Scott did not regard the venture as an extremely perilous one, though he would not have thought of such a thing as crossing the Atlantic in a craft like the Blanchita, principally because she could not carry coal enough to render the trip a prudent risk. The distance from land to land was about five hundred miles, and the little steamer could easily make this distance inside of three days. But the captain must speak for himself.

"Now, fellows, you can study the chart for yourselves," said he, as he put the point of his pencil on the mouth of the Sarawak River. "If the Blanchita were a sailing-craft instead of a steamer, I should not have a moment's hesitation; for though she is not heavy and clumsy, she is very strongly built. I have looked her over several times, with this trip in my head."

"But she can be rigged as a sailing-craft, and has a short mast and a sail," interposed Morris. "I talked with the rajah about her, and he told me that he had been out to sea in her. He said he had never had occasion to use the sail, but he carried it in case anything should happen to the engine."

"That betters the situation very materially," replied the captain. "If we have anything to depend upon if the engine should break down or the coal should give out we should be all right."

"There must be heavy seas out in the China Sea," added Louis, as he looked over the chart.

"We haven't seen any very heavy seas in any of these waters. The south-west monsoons prevail at this season of the year in these waters. I don't find any decided ocean current laid down on the charts of the southern and western portions of the China Sea. They strike in at the eastward of Java, and flow to the eastward of Borneo, through the Macassar Strait," said Scott, pointing out the direction on the chart.

"That looks favorable; and if there is any current to speak of, it runs in the direction of the monsoons, and therefore will not be likely to cause heavy winds."

"If I thought the trip was a very dangerous one, I certainly should not propose to make it," added the captain.

"Fish!" shouted Clingman at the wheel.

In spite of their interest in the discussion, all the party rushed forward at this cry. The captain ordered the wheelman to stop her, though her headway kept her moving for some minutes after the screw ceased to revolve. The men baited the hooks as soon as fish were indicated. The boat had reached the locality where the catch of the day before had been obtained, and all hands were on the lookout. The lines were thrown over, and the fish bit quickly as soon as the steamer was at rest. In half an hour they had taken seven.

"Keep her moving, Clingman," said Captain Scott, as the party hurried back to the cabin to continue the discussion.

Pitts dressed the fish, and put them in the ice-chest. Achang had completed the skinning of the orang, and the skin was now drying in the sun. The voyage to Siam or Cambodia looked very much like an adventure, and the young men were deeply interested in it.

"I don't think we are likely to encounter any very heavy weather in the western part of the China Sea," said Captain Scott, as he put his pencil on the chart again. "We may be overhauled by a typhoon."

"And what is a typhoon?" asked Felix. "I know it is some sort of a storm, and that is all I do know."

"There are different names for a storm in different parts of the earth," replied Scott. "What is a hurricane in the West Indies is a cyclone in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, and a typhoon in the China Sea. They are all alike in substance, being revolving storms, in which the wind whirls around in a circle, and at the same time has a forward movement as a whole towards some point of the compass. But there are various signs which indicate the approach of a typhoon or a hurricane; and in these seas the barometer has to be watched constantly."

"I suppose we should be out of sight of land about all the time on the passage," suggested Morris.

"Not at all, my lad; for the first two hundred miles of the course we should not be out of sight of land half of the time, or only for a few hours at a time. Now look at the chart, all of you. Here we are at the mouth of the Sarawak River. About a hundred miles west of that is Cape Datu, the most western point of Borneo. Then for two hundred miles there is a chain of islands extending to the north-west, which is our course. These are the Natuna Islands; the largest one takes the same name, and is forty miles long. There are several other small islands north of this one, and if the weather came on very bad we could make a lee under one of them."

"Channel, sir!" shouted Clingman.

"I think you have got an idea of the whole thing, and we have a couple of days to think of it," said the captain, as he rose from his seat. "I will leave the chart here, and you can all study it."

Scott went forward to the wheel. He had caused a red rag to be tied to the top of a screw-pine while the sampan was looking for a channel through the lake, and Clingman had stopped the boat abreast of it. The captain took the helm himself; and he had carefully observed various marks, and obtained the bearings of the mountain, and other prominent objects which might assist him in taking the steamer through the shallow lake. He started her at once, and rang the speed-bell confidently, as though he had been through the lake a dozen times before.

It was sunset when the boat entered the narrow river, and they were called to supper. Clinch was placed at the wheel. It was a good moon, and the boat continued on her course till she came to the Dyak village where they had visited the long-house. She had been seen or heard as she approached; and the whole village was on the shore, including Mr. Eng.

"We are not going to lie up to-night," said Captain Scott when asked to land. "We are somewhat in a hurry to get back to Kuching, and we shall run down to Simujan this evening."

"I am going in the morning, Captain," added the agent.

"I will tow you down, and you can sleep on board if you wish."

"Thank you; my men will come down with the sampans to-morrow, and I gladly accept your offer," replied Mr. Eng. "But I must first go over to the pangah."

"To what? Will it take long?" inquired the captain.

"The pangah, or head-house of the village. I left my portmanteau there, and must get it."

"The head-house! May we go with you? for we did not stop to look at it when we were here before."

"Certainly you may go with me; I will have some torches so that you can see it as well as in the daytime," replied the agent, as he started with the cabin party, attended by four Dyaks who had come to the river with torches. "No head-hunting has been done for many years, as you are aware, and not many heads are on exhibition. In some villages you will find them by the hundred, though the people here were never much given to the barbarous practice. It was not necessary in this part of the island that a young man should get a head before a girl would accept him as her husband. Here it is."

It was a circular building not far from fifty feet in diameter, with a conical roof. In the centre was a place for a fire, which was perhaps required in cleaning the abominable trophies of war or individual murders. All around the apartment was a sort of divan, or bench, while over it were hung up the skulls, all nicely cleaned in the first instance, but now darkened by the smoke.

"This is the public building of the village, and the council when it meets has its place here for deliberation and action," said Mr. Eng, when he had pointed out what was to be seen in the building.

"Rather a sombre place, I should say, for such a purpose," suggested Louis.

"When you got used to the skulls you would not mind them any more than you would any other dry bones," laughed the agent. "I slept here last night, and the young men and boys lodge here. If you were to remain over night, young gentlemen, you would be quartered here; for it is the home of the stranger who visits the village."

"Then, I should be very thankful that we had a cabin in our steamer," replied Louis. "But there is no accounting for tastes."

The agent gave his baggage to a Dyak, and the party returned to the boat. A bed in the cabin was prepared for Mr. Eng, who said he was very tired, for he had walked a great distance that day, and he retired at once. The captain took the first watch, with two of the men. It was plain sailing, and in the middle of the night the Blanchita was anchored in the river in front of the kampon. Scott turned in then, with one of the port watch on duty.

In the morning they could not be induced to accept Mr. Eng's pressing invitation to remain a day or two at Simujan. He promised to take them to the coal and gold mine if they would remain; but all of them were so full of the great project that the invitation was declined. Three of the fish were presented to the agent, who told them something about it, and declared that it was the finest fish on the island.

A quantity of ice was obtained at the town; and Pitts carefully packed the rest of the fish, which were still hard and in nice condition. The captain desired to present a couple of them to Rajah Brooke, and some of the others to officers who had been very kind to them, and had assisted them in many ways. In the early morning they bade a grateful adieu to the agent, and departed on the trip to Kuching.

The tide was going out, and they made a quick passage to the sea. On their arrival there they found a stiff south-west wind blowing, and the bay covered with white-caps. They had not tried the Blanchita in anything like a heavy sea, though the rajah had declared that she was a very able and weatherly sea-boat. Captain Scott was very glad of the opportunity to test her behavior in rough weather. He went to the helm himself as the boat came out of the Sadong. The very first wave that broke on her bow scattered the spray from stem to stern.



Scott ordered the men to batten down the curtains on the weather side. But the boat rose gracefully on the billows, and did not scoop up any water in doing so. Boxes, barrels, and other movable articles were secured, and the captain was delighted with the working of the boat.

"I don't want any better sea-boat than the Blanchita," said he with great enthusiasm. "I doubt if we get it any rougher than this on the voyage to Cambodia Point."

"Unless we run into a typhoon," said Morris, who was observing the conduct of the boat with quite as much interest as his superior officer.

"We won't run into a typhoon," replied the captain.

"How can you help yourself? As sailors we must take things as they come."

"If navigators have a thousand miles or more of ocean ahead of them, they must face the music. But among these islands, if the weather looks typhoony, we can get under a lee, or make a harbor in some bay. But don't try to cross the bridge till we get to it, Morris."

"Sail, ho!" shouted Clingman.

It was a steamer about as far off as she could be made out. The two craft were approaching each other, and the steamer from the west went into the Sarawak ahead of the Blanchita. She was a small vessel, apparently of not more than three hundred tons. It soon became evident that she was not a fast sailer, for the Blanchita held her own with her all the way up the river to Kuching.



CHAPTER XV

ON THE VOYAGE TO POINT CAMBODIA

The Blanchita moored as usual in front of the town, while the steamer anchored in the river. She proved to be the Delhi, from Calcutta; and it was ascertained when the party went on shore later, that she was to sail for Saigon the next day. The first care of the cabin party was to send the fish to Rajah Brooke and two officers whose acquaintance they had made.

Pitts overhauled the ice-chest, and found them in excellent condition; and Achang was appointed to be the bearer of them, with the compliments of the Americans, to the gentlemen who were to receive them. Two native porters were to carry them; and the party knew that the fish were a rarity in the town, and they were in season for the dinner of that day.

The four went on shore together just as a party from the Delhi landed with a boat. The captain of the steamer hailed them in the street in front of the government house, and asked if they belonged to the steam-launch which had just come up the river. He was curious to know something more about the explorers, and Captain Scott told him what they had been doing in the island. He was invited on board of the Blanchita, and was much interested in the young men.

