AMONG MALAY PIRATES

A TALE OF ADVENTURE AND PERIL

by G. A. Henty. 

AMONG MALAY PIRATES

CHAPTER I. 

"I wish most heartily that something would happen, " Harry Parkhurst, a midshipman of some sixteen years of age, said to his chum, DickBalderson, as they leaned on the rail of her majesty's gunboat Serpent, and looked gloomily at the turbid stream that rolled past the ship asshe lay at anchor. 

"One day is just like another--one is in a state of perspiration frommorning till night, and from night till morning. There seems to bealways a mist upon the water; and if it were not that we get up steamevery three or four days and run out for twenty-four hours for a breathof fresh air, I believe that we should be all eaten up with fever in notime. Of course, they are always talking of Malay pirates up the riverkicking up a row; but it never seems to come off. "

"There is one thing, Harry--there is always something to look at, forthere are canoes constantly going up and down, and there is plentyof variety among them--from the sluggish dhows, laden with upcountry produce, to the long canoes with a score of paddlers and somepicturesque ruffian sitting in the stern. It adds to the interest whenyou know that the crews are cutthroats to a man, and would make but theshortest possible work of you if they had got you in their power. "

"Yes, Dick. Look at that canoe coming up stream; what a good lookingchap that is in the stern, though by the way he scowls at us I can quitebelieve he would, as you say, cut our throats if he had the chance. Thatis a pretty little child sitting by him, and what a gorgeous dress shehas! There, you see, he can look pleasant enough when he speaks to her. I fancy they must have come from a long way up the river, for theylook wilder than most of the fellows who pass us. If that fool who issteering her does not mind what he is about, Dick, he will either runinto that canoe coming down or else get across our chain. There, I toldyou so. "

The man at the tiller was in fact, looking, with mingled curiosity andhostility, at the gunboat that he was passing but a few yards away, anddid not notice a canoe, manned by six rowers, that was coming down withthe stream, taking an oblique course across the bows of the Serpent, andwas indeed hidden from his view by the hull of the vessel, until he hadpassed beyond her. Then there was a sudden shout and a yell from a dozenthroats, as the two canoes came into collision, the one proceeding upthe river being struck on the quarter with a force that almost cut herin two, and in an instant her occupants were in the water. As theMalays were to a man almost as much at home in the water as on land, theaccident would have had little effect beyond the loss of the boat andits contents, had it not been that the stern of the other craft struckthe Malay chief with such force as to completely disable him, and hewould have sunk at once had not two of the boatmen grasped him and kepthis head above water. 

"What has become of the child?" Harry Parkhurst exclaimed, and he andDick Balderson both leaped on to the rail, throwing off their jacketsas they shouted to the men to lower a boat. Nothing could be seen ofthe child until, after half a minute's suspense, a little face suddenlyappeared in the swirl of the muddy water some fifteen yards from thevessel's side. It was gone again in an instant, but, as it disappeared, both lads sprang from the side and with a few strokes reached the spotwhere they had seen the face disappear; then they dived under water andsoon grasped her. As soon as they came to the surface a sailor, who hadseized a coil of rope, flung it to them, and, grasping it, they werequickly by the side of the gunboat. 

A minute later some sailors, who had at once tumbled into a boat on thealarm being given, came up. The child was first handed into it, then themidshipmen scrambled in, and, by their directions, two of the sailors, standing on the thwarts, lifted the child high above their heads to thehands of the men leaning over the bulwark. 

"Take the little thing to the doctor, " Dick said. "Now, lads, row on;let's pick up some of those Malay fellows. "

A babel of shouts and sounds rose from the water; the bow of the secondcanoe had been stove in, and she also had sunk to the water level; afierce fight was going on between several of the Malays; the chief, who was being supported by two of his crew, was shouting furiously; andothers of his men, in obedience to his orders, were diving under water. Harry turned to the gunboat, and called to the men to bring Soh Hay, the interpreter, to the side. A minute later the man was hustled to therail. 

"Tell that chief that we have got his child safely on board, " Harryshouted. 

Again and again the interpreter called out; but it was some time beforehe could make the chief pay attention to him. As the latter caught thepurport of his words his face changed at once, and, after calling to hismen to desist from their search, his head sank on to the shoulder of oneof the men supporting him, and he evidently lost consciousness. 

"He is badly hurt, Dick; we had better get him on board, too. OldHorsley was wishing this morning that he had something to do beyondadministering doses of quinine to the men. "

Taking the tiller, he brought the boat alongside the chief, and four ofthe sailors, directed by Dick, gently raised him from the water and laidhim on the bottom of the boat. Blood was flowing freely from an uglygash in his face, and it was evident from the manner in which his leftarm hung limp, as they lifted him up, that either the shoulder or thearm itself was broken. 

"Get him alongside at once, lads, " Dick said. "I expect he is moreinjured than we see. The other fellows will be all right; they can allswim like fish. "

In two or three minutes the injured man was laid down under an awningover the fore deck of the cruiser, and the surgeon at once came up. 

"How is the child, Doctor?"

"She is still insensible, " he said, "but she will soon be all right. Ican't discover any injury, and I think it likely that it was the suddenshock, and perhaps a knock against the side of the boat, that stunnedher; for I have no doubt she could swim, small as she is. This is a muchmore serious affair; he has an ugly gash in his temple, his collarboneis broken, and, " he went on, as he passed his hands down the patient'sside, "he has two, if not more ribs broken. "

"Well, we will leave him to you, Doctor; there are a lot of thesefellows in the water, and I suppose they must be brought on board untilwe can get a boat to take them ashore. "

In a few minutes eighteen Malays were brought to the side, and the twocanoes, which were floating level with the water, were towed up andfastened by a rope to the stern of the gunboat. Even when safely ondeck, the two parties were still so infuriated that they had to beseparated and placed under guards apart from each other. Three or fourhad been killed by the stabs of the deadly krises, and their bodiescould be seen floating astern. Several of those rescued had wounds moreor less severe. 

"We should not have much chance with those fellows in the water, Mr. Parkhurst, " an old sailor said to Harry. 

"No, indeed, Davis; they could swim round and round us, and ourcutlasses would be very little good against those ugly looking krises. If we were to leave them to themselves, they would fight to the death;and, after all, it was no one's fault in particular. Mr. Balderson andI were watching them; one was crossing the ship's bow just as the othercame out from her side, and they were into each other before either hadtime to hold their boat up. "

"That chap the doctor is bandaging up was in a nice taking about hischild, sir; it was a lucky job that you and Mr. Balderson happened tocatch sight of her. "

"Yes, poor little thing! It was only just a glimpse we got of her face;but as we were looking for her, and ready to dive, it was enough. "

"Lucky we are inside the bar, Mr. Parkhurst, or the sharks would havehad half the fellows. "

"I did not think of it at the time, Davis, and it would not have madeany difference if I had; we were only in the water a couple of minutes, and the Malays were making noise enough to frighten away any number ofsharks. You will have the job of washing out our trousers again--we hadonly put them on clean half an hour before. "

"That aint no matter, sir, especially if you go down and change at once;the mud will come out easy enough if I leave them in a bucket of freshwater for half an hour. "

The two midshipmen joined the group of officers who were standing nearthe doctor; the latter had, on closer examination, announced that fourof the ribs were broken. He had finished his work just as the lads cameup. News had been brought up by the steward that the little girl hadopened her eyes; while he was speaking, the Malay conversed rapidly withthe interpreter. 

"What is he saying, Soh Hay?" the captain asked. 

"He is asking why his daughter is not here, and if she is hurt, and howshe came to be saved, " the man replied. "Me tell him she come up to seehim soon; the doctor say she no hurt. "

Two minutes later the doctor reappeared, carrying the child in his arms. She looked round fearlessly at the white faces until her eye fell uponher father, when she slipped out of the doctor's arms like an eel andran to him. The grim features of the Malay lit up with a pleasant smileas he held out his right hand to her. She was a strange little figure, for the doctor had not waited to obtain any suitable garments for her, but had wrapped her up in one of the signal flags, which the childherself had wound round her waist and over her shoulder like a nativesarong. 

"You tell him, Soh Hay, that he must not talk to her, " the doctor said. "If he keeps quiet, he will get well in short time: if he talk, he illmany days; but I will let him say a few words to her now. "

The Malay's eyes passed over the group of officers and rested on thetwo midshipmen, whose wet clothes showed that they were the officers whohad, as the interpreter had told him, dived in and rescued the child. Hesaid something to the interpreter. 

"Malay man want to speak to you, young gentlemen, " the man said; "hewish to thank you. "

"Oh, tell him there is nothing to thank us for, " Harry said hastily; "itwas nothing more than taking a bath. "

"Yes, officer, but he wishes to speak to you. "

Somewhat reluctantly, the two lads approached the side of the injuredman; he took each of them by the hand, and, as he did so, said somethingwhich Soh Hay interpreted:

"The chief says that you have given him back what he loved best in theworld, and that his life is yours whenever it may be of use to you; hemay be of service to you, gentlemen, should you ever go up the river--aMalay never forgives an injury or forgets a service. "

"Tell him we are very glad to have brought his little girl out of thewater, " Harry said, "and that if we ever go up the river, we will payhim a visit. "

The chief was now laid in a cot which was swung from the stanchions ofthe awning, while the little girl was carried away by the doctor, wholaid her in a berth, gave her a cup of tea, which she drank obedientlyto his orders, but evidently regarded as being extremely nasty, and shewas then told through the interpreter to go to sleep until her sarongwas dried. A couple of hours later she was on deck again in hernative garb and ornaments. The interpreter pointed out to her the twomidshipmen who had rescued her, and she at once went up to them, and, slipping her hands into theirs, began to prattle freely; they wereunable to understand what she said, but they took her round the ship, showing her the guns, and introduced her to Ponto, the captain's greatNewfoundland, who submitted gravely to be patted by her; to Jacko, themonkey, who was by no means disposed to be friendly, but chattered andshowed his teeth; and to Julius Caesar, the negro cook, who grinned fromear to ear, and presented her with some cakes from a batch which he hadjust made for the captain's table. 

The rest of the Malays had already left the ship; two native boats hadbeen hailed, and in these the two parties of Malays had taken theirplaces, and, with their boats towing behind, had been rowed away, the captain giving strict instructions that they were to be landed onopposite sides of the river. The little maid speedily became a generalpet on board the Serpent, and was soon the proud possessor of severalmodels of ships, two patchwork quilts, several carved tobacco boxes, and other specimens of sailors' handiwork. Small as she was, she hadevidently a strong idea of her own importance, and received thesepresents and attentions with a pretty air of dignity which at onceearned for her the title of the Princess. 

On the second day after the accident, the chief's boat came off from theshore, the damage having been speedily and neatly repaired. Little Bahistood on the top of the accommodation ladder as they approached, andaddressed them with great asperity, using much gesticulation with herarms. 

"What is she saying, Soh Hay?" Dick Balderson asked. 

"She is telling them that they are bad men to let the boat be run down;that she is very angry with them, and they will all be punished. "

'The men looked very crestfallen under their little mistress'reproaches, and held up their hands in a deprecating manner; whilethe helmsman stood up and, after salaaming deeply, entered upon a longexplanation, which ended in his asking if he might come on board tosee his chief. Permission was at once granted by the captain, upon therequest being interpreted to him. When he mounted the steps, Bahi ledhim to the side of her father's cot. The doctor, however, interposed. 

"Tell him he must not talk, " he said to the interpreter; "the chiefis ill and must not be allowed to excite himself. But he can say a fewwords, if he wants to. "

The cot had been lowered to within a few inches of the deck in orderthat the chief might watch his daughter as she trotted about and rompedwith Ponto, who had now quite taken her into his friendship. The chief'sface expressed alarm when he first saw the great dog; but when he sawhow gentle the animal was, and how, when one of the sailors placed thechild on his back, it walked gravely up and down the deck, wagging itstail as if pleased with its novel burden, he was satisfied that no harmcould come to her from this formidable looking animal. He had firstspoken a few words sharply to the man in answer to his excuses, and, indeed, had the helmsman been minding his business instead of looking atthe ship, the collision might have been prevented; but Hassan Jebash wasat the present moment so well contented with the recovery of his childthat he accepted the man's excuses, and the latter went back to his boatevidently greatly relieved. 

In a few days the chief began to show signs of impatience, and throughthe interpreter constantly demanded of the doctor when he would be wellenough to leave. 

"You ask him, Soh Hay, whether he wishes to be able to lead his tribein battle again, or to go through life unable to use a kris or hurl aspear. In another ten days, if he remains quiet, he will be able to go, and in a couple of months will be as strong and active as ever, if hewill but keep quiet until the bones have knit. Surely a chief is notlike an impatient child, ready to risk everything for the sake ofavoiding a little trouble. "

The chief, on this being translated to him, scowled angrily. 

"Tell him it is of no use his scowling at me, Soh Hay. I am notdoctoring him for my own amusement, but for his good, and because he isthe father of that little child. "

The chief, when this was translated to him, lay without speaking for twoor three minutes, and then said quietly, "Tell the doctor I am sorry; heis right, and I have been foolish. I will stay till he says I may go. "

CHAPTER II. 

Four or five days later the chief was allowed to get up and to walkquietly up and down the deck, and a week afterwards the doctor said, "You can go now, chief, if you desire it; but you must be contentto keep quiet for another couple of months, and not make any greatexertions or move quickly. How long will it take you to go up the riverto your home?"

"Six days' easy paddling. "

"Well, that is in your favor; but do not travel fast. Take it quietly, and be as long as you can on the voyage--lying in a canoe is as good arest as you can take. "

"Thank you, Doctor, I will obey your instructions. You have all beenvery kind to me, and a Malay chief never forgets benefits. I have beenhostile to the white men, but now I see I have been mistaken, and thatyou are good and kind. Is it true that your boat is going up the river?Soh Hay tells me that it is so. "

"Yes; one of the chiefs, Sehi Pandash, wishes to place himself under ourprotection, and he has sent to ask that the ship might go up and fireher big guns, that the tribes round may see that he has strong friendswho can help him. "

"It is two days' rowing up the river to my place from his, and when youare there I shall come down to see you. Sehi is not a good chief; hequarrels with his neighbors, and shelters their slaves who run away tohim; he is not a good man. "

"Well, we shall all be glad to see you, chief, and I hope that you willbring your daughter with you. She has won all our hearts, and we shallmiss her sadly. "

"I will bring her if I can do so safely, " the chief said gravely; "butI am no friends with Sehi; he stops my trade as it comes down the river, and takes payment for all goods that pass down. It is because he knowsthat many of us are angered that he wishes to put himself under yourprotection. I think that you do not do well to aid so bad a fellow. "

"We did not know that he was a bad fellow, chief. The best plan will befor you and the other chiefs who are aggrieved to send down complaintsagainst him, or to come down yourselves when we are up there and talkit over with our Captain, who will doubtless impress upon Sehi thenecessity for abstaining from such practices, and that he cannot expectaid from us if he embroils himself with his neighbors by interferingwith their trade. Is he strong?"

