Odyssey From Africa 12d, 13a

Chapter 12d (The Fireflower cont.) As they held their breath and waited  For a flame to catch the fire flowers  Finally a smoky ribbon Drifted upwards from the petals   Gradually the flowers smouldered And a filmy smoke ascended With an aromatic odour As it played around Ipiki   So the bat inhaled the fire-fumes As the healer watched in earnest For some minutes nothing altered In the breathing of Ipiki   Matto also, with his family  Looked intently at Ipiki  As the boat cast off its mooring Sailing with the river's current    Downstream carrying them homeward  Navigated by the crewmen  Suddenly the rasping breathing  Of Ipiki stilled to silence   As the medicinal vapour  Worked to ease the lung infection  And the healer laid her hand on Matto's arm for reassurance    So they left the bat in quietness  As they glided down the river And the tiredness from their hill climb  Now descended on the children    Very soon they all were sleeping Soundly in the evening coolness  And before the bright moon's zenith  They had done their homeward journey    Chapter 13 The whale   Over several weeks that followed Han set sail with Tor the shipwright  Every day around the island  To gain practice in the boat-craft   Of the shipwright's latest vessels  And to do some offshore fishing  Learn the habits of the fish shoals Of their pathways and their patterns    Han and Tor one day were sailing  Far offshore on deep blue ocean When a pod of humpback whales Began to surface to their starboard   Han had seen such whales already  Several times off his home village  Still it was a sight of wonder To behold at such close quarters    These majestic ocean travelers  As they surfaced lifting high their Barnacle encrusted flippers So he asked of Tor the shipwright    If they could return the next time  Bringing with him both his children  Tor agreed to this suggestion  So they sailed a few days later   In two nimble ocean vessels One with Han, Matto and Lisa While the other bore the shipwright  With his eldest sons beside him   Once again they sailed out further  Than the shallow coastal waters Past the narrow coastal shelf  Into to blue of deepest ocean   Han employed a sextant as they Re-acquired their prior location All the children with excitement  Scanned the seascape for cetaceans    Suddenly a crowd of seabirds Gathered near them, to the port side Guillemots that started diving Down to chase a shoal of fishes