"I do not wish it either," I said; "but if they come, they must take the consequences."

I was sure that, notwithstanding his feelings, no one would fight more bravely than Oliver. Those who had been on watch during the night, now got up, and the whole party assembled in the centre of our fort.

"Gentlemen," said Mr Thudicumb, "on board the Bussorah Merchant we always used to have morning prayers when the weather permitted, and, with your leave, we will have them now. We have plenty to pray for, and much to be thankful for. We should be thankful we have escaped the dangers from which so many of our fellow-creatures have suffered, and that we are all alive and well; and we need to pray that a stronger arm than ours may fight for us, should we be attacked by those fierce and ignorant savages."

"Very right," said Mr Hooker, "and I am sure all will agree with you."

Mr Sedgwick, however, made no remark. He had never said anything against religion; but I had observed, since we first found him, that he did not appear to be in any way under its influence. However, as he did not object, Mr Thudicumb forthwith produced a Bible which he had found in the cabin of the brig uninjured. He now read a portion of Scripture, and then offered up an earnest prayer for our deliverance. I know I for one felt more cheerful after it, and so I am sure did Emily and Grace, while a tear stood in Oliver's eye. He had entered more than any of us, with all his heart, into the simple prayer of the untutored sailor. Watch was, of course, kept meantime by one of the party, and we then in good spirits went to breakfast, having lighted our fire as before in the pit, making as small a one as possible, so as not to allow the smoke to be seen at a distance.

Once more Tanda went out as a scout to try and ascertain what the pirates were about. Soon after he had gone, we were aroused by a loud squeaking which seemed to come from the wood at the bottom of the hill. It sounded exactly like the cry of a pig. Oliver and I offered to go down and ascertain what it was. I was starting without any arms, and had got to the gate, when it occurred to me that I might as well take a fowling-piece. I ran back for it, and Oliver and I then set forward down the hill. The squeaking sound increased for a little time, and then ceased. We had, however, marked the place from whence it had come. We were making our way through the forest, when Oliver seized my arm.

"Stop, Walter," he exclaimed; "not a step further! See, see!" There, at the foot of a large tree, with its tail coiled round an upper branch, its body circling the trunk, was a huge python. Our uncle's pet, compared to it, was a mere pigmy. It was pressing with its enormous body a large pig, which, with its huge mouth wide open, it was preparing to swallow. So eager was it that it did not observe us. We stood transfixed with a feeling akin to horror, lest any movement might disturb it. We knew that we should be much safer should it once get the unfortunate pig within its jaws. Greatly to my relief, it now darted down upon the pig, taking the head within its mouth, and gradually it began to suck in the body. We watched it without moving or speaking. In a short time, more than half the quadruped had disappeared, and I now knew, from the formation of the animal's teeth, that no power could draw it out again, and that thus, till it had entirely swallowed it, we were safe. Now was the time, therefore, to beat our retreat, and we hurried back to the fort with an account of what we had seen.

"We must prevent the creature from causing further mischief," said Mr Hooker, seizing an axe. "When it has digested the pig, it may pay us a visit, and may be a more awkward enemy to deal with than even the pirates. Now, if we make haste, he is at our mercy."

Potto Jumbo begged that he might accompany us, and Oliver and he and I, with the two gentlemen, each armed with an axe and a long bamboo spear, hurried back to where we had seen the python. As we reached it the hind legs of the pig were just disappearing within its jaws. "Now is the time for the attack," cried Mr Sedgwick, rushing forward with his axe and dealing the animal a blow behind the neck. It instantly uncoiled its powerful tail and attempted to seize its enemy. It seemed as if it could have crushed him with one blow against the tree, but he gave a spring and just escaped it. At the same instant Potto Jumbo sprang in and struck the tail, which instantly flew back and again encircled the tree. The monster now tried to lift up his head to make a spring towards us, but the pig prevented it from opening its jaws, though the force with which it projected its enormous head was sufficient to have knocked down the strongest man and killed him on the spot. Mr Hooker was on the watch, and received it on the point of his spear, which transfixed its throat, and must have gone through the pig's body at the same time. Still his spine was uninjured, and there was great danger in getting within the coils of its body. Potto Jumbo, however, kept watching the tail, which was again unwound from the branch of the tree. "You cut, cut at the back while I hold," he cried out, seizing the very end of the tail. He threw himself out so as to stretch out the animal. Oliver and I, who had been waiting our opportunity, rushed in, and dealt it several severe blows with our hatchets. Potto pulled away at the same time. "No fear now," he cried out; "one more cut and he die!" Once more we rushed in with our hatchets. No sooner did we deal the blows than the creature lay stretched out apparently quite dead.

"We have settled him," said Mr Sedgwick. "And now let us measure his length."

He paced along the body, which lay stretched out on the ground, and we found it to be fully twenty-five feet long.

"An unpleasant creature to encounter in a morning's ramble," observed Mr Hooker. "But how have you managed to escape these reptiles, Sedgwick?" he asked.

"Simply, I suppose, because they prefer pork to man," he answered; "and as we have the same taste, we may as well get piggy out of his maw."

To do so was impossible without cutting off the serpent's head. This we accomplished with our hatchets. However, the appearance of the pig when we got it out was far from tempting, and as we had a supply of food in the fort, we agreed to let it remain where it was. We had been so interested in this encounter that we had almost forgotten the position in which we were placed. A shout from Mr Thudicumb, however, quickly recalled us, and we hurried up to the fort. Tanda had just arrived.

"He is in a state of great agitation, sir," said Mr Thudicumb, as Mr Sedgwick appeared, "but what he says I cannot make out."

Tanda and his master exchanged a few words.

"Friends," said Mr Sedgwick, "the pirates are approaching. They have found their way up the river road, and will be here in a short time. Once more I must urge you to fight to the last. I know them well. Should we yield, a fearful death or painful captivity would be our lot."

"We are all aware of that, sir," said Mr Thudicumb; "and I can answer for all hands that none will fail in their duty."

The bank round the more gentle slope of the hill had been raised sufficiently to protect our bodies, so that by keeping close to it, no shot—should the enemy have fire-arms—could hit us. All the muskets were laid carefully loaded against the bank, and the Frau and the girls, who had been practising loading for some time, took their places in hollows which had been formed on purpose, where they might load without risk, as soon as the guns were handed to them. We all now stood at our posts anxiously watching for the approach of the enemy. At length we saw some dark-skinned faces appearing amid the brushwood, and directly afterwards some thirty or more wild-looking savages rushed through it and began to ascend the hill. They stopped for an instant on seeing the formidable preparations made for their reception, while, of course, they could not tell how many people were within the stockades ready to fire on them. At length one of their chiefs apparently came to the front, and waving his curved sword, seemed to urge them to follow him. On he came, a humpbacked savage-looking fellow. Even at that distance I fancied I could distinguish his hideous features. More than once he went back, and seemed shouting to his followers to keep up with him; and with wonderful agility, considering his form, he toiled up the hill.

"Mr Hooker, you are the best shot among us, please to pick off that fellow," said Mr Thudicumb. "If it were not for him, I do not think the fellows would have come on."

The hunchback still continued to advance, his long arms and claw-like fingers assisting him up the steeper places. Again he stopped and appeared to be swearing at his men for not coming faster. He was now within range. I could not help looking on one side to watch Mr Hooker as he stood perfectly calm with his musket covering the pirate chief. Little did the man think that a musket in the hands of an unerring shot was pointed at him. The pirates, finding no opposition as yet, now came on more readily, and soon another body of an equal number appeared behind them, coming from the woods. I could by this time clearly see the countenance of the pirate. He was an old man, with two or more ugly gashes about the face, showing that he had not followed his profession with impunity. The pirates, uttering fierce cries, were now rushing on.

"I must stop that fellow's career, at all events," said Mr Hooker, levelling his piece. He fired. The old pirate stood up for an instant on a rock which he had just reached, waving his sword above his head, and then fell backwards over the men who were coming up behind him. The Frau instantly seized the gun, and began reloading it. The pirates, who had been quickly advancing, now appeared to waver.

"If we had a dozen more fellows with us, we would quickly sally out and put them to flight!" exclaimed Mr Thudicumb.

"But as we are only nine in all, not counting de ladies and Merlin, and dem fellows fight like wild beasts, we hab hard job to drive dem back," said Potto Jumbo. "Still we fight while we got drop blood in de veins. Merlin fight wid teeth dough; you see dat! Hurrah, boys!" and Potto took aim at another Malay leader who now occupied the position of the first.

Merlin was fully as eager for the fight as any one, and rushed backwards and forwards, poking his snout between the palisades wherever there was an opening, and barking furiously.

"I wish we had another python to let loose on them, uncle," I said to Mr Sedgwick, near whom I was standing. "It might have a useful effect."

"Ah, yes; we should not have killed the other fellow, Walter," he observed. "But, to be sure, it would have been a difficult matter to capture him, and still more so to make him take the right course when we let him loose again."

