is breast. And so these
strange companions, the timid, wild monkey and the gentle, savage boy
crouched in the tree together, watching the typhoon beat out its fury
on the helpless things of nature, and ever clearer grew the _bulutu_
as it wreathed and crowned Piang's goal, Ganassi Peak.

THIRD ADVENTURE

THE HERMIT OF GANASSI PEAK

The silence was oppressive. Piang stumbled along through the tangle of
vines and weeds, tired and foot-sore. Would he never find the path to
the peak? And was there really a mysterious old man who had lived up
there for over a hundred years? Sicto was somewhere on that mountain,
striving to reach the summit too, and the pandita had said that the
boy who arrived first, was the real charm boy. They had both started
from the _barrio_ (village) the same day; Sicto had plunged into the
jungle, while Piang had chosen the river and lake. He shuddered at
the recollection of his many narrow escapes during the journey. Where
was his enemy, Sicto, now? Had he found an easier route, and was he
already with old Ganassi, receiving the rites of charm boy?

Unfamiliar with the vegetation on the mountain, Piang was afraid
to touch the many strange fruits, so he contented himself with
bananas and cocoanuts, and for water he drank dew from the enormous
pitcher-plants. The jungle was thick, and it was difficult to decide
in what direction to go, so Piang had to climb trees to get his
bearings. One day just as he was starting up a tall tree, he was
startled by a sound. Something was crashing through the bushes below
him. Visions of terrible mountain animals flashed through his head,
and he hastily scrambled up the tree. On came the creature, now pausing
a moment, now plunging into the mesh of vines, tearing them asunder,
always following the path Piang had made. Preparing himself for some
strange beast, the boy drew bow and waited. Suddenly he started. A cold
chill gripped him. That sound! It was a voice--Sicto's! Crouching
against the tree, Piang hoped to escape detection, but just as
Sicto passed beneath the tree, Piang's bow slipped and fell to the
ground. Sicto jumped aside and looked up:

"Oh, ho, my pretty Piang! So I've got you, have I?" The bully started
up the tree.

Like a flash Piang was away. As easily as any monkey he swung himself
into the next tree, and before Sicto realized it, Piang was taunting
him from the very top of a far-off tree. More agile and much smaller
than Sicto, Piang