"I won them with my own arm, with the assistance of my faithful man Tanda here—or, as these young people seem inclined to call him, Friday; and I hope you will show your gratitude to the kind Providence which gives them, by doing justice to them."

As dish after dish was brought up, the astonishment of all the party increased.

"Surely, uncle, you must have some fairy cook to prepare all these good things," said Emily.

"I confess without the aid of Tanda they could not be produced," he answered. "I am greatly helped by him, though occasionally I have given a hint or a little assistance. And now let us drink each other's health in this palm-wine," he said, producing a very nice-looking liquid from a huge shell.

Our plates, I should have said, were flat shells; while our cups were made of bamboo, as were our knives and forks.

"I must introduce you to my menagerie to-morrow morning," observed my uncle. "There is not time to-night—indeed, some of my pets have retired to their lairs or gone to roost. If you hear strange noises at night, don't be alarmed; as possibly some of them may be inclined to utter their natural cries during the night."

Our conversation was altogether very lively; as we, of course, had a great deal to tell our uncle, and were also greatly interested by the account he gave of his expeditions, and the way in which he had lived on the island since he had been deserted. Sometimes he had thought of building a vessel and making his way to some civilised port; but the want of proper tools for cutting down large timber, and his ignorance of nautical affairs, deterred him.

"I thought it was as well to leave well alone," he said. "I have here plenty of provisions; and I thought I could study natural history, which brought me here; and that, some time or other, some vessel would call and take me away. Had you, Walter and Emily, not come, however, I rather think my heart would have failed me even at the last moment, and I could scarcely have made up my mind to quit my solitary home and the style of life to which I have become accustomed."

Our conversation was at length interrupted by a loud rattling peal of thunder, which crashed over our heads as if the whole heavens above them were rent in two. A blast swept over the forest, and we could hear the trees cracking as they bent before the wind. The house shook to its very foundation, and Emily and Grace trembled with alarm.

"No, no, my dears; don't fear," exclaimed Frau Ursula. "This is nothing to what I have heard in Ternate. There, one night, all the houses tumbled down, and the mountain sent up stones and cinders, which came rattling down on our heads."

"There is another, though!" exclaimed Grace, clinging to the old lady's arm.

Scarcely had the second crash of thunder passed away, than down came the rain, pattering on the roof and floor of the verandah. It seemed as if a waterspout had broken over us.

"I am thankful that you, my friends, are on shore," observed my uncle; "but the brig—I feel anxious about her." He got up, and put on a thick reed-made coat. "And here are some more," he observed, giving Oliver and me one. "But no, Oliver, you stay with the ladies; and you too, Walter."

I entreated that I might accompany him. He gave Roger Trew a similar covering, which completely sheltered us from the rain; and leaving Tanda and Oliver in charge of the house, we hurried away towards the shore. Although the gale had been blowing but a few minutes, already heavy seas came rolling in and breaking in masses of foam upon the rocks. We could see the brig, through the thickening gloom, at her anchors.

"I trust she may hold her ground," said my uncle, as we watched her, already rising and falling with quick jerks, as the seas rapidly passed under her. "What say you?" he said, turning to Roger Trew. "Do you think, if she made sail, she could beat out of this bay, for I fear greatly that with the sea that rolls in here, when there is wind like this, she will be unable to remain at anchor?"

"I am very sure Mr Thudicumb will do his best to beat out of the bay," answered Roger Trew. "I know that no seaman would like to be caught on a lee-shore like this in such a gale; and if it lasts long, even though the anchors do hold, it is likely enough to tear the stem out of her. The brig is not a bad craft for fine weather sailing, but she is lightly put together, and I wish that she was under weigh clear of the land, and then I would not fear for her."

"Oh, my friend, my friend," exclaimed my uncle, "would that you had been safe on shore!"

Scarcely had he spoken, when a flash of lightning, in a thick zig-zag stream, darted from the clouds overhead, running along the ground close to us, followed by the most deafening crash of thunder I ever heard. For an instant our eyes were blinded. We could scarcely see each other, much less observe any object out at sea. It was a minute or more before we recovered our sight.

"She is driving—she is driving!" exclaimed Roger Trew. "They are trying to make sail on her, but it is too late! The sea struck her bows just as she was paying off, and now here she comes bodily in towards the shore."

We were able, by shading our eyes, once more to look in the direction of the brig. Too true were Roger's words, and we saw her helplessly driving in towards the wild rocks near which we stood.

"Is the water deep, sir?" asked Roger. "If so, she may drive in close enough to get the people on shore before she goes to pieces."

"I fear not," answered Mr Sedgwick. "Reefs run out in all directions, and though, having no boat, I have been unable to sound round the island, yet, from the way I have seen the water breaking, I fear that there are reefs between us and her."

"If we had a boat we might go off and get aboard her before she strikes," exclaimed Roger. "Have not you a boat, sir? You would go, would you not? Mr Walter here, I know, would."

"Unhappily I have no boat," answered my uncle, in a tone almost of despair. "The crew may, perchance, reach the shore; but my poor friend, made weak from illness, will have but little chance of escaping with life."

"We will do our best, sir—we will do our best," answered Roger. "I will try and swim off to her when she strikes, and before the sea scatters her timbers; but it will be a tough job. I will not hide that from myself or you, sir."

"Here, Walter," said my uncle, "go and call Tanda, and tell him to bring as much ratan as he and you can carry. He is a clever fellow, in some respects, and his wits may help us."

I was running off, when my uncle cried out—

"Stop, by-the-by, you may frighten the ladies, and he will not know what you mean. I will go myself, and you remain and see what you and our sailor friend here can do in the meantime, should the brig strike."

My uncle hurried off to the house, and Roger and I, watching the brig, proceeded a short distance along the shore to a point whence a reef of rocks ran out, towards which it appeared to us that she was driving. How fearfully sharp and rugged did those rocks seem! I had thought little about them before; but now, when I feared that my friends were going to be hurled against them, I wished they were rounder, and covered with sea-weed, to which they might cling. We had each of us, as we left the house, seized a long bamboo pole. With this Roger and I made our way towards the point of a ledge of rock above water. Merlin, who had come with us down to the beach, followed close at our heels, seeming fully to understand the danger of our friends; for, as we stood watching the brig, he stretched out his head and uttered strangely loud barks, which seemed to have a tone of melancholy in them.

Nearer and nearer came the brig. Part of the bay, under the protection of the headland I spoke of, was rather more sheltered than it was further on. This gave us some hopes of the vessel holding together till the sea had sufficiently moderated to allow Mr Hooker to reach the shore. The rain continued pouring in torrents, driving in our faces. Often we could scarcely see the vessel. Then again a vivid flash of lightning, followed by a crash of thunder, showed her to us as she heeled over to the blast, driving slowly but surely towards the fatal rocks. Sometimes with difficulty we could keep our footing on the reef. I was anxiously looking for the return of my uncle and Tanda. Perhaps Tanda might swim to her. I myself felt greatly inclined to make the attempt, in spite of the sea rolling in. Now for an instant the rain partially ceased, and shading our eyes, we could see the brig still nearer than before. Then a huge sea came rolling in. She rose on its crest, driven onwards with greater rapidity than before. Suddenly she seemed to stop. The sea washed over her.

"She has struck! she has struck!" cried Roger.

Her masts, however, still stood; but we expected them every instant to go.

"Poor fellows! poor fellows!" cried Roger. "Master Walter, I have no kith nor kin; I will try and get off to them; and if I am lost, you will tell them that I wished to lend them a hand, but had not the power."

"Stop!" I said; "here come my uncle and the black man, and they may have some plan, without your being obliged to risk your life."

"As to that, it is not worth thinking about," answered Roger; "but we will see what they propose."

In the meantime we endeavoured to ascertain what the people on board the brig were going to do. The darkness, however, was so great, that we could not distinguish anything going forward among them. There the brig lay, however, hard and fast; the seas breaking now over one end, now over the other, but not with such violence as we dreaded.



CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

WRECK OF THE DUGONG.

The arrival of my uncle with his man, carrying a quantity of the light ratan rope, gave us some hopes of being able to rescue our friends on board the brig.

"To be sure, this will float as easily as a cork," exclaimed Roger; "and I see no reason why I should not tow the end off aboard the brig. You, Tanda, pay it out as you see I want it."

Again my uncle warned him of the danger.

"Very true, sir," he answered, fastening the end round his waist; "but, you see, if we seamen had to stop every time we saw danger, we should very soon have to go ashore and take to nursing babies. No, sir; my notion is that the thing is to be done. It may fail; but if it succeeds, why, we may manage to get most of those poor fellows safe on shore."

While we were speaking, the dog gave another loud howl, as if to make a signal to those on board; and we fancied it could not fail to be heard even above the roar of the breakers, although our voices could scarcely have reached them. It was heard at all events by the rest of our party; for directly afterwards the two girls and Oliver were seen coming down from the house in spite of the pelting rain, covered up in mat cloaks. The Frau followed behind, entreating them to return.

