What the subject of their discourses was might have been guessed from the subsequent domestic scenes by Almayer's hearthstone.
Of late Almayer had taken to excursions up the river.

In a small canoe with two paddlers and the faithful Ali for a steersman he would disappear for a few days at a time.

All his movements were no doubt closely watched by Lakamba and Abdulla, for the man once in the confidence of Rajah Laut was supposed to be in possession of valuable secrets.

The coast population of Borneo believes implicitly in diamonds of fabulous value, in gold mines of enormous richness in the interior.

And all those imaginings are heightened by the difficulty of penetrating far inland, especially on the north-east coast, where the Malays and the river tribes of Dyaks or Head-hunters are eternally quarrelling.