They showed him over the boat; and he was greatly pleased with the craft, and with the excellent accommodations for sleeping, eating, and making the voyagers generally comfortable. They came to the ice-chest, in which two of the choice fish still remained; and Scott presented one of them to their guest.

"We intend to sail for Point Cambodia to-morrow to rejoin our ship," said the captain of the Blanchita, after the fish had been sent on board.

"In this little tub of yours?" asked the commander of the Delhi with a smile of incredulity.

"Is this part of the China Sea subject to violent seas?"

"Not at just this season of the year. With the south-west monsoons smart squalls come up sometimes, but they are not very bad. I don't think you will find it any rougher than we had it outside the river to-day on your passage to the Point," replied Captain Rayburn, who stated then that he had seen the Guardian-Mother when she was at Calcutta.

"You are bound to Saigon, I think you said."

"To Saigon, but a portion of my cargo goes to Kampot. If I found a sailing-vessel here that was going up the Gulf of Siam, I was ordered to reship my freight for Kampot in her; if not, I was to take it there in the Delhi. I find no such vessel here."

"Then you will make your course direct for Point Cambodia, Captain Rayburn?" said Scott.

"Precisely so; and if you can keep up with my steamer, we need not part company on the voyage."

"I think we can keep up with you," replied the captain of the Blanchita with a smile.

The party went on shore again, and arrangements were made for taking in a supply of coal early the next morning. Everything on board of the yacht had been stowed very carefully on the passage from Simujan, in order to make all the room possible for coal; but the boat could carry a supply for four days, and Scott was not at all afraid that he should come short of this needed article. Pitts purchased all the provisions and stores needed for the voyage.

After dinner the four paid their respects to the rajah, and visited the two officers whose acquaintance they had made. They were heartily thanked for the welcome gift of the fish, which the officers declared were a great luxury; and Governor Brooke said that he should make a trip to the lake where they were caught, in the government steam-yacht. These gentlemen thought the young men were rather venturesome to undertake the voyage before them in so small a craft; but the best wishes of all of them went with the party.

At daylight in the morning the coaling was begun; the provisions and stores were all looked over, and all deficiencies were supplied. By nine o'clock everything was in readiness for sailing. Captain Rayburn sent word that the Delhi would sail at ten o'clock, and afterwards went on board of the Blanchita.

"You seem to be well supplied with coal," said he, as he looked about him.

"I think we have a five-days' supply on board," replied Scott. "As I figure it up, we shall make the run to the Point inside of three days."

"The Delhi's time is sixty-three hours," added her commander. "If your coal should come short, I can help you out; but I think you won't need it."

"Thank you, Captain Rayburn; that kind offer removes the only doubt I have in regard to the voyage," replied Captain Scott.

"The Delhi, as you have seen for yourself, is not a fast steamer; but the only fear I have is that you will not be able to keep up with her," added Captain Rayburn. "I am obliged to sail in the interest of my owners, and I must make the best time I can. The south-west monsoons prevail at this season; and by carrying sail I may add half a knot, or perhaps a knot, to her speed. I should be sorry to run away from you, but I must do my duty."

"Certainly; that is understood. If you run away from me, I shall still wish you bon voyage. But suppose I should run away from you?" suggested Scott, laughing.

"You will be quite welcome to do so. The Delhi is an old steamer, and not up to modern-built ones; but with a breeze I have made nine knots in her."

"I shall try to keep up with you, for I should be very sorry to have to part company with so pleasant a captain as you are."

"Thank you, Captain Scott; and if we part company on the voyage, I hope we shall meet again. I am liable to be detained some time in Saigon; for mine is a tramp steamer, and I have to look up a cargo for some port," said Captain Rayburn, as he shook hands with the four, and went into his boat alongside.

The first thing Scott did was to look up the mast and sail of the Blanchita. It had not been covered up with coal, as he had feared; for Clingman had suspended it inboard under the rail. The sail had been stowed away in the bow of the boat, and it was brought out and overhauled. It was nearly new, and needed no repairs. It was a lug-foresail, with a gaff, but no boom. It was stepped just abaft the galley, and the sail could be set in two or three minutes when it was required.

The statement of the captain of the Delhi that he could gain a knot or less in a good breeze had stimulated Scott to be ready for such an emergency. The wind would be on the port quarter during the whole voyage, and the sail would certainly add something to the speed of the yacht. In the crowd that collected at the government storehouse were the rajah and most of the officers of the place. The handshaking was all done over again, and pleasant wishes were extended to the "Big Four" as the Blanchita cast off her fasts.

The Delhi was already under way, and going at full speed down the river. Clingman was at the wheel, and Scott went aft to the engine-room, as it was called, though there was no such room, and the word applied simply to the locality; and the same was true of the galley. The boat had been delayed a little while the party were making and receiving the parting salutations of their friends, and the Delhi had a lead of nearly half a mile.

"Give her a spurt, Felipe," said the captain. "I want to know if that craft has the ability to run away from us."

The engineer threw more coal into the furnace; and in a few minutes he "let her out," as the captain called it. It was very soon perceived that the yacht was gaining on the old steamer, and Scott became correspondingly happy. She was farther down in the water than usual on account of the extra quantity of coal in her bunkers, and all along her sides, to trim her properly.

"I don't believe the Delhi will run away from us, Louis," said the captain as the millionaire joined him, curious to know what he was doing. "She isn't loaded for her best sailing, but she is doing first-rate for her present trim."

"This is smooth water, Captain; what will she do when we get out to sea?" asked Louis.

"We had a chance to try her yesterday in more than half a gale, and she behaved like a lady on a dancing-floor."

"But she was not loaded down with coal then as she is now."

"The extra weight will not disturb her; on the contrary, I think it will make her steadier."

"I talked with the rajah on board, who has used her for over a year, and has made a trip to Rangoon in her. He said she was usually run at eight knots an hour; but on his return voyage, when he was in a hurry, she made nine knots for twelve hours together," Louis explained.

"That is all I want of her; but I shall not drive her up to that unless the Delhi is likely to run away from us; and not then till after I have added the sail to our power of locomotion. We are coming up with her now, and probably Captain Rayburn's fears that his steamer may run away from us are beginning to abate," said the captain, rubbing his hands in his delight at the performance of the Blanchita.

Rather for the occupation it gave him, Scott took the wheel himself, directing Clingman to call the men, and remove the stanchions and connecting-rods on the starboard side of the boat from the galley to the length of the mast aft, so that the sail might not be obstructed when it was set.

Then, while the Blanchita was still making her nine knots, he ran her alongside the Delhi on the port side, keeping at a safe distance from her. Then he called to Felipe to reduce the speed to eight knots. He had gained nearly half a mile in going half-way down the river to the sea; and this fully satisfied him.

"Bully for you, Captain!" shouted Captain Rayburn from the quarter-deck of his steamer.

"I won't run away from you!" returned Scott, as the noise of escaping steam when the engineer reduced the speed must have reached his ears.

"Wait till we get out to sea!" called the captain of the Delhi.

"All right."

The two craft kept abreast of each other till they had passed the mountain at the mouth of the river. The captain laid the course north-west half-west; and this was to be the course for half the distance to Point Cambodia, as he remarked to Louis, who was at his side observing the progress of the yacht.

"How do you spell that word, Captain Scott?" asked Louis.

"Just as I spelled it when I went to school, and it is so put down on my chart; but I noticed in Black's "Atlas" that it was spelled Camboja instead of Cambodia," replied Scott. "I am a sailor, and I stick to the chart."

"I see that Captain Rayburn has laid his course; how does it agree with yours, Captain?" inquired Louis, when they were a mile off the mountain.

"I should say that it was identically the same. I will hail him."

"North-west half-west," was the answer returned by the captain of the Delhi.

"I make it the same," replied Scott.

The cabin party were summoned to dinner at this time, and Clingman was called to the wheel.

"What's the bill of fare to-day?" asked Scott as he took his seat at the table.

"Baked fish and roast venison," replied Pitts, "with plum-duff."

"Very good," returned the captain. "We don't get so much breeze off here as we did yesterday, Louis."

"It does not look at all rough off at sea," added the captain. "But when we get Cape Datu on the beam, we may feel it more."

The Delhi had not yet set her foresail, for she was schooner-rigged, and there was not wind enough to help her much; all the rest of the day the two craft kept abreast of each other, as they had in coming down the river. After supper the watches were arranged for the night. The captain, with Clingman and Lane, had the first, or starboard watch, while Morris, the mate, had the port watch, with Wales and Clinch.

Louis and Felix were appointed second engineers, as the seamen on board relieved them from duty as deck-hands; and the three in that department were to keep four-hour watches, like the officers and seamen. Achang wanted something to do; and he was given the berth of second mate, and as such he served in charge of the captain's watch.



CHAPTER XVI

AN EXCITING RACE IN THE CHINA SEA

Everything worked as smoothly on board of the Blanchita as though she had been in commission for years, for there was not a green hand in the cabin or forecastle. The experience obtained by the "Four" in the Maud had made them proficients in the duties of their present positions. Louis and Felix were not trained engineers or machinists; though they were familiar with the machine, which was of very simple construction. Both of them were competent to run the engine, and had served their watches in the Maud. If there was any trouble, the chief engineer was close at hand.

From eight to twelve it was the captain's watch. Achang, who had been the master of a vessel, had been regularly installed as second mate, and was in charge of this watch; though Scott remained on deck all the time, for he was anxious to observe the movements of the Delhi. Clingman and Lane had their two-hour tricks at the wheel, and there was no hard work for anybody.