"Oh, you will be wet; you will be washed away!" she cried out. "Come back! come back! What is the matter?"

"We were afraid something dreadful had occurred," said Emily, as she reached the inner end of the rocks.

I entreated her and Grace not to come further, lest the seas, which occasionally washed up, might sweep them away. Oliver, however, clambered along to where we were.

"I may be of some use," he said. "Let me do what I can."

"Well, then, help to pay out this rope, Oliver," said Roger Trew, who was securing the end round his own waist, having thrown off his jacket and shoes, retaining only his trowsers, which he fastened round his waist. "No time to be lost!" he added. "You pray for me, Walter. It will be a difficult job, but it ought to be done, and so it must!"

Saying this, he plunged in, and bravely buffeting the sea which broke in showers round us, was in a short time free of the surf. He was not alone, however. Merlin, uttering a loud bark, plunged in directly afterwards, and soon overtook him, swimming by his side, as if wishing to afford him support or companionship. Away they went, we gradually paying out the light buoyant rope, which floated in a way no ordinary rope would have done.

"I am afraid," said Mr Sedgwick, "that its strength is scarcely sufficient to enable those on board to pass over it to the shore."

"No, sir," I said; "but if we can haul in a stouter rope by means of it, the same end will be accomplished."

In a short time we could no longer distinguish Roger and Merlin; but we knew by the way the rope continued to be dragged out that they were still making progress. Now, however, the rope seemed to stop. We knew that it could not yet have reached the vessel. After a time we felt it again drawn on. Again there was a time of great suspense. It made but little progress. Still we felt that it was drawn out, and that was all that could be said. How eagerly we looked towards the vessel, and examined the whole of the intervening space! Presently we saw an object floating on the water. Now it sank, now it appeared on the foaming crest of a sea which came rushing towards the shore. "Help! help!" exclaimed a voice. "Lend a hand!"

Passing a piece of the remaining rope round my waist, I begged my uncle and Oliver to hold it, while Tanda paid out the cable, of which but a small part now only remained. I rushed forward as the person was borne onward towards the rock. Stretching out my hand, I caught him as the next sea was about to sweep him up into the bay on one side, where he would have been dashed on the sharp rocks which lined it. I threw myself back, my uncle and Oliver hauling in the rope, when I found I had Roger Trew by the hand.

"I could not do it!" he exclaimed; "but there is another who will succeed, or I am much mistaken. Merlin saw how it would be, I have a notion, from the first; and when I found I must give in or go to the bottom, I just threw him the bight of the rope. He seized it in his mouth, and swam on as well as if he was in smooth water, and I let the sea bring me back again. If Merlin does not succeed, I will have another try at it, though; but I think he will."

While he was speaking a jerk was given, apparently at the other end of the rope. Directly afterwards we heard Tanda utter an exclamation of dismay.

"It is gone!" cried Mr Sedgwick. "The end is gone!"

"Then I'll have it!" exclaimed Roger, plunging into the water as the end of the rope glided by at a little distance.

So quick was he that he caught it; and though he was carried to another point of the rock, a few yards from where we were standing, he was able once more to climb up and regain a safe position. With the quickness of a practised seaman he carried it up to a point, where he made the end fast in such a way that it was not likely again to slip.

We now all stood anxiously watching to see what would next occur. We could do no more, unless we found the end of our rope slackening, as a sign that another had been fastened to it. We should then haul away on it. The minutes seemed hours as we stood on the shore anxiously looking out towards the brig. Bits of timber came floating on shore; now a piece of a broken spar; now parts of the bulwarks. We were afraid that ere long the brig would begin to break up. Meantime Frau Ursula had been urging the girls to go back to the house; but they were too deeply interested in what was taking place to listen to her entreaties. They thought not of the pelting rain; they thought not of the driving spray or furious wind. Their hearts were with our friends on board—with Mr Hooker, kind Mr Thudicumb, honest Dick Tarbox, and the faithful Potto Jumbo. Presently we saw a round object floating towards us.

"It is a man's head!" cried Oliver. "Let me go this time."

"No, no," I answered; "I am not at all tired from my other swim, and I will try and help him."

I was getting ready to plunge in, in spite of Oliver's entreaties, when, on looking again, a flash of lightning at the moment lighting up the top of the wave, we saw the head of Merlin as he bravely swam towards us. We rushed into the water to help him, lest the send of the sea might have driven him against the rock before he had gained a footing. Instead of shaking himself, as a dog generally does, as soon as he was clear of the water, he stood perfectly still. We then saw that he had got a bottle round his neck.

"A letter from Hooker; I am sure of it!" said Mr Sedgwick. "It will give us important information. We cannot read it here, however. Come, young ladies, I must take you up to the house, and comfort the Frau's heart. She is afraid you will catch ague or fever, or cold at all events; and she has reason for her fears—so come along."

Very unwillingly the two girls left the scene; Emily entreating me, as she went away, not to run any more risks of being drowned. Curiously enough, Merlin, having performed his duty, accompanied Mr Sedgwick and the girls up to the house. In a short time Mr Sedgwick returned, saying, that the note was from Mr Hooker, to the effect that he hoped the vessel would hold together till the hurricane was over, as she gave no signs of breaking up, while there was a sufficient space free of water below, to afford shelter to all who remained on board. "I am sorry to say," he added, "that several of the crew have attempted to swim on shore. Two of them we saw lost before they had gone many fathoms from the ship; but we hope the others have arrived safely. We, however, will make a hawser fast to the rope you sent us by that noble creature Merlin, that in case we are mistaken about the brig holding together, we may have a better prospect of saving our lives."

On hearing this we again went to the end of the point, and found that we could haul in upon the rope; and by the resistance it made, it was evident that a hawser had been secured to it. It was very heavy work; but at length, by our united efforts, we got the hawser secured to a point of the rock. We had now a communication with our poor brig, but we trembled to think of the danger to which Mr Hooker would be exposed should he attempt to make use of it in his present weak health.

"A short time ago he would have come along that rope without the slightest difficulty," observed Oliver; "but now I am afraid that, were he to make the attempt, he could scarcely resist the strength of the waves, and would be washed off."

"I am afraid so too, Oliver," said Roger Trew. "Sooner than he should do that, I would go out and try to help him ashore."

Attached to the end of the hawser, I should observe, we found a light rope. This was evidently sent that we might get another stout one on shore. We found on trying it that we were right in our conjecture, and hauling away as before, we got a second strong rope united to the vessel and the land. Mr Sedgwick now wanted us to go back to the house, but we could not think of leaving the shore till our friends were in safety. He himself said that he would remain to watch, should any change take place. It was an anxious time, for instead of decreasing, the wind was blowing even harder than before. It seemed a wonder that the Dugong could stand so much battering. Still, we could dimly see her through the gloom, her masts yet standing, though heeling over towards the land. Every now and then a huge sea swept over the larger portion of the wreck; and numerous pieces of plank thrown on the rocks showed us that already her bulwarks at all events were giving way.

"I suspect that Dick Tarbox and the others will not desert Mr Hooker; and they are afraid of his suffering should he attempt to come ashore," I observed to Roger Trew.

"That is it, Master Walter," he answered. "Depend on it they will not leave him till they are washed out of the ship. I should like to go on board and see how they are getting on."

I urged him, however, not to make the attempt.

"It is far more easy for them to come to us than for you to go on board," I observed. "Let us wait patiently; perhaps as the night advances the gale will abate."

Still the wind blew as hard as ever. At length, just as Mr Sedgwick had gone back to the house to look after the girls and Frau Ursula, a shout reached our ears. We hurried to the point of the rock, and there we saw what looked like a huge piece of wreck being driven towards us.

"I am afraid the brig is breaking up," I observed. "Poor Mr Hooker! What can we do to help him?"

We tried to pierce the gloom to ascertain who was on the wreck. By degrees we saw that, instead of a piece of wreck, it was a small boat. Those in her were holding on to the hawsers. Now she rose, now she fell, as the waves passed under her. We could scarcely understand how she could live in that tossing sea, with the weight of several people on board. At length she seemed to stop, and turned round broadside to us.

"She must go over," shouted Roger. "Look out; help them as they come ashore."

She was at that time near enough for us to see two persons leap overboard; one, it seemed, holding on to the other. They approached. Again a voice shouted "Look out!" Roger Trew ran to the point of the rock, holding on to the rope, and stretching over into the sea. We could now distinguish the two men. Nearer and nearer they came.

