They were all sitting down at the foot of the tree, eating a meal, for they were hungry and tired. It was hot in the valley, even in the shade of the trees. The calls of the birds, the hum of insects and the chattering of monkeys sounded all the time. The sun was sinking low, and Pilescu made up his mind that they must all camp where they were for the night, He glanced up at the enormous branches of the tree they were under, and wondered if, by spreading out the rugs in a big fork halfway up, the children could sleep there safely.
“I don’t like letting the children sleep on the ground tonight,” he said to Ranni. “I daren’t light a fire to keep wild creatures away, because if we do we shall attract the attention of the Mountain Folk — and we don’t want to be surrounded and captured in the night. Do you think that tree would hold them all?”
Ranni glanced upwards. “The tree would hold them all right,” he said. “But supposing they fall out in their sleep!”
“Oh, we can easily prevent that,” said Pilescu. “We can tie them on with those creeper-ropes.”
The two men had been talking to one another in their own language, and only Paul understood. He listened with delight.
“We’re going to sleep up in a tree!” he told the others, who listened in astonishment. “We daren’t light a fire tonight, you see.”
“Golly! How exciting!” said Mike. “I really don’t think anyone could have had such a lot of thrills in a short time as we’ve had this week!”
Pilescu made the children climb the tree whilst it was still daylight. Halfway up the branches forked widely, spreading out almost straight, and there was a kind of rough platform. Pilescu stuffed the spaces between the branches with creepers, twigs and some enormous leaves that he pulled from another tree. Then he spread out half the rugs, and told the children to settle down.
They spread themselves on the rugs, joyful to think they were to spend a whole night in a tree. Some monkeys, who had been watching from the next tree, set up a great chattering when they saw the children settling down.
“They think you are their cousins from a far-off land,” said Pilescu with a broad grin. “They’re not far wrong, either. Now lie still whilst I cover you with these other rugs, and then I’m going to tie you firmly to the branches.”