The breeze was good, though not heavy from the south-west; but the Delhi had not yet set a sail. The Blanchita passed Cape Datu at ten in the evening, and the second mate made a note of it on the log-slate. Both craft were still making their eight knots, and remained abreast of each other. The wind increased slightly in force, but the conditions were about the same all night. At twelve the watch was changed, and Morris came on duty, with Louis in the engine-room. The captain turned in at this time.

At three in the morning the yacht was off the island of Sirhassen, of which a note was made on the log-slate. Morris had studied the chart enough to enable him to recognize the island, distant as it was, at six bells, or three o'clock in the morning. Of course he could not identify it by its looks, never having seen it before; but the captain had given him the distances between the islands on the course. Sirhassen was forty sea miles from Cape Datu, or five hours as the yacht was running; and when land was reported on the beam, bearing about west, he knew what it was. The chart gave the island as one of considerable size compared with the multitude of small ones in that locality; and this indication afforded him a further clew to the identification.

At eight bells, or four o'clock, the morning watch came on duty, with Achang as its officer. Captain Scott did not turn out when the second mate was called, with Felix to take his place at the engine, and it was six o'clock when he made his appearance. Except when there is only one mate, as in small vessels, the captain keeps no watch; but he is liable to be called at any hour of the night in case of a squall or other peril. His responsibility may induce him to spend the entire night on deck.

When he came out of the cabin, his first care was to observe the signs which indicate the coming weather. Then he went to the wheel, and read the entries made on the log-slate. The sea was about the same as it had been when he left the deck. He had looked at the barometer before he left the cabin. There were no signs of bad weather in any direction.

"What do you think of the weather, Mr. Achang?" he asked of the officer of the deck.

"It will be fine, Captain," replied the second mate. "I have come all the way from Banjermassin to Calcutta with the weather just like this always; but I think we have more wind when the sun come up."

"We can stand more than we have now," added Scott.

"Some of the young gentlemen fear to go to sea in open boat like this yacht; but the dhows and the proas have not much decks," said the Bornean.

"Then you think we shall have weather like this all the way to Point Cambodia?"

"May blow a little more hard some time."

The sun was coming up in the east, and in the course of half an hour Achang's prophecy of more wind was realized. It freshened rapidly for a short time; but it did not come in flaws or squalls, and was a steady breeze. A table had been set up in the fore cabin; and at half-past seven, or seven bells, which is the usual hour for breakfast at sea, the meal was served to the watch below.

"Land on the port bow, sir!" reported Clingman, who was the lookout man, just before eight bells.

"That is Subi," said Achang, looking at the paper Morris had given him when the watch was changed.

"That's right, Mr. Achang," added the captain. "I see the Delhi is setting her foresail, and that means wind enough to add something to her eight knots an hour."

Lane at the wheel struck eight bells a few minutes later; and the officer and engineer of the port watch came promptly on deck from the cabin, as did the seamen from the fore cabin. Breakfast had been served at both ends of the yacht to the watch below, so that they were in readiness to come on duty at the striking of the bell. Breakfast was ready for those who came off watch as soon as they were relieved.

Pitts had his hands more than full in supplying the two tables, but he was assisted by the idlers about the boat. The seamen were served as on board of the Guardian-Mother, where they had a table and a regular meal. On ordinary sea-going vessels the men get their "grub" at the galley in tins, or kids, and eat it seated on the deck, or where they choose.

Captain Scott had graciously ordained, as there was nothing to be done outside of the working of the yacht, that "watch and watch" should be the rule on board; which means that the hands shall have all their time to themselves when not on watch, though they were to respond when all hands were called.

"The Delhi means to run away from us, I suppose, for she has put on all sail," said Louis as he came on deck when he had finished his breakfast.

"But I don't believe she will do it," replied the captain. "We have a sail; but I am waiting to see what she can do under her present conditions, and I have told Felipe to hurry her up a little, just enough to keep up with our consort."

"She is gaining on us a little," added Louis.

"I see she is; but the engineer has thrown another shovelful of coal into the furnace, and I wish to see the effect it will produce. He has opened his valve a little, but he has not steam enough yet."

But it was soon evident to all who understood the matter that the Blanchita was gaining on her consort. It was plain, too, that Captain Rayburn had noticed the fact, for his crew were setting the gaff-topsails on the fore and main masts. Something of the enthusiasm of a race was aroused on board. Felipe had worked up his machine to the nine-knot gauge; and in spite of the added sail on the Delhi, the boat was overhauling her.

"I think that Captain Rayburn must be recalling his talk to us at Sarawak about running away from us," said Louis. "What is he doing now, Captain Scott?"

"He appears to be hoisting a yard on his foremast," replied Scott.

"What is that for?"

"If you watch the steamer for a little while longer, you will see him shake out a fore squaresail, and that will be the sharpest move he has made yet. Morris, have the mast stepped, and set the sail," continued the captain.

Clinch was at the wheel; and Clingman was called upon to do the work, with the assistance of the other two hands. The great squaresail of the Delhi had been shaken out, and it was drawing for all it was worth. The effect was simply to prevent the Blanchita from passing her, as she would have done in a few minutes more. The enthusiasm of a race was fully developed on board the yacht, among the seamen as well as the cabin party. Clingman and the others had worked very lively, and in a few minutes the sail was set. The captain gave the orders for trimming it; and as soon as the sheet was made fast the yacht heeled over till her rail was nearly down to the water.

"Our sail is a big one," said Scott, who saw it spread out for the first time; "and if we desire to run away from the Delhi, I am satisfied that we could do it."

The boat dashed the spray at her bow, and proved to be very wet in the fore cabin. The captain ordered the curtains to be hauled down to keep the water out, and the forward part of the craft was then as dry as it had been on the river.

Scott was not quite satisfied with the steering under the altered conditions, and he went to the wheel himself. He was a very skilful boatman in a sailing-craft, as had been fully proved by his bringing his yacht, the Seahound, from New York through the Bahama Islands. The seaman was inclined to follow the compass too closely, while Scott regarded the effect of the sail.

"We are gaining on the Delhi," said Louis, as he seated himself near the captain.

"Of course we are; I knew she would do it with the sail in this wind," replied Scott. "The Blanchita is a light craft, and skims over the water like a racer."

"But it is a little too much sail for her," suggested Louis. "She is taking in a bucket of water over her lee rail once in a while."

"Try the pump, Lane," added the captain. "I don't believe she has shipped more than a teaspoonful or two."

"We are pretty well down in the water," added Louis.

"Clingman, let off about six inches of the sheet," continued Scott; and the order was promptly obeyed. "I think you are getting a little nervous, my dear fellow," he added to Louis.

"Perhaps I am; I should not like to see the yacht heel over and take in a couple of hogsheads of water, for she is loaded so heavily with coal that she would go to the bottom."

"But I should not let her ship such a sea as that. The wind is quite steady, with no heavy flaws, and the boat is under perfect control. I should like it better to sail the Blanchita with less cargo in her, but she is doing splendidly."

"But a flaw might come, even if we have had none to-day; what could you do in that case?" asked Louis.

"Clingman, stand by the sheet!" called the captain.

The seaman was seated on a box not more than three feet from the cleat at which the sheet was made fast. He took his place within reach of it.

"Now she heels over again!" exclaimed Louis, as the water came quite up to the rail, though she took none in.

"Cast off the sheet, Clingman!" called the captain; and the order was obeyed in an instant.

The boat flew up to an even keel almost as though she had been hoisted up by some giant power.

"That is how I should keep her from shipping a big sea," said Scott, as he looked at his companion with a smile on his brown face.

"I give it up, Captain Scott. Of course you know what you are about every time, and I won't say a word again about the boat. But suppose you were not looking when the flaw came?"

"It is not necessary to be looking; for a skipper steers more by the feeling of the boat than by sight. Make fast the sheet, Clingman."

The Blanchita went ahead again; and by this time she was abreast of the Delhi, and gaining upon her. Captain Rayburn was on his quarter-deck.

"Don't run away from me, and I won't run away from you!" he shouted.

But he had hardly spoken before a noise like the distant report of a cannon was heard on board of the yacht.

"He has split his fore squaresail; and if his game was not up before, it is now," said Captain Scott. "The sail was old and rotten, and I don't believe he would have attempted to carry it except on an occasion like the present."

"He was a little too pronounced when he expressed his fears that the Blanchita would not be able to keep up with him, and I fancy he is sorry he said anything about it by this time," added Louis.

The split sail could not be repaired at once; and if it could it was not strong enough to be of any use in the fresh breeze. The crew took it in at once, the yard being lowered to enable them to do so. The captain of the yacht ordered the engineer to reduce his speed to the ordinary rate, though the sail was not furled. Between the steam and the wind the Blanchita ran ahead of the Delhi. The sheet was slacked off as far as it could be without permitting the sail to shake, and the two craft kept well together the rest of the day, passing Great Natuna Island at four in the afternoon.

The captain took the sun at noon, and worked up the position of the boat. The run from the mouth of the Sarawak at that time was two hundred and four sea miles.



CHAPTER XVII

THE END OF THE VOYAGE TO BANGKOK

The routine of daily duty on board of the Blanchita has been given; and after the race in the China Sea had proved that she could run away from the Delhi, there was no further excitement on the voyage. On the contrary, it was rather monotonous, and there were no incidents worthy of record. After passing Great Natuna on the afternoon of the second day from the mouth of the Sarawak, no land was seen again till the island of Pulo Obi, about twenty miles south-west of Point Cambodia, was seen on the third day; and the Point on the mainland was passed a little later.