"Give me your hand, Cooky, give me your hand," cried Roger, stretching out his arm; and then I saw that Potto Jumbo was working along the hawser, with Mr Hooker secured by a rope to his back. The dawn was just breaking. The cry of some sea-fowl as they passed sounded ominously in our ears. Even then I feared that Potto Jumbo would lose his hold, or that Mr Hooker, weak from his illness, might be torn away by the fury of the sea. I ran forward with another rope, the end of which Oliver held, and just as Roger caught hold of Potto Jumbo's hand, and was dragging him up, I grasped him by the arm. Mr Hooker seemed almost exhausted, and could not utter a word. With the help of Oliver and Tanda we at length got them up on the rock, though not till Potto Jumbo had severely hurt his legs against the sharp points.

"Heaven be praised, it is done! You all right soon, Mr Hooker," exclaimed Potto Jumbo, as he committed his charge to our hands.

The boat meantime was slowly drifting in, in spite of the efforts of two men on board to hold her; one indeed appeared to have been hurt, and able to exert but little strength. Who they were we could not then see, but I hoped that my old friend Dick Tarbox had escaped.

"Is the boatswain one of them?" I asked of Potto Jumbo.

"Yes, massa, yes," answered Potto; "and t'other Mr Thudicumb. But help dem, help dem; no mind me. I take care of Mr Hooker; Mr Thudicumb no help himself."

It was time indeed for us to exert all our strength, for the boat was now being driven helplessly towards the rock; and it seemed but too probable, should she strike it, that those in her would be thrown out, and very likely swept off by the sea: indeed, they were in a more dangerous position than had they held on alone to the rope. There was on one side of the rock a sort of gulf, which ran up some way towards the beach. Should the boat strike the point, she would very likely be dashed to pieces, but if we could manage to get hold of her as she drove by on one side, we might, I knew, rescue our friends and save her. This thought passed rapidly through my mind. The rest of our party saw what was likely to happen as well as I did, and together we eagerly stood waiting for the boat to reach us.

On she came. Mr Thudicumb managed to crawl to the helm, while Dick Tarbox stood in the bows. Another sea came roaring in. The boatswain held a rope in his hand. I almost shrieked with terror as I saw the boat, as I thought, coming towards the point; but the mate, moving the helm, she grazed by it, and the next instant Tarbox hove the rope. We caught it, and hauling on together as we ran along, drew the boat's head for an instant in towards us. Tarbox leaped out and seized the rope. Potto, who had placed his burden on a secure part of the rock, joined us. The following sea almost filled the boat, but we dragged her bows in, though as we did so she came with a fearful crash against the rock. Tarbox then leaping back, seized the mate, and with almost superhuman strength dragged him out over the side on to the rock, while we hauled the boat up half out of the water.

"You are safe, Mr Thudicumb, you are safe!" exclaimed Tarbox to the mate, who scarcely seemed aware of what had happened.

While Oliver, Roger Trew, and Tanda attended to the boat, Potto Jumbo again lifted up Mr Hooker, and Tarbox and I assisted Mr Thudicumb along over the ledge towards the shore.

"Are there any others left on board?" asked Roger Trew. "If there are, we will pull back and try to bring them on shore."

"No one, no one," answered the boatswain; "all left before we did, more's the pity. They would not stop, in spite of all we could say to them."

We were soon met by Mr Sedgwick, who had returned from the house. He cordially welcomed his old friend, moved almost to tears by the condition in which he saw him.

"Rouse up, Hooker, my dear fellow!" he exclaimed. "You will soon have a roof over your head and a dry bed to lie in and willing hands to take care of you."

We soon got the party up to the house, when Frau Ursula and the girls began eagerly to busy themselves in arranging the beds for the two sick men. Mr Thudicumb had been hurt by the falling of a spar, and our uncle, who fortunately possessed considerable surgical knowledge, at once attended to his injuries.

Daylight had now returned, and as the sun rose the gale began to abate. Mr Hooker and the mate were put to bed in my uncle's room, his own couch accommodating one, and a mattress composed of mats serving as a bed for the other. The rest of the party were now assembled in what my uncle called his hall.

"And now, my good Frau, you and the young ladies must go to your roost. As you have been night-birds, you must sleep in the day, and we will look after these good fellows, who, I daresay, will not be sorry to take some of the remains of our feast of last night."

"No, indeed, sir, we shall not," said Dick Tarbox; "for the truth is, we have been far too anxious to think of grub, in the first place; and it was a hard matter to get at any, in the second."

It was amusing to see the eagerness with which the shipwrecked men set to work upon the provisions placed before them.

"The sooner you get off those wet clothes of yours the better," observed my uncle; "and though we are not very rich in garments here, we can supply you with mat petticoats and a shirt apiece while your things are drying."

In a few minutes we all appeared dressed in the costume thus furnished, and certainly we looked more like savages than civilised people as we sat round the board.

"Now, lads, there is one thing I think we ought to do," said Dick Tarbox, "and that is, thank Heaven for bringing us ashore in safety, and giving us such good quarters. If we had been driven on a coast not far from here, I suspect we should have found very different treatment. The chances are our heads would have been off our shoulders before we had been many hours in the company of the natives, and very likely, instead of enjoying a good supper like this—or a breakfast, we ought to call it—we should have been served up as a feast to the savages."

Our meal over, Tanda brought in a further supply of mats, in which we all wrapped ourselves, and were very soon fast asleep, I was awoke by hearing my uncle's voice calling to Tanda, and looking up, I saw that they were placing another meal on the table. Our clothes were then brought to us.

"There, lads," said my uncle, "you are now more fit than you were to appear before the ladies; and as they are on foot, I will bring them into the hall. I am glad also to say both Mr Hooker and the mate are very much better for their rest, and I hope in a few days they will be themselves again."

The first few hours we spent on the island appeared to me like a dream. I had been so tired on the night of the wreck, that scarcely was one meal over than I was asleep again, and only woke up to see a fresh repast prepared for us. As soon as I was somewhat recovered, I hurried out, with Tarbox and Potto Jumbo, to the shore to see what had become of the wreck. I gave a shout of joy when I saw that her masts were still standing, though she had been driven so high up on the rock that it was very evident that we should not be able to get her off again. The boat still lay where Roger Trew and Oliver had hauled her up. We hurried down to examine her. A hole had been torn in her bottom, rendering her unfit for use.

"Never fear," said the boatswain, on examining her. "We may soon repair this damage and be able to get off to the wreck in her. I hope we shall find many things on board of use to us, even though we cannot get the old barky afloat again."

The next thing to be done, therefore, was to repair the boat. We hurried back to the house to see if Mr Sedgwick was able to assist us. As soon as he heard the nature of the injury, he produced some planks and nails exactly suited for our purpose.

"I cannot supply you with pitch," he said, "but there are several gums in the island which will answer the object, and here are copper nails enough, if you use them with economy."

We of course at once set to work, and quickly patched up the little boat. At first I had a vague idea that she might enable us to get off to some civilised place, but on seeing her once more in the water, I felt that that would be hopeless, as she could only hold three or four persons at the utmost in smooth water.

When Emily and Grace heard that we were going off to the vessel, they entreated us to be cautious.

"I do so dread the sea," said Emily. "I should be very thankful if I thought I had not again to cross it."

"But you would not like to live in this island for ever," observed Mr Sedgwick. "You will soon be wishing yourself back in the old country, as I have done, I can assure you, very often."

Oliver and I, with Tarbox and Roger Trew, had arranged to go off in the boat. The oars had fortunately been thrown on shore. Although one of them was broken, two had been preserved uninjured. I did my best to reassure my sister and Grace, and they and the Frau came down to see us off. Tarbox and Oliver pulled, while I steered, and away we went over the now blue sea towards the wreck.

As we drew near we saw the fearful injuries she had received.

A coral rock had forced itself completely through her side; and had she not been thrown high up on the reef, she must inevitably have sunk, as the water flowed in and out with the tide. It was now fortunately low water, and by getting on to the reef, which appeared above the surface, having made our boat secure, we were able to scramble on board. Everything with the exception of the masts had been swept from the deck, while the hold was still nearly full of water. In the cabin, however, we found a variety of useful articles, besides a good supply of provisions. All sorts of things, however, had been thrown out of their places, and lay scattered about the wreck. Having collected, however, as many things as we could carry, we were about to return with them to the boat.

"Stay," said the boatswain, "we have forgotten the arms. See, here are four muskets against this bulkhead, and Mr Hooker's fowling-pieces. If we could get some ammunition, we should be able to defend ourselves in case any of the piratical fellows in this neighbourhood should find us out and pay us a visit."

We were almost giving up the search for ammunition in despair, when we discovered a couple of tins of powder in one of the lockers, evidently placed there by Mr Thudicumb for immediate use. The powder, fortunately, from having been carefully packed in tins, had escaped injury.

We now, laden with our prizes, got back to the boat, and without much difficulty steered clear of the surf to the shore. We were received on landing by Frau Ursula and the two girls, who had been standing for a long time anxiously watching the boat, afraid that some accident had happened. They now assisted us in landing our goods, and carrying them up to the house.

"We must not live idle lives here," said Emily, laughing; "and as we have no fancy work, we cannot employ our time better than in making ourselves useful."

