It was clear that the others must not think of going to sleep. They knew that the enemy was in their immediate neighborhood. They therefore remained, rifle in hand, watching the banks from under the roof of their canoe in order to be prepared for a renewed attack. All remained quiet for a considerable time. Suddenly they heard from behind them on the river the well known but formidable lēēēēh lèlèlèlèlè ouiiiit! and a hail of small arrows dropped amongst them over the canoe and under the roof. Upon turning round sharply, they had just time to see a boat shoot by in mid-stream, its occupants continuing their cry of defiance. They thereupon discharged a few shots which seemed to be well aimed, for the war cry suddenly ceased and gave way to shrieks of pain. These continued to be heard for a considerable time in the stillness of the night, but they gradually grew fainter until at last they were lost in the distance. La Cueille on first hearing the war cry and the ensuing noise of the firing had jumped up from his sleep in a great fright. Feeling about for some weapon he had seized hold of the head which a few hours ago he himself had thrown into the canoe, but had quite forgotten. Being still under the influence of the late tragedy his horror was extreme, and he at once concluded that the head-hunters were on board and busily engaged in their bloody work among his companions. Fortunately there was no weapon near, else in the intense darkness he might have wrought sad havoc among his friends. In his heedless passion of self-preservation he grasped Johannes by the neck and tried to strangle him, when the latter becoming enraged, dealt him a few smart blows in return, saying, “This diabolical Walloon means to throttle me; I believe he is mad.” They all fancied he was suffering from a sudden fit of mania caused by the arrow poison; but when the Walloon told them how on awakening he had taken hold of the head, they burst into hearty laughter and congratulated the pseudo head-hunter on the spoil he had secured. “We will dissect and clean it nicely for you,” said Johannes, “and you may take it with you to Jupille. It will be quite a treasure to you, and the Walloon ladies will almost besiege you when you tell them that Dayak fashion you are able to lay a skull at the feet of your lady love.” They all laughed at this suggestion except La Cueille himself, who had not yet wholly recovered from his fright. A good draught from the toeak bottle soon restored him. After such stirring events sleep was an impossibility, although Dalim assured his companions they had nothing more to apprehend. It was, however, resolved to continue watching until the sun should appear in the heavens. “We are getting on,” Schlickeisen observed; “our little force has suffered one death and two wounded. If things continue at this rate, by the time we reach the upper country few of us will be left to tell the story of our adventures.”