At noon on this day the two vessels were forty-four miles up the Gulf of Siam. The prophecies of Captain Rayburn and Achang in regard to the weather proved to be correct. The monsoon blew steadily all the way, and the yacht carried her sail. Not even a squall disturbed the serenity of the voyage, and everything went on as during the first and second days. The "Four" would have been glad to explore the Great Natuna Island, and determine whether or not it was inhabited; for they could obtain no information in regard to it from any of the books they had brought from the ship, and they forgot to inquire about it at Kuching.

At noon on the third day, in the Gulf, the captain of the Delhi hailed the yacht, and came on board of her.

"I shall have to bear more to the eastward now, Captain Scott, and we shall soon part company," said the commander of the Delhi. "We had quite a lively race on our second day out, and you beat me handsomely. I had no idea that your yacht could sail so fast. I was afraid you could not keep up with me; but I found that you could run away from me, as you suggested before we sailed."

"I did not know myself what speed the Blanchita could make, though I was informed that she had gone nine knots for twelve hours together," replied Scott.

"I am very glad that I met you, and I hope I shall see you again. You have a very agreeable party, and I should think you might enjoy yourselves."

"I think we are likely to meet again at Saigon. The Guardian-Mother will be there, and I hope you will come on board of her," replied Captain Scott, as they shook hands at parting, and the visitor returned to the Delhi.

The Blanchita started her screw again; and the captain gave out north-west as the course for the mouth of the Menan River, on which Bangkok is situated.

"Where do you expect to find the Guardian-Mother, Captain Scott?" asked Louis.

"At Bangkok," replied the captain, as he took his memorandum-book from his pocket. "Captain Ringgold gave me his time for leaving there, and also of sailing from Saigon."

"When was he to leave the capital of Siam?"

"On the first tide Monday morning. This is Saturday, a little after noon," replied Scott. "We have three hundred and twenty-five miles to make. The monsoon is about as fresh here as it has been all the voyage; and we have used up about half of our coal, so that we are considerably lighter than when we left Kuching, and with the sail we can easily log nine knots an hour. We shall go into the Menan River before sundown to-morrow, and it will take two or three hours to go up to the city. We shall be alongside the ship some time in the evening; and that is just the time I should like to be there."

"We shall give our friends a tremendous surprise," added Louis.

"That is so; for while your anxious mamma is worrying for fear you have been chewed up by an orang-outang, and Flix's grandma is dreaming that he has been swallowed whole by a big boa-constrictor, we shall drop in on them while they are singing gospel hymns in the music-room."

"I shall be sorry to disappoint grandma; but if she insists upon dreaming such nonsense, it is not my fault," added Felix. "She ought to know by this time that snakes don't swallow me till they get a bullet through their heads."

"I don't think my mother has been greatly worried about me, for she has learned that I am able to take care of myself," said Louis.

"But the mothers will hug their boys as soon as they get hold of them."

"I wish the hugging might be confined to the mothers, for it is perfectly proper for them to do that thing; but when it comes to a grandma who hasn't a drop of Irish blood in her veins, I beg to be excused, and, what is more, I won't stand it," protested Felix, making a very comical face.

"But you can't help yourself, Flix," laughed the captain.

"You see if I don't!" replied the Milesian, shaking his head as though his plan to avoid the endearing reception had already been formed.

"We shall see what we shall see," added the captain. "It seems to me that the breeze is stronger here than it was out at sea."

"There is a hot country to the east of us, and perhaps the wind is hurrying up to fill a partial vacuum there," suggested Louis.

"You are a philosopher, my darling Louis, and that must be the reason," added Felix.

The Blanchita seemed to be flying through the water, for her speed had sensibly increased since she came into the Gulf. There were several large islands along the coast of Cambodia; but the course was fifty miles outside of the mainland, which could not be seen.

"Why do you keep so far from the shore, Captain Scott?" asked Louis; for all the party would have been glad to observe the shore.

"Because we all wish to get to Bangkok to-morrow evening. What is the shortest way between two points, Louis?"

"A straight line, of course."

"That's the reason we keep her so far from the land. A north-west course from a point outside of Obi Island to Cape Liant takes the yacht on the course we are running now."

"That explains it all," replied Louis.

The watches were regularly kept, and the captain was satisfied that the Blanchita was making over nine knots an hour. There was no excitement of any kind on board, and the rest of the day was without anything worthy of note. The Delhi had gone in behind an island, and in a few hours she was no longer to be seen. And so it was all day Sunday. Cape Liant was passed about one o'clock. A river pilot was taken about five o'clock. He could not speak English, but Achang spoke to him in Malay.

"Ask him if the Guardian-Mother is in the river, Achang," said the captain.

The pilot could not make out the name, and the interpreter described the ship so that he understood him at last. The face of the Siamese lighted up when he got the idea, and it was seen by the four that the ship was there. Achang informed them that the Guardian-Mother was anchored in the river.

The river was full of boats, and on many of them houses were built. The people were new to the Americans, though they were not very different to the ordinary observer from the Burmese and other natives they had seen. Before the yacht was half-way up to the city, it was too dark to see anything distinctly, and the party were more interested in the expected surprise of their friends on board the ship than anything else.

When the yacht was within a short distance of the ship, the pilot pointed her out. The singing in the music-room could be distinctly heard, and everything was working precisely as Scott had said it would. At the gangway the barge of the Blanche was made fast; and it was evident that General Noury and his wife were on board, and perhaps Captain Sharp and his lady. The boat was worked very carefully and noiselessly up to the platform of the gangway, where several sailors were seated.

"The Blanchita!" exclaimed Quartermaster Bangs, as he recognized the craft. "Captain Scott! I will inform the captain that you are alongside."

"Don't do anything of the kind, Bangs!" replied Scott. "Don't say a word, and don't make any noise, any of you. We want to drop in on the party without any notice."

The quartermaster was a very intelligent fellow, and he took in the situation at a glance. The "Big Four" stepped lightly on the platform, and Felix had taken pains to be the last one to mount the gangway. Scott led the way, and halted at the door of the music-room. He waited there till the hymn they were singing was finished, and then threw open the door, and marched in. He took off his cap, and bowed as gracefully as a dancing-master to the assembly.

Louis and Morris followed him, and imitated the example he had given them; but Felix had disappeared, and they did not know what had become of him. The musical party seemed to be so utterly confounded at the sudden and unexpected appearance of the hunters from Borneo that they seemed to be struck dumb with amazement.

"Louis, my son!" Mrs. Belgrave screamed as she rushed upon her boy, and folded him in her arms, kissing him as though he had come back to her from a tomb or a grave beneath the ocean.

"Morris!" cried Mrs. Woolridge, as she imitated the example of Mrs. Belgrave.

"My brother!" exclaimed Miss Blanche, as she divided the neck and arms of the returned hunter with her mother.

"This is somewhat unexpected, Captain Scott," said Captain Ringgold, as he came forward, and took the hand of the captain of the Blanchita, who alone of the trio was not in the arms of a mother.

"I should say that it might be, Captain," replied Scott as coolly as though the meeting was nothing unusual.

"But how under the sun did you get here, Scott?" demanded the commander, scrutinizing the expression of the third officer,—which was his rank on board of the ship,—to ascertain if there were any signs of a calamity there.

"We came by water, Captain," answered the young officer, with a cheerful smile, which indicated anything but a disaster.

"Of course you did, inasmuch as there is no other way to get here. In what steamer did you come? for I believe there is no regular line from Sarawak to Bangkok," added Captain Ringgold.

"We came by the steamer Blanchita."

"I don't understand it at all," said the commander with a perplexed look on his face. "Do you mean that you made the voyage in the steam-yacht, Mr. Scott?" and there was a decided expression of incredulity on his face.

"That is exactly what I mean to assert; and if you have any doubts about the truth of what I say, I appeal to Louis and Morris to substantiate my assertion."

"If you really say so, I do not doubt the truth of what you declare. It looks like a foolhardy risk, but boys will be boys. I will not detain you now; for others wish to welcome you back, and I know they are all glad to see you, unexpected as your return is."



As soon as his mother released him from the bondage of her loving arms, Louis hastened to Miss Blanche, and she grasped his hand as he approached. No loving expressions passed between them, but what they might have said that could be classed under this head was seen on their telltale faces.

"But where is Felix?" demanded Mrs. Blossom, who had been looking for him since Scott came into the room. "Where is he, Mr. Scott?"

"I am sorry to say that he was swallowed by a big boa-constrictor one hundred and sixty feet long, and twelve feet in circumference," replied the captain of the Blanchita, as seriously as though there had been such a monster snake in existence.

The poor lady was impervious to a joke; she screamed once, and then dropped in a sitting posture on a divan. Nearly all the rest of the party laughed heartily. At this point the head of Felix dropped down a foot through the skylight over the centre of the room. He had made his way to the upper deck, and stationed himself where he could see and hear all that passed in the apartment.

"Good-mahrnin' to ye's all this foine avenin'!" he shouted. "Don't ye's make a row, Aunty. The schnake was a bit troubled wid indigestion of the brain, and, faix! I was too much for him! Loike the sodjers surrounded by the inimy, Oi cut me way out, and here Oi am."

"I don't believe you were swallowed by a snake," protested Mrs. Blossom.

"Don't you believe that Jonah swallowed the whale, Aunty?" demanded Felix.

"Of course I believe that because it is in the Bible. If you had told me that you had swallowed the snake, I might have believed that," added the good lady.

At this point General Noury came forward, and grasped the hand of Scott, passing from him to Louis and Morris, and then doing the same with Felix, who had dropped down from his perch at the skylight. As soon as Mrs. Blossom saw him on the floor, she rushed towards him with outspread arms; but the Milesian warded off the assault, and took her right hand.

"Don't hug me, Aunty, for the snake swallowed me clothes and all, and you may get some of the poison on you," said he.

For some time longer there was a general handshaking, and Louis was kissed by the Princess Zuleima.



