"We know they can out-run and out-climb us." He reluctantly admitted this; and after a brief parley among ourselves, we all advanced slowly toward them, holding out our hands in token of friendliness.
They stood their ground till we had come fairly near, and then indicated that we should stop.

To make sure, we advanced a step or two and they promptly and swiftly withdrew.

So we stopped at the distance specified.
Then we used their language, as far as we were able, to explain our plight, telling how we were imprisoned, how we had escaped--a good deal of pantomime here and vivid interest on their part--how we had traveled by night and hidden by day, living on nuts--and here Terry pretended great hunger.
I know he could not have been hungry; we had found plenty to eat and had not been sparing in helping ourselves.

But they seemed somewhat impressed; and after a murmured consultation they produced from their pockets certain little packages, and with the utmost ease and accuracy tossed them into our hands.
Jeff was most appreciative of this; and Terry made extravagant gestures of admiration, which seemed to set them off, boy-fashion, to show their skill.

While we ate the excellent biscuits they had thrown us, and while Ellador kept a watchful eye on our movements, Celis ran off to some distance, and set up a sort of "duck-on-a-rock" arrangement, a big yellow nut on top of three balanced sticks; Alima, meanwhile, gathering stones.
They urged us to throw at it, and we did, but the thing was a long way off, and it was only after a number of failures, at which those elvish damsels laughed delightedly, that Jeff succeeded in bringing the whole structure to the ground.