; "we get away quick, plenty dust, they can't see!"

The dirt and small rocks had rolled back upon us till we stood ankle
deep, but the native's advice was good. Hugging the wall of the cliff,
we ran back on our tracks till we had passed the area devastated by the
landslide; then we sprang into the bushes and peered up at the cliff.
High above the cloud of dust that was still rising from the ground, and
leaning forward so that he could view the extent of the avalanche, was
the one-eyed white man!

"Maru," I whispered, "go back and get Holman. I'll wait here till you
come."

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIX

LEITH SCORES

The one-eyed man stood for a long time contemplating his handiwork. From
his point of observation he watched the pile of rocks and the
surrounding bushes, and the absence of movement convinced him that the
job had been well done. He commenced to make facial contortions as an
outlet for the mirth he was generating inside, and at intervals he
managed to produce a peculiar noise that reminded one of the bubbling of
a camel. I began to think that One Eye, besides being deaf and dumb, was
suffering from a shortage of gray matter inside his ugly-shaped head. He
strutted up and down, and narrowly escaped toppling over the ledge
through attempting a cake dance as a grand finale to the insane actions
prompted by the successful manner in which he had engineered the
landslide.

The afternoon had lengthened out before Maru returned with Holman and
Kaipi, and we hurriedly considered the best course to pursue. One Eye
had been with Leith when Maru deserted, so it was obvious that we were
not far from the ruffian's hiding place.

"If we could catch this lunatic on the cliff?" muttered Holman. "Gee! we
could tickle him with Kaipi's old knife blade till he ran us right into
the haunt."

"He's deaf," I said; "there's a good chance of roping him in if we could
scale the cliff."

"Me climb!" said Maru. "Him not hear. Me climb all alonga track, drop
down, breakem him neck."

"No, don't break his neck!" growled Holman. "We want him as a guide. Do
you understand? He knows where Leith is hiding, and if we could get hold
of him it would be clear sailing."

Maru borrowed Kaipi's knife, nodded confidently as we adjured him to use
caution, and then slipped back along the track so that he could climb to
the level of the one-eyed person's perch before attempting to creep upon
him. We sat down to await developments. T