CHAPTER XVIII

LOUIS'S DOUBLE-DINNER ARGUMENT

After the welcome of the Bornean hunters had spent itself in kissing and handshaking, the question came up as to why the "Big Four" had abandoned their explorations after one week in the island instead of three, the time arranged for them to remain there; and they had fixed the time themselves.

"I thought three weeks was a rather long time for you to be in the island," said Captain Ringgold after the question had been opened for discussion.

"We fixed the time before we knew anything about the island," replied Louis. "But I want to say, in order to counteract the impression which appears to prevail in this company, that our trip was not a failure; for we had a fine time, and enjoyed our trips on the rivers."

"If you had a good time, why did you cut it short by two-thirds of the period allotted to the excursions?" asked Uncle Moses.

"We went up the Sarawak, the Sadong, and the Simujan, up the last to the mountains, passing through Lake Padang, and we have shot an orang-outang, and might have killed more of them, to say nothing of other game," replied Louis, whom Scott had requested to do the talking. "We visited three Dyak villages, sailed the Blanchita through a forest, and killed a good many crocodiles."

"You seem to have had sport enough," added Uncle Moses. "Why did you give it up in the cream of the thing?"

"I believe you like a good dinner, Uncle Moses; such a dinner as you always have on board of the Guardian-Mother," continued Louis, who was evidently pluming himself to make a point.

"I do like a good dinner, and enjoy one very much," replied the worthy trustee of the young millionaire. "But I doubt if I am any more devoted to such a banquet as we get every day than my beloved friend, Brother Adipose Tissue, and all the rest of the voyagers all over the world."

"I plead guilty to the charge of Brother Avoirdupois; and I acknowledge myself to be a worshipper at the shrine of Mr. Melancthon Sage, and I invoke a blessing upon the head of Monsieur Odervie, the chief cook. Our life on the ocean wave is a constant promotive of the appetite. If the proof of the pudding is not in the eating of the bag, it is in the eating of the dinners; and I think we pay an abundant tribute to the talent of Mr. Sage, the prince of stewards, in the quantity of the well-cooked food he causes to be placed before us."

"We get through dinner about seven o'clock. I see that the accomplished chief steward is standing at the door," continued Louis. "Now, Mr. Sage, would it be possible and convenient for you to have another dinner on the table, say at eight o'clock, an hour after the first feast had been finished?"

"Quite possible, and even convenient; the only persons to complain of such an arrangement would be the cooks and stewards," replied Mr. Sage.

"Captain Ringgold, might I so far presume upon any influence I may have with you as the owner of the Guardian-Mother to request you to order a second dinner to be served at eight in the evening, beginning, say, with to-morrow evening?" asked the young millionaire, looking as serious as though he was about to preach a sermon, though the party were generally laughing.

"As I have always told you, I take my orders from the owner; and if you desire such a dinner, I shall certainly give Mr. Sage an order to that effect," replied the commander.

"But who is to eat the dinner after it is provided, an hour after the passengers have gorged themselves at the table?" demanded Dr. Hawkes. "Is this a conspiracy to make more work for the surgeon?"

"Not at all," protested Louis. "It is to give the gentlemen who question so closely an opportunity to have an abundance of a good thing."

"But we could not eat the dinner," said Uncle Moses. "We are not hogs."

"Oh, you are not!" chuckled the owner.

"But what has all this to do with hunting and exploring in Borneo?" inquired Mr. Woolridge.

"Well, sir, after we had taken a full dinner in Borneo, Uncle Moses and the commander ask us why we did not eat another dinner immediately on the top of it, as I observe that they are not disposed to do on board of the ship," returned Louis.

Some of the party had penetrated to the conclusion of Louis's argument, but most of them did not see the point of his illustration till he made his last remark; then Mr. Woolridge began to clap his hands, and the whole company applauded vigorously.

"I suppose the interpretation of the whole matter is, that the hunters in Borneo were gorged with hunting," said Captain Ringgold; "and that when they stipulated for three weeks of the sport, they overdid the matter."

"That was precisely the situation, Mr. Commander; and if you had been with us on the waters of Padang Lake, you could not have defined it better," replied Louis.

"But it is almost incredible that a quartet of such Nimrods should have become disgusted with their favorite sport in a single week," added Captain Ringgold.

"We are not hogs, as Uncle Moses gently suggested, and we could not eat a second dinner on top of the first so soon. If we had gone to Borneo a second time, after a reasonable interval, I am confident we should have enjoyed a second week of hunting, even along the muddy rivers and inundated jungles," Louis explained.

"In other words, you bit off a bigger mouthful than you could swallow," said the commander with a hearty laugh; for he had predicted that three weeks of hunting at one time was too much. "But we understand the situation now up to the time of the departure of the Nimrods from their happy hunting-ground. It was a rather daring enterprise to make a voyage of nine hundred miles in an open boat; and I should like to ask who was the originator of the idea."

"If there is any blame for this trip, we were all in the same boat, and we share the responsibility," answered Louis. "Captain Achang Bakir was with us; and he has sailed in all the seas of the Archipelago in an open boat, and we had his advice. Then we sailed all the way to the entrance of the Gulf of Siam in company with the steamer Delhi, whose captain agreed to stand by us, and to supply us with coal if we came short."

"That puts a new face on the matter."

"It was in the head waters of the Simujan that the plan was discussed, and Captain Scott was the originator of the idea," continued Louis. "I was in favor of it first because it would save the Guardian-Mother the voyage from Saigon back to Kuching, about a thousand miles."

"Where is Kuching?" asked Dr. Hawkes.

"It is the native name for Sarawak."

"I am heartily glad you have come to us, Louis, for the reason you have given," added the commander.

"How did the steam-yacht work, Mr. Belgrave?" asked the rajah.

"Exceedingly well, sir; nothing could have done any better; but Mr. Scott can answer you better than I can, sir."

The third officer of the ship, late captain of the Blanchita, described the working of the yacht, and gave her liberal praise. He related in what manner she had beaten the Delhi in the race, and that he had carried sail all the way nearly from the start. He gave the party the routine of the boat,—how they had taken their meals, and how they had slept on board.

"But I think it is time for us to return to the Blanche," interposed Captain Sharp, as the clock struck eleven.

"I must make an announcement before you go," said Captain Ringgold. "We shall not be able to sail for Saigon to-morrow morning, as arranged before. We have to clean the Blanchita in the morning, and she has to be put on the upper deck of the Blanche. As the Nimrods have come to Bangkok, I wish to give them a day on shore to see the temples, and call on the king if they are so disposed. We will sail on Tuesday morning on the early tide."

"But we have not had any account of the adventures of the Nimrods in Borneo," suggested Uncle Moses.

"We shall do so at eight o'clock in the morning; and you will all assemble for the purpose at that time. The lecture on Siam and Cambodia has been postponed till all hands could hear it; and if General Noury is ready, that shall follow the adventures," replied the captain.

"I will be here at the time stated, for we all desire to know what the Nimrods have been doing," replied the general, as the party from the Blanche retired from the music-room.

The rest of the company went to their staterooms, while the commander gave his orders for the work of the morning. All hands were called at daylight; and the young adventurers shook hands with the officers they found on deck, and spoke a pleasant word to the seamen on duty. The latter were hoisting the coal, provisions, and stores of the Blanchita on board of the ship; and by breakfast-time the yacht was as clean as a Dutch chamber.

At the appointed time the company, including the party from the Blanche, were seated in the arm-chairs of Conference Hall; and Louis went through his narrative of the adventures of the Nimrods in Borneo. During the morning, Achang had placed the stuffed orang-outang on a shelf the carpenter had erected at the head of the platform, with the proboscis monkey on one side, and the argus-pheasant on the other. The Bornean had had some experience as a taxidermist, and Dr. Hawkes declared that he had done his work well.

Louis explained these specimens, and gave the measurements of the orang. The proboscis monkey and the bird were also described. When he said he had not been disposed to shoot monkeys and other harmless animals for the fun of it, the audience applauded. He had killed a specimen of several animals, and several pigs, deer, and one bear, most of the latter for food. The cook had packed the last of the fish in the ice, so that it had kept well, and it had been served for breakfast that morning. Everybody had praised it. The surgeon called it the gourami, and said that some successful attempts had been made to introduce the fish in American waters.

The audience laughed heartily when Louis related in what manner they had killed and sold one hundred and eight feet of crocodile for about forty dollars. He told what he had learned about the Dyaks, and described the long-house they had visited, and the head-house, and gave the story in full of Rajah Brooke, and their visits to his nephew and successor, the present rajah. He might have gone on with his narrative till lunch-time if he had not known that General Noury was waiting for him to finish his account.

"Did you see the Dyak women, Louis?" asked his mother.

"Plenty of them. The older ones reminded me of the French women; for when they begin to grow old, they wrinkle and dry up. The morality of the Dyaks is much higher in tone, even among the laboring-classes, men and women, than in civilized countries. They are all honest; and they steal nothing, even in Kuching, though the Malays and Chinamen do it for them."

"Were the young women pretty, Mr. Belgrave?" inquired Mrs. Woolridge.

"To a Dyak gentleman I suppose they are; but I was not fascinated with them, though I saw some on the Simujan who were not bad looking. The prettiest one I saw was at a village near the mountains. But the general is waiting for me to finish, and I must answer no more questions at present," replied the speaker, as he bowed, and hastened from the rostrum.

Then it was found that Mr. Gaskette had not hung up the map of Cochin China, for Achang and the carpenter had taken up the space before appropriated to it. Mr. Stevens, the carpenter, suggested a way to get over the difficulty; but it would take him half an hour to put up a frame in front of the orang.

"I shall not be able to get half through Cochin China before lunch-time," said General Noury, consulting his watch.

