new strength in Piang. As he struggled up,
a calmness came to him. He carefully watched the monkey, and when
it crouched for the spring, Piang searched the approaching vines for
one strong enough to hold him.

In a moment it would all be over. What if he jumped too soon or too
late? What if the vine proved too frail? The monkey was crouching
for the leap. The branch that Piang was clinging to bent under
his weight. The monkey flashed through the air, made a desperate
grab, and swung out of sight. In a daze, Piang prepared to follow;
breathlessly he watched for his chance. With a prayer on his lips and
with a mighty effort, he sprang straight out into space. His hands
closed over something small and round. A dizziness came over him.

In dismay he felt the vine give, as if uncoiling itself from a
windlass. Down, down he fell until his feet touched the soggy earth
of the island. Still the vine uncoiled; the island crashed into the
boulder. Desperately Piang tried to climb the vine, but its slackness
offered no resistance. Slowly the island began to tip, to slide
over the falls, and Piang made one more effort to save himself. As
he grasped the vine more firmly, it brought up with a quick jerk,
almost breaking his hold.

He felt the vine tighten, heard it creak and groan under his weight,
and finally it lifted him clear of the island, swinging him far out
over the abyss like a weight at the end of a pendulum.

His island slid from under him, leaving him suspended in mid air;
in the second that he hung there, he could see the cruel rocks below,
the seething, steaming water. The stately funeral tree gently inclined
to the fall, and, with stern dignity, took the plunge. The dying
babui, flung far out into space, added its diminutive death-wail to
the din. The vine trembled over the chasm. Piang felt a quick rush
of air, a sickening feeling, as if he were rapidly falling; with a
tremendous impetus the vine swung back, crashed into a tree, and,
with the agility of the monkey, Piang climbed to safety.

"There is no God but Allah!" came from the strained lips, and the
boy turned his eyes toward the setting sun as it struggled to pierce
the gloom.

"_Bulutu!_" ("Rainbow!") he cried, and a faint smile flitted across
his bruised and bleeding face.

Startled by a movement at his side, Piang found the frightened monkey
trying to thrust its head under his arm. Taking the trembling little
creature up, Piang pillowed it against h