I saw the Frau eagerly examining the articles we had brought on shore.

"What! you no think of our clothes?" she exclaimed at length. "You leave the frocks, and gowns, and shoes, and all the little girls' things? Oh, you thoughtless men!"

We felt ourselves rebuked.

"Well, we must go back at once, Frau," I answered. "I confess that we ought to have recollected that you would require clothing, and that mat-made garments, however suited to the climate, are not so becoming as those you had on board. We will go back and fetch them."

"Oh no, no!" exclaimed Grace. "It is already late, and you have had a long row to-day—some accident may be happening."

"Not much fear of that, miss," observed Tarbox. "You shall have your duds, even though we had twice as far to pull for them. Just take care that no one shakes his pipe over those tins there," he observed, pointing to the cases of powder. "They might chance to send the house flying up over the trees, and the unfortunate smoker with it."

We had by this time landed all the articles we had brought on shore. They were somewhat miscellaneous, but all likely to prove useful. Besides the fire-arms and ammunition, we had found some cases of preserved meat and hams, a cask of biscuit, some tins of pepper and salt and mustard, a case of wine, a cask of pork, a box of cigars, and a couple of Mr Hooker's cases. We thought it would do his heart good to see them; and I knew they were among those he valued most for their contents.

"That was indeed thoughtful of you," observed Emily, when she saw the cases.

"It was not I who thought of them," I answered; "it was Oliver. He said he thought it would cheer up Mr Hooker to know that some of his things had been saved; and we must try and get some more on shore if we can."

"Oh yes, yes!" exclaimed both the girls together. "Bring his treasures rather than ours. Many of them, probably, he cannot replace; and we can dress, I daresay, in mats, or the cloth I have seen made out of the paper mulberry-tree."

"Well, well, young ladies," said Tarbox. "We can find room, I daresay, in the boat for your light things, as well as Mr Hooker's chests; so I hope, if we can get hold of the things, you will not have to rig up in any outlandish fashion."

He said this as we were shoving off the boat with our oars; and now, sitting down, we again pulled out towards the wreck.

"The gentleman on shore says he has lived here for several years," said Oliver. "All that time no vessel has called off here. Now, if we are to get away, would it not be better if we were to try and build one large enough for the purpose, so that we may quit the island whenever it is thought best?"

"You are right, Oliver," said Tarbox. "If we can get hold of the carpenter's tools, and ropes and spars enough, with blocks and sails, we may build a craft out of the wreck, or of the wood we can cut down in the island. It does not take so long to dry as it does in Old England."

Roger Trew agreed with Tarbox, and so did I, that we ought to make the attempt, and thanked Oliver for his suggestion. We determined, therefore, at once to secure as much rope and as many blocks as we might want, as well as sailcloth or sails and spars.

"I have heard talk of a man out in the Pacific Islands who built a vessel with far less means than we have got," observed Tarbox. "He was a missionary gentleman, though he knew well how to work at a forge, as well as to use his saw and hammer. To the best of my recollection, he had only got a file and a saw and an old anchor to begin with. He first taught the natives how to assist him, and then set to work to cut down the trees and to saw them into planks. He next put up a forge, and made the bellows, and manufactured nails and pins, and all the work he wanted."

"Oh yes, I have read of him," said Oliver. "He was Mr Williams, the missionary. He built the vessel, I think, at Raratonga, when he was left there by himself, without another European to help him. She was called the Messenger of Peace, and he sailed many thousand miles afterwards on board her in his missionary voyages. If Mr Williams—who had no knowledge of ship-building except such as he obtained from observation of the vessels he visited—could do so, we, at all events, ought to be able to build a craft capable of carrying us to Singapore, even though we may not secure much more from the wreck."

"There is one thing we want, and that is iron," observed Tarbox; "and rope and blocks, and provisions, too. It would take us some time to put such a craft together."

"All I know is," said Oliver, "that Mr Williams had but the iron part of an anchor, a pick-axe, and a few garden tools, with some iron hoops. His vessel was from about sixty to seventy tons, and from the time he cut the keel until she was launched not more than four months had passed. Besides the bellows and forge, he made a lathe, and indeed manufactured everything that was required. His sails were composed of fine mats, woven by the natives; and the rope was manufactured from the hemp which grew on the island. In the same way he found substitutes for oakum, pitch, and paint, and everything he required."

"He you speak of must have been a very wonderful man," observed Tarbox. "I consider that a man who could do what he did is fit to be Prime Minister. Why, he would have made the Thames Tunnel, if he had tried."

"Very likely he would," said Oliver; "but God wanted him for His work, and that was to go out to those islands to the east of us in the Pacific, and to convert the natives to Christianity."

By this time we had regained the wreck. Our first search was for the clothing of the Frau and the young ladies. We managed to get up a trunk which contained a portion of them, though the water had got in, and had greatly spoiled the contents. We fished about for some time, and then got up another box, which had suffered in the same way.

"It cannot be helped," observed Tarbox. "We will not be particular how the old lady and little girls look; and the clothes will soon dry— that's one good thing. The sun is not idle out in these parts."

Our next hunt was for the carpenter's tools. When I say that half the deck was under water, it may be supposed that there were very few things which had escaped soaking. Fortunately the carpenter had stowed many of his things away in a locker on the upper side of the vessel. These we secured, and then searched for his chest, which we knew contained some more of the necessary tools.

"Poor fellow! if he had stuck by us instead of attempting to swim on shore, he would have been here to lend us a hand," observed Tarbox.

Oliver was very busy hunting about. Of course, we had thrown off our jackets, and retained only our trowsers. We did not mind, therefore, plunging into the water, now and then diving down in the hopes of getting hold of something. At length Oliver cried out that he felt the handle of a chest, which he thought must be the carpenter's. We soon got a hook and rope, and hauled it up, when with much satisfaction we found he was right. It was somewhat heavy, and we doubted if we should get it into the boat. At last Oliver suggested that we should open it, and carry some of the tools separately, so as to lighten it. This we did; and by the time we had got a few coils of rope on board, and some blocks, our boat was heavily laden.



CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

OUR FIRST EXCURSION IN THE ISLAND.

On our arrival at the beach, we found that the indefatigable Frau and her young companions had carried up all the articles to the house. On seeing us return, they had again come down, with Potto Jumbo, to help us. The Frau, lifting a coil of rope, put it round her neck, exclaiming, "Ah! I have one fine necklace—I carry this;" and off she set, with a bag of biscuit at her back. The girls each loaded themselves with blocks and ropes, while we carried up the chests and heavier articles.

Great was Mr Hooker's delight when he saw his beloved cases arrive.

"What! you have saved these?" he exclaimed, lifting up his hands, and gazing at them with affection. "I am indeed indebted to you. I little thought any one else appreciated them as I do. But it shows you are true lovers of science, that you value such treasures as these—not as ordinary persons value them, but as men of science look at them—at their true worth. Thank you, my friends—thank you;" and he shook us all warmly by the hand.

I really believe that the restoration of his collections contributed greatly to his recovery.

The next day we were employed in the same way—in getting on shore as many of the stores as we could fish up from the wreck. Mr Sedgwick was well pleased at the appearance of the case of wine.

"It is just what my patients want," he observed; "and though I can manufacture palm-wine and arrack, they will not answer the purpose nearly so well. Indeed, the arrack is poisonous stuff at the best."

For some days both Mr Hooker and the mate appeared to hang between life and death. Our uncle, I saw, was very anxious about them, and seldom absent from their room. When he went away, the good Frau took his place. When absent, however, he was still engaged in their service, as he was either concocting medicines or cooking dishes to suit their taste.

"Potto Jumbo is a very good sea-cook," he observed to me, "but not quite capable of producing a dish fit for an invalid; and as to my Dyak, Tanda, his ideas are somewhat limited in that way."

The weather continued fine, and the vessel hung together; but the boatswain was of opinion that should another gale come on, she would quickly go to pieces.

"Though we might get some of her timbers and planks, they would be sorely battered by getting knocked on the rocks," he observed; "and to my mind it would be better if we could get them ripped off at once. It will be a pretty tough job; but it is to be done."

I proposed the matter to Mr Sedgwick, but he rather doubted our capability of performing the operation. He could not help us, as he was required to attend to our friends, while his man had to look after the plantations and animals, and indeed had ample work. He thought that fresh planks from the trees in the forest would be of more use than the broken ones we might get from the vessel. We, indeed, were prevented from returning to her for some days, on account of a strong wind setting in directly on the shore, which created so much surf that we were unable to pass through it in our small boat.

Mr Thudicumb was to be our master-builder. He had more acquaintance with ship-building than any of us—indeed, probably than all the party put together; but he was yet too ill even to superintend the undertaking. We hoped, however, that in the course of a week or two he would be sufficiently recovered to set us to work. At present, indeed, he could scarcely even give his thoughts to the subject.

