As they are getting into the canoes, Barry kicks a leather satchel tucked under one of the seats, and pulls it out and opens it up, to find 3 freshly made blades. They appear to be the blades of large knives, and of very fine workmanship, but without handles. He puts them in his pack.

They all load into three canoes, except Elbolin and Karat, who decide to ride their horses along either in the shallows, where the river flow permits, or in the brush alongside the river. Just as the canoes cast off into the river, they notice that the river downstream forms a horizon just a few hundred feet downriver, and now that they get a clear view of it, they can hear a mighty whooshing - it sounds like a very large waterfall! Fortunately they chose to go upstream in the daytime, and not downstream at night, or things might have turned out very differently.

They row all that day, stop at a small beach to spend the night, and then keep rowing all the next day. Going is slow, with the horses plodding along mostly in the shallow water. Just as night begins to fall the next day, and they are starting to wonder if they are getting anywhere at all, they see some twinkling lights on the horizon.