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He ran into the kitchen, or living-room, and by and by came out again without either water or fire. "Papita wishes you to come in to drink mate," said he.
The rings loosened, relaxed, and Tooloowee's well-aimed blow severed the awful head, which bounced and rolled to Papita's feet. When they carried the limp, lacerated body of Piang to his hut, there was lamenting and weeping in the barrio. Piang, their beloved charm boy was dead. Dead? Could Piang, the invincible, be killed? Papita crouched in the doorway.
At first the Dyaks did not heed the stranger, so used were they to hurling contempt at island visitors, but when in answer to Papita's signal, as she stood up waving her disheveled wedding veil, there came a shrill whistle, they paused in dismay. In a very short time Papita and Piang were raised over the side of the Sabah, and General Beech and Governor Findy were questioning them.
Where the creek empties into the Cotabato River, Piang paused; there were suspicious-looking shadows close to the bank, and he reached for his precious baskets. "Work slowly, Papita," he whispered, and the trembling girl kept the vinta just moving. From its ominous silence, the jungle crashed into chaos. "Lè lè lè lè iiiiiio!" shrieked the echoes. Piang was ready.
A surly growl was Sicto's response, and during the hot dispute that followed, as the dancers swayed and dodged, Papita caught Sicto off his guard, and to his mortification he found himself contemplating the comely back of the girl. Over her shoulder she taunted the astonished boy, and thunderous applause greeted his defeat.
Her little feet faltered, and the priestess supported her. Papita leaned heavily against the woman. Three soft notes of a mina-bird floated over the barrio, and Papita became suddenly alive. Again the notes stole through the jungle. The bride threw back her veil. "The unwilling maid seems to have forgot her woe," said one scornful woman to another.
"She was a trying pupil, I can tell you," remarked the woman at the loom, "but a winning child." She leaned closer to Aioi and whispered: "Did you know that Papita had been asked in marriage?" The surprised look on Aioi's face made an answer unnecessary. "Our chief is said to have spurned the offer.
Silently the two bent to the task, every moment increasing the distance between them and their enemies. "Will they catch us, Piang?" "Of course not, my Papita. Piang, the charm boy comes to rescue you." The proud head went up with arrogant superiority. "But there are many hidden cut-offs and creeks between us and the river, Piang; Sicto will surely trap us."
Only once he seemed to smile when the little slave girl, Papita, timidly touched his arm. The rebuke that fell upon her from the others, brought a frown to the boy's face, but he continued to advance until he stood beside Dato Kali Pandapatan and Pandita Asin. Here, like a sentinel giant, bereft of his nearest kin, one monster tree remained standing.
Papita, her anklets and bangles clinking dully, moved listlessly about, sorrowing for her lost pet; Sicto followed her persistently, annoying her with his attentions. The sulky mestizo took pleasure in provoking the little girl, for was she not Piang's favorite, and was not Piang his enemy?
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