I proposed that we should employ the time in exploring the island. Mr Sedgwick had never gone to any great distance from the spot where he had located himself. He had been unable to do so, as directly he began to collect his menagerie it was necessary for him to remain to attend to his animals. He was also unwilling to go far from the coast, lest, a vessel passing, he might lose the opportunity of getting on board her. This had kept him week after week, and month after month, within a few miles of the shore. He was now, however, very glad to make the proposed expedition.

Mr Hooker and the mate were sufficiently recovered to move about the house and to take short walks in the neighbourhood. The girls were both very anxious to go also, but the Frau strongly objected to their doing so.

"Suppose we meet snakes, or wild beasts, or savages?" she asked. "Oh no, no, Frauline Emily and Grace. You must stop and take care of Mr Hooker and poor Mr Thudicumb. What they do without you?"

We were much amused at the Frau's anxiety, because we suspected that she supposed if they went she would have to go also, and for this she had no fancy. She was a very good nurse, and a very good cook; but she took little interest in beautiful scenery or in natural history.

"We will take very good care of the young ladies if you like to remain behind," said our uncle. "We can easily make some litters to carry them, should they be tired, and we will leave you to assist in garrisoning our castle."

"Oh, but I not like to lose sight of them," she answered; and indeed she was afraid that they might meet with some accident, or suffer from the hardships of the journey.

They, however, pleaded their cause so well, that at length it was arranged they were to go with us.

"I have read that Lady Raffles accompanied her husband, Sir Stamford, in many of his excursions through Sumatra and other islands of these seas, and I do not see why we should be afraid of any of the hardships which she had to go through," observed Emily.

We now busied ourselves in making preparations for our journey. Our party consisted of our uncle as leader, Oliver and I, Dick Tarbox, Roger Trew, and Potto Jumbo. Merlin evidently understood that we were going on an expedition, and wagged his tail and looked up in my face as if to ask if he might accompany us. First he went to one, and then to another, making the same request.

"If you can spare him, Hooker, we will take him," observed my uncle. "He seems so well trained, that I think he will not range too widely and disturb our game."

"Speak to him, and he will do whatever you tell him," said Mr Hooker; and so Merlin was added to our party.

We promised the Frau that should the difficulties we might meet with be too great for the girls to encounter, we would at once return, and leaving them, set off again by ourselves. We each of us earned a fowling-piece, an axe, and a knife, with flint and steel, and a bag of sago-cake, prepared as have before described. We felt very sure that we could provide ourselves with an ample supply of animal food, as also vegetables, wherever we might go. Nature has been lavishly bountiful in that region in her supply of food for the wants of man; indeed, there are no parts of the world where a little labour will produce such an abundance of all the necessaries of life as in most of the islands of that archipelago.

Several streams ran down from the neighbouring mountains fertilising the land, and, in the intervals, cocoa-nut trees grew, with fruit now sufficiently ripe to afford a delicious draught of cool liquid whenever we might want it.

We rose before daybreak to breakfast, that we might commence our journey in the cool of the morning. Our friends collected in the verandah to wish us good-bye. Mr Hooker, however, seemed very unhappy at being unable to accompany us.

"Cheer up, friends," said our uncle. "We shall be back, probably, in two or three days; and having stretched our legs, we shall be the better able to make another excursion, and I hope by that time you will be of the party."

My uncle led, axe in hand, to clear away any creepers or underwood which might impede our progress. The girls, with Oliver and I on either hand, followed, while the three men, with their guns ready for use, brought up the rear. The views were, however, confined, in consequence of the thickness of the forest and the somewhat level nature of the country; but in the distance we could see mountains rising, with intervening hills, which showed us that there was some climbing in prospect. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the woods, or the great variety of strange trees and plants which met our sight in every direction. Among the most beautiful and curious were the orchids. One especially arrested our attention. It had large yellow clusters of flowers hanging down from some of the lower branches of the trees, so that it was more than usually conspicuous. Our uncle called it the Vanda Lowii. Many of its strange pendent flower-spikes almost reached the ground. Each was about six or eight feet long, with large, handsome flowers three inches across, varying in colour from orange to red, with deep purple-red spots. Some, indeed, were even longer than that; and we counted on one thirty-six flowers arranged in a spiral way upon a slender, thread-like stalk.

A shout from one of the men a short distance behind made us stop.

"Why, that is a rum-looking creature!" exclaimed Dick Tarbox.

"Dat?—dat one big frog with wing!" cried Potto Jumbo, with a loud laugh.

We turned round, and just at the same moment a companion probably of the first that had been seen seemed to be flying in a slanting direction from the bough of a high tree into a small pool which we had noticed as we passed. Potto sprang forward, and caught it just as it was reaching the water. It was a curious-looking creature, certainly. The back and limbs were of a dark shining green colour, while the under surface and inner toes were yellow. The body was about four inches long, while the webs of each hind foot, when fully stretched out, covered a surface of not less than four square inches. Its toes were peculiarly long, and fully webbed to their extremity, so that, when expanded, they presented a surface to the air considerably larger than the whole of the body, which was also capable of being filled out by wind.

"Ah, this is a real flying-frog!" observed our uncle.

However, it was altogether a very curious creature. We were anxious to preserve it to show to Mr Hooker. It was accordingly consigned to Roger Trew's bag, our uncle saying that he would preserve it when we stopped to rest.

The tree-ferns also were very graceful, of various heights and forms, from eight to fifteen feet high, their tall leaves waving over in the most picturesque manner.

"We shall soon have a stream to cross," said my uncle, "which I consider the boundary of my domain. However, as I have made excursions a short distance beyond it, I have built a bridge that I might get across without difficulty. You must, however, string up your nerves, as, probably, you have seldom passed over such a structure. It is exactly such as I have seen built by the Dyaks in Borneo."

On getting to the banks of the stream it was evident that without a boat or a bridge we should be unable to cross. We now, however, saw the means my uncle had contrived. The bridge was made entirely of bamboo. A number of stout pieces crossed each other like the letter X, fixed in the bank on either side, and rising a few feet above it. They were then firmly bound together, as also to a long bamboo of the largest size which rested on them, and formed the only pathway over which we had to cross. Another long bamboo, raised three feet above the other on either side, formed the hand-rails. It was, however, supported also by ratans, which led from some overhanging trees above it, while other bamboos were stuck into the banks, and leaning outward over the stream, formed diagonal supports.

"Come, Emily and Grace," said my uncle. "If you find that I get across safely, you need have no fear; and I repaired it completely but a few days ago, little thinking how soon it was to be crossed by any one else."

When my uncle had got about half-way across the stream, I began to tremble for his safety. The bamboo seemed to me to be creaking and cracking, and every instant I expected it to give way. However, he appeared perfectly at his ease, and walking calmly on, soon reached the other bank in safety.

"Shall I go next, Emily, or will you?" I asked.

"Oh no, no," said Emily; "Grace and I will go," and bravely she led the way.

Grace was a little more timid, but followed her closely, and they too reached the opposite bank. When the rest of the party came over, they said they had seen a large bird on the bank of the stream flying near the decayed trunk of a huge tree.

"Whereabouts is it?" exclaimed my uncle with great eagerness.

"Dere, dere!" said Potto Jumbo, whose eyes in these thick woods were evidently sharper than those of his companions, who might, however, have been able to see further than he could on the ocean.

We crept carefully along the bank. It was a huge bird of dark plumage, with a vast bill, and a curious sort of cap on its head. It had something in its mouth, with which it went to a hole in the tree I have described. My uncle, telling us to remain quiet, crept nearer and fired. The bird fell with a loud flop into the stream.

"After him!" I said to Merlin, as the bird was floating down.

Merlin dashed forward, and springing in, approached the bird, who, however, was only wounded, and began to show battle with his formidable bill. Merlin wisely kept out of his reach, for a peck of that bill would soon have taken out one of his eyes. The bird, at length, however, became exhausted, and then Merlin sprang on him, and seizing him by the neck, quickly dragged him to the shore.

"It is a magnificent hornbill!" exclaimed our uncle—"Buceros bicornis."

Merlin had killed the bird in bringing it on shore, and it now lay stretched out before us. My uncle eagerly went forward to the tree, and looking up about fifteen feet from the ground, we saw a small hole surrounded by mud. Directly afterwards, out came the white end of a beak, which seemed to gape as if expecting to have some food put into it. We were silent for an instant, and then heard the harsh croaking of a bird, which seemed to come from the interior of the tree. How to get at it, however, was the question.

"We will soon be up there," said Tarbox. "I have seen the way the black fellows get up a tree, and I think we can do the same."

He soon cut down some bamboos, which, cutting into pieces about a foot and a half in length, he drove into the tree, we all assisting him. He then secured some upright bamboos to the pieces which had thus been stuck in one above another. As soon as he had stuck them in as high as he could reach, he mounted on the first, and then put in some more above his head, and thus in a very short time got up to a level with the hole.

