Still he did not see the ledge.

At that unlucky moment three birds, driven from the trees on the crest by the passage of the Dyaks, flew down the face of the cliff and began a circling quest for some safe perch on which to alight.
Jenks swore with an emphasis not the less earnest because it was mute, and took steady aim at the Dyak's left breast.

The birds fluttered about in ever smaller circles.

Then one of them dropped easily on to the lip of the rock.

Instantly his bright eyes encountered those of the man, and he darted off with a scream that brought his mates after him.
The Dyak evidently noted the behavior of the birds--his only lore was the reading of such signs--and gazed intently at the ledge.