"I am afraid your audience will be scatterbrained, General, there is so much going on about the decks. Perhaps we had better postpone the lecture till after we have sailed to-morrow morning, especially as the Nimrods will be on shore this afternoon," suggested the commander.

"I approve the suggestion; let it be adopted."

The Blanche party lunched on board, and spent the afternoon there.



CHAPTER XIX

A HASTY GLANCE AT BANGKOK

While the carpenter and the second officer were busy making a place for the large map of Cochin China, the returned hunters from Borneo were invited to the cabin of the commander. They were pleased with the change of scene from the mud and water of their week in Borneo; though they felt that they would like to go there for another week—not more than that—at another time.

"After lunch you will visit the city of Bangkok, and spend the afternoon there; for you ought to see the place, as you are here," said Captain Ringgold. "It is a large city."

"How large is it, Captain?" asked Louis.

"That is more than anybody in Siam, or anywhere else, can tell you. In these Oriental countries, when they count the people, they do not include the females in the enumeration, so that we get but half an idea of the whole number. Chambers puts it at 300,000; the 'Year Book' does not give it at all; Bradshaw puts it down at 500,000; Lippincott the same. Probably the larger number is the nearer correct, and the authorities quoted are issued the present year."

"I see no end of Chinamen flitting about the river," said Scott.

"They compose about one-half of the population of the city; and most of the trade of the place is in their hands, as you have found it to be, though to a less degree, in other cities you have visited in the East. The Celestials are taxed three dollars when they come into Siam, and pay the same amount every three years. But there is the lunch-bell. If you have no objection, Professor Giroud will go on shore with you."

"I should be delighted to have his company," replied Louis; and the others said the same thing.

The conversation at the table related more to Borneo than to anything else, and the Nimrods had all the questions they could answer put to them; and some of the ladies wished they had remained there a few days.

"If I had supposed the Nimrods would stay there only a week, I should have been quite willing to remain at Sarawak that time," added the commander.

"We fixed the time at three weeks because we thought it would take you all of that time to see Siam and Cambodia, and get back to Sarawak," replied Scott.

"I think it would have been delightful to sail on those rivers, and see the uncivilized people of the island," added Mrs. Belgrave. "But I suppose we should have been in the way of the hunters."

"Not at all, madam," answered Scott. "We had a sampan, in which we could have done our hunting, while you were examining the long-houses and the head-houses. I don't know but that we should have wished to remain the whole three weeks if the ladies had been with us."

"Gallant Captain Scott!" exclaimed the lady.

"We did not go up the Rajang River as we intended, and we should have done that if you had been with us. I am very sure the Dyak ladies would have been delighted to see you, more than you would have been to see them," replied Scott.

"The steam-yacht must have been very delightful on the rivers and lakes; but the crocodiles, the snakes, and the savage orang-outangs would not have been pleasant to us."

"But with eleven Winchester repeating-rifles ready for use, you would have had nothing to fear."

Captain Ringgold rose from the table; and this terminated the conversation, and the party went on deck.

"Captain Ringgold said you had offered to go on shore with us, Professor Giroud," said Louis, as he joined the instructor. "We shall be delighted with your company."

"Thank you, Mr. Belgrave. I have been on shore every day, with or without the party, and have learned something about Bangkok. I may be of service to you," replied the professor.

"I am sure you will," said Scott.

The first cutter was in the water when they reached the gangway, with the crew in their places. They went on board, and the bowman shoved off. Stoody, the coxswain, gave the orders, and the boat was immediately under way. She was steered towards the shore till she came abreast of the various craft moored there, and then headed up the river.

"Where are you going, Stoody?" asked Scott.

"Captain Ringgold told me to take the party up the river, to show them the boats and houses," replied the coxswain.

"That is a good idea, Mr. Scott," added the professor.

"The houses here are all afloat," said Morris. "They are three or four deep."

"Everybody is not allowed to build his house on shore; for that is a royal privilege, doled out to a few of the highest nobility," said the professor. "I suppose there is not room enough in the city for much besides the palaces and the temples, but beyond its limits we shall find plenty of land-houses."

"But I should think these floating houses would be smashed to pieces in a heavy blow; and I see there are plenty of steamers and tugboats in the river, which might bump against them," Morris objected.

"You see that the middle of the river is kept open, though it is very crooked; and these things regulate themselves."

"These houses are no better than card-boxes. They seem to be built of bamboos, with wicker-work and plants. Each of them has a veranda in front, which is a nice place to sit and read, with a kind of ell at each end. I think I should like to live in one of them for a week or two," continued Morris.

"You would not like it," said Achang, who had come with them to act as interpreter.

"This is a walled town, with six miles of fortifications around it."

"A little less than two miles across it; and we shall not have to take any very long walks, for I have read that carriages are seldom seen except among the palaces, and probably belong to the nobility," said Louis; "but we are good for six miles this afternoon."

"The river is the great thoroughfare for business and for pleasure. It is covered with boats of all sorts and kinds. The walls of the city are from fifteen to thirty feet high, and twelve feet thick; but I suppose the heavy guns of modern times could knock them down in a very short time," added the professor.

"What is that opening into the river?" asked Felix, who had kept his tongue very quiet so far.

"That is a canal," replied Achang, as the professor did not reply. "I have been here three times, and once I went up that canal. There are only a few good streets in the city, and inside business is carried on by the canals."

"As Paris is to France, and Paris is France, so Bangkok is Siam; and that is the reason why the commander goes no farther. Now we have come to the wall, and you can see the outside town."

"The houses here are all on stilts, as in Sumatra and Borneo," observed Scott. "Some of them are built over the water."

"It is said here that the city suffered terribly from the ravages of cholera; and when the king found out that the disease was caused by the bad drainage of the houses, he ordered his people to build on the river, where the drainage would dispose of itself," said Professor Giroud. "This story was told me by a Frenchman here, but I cannot vouch for the truth of the statement."

"Can you tell me, Achang, why they build their houses on piles in this country?" asked Morris.

"Because they have waterations here."

"Have what?" demanded the questioner, while all the party laughed except the Bornean. "I never heard of waterations before."

"When the water rise up high," Achang explained.

"Inundations, you mean."

"Yes; thunderations," added Achang.

"Inundations!" roared the Bornean's preceptor.

"That's what I say; and that's the first reason. The second is that there are many snakes"—

"Then, it's the place for me!" exclaimed Felix.

"Many snakes and wild beasts; the stilts help to keep them out of the house."

"But most snakes can climb trees," Scott objected.

"Fixed so that snake can't get off the post into house," the Bornean explained.

"The little corn-houses in New England and other places are protected in the same way from rats. Four posts are set up for it to rest on, with a flat stone, or sometimes a large tin pan turned upside down, placed on the post. When the building is erected with the corners on the large, flat stone or the pans, rats or other rodents cannot get over these obstructions, and the corn is safe from them," continued Louis, illustrating his subject with a pencil for the post, and his hand for the stone or the pan.

Scott, who was an officer of the ship, ordered Stoody to take the party to the landing nearest to the Temple of Wat Chang, as the professor requested.

"The religion of Siam, like that of Burma, is Buddhist, in whose honor most of the temples whose spires you can see are erected," said the professor, as he pointed to several of them.

"We don't care to see them in detail, even if we had the time," suggested Louis. "I know they are magnificent pieces of architecture, and wonderful to behold; but we have had about enough of that sort of thing."

The party landed, and walked to the temple. It looked like an exaggerated bell, the spire being the handle, and the lower portion looking like an enormous flight of circular stairs for the roof. It was over two hundred feet high. Attached to it in the rear was a structure with a pitched roof. They bought photographs of it at the stand of a native who spoke a little French. At this point Achang procured a guide who spoke French, and he conducted them to the Temple of the Sleeping Idol.

"It is not much of a temple compared with the one we have just visited," said the professor. "We must go into it."

They entered, conducted by the guide. The building looked like three pitched-roof structures set together, the middle one into the largest at the bottom, and the smallest into the middle one. It contains an enormous figure of Buddha, one hundred and sixty feet long, which about fills the interior of the temple. It is constructed of brick, plastered and then gilded, so that it looks like a golden statue in a reclining posture. The feet are sixteen feet long, and the arms six feet in diameter.

The party looked in at another temple, which contains a brass statue of Buddha fifty feet high, with other smaller statues, and a variety of objects that were unintelligible to the visitors. Various other temples were examined hastily on the way to the royal palace, but they were only a repetition of what they had often seen before.

The palace was a magnificent building, or series of buildings, for a half-civilized country. The tourists were permitted to enter at the gate, though the guide was excluded. They saw a squad of the royal guards who were drilling on the pavement, and they regarded them with great interest. They wore a Zouave uniform, though with a short frock-coat buttoned to the chin, with round caps in cylindrical form, and visors. They were armed with muskets, and commanded by native officers.

"This palace is a big thing," said the professor, "and is a mile in circumference, surrounded by walls."

It contained, besides the palace of the king, the public offices, temples, a theatre, barracks for several thousand soldiers, and apartments for three thousand women, six hundred of whom are the wives of the king. But what interested them more than most of the sights was the famous white elephant. He is said to be of equal rank with the king, and is treated with all possible deference and respect. He has a palatial stable; and being a king, he lives like one. His servants and attendants are all priests. But he is not a pleasant sprig of royalty, and the visitors were warned not to go too near him.

But it was time to return to the ship, and they found the boat in the canal which Achang had indicated. At dinner the conversation was concerning the city, and the party mentioned many things the Nimrods had not seen. On Tuesday morning the ship sailed on her voyage to Saigon.



