Vaaburi,[40] and then Vaaburi asked Iko.

Iko stretched out his dark forefinger, and made them understand that
that finger meant the length of their journey to Iala. Then with his
other hand he touched his forefinger under the second joint to show
how far they had travelled on their journey--not a third of the
distance.

Hour after hour went by, as the steamer drove her way through the
swiftly running waters of Aivai. And ever Iko pointed further and
further up his finger until at last they had reached his claw-like
nail. By three o'clock the middle of the nail was reached. The eyes of
all looked anxiously ahead. At every curve of the river they strained
their sight to see if Iala were in view. How would these savage people
welcome the white men and woman in their snorting great canoe that had
no paddles, nor oars? There came a sharp bend in the river, and then
a long straight reach of water lying between the forest-covered banks.
Suddenly Iko called out, and Tamate and Mr. and Mrs. Abel peered
ahead.

The great trees of the river nearly met above their heads, and only a
narrow strip of sky could be seen.

There in the distance were the houses of Iala, close clustered on both
banks of the steaming river. They stood on piles of wood driven into
the mud, like houses on stilts, and their high-pointed bamboo roofs
stood out over the river like gigantic poke-bonnets.

"Slow," shouted Tamate to the engineer. The _Miro_ slackened speed
till she just stemmed the running current and no more.