"We shall not starve," said Blair emphatically.
The brown man looked searchingly at him for a full minute, and then turned and strode away towards the others.
CHAPTER XXXII
FROM THE BEGINNING
"Our brown folk have lost their heads for the time being," said Blair to his wife, as they all stood round the huts. "They have gone off to the hills. It is not very surprising. They will come back all right in time. Captain Cathie, I want you to make a raft and take the ladies and the sick—in fact, all but Gregor and Irvine—to the Happy Valley for a time, till things straighten out a bit. You will, I think, find food there, and the natives won't intrude on you."
"And you, Kenneth?" said Jean anxiously.
"I am going across to the other side of the island with Ha'o, to see how they fared there. If food is plentiful we will bring some back here for the women and children. They may have been washed out also. If so we must get food from the Valley. We will drop in on you from the upper end, but it is too rough a road for you and the sick men. Will you join us, Captain Pym, or will you go and take care of the ladies?"
"Captain Cathie is quite equal to that, I am sure, Mr. Blair. With your permission I will join you."
"Can you induce Nai to go with the ladies, Ha'o?"