CHAPTER XX

A VIEW OF COCHIN CHINA AND SIAM

The ship sailed at six o'clock in the morning, but nearly all the passengers were on deck as soon as the screw began to turn. They were still in the Torrid Zone; and they saw the sun rise, though the days had become a trifle longer. The Menam River is the great thoroughfare of Bangkok, and the floating houses lined the river three or four deep for a considerable distance below the city. The party found plenty of objects to engage their attention as the steamer slowly made her way towards the Gulf. Breakfast was served at the usual hour; and as soon as the pilot was discharged, the company gathered at Conference Hall for the lecture.

The siamangs and the baby were still great favorites with all on board; and Mr. Mingo, Mrs. Mingo, and Miss Mingo, as they had been named, had made great progress in civilization. All of them were regular attendants at the meetings in Conference Hall, and always behaved themselves with the greatest propriety. The mother usually occupied one of the arm-chairs, while the baby was held in the lap of one of the ladies. They looked at the speaker just as though they understood what he was saying. They joined in the applause when the lecturer presented himself before his audience with their "Ra, ra, ra!" finishing with the squeak which was a part of their language.

General Noury took his place on the platform after he had shaken hands with Mrs. Mingo, who gave him an encouraging smile as he mounted the rostrum. The Sumatra lady looked at him very earnestly, and Miss Blanche declared that she understood everything that was going on. Mrs. Noury, the Princess Zuleima, had the baby; and the little siamang seemed to take as much interest in the proceedings as her mother. Mr. Mingo was not literary, and perched in the fore-rigging.

The great map seemed to have been drawn and colored with even unusual care, perhaps because Mr. Gaskette had had more time to attend to it. It was displayed on the new frame which the carpenter had built for it, and included the entire peninsula east of the Burmese possessions, and south of China and the Shan States. When the applause which greeted the general had subsided, he directed the pointer at the map.

"Perhaps some of you will be considerably confused by the various names of the territory we are engaged in visiting at the present time," he began; and Mrs. Mingo gave a louder squeak than usual as a special greeting to the distinguished gentleman. "Cochin China, I think, is the most common name, though Indo-China is very generally used. It is also called Farther India and Annam. Its various divisions are the Shan States, tributary to Siam, taking their name from a race of people who are of the same descent as the natives of China. You observe that there are more of these states in the territory of Burma, to which they are subject. These states tributary to Siam contain a population of about two millions.

"Next south comes Siam proper. Lying east of the Shan States and Siam is a territory called the Little Lao States, which are subject to the several countries around them. On the east, bordering on the China Sea, is Annam, a part of which is sometimes labelled Cochin China. A part of Annam is Tonquin, in the north, next to China. What is called Cambodia, next south of Siam, and appearing to be a part of it, is an indefinite factor of Cochin China, and may properly enough be counted in with Siam. What is called Independent Cambodia, if it is independent, is a triangular country south-east of Siam. French Cochin China occupies the most southern portion of the peninsula.

"Nearly the whole of the territory of Cochin China is under the protection of France; and in my judgment, which you can accept for what it is worth, the whole peninsula will eventually become French, under whatever form it may be accomplished. Very recently the relations between France and Siam were very much strained over a disputed boundary question. France had ships of war at the mouth of the Menam, and sent some of the smaller craft up the river. It looked very much like war; but before the ships bombarded Bangkok, Siam yielded, and gave up the portion of territory claimed; and no doubt it will be the same story told over again from time to time, until Siam exists only as a dependency of France.

"Though you see mountains laid down on Mr. Gaskette's map, the elevations hardly deserve that name; for nearly the whole of Cochin China is low ground, almost flat. The Mekhong River is the largest in the peninsula, being 2,800 miles long. It rises in Thibet, and is navigable only in its lower waters. On account of the low level of the country there are many canals, or bayous as you call them in Louisiana, which connect many of the rivers. Let us now return to Siam. By the way, I find the latest map I have seen of this region in Chambers's, published last year; and it is quite different from the one before you."

"But not from the one that will be before you in half a minute more," interposed Mr. Gaskette, as he unrolled and hung up a smaller one which he had just completed. "I made this one this morning, after the commander had shown me the one to which you allude; and you can see that it is a very crude one."

"I thank you, Mr. Gaskette, for the new map; and though you took it from a book not more than a year old, I am afraid that it is not entirely correct for to-day. You observe, my friends, that Siam occupies nearly the whole of the peninsula east of Burma. Annam is cut down to a very thin slice on the China Sea; and Tonquin, where France has kept many soldiers employed for several years, is swelled into a considerable territory. I doubt if the last change in the boundary of Siam is shown before you. The limits of Cambodia are closely defined.

"Nearly the whole of the peninsula was included in the ancient kingdom of Cambodia, existing at the Christian era; and Buddhism is believed to have been introduced into it in the fourth century. Some remarkable ruins, with interesting sculptures, have been found as testimonials to the greatness of this ancient country. The Temple of Angkor had 1,532 columns, and the stone for the structure was brought from a quarry thirty-two miles distant. Massive bridges, so solidly built that they have resisted the ravages of time and the inundations of more than a thousand years, are still to be seen. One of them is four hundred and seventy feet long, and has thirty-four arches. An account of these wonders was given by a Chinese traveller of the thirteenth century, and they seem to bear some comparison with the works of the ancient Egyptians.

"The native name of Siam is Muang Thai, which you will please to remember; and I mention it only to tell you that it means 'The Land of the Free,' and it must be a first cousin of your country, Mr. Commander; but I suppose you will not accept the relationship because 'The Home of the Brave' is not included. Siam has an area of about 250,000 square miles, as estimated by geographers; and one authority gives it a population of 6,000,000, and another 8,000,000, but they agree in giving it 2,000,000 Siamese, and 1,000,000 Chinese. The rest of the number is made up with Malays, Laosians, and other tribes.

"The Menam River is six hundred miles long, and it has several branches. On the banks of these streams very nearly all the people live, for the regions away from them are a wild jungle which is not cultivated. The country is healthy enough for a tropical region, though malarial fevers are very trying to European residents and visitors. The wet season is from May to November, when it rains about every day; and the rest of the year it does not rain at all. The average rainfall is fifty-four inches a year, and the average temperature 81 deg., though the glass goes up to 94 deg. in April; but New York beats that in summer.

"Agriculture stands at a low ebb; but the abundant rains and the rich soil produce very large harvests of rice, the principal crop, and all the productions of the Torrid Zone thrive. The labor of Siam is done by Chinese coolies; for the native workers are hampered by a law which requires them to give one-fourth of their labor to the state. Domestic elephants are used in hauling timber,—for teak is one of the products of the forests,—and also for travel and as bearers of burdens. Wild elephants are hunted and trapped in Siam; and tigers, bears, deer, monkeys, and wild pigs abound in the jungles. Crocodiles live at the mouths of the rivers; and the cobra, python, and other reptiles are plentiful enough.

"The Siamese are peaceable people, lazy, and without what you call 'snap.' They are fond of jewelry and high colors. They are rather small in stature, and very like the natives of the several islands you have visited. They live for the most part on rice, used largely in various curries, dried fish in small quantities, though the rivers and sea swarm with fish. Tea is the favorite beverage, taken without sugar or milk. Though they distil an intoxicating liquor from rice, a tipsy person is rarely seen. They chew betel-nut, males and females; and their teeth are always black, which is their ideal of beauty, and they use other materials to make them black and shining.

"The worst vice of the Siamese is gambling; but it can be practised only in houses licensed by the government, though on certain holidays, New Year's in April especially, the people are privileged to gamble at home, or even in the streets. Marriages are arranged by women of mature age. The birthdays of the contracting parties must be agreeable; for the people are superstitious, and consult the stars for their horoscopes. The old ladies agree upon the amount of money the parents of the bride and groom must pay to set up the young couple in life. The ceremonies last three days or more; and the principal observance is the chewing of betel, winding up with a feast to all the friends. Priests are sometimes called in to say prayers, and sprinkle the couple with consecrated water.

"The Siamese believe that the arteries of the body are filled with air, and that disease is caused by some disturbance in these internal breezes. A wind blows on the heart, and bursts it, causing death by 'heart failure.' Almost everything is pressed into the materia medica for service, including such things as cats' eyes, the bile of snakes, sea-shells, horns, and probably dogs' tails, kittens' teeth, and monkeys' tongues. Doctors are paid by the job, and not by the number of visits. The price of a cure is agreed upon; and if the patient dies, or fails to get better, the physician gets nothing.

"After poor people, dying, have been kept a few days, they are cremated, as in India; but they keep a high noble nearly a year before they commit his remains to the fire. When called upon, a Siamese farmer or other person is compelled by law to furnish transportation and board to travelling officials. The law of debit and credit is curious, and amounts to actual slavery. A man may borrow money, and give his person for security. If he fails to pay as agreed, the creditor can put him in irons, if need be, and compel him to work for him till the debt is discharged,—the principal only, for his labor is the equivalent of the interest.

"Missionaries are sent here from America, including many female physicians; and they have a great deal of influence among the natives.

"The present king of Siam is Chulalongkorn I. The former system of having the country ruled by two kings has been abolished, and the present monarch is the only king; and I never could find out what the second king was for. The throne is now hereditary, but the king formerly had the privilege of naming his own successor. Chulalongkorn is an amiable and dignified ruler, well educated, and speaks English fluently. The laws are made by the king in connection with a council of ministers. The forty-one provinces of the kingdom are in charge of commissioners appointed by the king. Such a thing as justice is hardly known, and what there is of it is very badly managed. Thieving and plundering are carried on almost without check in Bangkok, which includes about all there is of Siam except a great deal of spare territory, and property is very unsafe there. I think I have wearied you, Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen."

"Not at all!" shouted several.

"Did you ever see the Siamese twins, General Noury?" inquired Uncle Moses.