"He has many war prahus, which sometimes come down to the sea and returnwith plunder, either collected from the cultivators near the coast orfrom trading ships captured and burnt. "

"I will mention what you tell me to the Captain, and it will preparehim to listen to any complaint that may be made to him. But you mustremember that he is only acting under the orders of the Governor of theStraits Settlements, and must refer all important matters to him. "

"I will come when you are there, " Hassan said gravely. "If nothing isdone, there will be war. "

There was general regret on board the Serpent when the little princesssaid goodby to all her friends and went down the accommodation ladder tothe boat with her father. The chief had said but little to the two youngmidshipmen, for he saw that they preferred that the matter should not bealluded to, but he held their hands at parting, and said:

"I shall see you again before long; but if at any time you shouldwant me, I will come, even if your summons reach me in the middle of abattle. "

"It is such nonsense, Doctor, " Harry said, as the boat pushed off, "tohave so much made of such a thing as jumping into the water. If one hadbeen alone, and had tried to save a man or a woman, in such a state offunk that there was a good chance of their throwing their arms roundyour neck and pulling you down with them, there might be something init, though everyone takes his chance of that when he jumps in to saveanyone from drowning; but with a little child, and two of us to do it, and the ship close at hand, it was not worth thinking of for a moment. "

"No, Parkhurst, from your point of view the thing was not, as you say, worth giving a thought to; but, you see, that is not the point of viewof the chief. To him it is nothing whether your exploit was a gallantone or not, or whether you ran any danger; the point simply is, hischild would have been drowned had you not seen her and fished her out, and that it is to you that he owes her life. I think you have reason tocongratulate yourselves on having made a friend who may be very usefulto you. It may be that there will be trouble up the river; and if so, hemight possibly be of real service to you. But in any case he may be ableto give you some good hunting and fishing, and show you things that youwould never have had an opportunity of seeing without his friendship andassistance. "

"I did not think of that, Doctor; yes, that would certainly be a greatthing. "

"I can assure you I look at it in that light myself, Parkhurst, and Iam looking forward to paying him a visit, as, under his protection, Ishould get opportunities of collecting which I could never have in theordinary way; for, unless they are greatly maligned, one could not trustone's self among the Malays without some special protection. "

"But they are not savages, Doctor. Hassan is a perfect gentleman inmanner, and in that silk jacket of his and handsome sarong he reallylooks like a prince. I could not help thinking that all of us lookedpoor creatures by his side. "

"They certainly cannot be called savages, though from our point ofview many of their customs are of a very savage nature. Piracy is verygeneral among those living on the seacoast or on the great rivers; butit must be remembered that it is not so very many centuries ago that atoll was demanded of all passersby by the barons having castles onthe Rhine and other navigable rivers; the crews of wrecked ships wereplundered on every coast of Europe, our own included, not so very longago; and in the days of Elizabeth, Drake and Hawkins were regarded bythe Spaniards as pirates of the worst class, and I fear that there was agood deal of justice in the accusation. But the Malays are people with ahistory; they believe themselves that they were the original inhabitantsof the island of Sumatra; however, it is certain that in the twelfthcentury they had extended their rule over the whole of that island andmany of its neighbors, and in the thirteenth had established themselveson this peninsula and had founded an empire extending over the greaterpart of the islands down to the coast of Australia. They had by thistime acquired the civilization of India, and their sultans were powerfulmonarchs. They carried on a great trade with China, Hindoostan, andSiam, and their maritime code was regulated and confirmed, as early as1276, by Mohammed Shah. "

"How is it that they have come to such grief, Doctor?"

"Principally by the fact that they had the feudal, or you may call itthe tribal, system. Each petty chief and his followers made war on hisneighbors if he was strong enough; and as some tribes conquered others, the empire became split up into an indefinite number of clans, whosechiefs paid but a very nominal allegiance to the sultan. So islandsbroke off from the empire until it had practically ceased to exist, andthe Malays were a people united only by similar customs and language, but in no other respect, and were, therefore, able to offer but slightresistance on the arrival of the Dutch and Portuguese in these regions. Still, the upper classes preserve the memory of their former greatness. The people are intelligent, and most of the trade in this part ofthe world is carried on by them. They are enterprising, and ready toemigrate if they see a chance of improving their fortunes. You know wesaw many of them at the Cape when we touched there. Nominally they areMohammedans in religion; but they do not strictly observe the ordinancesof the Koran, and their Mohammedanism is mixed up with traces of theiroriginal religion. "

"Ah, that explains why the chief's name was Hassan. I wondered that aMalay should have a Mohammedan name. They are not much like Arabs infigure. Of course, Hassan is a very fine looking man, and some of theother chiefs we saw at Penang were so; but most of them are shorter thanwe are, and very ugly. "

"Yes, in figure and some other points they much resemble the Burmese, who are probably blood relations of theirs. The chiefs are finer men, asyou will always find in the case in savage or semi savage peoples, for, of course, they have the pick of the women, and naturally choose thebest looking. Their food, too, is better and their work less rough thanthat of the people at large. 

"The sons and daughters of the chiefs naturally intermarry, and theresult is that in most cases you will find the upper classes taller, better formed, lighter in color, and of greater intelligence than therest of the people. This would be specially the case in a trading peoplelike the Malays; their ships would bring over girls purchased in India, just as the ruling classes in Turkey used to obtain their wives fromCircassia; and this, no doubt, has helped to modify the original Malaytype. "

"Thank you, Doctor; I think I shall like the Malays now I know somethingabout them. Is it true that they are so treacherous?"

"I don't know, Parkhurst; doubtless they are treacherous in their wars;that is to say that they consider any means fair to deceive an enemy;but I do not think that they are so, beyond that. The Dutch have neverhad any very great difficulty with them, nor have we in the portionof the peninsula where we have established our rule. Of course, I knowlittle about them myself, as I have only been out here a few months; butI am told that as traders they can be trusted, and that the word of aMalay chief can be taken with absolute confidence. Of course, among themajority of the people of the peninsula we are regarded with jealousyand hostility--they dread that we should extend our dominion over them, and it is not surprising that they should by every means in their powerstrive to prevent our coming far inland. The chiefs on the rivers are, as a rule, specially hostile. 

"In the first place, because their towns and villages are moreaccessible to us, and they know more of our power than those dwellingin the hill country; and, secondly, because they depend largely upon therevenue that they derive from taxing all goods passing up and down, andwhich they not unreasonably think they might lose if we were to becomeparamount. No doubt there is much that Hassan said of Sehi that is trueand is applicable to other chiefs who have placed themselves under ourprotection--namely, that they have so injured trade by their exactionsas to incur the hostility of their neighbors. Of course, I am notspeaking of such men as the Rajahs of Johore and Perac, who areenlightened men, and have seen the benefits to be derived fromintercourse with us. Their people are agriculturists, and they arereally on a par with the protected states in India. 

"There is a great future before the country; gold is found in many ofthe rivers, tin is probably more abundant than in any other part of theworld, and the exports are now very large; there are immense quantitiesof valuable timber, such as teak, sandalwood, and ebony. The climate is, except on the low land near the rivers, very healthy; nutmegs, cloves, and other spices can be grown there, and indigo, chocolate, pepper, opium, the sugarcane, coffee, and cotton, are all successfullycultivated. Some day, probably, the whole peninsula will fall under ourprotection, and when the constant tribal feuds are put a stop to, theforests cleared, and the ground cultivated, as is the case in our ownsettlement of Malacca, it will be found one of the most valuable of ourpossessions. Any amount of labor can be obtained from China, and it isprobable that the races who inhabit the mountainous districts, who aresaid to be industrious and peaceable, will also readily adapt themselvesto the changed conditions. They are not Malays like the people of thelowlands, but are a black race with curly wool, like the natives ofAfrica, and probably inhabited the whole peninsula before the arrival ofthe Malays. "

"How funny that there should be niggers here, " Harry said. 

"They are not exactly negroes, but one of the races known as negritos, having, of course, many negro characteristics, but differing from theAfrican negroes in some important particulars. To them our supremacywould be an unmixed blessing; their products would reach the coastuntaxed, and they would obtain all European goods at vastly cheaperrates. A minor benefit to be obtained by our supremacy is that oursportsmen would certainly speedily diminish the number of wild beaststhat at 'present are a scourge to cultivators; the tigers would bekilled down, the elephants captured and utilized, and the poor peoplewould not see their plantations ravaged, but would be able to travelthrough their forests without the constant danger of being carriedoff by tigers and panthers, and possibly be able to cross their riverswithout the risk of being snapped up by alligators; though, doubtless, it would take some time before this would be brought about. "

"And when do you think that we shall be going up the river, Doctor?"

"That I cannot say. The Captain has been expecting orders ever since wecame here, six weeks ago; but possibly something may have been learnedof Sehi's characteristics, and there may be doubts as to the expediencyof taking under our protection a chief whose conduct appears to beanything but satisfactory. On the other hand, it may be considered thatby so doing we may establish some sort of influence over the surroundingtribes, and so make a step towards promoting trade and putting a stop tothese tribal wars, that are the curse of the country. "

"It would be an awful sell if they were to change their minds, " Harryexclaimed. 

"I should be sorry myself, Parkhurst, for you know I am a collector. ButI can tell you that you won't find it all sport and pleasure. Youwill have no cool sea breezes; there will be occasion for continualwatchfulness, and perhaps long boat expeditions up sluggish streams, inan atmosphere laden with moisture and miasma. "

"One expects some drawbacks, Doctor. "

"You will find a good many, I can tell you, youngster. Still, I hopewe shall go up; and I think that we shall do so, for it will be theCaptain's report that will help the authorities to decide whether toappoint a Resident there or not. "

A fortnight later a small dispatch boat steamed in and the news soonspread through the ship that the Serpent was to ascend the river onthe following day. All was at once bustle and animation. Sailors likeanything for a change, and all were impatient at the long delay that hadoccurred. 

CHAPTER III. 

The gunboat was a large one, and carried two midshipmen besidesParkhurst and Balderson, who were, however, their seniors. The messconsisted of the four lads, a master's mate, the doctor's assistant, andthe paymaster's clerk. In the gun room were the three lieutenants, thedoctor, the lieutenant of the marines, and the chief engineer. The crewconsisted of a hundred and fifty seamen and forty marines; the Serpenthaving a somewhat strong complement. She had been sent out speciallyfor service in the rivers, being of lighter draught than usual, withunusually airy and spacious decks, and so was well fitted for the work. The conversation in the junior mess of the Serpent was very lively thatevening. The vessel since her arrival on the station had made two runsbetween Singapore and Penang, but those on board had seen but littleof the country, and were delighted at the thought of a possibility ofactive service, and the talk was all of boat expeditions, attacks frompiratical prahus, of the merits of the bayonet and rifle opposed to krisand spear, and of sporting expeditions in which elephants, tigers, andother wild beasts were to fall victims of their prowess. 

"You will find that you won't get much of that, " the mate, who waspresident of the mess, said, after listening to their anticipationsof sport. "I have been on the west coast of Africa and know what it ispoking about in muddy creeks in boats, tramping through the jungle, kneedeep in mud, half the crew down with fever, and the rest worn out withwork and heat. I can tell you it is not all fun, as you youngsters seemto think, but downright hard work. "

"Ah, well! any amount of work is better than standing here doingnothing, " Dick said cheerfully, for the mate was known as a proverbialgrumbler. He had been unfortunate, and, as is usually the case, hismisfortunes were in some degree due to himself, for he was fond ofliquor, and although, when on board, he took no more than his share, hewas often somewhat unsteady in his speech when he returned from a runashore; and although the matter was not grave enough for his captains toreport altogether unfavorably of him, it was sufficiently so for themto shrink from recommending him for promotion, and in consequence he hadseen scores of younger men raised over his head. He had been for sometime unemployed before he had joined the Serpent, and had been appointedto her only because Captain Forest, who was a friend of his family, hadused his interest on his behalf. He had, however, when he joined, spokenfrankly to him. 

"I have asked for you, Morrison, " he said, "simply for the sake of yourfather; but I tell you frankly, that unless my report is a thoroughlyfavorable one, you are not likely to be again employed. I was told thatthere was nothing special against you, but that in no case since youpassed have you been warmly spoken of. It has been said that you knowyour duty well; but they had privately learned that you were fond ofliquor; and although no charge of absolute drunkenness had been broughtagainst you, it was considered that you would not make a desirableofficer in a higher rank. Now your future depends upon yourself; if youhave the resolution to give up the habit, you may yet retrieve yourself. If I find that you do so, I shall certainly take the opportunity ofgiving you a chance to distinguish yourself, and shall strongly urgeyour claim to promotion. If I am not able to do this, you must make upyour mind to be permanently put upon the shelf. "

The admonition had not been in vain, and since joining the SerpentMorrison had made a successful effort to break himself of the habit. Hehad very seldom gone ashore, and when he did so, never went alone, andalways returned at an early hour, and without having taken more than hewould have done in the ordinary way on board. He had not, however, givenup his habit of grumbling, and his messmates were so accustomed to histaking a somber view of everything that his prognostication as to thenature of their work up the river had but little effect upon them. 

"What do you think, Sandy?" Harry Parkhurst asked the Scotch assistantsurgeon. 

