Part Two: Chapters 12 and 13 Summary

Edgar wakes up in Mae Lwin, refreshed, with children peering down at him and giggling. He plays with them, and is then summoned to the beach by Doctor Carroll, who is drinking tea and watching birds by the river. Carroll invites him to come hunting with him. Edgar is reluctant, remembering the tiger hunt at Rangoon, but Carroll is insistent. However, on the ride it becomes immediately clear that Carroll has no interest in hunting. He shows Edgar the scenery and explains local myths and stories to him, and he picks flowers along the way. He tells Edgar that he is interested in chemical properties of local plants, as well as their potential medical benefits. He sometimes sends samples away to be analyzed by European chemists.

They stop at a village where people are dying of cholera...