midday
But the arrival of the messenger was worth more than the emerald ring to us at that moment . He had more woodcraft than Kaipi , who had spent most of his time upon the ocean , and his information regarding the direction in which Leith was now heading saved us many weary hours of marching . Yams and guavas , with wild passion fruit , made a breakfast and dinner as we clawed our way in pursuit . At midday we judged that we were hot upon the trail , unless Leith had changed his course , but the black cliffs were close to us at that moment , and the recollections of the gloomy caverns made us silent as we pushed through the matted jungle . We could see no trace of the path which Leith would be compelled to cut to enable the two girls to get through , and we heard no sounds . A lone parrakeet startled us with its harsh cry as it rose from a maupei tree , and the bird even seemed to recognize that it had committed a breach in sending its unmusical cry out upon the awful quiet of the place . Kaipi climbed a tall tree in the vain hope of catching sight of Leith 's party as it crossed the small cleared spaces in the middle of the impenetrable growth , but nothing except the green plain of bushy tops and parasitical creepers was visible .