Chapter Three and Chapter Four Summary and Analysis

Fenton and O'Hanlon are at the Singapore airport. O'Hanlon is carrying a gun as they pass through Customs. He tells the customs officer that he and Fenton are attempting to reach the Tiban mountains in the heart of Borneo, but no one has been there since Mjoberg in 1926 and he travelled from the other side. O'Hanlon half-seriously jokes that they may see a Borneo rhinoceros. The Customs officer is incredulous and has no idea why anyone would travel in a land of cannibals.

That night in Raffles, O'Hanlon reviews another guide. Borneo, it says, is that third largest island in the world and is five times the size of England and Wales. It is mostly one giant forest. In the center is a spinal mountain chain which is largely inaccessible.

The partners first...