"I have no fancy, though, for having my eyes picked out, which they might very quickly be if the creature inside has got as big a beak as the one you killed, sir," he observed.

He accordingly got somewhat higher up. He then with his axe began to knock away the mud, and in a short time cleared out a large hole, when not only the beak but the head of a bird similar to the one which had been killed was poked out.

Dick seized it by the neck in spite of its furious struggles, and giving it a swing, threw it down to the ground, where the rest of us pounced upon it, when it commenced uttering the most tremendously loud, hoarse screaming I ever heard.

"There is something else in the nest, though!" he exclaimed; and putting in his hand he drew out an extraordinary little lump of vitality, which, however, was evidently a young bird. "I will bring it down to its mother," he said; "for if I threw it, the poor little creature would be killed."

Holding the creature in one hand with as much care as if it had been a young child, he descended with the other. It was a bird as large as a pigeon, but without a single feather on any part of its body. It was wonderfully plump and soft, with a skin almost transparent, so that it looked more like a bag of jelly than any living thing, with a head and feet and commencement of wings stuck on to it. The little creature seemed in no way frightened, but opened its mouth as if expecting to be fed. We brought it to its mother, who immediately recognised it, and when we handed her a piece of fruit she took it and gave a portion to her offspring, who lifted up its beak to receive it.

"Oh, I will carry it!" cried Grace. "I should not like the poor little thing to be hurt."

Grace had a kind heart, and was always ready to sympathise with any one in distress. We accordingly made a basket of palm-leaves, and Dick again ascended the tree to bring out the lining of the nest. This we put into the basket, and the bird was placed upon it. The mother again began to scream loudly when we took away its young.

"Come, old lady, I'll carry you," said Roger Trew, lifting up the hen hornbill; but the bird fought so desperately that he was glad to put her down again. "We must tie your legs and put your nose in a bag, ma'am," said Roger, "or you will be doing some one a mischief."

A larger basket was therefore made, into which we put the old bird, fastening in its head at the same time. Mr Sedgwick was highly delighted with his prize. He had always wished to get one of these birds; but had failed to find them, though he had seen them at a distance, and therefore knew that they were in the island. He was aware of this habit of the male bird of plastering up his mate with her egg, and bringing her food while it was being hatched. Several other hornbills act in the same way.

We continued our journey for some time along the banks of the stream, which sparkled brightly as it made its way through the forest. Then we began gradually to ascend the mountains we had seen in the distance. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the forest trees amid which we were making our way—lofty palms, and the wonderful screw-palm, tall cocoa-nut palms, and a number of trees of the same description. Here and there also were groups of bamboos; and in many places ratans grew, hanging from tree to tree. Now and then we met with beautiful flowers and flowering shrubs, but they were not so common as we expected. Their size and brilliancy, however, made amends for their scarcity. Among them were some creepers, having crimson and yellow flowers; others were of a rich purple colour. Among the most beautiful was one which Mr Sedgwick called an anonaceous tree: it was about thirty feet high, and its slender trunk was covered with large star-like crimson flowers, which surrounded it like a garland, and Grace and Emily declared they thought some one had come on purpose to adorn it. In one spot a number of these trees grew all together, producing a most beautiful and brilliant effect; others were immense trees with furrowed stems; and now and then we came to a magnificent fig-tree, which was altogether unlike any tree I had ever seen. It seemed as if its trunk had been divided into hundreds of small stems and roots. The most curious, however, was one which had its base eighty feet up from the ground, while that rested on a wonderful pyramid of roots which, shooting downwards, spread out on every side, while the branches started off and rose again to a vast height above the stem. Then, again, from its branches hung down a variety of creepers, like the shrouds of a vessel, to keep it apparently from being blown away by a tornado.

I cannot attempt to describe all the beautiful butterflies we saw. Now and then Mr Sedgwick made chase after one. Once he returned with one, which he considered a valuable prize. The ground colour of its wings was a rich shining black, the lower wings being of a delicate grey with white, and bordered by a row of large spots of the most brilliant satin-like yellow. The body was marked with shade spots of white, yellow, and fiery orange, while the head and thorax were intense black. The under sides of the lower wings were of soft white, the marginal spots being half black and half yellow.

Scarcely had this one been caught, than he gave chase to another superb-looking one, of a rich purple, variously tinged with ash colour, a broad bar of deep orange running across the fore wings. Away it flew, and we ran after to assist him, when it seemed to drop among some dried leaves, and there it totally disappeared. What had become of it, we could not tell, when suddenly, almost from before our eyes, it rose again in the air, and gave us another chase, till it again disappeared as before. At length we saw Mr Sedgwick fall almost prostrate, with his net over the leaves; and then what appeared to be a dry leaf suddenly rose and turned into a large butterfly. It was, however, under his net, and was quickly made his prisoner. We soon discovered the curious arrangement by which the creature is enabled to escape capture. The end of the upper wings terminated in a fine point, just as is the case with the leaves of many tropical shrubs. The lower wings were more obtuse, and lengthened out into a short thin tail. Between these two points ran a dark curved line, representing the mid rib of a leaf, while the other marks were radiated exactly like the lateral fans of leaves; indeed, the wings of the creature when closed were so like a leaf, that it was scarcely possible to distinguish it from those amidst which it had pitched.

As we rose higher and higher in this mountainous region towards which we were bending our steps, gigantic ferns became more numerous. Among them were most curious pitcher-plants. They took the form of half-climbing shrubs, their pitchers, of various sizes and forms, hanging in numbers from their leaves. Every ridge was now crowned with gigantic ferns, which reminded us of the descriptions of the antediluvian world, when ferns appear to have been the chief vegetation which covered the surface of the globe.—I will not mention our dinner.

It was now time to encamp for the night. Our first care was to make arrangements for the accommodation of the young ladies. We had an abundance of materials at hand, and soon cut down branches and leaves sufficient to make a very comfortable bower in which they might rest. A fire was then lighted, and similar bowers, though of less careful construction, were erected for the rest of the party. Our uncle arranged that one of the party should remain on watch.

"I cannot tell what sort of creatures inhabit these wilds," he observed; "but I have every reason to believe that many of those that range over Borneo and Sumatra are to be found here. They have probably been prevented coming to my territory by the river which separates it from the rest of the island; but I have seen traces of the rhinoceros, and trees broken down in a way elephants alone could accomplish. Wild boars I have shot; and tigers and huge serpents, I have reason to believe, are to be found in some parts of the island."

"How delightful!" I exclaimed; but then I recollected the danger to which Emily and Grace might be exposed. I said something to that effect.

"We must keep a careful watch," he answered; "and in truth I believe that generally wild animals are more afraid of man than man need he of them, if he is on his guard."

I did not wish to frighten the girls, and therefore did not talk to them of these things. As I lay down to waistcoat, I could not help thinking of the various fierce creatures we might possibly meet with, and in my dreams I was engaged in desperate encounters with all those my uncle had mentioned, and not a few others—such as have no existence except in the imagination.



CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

EXCURSION CONTINUED—FEARFUL ENCOUNTER WITH A MONSTER.

I was the first inhabitant of our hut awake. Daylight was just breaking; and going out silently, not wishing to disturb the rest of the party, I looked round me. Potto Jumbo, who had the morning watch, was sitting by the fire; a few branches of trees stuck in the ground forming a sufficient shelter from the night dews. He was leaning against them, and had evidently fallen asleep, for the fire was almost out. I stood for some minutes contemplating the strange scene. Surrounding us on every side were the curious trees I have before described, festooned with creepers. Here and there the bright flowers of some orchidaceous plant ornamented their summits, or hung down from their boughs. I thought to myself, if any natives are in the island, how easily we might have been surprised; or if tigers lurk in its thickets, how easily one of our party might be picked off.

Presently Potto Jumbo sprang to his feet with a loud shout. He must have been dreaming, and supposed that one of the animals I was thinking of was approaching. His shout was echoed, it seemed, by a thousand shrill voices; and looking up, I saw the whole of the trees surrounding us alive with creatures—some trumpeting, some screeching, and others making prolonged shrill whistlings; and from the high branches, like a flock of birds, down came some forty or fifty monkeys, striking the tops of the brushwood to which they clung, either with hands or tails, and then off they went with the speed of arrows through the jungle. There seemed to be several descriptions. Some were small creatures of a slate colour; others of a light yellow, with long arms and long tails. The noise they made quickly roused Emily and Grace, as well as the rest of the party, who sprang out of their bowers, watching the proceedings of our neighbours. Some made tremendous leaps from one branch of a tree to another, a little lower down. First went one bold leader, taking a jump towards a tree which it seemed scarcely possible he could reach. Then the others followed, with more or less trepidation. Some seemed afraid to take a leap till their companions began to move off, when, for fear of being left alone, they threw themselves frantically into the air, while two or three came crashing through the slender branches down to the ground.