"I never did; but I have read about them, and looked them up this morning," replied the lecturer. "They were born in Siam in 1811, but their parents were Chinese. I don't quite understand in what manner they were united."

"There was a ligament, which looked something like a small wrist, reaching from one to the other at the breast-bones. Their garments were open enough to enable the spectators to see this connection. There was a great deal of speculation among the doctors about them, I remember, and it was even proposed to separate them with the knife; but that was never done, for it would have spoiled the exhibition business," the trustee explained.

"They were purchased of their mother at Meklong by an American in 1829, and taken to the United States, where they were exhibited all over the country, and then taken to England. It was a good speculation to Mr. Hunter and to Chang and Eng, the twins; for they all made their fortunes. They were married to two sisters, and settled in North Carolina, where they had children. They lost their property in the Civil War, and again exhibited themselves in England in 1869. They died in 1874, one living two hours and a half after the death of the other."

The general retired from the rostrum; and the party separated, Mrs. Mingo ascending the fore-rigging, while the others went to various parts of the ship to see the shores, which were still in sight.



CHAPTER XXI

ON THE VOYAGE TO SAIGON

The steamer was obliged to descend the Menam at less than half speed, to avoid running down any of the multitude of boats and vessels that thronged the river, and because the stream was so crooked.

"How far do you think Bangkok is from the Gulf, Captain Ringgold?" asked the general, at the close of the session.

"About twenty miles," replied the commander.

"One description of the city that I have read makes it forty miles, another twenty-six, and three others make it twenty miles," added the pacha; "and I suppose the last is the right distance."

"I have come to that conclusion after consulting all the books we have on the subject. You have said the second king of Burma had been abolished, General; are you confident that such is the case? We certainly did not see him, and I did not hear anything about him," added the captain.

"In the first place, I consider Chambers excellent authority, and you have the latest edition in the library, and the date is last year; and it says in so many words that the second has been done away with. The king who was the father of Chulalongkorn died in 1868. His prime minister was a progressive man, who introduced many reforms in Siam; and I am sure that he could not have helped seeing the absurdity of the second king. The present king is well educated, and also a progressive man, as his father was not. I am sorry we did not look the matter up, which we might easily have done with the assistance of the missionaries. But I am satisfied that I was correct in regard to the statement."

In the course of another hour the ship came to the mouth of the river. Crocodiles appear to prefer the mouth of a stream, and a considerable number were seen at the entrance to a canal or cut-off. The pilot stopped the screw, and backed it, in order to avoid a collision with a couple of vessels in the channel. As the two vessels were under sail, it looked as though it would be some time before the channel was clear; and the "Big Four" hastened to their staterooms for their repeating-rifles.

Their appearance thus armed created a sensation on the upper deck, and all the party secured positions where they could see the sport. Mrs. Belgrave manifested some anxiety when she saw the arms, for she was somewhat afraid of such weapons.

"What are you going to do, Louis?" she asked as her son passed her.

"Don't you see that there are a dozen crocodiles at the mouth of that cut-off, mother?" replied Louis. "We are going to shoot some of them."

"But you can't get them if you do kill them."

"We don't want to get them. They are not good for anything to us."

"Then, why do you want to kill them? They do you no harm," protested the lady.

"But they would if they got the chance. Suppose by any accident some one should fall overboard; those brutes would snap the person up as a fish snaps the bait," answered Louis. "In Borneo they are regular man-eaters, more dangerous than sharks; and I have no doubt they are the same here. As I told you, they pay so much a foot for killing them in that island. Ask the pilot how it is here, mother."

Achang was called, and was asked to inquire of the Siamese if the crocodiles were dangerous. He promptly replied that they were not only dangerous, but a nuisance; for they went ashore and swallowed all small animals, and even attacked a cow. The lady offered no further objection. She only hoped the Nimrods would not shoot each other; and they descended to the platform of the gangway, which had not yet been hoisted up, and the crack of their rifles was soon heard.

Each of the rifles could send out nine bullets, fixed ammunition, contained in cartridges, nine of which was the capacity of the magazine. Those on deck watched the group of saurians; but Louis fired the first shot, and immediately there was a sensation among the reptiles. One of them made a spring, and came over on his back.

"Mr. Belgrave fired that shot," said Achang to the hunter's mother. "He is dead shot, and he never miss his aim."

"There is another turning over on his back," added the lady.

"I think Mr. McGavonty fired that one; for he is a dead shot too, but not quite so sure as Mr. Belgrave," said Achang; and he was correct in his supposition. Both of them hit the crocodile in the eye.

The next report that reached the ears of the party was followed by five more in quick succession; and the Bornean explained that the hunter had missed his aim five times out of six, but his victim turned over after the last one.

"Mr. Scott is better with lasso than with rifle," criticised Achang, with a smile.

The next shot caused the fourth of the reptiles to upset himself on the water, and then the screw of the ship began to turn again. The crocodile's reasoning powers did not seem to be well developed, as Mrs. Belgrave suggested when she saw one of their number killed; for they might have known there was mischief in the air. The Nimrods came on deck, and then carried their rifles to their staterooms, where the commander required them to lock up the weapons in their closets.

The third officer was ordered to have the gangway hoisted up when he returned to the deck, and the ship proceeded to sea. The weather was pleasant, and not very warm for the tropics; in fact, they had suffered more from the heat in New York and in Von Blonk Park than in Bangkok, though it is sometimes extremely hot there. The south-west monsoon cooled the air where they were, though the sun poured down its blistering rays.

There was an awning over the platform where the conferences were held, and another over the after part of the promenade deck. But the former, with its arm-chairs, was the most desirable location to be had; and in a short time the company had seated themselves there without any call to attend a lecture. As soon as deep water was indicated by the soundings, the pilot was discharged, and the captain then gave out the course south by east. Everything was in working order on board; and the commander joined the party on the promenade, as it had always been called before Conference Hall was located there. It commanded the best view on both sides, though not forward, where it was obstructed by the pilot-house.

"What have you seen in Bangkok, Miss Blanche, that the absentees have not seen?" asked Louis, who had seated himself at her side, after patting Miss Mingo, whom she was holding in her lap.

"A great many things," she replied. "One was the royal barge, which they said was rowed or paddled by one hundred and fifty men; but a good many of us did not believe it contained so many."

"I have read about it, though I did not see it. It is said to be one hundred and fifty feet long, and the book I read said it was paddled by one hundred and twenty men," added Louis. "But it does not make much difference, and the books do not agree in regard to a great many things in this part of the world. What did you think of the people you saw, Miss Blanche?"

"A lady and gentleman were pointed out to us by one of the kind missionaries who guided us, and I could hardly tell which was the lady and which the gentleman till I had studied them a while," returned the fair maiden. "Both of them wore what appeared to be trousers; but it proved to be a cloth as big as a sheet wound around the waist, and so disposed about the legs as to look like trousers; but the garment was the same on both of them. The lady had something like a shawl, which was passed over the left shoulder, and under the right arm, with some kind of a jacket under it. The gentleman wore a sort of tunic, which was regularly buttoned up in front like a coat. The hair of each was shaved off close to the head, except a tuft on the crown, which was bunched up. They wore no ornaments of any kind, perhaps because it was not a dress occasion. I saw one woman who had a kind of necklace on the top of the shawl."

"I saw a woman's band of five pieces, and the music they made was not bad," added Louis.

"I heard a band like that; but I could not tell whether they played a tune or improvised their music. The missionaries took us into the garden of a nobleman, where we saw what was called a theatrical exhibition; but it was no more like a theatre than it was like a cattle-show. We saw the king too, and he was a nice-looking man forty years old. He had what looked like a tunnel on his head. He was sitting in a kind of big arm-chair on poles, and eight men were bearing him to a temple. All the natives in the street dropped on their knees as he passed, and some lay flat on their stomachs. That is the way they always do before him. But he chews betel; and his mouth was as black as though he had just eaten a piece of huckleberry-pie, and it looked horrid. That is all the fault I have to find with him."

"It is a bad habit the people here have; but it is not so bad as drinking whiskey, and we must be charitable while our country has its faults; and theirs only spoils their looks, though I have been told there is a 'kick,' or exhilaration, in the use of betel. I don't think I should ever fall in love with a girl who chewed betel-nut. Some Dyak maidens would have been passably good-looking if their teeth and lips had not been blackened with this drug."

"The missionaries took some of us into the private chapel of a nobleman. There were about a hundred priests, all clothed in yellow robes, with their heads shaven; the service consisted of the constant repetition of a sentence, which a missionary told me meant 'So be it.' It reminded me of the howling dervishes we visited at their monastery, whose service was a monotonous repetition of 'Allah il Allah,' You went to some of the temples, Mr. Belgrave, and they seem to me to be all alike. Now can you tell me how far it is to the place where we are going next?"

"It is about six hundred miles to Saigon, the chief town of French Cochin China, and we shall get there to-morrow," replied Louis. "You must brush up your French, Miss Blanche, for we have not used it lately."

"We are off Cape Liant now, and I must give out a new course," said the commander, rising from his chair by the side of Mrs. Belgrave.

"South-east half-south!" called the captain at the side window of the pilot-house.

"South-east half-south," repeated the quartermaster at the wheel.

"We are going to Saigon, you said, Mr. Belgrave; but I cannot pronounce the name," added the young lady.

"As to that, you pays your money, and takes your choice," laughed Louis. "The French call it Sah-gong, shutting out the full sound of the last g," added the speaker, pronouncing it several times with the proper accent. "The English call it Sy-goń, I believe; but I have heard it called variously at Sarawak."

"But we want to know something about it before we go there," said the young lady. "We had to ask no end of questions about Siam because the lecture was postponed for the absentees."

"After lunch to-day a short talk will be given in relation to Saigon," replied Louis, as the bell rang for that meal.