"I know nothing about it, except what I have read. They say that thecountry is healthy; but it stands to reason that this cannot be sowhile you have got rivers with swamps and jungles and such heat as this. However, we have a good supply of quinine on board, and with that andour allowance of spirits, I hope that we shan't, as Morrison says, havehalf the ship's company down with the fever. It is all in our favor thatwe have only just come out, for they say that newcomers can resistthe effects of these tropical rivers much better than those whoseconstitution has been weakened by a residence in the country. As to thesport, I have no desire to kill any animal that does not meddle with me. My business is all the other way, and if any of you get mauled, I willdo my best to help the doctor to pull you through; but I am very wellon board the ship, and have no desire to go tramping about among theswamps, whether it be to hunt animals or fight Malays. "

"You think that everyone should stick to his last, Sandy, " Dick saidwith a laugh. "Well, I only wish there were more on board of youropinion, for that would give more chances to us who like to stretch ourlegs ashore for a change. "

"I can stretch my legs here if I want to, " the Scotchman said quietly, "and am not anxious to do more. I suppose, if there are expeditionsagainst the Malays, I shall have to go with them; but the fewer of themthere are the better I shall be pleased. "

The talk was more serious aft, where the doctor and first lieutenantwere dining with the captain. It ended by the latter saying, "Well, Doctor, if what your friend Hassan said be true, we are likely enough tohave our hands pretty full, and shall have to watch this fellow Sehi assharply as we do his neighbors. He is not under our protection yet, andif he sends his prahus down the river to plunder on the coast, as Hassansays, he is not the sort of character likely to do us credit, andthe position of a British Resident with him would be the reverse of apleasant one. However, we must hope that he is not as black as he ispainted. He has evidently put the other chiefs' backs up, and we mustreceive their reports of him with some doubt. However, I have no doubtthat, if he turns out badly, we shall be able to give him a lesson thatwill be of benefit to him. "

The first day's voyage up the river by no means came up to theanticipations of the midshipmen as to the country through which theywere to pass. The width of the river varied from a quarter of a mile tothree hundred yards; the banks on each side were lined with mangroves, presenting a dreary and monotonous aspect. Progress was slow, the steamlaunch going ahead and sounding the depth of water, the captain havingbut little faith in the assertion of the native pilot that he wasperfectly acquainted with every bank and shallow. Being now the dryseason, the tops of many of these shoals were dry, and numbers ofalligators were lying half in and half out of the water, basking in thesun. 

Several of the officers who possessed rifles amused themselves byshooting at these creatures, but it was very rarely that any attentionwas paid to their firing, the balls glancing off the scaly armor withoutthe alligators appearing to be conscious of anything unusual. There wasmore amusement in watching how, when the swell of the steamer rushedthrough the shallow water and broke on the shoals, the reptiles turnedand scrambled back into the river, evidently alarmed at this, to them, strange phenomenon. 

"I should not care about bathing here, Davis, " Harry Parkhurst remarkedto the old sailor. 

"You are right, sir; I would rather have a stand up fight with theMalays than trust myself for two minutes in this muddy water. Why, theyare worse than sharks, sir; a shark does hoist his fin as a signal thathe is cruising about, but these chaps come sneaking along underneath thewater, and the first you know about them is that they have got you bythe leg. "

"Which is the worse, Davis, a bite from an alligator or a shark?"

"Well, as far as the bite goes, Mr. Parkhurst, the shark is the worst. He will take your leg off, or a big 'un will bite a man in two halves. The alligator don't go to work that way: he gets hold of your leg, andno doubt he mangles it a bit; but he don't bite right through the bone;he just takes hold of you and drags you down to the bottom of the river, and keeps you there until you are drowned; then he polishes you off athis leisure. "

"The brutes!" Harry exclaimed, with deep emphasis. "See, the firstlieutenant has hit that big fellow there in the eye or the soft skinbehind the leg; anyhow, he has got it hard; look how he is roaring andlashing his tail. "

"What is the best way of killing them?" Dick asked. 

"I have heard, sir, that in Africa the natives bait a big hook with alump of pork, or something of that sort; then, when an alligator hasswallowed it, they haul him up, holus bolus. I should say a good planto kill them would be with 'tricity. The last ship I was in, we had anofficer of the Marine Artillery who knew about such things, and he puta big cartridge into a lump of pork, with two wires, and as soon as theshark had swallowed it he would touch a spring or something, and therewould be an explosion. There was not as much fun in it as having a hook, but it was quicker, and he did not do it for sport, but because he hatedthe sharks. I heard say that he had had a young brother killed by oneof them. He would sit there on the taffrail for hours on the lookoutfor them, with three or four loaded lumps of pork. Why, I have known himkill as many as a dozen in a day. I expect the best part of his pay musthave gone in dynamite. 

"He had a narrow escape one day; somehow the thing went wrong, and intrying to set it right he fell over the taffrail. The shark had boltedthe bait, but this was not enough for his appetite, and he went straightat the officer. He had had a young ensign sitting beside him, who hadoften watched his work, and knew how the thing went. I was standing nearat the time, and he began twisting some screws and things as cool as acucumber, though I could see as his hand shook a bit. Well, he got itright just in time, for the shark was not half a length away from thecaptain, and was turning himself over for a bite, when the thing wentoff, and there was an end of the shark. The captain was a bit shaken up, but he made a grab at the rope, and held on to it till we lowered a boatand picked him up. He had to be got up on deck in a chair, and it wastwo or three days before he was himself again. When he got round he setto work again more earnestly than ever; and I believe that if we hadstopped in the West Indies long enough, there would not have been ashark left in those waters. "

"It was a capital plan, Davis, and if we ever take possession of theserivers, we shall have to do something of that sort to get rid of thebrutes. Are the Malays afraid of them?"

"I don't know, Mr. Parkhurst, but I think they are. I had a chat with amate I met in the Myrtle, which went home the day after we relieved themhere. He had been up some of the rivers, and told me that every villagehad a bathing place palisaded off so that the alligators could not getat the bathers. "

"Well, there is one thing--we shall have to be very careful when we areout in boats, for if we were to run upon a sunken log and knock ahole in the boat's bottom, there would not be much chance of our everreaching the shore. "

"You are about right there, sir. I aint afraid of Malays, but it givesme the creeps down my back when I think of one of them chaps gettinghold of me by the leg. Bob Pearson told me that the only chance you haveis to send your knife, or if you can't get at that, your thumbs, intothe creature's eyes. But it would require a mighty cool hand to find theeyes, with the brute's teeth in one's leg, and the water so thick withmud that you could not see an inch beyond your nose. "

"Well, I will make a note of that, anyhow, Davis, and I will take a goodlook at the next alligator I see dead, so as to know exactly where tofeel for its eyes. "

On the second day the scenery changed. In place of the mangroves a denseforest lined the river. Birds of lovely plumage occasionally flew acrossit, and after they had anchored in the evening, the air became full ofstrange noises; great beasts rose and snorted near the banks; sounds ofroaring and growling were heard in the wood; and the lads, who had beenso eager before to take part in a hunt on shore, listened with somethinglike awe to the various strange and often mysterious noises. 

"What in the world does it all mean, Doctor?" Dick Balderson asked, asthe surgeon came up to the spot where the four midshipmen were leaningon the rail. 

"It means that there is a good deal of life in the woods. That splashingsound you hear with deep grunts and snorts, is probably made by ahippopotamus wallowing in shallow water; but it may be a rhinoceros, or even a buffalo. That roar is either a tiger or a panther, and thatsnarling sound on the other bank is, no doubt, made by smaller animalsof the same family, indulging in a domestic quarrel. Some of the othersounds are made by night birds of some kind or other and perhaps bymonkeys, and I fancy that distant vibrating sound that goes on withoutintermission is a concert of a party of frogs. "

"What is that?" as a shrill cry, as from a child, followed by a confusedoutburst of cries, chattering, and, as it seemed to them, a barkingsound, followed. 

"I fancy that is the death cry of a monkey. Probably some python orother snake has seized it in its sleep; and the other noise is theoutcry of its companions heaping abuse upon the snake, but unable to doanything to rescue their friend. "

"I don't think, Doctor, " Harry Parkhurst said, in a tone that was halfin earnest, "that I feel so anxious as I did for sport in the forest;and certainly I should decline to take part in it after nightfall. "

"I can quite understand that, lad. At night all the sounds of a tropicalforest seem mysterious and weird, but in the broad daylight the bushwill be comparatively still. The nocturnal animals will slink away totheir lairs, and there will seem nothing strange to you in the songs andcalls of the birds. I should recommend you all to take a sound dose ofquinine tonight; I have a two and a half gallon keg of the stuff mixed, and any officer or man can go and take a glass whenever he feels hewants it. It would be good for your nerves, as well as neutralize theeffect of the damp rising from the river. I should advise you whoare not on the watch to turn in early; it is of no use your exposingyourselves more than is necessary to the miasma. "

The next day progress was more rapid, for the captain found that theassurance of the pilot that there was amply sufficient water for theSerpent had been verified, and he therefore steamed forward at halfspeed, without sending the launch on ahead to take soundings. Severalvillages were passed by the way, but though the inhabitants assembled onthe banks and watched the steamer, no boats were put out, nor were anyattempts made to barter their products with the strangers. 

"It does not look as if we were popular, Mr. Ferguson, " the captain saidto the first lieutenant. "It may be that they object to our presencealtogether, or it may be because they believe that we are going to theassistance of this Rajah Sehi. It certainly does not look well for thefuture. "

"Not at all, sir. However, we shall be at the rajah's place tomorrowmorning, and shall then have a better opportunity of seeing how thingsare likely to go. At any rate, he is sure to be civil for a time, andwe shall be likely to procure fruit and vegetables, which, as thedoctor says, are absolute necessities if the men are to be kept in goodhealth. "

The next morning they anchored about ten o'clock opposite the campongof the rajah. It was a good deal larger than any that they had passed onthe way up, but the houses were mere huts, with the exception of a largewooden structure, which they at once concluded was the residence of therajah. As soon as the Serpent turned the last bend of the river beforereaching the place, the sound of drums and gongs was heard, and a largeboat, manned by eighteen rowers, shot out from the bank as theanchor was dropped. The two officials on board at once mounted theaccommodation ladder, and on reaching the deck were received by thefirst lieutenant, behind whom stood a guard of honor of the marines. 

Upon stating that they came to express, on behalf of the rajah, thepleasure he felt at their arrival, they were conducted to the captain'scabin. Compliments were exchanged through the medium of the interpreter, and a bottle of champagne was opened, and its contents appeared togratify the visitors. They announced that the rajah would receive thecaptain that afternoon at his palace. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Neither of the midshipmen was present at the interview between thecaptain and the rajah. The second lieutenant, the captain of themarines, and the doctor alone accompanied him, with an escort of twentybluejackets and as many marines. A large crowd of people had collectedto see them pass along to the palace, which was a bare, barn-likestructure, but they looked on sullenly and silently as the party passedthrough them on their way. They were kept waiting some little timeoutside the building, then entered through a doorway which led them intoa large, unfurnished room, at the end of which the rajah was seated. Herose when the officers entered, and received them with an appearance ofgreat cordiality, his chiefs standing behind him. 

The conversation was wholly of a complimentary character; the subjectof the business on which the British ship had come was not even touchedupon; refreshments, consisting of native sweets and palm wine, were thenpassed round, and the captain, seeing that all business talk was to bedeferred, took his leave. 

The doctor, who was fond of the two midshipmen, was always ready to chatfreely with them. 

"What did you think of our ally, Dr. Horsley?" Dick asked him, when, having changed his full uniform for a suit of undress, he came up ondeck. 

"Between you and me, Balderson, I have seldom seen a more unmitigatedlooking ruffian in my life; even for a Malay, he is ugly. Soh Hay tellsme that in his young days he was a great fighter, and his face andshoulders are seamed with scars. I asked how he came to be rajah; for hedoes not look at all the type of the better class of people. Soh toldme that, in the first place, he took to the jungle, owing to his havingkrised in a quarrel the son of the chief here. He was joined by otherfugitives, set up as a pirate, and captured by surprise one of thechief's prahus. His force grew rapidly, and he made a night attack onthe chief's campong, killed him and all the members of his family, andcaused himself to be elected chief of the tribe, which was then asmall one. Gradually he swallowed up one after another of his weakerneighbors, sometimes by force, sometimes by treachery. I believe he isnow confronted by more powerful chiefs, and that it is only because heis possessed of some six or eight piratical prahus that he has been ableto maintain his position. No doubt he has become alarmed by a prospectof a combination against him, and has so invited us to support him. Sucha step will, of course, greatly add to his unpopularity, but doubtlesshe thinks that, with our help, he could defy his enemies. "

"But, he cannot suppose, Doctor, " Harry said indignantly, "that we aregoing to fight for such a rascal as he is against the men he has beenplundering. "

"I don't expect he does think that we are going to fight for him, unlesshe can show us that it is to our interest to do so. I should imaginethat he hopes that the effect of our appearance here will be to eitherinduce his neighbors to come to some arrangement with him, or that hewill endeavor to make peace with them by offering to throw us over, andto join with them against us. "

"Then, I should say, Doctor, that the best thing would be to hang theruffian up at once. "

"Well, yes, that might be a good plan, Parkhurst, " the doctor said witha smile, "and might save us a good deal of trouble; but, you see, wehave come up here at his invitation; we have just been eating his foodand drinking his liquor, and it would scarcely place us in a favorableposition in the eyes of the natives in general were we to commence ouralliance with him by hanging him. "

Harry laughed. "No, I suppose not, Doctor. Still, what are we to do?"

"We must wait, lad. We are here to ascertain the precise situation, andit will be some time before that will be cleared up. Certainly for thepresent there will be nothing for us to do but to keep quiet and see howmatters turn out, and to get through the time as best we may. We shallhave fine opportunities for shooting and botanizing, for whatever thechief's designs may be, it is certain that at present he will do all inhis power to please us. The captain today, at my suggestion, said that, in order to keep the men in good health, it would be desirable that theyshould have every opportunity of going ashore, and that the officersshould make expeditions in search of game into the interior. He promisedat once to afford us every facility, and to provide us with guides andbeaters. "

The next day permission was granted to several of the officers and totwenty sailors and a dozen marines to go on shore. Before starting, thewhole ship's company were drawn up, and the captain addressed them uponthe absolute necessity for good behavior. 