"Oh, do catch one of those pretty creatures for us!" said Emily and Grace.

Oliver and I ran forward to catch them; but they were not too much hurt to defend themselves; and one of them bit me so severely in the hand, that I was glad to let him go; while the rest, picking themselves up, hopped off at a rate which would have made pursuit useless.

"I am very sorry," I said to Grace, "to lose the monkey; though I do not think he would have proved a very amiable pet. However, I hope to be more fortunate another time."

My uncle laughed heartily at me, while he put some salve on my finger and bound it up, the pain quickly subsiding under his treatment.

We soon had our coffee-pot boiling, and we took our breakfast before commencing our day's walk. The girls declared themselves fully able to proceed. While we were sitting on the ground, I perceived a movement in the boughs, and saw that the monkeys were coming back to have a further look at us; and presently the boughs above our heads were filled with curious prying black, grey, and yellow faces. I pointed them out to Grace and Emily.

"If we could but entice some of them to come down, perhaps we might capture one for you," I observed.

"Oh no, no; pray do not attempt it," said Grace, "or you will get another bite. I thought they were such good-natured little creatures that they would hurt no one."

"Nor would they, young lady, if left alone," said my uncle. "However, I have some tame ones at home, and you shall choose the most docile when we return as your especial property. We must give them another steeple-chase, however," he whispered; and suddenly starting up, he uttered a loud cry and clapped his hands.

Again the wood was full of living creatures, and away they went as before, swinging from bough to bough, with the aid of their long tails, in the most wonderful manner. We saw several further off on one side, who moved in a different manner from the rest.

"Those are apes," said our uncle, pointing them out. "I have one in my collection which I will show you. It is the Siamang syndactyla."

It was moving much slower than the monkeys, keeping lower down in the underwood, but still it moved rapidly by means of its long arms. It appeared to be about three feet high, while its arms were between five and six feet across, and by them it was swinging itself along among the trees at a rapid rate. Although at first I thought I could catch one, I soon found that it could escape me as well as the monkeys had done.

We now packed up to proceed on our journey. I should like to describe more particularly some of the trees of the wonderful forest through which we passed. In the lowlands near the shore were groves of cocoa-nut palms, of which I have already spoken. Near them was the curious pandanus or screw-pine. My uncle said he always called it a trunk with branches growing at both ends. There were two species of it. The one we saw had fragrant flowers. Its leaves are manufactured into mats and baskets. Its fruit is of a spherical form, from four to six inches in diameter, the surface being exactly divided by projections of a pointed, pyramidal shape. I have already described the bamboos. As we proceeded higher up we found ourselves among lofty fig-trees. Here the number of orchidaceous plants greatly increased, hanging down from the boughs of nearly all the trees, clinging to them so closely that they often appeared to belong to the tree. The ferns, too, were in great variety; among them were many curious pitcher-plants. Thirsty from our walk, we were looking about for water, when my uncle went up to one of these remarkable productions of nature. Each pitcher contained about half a pint of water. Some were full of insects, but in others it was perfectly limpid, and thankfully we drank it off. Though it was not so cool as the juice of the cocoa-nut, still it served to quench our thirst. Thus we found how God has so bountifully provided this region with the greatest necessary of life, guarding with a thick shell the produce of the palm on the lower lands, and allowing the cool breeze of the mountains to temper the water collected in the cups of the pitcher-plant.

Instead of ascending the mountain—a task which the young ladies at all events could not accomplish—we proceeded round it, towards a curious-looking rock which rose up on one side. We made our way without much difficulty to the gap, when we found ourselves on the summit of a cliff, and looking down into a wonderful circular basin surrounded entirely by precipitous rocks, while another gap beyond seemed to open into a smaller lake at a lower elevation. It had apparently been the crater of a volcano—so my uncle thought. The sides of the higher lake were nearly three hundred feet high, we calculated, and covered in most places with trees and shrubs. A beach or broad ledge extended round one side as far as the further gap, on which we hoped we should have ample space for walking and viewing the wonders of the lake. Our ambition was now to reach the water, and we looked about on every side to discover some practicable path by which we might gain it. After hunting about, we found a way down the side of the mountain by which we hoped we could accomplish our object.

The jungle through which we had to force our way, however, was wonderfully thorny. The creepers were thorny, even the bamboos were thorny, while shrubs grew in a zig-zag and jagged fashion, forming an inextricable tangle, through which it was difficult to cut our way. Beautiful birds flitted in and out among the shrubs—grass-green doves, large black cockatoos, golden orioles, and king-crows—their varied and brilliant colours flashing brightly as they darted forth here and there in the sunlight from out of the dark shade. The most beautiful, perhaps, were the golden orioles, which my uncle afterwards told me are often classed with the birds of paradise, and are sometimes placed in the same genus as the regent bird of Australia. These, however, might not have been the true golden oriole, because that bird is very rare, and is an inhabitant of the mainland of New Guinea, though also found on the island of Salwatty. We observed their nests cleverly suspended between the horizontal forks of the outer branches of lofty trees, where they are not likely to be reached by the larger serpents which prey on birds. The paradise oriole has the throat, tail, and part of the wings and back of a jet-black hue, but the rest of the body is of a brilliant yellow colour, with the exception of the neck, which is covered by long feathers of a deep orange, reaching some way down the back, somewhat as do the hackles of a game-cock. The birds we now saw, though not exactly like those I have mentioned, were still very beautiful, and I believe rare. I cannot, however, attempt to describe but faintly the lovely birds and insects we met with in our expedition.

Just then even our uncle could pay but little attention to them, for we all had to use our axes with untiring energy before we could make any progress. At length, however, perseverance overcame all difficulties, and we cut a narrow path through the thick belt which surrounded the mountain. We then found ourselves beneath a lofty cliff, which, we concluded, formed one side of the lake, and circling round it, we reached what we at once guessed was the lower lake, where the cliffs were of less height and far more broken. Emily and Grace sat down on the top, while the rest of us began to make a path by which we might descend to the level of the water. It was not a very easy task. Sometimes Dick Tarbox, who led the way, had to be lowered down by a rope to a ledge below us, cutting away the shrubs which impeded his progress, leaving only certain stumps in the rock which would assist those who followed. In some places he had to clear away the grass and earth to allow of a firm footing; in others, he drove in pieces of bamboo, to serve as supports to the hands or feet in our descent. At last he reached the beach, and we all eagerly followed him. The lower lake was very curious and beautiful, but we had an idea, from the glimpse we had had of the inner one, that that was still more so.

"The young ladies would be disappointed at not seeing this!" exclaimed Oliver; "and I am sure that they would be able to come down. May I go up and fetch them?"

"We must go and lend them a hand, though," said Dick Tarbox, beginning to ascend.

I also went, while the rest of the party proceeded some way along the beach towards the upper lake. We found the ascent far more easy than we expected—indeed, it seemed as if the girls would have no great difficulty in coming down. As we neared the top we heard them cry out, and saw them standing by in an attitude of terror, looking towards the jungle on the outer side of the lake.

"Oh, come, come!" exclaimed Emily. "We saw a savage just now peering among the trees! There he is! there he is! even now looking at us!"

We hurried to their side. "Savage he is, miss," said Dick Tarbox; "but he is not a human savage, I think. He is one of those big man-apes I have heard tell of, though I never yet set eyes on one. I don't think, however, he will venture up to where we are."

I looked in the direction the girls were pointing, and there I saw a large orang-outan some fifty feet below us. He kept dauntlessly gazing up at us, as if doubting whether he should venture to approach. He was a big hairy monster, with a black coat and a light-coloured face, with enormous feet and hands, almost the height of a man. His face, as we saw him, had a particularly savage expression, and he was evidently a formidable enemy to encounter. Our shouts brought back the rest of the party, who climbed up with their guns, for we had left ours at the foot of the cliff.

"A mias! a huge mias!" exclaimed my uncle, as he saw the orang-outan, levelling his fowling-piece, Potto following his example. The mias was standing holding on by a branch of a tree, as if about to ascend. At the report of the fire-arms he hauled himself up to a branch, much as a sailor would do, and deliberately walked along the bough, evidently uninjured by the shots, which, if they had not missed altogether, could have but slightly wounded him. Some of the trees, with large luscious fruit, had evidently tempted him to come up to this hilly region, as the mias seldom leaves the flat ground, where he spends the night. Ascending from the bough, he caught hold of a branch of a tree which crossed it by one of his long arms, and flung himself on to it with great deliberation. He did not appear to jump, or spring, or in any way to hurry himself, but we saw him then go to the end of another branch and catch hold of an opposing bough. He then grasped them together with both hands, and finding the other sufficiently strong to support him, deliberately swung himself on to it; thus on he went among the lofty summits of the trees, till he was lost to sight.