The pirates, fortunately, had but very few fire-arms among them, and they evidently depended on a hand to hand combat to overcome us. The larger body had now gained a more exposed part of the hill, and began to ascend quicker than before. We therefore, taking good aim, had to fire as rapidly as possible. No time for speaking now. Thanks to the skill with which the Frau and the young ladies loaded the muskets, we were able to keep up a constant fusillade, which must have made it appear that we had far more men within the fort than was really the case. To keep up the deception, we ran from side to side, thus extending the length of our line, now firing out through one opening, now through another.

"Do not throw a shot away," Mr Thudicumb continued saying. "Fix on your man before you fire."

I had never seen a shot fired in anger; but I own my blood quickly got up, and I no longer felt the slightest compunction in killing our enemies. Even Oliver, so gentle and tender-hearted, played his part well, and I believe every shot he fired took effect. In my eagerness I missed once or twice; but seeing the importance of following the mate's advice, I endeavoured to restrain my excitement and take steady aim before I pulled the trigger. Still our ferocious enemies so far outnumbered us, that if they once got up to the palisades, even though many might be killed, a superior force would be able to climb up and overpower us. They were within a dozen yards when, greatly to my dismay, I saw another strong body emerging from the wood, and with loud shouts rushing up the hill to join their companions. I began for the first time to think that all would be lost. My heart sank as I contemplated the dreadful fate of the two poor girls. What would become of them and the good Frau when we were all killed? for killed I fully believed we all should be. Still, as yet, none of us were hurt, although their arrows flew thickly over our heads, and they had begun to throw their darts at us. Four or five, armed with muskets, now advanced, and also began firing away—their shot pinging against the palisades. We had far more to dread from them than from the arrows, I fancied. As they got nearer, however, several arrows came through the openings, and I heard a bullet whistle close to my ear. It was the first time I had heard such a sound, but I knew it well, and could not avoid bobbing my head, though the shot had passed me. Mr Thudicumb and Dick Tarbox, however, never flinched the whole time. Uttering loud shouts and shrieks, the fresh body of men now joined their companions, while the first continued to shower arrows and darts and to send their bullets among us. I saw Oliver suddenly fall. An arrow had struck him on the shoulder.

"It is nothing," he called out; "it is nothing," and endeavoured to draw the weapon from his wound.

Frau Ursula saw what had occurred, as she was at that moment handing up a musket, and springing up, carried him down into their cave. The dreadful thought came across me that the arrows were poisoned. I could not, however, leave my post to inquire. His fate might be that of any one of us the next instant. I could only wish that all were as prepared to meet death as I knew he was. Directly afterwards I saw my uncle stagger. A bullet had struck him; but recovering himself, he cried, "Never mind, lads! A mere graze;" and instantly again fired. The muskets came from below loaded, less quickly than before. I guessed the reason—that the Frau or the girls were attending to poor Oliver. Again a flight of arrows came flying over and through the palisades, some sticking in them, when I felt one pass through my cap, and, as I thought, wound my head. I could not help having the fearful dread that the poison would quickly enter my veins, and expected every instant to drop. Still there was but little time for thought, and I resolved to fight away with my companions to the last. A few minutes more of life were of but little value, and I now fully expected that, in spite of the determined way in which we were defending our fort, it would be stormed at last. Directly afterwards the Malays, showering their missiles upon us, with loud shouts and shrieks rushed on. Some caught hold of the palisades, and attempted to pull them down; others began to climb over them. Some forced their hands through the openings to seize the bamboo spears as we thrust them out at our enemies. I caught sight of a number of pirates making their way to one side where the fort was undefended. Nothing now, it seemed to me, could prevent them from getting in; but when I shouted out, Potto Jumbo joined me, and we rushed to the spot. Just then a loud shouting was heard coming up from the bottom of the hill. I could distinguish through the opening, for the space was clear where we then were, several pirates turning their heads. The shouting increased. Some ran down the hill, the others turned and followed, and those who had been climbing up the palisades dropped to the ground, and then, as if seized by a sudden panic, rushed down the hill helter-skelter, eager to avoid the shot which we sent after them. We could scarcely believe what had occurred.

"Heaven be praised!" said Mr Thudicumb. "We are saved, and I do not think they will come back again."



CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

BUILDING OF THE "HOPE."

What had thus suddenly made the Malays take to flight remained a mystery. Forgetting my own wound, my first impulse was to run down and see after Oliver. I met Emily, who threw herself into my arms.

"He is better, he is better!" she exclaimed. "The good Frau has, I believe, saved his life."

"We are all saved, my dear sister," I said. "The enemy have taken to flight, and we hope will not come back again."

"And he will be saved—he will not die," she again said, leading me to where Oliver was lying on a bed of leaves.

The Frau had torn off his jacket and shirt, and I found that, like Queen Eleanor, who saved her husband's life, she had been sucking the poison, if there was any, from the wound, and was now carefully bathing it.

"I do not think I am much hurt," said Oliver, looking up as I entered. "The good Frau has tended me so kindly and carefully, that I am sure I shall soon get better."

When the Frau had finished with Oliver, I begged her to look at my head, and, greatly to my relief, I found that the point of the arrow had not entered the flesh; the pain was caused by the shaft, which had passed over my head, only carrying away some of the hair. While the Frau was making the examination, Emily and Grace stood trembling, watching the result. Emily now threw herself on my neck and burst into tears, while little Grace took my hand, and exclaimed,—"I am so thankful! I am so thankful that neither you nor Oliver are likely to suffer."

"And now, my kind Frau," said Mr Sedgwick, coming down, "perhaps you will look at my little hurt. You are the best doctor of the party, and it strikes me that I have a bullet somewhere in my shoulder."

"Well, then, you lie down there," she said, placing him on the ground, and kneeling down by his side after he had taken off his coat and shirt. "Let me see. Yes, here is the hole the bullet came through."

I looked, when, to my surprise, I saw a little blue mark, scarcely larger than a pea, and could not believe that a bullet had passed into it.

"Yes, it come in there," she continued; "I see. Hillo! here it is, though;" and she touched a large lump which appeared just behind the shoulder. "Oh, I got knife. Now you no squeak out, sir;" and taking a sharp knife from her pocket, she made a cut across the flesh, when out popped the bullet almost into the mouth of the faithful Tanda, who had followed his master, and was eagerly watching the operation. An abundant supply of cool water was then applied, and plasters put on. "There, you stay quiet a little, sir, and you soon get well," she said; "but stay, I want to pull out the bit of shirt that go in—not much, though." Indeed, the hole in the shirt was not much larger than that in the flesh; but still it was evident that some portion had been torn away. My uncle could hardly refrain from crying out as the Frau probed the wound. She, however, succeeded in finding the piece of cotton. Fortunately the jacket had flown open at the moment, so that nothing else had gone in. "There, you healthy man; you be well in a few days— no fear," she said.

Seldom has a desperate battle been fought with so few casualties on one side, though, to be sure, a third of our party might have been put down as wounded. We had reason to be thankful; but still I could not help dreading that the Malays might return. Mr Sedgwick was about to despatch Tanda, when Mr Thudicumb proposed that we should hoist our post, and endeavour to ascertain what was the cause of their flight. By means of the coir-rope we had prepared, it was soon hoisted up, and stepped in its place more securely now than at first, because there was no necessity for again lowering it. Roger Trew was very speedily at the top.

"Hurrah!" he shouted; "hurrah! The prows are shoving off to sea, pulling away like mad! Yes, there's the reason too—a large square-rigged, white-sailed vessel coming round the point. By her look, too, she is English; and they know pretty well that if they were to be caught by her, their day of pirating would be over. Hurrah! hurrah!"

As may be supposed, we were all eager to mount to the top of the post, and have a look at the stranger. Mr Thudicumb with his spy-glass followed Roger.

"Yes, there is no doubt about it. She is a British man-of-war; and I daresay she has been cruising in search of these very fellows. They are all off, though; yes—five, six, eight prows, making their way to the eastward. She will see our flagstaff on the rock, I hope, and send in here. But I forgot; the pirates carried that away."

Thus he continued making his observations. We all stood eagerly round him, though the ocean was hid from us.

"She has caught sight of the prows," he exclaimed, "and is making more sail. They are, however, well to windward of her, and I am afraid she will have a hard job to catch them up. Perhaps she will make a tack in here; and if so, she will see us."

"Would it not be as well to hoist a signal on the Flagstaff Rock, to supply the place of the flag carried off?" observed Mr Hooker.

"Of course, of course," was the answer; "and the sooner we do so the better."

As we knew that the house had been burned down, and no accommodation was to be found on the shore, it was agreed that the ladies, with Oliver and Potto Jumbo, Mr Sedgwick and Tanda, should remain at the fort, in case any stray Malays might have failed to get off. It was important also to drag away the dead bodies as soon as possible. In a very few hours they would render the fort scarcely bearable; besides which they would be certain to attract beasts of prey. Tanda and Potto Jumbo undertook to perform this unpleasant work, and to bury them in some soft ground at the bottom of the hill. The rest of us then set off to the sea-shore, carrying a large sheet which had been saved from the wreck to act as a signal.

