Kneeling down, he enjoyed a long, refreshing drink of the clear water,
but as he started to regain his feet a coil of rope was suddenly
thrown about him, pinning his arms to his sides and rendering him
absolutely helpless.
At the same time his ears were saluted with a wild chattering in an
unknown tongue, and he found himself surrounded by a group of natives
of hideous appearance. They were nearly naked, and bore spears and
heavy clubs as their only weapons. Their hair was long, curly, and
thick as bushes, and through their noses and ears were stuck the teeth
of sharks and curious metal ornaments.
These creatures had stolen upon Rob so quietly that he had not heard a
sound, but now they jabbered loudly, as if much excited.
Finally one fat and somewhat aged native, who seemed to be a chief,
came close to Rob and said, in broken English:
"How get here?"
"I flew," said the boy, with a grin.
The chief shook his head, saying:
"No boat come. How white man come?"
"Through the air," replied Rob, who was rather flattered at being
called a "man.
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