ing the thing, and as it did not seem to hurt them,
he took courage and dashed on down the trail into the jungle. All the
rest of the journey he strained his ears to catch that shrill voice,
which he was now sure came from the boat. As he flew through the silent
forest he recalled the tales of the demons that the wise men talked
about, and he decided to approach the thing with caution. Finally he
stood on the shore, and there before his eyes was a boat that seemed
to be alive. It was breathing. But where were its sails? How did it
move? Clusters of natives, their fear stilled by curiosity, watched
the approach. Breathlessly they waited. It was coming toward the tiny
wharf, and just as it settled alongside, a piercing screech from it
sent them tumbling over each other in a mad attempt to get away. From
the safety of trees and huts they waited. Big men, pale and straight,
walked from the boat and beckoned them to descend. Cautiously the
more daring ones responded, and soon the whole population was gathered
around the visitors.

Curious to see what the strangers were showing the dato, Piang slipped
quietly up behind and caught sight of the most beautiful colored
cloth he had ever seen. "Bandana," the pale man called it. Piang
longed to possess it for his mother; how she would love to wear it
for her gala head-dress! The sailor then produced a tiny object that
glistened and sparkled in the sun; it was about as large as the palm
of Piang's hand and very thin. The Moros were very much excited over
it, and when Piang reached up on tip-toes to peer through the crowd,
he cried aloud, for there, staring back at him was a boy he had
seen somewhere. The little brown face and the piercing black eyes,
the long hair twisted in a knot with the ends flying loose, were all
strangely familiar. It was--Piang! "Mir-ro," he repeated after the
white man when his scattered wits permitted, and the crowd had ceased
its merriment at his expense. The Moros were more interested in the
knives, tobacco, and strange food that the strangers had brought than
in the red bandana handkerchief and the toy mirror; but Piang longed
to carry the two things that had caught his eye back to his mother,
and he was silently gazing at them when Sicto, attracted by Piang's
admiration, picked the mirror up to look at it.

Before Piang realized it, Sicto was negotiating with the owner,
offering in trade his brass buyo, or betel-box, used for containing a
preparation