"And Hooker, my dear fellow—Hooker," exclaimed my uncle, as we were starting, "do let me know as soon as possible if our treasures have escaped; it would be heartbreaking to lose them. Send up Walter as soon as possible. The knowledge that they are safe would bring me round quicker than anything else, and recompense me for what we have gone through."

"Depend on me," answered his brother naturalist. "I hope it will be all right; though probably, had the pirates not found their way to the fort, they would have discovered our stores."

We now hurried down the hill, and made the best of our way along our river road to the shore. As we passed the spot where the house had stood, a heap of cinders alone remained, still smouldering. It was surprising, indeed, that the trees had escaped. Had they caught fire, a large portion of the forest, if not the whole of the woods on the island, might have been burned. We were thankful we had escaped such a fearful calamity. On our way we found the apparently dead body of a pirate. I was going up to him, when Mr Thudicumb called me back.

"Stay, stay, Walter!" he cried. "If he is not dead, he may take his revenge on you, even though at the last gasp."

I drew back just in time, for I thought I saw the man's eye move. Dick Tarbox came on the next moment, when the seemingly dead Malay started up, and made a rush at me, with his sharp kriss in his hand. But the exertion was too much for him: just as he reached me he fell back, his wound bursting out afresh, and the next instant he gave a gasp, and was dead. It showed the desperate character of the men with whom we had had to contend, and increased our gratitude that we had escaped falling into their hands. Two more we found close to the beach, who had been left behind by their companions in their hurry to embark. One was already dead; the other, though badly wounded, still breathed. We approached him cautiously. Roger Trew was on the point of lifting up his musket to give him his quietus, when Mr Hooker called to him.

"He knows no better, poor wretch!" he said. "If he were our greatest enemy, we should do our best to save him; only let us take away from him the power of doing mischief."

"You are right, sir; I forgot that," said Roger Trew.

The pirate's kriss was in his hand, but his arm was too weak to lift it. We removed his weapon, when Mr Hooker addressed some words to him, which made the pirate open his eyes wide with astonishment.

"I have told him we will not hurt him," said our friend, "and if we can do him any good, we will. I do not think he quite believes us; but here, fortunately, I have brought some water. He is suffering from thirst; lift up his head, and I will pour a few drops down his throat."

This was done; and Mr Hooker—asking me to watch the man, after we had placed him higher up on the beach—giving me his flask, hurried off with the rest of the party to the Flagstaff Rock.

I confess I was somewhat disappointed, as I thought I should be able to get a better view of the movements of the English ship from thence. I continued, however, to apply the flask to the man's mouth, he every now and then making signs that he was suffering from thirst. I looked out seaward, where I could still see the ship, and she seemed to me to be standing towards the shore. How eagerly my heart beat with the thoughts of being once more on board, and on my way to a civilised land! Not that I was weary of my stay on the island; but I knew how anxious Captain and Mrs Davenport must be about their daughter: and she, too, poor girl, was pining sadly for them.

I lost sight of the party for some time, till at length I saw them clambering up on a point of the rock where our flagstaff stood. It was still there, though the flag had been carried away. Presently I saw Roger Trew mounting to the top to re-reeve the halliards; and then up went the huge white cloth, which flew out in the breeze against the dark-green foliage of the forest. That surely must be seen, I thought. The party stood round it, keeping their telescopes fixed on the distant ship. Presently I saw that some movement was taking place on board. Alas! the ship was tacking, and away she stood from the island. Perhaps she will tack again, and once more stand in for the shore, I thought. With difficulty could I take my eyes off her, to attend to the wounded Malay. His low voice asking for water again drew my attention to him. Although his brow was low and his eyes somewhat close together and turned inwards, the expression of his countenance was not so bad as that of many of his people; and I thought even that he gave a smile of gratitude as I occasionally let a few drops of water trickle down his throat.

The ship stood on and on. Once more she tacked, and my hopes revived. She was, however, by this time a considerable distance along the coast, and I could scarcely hope that our signal had been seen. I had been keeping my eyes on her for some time, without turning my head, when I heard voices, and looking round, I saw Mr Hooker and his party coming towards me.

"No chance of getting off this time, I am afraid," said Mr Thudicumb. "We shall have to build our vessel, and the sooner we set about it the better."

"We must, however, put a house over our heads in the meantime," said Mr Hooker. "This poor fellow, too, if we are to be instrumental in preserving his life, must be cared for."

"Of course, sir," said Roger Trew. "We will have a hut up for him in no time; and then, as it will be better to be near the shore instead of remaining on the hill, we must get one set up for the young ladies and the old Frau."

"Very right, my lad," said Mr Hooker. "But now, while you attend to the wounded man, Walter and I will go and look for our treasures, and ascertain whether they have escaped discovery by the pirates."

How eagerly Mr Hooker, whom I followed, looked round him on every side as we proceeded to the hiding-place, lest he should discover any signs of its having been visited!

"Alack! alack! I am afraid some of them have been here," he said. "Oh, what mischief they may have done!"

We reached a hollow under the bank of a dry stream. Alas! the boughs had been pulled away, and it was very evident that it had been entered. The first thing we came upon was the jar which had contained the nautilus: it was open and empty. The arrack had been carried off, and the mollusc lay, entirely destroyed, on one side.

"This is sad—very sad! Oh, what a loss!" exclaimed Mr Hooker. "I hope we may discover that no worse mischief has been done."

We went in, almost falling over a case which had been opened. Mr Hooker examined it anxiously. It had not been disturbed, but after being opened, the top had been allowed to fall down again. The other cases were in the place where we left them. We now examined them. Mr Hooker uttered a shout of joy as he found that all had escaped. It was evident that the Malays had intended carrying off the cases, but had been frightened away before they could accomplish their object.

"Now, Walter, run up to your uncle with the good news," exclaimed Mr Hooker. "He said it would restore him, and I am sure it will. But do not go without your fowling-piece, though. We have had examples of the savage creatures to be met with in the woods."

I hurried along as fast as my legs would let me. I knew the delight the announcement would give my uncle. I took the path we had so often followed; keeping, as may be supposed, a bright look-out on either side, lest I might encounter a wild beast or serpent. Emily saw me coming, for she was on the watch, and ran down the hill to meet me. She gave a good account of Oliver.

"I am so thankful," she said; "he does not seem to have suffered from that fearful arrow. I little knew at the time what a risk you were all running; but I now see how mercifully we have been preserved."

Our uncle had been sleeping, but he started up when he heard me speaking in the fort.

"And our treasures, have they escaped, Walter? Are my collections all safe?" he asked eagerly.

I told him that all his things had been uninjured, and that one case only of Mr Hooker's had suffered, besides the nautilus.

"Nautilus, did you say? Has that been destroyed? Oh, those atrocious villains! That prize on which I set such value! Well, Walter, you must try and catch me another; you cannot render me a greater service. Alas! alas! that I should have lost that one, and all for the sake of the arrack in which it was preserved!"

I assured him that I would do my best to try and catch another, as I was certain would also our companions.

"If poor Macco had been with us, I should have had more hope," I said. "I never met a more expert fisherman, and I am sure he would have devised some means, though we might fail."

He seemed to take much less to heart the information that the English ship had passed by; indeed, I suspect he was very unwilling to leave the island till he had re-collected more of the specimens which had been left in the house and destroyed. As yet we could not tell whether the pirates had discovered our store of timber for building the vessel, as we had not had time to visit the bay; nor, indeed, whether the boat had escaped their sharp eyes. That had been hidden among the rocks at some distance from the place where we usually landed, and might possibly, we hoped, not have been seen.

Late in the evening the rest of the party returned. They had given up all hopes of again seeing the vessel, and they came to ask Mr Sedgwick whether he would like to be carried down to the sea-shore.

"Certainly, certainly," he answered; "though I think I can walk. The lad here—Oliver—must be carried; and if I fail, I will get you to help me. But the sooner we commence building a house the better. I suppose some time must pass before the vessel can be got afloat, and we can be comfortable in the meantime Tanda here, who helped me to put up the other house, will be of great assistance; and with so many hands, we can soon get it ready."

I forgot to mention the creatures which had accompanied us into the fort: we had to pull down some of our stockade to let them out. And now, much in the order in which we had arrived, we returned to the site of the house; near which we found our friends had put up very comfortable huts for the reception of Mr Sedgwick and Oliver, and the ladies.

It was night by the time we arrived. Our two-footed and four-footed friends seemed delighted to get back to their old location, and began feeding away eagerly, there being an abundance of provender suited to their tastes scattered about.

"Up, lads, up!" I heard my uncle shouting out next morning. The sound made me open my eyes. "Up, lads, up! We have work to do: a house to put up, and a vessel to build; provisions to collect, and stores to prepare."

All hands of our little community were soon on foot.

"Yah! yah! yah!" I heard the Frau cry out. "I will prepare breakfast. You men go and work. Yah!"