"The Malays, " he said, "are a fierce race, very proud and independent, and quick to resent the smallest insult. Each man carries a kris, and isready to use it on the slightest provocation. Every man who goes ashoremust remember that not only his own life, but those of many others, and the success of the mission on which we have come hither, may beforfeited by any careless act of aggression. Many of you have served onthe coast of Africa, but you must remember that the Malays are not to betreated in the same free and easy manner that may go down with negroes. You must comport yourselves with the same decency of behavior that youwould were you in the port of a friendly European Power. Any breachof these orders will be most severely punished; and I appeal to everyofficer and man to use his utmost efforts to keep on good terms withthese people, and to behave as if the honor and credit of the shipdepended upon him personally. Any man who comes on board in theslightest degree the worse for liquor will not be allowed to landagain, even if we are stationed here for six months; and if there is anymisbehavior on shore, all leave will be stopped. "

Two days later, the captain, with the second lieutenant and doctor, again paid a visit to the rajah, and this time business matters wereentered upon. The chief began by stating that he rejoiced at the thoughtof being under the protection of the great English Queen. The captainreplied that her Majesty was anxious to be on good terms with allthe Malay chiefs; that those rajahs and sultans who had accepted herprotection had greatly benefited by so doing, and by listening tothe advice of the officers whom she sent to reside at their seat ofgovernment; but that, of course, before receiving his state under herprotection it was necessary that her representative, the Governor ofthe Straits Settlements, should be thoroughly satisfied that the rajahintended to be guided by the advice so given. 

He said that it was thoroughly necessary this should be understood, forthat the allegiance offered to the Queen could not be lightly thrownoff. If a chief once owned her as his sovereign, he could not changehis mind afterwards; and should he disobey the advice and orders ofthe Resident, he would be liable to be dethroned, and his governmentbestowed upon one better fitted for it. He could not, for instance, be allowed to engage in hostilities against his neighbors without theconsent of the Resident, for it was clear that the English could notassist him in wars in which they considered that he was in the wrong. In these matters there must be benefits on both sides: the chief wouldobtain protection against warlike neighbors, would benefit by thepresence and advice of a British officer, and by the trade that wouldspring up; while, in return for these benefits, he must acknowledge theQueen as his sovereign, and must obey the orders of her officers just asher native born subjects would do. 

The chief looked very serious at this. "Cannot, " he asked at last, "achief obtain the protection of the British, and afterwards remain as anally of theirs?"

"Not so, " the captain said; "he cannot come to us when he is in dangerand ask us to send ships and men to aid him, and afterwards, when thedanger has passed, wish us good morning, and give us nothing in returnfor the benefits he had received. "

"What orders would a Resident give?" the rajah asked, after a pause. 

"He would give such orders as would be necessary for the good of thestate; without interfering in matters of home government, he would notallow acts of tyranny and cruelty that would imperil the peace of thestate, and perhaps bring about a rising. He would not suffer tradepassing through the dominions to be hampered and injured by heavy andunjust exactions; although, doubtless, he would allow legitimate tollsto be taken. He would not permit expeditions to be fitted out forattacks upon harmless neighbors. His interference would always be forthe good of the state, and, consequently, for the good of its prince. The incomes of the various rulers who have placed themselves underBritish protection have always been largely augmented by the prosperityand well doing of the state, the increase in its population, theextension of its trade and agriculture, all of which enabled the peopleto pay a larger amount of taxation. 

"You see, Rajah, we force no one to place himself under our protection;we war with no one unless, by attack upon ourselves or upon princesunder our protection, he compels us to punish him, and, in extremecases, to take possession of his dominions. I am explaining all this toyou because I wish you thoroughly to understand what your position willbe if the Queen takes you under her protection--which she certainly willnot do unless it is found that you are likely, on your part, to carryout faithfully the obligations you have assumed in return for thatprotection. "

When this had been translated to the rajah by the interpreter, the chiefsat for some time silent. It was evident that he was ill pleased, andthat he had reckoned upon obtaining the British aid without undertakingany responsibilities whatever. 

"And the officer who will come up, " he said at last, "would he reside onshore?"

"Certainly he would. A portion of ground would be allotted for theResidency; on this a fort would be erected, which would be manned by asmall force for his protection; and he might either reside in the fortor in a residence erected for him close to it, and under shelter of itsguns. The fort would, of course, be used for the protection of the townagainst enemies, as well as for the protection of the officer againstany rising on the part of your people; in which case you, as well ashimself, would find a refuge in it. "

"Then I should no longer be a ruler, " the rajah said angrily. "I shouldnot be able to order those who offended me to be punished. "

"Not at all, " the captain replied quietly. "Your powers as a rulerwould not be interfered with in any way, as long as they were properlyexercised. You would have the power of executing ill doers in accordancewith the custom of your country; but the murder of a person who hadcommitted no crime whatever is not to be permitted, and anything likewholesale cruelty and tyranny would be sternly repressed. "

For some time the rajah sat without speaking; then he said, with anevident effort of self control, "I must think all this over; it is allnew to me. "

"By all means do so, " the captain replied. "The matter is an importantone, and you will do well to consider it in all lights before you take astep that, once taken, cannot be undone. "

"I don't like the fellow's looks, Doctor, " the captain said; "heintended to use us as a cat's paw against his neighbors. "

"I think that he is a thoroughly bad lot, sir; and if he accepted theterms, I should be very sorry to be appointed Resident, for I should notfeel that my life was worth a day's purchase. "

"Well, there is nothing to do but to wait until we get a definite answerfrom him; and my instructions are that, if I find that he is not adesirable man to have to deal with, I am to enter into negotiations withother rajahs, and to endeavor to do something to open the trade ofthe river and to render it safe for merchants who come up to trade. IfHassan's account of this man's doings is correct, he is the main causeof the falling off in the trade, and, moreover, the author of thepiracies of which we have had so many complaints; indeed, it is possiblethat when the Governor learns the true state of things, I may get anorder to present an ultimatum to this fellow and to sink his piraticalcraft. At any rate, we may make up our minds to be here for some time. "

On the following day a message was received from the rajah, saying thatif any of the officers wished to go on excursions for sport, guideswould be placed at their disposal, and that all who wished to do socould at any time travel through the country without the slightest fearof molestation. For some time affairs remained in the same condition. The doctor went daily on shore with butterfly and beetle nets, tinboxes, and other paraphernalia. He was generally accompanied by a coupleof bluejackets, and always took a native guide to prevent the risk ofbeing lost in the jungle, and also because the man was able to take himto places where villages had stood, and it was in these clearings thatinsect life, especially among the lepidoptera, was most abundant. TheMalay he first engaged was a young fellow who proved so intelligent andwilling that he was permanently retained for the service as long as theSerpent remained on the station. 

The officers obtained no sport with big game; for although at nightthe forest was full of sounds, showing the number of wild animals thatabounded, these never were met with during the daytime, and it wouldhave been hopeless endeavoring to penetrate the thick jungle in searchof them. There was, however, an abundance of birds, for the most partof brilliant plumage, and the doctor was delighted with the spoils theybrought in, while the messes were kept well supplied with jungle fowland other edible birds. The natives, learning from the guide of thedoctor's passion for insects, brought in large numbers for sale, and hewas able to purchase a great many specimens altogether new to science. 

The two midshipmen made excursions with their guns whenever they couldget leave. Davis and two other sailors always accompanied them, as thecaptain's orders were strict that no officer or man should go outsidethe limits of the campong unless accompanied by two armed seamen. 

Sometimes they took a native canoe and went up the river fishing; but asan abundance of fish could be caught by lines from the ship's side, theyonly did this as a change, and often in the cool of the evening they laylazily in the canoe, while the fishermen were employed rowing them upone or other of the numerous streams which flowed into the river. The doctor's prognostications as to the health of the crew were onlypartially verified, for the precautions taken, if they did not secure aperfect immunity against fever, at least greatly diminished the numberof those who suffered from it. The abundance of fish either caught fromthe ship or purchased from the natives formed a wholesome diet, aidedby the fruit, of which the natives brought off a very large quantity. It was very varied, and much of it delicious; the mangosteens werespecially appreciated, and those who could overcome their repugnance tothe disgusting odor of the durians found them delicious eating. Besidesthese were custard apples, bananas, and many other kinds of fruit;all were very cheap and, upon the doctor's suggestion, a supply waspurchased daily for the use of the ship's company, and the sailors, whohad no other use for their money, laid out no small portion of their payon these luxuries. 

The captain had taken every opportunity, when boats passed up the river, to send messages and presents to the chiefs of the tribes higher up, with assurances that he had not come up as an enemy, but that he desiredto be on good terms with all, and would gladly see any of them who wouldcome down to pay him a visit, and would guarantee their safe returnwithout molestation on the part of Sehi. No answers had, however, beenreceived to these overtures, and a proposal he made to the rajah tosend some of the ship's boats up the river to endeavor to bring aboutan understanding between him and his neighbors was received with extremedisfavor. 

CHAPTER V. 

So far, nothing had been seen of the rajah's prahus. When questioned onthe subject, he replied that they were all down on the coast, tradingwith the natives; but it was so improbable that they should have beensent away while the rajah was in fear of an attack by his neighbors thatno credence was given to the assertion. The ship's boats often went outfor long rows on the river, ostensibly--as the captain told the rajah, who inquired suspiciously as to the meaning of these excursions--for thesake of giving the crews active exercise, but principally in order totake soundings of the river, and to investigate the size and positionsof the creeks running into it. One day the gig and cutter had proceededfarther than usual; they had started at daybreak, and had turned offinto what seemed a very small creek, that had hitherto been unexplored, as from the width of its mouth it was supposed to extend but a shortdistance into the forest. The master's mate was in command of one boat, the second lieutenant of the other; Harry Parkhurst accompanied thelatter. After pushing through the screen of foliage that almost closedthe entrance to the creek, the boats rowed on for some distance. Forhalf a mile the width was but some fifteen yards, and the trees met inan arch overhead, then it widened considerably. 

"This is just the sort of place, " the lieutenant said to Harry, "where the rajah's prahus may be hidden away. We had best go along asnoiselessly as possible. If we were to come upon them suddenly theymight fire upon us, and that would bring on a general row. If we shouldcatch sight of them, it would be best to take the news to the captain, and let him act as he thinks fit. "

He ordered the men to cease rowing until the gig came alongside. 

"Mr. Morrison, " he said, "it seems to me that this is a likely place forthe prahus to be hidden. We had better try and discover if this is thecase, without being ourselves seen; therefore have all the oars, exceptfour, laid in, and let the men muffle those with their stockings, andbe most careful to dip them into the water without making a splash. Let absolute silence be preserved in the boat. I will lead the way asbefore, and if I hold up my hand stop rowing instantly. "

"Aye, aye, sir!" the mate replied. 

The same precautions were taken by the cutter, and the boats proceedednoiselessly. Presently the stream narrowed again, until it seemed thatthey were approaching its termination, and the boat stopped rowing. 

"I fancy we have come to the end of it, Mr. Morrison, " the lieutenantsaid in a low voice. 

"I am afraid so too, sir; there is no room for the oars, and we shalleither have to punt the boats, or to drag them by the bushes. "

The lieutenant was about to give the order to turn when Harry said, suddenly, "There is a current, sir. I have had my eye upon that root, and we have drifted backwards a couple of feet since we lost way, sothere must be a stretch of water above us. "

The lieutenant watched the root of the tree to which Harry had pointed, for a minute in silence, then he said, "You are right, my lad, there isa current, and, as you say, there must be a stretch of water above us. Lay in your oars, lads; stand up, and pull her along by the boughs andbushes, but don't make the slightest sound. "

Twenty yards farther the creek widened, and the oars were again got out. 

"Take your place in the bow, Mr. Parkhurst, and hold up your hand theinstant you see anything unusual, and do you, men, be ready to hold herup the instant I give the order. "

They proceeded for a quarter of a mile, the gig following close behind. Suddenly, at a bend in the stream, a glare of light was seen ahead. Harry held up his hand, and passed the word down in a whisper that justahead the creek widened into a broad sheet of water. The lieutenantstopped the gig by holding up his hand, passed the order for the mento lay in their oars noiselessly, and told the coxswain to keep in wellunder the bushes on the left hand side; then he made his way forward, and joined Harry, telling the men to pull the boat forward by meansof the branches overhead which were well within reach, but to avoidbreaking even a twig. 

In a minute or two the bow of the boat arrived at the end of the screenof bushes, and a low exclamation broke from the lieutenant and Harrysimultaneously; they were looking out on to an almost circular pool sometwo hundred yards in diameter. In the center were moored six prahus. Two of them lay broadside on to the creek, the other four were in a linebehind these, and it seemed that their broadsides were directed to theopposite side of the pool, for the other two boats were in the way oftheir firing at the creek. They were long, low vessels, rowing sometwenty oars on each side. Each carried a number of small brass guns, andthey were evidently full of men, for numbers could be seen on deck, andboats were passing to and fro between them and a small village at theedge of the pool. Having taken in all the details of the scene, thelieutenant passed the word for the mate to leave his own boat and joinhim. When he did so, he whispered to him: "I thought it was as well thatyou should have a view of these fellows' position too, Morrison, as itwould be of use to you if you have to take a boat in to attack them. "

Two minutes later the boats were drawn back again to the open water intheir rear, and rowed as noiselessly as before down the creek, no wordbeing spoken until they were half a mile away from the pool. 

"That is a snug hiding place, Mr. Morrison, " the lieutenant said. 

"It is indeed, sir. Who would have thought the scoundrels were so closeto us, or that they lay up this narrow creek, which I have passed half adozen times and never thought worth examining? I should not have dreamtthat one of those craft could have passed through. "

"I doubt whether they did pass through. They hardly could have done sowithout breaking down a good many of these branches, and we must haveseen signs of that. I think they must have got into that pool by somecreek coming in on the opposite side. You see four out of the six boatswere anchored in line so as to bring their broadsides to bear on somepoint opposite to them, while the other two guarded them against anyattack from this side. Naturally, they thought it unlikely that any boatwould come up here, and so directed their main attention to the otheropening. The next thing to find out will be where the other streamjoins the river, otherwise, as soon as we make our appearance, they willescape that way, and there is not the least doubt that they could rowaway from our fastest boats. However, it is a great thing that we havediscovered their whereabouts without their having the least notion thatwe have done so, and I am sure the captain will be very pleased when hehears that we have found them. It will give him the whip hand over thatlying rascal Sehi. "

Captain Forest smiled grimly when the lieutenant made his report of thediscovery that he had made. 

"Thank you, Mr. Hopkins; that is a very valuable discovery. Just atpresent matters have not come to a point when we can turn it to account. The next thing will be to find out where the other passage comes out. It will be a serious business to attack them in the boats alone;these prahus carry a tremendous lot of men, and the Malays will fightdesperately. I do not say that we might not succeed, but we should losea lot of men in the attempt; it would be hot work even with the ship, attacked by six of these fellows at once. If it was in the night, wemight fail to see any of them before they were upon us, and we shouldhave hard work to beat back four or five hundred of them if they allcame swarming on deck together. However, we can wait, and the first timethe rajah shows any signs of treachery we can pounce upon his fleet. He will not dream that we have discovered their hiding place, and willtherefore let them hide there without movement. However, we must try tofind the ether end of the entrance to the creek. 

