Rock and water had come to his aid, and he was too well hidden even for the eager eyes of Tandakora and his warriors to follow him.
He waited a long time.

He heard the cries nearer him, then farther away, and, at last, at such a great distance that they could barely be separated from the lap of the waters.

He was growing cold now; the chill from the lake was rising in his body, but with infinite patience bred by long practice of the wilderness he did not stir.

He knew that silence could be deceptive.

Some of the warriors might come back, and might wait in a thicket, hoping that he would rise and disclose himself, thinking the danger past.