He dipped over the edge of the plateau and found the Major awaiting him with Ahma and the young warrior who was to guide him down. From where they stood at the edge of a wide glade they could see far down over the tops of the trees that matted the slope. In the clear morning air the mists which gleamed over the distant Gulf shone white as billowed snow. There lay Davao! Davao, then Zamboanga, then--! A fiercely glad light blazed in Terry's gray eyes, then darkened in anticipation of leaving the Major alone and with that melancholy with which all men face the knowledge that even as Life turns the pages of existence into its happiest chapter, she closes each finished page forever. The Major spoke first. "This guide knows the shortest route. He will take you safe past all the man traps--you should sleep but one night on the trail. Give my regards to Lindsey, Sears,--everybody." Ahma looked from one to the other, not quite understanding what they said, but understanding fully what they did not say. That showed in the face of each. "Major, I have never said anything about your--how I feel about your risking the Hills to search for me, when it meant almost certain death." Death!... For an instant the Major again stood helpless in the dark woods behind Lindsey's plantation embraced in coils of steel that quivered, and heard the crash of delivering shots.... He searched the white face, in which the lines of suffering from a chivalrously contracted fever still lingered. An extraordinary warm cataract suddenly obscured his vision. "Sus-marie-hosep!" he spluttered. "Good-by." Their hands gripped hard in an abiding friendship, then Terry turned to Ahma doubtfully, at a loss as to how to bid adieu to this creature of the Hills who knew so few of the white man's words or usages. He found, too, a source of embarrassment in her new capacity of wife. As she gazed up at him he looked away in boyish confusion. The Major grasped the situation and addressed her very slowly in English: "Ahma, say good-by to him." As she nodded brightly, understanding, the Major turned to Terry as proud as Punch: "You see--she is learning fast! Can't you imagine her, all dressed up and everything, in Europe?" Terry focussed his eyes safely upon the white line that marked the part in her hair, and carefully pronounced each English word. "Ahma, I am leaving for a while. Understand?" She bobbed the dark head: "I do," she said. The memories wrought by the limpid "I do" were a bit unsettling. He addressed the jet locks again: "Good-by." She looked at the capable hand he extended toward her, puzzled at the gesture, then looked at the Major. He said a single word in dialect and her small white teeth glistened in a smile of comprehension. She approached close to Terry. "I know. You say--good-night. I know how--to good-night."