With axes, knives, and saws, most of us started for the nearest bamboo grove, and were soon cutting and hacking away, bringing down the huge stalks and clearing them of their leaves. Oliver and I, however, went in search of the boat, promising to join them. We eagerly hastened to the spot where we had left it, scarcely, however, expecting to find, it safe. It had escaped discovery, and we returned with the satisfactory information.

As the stalks of the bamboos were cut down, they were formed into bundles of a size which we could manage to drag over the ground to the site of the house. Two of the party, under the direction of my uncle, dug the holes where the uprights were to be inserted. Mr Hooker and I undertook to drag the bundles. When we arrived with the first, we found the Frau, aided by the girls, busily employed in roasting and boiling before a huge fire which she had kindled. Oliver was still unable to do any work. He therefore remained at the camp—as I may call it—in the careful hands of the kind Frau; she or one of the girls being constantly at his side, either with some cooling beverage, or with some delicacy which they thought might tempt his appetite. At a little distance, in the shade of some boughs, lay the wounded Malay. I saw his eyes fixed on the girls with an expression of wonder. He probably had never seen any beings so fair and graceful before. I could not help fancying that he must have supposed them angels from another world; but whether or not I was right, I have my doubts. When, however, one of them took him a cup of tea which the Frau had just brewed, he received it with an expression of countenance which I thought betokened gratitude.

When a number of people are working together with a will properly directed, it is extraordinary how rapidly work can be got through. We had a considerable number of the uprights in their places before we sat down to breakfast. We were not long about our meal, as we were determined to finish what was necessary to be done as soon as possible. Having cut down a sufficient supply of bamboos, we next proceeded to fell several sago-palms, for the purpose of obtaining the leaf-stems for the walls and partitions, while from the trunks we intended to make a supply of sago for our voyage. By the evening we had made wonderful progress with the house, and retired to our temporary huts, satisfied that we had done a good day's work.

Fitting the leaf-stems into frames occupied a longer time; but as neatness was not our object, it was done rapidly. Thus in about four days we had a very respectable house over our heads, capable of holding all the party. My uncle sighed as he looked about it, though, and thought of the treasures his former abode had contained. We now brought back his and Mr Hooker's collections, and stored them in a division which we called the museum.

"The next thing we have to do is to grow some corn for our consumption," said our uncle.

"Grow corn?" I asked. "Why, I did not suppose that we were to remain here a year till it came up."

He laughed. "A couple of months, or little more, after it is put into the ground, will be sufficient to produce the ripe corn," he answered.

I expressed some incredulity, for I fancied that he was laughing at me.

"Set to work and scrape up the ground, for it is scarcely necessary to dig it very deep. We will put in the corn, and you will see that my prediction will be fulfilled. Fortunately, I saved a quantity of seed, which I placed with my collections in concealment," he said.

From house-building all hands set to work to cultivate the ground, and we quickly had a large space cleared for the reception of the seed, which, although not a native of that clime, flourishes, as it does throughout the greater portion of the American continent, whatever may be the latitude.

By this time my uncle had almost recovered from his wound, and Oliver and the Malay were much better and able to move about. Both my uncle and Mr Hooker could converse with the Malay. They found him a very intelligent fellow. He told them that his name was Ali, that he had followed various occupations, but that, having gambled away all his property, he had as a last resource taken to piracy. Among other things, he had been a bee-hunter, and seemed to possess a great knowledge of those wonderful insects. He boasted also of his skill as a fisherman. Constantly listening to us as we talked, he soon began to pick up a great many words of English. He was thus able to understand things said to him, though he could not make any very clear reply.

Mr Thudicumb now once more urged the importance of commencing our proposed vessel. I rather think that the two naturalists were in no hurry to get away from the island, as they were both of them anxious to replace the objects of natural history which had been destroyed by the pirates. However, they could not refuse to comply with Mr Thudicumb's request, and we therefore set forth with tools to the bay where we had collected the materials, which, it will be remembered, we called Hope Harbour. Fortunately, the pirates had not discovered it, or they would probably have burned our wood. The timber and planks which had been brought on shore did not appear very promising; at first, indeed, I thought it would be impossible to make a vessel out of them.

"Perseverance will overcome difficulties," observed Mr Thudicumb. "Never fear, Walter. With our axes and saws we shall be able in time to smooth away these planks and fit the ribs to the new craft. However, the first thing to be done is to get the keel laid, and for that purpose we must have one of the longest and straightest trees we can find."

There was a clear road from the bay up into the interior, and while one party prepared the spot where the vessel was to be built, levelling the ground, and fixing logs on which the keel was to be placed, under Mr Thudicumb's directions another started to select the timber. We were not long before we came to a tall tree, fully eighty feet in height, and as straight as an arrow.

"That will do admirably for us," said Mr Thudicumb; "for though our vessel must not be so long, we shall require the thicker part for the purpose."

Tarbox, Roger Trew, and Potto Jumbo set to work to fell the tree, the forest loudly resounding with the blows of their axes. I must not occupy too much time in describing how the tree was felled, the branches cut off, and squared into shape. We then, fastening some ratans round it, dragged it on rollers to the bed which had been prepared, and thus in due form laid the keel of the Hope. Mr Thudicumb, with pencil and paper, had drawn a plan of the proposed vessel.

"We will give her a good floor," he said, "though she may be rather long for her beam; but a long vessel is better suited to the seas we may have to go through. We will rig her as a cutter or yawl perhaps."

Day after day we repaired to the bay; but to my eye our progress was but slow indeed, as every timber had to be reformed, and the old bolts taken out of them, as well as out of the planks. It was a long business. With the exception of Mr Thudicumb and Tarbox, we were all inexperienced carpenters. At last, indeed, Mr Thudicumb proposed that he and Tarbox and Roger Trew, with Potto Jumbo, should devote themselves to building the vessel, while the rest of us either went fishing, or assisted Mr Sedgwick and Mr Hooker in collecting objects of natural history, or in manufacturing sago, or in making other articles which would be required for the voyage or present use.

We set to work to make our sago, much in the way I have before described. We had got through the pith of a couple of trees, when one day Ali made us understand that he had seen some bees at a distance, and that he was sure we might procure some honey, if we would assist him in obtaining it. The Frau pricked up her ears at the sound.

"Oh yes, yes!" she exclaimed; "it will be great thing with sago-bread. You go, Ali; go!"

It was arranged that Mr Hooker, with Oliver and I, should accompany Ali in his search. We started, therefore, accompanied by Merlin. Ali supplied himself with a couple of large cloths. He also, as he went along, cut some creepers, one a stout one, and another, of considerable length, very fine. These he begged us to carry. With our guns as usual, we took our way through the forest. I had often remarked that he seemed very uncomfortable, as if there was something he wanted very much. As we were proceeding, we came to several tall, slender, and extremely graceful palms. The trunks were from six to eight inches only in diameter, though the sheath of green leaves that sprang from their summits was nearly forty feet from the ground. They were indeed elegant trees. Mr Hooker, when he saw them, said they were the pinang, or betel-nut palm—Areca catechu. We found the nuts growing from a stalk hanging down in the centre, forming a loose conical cluster. Ali no sooner set eyes on them, than he climbed one of the trees, and brought down a bunch of the nuts. He put several of them into the bag he carried by his side, and we proceeded some distance, till we came to a stony place, when he instantly, selecting two large stones, pounded some nuts. They were ripe, each about the size of a small chicken's egg, the skin of a brightish yellow. Within was a husk, similar to the husk of a cocoa-nut. Within this again was a small spherical nut, not unlike a nutmeg, and somewhat hard and tough. Having picked some leaves, he took one of them, and produced from his pocket a small piece of lime about the size of a pea. This he mixed with some of the nut, and enclosed in the leaf. He then took the roll between his thumb and forefinger, and rubbed it violently against the front of his gums, his teeth being closed and his lips open. After this, he began to chew it for some time, and then held it between his lips and teeth, a portion protruding from his mouth. Nothing could be more disagreeable than the result, for immediately a profusion of a red brick-coloured saliva poured out from each corner, dropping to the ground as if his mouth was bleeding. He seemed, however, highly satisfied, and continued on at a brisk pace. Soon, however, he spoke a few words to Mr Hooker, who forthwith produced from his pocket a tobacco-bag. The eyes of the Malay glistened with delight as he saw it; and as soon as Mr Hooker gave him a small portion of the tobacco, cut very fine, he put it in with the betel, leaving long threads, like pieces of oakum, hanging out on either side of his mouth, not improving his appearance; and on again he went, chewing the mass with evident delight.

Mr Hooker was not at all surprised. He told me that not only the men but the women indulge in the same unpleasant habit. When a number of them meet to chat, the various articles are produced from a box at hand, and a high urn-shaped receptacle of brass is placed in the middle of the circle, into which each dame or damsel may discharge the surplus saliva from her mouth. When a guest comes in, the siri box is immediately presented, that the mouth may be filled before commencing conversation.

