Vama came presently and squatted down near King and Fou-tan. "Do all the men in this far country of which you tell me go naked?" he demanded.
"No," replied the American. "When I had become lost in the jungle I was stricken with fever, and while I was sick the monkeys came and stole my clothing and my weapons."
"You live alone in the jungle?" asked Vama.
King thought quickly; he thought of Che and Kangrey and their fear of the soldiers in brass. "Yes," he said.
"Are you not afraid of My Lord the Tiger?" inquired Vama.
"I am watchful and I avoid him," replied the American.
"You do well to do so," said Vama, "for even with spear and arrows no lone man is a match for the great beast."
"But Gordon King is," said Fou-tan proudly.
Vama smiled. "The apsaras has been in the jungle but a night and a day," he reminded her. "How can she know so much about this man unless, as I suspect, he is, indeed, from Pnom Dhek?"
"He is not from Pnom Dhek," retorted Fou-tan. "And I know that he is a match for My Lord the Tiger because this day I saw him slay the beast with a single spear-cast."