“Raft,” he declared curtly.
“No time.” Though his tone was unchanged, even Hasa was a bit discouraged by the width of the watercourse. “If we wanted to spend a lot of time in one place, we would’ve stayed with the skimmers.”
“I tell you right here and now, sir, that I am not swimming that. Our last aqueous excursion provided more than enough excitement for me. I have no desire to repeat the experience.”
Nearby, Jemunu-jah was scrutinizing the trees that grew right to the edge of the open water. “Not much here good for making raft anyway.” He looked back at the Deyzara. “Since we also cannot make a skimmer out of leaves and vines, we have to swim. Deyzara are good swimmers. You show that before.”
“Not as good as the local flesh eaters.”
Hasa was willing to concede the Deyzara’s point. “Maybe we don’t have time to build a boat, but we might look around for some kind of natural protection. Thorns, poisons we could dump in the water around us. That sort of thing.” He focused on Jemunu-jah. “I don’t recognize anything useful here. You got any ideas?”
The Sakuntala paused, then gestured approvingly with his tongue. “Maybe something we passed a little while ago. I think it will do what is needed. But it will be difficult make work.”
Hasa frowned. “Difficult how?”
Turning, Jemunu-jah beckoned for them to follow. “Easier to show than explain.”
Back within the trees five minutes later, they stood on branches looking down at a cluster of blossoms floating on the water. They were undoubtedly the most beautiful flowers Shadrach Hasselemoga had ever seen in his life, on any world. Without question, collectors of rare and exotic flora would pay a fortune for their seeds, seedlings, cuttings, or samples. While he had no idea what Jemunu-jah had in mind, he did know that the Sakuntala had unintentionally led him to a new source of income.