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The banka slipped rapidly along. Elias saw standing on the boat, which had veered about, some men making signals to him. "Do you know how to manage a banka?" he asked Ibarra. "Yes, why?" "Because we are lost if I don't jump into the water and throw them off the track. They will pursue me, but I swim and dive well. I'll draw them away from you and then you can save yourself."
'Let me try them, and then I shall be able to tell you whose they ought to be. The idea pleased the men, and they handed him the shoes; but the moment they were on his feet he cried: 'I wish to be in the castle on the Banka! And before he knew it, he was there, and found the Sister of the Sun dying of grief.
It stood about forty feet in height, and was furnished with foliage which hung gracefully suspended from a straight tapering stem. Then at the next corner, where its beauty showed to advantage, we came upon a group of red-stemmed palms from the little island of Banka.
Tufts of red-stemmed Banka palms cluster on the green islets of lake and river, vista after vista opens up, each mysterious aisle appearing more lovely than the last, and luring the wanderer to the climax formed by a terraced knoll, commanding a superb view of Gedeh and Salak, the twin summits of chiselled turquoise, gashed by the amethyst shadows of deep ravines, with Gedeh's curl of volcanic smoke staining the lustrous azure of the sky.
The idea pleased the men, and they handed him the shoes; but the moment they were on his feet he cried: 'I wish to be in the castle on the Banka! And before he knew it, he was there, and found the Sister of the Sun dying of grief. He knelt down by her side, and pulling a pin he stuck it into the palm of her hand, so that a drop of blood gushed out.
Comfortable seats with rugs and cushions for the women had been provided by Ibarra. Even the paddles and oars were decorated, while in the more profusely decorated banka were a harp, guitars, accordions, and a trumpet made from a carabao horn. In the other banka fires burned on the clay kalanes for preparing refreshments of tea, coffee, and salabat.
Our path lay across a plain called Banka Hadla, intersected in many places by deep watercourses, and thinly strewed with Kulan clumps. The moon arose, but cast a cloud-veiled and uncertain light: our path, moreover, was not clear, as the guide, worn out by fatigue, tottered on far in the rear. About midnight we heard delightful sound! the murmur of the distant sea.
"According to the officer who conducted the pursuit, Ibarra, upon finding himself surrounded, jumped out of his banka there near the Kinabutasan and, swimming under water, covered all that distance of more than two miles, saluted by bullets every time that he raised his head to breathe.
Naturally I derided his fears which he, more or less, confided to me. He had a certain regard for my judgment, and a certain respect, not for my moral qualities, however, but for the good terms I was supposed to be on with the Dutch "authorities." I knew for a fact that his greatest bugbear, the Governor of Banka a charming, peppery, hearty, retired rear-admiral had a distinct liking for him.
When he had reached the shadow of the thicket a man came out of it and approached the banka. "What shall I tell the capitan?" he asked. "Tell him that Elias, if he lives, will keep his word," was the sad answer. "When will you join us, then?" "When your capitan thinks that the hour of danger has come." "Very well. Good-by!" "If I don't die first," added Elias in a low voice. Exchanges
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