In a short time a bee was seen flying before us; and immediately Ali hurried on at a rapid rate, till we came under a tall, straight tree, with a very smooth bark, and without a branch for at least eighty feet from the ground. On one of the long outspreading branches I saw a couple of large combs hanging down, of a black colour. After watching it for a minute, there was a slight movement on the outside, and I discovered that it was covered with bees. Ali now produced a small bundle of resinous wood, which he had brought with him to serve as a torch, and giving it to me to hold, lighted the end. He then fastened one of the cloths round his loins, and another over his head, neck, and body, leaving, however, his face, arms, and legs without covering. The thin coil of rope he had brought he secured to his girdle, while he formed round the tree a circle of tough creepers, inside of which he placed his body. He now secured his torch to the end of another piece of ratan, eight or ten yards long, with his chopping-knife fastened by a short rope. Having done this, he began to ascend the tree, throwing his ratan band a short distance above him, leaning back at the same time and placing his feet against the trunk. It appeared to us who looked on that every instant he would perform a somersault, and come down head first, with a great risk of breaking his neck; but he seemed to have no fear of that sort. Up he went. After ascending a few feet, and getting a firm hold with his bare feet, he again threw up the creeper; and thus he went on and on. If there was any unevenness in the trunk, he took immediate advantage of it by either placing his foot upon it or catching the creeper above it. At length he got within about ten feet of the bough on which the bees hung. He then lifted the torch, swinging it towards the bees, so that the smoke ascended between him and them. He next in a wonderful manner mounted on the bough; and we could not help dreading that the bees would attack him and sting him to death. He, however, brought the torch nearer and nearer to them; and in a short time the cones, which before had been black with bees, were completely deserted, and their natural white colour appeared. The insects, instead of flying towards him, formed a dense mass above his head, where they seemed to hover as if contemplating an attack. Some, braver than the rest, occasionally flew towards him; but he, with perfect coolness, brushed them away, allowing the smoke to circle round above his head, thus keeping them at a distance from his face. At length he got close to the cone, and, with one stroke of his knife, cut it from the bough, when, fastening the end of the rope round it, he lowered it down to us. Proceeding along the bough, he cut the other cone away in the same manner, when the bees, angry at being deprived of their habitation, food, and their young, began to dart down towards us. He, of course, had enough to do to think of himself, and continued waving the torch about his body, while he returned by the same way he had gone up, though at a somewhat more rapid rate.

Meantime the bees had begun to swarm about our heads. Poor Merlin was furiously attacked, and I saw him driving his nose among the leaves, in the vain endeavour to get rid of them. Defeated by the pertinacious insects, he rushed howling away through the forest. We, having secured the cones, followed at full speed, the bees pursuing us, and every now and then giving a disagreeable sting at our ears, face, and hands. We knocked them off as they approached as well as we could. Though we were glad we had got the honey, we agreed that we had paid somewhat dearly for it. However, our blood was in good order, and the pain soon wore off. We had not only got some delicious honey for our friends, but some wax, which was of considerable value. We agreed, however, that the next time we went bee-hunting we would each of us carry a torch for our defence.

"Ali says there are many more cones in the island, and it is a pity not to take them," said Mr Hooker. We were therefore ready to proceed, provided we could find torches. Ali made us a sign to follow him, and soon afterwards, on the side of a hill which we were passing, he pointed out some tall trees. On approaching them we found that from the trunks masses of a sort of gum had exuded.

"Those are dammar trees," observed Mr Hooker. "It burns readily, and the natives of these regions use it for torches; indeed, in some places it serves them instead of candles."

We found not only small lumps, but some weighing upwards of fifteen pounds. Some were hanging on to the trunk; others had fallen, and were partly buried in the ground near the roots. Ali took some of these lumps, and, putting them on a piece of rock, with the blunt end of his axe reduced them to powder. He then cut some palm-leaves, which he formed into tubes about a yard long, and these tubes he filled with the resin, binding them tightly round with small creepers. He presented one to each of us, and then signified that if we followed him he would find more bees' nests, and that we should thus have the means of defending ourselves.

"But poor Merlin, what can he do?" I could not help asking.

"We must defend him then," said Mr Hooker; "and Ali must make another tube to be at his service."

Another was quickly manufactured, and we then proceeded on carefully to discover the nests. In a short time we came to another tree with no less than four cones hanging to one of the branches. In spite of the injuries he had received (for he had not escaped altogether free), Ali prepared to ascend the tree. He made his preparations as before; and it was wonderful to see the composure with which he occasionally swung the torches towards the creatures while ascending, or waved it slowly above his head when he got on the bough. Four more fine cones rewarded him for his enterprise. The bees descended as before, but we received them with the smoke from our dammar torches, which helped considerably to keep them off. Now and then, however, one bold fellow would rush in between the wreaths of smoke and inflict a disagreeable sting; and we had difficult work to defend Merlin's nose and tail at the same time. Mr Hooker, however, stood stock still, merely letting his torch burn quietly; and though some of the bees settled on him, they seemed to consider that they could do him no harm, and again flew off in pursuit of Oliver, Merlin, and I, as we ran away from them.

We now commenced our return homewards, laden with our honey cones and a supply of dammar. We were proceeding across a space rather more open than usual, when we saw a creature run up the trunk of a tree and fly obliquely from it towards the ground, near the foot of another, up which it immediately commenced its ascent. I should have supposed it to be a huge bat, had I not seen it climbing as it did. Ali immediately made chase; and as the creature did not move very fast, he succeeded in overtaking it before it had got to any great distance up the stem. He gave it a tremendous blow on the head, when it fell to the ground, and we thought it had been killed; but as we reached it, it gradually began to move off, running along like any ordinary quadruped. We caught it just as it was about to ascend another tree, when again it received several heavy blows. Even then, however, it seemed not to be dead. Ali coming up, pinned it to the ground with a forked stick. We then saw that it was a creature about the size of a cat, and that it had broad membranes, extending completely round its body to the extremities of the toes, as also to the end of its tail. This was of considerable length, and by the way it curled round a stick we placed near it we found that it was prehensile. The creature we now saw had a young one clinging to its breast, a miserable little wrinkled, hairless monster, and apparently as yet unable to see. Its fur was beautifully soft, almost like velvet. The little one had escaped injury; indeed, the mother was evidently still alive.

Mr Hooker at once recognised it as a flying lemur, the learned name for which is Galeo-pithecus. Ali having covered up its head, undertook to carry it home, as Mr Hooker hoped it would recover.

"Your uncle will be delighted to have it in his menagerie," said Mr Hooker; "and I believe that, unless we cut the creature's head off, nothing will deprive it of life. So I have no doubt that it will be in good health again by to-morrow morning."

We had not got far after this adventure when I heard a curious noise close to us, which I thought must proceed from some bird. It sounded like "Tokay, tokay;" almost, indeed, like a human voice. I drew Mr Hooker's attention to it. He also thought it must be some bird, till Ali coming up at once informed him that it was a lizard, and that he had often heard the creatures thus talk. What it said, he declared he could not tell, but he was very positive that it did talk some language. Perhaps some day a person who did understand it might come that way.

As may be supposed, we were cordially welcomed on our return, especially by the Frau, who was highly delighted with the honey and wax which we brought her.

"Oh! now you shall have honey for your breakfasts, and wax candles when you sit in the house to read or stuff the birds and beasts; though I cannot tell what use they are after you have taken the meat out of them, or wherefore you get so many skins, and pack them up in the boxes," she remarked.

The Frau was no naturalist.



CHAPTER THIRTY.

WALTER DISAPPEARS—NARRATIVE CONTINUED BY EMILY.

I had not forgotten my uncle's wish to obtain another nautilus, but the weather had prevented us going on the water for some days. It having again moderated, I consulted Ali, through Mr Hooker, on the subject, and got him to explain what we proposed doing. We could not, however, make him understand clearly what we wanted. That morning he, Oliver, and I, with Potto Jumbo, went down to the beach to procure shell-fish. We had been some time on the rocks, when I saw an object floating in towards the shore. As it drew nearer, I discovered to my satisfaction that it was the empty shell of a nautilus. In my eagerness I was about to throw off my clothes and jump in to fetch it, when Potto Jumbo drew me back. "Take care, Massa Walter," he said; "shark about here! Never swim out in open place like dis." I, however, pointed out the shell to Ali, and tried to make him understand that it was that of which we were in search. He seemed to fancy that I wanted him to swim off for it, and, thoughtless about the sharks, he was on the point of doing so. Potto stopped him also, and by waiting patiently, the nautilus shell gradually floated in towards us, and seizing it eagerly, I returned with it to the house. Mr Hooker had now no difficulty in explaining to Ali that it was the creature in its shell which he so much desired, and Ali told him that he had great hopes of capturing one.