It was some time before Emily and Grace could get rid of their fright sufficiently to begin their descent. They had now plenty of people to assist them, and ropes fastened round their waists to prevent the risk of accidents. They soon reached the level of the water. We then proceeded towards the gap. Here we were again stopped for some time, finding a way by which we might ascend the cliffy sides. However, the shrubs and the broken under-cliffs enabled us at length to climb up, passing close to the waterfall formed between the two. The whole party uttered an exclamation of surprise and delight when we entered within the circle of the inner lake. The sides were covered with the most beautiful and luxuriant vegetation. Jungle trees of every description jutted out from the crevices of the rocks, their trunks and branches bearing an endless variety of beautiful creepers in brilliant blossom, hanging down in festoons to the very water's edge. Over our heads, disturbed at our appearance, flew a number of pigeons and other birds of beautiful plumage, backwards and forwards. The water was intensely blue, and beautifully clear.

"I should not be surprised but what this is one of the lakes I have heard speak of which has no bottom," observed Dick Tarbox. "They say that water-spirits and monsters of all sorts live in some of them. I do not know what they would think at our coming among them."

"I have heard of lakes without bottoms, but I have always found, on fathoming them, that they were not so deep as was supposed," observed my uncle. "I should like to try this one. It may be very deep, but I suspect that it is much shallower than from the top of these cliffs down to where we stand. What should you say, boatswain, if the rope you hold in your hand, with a stone fastened to it, would reach the bottom and give you some feet to spare?"

"Well, sir, you know better than I do; but I should be surprised if by fastening all the ropes we have together we found soundings."

At last it was agreed that we should build a raft and try. We had ample materials; for in one corner was a large grove of bamboos, and plenty of other light wood trees growing about. We soon cut down some of the larger bamboos, with ratan to secure the cross pieces, and had an amply buoyant raft to carry one person out into the centre. I begged that I might go on it, but Dick Tarbox said he would make the expedition. He soon had a paddle formed out of bamboo, and sitting down on his somewhat frail bark, away he went, with a coil of rope before him, to which a stone was attached, into the middle of the lake. We all watched him eagerly as he let down the stone, when lo, and behold, long before the rope had run out, the stone had reached the bottom.

"There must be a rock out here!" he exclaimed. "It cannot be so shallow as this." Again he pulled up his stone, and pulled away between the centre and the shore. "Soundings again!" he cried; "and rather less than in the middle. I cannot make it out."

He now paddled round and round the lake, dropping the stone every now and then, and at length came round to the spot where he had embarked.

"You are satisfied now," said Mr Sedgwick. "I have generally found it to be the case that lakes which are reputed fathomless are like this one."

We all in turns had a paddle on the lake, and as the raft was found large enough to support fully a couple of men, Emily and Grace got on it, and I acted as their boatman. We took the circuit of the lake, while they admired the beautiful scenery I have already described. Our uncle meantime was hunting about for birds and butterflies. The gap, when we were on the opposite side, had a curious appearance, being like a large gateway, fully one hundred feet in height, though broken and ruinous. The creepers also were seen to great advantage, some of them falling in the most beautiful luxuriance from the very summits of the surrounding heights down to the water's edge, many of them covered the whole length with brilliant flowers.

"What a delightful place for a pic-nic!" exclaimed Emily.

"True, young lady," answered Mr Sedgwick; "and as all our meals are pic-nics, I propose that we halt here and make our dinner. We have water in abundance, and our provisions at our backs."

A fire was at once kindled, the kettle which Potto carried at his back unslung, and our various provisions produced. Not many birds had hitherto been shot, and our larder was therefore but ill supplied.

"I forgot all about eating!" exclaimed Mr Sedgwick; "but stay; we will soon have some birds for the pot."

Saying this, he proceeded along to the lower lake. The sound of his fowling-piece, as he fired several times, reverberated strangely among the rocks, making the birds fly to and fro in alarm at the unusual sound. Never before perhaps had fire-arms been discharged in that romantic region, but instinct told them that it boded them no good. In a short time he returned with several pigeons and a couple of parroquets. It seemed almost a sin to deprive such beautiful birds of their plumage; but Potto Jumbo, influenced by no such notions, quickly had them plucked and prepared for roasting. They were then stuck on skewers, and in woodland fashion placed on forked sticks before the fire. They were pronounced excellent, and quite as tender as if they had been kept for a long time; indeed, in that hot climate the only way to have them tender is to pluck and cook them before they have time to grow cold. We had brought a supply of fruit, which we had plucked on our way, as well as sago-bread and other articles, which altogether gave us a luxurious repast. No spot could have been more lovely than that where we sat. The bank was covered with soft, almost velvety grass, being shaded constantly from the noonday sun, and the air felt cool, though soft. I had just opened a durian, which I was handing to Grace and Emily, who had got over their repugnance to the smell, and now pronounced it the most delicious of fruits. One declared it had the fragrance of pine-apple, another of the richest melon with cream and strawberries, and the consistency of liquid blanc-mange, or more correctly, perhaps, hasty pudding. Our uncle had lighted his pipe, and lay back on the soft grass enjoying the scene. The three men, seated at a little distance, followed his example.

"What a delightful spot this would be to fix our abode on, if compelled for ever to remain on this island," said Emily.

"Oh, do not talk of remaining!" exclaimed Grace. "Beautiful it is, and very thankful I am to be with you, but I cannot help thinking of my father and mother, and how anxious they will be when the Dugong does not arrive as they expect at Singapore. Oh, it will break my mother's heart, if she thinks any accident has happened to us. They will not know what has occurred, and they will think perhaps that we have been cut off by pirates, or that the vessel has gone down, in a hurricane, or has been driven ashore among savages."

Oliver and I tried to cheer her up. "Some vessel will surely appear off here before long," I observed; "or if not, when Mr Thudicumb gets well we must set to work and build a cutter sufficiently large to carry us all away."

While I was speaking, I heard a strange noise above our heads, and looking up, I saw in the trees directly over us a dozen or more long-armed monkeys, yellow-skinned fellows, with flesh-coloured faces. Down they had come from branch to branch from the cliff above us. Presently one made a spring, and seized hold of a fruit which Grace had just taken. She screamed with alarm, as well she might. Oliver dashed forward to seize the monkey, but before we could catch it, it had sprung up again towards the nearest bough, and again hand over hand up the branches, till he was far out of our reach. There he and his companions sat, eating away at the fruit; but they soon quarrelled among themselves, and the greater portion of it fell from their paws to the ground. We could not help laughing at the audacity of the creatures. Potto Jumbo especially was heartily amused, and lay back on the grass shaking his sides with laughter. The girls' faces, too, indicative of astonishment and dismay, amused me excessively.

"Well, those are thieves," cried Dick Tarbox. "It is the first time, I have a notion, they have ever seen a human face, and I suppose they take us to be big apes or monkeys like themselves."

The creatures seemed in no way alarmed at our gestures, nor did they appear to fear the gun which Mr Sedgwick levelled at them. He lowered it again, however.

"No," he said; "they do not know better; and as we do not want to eat them, it would be downright cruelty to kill the creatures."

I was very glad of this, for I should have been sorry to have had any of them hurt. The case would have been very different had my uncle wanted one as a specimen. He then seemed to have no regard for the life of any animals he required. He apparently considered that the honour he did the creature by preserving it was ample amends for putting it to death.

It was now time for us to recommence our return journey.

"But shall we have to pass through the country of those dreadful apes?" exclaimed Grace. "Surely if a number of them were to come together, they might attack us."

"No fear of that, young lady," said Mr Sedgwick. "They will seldom injure any one unless they themselves are attacked, though the big fellow you saw would be a formidable antagonist to any one unsupported."

I thought so too, and was very thankful that we had come up in time. We were making our way towards the shores of the lower lake, Mr Sedgwick leading; but on this occasion we young people lingered behind. I was walking with Grace; Oliver and Emily were a short distance behind us. Emily had brought her sketch-book, which she had used in taking views from the inner lake. Presently Oliver came running after us to say that she wished to take a view of the gap, and bid us wait a few minutes for her while she hastily sketched it. I went on to the party ahead to beg them also to stop, or, at all events, when they had found the way, to wait till we had come up to them. I had almost got back to where I had left Grace, when I heard a loud scream, and I saw a huge black monster— so he seemed to me—drop from the branch of a tree near to where my sister was standing. Oliver quickly ran forward and threw himself between her and the creature, which I now saw was a huge mias, very like the one we had before seen. Oliver had his gun in his hand, and presenting it at the animal's head, he drew the trigger, but it failed to go off, and the mias closed upon him. One grip of the fierce creature's powerful mouth would, it seemed, have been sufficient to deprive him of life. Oliver had lifted up his gun with the other hand. The creature seized the weapon. What was my horror the next moment to see it rising on its hind legs, and bending forward, fix its teeth into Oliver's arm, which he had raised to defend his head. Meantime Merlin, who had been with the rest of the party, came bounding back, and attacked with his powerful jaws the leg of the mias. The creature for an instant let go Oliver's arm.