"Please impress upon Mr. Morrison and young Parkhurst that it is of thehighest importance no words shall be spoken about it; and it might beadvisable, also, to give notice to the men who were in the boats, tokeep their mouths shut. I have no reason to believe that the interpreteris not faithful to our interests, but it is just as well not to trustanyone. Moreover, it may be that some of these Malays who come on boardwith fruit may have been for a time at Singapore or Penang, and pickedup a little English, and a chance word might let them know that we havediscovered the prahus. "

"I wonder why our friend Hassan has not turned up, " Dick Balderson saidto his chum one day, after they had been lying for a month opposite thetown. 

"I expect something has occurred to keep him, " Harry said. "I am quiteconvinced that he would have come if he could. He may be in troublehimself with some of his neighbors, or he may have tried to exerthimself too soon and done himself damage. I am quite convinced thathe meant what he said. At any rate, till this business here comes to ahead, we are not likely to be able to go up and pay a visit to him. "

"No, I am quite sure that the captain would not let us go now, andindeed, I would not ask him, even if I were sure he would, for we mayget to blows with the rajah any day; he cannot put off giving a finalanswer much longer. I wonder the captain stood his shilly shallying solong as he has. "

It was but two evenings after this that, as the two midshipmen wereleaning against the bulwarks, watching the reflection of the stars inthe sluggish stream, a native sampan stole silently out from the shadowof the shore and dropped down alongside the Serpent. So noiseless wasthe movement that the two men on the lookout in the bow did not noticeit, and the midshipmen thought it was a shadow of some dark objectfloating down stream, when it came alongside and a man stood up. 

"Hello!" Harry said, "you must not come alongside like this: what do youwant?"

"Dick, Harry, Doctor; come from Hassan. "

"Oh, that is it; all right, come on board, " and, leaning over, hestretched out his hand to the native, who seized it, and in a momentstood by his side on the deck, holding the head rope of his sampan inhis mouth. 

"Davis, " Harry said to the sailor who was standing two paces away, "justgo down to the wardroom, and tell the doctor, with my compliments, that I shall be obliged if he will come on deck at once. Say that it issomething particular. "

A minute later the doctor appeared. "I was just in the middle of arubber, Dick, and if you have not an uncommonly good reason for callingme up I will make you smart for it, the first time you get under myhands. Whom have we got here?"

"He is a messenger from Hassan; he mentioned our names and yours. "

"Ah, I am glad of that, " the doctor said, rubbing his hands together;"they have been chaffing me in the wardroom about it, and prophesyingthat I should never hear of him again. Well, what does he say?"

"He has not said anything except our names, Doctor, and that he comesfrom Hassan. I don't suppose he knows any more English, and I thought wehad better consult you, whether it would be best to send for Soh Hay; hemay have brought some message of importance. "

"Right, lad. I think the most prudent thing will be to tell the captainfirst. It may only be a message to say why he has not come, or it may bea matter of some importance. I will go to him at once. "

Two or three minutes later he returned. "You are to bring him to thecaptain's cabin. Here, Davis, pass the word forward that the captainwants to see Soh Hay in his cabin. "

Harry touched the native, who had been standing quietly by his side, andsigned him to accompany them, and with Dr. Horsley and Dick went directto the cabin. 

"So your friend has sent a message at last, lad?" Captain Forest said. "I am glad of that, for I own that I had doubts whether we should hearany more of him. "

"You come from the chief Hassan?" the captain, who had been working atthe Malay language, with the interpreter, since he had arrived at themouth of the river, asked in that tongue. The man's face brightened. 

"Yes, my lord, " he said. 

"Is he well?"

"The chief is quite well. "

"I wish I knew enough to question him without Soh Hay's interference, but I shall only make a mess of it, and, perhaps, get a wrongidea altogether of his message. Now, Soh Hay, " he broke off as theinterpreter entered, "you will ask this man the questions exactly as Iput them, and tell me his answer word for word. It may be of importance. Now ask him first what message he brings from his chief to theofficers. "

The question was put, and the native, speaking slowly and quietly, andevidently repeating a lesson that he had learned by heart, said, "Thechief sends his greeting to his three friends, Harry, Dick, and Doctor, also to Captain. He is well in body; he is cured, and can throw aspear and lead his men to battle. He has sent four messengers one afteranother, but none have returned with an answer; they have no doubt beenkrised. Now he sends me. "

"Tell him that no messenger has arrived until now, " the captain said, when this was interpreted to him. 

The man nodded. "All krised. I travel at night, hide in trees all day, float down at night in shadow of bushes, and have got through safe. Chief Hassan says not been able to come down. Other chiefs very angrybecause English warship come. Send message to Hassan to join them. Whenhe say no, they threaten to kill him and destroy tribe when warship goaway. Two of Rajah Sehi's prahus go up and down river; stop all boats. Sehi send message to all chiefs; say that English war boat here. Englishcome take his country, and after they done that take the countries ofthe others; make themselves kings of the river. He ask them to join himin killing English, every man, then he would have no more quarrel withthem, no trouble trade any more; be good friends with all neighbors. Some chiefs say one thing, some another. Some more afraid of rajah thanof English; some think better have English here than rajah. 

"Hassan says must take great care. Sehi very treacherous; attack whenthey do not expect it. He thinks his prahus can easily take Englishship; but Hassan says Sehi wants the other chiefs to aid, so that ifthe English send up more ships, then, can all join him in fighting them. Hassan says he will do what he can. He has eight war canoes, but no goodagainst prahus--they run at canoes, and cut them in half; but willcome to help if English attack. He does not know where prahus are. BegsCaptain to attack these first; it is they that make Sehi master of theriver. If they destroyed, other chiefs not afraid of Sehi, and he mightget some of them to join against him. Hassan said tell Harry, and Dick, and Doctor he does not forget their kindness, and will do what he can towatch over them. Such is Hassan's message. "

"Ask him when he is going back to his chief, " the captain said. 

"He go now, " the interpreter said, after asking the question. "He get asfar as he can before morning. He sure many eyes watch ship night andday to see that no message comes, or any word of what rajah is doing. Hefloat down stream in sampan some distance, then paddle to opposite bank, then keep in shadow of bushes up the river, and hide away till nightcomes again. "

"Very well, then, tell him that he is to thank his master for sendingus warning; that we had already found out that what he told us before hewent away was true, and that Sehi is a very bad man. Say that we are notafraid of prahus, and will make short work of them when we get a chance. Tell him we will take great care, and not let ourselves be surprised, and that when we have finished with this fellow here, the ship will comeas far up the river as she can go, and show the chiefs that the Englishhave no evil intentions against them, and will send his three friendswith a strong boat party to pay him a visit. By the way, ask the man ifhe knows this part of the country. "

"Yes, Captain; he says that he has been since his boyhood a boatman, andhas worked for some years with a trader, who used to go up the creeks, and trade with the villagers. "

"Ask him if he knows a creek that turns off from the river four or fivemiles above this; it is a very small one, but it leads into a pool onwhich is a large village. "

The man nodded at once, when the question was put, then spoke for aminute or two. 

"He says, Captain, that he knows the pool and village; but he has neverbeen up the small creek that you speak of. Did not know that a boatcould get through. He has been there by a large creek that runs intothe other branch of the river, the one that turns off twelve miles belowthis; from that river it is an hour's paddle in a sampan to the pool. "

"How should we know the entrance?" the captain asked. 

"Entrance difficult to find, " the native replied; "strip of land runsout from both sides, covered with trees. One goes a little beyondthe other, so that anyone who did not know it would pass the entrancewithout noticing it. It is just wide enough for a large craft to go inand out. There is a village stands a hundred yards below the entrance;it would be known by a big tree that grows before a large house close tothe bank. The water is deep on that side. You have only, after passingthe village, to keep close in shore, and you will then see the entranceto the creek. It is called Alligator Creek, because, more than anyplace, it swarms with these creatures. "

"Thank you, " the captain said. "Will you tell the chief that I say youhave rendered me a valuable service?"

He opened a case in which he kept presents intended for the chiefs, andtook out a brace of handsome pistols, a powder flask, and a bullet mold. 

"Take these, " he said, "in token of the service you have rendered. WhenI see your chief, you shall be well recompensed for the risk that youhave run in bearing me his message. "

The Malay looked longingly at the pistols, and then said, "I came byorder of my chief, and not for reward. "

"Quite so. I understand that, and am not offering you a reward for thatservice, but for the information that you have given me, which may be ofvalue if I have trouble with the rajah here. "

The man bowed and took the pistols offered. "I will use them againstyour enemies, " he said warmly; "but all of us know the creek, for it isthat which renders it so difficult for us to fight against Sehi. He ismaster of the water, and we cannot attack him without first crossingthat creek. We should have to carry canoes with us, to do it, for thecreek is too full of alligators for anyone to swim across, and our smallcanoes would have no chance of passing the creek when his war boats werethere. "

The captain nodded when this was translated to him. 

"Sehi's place, in fact, stands upon an island formed by the two branchesof the river and this creek. As soon as he became master of the river, he could hardly be assailed, while at any time he could sally out andfall upon his enemies. Ask the man if he will take any refreshmentbefore he goes. "

The man declined. He had, he said, sufficient fruit and dried fish forhis journey back. A few minutes later he took his place in the littlecanoe and drifted away into the darkness, and was soon lost to sight. 

CHAPTER VI. 

"Things are coming to a crisis, Harry, " Dick Balderson said, in a toneof delight, as they left the captain's cabin. "We now know what we allalong suspected--the rajah is a rascal, and we have not only found outwhere his prahus are hidden, but have them corked up in a bottle. "

"Nothing could be better, Dick, and I expect we shall have some prettyhot work. Of course the Serpent cannot get up that creek, though she canplace herself at the entrance and prevent their getting away; but therestill remains the work of capturing or driving them down the creek, andthat is likely to be a very tough job. "

The next morning the second lieutenant, the mate, and Harry Parkhurstwere sent for to the captain's cabin. The first lieutenant was there. They were each asked their opinion as to whether the prahus could forcetheir way through the creek by which they had ascended. 

"It is a most important point, " the captain said: "and indeed, everything might depend upon it. "

"I am sure, sir, " Mr. Hopkins said, "that they could not go straightdown it. They might cut their way through, but it would be a work ofconsiderable time, for with their masts they would have to clear awaythe branches to a considerable height. Down near the water the branchesby which we pushed ourselves along were those of the undergrowth, withmany rattans and other creepers varying from the thickness of one'sthumb to that of one's wrist, and these would take a great deal ofchopping before one of their war boats could be pushed through, buthigher up they would probably have much thicker branches to contendwith. It may be that they can lower their masts; but even if they coulddo so, I should think that it would take them over an hour's work, evenwith the number of hands they carry, to get a passage through that bitof thick undergrowth, fifty or sixty yards up the mouth of the creek. There are two or three other places where some chopping would have to bedone, but that would be comparatively easy work. "

The mate and Harry both agreed with the lieutenant. 

"Practically, then, " the captain said, "the Malays have but one mode ofescape, while we have two of attack. At any rate, if we send up a boatbeforehand, and fasten two or three iron chains from side to side amongthe branches, that passage would be securely sealed. 

"Thank you, gentlemen; that is all I have to ask at present. It is avery difficult nut we have to crack, Mr. Ferguson, " he went on, whenhe and the first lieutenant were alone. "To attack six strongly armedprahus with the boats of this ship would be a serious enterprise indeed, and its success would be very doubtful, while the loss would certainlybe very heavy, especially as, if any of the boats were sunk, the crewswould have but little chance in a place swarming with alligators. Idon't think I should be justified in risking such an enterprise. "

"There is no doubt, sir, the loss would be very heavy indeed; by allaccounts, these Malays fight like demons on the decks of their ownboats, and, for aught we know, they may, after nightfall, trice uprattans to prevent boarders getting on board. I have heard that it istheir custom when they expect an attack, and that these are far moreformidable obstacles than our boarding nets. Of course I should be quiteready to lead an attack should you decide upon making one, but I cannotconceal from myself that it would be a well nigh desperate undertaking. "

"I am glad that you are of that opinion, " the captain said. "Thereseems to me but one course, and that a difficult one--namely, to carrya couple of heavy guns through the forest to the edge of the pool. Itwould be a serious undertaking, and we should have to send a strongforce to defend them, but if we could succeed in planting them inposition, we should soon drive the Malays out of the pool. "

"That would be a capital plan, Captain, if it could be managed. Isuppose before we attempt it, you will take possession of this place, and capture the rajah?"

"That of course. I don't suppose we shall capture him. I have no doubtthat we are closely watched night and day, and that the instant theboats are lowered, and the men get on board, the rajah would preparefor flight, though he might possibly make some resistance. However, thatwould be but trifling; our guns would cover the landing, and knock theplace about his ears; but to penetrate the jungle would be vastly moredifficult an affair. If, as is probable, he has succeeded in inducingsome of his neighbors to join him, they may have already sent strongcontingents, and the forest may be full of them. In that case it wouldbe quite beyond our power to rout them out, and I certainly shouldnot be justified in attempting it. The destruction of his town andthe burning of his palace would be a serious blow to him, but thedestruction of his piratical fleet would be a very much heavier one. Ifwe can achieve that, we shall have done good service. 