That evening Ali, Dick Tarbox, and I, went out to fish in our boat in the line of cliffs near which my uncle had shot the frigate-birds. First, however, we pulled out some way, and laid down our fish-pots at a spot where Ali seemed to think it was possible we might capture one of the much-wished-for nautili. It was at this place Ali made us understand that we were more likely to catch fish than any other. He came prepared with hooks, which he himself had manufactured from brass-wire, some of which had been found in the wreck. He had attached about a fathom of wire to each hook, at the upper end of which the line was fastened; this was in order to prevent the sharp teeth of the fish cutting the line. He had caught a few fish in a hand net for bait. Having anchored our boat by a stone sufficient to hold her, we lowered down our lines. To each hook a sort of sling of palm-leaf was fastened, and in this sling was a small stone, so arranged that on reaching the bottom it fell out. We very soon got bites, and Ali was the first to haul up a fine large fish. Immediately afterwards I got one, and Tarbox before long caught another. In the meantime, however, Ali hauled up a couple; indeed, to each of ours he managed somehow or other to get two. Their names I do not remember, but I know I never had better sport in my life. Gradually the rocks above our heads grew higher and higher in the gloom of approaching night, which seemed to soften the faint outlines of the landscape, and to increase the size of the objects round us. A little way from us was an opening in the cliffs, beyond which we could see the dark forest. From it there issued various sounds, which seemed to echo backwards and forwards among the rocks. Among them we could distinguish the moaning cries of monkeys—one seeming to be calling to the other for help in piteous tones. The effect was curious, and had a peculiarly melancholy sound; indeed we might easily have supposed them to be the cries of captive slaves, or perhaps a more fanciful person might describe them as disembodied spirits in some haunted island. Meanwhile the night wind, sighing through the lofty trees, came moaning down towards us. At length darkness compelled us to give up our sport, and, with an abundant supply of fish, we pulled slowly back towards our usual landing-place, where, having unladen our boat, we hauled her up to a safe spot above high-water mark.

I felt an unusual melancholy steal over me, why I cannot tell, while, by the light of a lamp fed by cocoa-nut oil manufactured by my uncle and his factotum Tanda, I sat writing these lines of my journal:—"To-morrow morning Ali and I are going off in the hopes of obtaining a nautilus, and he feels confident that we shall get one, probably at a reef which he knows of at some distance, almost out of sight of the island. It is so far off that, had he not mentioned it, we should not have been aware of its existence."

EMILY'S JOURNAL.

Only yesterday, my dear brother Walter asked me to assist him in writing his journal from his dictation, begging me to put in any remarks of my own. Little did I think at the time that the whole would be my work. I obey his wishes, though sick at heart and full of anxiety. Yesterday morning he and Ali went off in the boat to fish, saying that they were sure of bringing back a nautilus, which our uncle and Mr Hooker so long to possess; but a whole day has passed, and they have not returned. They were seen to be pulling out to sea further than they have ever before gone. They had been some time absent, and we were expecting their return, when a fearful squall, such as has not occurred since the time when the brig was lost, broke over the island. Mr Thudicumb and the kind old boatswain tried to persuade me that I need not be alarmed, but I cannot help feeling most fearful anxiety. The boat is so small, and not at all calculated to contend with a heavy sea. And then that Malay Ali—ought he to have been trusted? I have heard that the Malays are dreadfully treacherous, and he may have taken this opportunity of getting away to join his own people. I could not have thought that he had been so heartless and cruel as to injure Walter, and yet I know it is possible. Poor dear Grace can scarcely lift up her head; she has been in tears all day, and Oliver feels it dreadfully. If we had another boat we might go and search for him, and Oliver has been trying to persuade Mr Thudicumb and the rest to build one; but he says it would take a long time to do so, as no timber is ready for the purpose. It would, indeed, take almost as much time to build a boat as it would to finish the vessel, and he thinks that it is more important to do that. Our uncle and Mr Hooker are very anxious, I see, notwithstanding all they say. This morning before daybreak a strange rumbling noise was heard, and we felt the house shake, and several articles which had been placed carelessly on shelves fell down. On running out into the verandah, a bright light was seen towards the mountains in the interior, caused by flames issuing from a high peak, above which black wreaths of smoke ascended to the sky. Mr Hooker says that although there might be an eruption of the mountain, yet, as we are a long way from it, we should have every prospect of escaping injury. I am nearly certain that they said this to calm our alarm, for, unintentional, I heard them talking together, when Mr Hooker observed he did not like the look of things; that we are living at the mouth of a broad ravine, and that if any large stream of lava were to come down, it would very likely take our direction.

"That is what I am afraid of," said my uncle; "but as we have no means of avoiding it, it would be a pity to put the idea into the minds of the rest."

"Don't you think that we ought to have a large raft built?" Mr Hooker observed. "If the lava were to come down, we might get upon that and escape being burned, for the whole forest would quickly be in a blaze."

Our uncle said he would consult Mr Thudicumb; but he thought it would take a considerable time to build a raft of sufficient size, and that the time might be better employed in getting on with the vessel. They therefore, it appears, have determined to proceed with that.

"But our collections—our cases—what shall we do with them?" said Mr Hooker.

"Well, my dear Hooker," answered my uncle, "though I would willingly risk my own life for the sake of attempting to save them, yet I feel we ought not to imperil the lives of these young people or the others with us. It is sad enough to have lost young Walter, and I am afraid he is lost. That fellow Ali is a genuine Malay; had he been a Dyak, I should have had more confidence, although he might have been a heathen, or a head hunter, or a cannibal to boot. But those Malays, half Mohammedan and half idolaters, are very untrustworthy."

Oh, how my heart sank when I heard these words. I wish that I had not been compelled to listen to them; it shows too clearly what they think. Oliver, though suffering himself, tries to console me. He tells me that I must trust in God, and go on trusting, whatever happens; that I must not suppose, even though Walter should be lost, that we have been deserted by God; and that we may depend upon it, that he has allowed it to happen for the best: at the same time, that he may have many ways of preserving Walter, however great the dangers he may have to go through, and of restoring him to us. Poor Frau Ursula, after she has been looking at the mountain, wrings her hands, and wishes that she had never come to this island. She left Ternate for fear of the burning mountain there, and now she finds herself in a similar position of danger. However, to do her justice, she tries to wear a smiling countenance when she speaks to Grace and me. We are left almost alone at the house, as the rest of the party are assisting at ship-building. Tanda only comes occasionally to feed the animals, and to bring us fruit and vegetables from the garden. We volunteered to go and assist also, as we could at all events carry the wood, and hold the planks while the others were nailing them on; but though they thanked us, they said there were enough hands employed. I believe, however, that only two or three are good workmen, and I suppose that we should be in the way.

Two more anxious days have passed by, and dear, dear Walter has not come back. We go down constantly to the sea-shore to watch for his boat, but it does not appear. I took Mr Hooker's spy-glass, and Grace and I spent many hours on Flagstaff Rock, looking out over the ocean. First I took the glass, then she took it; and so we continued, as if looking would bring him back, till our eyes ached with gazing on the shining water: indeed, Ursula says we must not do it again, or we might bring on blindness, which would be very dreadful. If it were not for Oliver I think we should break down altogether, but he has such a calm, pious, hopeful spirit. He assures me, and I know he speaks the truth, that he yet hopes that Walter will return, or, at all events, that he has not lost his life, and that we may find him some day or other. He has persuaded our uncle to let him read the Bible to the party before they go out to work, and he does so now every morning; and then he offers up a beautiful prayer for our safety, and returns thanks for the care with which we have hitherto been watched over by our merciful God.

Again to-day we wished to go to the rock, when Ursula took the spy-glass from my hands, and said that we might go, but that we must not take it with us; that it could not help Walter to come back, and that we should see him without it as well as with it. We had been sitting there for some time when Oliver joined us. He said that my uncle had sent him to attend upon us, as he thought we ought not to be left to brood over our anxiety by ourselves. Merlin accompanied him; and he says that in future we must not go without Merlin. I suspect that there was some other reason, because Oliver came with a gun. Perhaps some wild beasts may have been seen lurking about in the neighbourhood, and they are afraid the creatures may find us out. Oliver brought a book in his pocket, which he took out and read to us. He reads beautifully, with a gentle, yet clear musical voice. His mother taught him, and he says that she is a well-educated woman, and a very excellent reader. It is a valuable gift—for I think it is a gift, although it is one which may be greatly improved by study and practice. Two or three times I stopped him, however, for I thought I saw an object in the distance which I took to be a boat. Oh, how my heart beat! But when Oliver looked—and his eyes are keener than mine—he assured me that there was nothing, and that it must have been fancy. Again and again I deceived myself in the same way, and so did Grace. Once I felt sure that I saw a boat—she said she saw something too; but we waited and waited, and Oliver read on, and yet the object, if object there was, did not approach nearer. Again I declared I saw a boat. Oliver looked up, and shading his eyes, gazed in the direction in which I pointed.

"You are mistaken, Miss Emily," he answered quietly. "I wish you were not. You caught sight of a mass of sea-weed, and your imagination made it appear to your sight what it is not."

