“But it will be dangerous to crash through those canoes,” objected Ned.
“Maybe there won’t be any canoes left when we get ready to leave,” replied Tom, with a smile. “Go ahead, Peltok, tell them we will decide by morning.”
Again there was an interchange of words in the Malay tongue, and when there was a pause Peltok turned and said:
“They agree. If by morning you will donate one of the party to sacrifice they will give us free passage over their sea. If not, they will kill us all!”
“There are two sides to every story,” quoted Tom. “Ours yet remains to be told. Come on now,” he urged his companions. “Let’s get busy on the motors. They may not need much tinkering with. But we’ll tune them up and be ready for the dash.”
While the mechanics were making some adjustments, which fortunately proved to be very few, Ned asked Tom:
“What’s the game?”
“Fireworks,” answered the young inventor. “I’ve got a few I brought along, Ned, not really knowing what use I might make of them. But now I see a chance.
“To-night,” went on Tom, “when we are ready to start, I’ll shoot some rockets and Roman candles over the heads of the Malays. They’ll probably be surrounding us in their canoes. But the fireworks will scatter them and we’ll have a clear lane to shoot through.”
“Good!” cried Ned. “I wondered what you were going to do. This will turn the trick, I think.”