to us,” Terry begged.
“That’s a brand new idea, repaying people by eating some more of their food. I don’t know as I’d want that kind of pay for a debt.”
“You would if you were in the place of these people. It’s the greatest honor we can show them.”
After assuring Allan and Syd that Joe Arnold and Bud Hyslop were well guarded in the cave, Terry led the way to the fibre mats before the huts where the meal was about to be served.
“How did they guess that we hadn’t had a thing to eat today?” asked Syd. “We were too busy watching Skybird. We didn’t dare leave the field for fear Joe Arnold would take off and we’d lose him.”