Saying this, he again sat down, and continued reading. Tanda had manufactured some large parasols of palm-leaves, which sheltered us from the sun, or we could not have sat out on the rocks. Oliver had come without one of these, and we thoughtlessly allowed him to sit on with the hot sun burning down on his back. On a sudden, as I was looking at him I saw him turn very pale, and before I could spring to his side to support him, he sunk fainting on the rock. Only then I thought of the cause of his illness, and, holding up his head, placed the parasol above him, while Grace ran down with his hat, and brought it up full of water. The sea-water, however, was very warm. Though we sprinkled his face with it, it did but little to revive him. Oh, what would I not have given for some cold fresh water to pour down his throat! As I leaned over him I was afraid that he would not revive; he looked so deadly pale, and scarcely breathed. I entreated Grace to run to the house, and bring the Frau, with a shell of fresh water; and I thought that perhaps together we might carry Oliver back. Grace set off, followed by Merlin, who evidently seemed to understand that something had to be done. Oh, how anxious I felt for poor Oliver. I am sure that I would have given my own life to save his. He was dear Walter's friend. I am sure Walter loved him as a brother; indeed, he is well worthy of such regard. No one also could be more attached to us. I took my bonnet and fanned his cheek with one hand, while I held the palm-formed parasol over his head with the other. Still he did not revive. I dreaded lest he should have received a sun-stroke, which I knew to be a very dangerous thing. It was very, very thoughtless of us to allow him thus to be exposed, but we had been so accustomed to see everybody out in the hot sun that we did not think about it, and used our parasols more for the sake of preventing our faces being burned than from any fear of danger.

How anxiously I awaited the return of Grace and Ursula! Every now and then I looked up, hoping to see them, but of course I had to watch Oliver, in the hope that he might begin to revive. I could not help occasionally, too, glancing seaward in search of Walter's boat. I thought I saw a slight movement in Oliver's eyes. I was gazing down upon his face when I heard a strange noise coming from the forest. I looked up, but could see nothing. I thought I must have been mistaken. Again the sounds reached my ears, and then, turning my eyes in the direction whence they came, I saw, appearing among the boughs of a tall tree, a hideous countenance. I had not forgotten the appearance of the monster we had seen at the lake. A second look convinced me that it was the face of a huge orang-outan. I trembled lest he should discover Oliver and me. He was at some distance, however, and evidently employed in eating fruit, as I saw a shower of husks and leaves falling down beneath him to the ground. Still I could not help dreading that his eyes were fixed on us. If he were alone, I hoped that there was less danger; but if accompanied by his wife and young ones, I knew that there was great risk, should he see us, of his attacking us, lest we might hurt them. Though anxious to watch Oliver, I could scarcely withdraw my eyes from the hideous monster, who, as he moved along the bough, now appeared full in sight. The sounds made me dread, too, that he was not alone; and presently I saw on another bough a smaller creature, and then, what I dreaded much, another large one among the boughs on the same tree. Still, as long as they remained on the boughs, I knew I had less reason to dread danger.

How long Ursula and Grace seemed in coming! I fancied they would have been with me in a much shorter time. At last I caught sight of Grace running along the shore round a point of rock, and when she saw me she signed that Ursula was following. A new alarm now seized me lest the orang-outan should see her as she passed by, and descend the tree in chase. I thought of Oliver's gun, which lay near; but though I knew how to fire, I had never taken aim at an object, and I had little hope of shooting the mias. I was afraid, too, of crying out, lest that might also attract him; indeed, had I done so, Grace would probably not have known what to do, and was very likely to be pursued. I watched the tree with greater anxiety even than before, but the mias continued busily employed in plucking fruit and handing it to the young one; as I supposed, teaching him how to open it, and take the best parts. My heart beat as if it would break, so anxious did I become. Oh, how thankful I felt when Grace at length reached me with the shell of water.

"I could not help spilling some of it," she said, as she put it to Oliver's lips. "I am sure it will do him good. See! see! he is already opening his eyes."

He did so, but closed them again. We poured a few drops down his throat, and then bathed his forehead and head; and in the meantime Ursula was approaching. She could never move conveniently very fast, and she was now evidently out of breath from running. This made her perhaps more inclined to cry out, to let us know that she was coming. Supposing the mias had not seen her, I dreaded lest her voice should attract its attention. That it had done so there was soon no doubt, for I saw him leaning over the bough, and looking eagerly about. Not till then did I tell Grace what I had seen.

"Oh dear! what shall we do?" she exclaimed. "It will seize poor Ursula, I am sure. See! see! it is already swinging itself down from the bough! Yes—there—it has almost reached the ground! Shall we let Ursula know of her danger, though I am afraid she will faint if she catches sight of the creature, she has such a dread of them?"

"No; say nothing: she is too far on to run back again, and it will be better for her to get on the rock, and she may reach it before the mias can do so."

"But if she does not, I must fire!" exclaimed Grace, seizing Oliver's gun. "I am not afraid of doing that."

"But you cannot take good aim," I said. "It will be better not till the last extremity."

"No; I will only do so if the mias gets near Ursula," she answered, taking up the gun, however, and advancing steadily along the rock.

I had never seen her exhibit so much coolness and courage; indeed, I did not think that she possessed them. Ursula had stopped at that moment for want of breath, and the mias also seemed to be sitting on a lower branch which he had reached, gazing towards us, as if considering whether the person he saw was coming to attack him. Happily all this time Ursula was not aware of her danger. Having recovered herself a little, she again began to hurry on towards the rock. Hoping that, as the mias stopped when she stopped, it might do so again, I now shouted out to her. The creature turned a quick glance towards us, and discovered, as it might suppose, that it had two enemies instead of one. "Quick! quick, Ursula! quick!" now shouted Grace, pointing to the mias. The poor Frau showed by her gestures how frightened she was. Still she managed to run on, while the mias continued descending the tree. Before, however, it had reached the ground she had got up to the rock, at no great distance from Grace.

"Run! run!" cried Grace; "get safely on to the rock, good Frau, and I will defend you."

"No, no, my child," answered the Frau. "It is for me to fight. Give me the gun. I know how to use it. You run back to Emily and Oliver. Here, take this shell of water, though. I will fire the gun, I say."

She almost snatched the weapon out of the hand of Grace, who came on towards us with the water. I saw that the Frau was taking aim at the mias, and was considering whether she could hit it at so great a distance. I was afraid that she would not, and entreated her not to fire.

"No, no, my child," she shouted out; "I will wait till he come nearer."

Our position was truly a dreadful one, for the creature might in a few minutes have destroyed the good Frau, and then come and attacked us if it had been so disposed. We were now once more quiet, and this induced the mias to remain stationary. I wondered why Merlin had not come. I thought that he might have assisted us at all events; at the same time it was too probable that should he attack the creature, he would be speedily worsted.

We now again applied more water to Oliver's brow, and gave him a few more drops to drink. The effect was satisfactory; and not only did he open his eyes, but his lips began to move, and a slight colour came back to his cheeks. At length I heard him speaking, but in so low a voice that I had to put my ear to his mouth.

"What is it all about?" he asked; "what has happened?"

"Do not be anxious, dear Oliver," I said. "The sun was very hot, and you fainted." I did not like to tell him of our alarm about the mias.

"But I shall soon be well," he answered. "It is very hot here. I think I could reach the shade of some tree, where it would be cooler."

"Oh no, no; you must not move," I cried out. "We are safer here."

The exertion of speaking, however, was evidently very great, and with a gentle sigh he again leaned back. Of course, with that horrid creature near us, I would not have ventured towards the forest, even had he been better able to move.

The mias had all the time been watching us, and perhaps, from seeing so many people together, it thought we were about to attack it. Now, to our horror, we saw it reach the ground and stand upright, holding on by one of the boughs, and grinning savagely at us, so we fancied. The Frau took the gun. "I'll fire! I'll kill him!" she cried out. "He must not come near to hurt you young people." There was a firmness in her tone I had seldom heard. She felt herself to be our protectress, and was prepared to do battle in our behalf. Oliver heard her speak.

"What is it?" he asked in a faint voice.

"Oh, there is a horrid mias near us, and the Frau has taken your gun to shoot it," answered Grace.

"She cannot aim properly! Let me fire. Don't fire—don't fire, Frau!" he said, attempting to rise. He was, however, too weak, and again sunk back on the rock, supported by Grace and me.

With horror we saw the mias let go the bough and begin to walk towards us on all fours. It advanced towards where a thick shrub grew, when again catching hold of a bough, it raised itself up on its hind legs. "Now I'll fire!" cried the Frau. I was afraid even then that had it been much nearer she would not have hit it, or at all events wounded it mortally, and I knew that it would become more savage. I cried out to her to stop till it was nearer, but at that instant she pulled the trigger. She had missed, we feared, for the mias, uttering a savage cry, again moved towards us.

"Load again; load again!" Grace and I cried out.

"Bring the gun to me, pray," said Oliver; "I will load it. I can do that." He felt for his ammunition, which was at his side, but the Frau took it from him.

"I'll load," she said, beginning to do so. All this time the mias was advancing. Now and then it turned its head, however, as if to watch what had become of its family, and this delayed its progress. The Frau, having had experience of loading at the fort, was soon again ready. Kneeling down, she raised the fowling-piece to her shoulder. The mias was still standing upright. At the instant she fired we saw it fall.

