He was very tall and strongly built; his single weapon, a spear of twice his own length.

His beard came down on his chest.

He spoke to Felix in a dialect the latter did not understand.

Felix held out his hand as a token of amity, which the other took.

He spoke again.
Felix, on his part, tried to explain his shipwreck, when a word the stranger uttered recalled to Felix's memory the peculiar dialect used by the shepherd race on the hills in the neighbourhood of his home.
He spoke in this dialect, which the stranger in part at least understood, and the sound of which at once rendered him more friendly.
By degrees they comprehended each other's meaning the easier, as the shepherd had come the same way and had seen the wreck of the canoe.
Felix learned that the shepherd was a scout sent on ahead to see that the road was clear of enemies.