When all the woodskins were ready it was an easy matter to make canoes of them. Four men held them open while two others fixed the struts. The ends were left open, and curled up slightly so as to lift them clear (when the craft was fully laden it drew only an inch or two of water). Then the men set about fashioning some single-bladed paddles; that, too, was an easy matter.

Every day Dr. Messinger asked Rosa, ``When will the boats be ready? Ask the men,'' and she replied, ``Just now.''

``How many days--four?--five?--how many?''

``No, not many. Boats finish just now.''

At last when it was clear that the work was nearly complete, Dr. Messinger busied himself with arrangements. He sorted out the stores, dividing the necessary freight into two groups; he and Tony were to sit in separate boats and each had with him a rifle and ammunition, a camera, tinned rations, trade goods and his own luggage. The third canoe which would be manned solely by Indians was to hold the flour and rice, sugar and farine, and the rations for the men. The canoes would not hold all the stores and an `emergency dump' was made a little way up the bank.

``We shall take eight men with us. Four can stay behind with the women to guard the camp. Once we are among the Pie-wies everything will be easy. These Macushis can go home then. I don't think they will rob the stores. There is nothing here that would be much use to them.''

``Hadn't we better keep Rosa with us to act as interpreter with the Macushis?''

``Yes, perhaps we had. I will tell her.''

That evening everything was finished except the paddles. In the first exhilarating hour of darkness, when Tony and Dr. Messinger were able to discard the gloves and veils that had been irking them all day, they called Rosa across to the part of the camp where they ate and slept.

``Rosa, we have decided to take you down the river with us. We need you to help us talk to the men. Understand?'' Rosa said nothing; her face was perfectly blank, lit from below by the storm lantern that stood on a box between them; the shadow of her high cheek bones hid her eyes; lank, ragged hair, a tenuous straggle of tattooing along forehead and lip, rotund body in its filthy cotton gown, bandy brown legs.

``Understand?''

But still she said nothing; she seemed to be looking over their heads into the dark forest, but her eyes were lost in shadow.

``Listen, Rosa, all women and four men stay here in camp. Six men come in boats to Pie-wie village. You come with boats. When we reach Pie-wie village, you and eight men and boats go back to camp to other women and men. Then back to Macushi country. Understand?''

At last Rosa spoke. ``Macushi people no go with Pie-wie people.''

``I am not asking you to go with Pie-wie people. You and men take us as far as Pie-wies, then you go back to Macushi people. Understand?''

Rosa raised her arm in an embracing circle which covered the camp and the road they had travelled and the broad savannahs behind them. ``Macushi peoples there,'' she said. Then she raised the other arm and waved it down-stream towards the hidden country. ``Pie-wie peoples there,'' she said. ``Macushi peoples no go with Pie-wie peoples.''

``Now listen, Rosa. You are sensible woman. You lived two years with black gentleman, Mr. Forbes. You like cigarettes--''

``Yes, give me cigarettes.''

``You come with men in boats, I give you plenty, plenty cigarettes.''

Rosa looked stolidly ahead of her and said nothing.

``Listen. You will have your man and seven others to protect you. How can we talk with men without you?''

``Men no go,'' said Rosa.

``Of course the men will go. The only question is, will you come too?''

``Macushi peoples no go with Pie-wie peoples,'' said Rosa.

``Oh God,'' said Dr. Messinger Wearily. ``All right we'll talk about it in the morning.''

``You give me cigarette ...''

``It's going to be awkward if that woman doesn't come.''

``It's going to be much more awkward if none of them come,'' said Tony.

Next day the boats were ready. By noon they were launched and tied in to the bank. The Indians went silently about the business of preparing their dinner. Tony and Dr. Messinger ate tongue, boiled rice and some tinned peaches.

``We're all right for stores,'' said Dr. Messinger. ``There's enough for three weeks at the shortest and we are bound to come across the Pie-wies in a day or two. We will start tomorrow.''

The Indians' wages, in rifles, fish-hooks and rolls of cotton, had been left behind for them at their village. There were still half a dozen boxes of `trade' for use during the later stages of the journey. A leg of bushpig was worth a handful of shot or twenty gun caps in that currency; a fat game bird cost a necklace.

When dinner was over, at about one o'clock, Dr. Messinger called Rosa over to them. ``We start tomorrow,'' he said.

``Yes, just now.''

``Tell the men what I told you last night. Eight men to come in boats, others wait here. You come in boats. All these stores stay here. All these stores go in boats. You tell men that.''

Rosa said nothing.

``Understand?''

``No peoples go in boats,'' she said. ``All peoples go this way,'' and she extended her arm towards the trail that they had lately followed. ``Tomorrow or next day all people go back to village.''

There was a long pause; at last Dr. Messinger said, ``You tell the men to come here ... It's no use threatening them,'' he remarked to Tony when Rosa had waddled back to the fireside. ``They are a queer, timid lot. If you threaten them they take fright and disappear leaving you stranded. Don't worry, I shall be able to persuade them.''

They could see Rosa talking at the fireside but none of the group moved. Presently, having delivered her message, she was silent and squatted down among them with the head of one of the women between her knees. She had been searching it for lice when Dr. Messinger's summons had interrupted her.

``We'd better go across and talk to them.''

Some of the Indians were in hammocks. The others were squatting on their heels; they had scraped earth over the fire and extinguished it. They gazed at Tony and Dr. Messinger with slit, pig eyes. Only Rosa seemed incurious; her head was averted; all her attention went to her busy fingers as she picked and crunched the lice from her friend's hair.

``What's the matter?'' asked Dr. Messinger. ``I told you to bring the men here.''

Rosa said nothing.

``So Macushi people are cowards. They are afraid of Pie-wie people.''

``It's the cassava field,'' said Rosa. ``We must go back to dig the cassava. Otherwise it will be bad.''

``Listen. I want the men for one, two weeks. No more. After that, all finish. They can go home.''

``It is the time to dig the cassava. Macushi people dig cassava before the big rains. All people go home just now.''

``It's pure blackmail,'' said Dr. Messinger. ``Let's get out some trade goods.''

He and Tony together prised open one of the cases and began to spread out the contents on a blanket. They had chosen these things together at a cheap store in Oxford Street. The Indians watched the display in unbroken silence. There were bottles of scent and pills, bright celluloid combs set with glass jewels, mirrors, pocket knives with embossed aluminum handles, ribbons and necklaces and barter of more solid worth in the farm of axe-heads, brass cartridge cases and flat, red flasks of gunpowder.

``You give me this,'' said Rosa picking out a pale blue rosette, that had been made as a boat-race favour. ``Give me this,'' she repeated, rubbing some drops of scent into the palm of her hands and inhaling deeply.

``Each man can choose three things from this box if he comes in the boats.''

But Rosa replied monotonously, ``Macushi people dig cassava field just now.''