"The first thing to do is to find out whether there is a path eitherfrom this river, or the other branch, to the pool. If so, at dark, after destroying the town, we will recall all the men on shore, buoy theanchor and drop it noiselessly, and drift down the river till we are farenough away to use the engines, then steam down to the junction of thetwo streams, and up again to the entrance to the creek on that side. Then we will at once land a very strong party, land also two twenty-fourpounders, and drag them to the pool. We might hope to do so without anyopposition, for the Malays would no doubt be gathered at the edge of theforest near the town to repel any attack we might make from there, and before morning we might have the guns in position. I should take ahundred empty sacks. These you would fill with earth when you get nearthe pool, and form a battery with them behind the screen of bushes;then, when you are ready, you will cut down the bushes and open fire. "

"I don't see why that should not succeed, sir. Of course the mostdifficult part of the operation is dragging the guns. These native pathsare only broad enough for men in single file. "

"Yes, that is the difficulty. We could not employ axes to cut down thetrees, and to saw them down would be an interminable work. I think, Mr. Ferguson, we should have to carry them. "

"I doubt if we could carry a twenty-four pounder, sir; but we mightcarry an eighteen. They have bamboos of almost any length here, and ifwe were to lash an eighteen pounder between two of them, I should saythat ten men each side ought to able to carry them, while as many moremight take the gun carriage. "

"We will get some bamboos today, Mr. Ferguson, and try the experiment ofhow many men will be required to carry a gun; but now I think of it, I fancy that it will be still easier to lay the guns down on a sledgeshaped piece of timber--these paths are smooth enough where the nativestread, and the men could haul the guns along with ropes. "

"That would be better and easier, sir. The difficulty with the carriageswill be greatest, but they might be taken to pieces as far as possibleand slung on bamboos. "

"I think that we shall be able to manage all that, " the captain saidcheerfully. "The first thing is to find the path. There is almost sureto be one from the village the Malay spoke of as close to the mouthof the creek, and the pool, and if we send the boats up as soon as wearrive at the creek, to row with muffled oars until they get near thepool, and then land and find the path, it would diminish very much thedistance they would have to go and the work to be done. "

"It would be a great thing to find that out beforehand, sir. If youlike, I will drop down the river this afternoon in the gig; that willattract no attention, for it will be thought that we are merely goingfishing or shooting. As soon as it is dark we will muffle the oars, and row up the other branch, find the mouth of the creek and row up it, first find how far it is to the pool, then drop down a quarter of a mileand land, strike into the jungle, and look for the path. I should, ofcourse, choose a point where the creek bends that way, for as the pathno doubt goes straight from the village to the pool, it would be nearerthe creek at a bend than it would be at any other point. If it is asharp bend it might go quite close to it. "

"That would be a very good plan, Mr. Ferguson, and as you have proposedit, you shall take command of the boat; otherwise I should have senteither the third lieutenant or Morrison. I need not say that it will benecessary to use the greatest caution, and to avoid all risks as muchas possible, though I fancy that my gig would run away from any of theordinary native craft; but, of course, the great point is to avoid beingnoticed, for were one of our boats seen up the other river near thecreek, the alarm would be given, and the prahus might at once shifttheir position, and make up the river, where we should have littlechance of finding them again. "

"I quite understand that, sir, and will be as careful as possible. Iwill take one of the midshipmen with me, either Mr. Parkhurst or Mr. Balderson; if the worst came to the worst and one of the men were hit, he could man his oar, or, if I were myself badly wounded, could take thecommand. I think it is Balderson's turn for boat duty. "

"Either of them will do, " the captain said; "they are both strong, active lads, and as steady as you can expect lads to be. "

Accordingly, at four in the afternoon the captain's gig was lowered. Asthe rule was that all men on boat duty should go armed no surprise hadbeen excited when the order was given for the men to take their musketsand cutlasses, though, when an extra supply of ammunition and a brace ofpistols were served out to each, they thought that something unusual wasin the wind, and there was a grin on the men's faces when a hamper ofprovisions was placed in the bow of the boat. Dick was in a state ofhigh but suppressed delight when informed by the first lieutenant thathe was to accompany him on a boat expedition, and that he had bettertake his cloak with him, as they might be out all night. 

"You can take your pistols with you, Mr. Balderson; it is not likelythat they will be wanted, but it is as well to carry them. "

Dick borrowed a cutlass from the armorer and ground it down to a razoredge, for his dirk was an altogether useless weapon if it came tofighting. He was the more convinced that something more than usual wasintended when he saw the assistant surgeon place a parcel in the sternsheets. 

"Bandages, I expect, " he said. "Where do you think we can be going, Harry?"

"Perhaps you are going up the creek again, Dick. Who's going incommand?"

"I have not heard. Morrison says he has not been told off, so I supposeit is Hopkins; in fact, if you are going up the creek, it is sure tobe him, as one of us who went up there before would certainly bein command. It is rum they're taking the captain's gig. He is veryparticular about it, and it is very seldom indeed that even the firstluff uses it. "

"I suppose they think it possible that you may be chased, and thereis no doubt she is far away the fastest boat on board. She is not adockyard boat, but, as you know, is one the captain had specially builtfor himself, and for racing if we were at any station where there wereother warships. "

When four o'clock came, and the first lieutenant, with his cloak overhis arm, came out and took his place in the boat, there was a generallook of surprise among the sailors leaning on the rail to see her putoff, for it was a very unusual thing for the first officer to take thecommand when only a single boat's crew were going out on any expedition. 

"Row easy, men, " Mr. Ferguson said, as he sat down on one side of thecoxswain, while Dick took his place on the other. "Drop quietly down theriver. There is my fishing rod by your side, Mr. Balderson; you may aswell begin to put it together at once, so that the natives on shore maysee that we are going on a fishing expedition. "

They rowed some ten miles down at a leisurely pace, and then theboat's grapnel was dropped at a bend of the stream, where the water wasunusually deep, and several baskets of fish had been taken at varioustimes. A spare rod was brought out from under the seat, and Mr. Fergusonand Dick began to fish, one on each side of the boat, while the men layon their oars, and a look of satisfaction came over their faces as thelieutenant told them that they could smoke. Hitherto, Dick had been inignorance as to the object of the expedition. He had been much surprisedwhen the order had been given for the boat to row down the river, and itwas therefore evident that it was not the intention of the first officerto again explore the creek. 

Several fish were caught, but as soon as it became dark the lieutenantsaid, "You can throw them overboard again, Mr. Balderson; we don't wantany extra weight in the boat, and these fish must weigh thirty pounds atleast. Now what do you suppose we are going to do?"

"I have no idea, sir. I thought that we might be going up the creek thatLieutenant Hopkins explored the other day, to have another look at theprahus; but as we came down the river instead of going up, of course itis not that. "

"No; we are going to explore the creek, but from the other end. "

"That will be first rate, sir, but I am afraid that we shan't find waterenough for the Serpent. "

"No, I fear that there is little chance of that; still we may obtaininformation that will be valuable. "

The night was a dark one, and an hour after sunset the grapnel was gotup, and the boat continued its way down the river, the oars being nowmuffled, and the strictest silence ordered. 

"Keep your eyes open, Mr. Balderson, " the lieutenant said. "I think thatit must be another three miles to the point where the river forks. Theother branch comes in on the right, so we will keep on the left bank. I don't think there is much fear of our missing the junction of thestream, but if we do, we will row on to a mile below the point where wethink it is, then cross and keep up on the other side. In that way wecannot miss it. "

For the next half hour no word was spoken in the boat. Dick kept hiseyes fixed on the opposite bank. Suddenly he touched the lieutenant. 

"There, sir, that must be it. The line of the trees has suddenlystopped, and I think I can make out a lower line behind it. "

"Yes, no doubt that is the junction. We will go two hundred yardsfarther down before we cross; it is unlikely in the extreme that anyoneis watching us, still I don't want to run the slightest risk. "

In another five minutes they crossed the river, whose increased widthshowed them that they had assuredly passed the junction of the stream. Then they turned and followed the right hand bank. 

"Stretch out a bit now, lads; you have fifteen miles' straight rowingbefore you, and the sooner you get to the other end, the better. We mayhave a long night's work before us, and I want to be able to get to theplace where we fished before morning. "

The men bent to their oars, and the boat sped swiftly along. The currentwas very slight, and after two hours' rowing, the lieutenant judged thatthey must be but a short distance from the village Hassan's messengerspoke of. Accordingly, he told the coxswain to steer across to the otherbank, and warned the men that the slightest splash of their oars mightattract attention, and that they were to row easier for the present. In a quarter of an hour the wall of forest ceased, and a hundred yardsfarther they saw houses. Two or three dim lights were visible, andthe sound of voices could be heard. The boat's head was now turned outsomewhat farther into the stream, so as to be out of sight of anyonewho might by chance come down late to draw water. After rowing a hundredyards they could dimly make out the outline of a white house. Therewas a break just in the center, and the outline of a tree could be seenabove the roof. Dick leant forward and again touched the lieutenant. 

"That must be the house, sir, " he whispered. 

Mr. Ferguson nodded without speaking; and after the boat had goneanother hundred yards, the line of forest could again be seen, andthe boat was rowed into the bank, and two minutes later shot through anarrow channel and entered a creek some forty yards wide. 

"Now you can give way again, lads. "

An hour's paddling in a sampan would mean about three miles, and aftertwenty minutes' sharp rowing, the men were ordered to row easy again, and the lieutenant and Dick kept an anxious lookout ahead. The creek washere little more than fifty yards across, and, accustomed as their eyeswere to darkness, they presently saw that it widened out suddenly. Theword was passed down for the men to paddle easily, and in two minutesthe pool opened before them. They could not make out the prahus, lyingas they did against the shadow of the trees on the farther side, butthey could see a number of lights, apparently from swinging lanterns, and hear a loud murmur of voices. 

"Easy all, " the lieutenant ordered now; "back her very quietly; now pullbow. "

Noiselessly the boat was brought round, and its head directed to theright hand bank. They had passed a sharp bend nearly half a mile back, and the lieutenant said, "Look out for a landing place at the deepestpoint of the curve, Harris. "

"Aye, aye, sir!" the coxswain said, standing up. A minute later hebrought the boat alongside, at a point which was free from bushes, andwhere the bank was but two feet above the water's edge. 

CHAPTER VII. 

"Now, Mr. Balderson, take Harper and Winthorpe, and make your waythrough the jungle as noiselessly as possible. It is probable that thepath runs within fifty yards of this point, possibly it is only half adozen. When you have found it, send Winthorpe back to me with the news. Take that long coil of thin rope that is in the bow, and pay it out asyou go along. You might get lost even within two yards of the stream, and it would be dangerous to call or whistle. It will enable me to joinyou. Leave your muskets behind, lads; they would only be in the wayin the jungle, and you have your pistols and cutlasses. You take thelantern, Winthorpe, and Harper, do you take the rope. Fasten one end tothe thwart before you start, or, without knowing it, you might drag itafter you. "

Dick led the way, the others following close behind, but as soon asthey were among the trees, he was obliged to take the lantern, for thedarkness was so intense that he could not see an inch before him andwould have been torn to pieces by the thorny creepers had he tried topenetrate without a light. 

As it was, he received several nasty scratches, and could hear mutteredexclamations from the men behind him. Creeping under some of therattans, making detours to avoid others, and cutting some of the smallerones in two with his cutlass, he made his way forward, and was delightedindeed when, after proceeding some twenty yards, he came upon the edgeof what looked like a ditch, but which was, he knew, the native path. 

"Here we are, lads, " he exclaimed in a low tone; "thank goodness we havenot had to go farther. "

"So say I, sir, " one of the men grumbled; "if it had not been for yourlantern I should have been torn to pieces. As it is, I aint sure whethermy eyes aint gone, and my nose and cheeks are scratched as if I had beenfighting with a mad cat. "

"Here, Winthorpe, take the lantern and make your way back; darken it assoon as you get through to the edge of the creek. You cannot go wrongwith the cord to guide you. "

Two or three minutes later Dick saw the light approaching again, and thelieutenant, the coxswain, and two bluejackets joined him, Winthorpe andanother having been left as boat keepers. 

"Now, Harris, do you and one of the others go on ahead; we will followfifty yards behind you. If you hear anyone coming, give a low whistle;we will then turn off the light. You can walk on confidently, for thereis no chance of any of these prickly creepers running across the path. When you see the trees are getting thinner, or that there is an openingbefore you, stop and send back word to us, so that we can shut up thelantern before joining you. "

The lieutenant headed the party now, followed by Dick. He held thelantern close to the ground; the bottom was, like all jungle paths, wornperfectly smooth by the passage of the barefooted natives. 

"Nothing could be better, " he said in a low voice to Dick. "We ought tobe able to haul the guns along here at a trot; and the opening is wideenough on each side for a gun carriage to be carried along without anydifficulty. "

In ten minutes one of the men ahead came back. 

"We have got to the end of the path, sir; it ends on the bank of thatpool we saw ahead. "

The lantern was now extinguished, and the party hurried forward. Onreaching the bank they found that the path ended, as they had expected, just opposite the village. The prahus lay somewhat to the right. 

"It could not be better, " the lieutenant whispered. "Now let us seewhether we can find a suitable place for the guns. "

This was much easier than they had expected, for the trees were cleared, probably to furnish firewood, for a distance of some fifteen yards fromthe bank; between this cleared place and the water was a fringe of thickbushes. 

"This will do capitally, lads. Now we will be off at once; we have foundout all that we wanted, and nothing could be more satisfactory. "

They retraced their steps rapidly till they came to the coil of cordlooped on a low bough. The coxswain took it down, and they were soon allon board the boat again. "Now, lads, row as noiselessly as you can tothe mouth of the pool again, then turn, and lay on your oars, except bowand two, who are to paddle very slowly. Hand Mr. Balderson that twentyfoot bamboo; I want to sound the river as we come back. "

As soon as the boat was again turned, Dick took the pole, and, standing up, thrust it down into the water. 

"Only about seven feet, sir, " he whispered. 

"That is bad. It is evident that the ship cannot get up here; still wemay as well go on sounding. "

"The water is gradually deepening, " Dick said, thrusting the pole downagain; "there are nearly ten feet. "

It was not long before he announced fifteen, and at that continued untilthey reached the entrance to the creek, where it was only fourteen feet. 

"It would be a touch and go there, " the lieutenant said, "but I dare sayshe could be pushed through. It is very unfortunate that there is thatshallow bar this side of the pool. And now, lads, you can lay out forten minutes, and then we can fasten up to a bough and see what is in thehamper. We have done our work earlier than I had expected, and can takeit easy. "

The steward had provided them with an ample store of food, and the menate their hunks of cold meat and bread, and passed round the pannikinsof grog, with great contentment, while the officers divided a coldchicken and a bottle of claret. 

"Now, men, " the lieutenant said, when they had finished, "you can havea quarter of an hour's smoke. You must open the lantern in the bottom ofthe boat, and hold a jacket over it to prevent the light falling on anyof you. "

When the men had lit their pipes the lantern was passed aft, and whilethe coxswain put his jacket over it, the lieutenant lit a cigar. 

"You smoke, don't you, Balderson?"

"Yes, sir, I began when we came up the river; the doctor said it is agood thing to keep off miasma. "

"Very well, then light up; I think that it is a good thing myself. Wehave done a very satisfactory night's work, and I think we see our waynow to getting rid of most of those piratical craft, which will notonly be a benefit to traders on the coast of the river, but will greatlyplease all the other chiefs, and will enable them to hold their ownagainst Sehi. "

Five minutes were added to the promised quarter, and then the pipes werelaid down, and the boat proceeded at a steady stroke until they reachedthe spot where they had fished. 

