noon
For a time after they departed Sing Lee fretted and fidgeted upon the verandah of the long-house . He wholly distrusted von Horn , and from motives of his own finally decided to follow him . The trail of the party was plainly discernible , and the Chinaman had no difficulty in following them , so that they had gone no great way before he came within hearing distance of them . Always just far enough behind to be out of sight , he kept pace with the little column as it marched through the torrid heat of the morning , until a little after noon he was startled by the sudden cry of a woman in distress , and the answering shout of a man . The voices came from a point in the jungle a little to his right and behind him , and without waiting for the column to return , or even to ascertain if they had heard the cries , Sing ran rapidly in the direction of the alarm . For a time he saw nothing , but was guided by the snapping of twigs and the rustling of bushes ahead , where the authors of the commotion were evidently moving swiftly through the jungle . Presently a strange sight burst upon his astonished vision .