"It is hit—it is hit!" cried Grace.

"I have killed the creature!" exclaimed the Frau.

But no, it had merely fallen to its usual walking position, and was once more approaching us. There appeared no longer time for her to load. All hope of escaping the savage monster abandoned us. The Frau, however, grasped the gun, evidently intending to do battle. At that instant Merlin's loud bark was heard, and we saw him tearing along over the sand towards us. The mias stopped to look at him, seeming to think him a more dangerous antagonist than were we three females and our sick companion. Merlin caught sight of the mias, and bounded towards him. I now began to fear for our four-footed friend, for I knew the power of the creature, and how one grasp of its strong hands would in an instant destroy the dog. Just, however, before Merlin reached it, loud shouts were heard, and we saw coming round the point of the rock several of our friends with guns in their hands, evidently understanding that we were in danger. Mr Tarbox, the boatswain, led the way, followed by Mr Hooker and Potto Jumbo. The mias now turned round and moved towards the dog, but Merlin was too sagacious to allow himself to be caught, and when almost within the creature's reach he bounded on one side, and then wheeled off, still barking, with the evident intention of drawing it away from us. How thankful I felt when I saw him do so, for his purpose was answered. The creature followed him, making springs which at each bound almost brought it up to him; but on every occasion the dog nimbly avoided it, till he had brought it within range of the boatswain's musket. The mias, exasperated by disappointment, made two or three successive springs towards the dog, which brought it still nearer to our friends. The boatswain fired, when the creature seemed to discover, for the first time, how near it was to its enemies. The ball took effect upon its shoulder. We saw it stand upright, stretching out its huge arms as if to grasp hold of them and tear them to pieces; but at that instant Mr Hooker stopped and levelled his gun, and the savage monster rolled over on the sand. Still it was not dead, and we were even yet afraid our friends might be injured; but the boatswain stopping, reloaded his gun, and Potto Jumbo rushing in with a spear thrust it at the creature. There was another report, and we knew that we were perfectly safe.

How thankful I felt that we had escaped, for I cannot describe thoroughly how fearfully alarmed we were. There is something so dreadful in the appearance of those huge baboons. Our friends arriving, proposed carrying Oliver into the shade; but we told them that we had seen another mias and a young one, on which Mr Hooker and the boatswain set off in search of the creatures, while Potto Jumbo lifted up Oliver in his powerful arms, almost as if he had been a child, and carried him off to the edge of the forest, where we could all be sufficiently shaded from the hot rays of the sun. Potto Jumbo then set off to join Mr Hooker and the boatswain. Oliver now quickly recovered, and after taking another draught of water, declared that he was able to walk home. We persuaded him, however, to wait till the return of our friends. In a short time we saw them coming through the forest, dragging a prisoner between them. It appeared to be a largish monkey. It was evident it was in no way pleased at being taken prisoner, for it turned its head round now on one side, now on the other, attempting to bite its captors, but we saw that its snout had been muzzled.

"We have brought a prize for my friend's menagerie," exclaimed Mr Hooker. "Here is a young mias, and I hope to tame and civilise it, though at present its manners are far from cultivated. We killed the mother, who now hangs to the bough of a tree. Potto Jumbo soon afterwards caught the young gentleman by a noose round the neck."

By this time Oliver, having greatly recovered, was able, with the assistance of the Frau and Potto Jumbo, to set off for the house. I was anxious to remain that I might continue watching for Walter, but the Frau and Mr Hooker would on no account allow me to do so, and at last I yielded to their wishes and accompanied them home. We reached it without further adventure, having to stop, however, several times to rest Oliver, who was far weaker than he had supposed. The fright and excitement we had gone through made Grace and me very ill; and all night long I was dreaming that we were pursued by the hideous monster, from whom we in vain endeavoured to escape.

By the morning, however, we had much recovered. Our small captive showed its ferocious nature by trying to bite and scratch every one who approached it. It caught Tanda by the arm when taking it some food, and not till it had received several blows on the head would it let go. It was then shut up in a strong cage; but the following morning was found dead, after having made a vain attempt to force its way out.



CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

MR. SEDGWICK'S UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION.

My uncle and Mr Hooker are very, very kind; they do all they can to keep up my spirits, though I see they are very anxious about Walter— indeed, how could they be otherwise? Oliver was much better in the morning, though he was still suffering from the effects of the sun-stroke, which might have proved fatal; and Mr Sedgwick will not allow him to leave the house, or in any way to exert himself. Some of the party go down constantly to the rock and look out for Walter; but when each comes back he gives the same answer, "No boat in sight." Both the gentlemen do their best to interest me in other matters, so as to take off my thoughts from Walter. My uncle reminded me that I had not been for some time to the plantation, which is at a considerable distance from the house. He took Grace and me there this afternoon.

"There, young ladies," he observed, pointing to some of the tall stalks with beautiful leaves surrounding them. "A month ago these were little yellow seeds of maize. See how rapidly the germ within them has been developed. See! already there are some ears which we will carry home to cook; and in another month's time they will be ripe, and fit for making into bread."

There was a large plantation of them. We cut off a number of the heads which grew on the side of the stalk, several on one. Each head consisted of a long piece of pith, to which the grain was thickly attached, the whole sheathed in broad oblong leaves, which protect them from injury, till the seed is perfectly hard and ripe. Here also was a plantation of sugar-cane. They also were tall, graceful, reed-like plants, and were nearly ripe.

Tanda was working in the plantation—or garden, shall I call it? My uncle told him to bring home a quantity of the canes, and he began cutting them at once. He cut off the tops, and left them and the root on the ground. I thought I could have carried a number, but I found a single cane heavy, so loaded was it with juice.

In another part of the ground there was a plantation of rice. It was on the lowest level, where it could be well irrigated by a stream which ran near. The rice grew on the top of each blade, the head alone being cut off. The rice, before the husk is taken off, is called paddy, and rice-fields are therefore generally called paddy fields.

Among other productions of the garden are several bushes which produce the red pepper. They are covered with fruit of all sizes. Some of them are small and green, and some which are fully grown and ripe are of a bright pink colour. These are now fit for gathering, and after being dried are ready for use. It is called lombok by the Malays. They always carry about a quantity of it, and use it at every meal. One small plot was devoted to the cultivation of tobacco. That also was almost ready for use, and my uncle said we should have a good supply for the voyage. The leaves, as soon as they have grown to a sufficient size, are plucked off, and the petiole and part of the midrib are cut away. The leaves are then cut transversely into strips about one-sixteenth of an inch wide. These are then hung up to dry in the sun, and have very much the appearance of bunches of oakum. It is in this state ready for smoking in pipes. When employed for making cigars, the leaves are not cut, but dried more carefully in their whole state. Neither tobacco nor maize are natives of this region, but were brought from the New World two hundred years ago.

In the evening Tanda arrived with the bundles of sugar-cane. Fortunately the machine which my uncle had invented for crushing them was at some distance from the house, and had escaped destruction. It was sufficient for the object, though rather roughly made. After the juice had been pressed out it was boiled, and allowed to run into a number of pots, where it was to cool and crystallise. It was then of a dark brown colour. While so doing, a quantity of clay and water, of about the consistency of cream, was poured over it. The effect of the water filtering through was to purify the crystals and make them almost white. My uncle told us that it was discovered that the clay would produce this effect by a native, who observed that when birds stepped on the brown sugar with their muddy feet, wherever their claws had been placed it became curiously white. When the finer part of the juice had been pressed out, the remainder, which is thick brown molasses, is allowed to ferment with a little rice. Palm-wine is afterwards added, and from this compound arrack, the common spirit of the East, is distilled. My uncle manufactured it for the sake of preserving his specimens; but he said he considered it one of the most destructive stimulants which can be taken into the human body, especially in this hot country.

We had all gone to bed last night, and I believe everybody was asleep, when Grace and I were awoke by a curious sensation, as if our beds were being rocked. We sat up and began talking to each other, both having experienced the same feeling. Again the movement began, at first very gently, and then rapidly increasing till the whole house seemed to be moving up and down, like a ship at sea, while all the timbers creaked and cracked as if it were about to fall to pieces.

"What is the matter? What is it?" cried Frau Ursula, starting up. "Oh dear! oh dear! there's an earthquake!" and she sprang from her bed. "Come! fly, girls, fly! The house will come down!" she screamed out.

Her voice awakened those in the other rooms who were still asleep. "Don't be alarmed!" I heard my uncle saying. "A marble palace would be thrown to the ground long before this house will be. We are as safe here as anywhere."

Scarcely had he spoken, however, when several crashes were heard in succession, and the house shook so much that I felt almost sea-sick. In spite of my uncle's exhortation, the Frau hastily threw on her clothes, and we, imitating her example, followed her down the steps, where we were speedily joined by the rest of the inmates. There were strange noises in the forest, and it seemed as if the trees were knocking together, while the animals round us uttered unusual cries. My uncle and Tanda were the only people who remained inside. He again cried to us to come back, and at length the Frau was persuaded to return. He had struck a light, and enabled us to see our way.