"Somewhere about here, lad?"

"Yes, sir, I think that this is just the place. I noticed that tall treerising above the general line just opposite where we were anchored. "

"Then lower the grapnel; in oars. "

Another bottle was produced from the hamper; the lieutenant filled awine glass full and drank it off, and then passed the glass over toDick. 

"What is it, sir?"

"It is some grog, with a large dose of quinine. The doctor begged me togive it an hour or two before daylight. Now, lads, you are each to takea glass of this; it will protect you against the effect of the mist onthe river. You can show the lantern now; it is just as well that theyshould see it if they are on the lookout. "

Every man took his glass of the mixture. 

"Now wrap yourselves in your blankets, lads, and lie down for a coupleof hours' sleep. "

After a minute or two's scuffling while each found a plank to suithim, all was quiet in the boat. Dick, who felt far too excited over theevents of the night to be sleepy, had volunteered to keep watch, and, lighting another pipe at the lantern, smoked till it was broad daylight. Then he roused the crew, and in less than two hours afterwards theyrowed alongside the Serpent. The captain was greatly pleased with Mr. Ferguson's report. 

"It is unlucky about that bar in the creek, otherwise we might havetaken the ship right into the pool, and fought it out with them there. Still, it may be that this will be the best in the end, for we couldhardly have counted upon sinking the whole of them, and once pastus they would have been off like the wind; and though we might havefollowed some of them, the others would have made off, some one wayand some another, whereas, by laying the vessel across the mouth of thecreek, we have a good chance of catching them all as they come down. There is no doubt a lot more fellows have arrived to help the rajah; wecan see that there are a great many more about on the shore than therehave been before. I think things will come to a crisis before many hourshave passed. We have made out that men keep coming and going behind thatrow of six huts facing the river, and I should not be surprised if theyare not hard at work establishing a battery there. "

Presently two Malays, whom they recognized as belonging to the rajah'scouncil, advanced to the edge of the shore, which was but some fiftyyards away. One of them held a pole to which a white cloth was attached. 

"I have a message from the rajah, " he shouted out. The captain sent forthe interpreter, and went to the side of the quarterdeck. 

"The rajah says that he does not want to have any more to say to you. You want to take his country; he will not let you have it, and if you donot go away in an hour, he will sink your ship. "

"Tell him, " the captain said, "that it will be the worse for him if hetries it. I came up here at his invitation, and shall stay just as longas I please. "

The two Malays retired, walking in a quiet and dignified way. 

The news soon ran through the ship of the defiance that had been given, and excited the liveliest satisfaction. The men were shaking hands, cutting capers, and indulging in much joking and laughter. Half an hourlater there was a sudden uproar in the town, drums were beaten, hornssounded, and the Malays by the river bank speedily retired behind thehuts. 

"You had better get the magazine opened, Mr. Ferguson, and everything inreadiness, but we won't beat to quarters till they begin. "

The tumult on shore increased, and soon a few shots were fired frombehind houses and walls, the balls whistling overhead. 

"There won't be much of that, " the captain said, as he walked up anddown the quarterdeck with the first lieutenant; "we have seen very fewguns among them. I should doubt if there are a hundred in the town. Whatthere are were, no doubt, captured from trading vessels the scoundrelshave plundered and burned. "

A few minutes later the bamboos forming the wall of the six houses wherea bustle had been observed fell outward, the lashings having been cutby a swarm of Malays, who, as soon as the last fell, ran back, showingeight brass cannon. 

"Beat to quarters, Mr. Ferguson, " the Captain Maid quietly, and at thefirst tap of the drum the sailors, who had been expecting the order, ran to their stations. As they gained them the little battery on shoreopened fire. Although the distance was but a hundred yards, only threeof the balls hit the hull, the others passing through the masts. 

"Load with grape, " the captain ordered. 

"Captain Hugeson, " he said to the Marine officer, "will you place yourmen on the poop, and tell them to open fire as soon as the guns send theMalays flying from their battery? I can see that there are large numbersgathered round it. Mr. Ferguson, will you see that the guns are all laidon that battery? When they are ready, fire a broadside that will clearthe place out at once. "

Two minutes later there was a crash as the whole of the guns on thestarboard side were discharged at the same moment. The effect wastremendous, and the storm of grape swept away the whole of the buildingsbeneath which the guns were standing. Three of these were dismounted, and not one of the men who had been crowded round them remained on hisfeet. Numbers were seen running away in all directions, and a volleyfrom the marines brought several of these down. 

"There is an end to the attack, " the captain said quietly. "Order themen to load with shell, and to direct their aim in the first place atthe rajah's palace; there is no occasion for rapid firing. "

Gun after gun sent its messenger into the palace, and in three or fourminutes flames were seen rising from it. The order was then given tofire with grape at all the houses facing the water. In the meantime themen were called from their guns on the port side, and the boats lowered. The marines and all the sailors, save those serving the starboard guns, took their places in them, the first lieutenant taking the command, andon the word being given they dashed with a cheer towards the shore, and, leaping out, formed up, and led by their officers ran forward, not ashot being fired by the Malays as they did so. 

The fire of the ship's guns was now directed towards the portion of thetown facing the forest, as it was here that the Malays would probablybe gathered. Port fires had been distributed among the landing party. Asthese were lost to sight as they entered the town, those on board shipwatched eagerly for the sound of combat. Nothing, however, was heard fora minute or two; then came a single shot, and then a rattle of musketry. 

"They are making a stand now, " the captain said. 

"Mr. Hopkins, will you please go round and tell the gunners to be verycareful in their aim? Let them watch the smoke rising among the houses, and aim a short distance beyond it. Impress upon them that it is betterto fire too far than to risk hurting our own men. "

The order was obeyed; soon flames were seen to rise beyond the spotwhere the fighting was going on, the resistance to the advance speedilyceased, and a dropping fire took the place of the sustained roll ofmusketry which, five minutes later, broke out again at the edge of thetown facing the wood, and the fire of the guns was now directed againstthe edge of the forest, to which the Malays had evidently fled. In a fewminutes smoke began to rise all round the place, showing that themen with port fires were at work, and in a quarter of an hour thebluejackets and marines were seen issuing from the houses and comingdown to the shore. The place was by this time a sheet of fire, thelightly built huts, dried in the heat of the sun, catching like tinder, and blazing up in a fierce flame, that in a few minutes left no vestigebehind it. 

The ship's fire had by this time ceased, and the sailors, as they lookedout of the portholes, cheered as the boats came up. Their appearance wasfar less orderly than it had been when they put off from the ship, everyman having carted off some sort of loot--sarongs, spears, krises, andother articles, some obtained from the huts, others thrown away bythe Malays in their flight. There were, too, some articles of Europeanmanufacture, which had been carried off from the palace before theflames had obtained entire possession. These were in themselves strongproofs that the rajah's prahus had been engaged in piratical attacksupon European craft, for they consisted of bales of silk, chronometers, watches, double barreled guns, mirrors, and other articles which hadevidently formed a portion of a ship's fittings. 

"Any casualties, Mr. Ferguson?" the captain asked, as the lieutenantstepped on board. 

"Half a dozen spear wounds, sir, but only one of a serious nature; ourfire was too hot for them to face. "

"What do you suppose their loss has been?"

"As far as I can judge, sir, some eighty or ninety were killed by ourfire, and at least as many must have fallen in the battery; the placewas choked up with dead. I have brought the eight guns off; they areonly four pounders. "

"They may be useful for the boats. I see the men have brought off a gooddeal of rubbish. You had better give orders that whatever there is is tobe fairly divided among all hands. Any articles more valuable thanthe rest had better be put up to auction, and whatever they fetch alsodivided among the men. Were the Malays in force?"

"The place swarmed with them, sir, but they were evidently demoralizedby the fire of the guns, and their attacks were really feeble. The onlytrouble we had was that some would shut themselves up in houses. Itlooked at first as if they really meant to fight, but directly theshells began to fall behind them, and fire broke out, they lost heartaltogether, and made a bolt for the forest. "

"Well, the work has been thoroughly done, Mr. Ferguson, and Sehi has hada lesson that he won't forget. Now we have to tackle his fleet. "

"Everything is ready, sir. We have got the sledges made for the twoguns, and a store of long bamboos for the carriages and anything else wemay want to take with us. "

"This will be a more serious business by a long way, " the captain said. "The men had better take a hundred rounds of ammunition with them, andit would be as well to take a few boxes of spare cartridges; and themen not occupied in dragging the cannon and carrying the carriages, musttake up as many rounds of shell as possible, and eight or ten roundsof grape for each gun. You have got the sacks ready for forming thebattery; that will be absolutely necessary for the protection of the menfiring. Each of the prahus has probably got at least half a dozen smallguns, and it would be hardly possible to work our pieces unless the menwere protected from their concentrated fire. Tell the chief engineerthat steam must be got up by six o'clock. In the meantime, let a slowfire be kept up towards the edge of the forest, just a shot every fiveminutes, which will be enough to show them we are still here, and havenot done with them yet. When the place cools down a bit, we will senda party on shore to keep up a dropping fire against the forest, and soinduce them to believe that we mean to attack them there. "

CHAPTER VIII. 

During the rest of the day preparations were actively carried on for thenight's work. The fifty marines and a hundred bluejackets were to takepart in the landing expedition; the ammunition to be carried was rangedalong the deck, and the men told off for the various work there wasto be done, some being allotted to carry stretchers and surgicalrequirements for the wounded. The first lieutenant was to command theparty, having with him the third lieutenant, the master's mate, andthe two senior midshipmen; besides, of course, the marine officers. Dr. Horsley was also to accompany them. Some cartridges were made up withpowder and musket bullets for two of the brass guns captured, in orderthat, if the Malays succeeded in landing, they might meet with a hotreception. It was decided that no carriages should be taken for them, but that they should be simply laid on the sandbags. 

The party on shore had kept up a fire all day at the forest. The yellsof defiance which at times rose showed that the Malays were in greatforce all round its edge. Towards evening all on shore returned tothe ship. As soon as it became absolutely dark, the anchor chain wasunshackled, and a buoy being attached to the end, it was noiselesslylowered into the water. Then the screw began to revolve, and the vesselgradually backed down the river. All lights had been extinguished, andno sound from the forest showed that the movement had been observed. A mile lower down the ship was turned, the screw began to revolve morerapidly, and at half speed she ran down to the junction of the twobranches of the river, and steamed up the other arm until within half amile or so of the village at the mouth of the creek. Then a light anchorwas let go, the boats were lowered, and the landing party took theirplaces in them; the oars were all muffled, and keeping close to theright bank of the river, they rowed up until past the village, and thencrossing, entered the mouth of the creek, and rowed up it until theyreached the spot where the landing had been effected on the previousnight. 

Half a dozen men provided with well greased saws first landed under DickBalderson's command, and cleared a passage six feet wide to the path;then the landing began in earnest. The guns were first put on shore, andcarried bodily to the path; the rest of the marines and the bluejacketsthen landed, each carrying, in addition to his arms and ammunition, a gun cartridge, or a box of rifle ammunition, and a couple of emptysacks. As fast as they landed they proceeded up the path. Dick Baldersonled the way, and the men were directed to step as closely as they couldto each other. As they arrived near the pool, each deposited his burden, and then went back to assist to drag up the guns and carriages. 

Scarcely a sound was heard during the operation. Their feet fellnoiselessly on the soft earth of the track, and no one a few yardsaway would have guessed that a hundred and fifty men were engaged inlaborious toil. There was far more noise than there had been the nightbefore on board the prahus, an incessant jabber being maintained, andvoices rang high in excitement as the men discussed the destruction ofthe town and the orders that had been received for a portion of them toland on the following morning and take part in the annihilation of thewhites if they entered into the forest. As soon as the two heavy gunswere placed upon their carriages, just behind the screen of bushes, thegreater portion of the men were sent back as far as the point wherethey had landed, there to fill the sacks with earth from the bank of theriver, a number of shovels having been brought for the purpose. 

Several large bundles of bamboos, cut into lengths six feet long, andsharpened at both ends, had been among the articles taken up to thebattery, and while most of the men were engaged filling and carrying thesacks of earth, some were employed in constructing chevaux de frise, tenpaces on each side of the spot where the battery was being constructed. The bamboos were set diagonally a foot and a half into the soft earth, and bound together by being lashed to strong poles running along them. These fences extended from the edge of the bushes by the water to thetrees. The forest behind was so thick and entangled with creepers thatthere was little fear of an attack being made from that quarter. 

Accustomed to work in the darkness, the sailors had no difficulty incarrying out the operation, and before morning broke the battery wascomplete. It was six feet high on the side facing the water, with twoembrasures for the guns, four feet high on the sides covered by thechevaux de frise. The front face was twenty-five feet in length, thesides forty. Morning was breaking as the work was finished, and breadand cold meat were served out, with a full ration of grog. By the timethese were consumed it was broad daylight; for there is little twilightso near the equator. 

"Now for it, Dick, " Harry Parkhurst said, as the lieutenant gave thesignal for all to rise and take their places. Filing out of the battery, the marines lined the bank on one side, and the sailors, other thanthose who were to work the guns, on the other. Some of the sailorsclimbed over the front wall and with their jackknives cut away theboughs in front of the guns. There was silence on board the prahus, where the Malays had dropped off to sleep a couple of hours beforedaylight. Mr. Ferguson himself superintended the laying of the guns, seeing that each was most carefully trained upon the waterline of aprahu. As the distance was some seventy or eighty yards, he had littledoubt that the two vessels aimed at would be sunk at once. When he wasthoroughly satisfied, he drew back and gave the order to fire. 

The two reports sounded as if one, and were mingled with the explosionof shells as they struck the prahus exactly on the waterline. There wasa momentary silence, and then a wild hubbub of yells of surprise andfury, while a loud cheer broke from the British, as they saw the successof the shots. Almost instantly the two craft struck began to settledown, and in a minute disappeared, the water being covered with theheads of the crew, who were swimming to the other prahus. The gunsof these had evidently been kept loaded, for before the two eighteenpounders were again ready, a fire was opened by the four craft, one ortwo balls striking the sandbags, while the rest went crashing into theforest behind. Every shot from the British guns struck the prahus, butnone effected such damage as the first two fired. 

"They are taking to their boats, Ferguson, " the doctor, who was standingbeside him, said. 

