It was very warm, and he did not care for the long pull to the Rajah's house.

Yet he must go and tell the Rajah--tell of the event; of the change in his plans; of all his suspicions.

He walked to the jetty and began casting off the rattan painter of his canoe.
The broad expanse of the lower reach, with its shimmering surface dotted by the black specks of the fishing canoes, lay before his eyes.

The fishermen seemed to be racing.

Babalatchi paused in his work, and looked on with sudden interest.