No sooner had Bulan and his party disappeared in the
jungle than Barunda and Ninaka made haste to embark
with the chest and the girl and push rapidly on up the
river toward the wild and inaccessible regions of the
interior. Virginia Maxon's strong hope of succor had
been gradually waning as no sign of the rescue party
appeared as the day wore on. Somewhere behind her upon
the broad river she was sure a long, narrow native
prahu was being urged forward in pursuit, and that
in command of it was the young giant who was now never
for a moment absent from her thoughts.

For hours she strained her eyes over the stern of the
craft that was bearing her deeper and deeper into the
wild heart of fierce Borneo. On either shore they
occasionally passed a native long-house, and the girl
could not help but wonder at the quiet and peace which
reigned over these little settlements. It was as
though they were passing along a beaten highway in the
center of a civilized community; and yet she knew that
the men who lolled upon the verandahs, puffing indolently
upon their cigarettes or chewing betel nut, were all head hunters,
and that along the verandah rafters above them hung
the grisly trophies of their prowess.

Yet as she glanced from them to her new captors she
could not but feel that she would prefer captivity in
one of the settlements they were passing--there at
least she might find an opportunity to communicate with
her father, or be discovered by the rescue party as it