They were each armed with a blowpipe.

He in the tree was just fitting an arrow into the bamboo tube.

The others were watching him.
Jenks raised his rifle, fired, and the warrior in the tree pitched headlong to the ground.

A second shot stretched a companion on top of him.

One man jumped into the bushes and got away, but the fourth tripped over his unwieldy sumpitan and a bullet tore a large section from his skull.