"No can say."
"How far is it?"
They were standing near a lone column of stone that threw a short shadow toward them. Jahi touched the pavement with his spear at a point about six inches beyond the end of the shadow.
"When there shall have reached by so far the finger of the sun," he declared.
Both Carver and Peter Gross understood that he was designating how much longer the shadow must grow.
"About two hours, as you said," Carver remarked to his chief. "We'd better start at once."
Jahi bowed to indicate that he had understood. He took some soiled sheets of China rice paper from his chawat.
"Here are skins that talk, mynheer kapitein," he said respectfully. "Dyak boy find him in China boy kampong."
Carver thrust them into his pocket without looking at them and blew his whistle. A few minutes later they began the march to the sea.
While they were speeding through a leafy tunnel with Jahi's Dyaks covering the front and rear to guard against surprise, Carver found opportunity to explain to Peter Gross how he had been able to make the rescue. Koyala had learned Ah Sing's plans from a native source and had hastened to Jahi, who was watching the borders of his range to guard against a surprise attack by Lkath. Jahi, on Koyala's advice, had made a forced march to within ten miles of Bulungan, where Carver, summoned by Koyala, had joined him. Starting at midnight, they had made an eight-hour march to the temple.