"Yes, but I fancy they have no thought of giving it up at present; theyare going to make a dash at us. They can still work their guns and spareany amount of men to attack us. "

The next minute, indeed, a dozen boats, crammed with men, shot roundfrom behind the prahus. 

"Grape now, " the lieutenant ordered, while, at the same moment, themarines and seamen, who had hitherto been silent, opened fire from underthe bushes, beneath which they were enabled to obtain a view of what wasgoing on. 

Two of the boats were sunk by the discharge of the grape; but theothers, without checking their course, pushed on. 

"Quick, lads, give them another round before it is too late. "

The guns were loaded with incredible quickness, and two more of theboats were shattered, their swarthy occupants striking out for theshore, making for the most part towards the battery, as did the boats. Twenty of the sailors and as many marines were at once called in fromthe bank to aid in the defense of the battery, and a desperate conflictwas presently raging here and along the bank, the Malays, swarming up, striving to force their way up through the embrasures, or to climb thesandbags; but as fast as they did so, they were cut down or bayoneted byits defenders. Those trying to land at other points were impeded by thebushes, and numbers were killed; but they pressed on so furiously thatat last Mr. Ferguson, who had been moving backwards and forwards alongthe line, thought it best to call the men in, and in a minute or twothe whole party were collected in the little fort, and ranged along thesides. 

With furious yells the Malays came on, and although swept by volleys ofmusketry reached the bamboos, which they strove in vain to pluck upor climb. In the meantime the eighteen pounders had never ceased theirfire, the sailors working them steadily, regardless of the fight thatwas going on on either flank. Here the little brass guns did goodservice; each time they were fired the recoil sent them tumbling fromthe top of the sandbags, only, however, to be seized, sponged, andloaded, by the four sailors in charge of each, and then lifted to theirplace again, crammed with bullets to the muzzle, in readiness to checkthe next charge of the Malays. Suddenly their yells redoubled, and wereanswered by similar shouts from the forest. 

"The rajah's troops have come up, " the first lieutenant said to themarine officer; "our position is getting serious. Do you think that wecould make our way back to the boats without great loss? We have sunktwo of their craft, have badly damaged the others, and inflicted veryheavy loss on them. "

"It would be a very risky operation; but it might be done, Ferguson. Listen!"

There was a fresh outburst of shouts, this time on the path by whichthey had come. Evidently a number of the newly arrived Malays had struckinto it by some other track from the town. 

"That settles it, " the lieutenant said shortly; "we must fight it outhere. It is lucky we have a fair stock of ammunition, and can keep itup for some hours yet. You see, the sailors have not had to use theirpistols yet, and they will astonish those fellows if they do manage toscale the sandbags. "

For another half hour the fighting continued. Again and again the Malaysfell back, but only to return to the attack with fresh fury, and thedefenders had been obliged to betake themselves more than once to theirpistols. The two heavy guns were now removed from their position to thesides, for the attack by boats had ceased entirely, and the destructionof the prahus was of less importance than the defense of the little fortfrom the attacks on its flanks. The operation began just as the Malaysmade one of their retreats, and by the time they returned, the guns wereplaced in their new position, their muzzles peeping out from among thesandbags, while the embrasures on the water face had been closed by bagstaken from the upper line. The effect of the fire at such close quarterswas to drive the Malays flying into the forest. Shortly afterwards thesound of chopping was heard. 

"The beggars are trying to cut a path through the jungle to our rear, Dick, " Harry Parkhurst said. 

"Obstinate brutes! But I don't think much of that, Harry: they will geton well enough until they arrive within twenty or thirty yards of us, when we can pepper them so hotly that they will soon get sick of it. "

At this moment there was the report of a heavy gun, and a shell crashedthrough the forest fifty yards in the rear of the fort. Loud yells ofrage and alarm rose from the Malays, while a hearty cheer broke from thedefenders of the fort. Closely following, came the sound of another gun, and then a rain of grape, some of which whistled over the fort. 

"Keep yourselves well down behind the sandbags, men, " LieutenantFerguson shouted; "the captain knows that we have shelter, and willsweep the Malays out of the forest round us. That shot must have donegreat execution among the Malays on the path between us and the boats. "

The guns of the ship kept up a heavy fire, searching the wood for somedistance round with shell, and pouring volleys of grape into the treesnear the battery. Presently the fire ceased. 

"I fancy they have all bolted, Dick, " his comrade said; "after the firstfive minutes we have not heard a sound. I wonder what the prahus aredoing?"

A minute later the lieutenant said, "Mr. Morrison, take a dozen men andmake your way along the path until you get to the boats. I hope theyhave escaped. If they are within hail go on board, and report to thecaptain that we have sunk two of the prahus, and that for the presentthe Malays who have been attacking us have made off. Say that largenumbers of them have gone on board the four prahus, and that I am aboutto open fire upon them again. "

As soon as the mate had left, parties of men were set to work to shiftthe guns to their old positions, and fire was again opened upon thepiratical prahus, who replied, as before, with their little guns. Avery few minutes later a shell flew overhead, and fell in the water nearwhere the craft were anchored. Another and another followed quickly. Intense excitement was manifest on board the prahus, and almostimmediately their cables were cut, oars got out, and at a great ratethey started down the creek. 

"The place has got too hot for them altogether, Harry; they think itbetter to run the gauntlet of the ship's guns than to be sunk at theirmoorings. "

Scarcely had the prahus issued from the pool, than the guns of the shipwere heard. 

"I am afraid that some of them will get away, Harry. The beggars row sofast that there won't be time to give them more than one broadsideas they pass. If the ship is aground, which is likely enough, for thecaptain pushed up farther than we thought possible, they will be prettysafe when they have once got past her. "

Presently the guns were heard to fire in rapid succession. Loud yellsand cries followed; then came shouts of triumph and defiance; thenall was still, save that a few cannon shot were discharged at regularintervals. 

"They have got one of the guns round to fire over the stern, Dick. There, it has stopped now; evidently the prahus have got round the nextcorner. It is a pity that any of them should have escaped, and theywould not have done so if the Serpent had remained at the mouth of thecreek; but I suppose the captain became anxious at the continuation ofthe heavy firing here, and so came up to our help. It is lucky hedid so, for, though we might have beaten them off, they were in suchtremendous force that I fancy it would have gone hard with us in thelong run. I was beginning to think so myself, Harry. "

Dr. Horsley had been busy enough from the time that the fighting beganin earnest. Ten men had been killed by balls that had passed through theembrasures, or by kris or lance wounds, and twenty-eight others had beenmore or less severely wounded. A quarter of an hour after the firingceased, Captain Forrest himself, with the mate, rowed into the poolin one of the cutters, and landed at the end of the path close to thebattery. 

"I congratulate you on your success, Mr. Ferguson, " he said, shakinghands with the first lieutenant; "it has been a very hot affair, and byMr. Morrison's report it was just as well that I decided to changemy plan and come up to your aid, though it has resulted in two of theprahus getting away. "

"Then you sank two of them, sir?"

"No, indeed, we only sank one; the third went down just after we saw hercome out from the pool. Certainly we had not hit her, so that the honorof accounting for three out of six of the craft falls to you and yourparty. Well, Doctor, what is your report? I am afraid it is a bad one. "

"Serious, indeed, " he went on, after he had received the figures. "Stillit is much less than might have been expected from attacking such a hostof pirates. I am glad to hear that none of the officers are dangerouslywounded. "

"Parkhurst had his forearm laid open with a cut from a kris, andBalderson had one of their spears through his ear. Dr. Horsley said ifit had been half an inch more to the left, it would probably have killedhim. Lieutenant Somers of the marines is more badly hurt, a spear havinggone through the thigh. It cut an artery. Luckily the doctor was closeto him at the moment, and clapped on a tourniquet, and then cut downto the artery and tied it. As he says, 'A delay of two minutes, and itwould have been all up with the young fellow. ' Are the boats safe, sir?"

"Yes, the boat keepers pushed off a little way when the firing began inthe forest, and when they heard the shouts of a large party of theenemy coming along the path, they went out almost into the middle ofthe creek; and it was well they did, for many of the Malays came downthrough the path you cut, and would have riddled them with their spearshad they been within reach. The boat keepers acted very wisely; all ofthem got into the gig and towed the other boats astern, so that if theMalays came along, either in their prahus or in their boats, they couldhave cut them adrift and made a race of it down to the ship. 

"Well, I think that there is nothing more to be done here. The men mayas well have a tot of grog served out, and then the sailors can marchdown to the landing place and bring up the boats and take the guns andwhat ammunition you have left, on board. Mr. Morrison will go backwith me to the ship; he has one of his arms broken by a ball from theprahus. "

"I did not know that he was wounded, sir; he did not report it. I shouldnot have sent him if I had known it. "

"It is just as well as it is, Ferguson; it will give me an opportunityof specially recommending him for promotion in my report. The assistantsurgeon temporarily bandaged his arm when he reached the ship. "

"Is she afloat, sir?"

"No; I want you back as soon as possible. We shall have to get out theanchors and heave on them. We put on a full head of steam and drove hertwo or three hundred yards through the mud before she finally broughtup. I wanted to get as near to you as possible, in order to clear thewoods round you. "

By two o'clock the whole ship's company were on board again, and setto work to get her off; but it was not until after some hours' exertionthat the Serpent was again afloat. She was at once turned round, steameddown to the mouth of the creek, and cast anchor opposite the village. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The party landed at the village the next morning, but found it entirelydeserted. 

"It is most important that we should take a prisoner, Ferguson, " thecaptain said, as he and the first lieutenant paced up and down thequarterdeck; "we must catch the two prahus if we can. At present wedon't know whether they have gone up or down the river, and it wouldbe absolutely useless for us to wait until we get some clew to theirwhereabouts. After we have finished with them, we will go up the otherbranch, and try to find the two we know to be up there. I should notlike to leave our work unfinished. "

"Certainly not, sir. I am afraid, though, it is of no use landing to tryto get hold of a prisoner. No doubt the woods are full of them. Thereare the townspeople and those who came to help them; and though many ofthose who tried to swim ashore from the sunken boats may have beentaken by the alligators, still the greater portion must have landed allright. "

"I should think, Mr. Ferguson, that it would be a good plan to send aparty of twenty men on shore after nightfall and to distribute them, twoMen to a hut. Possibly two or three of the Malays may come down to thevillage before morning, either to fetch valuables they may have leftbehind, or to see whether we are still here. They may come tonight, or they may come some time tomorrow, crawling through the plantationsbehind the houses. At any rate, I will wait here a day or two on thechance. "

"Whom shall I send with the men, sir?"

"You had better send Parkhurst and Balderson; they will have moreauthority among the men than the younger midshipmen. The men better takethree days' cooked provisions on shore and ten small kegs of water, onefor each hut. I will give Parkhurst his instructions before he lands. "

"Now, Mr. Parkhurst, " he said, when the boat was lowered soon afterdark, "you must bear in mind that the greatest vigilance will benecessary. Choose ten huts close together. One man in each hut must bealways awake; there must be no talking above a whisper; and duringthe daytime no one must leave his hut on any account whatever. Afternightfall you and Mr. Balderson will move from hut to hut, to see that avigilant watch is kept. You must, of course, take watch and watch, nightand day. You must remember that not only is it most important that anative should be captured, but you must be on your guard against anattack on yourselves. It is quite conceivable that a party may come downto see if there are any of us in the village. 

"In case of attack, you must gather in one hut, and fire three shots asa signal to us; a musket shot will be fired in return. When you hear it, every man must throw himself down, for the guns will be already loadedwith grape, and I shall fire a broadside towards the spot where I haveheard your signal. 

"As soon as the broadside is fired, make down to the shore, occupy ahouse close to the water, and keep the Malays off till the boats comeashore to fetch you off. Your crew has been very carefully picked. Ihave consulted the warrant officers, and they have selected the mosttaciturn men in the ship. There is to be no smoking; of course the mencan chew as much as they like; but the smell of tobacco smoke would atonce deter any native from entering a hut. If a Malay should come in andtry to escape, he must be fired on as he runs away; but the men are toaim at his legs. "

The instructions were carried out. A small hole was bored in the backof each of the huts, so that a constant watch could be kept up unseenby the closest observer in the forest, a hundred yards behind. The nightpassed off quietly, as did the next day. The men slept and watched byturns. On the afternoon of the second day, a native was seen movingcautiously from tree to tree along the edge of the forest. As soon as itwas dark, Dick, whose watch it was, crawled cautiously from hut to hut. 

"That fellow we saw today may come at any moment, " he said. "If one ofyou see him coming, the other must place himself close to the door, andif he enters, throw himself upon him and hold his arms tightly till theothers come up to help. Keep your rope handy to twist round him, andremember these fellows are as slippery as eels. "

Having made the round, he returned to the hut in the center of theothers that he and Harry occupied. Half an hour later, they heard asudden outcry from the hut next to them, and rushing in, found the twomen there struggling with a Malay. With their aid he was speedily bound;then the men were called from the other huts, and the whole party randown to the water's edge, where Harry hailed the ship. A boat put offat once, and they were taken on board. The prisoner was led tothe captain's cabin, and there examined through the medium of theinterpreter. He refused to answer any questions until, by the captain'sorders, he was taken on deck again and a noose placed round his neck, and the interpreter told him that, unless he spoke, he was to be hauledup to the yard's arm. The man was still silent. 

"Tighten the strain very gradually, " the captain said to the sailorsholding the other end of the rope. "Raise him two or three feet abovethe deck, and then, when the doctor holds up his hand, lower him at onceagain. "

This was done. The man, though half strangled, was still conscious, andon the noose being loosened, and Soh Hay saying that, unless he spoke, he would be again run up, he said, as soon as he got his breath, that hewould answer any question. On being taken to the cabin, he said that theprahus had gone down the river, and had ascended the other arm. They hadonly gone a few miles above the town, for one had been so injured thatthere had been difficulty in keeping her afloat, and it was necessary torun her into a creek in order to repair her before going up farther. 

Half an hour later steam was up, and before morning the Serpent lay offthe mouth of the creek which the Malay pointed out as the one that theprahu had entered. The second officer was this time placed in commandof the boats, he himself going in the launch, the third officer took thefirst cutter, the two midshipmen the second. No time was lost in makingpreparations, for it was desirable to capture the prahu before she wasaware that the Serpent had left her position in the other river. Fora mile the boats rowed up the creek, which narrowed until they wereobliged to go in single file. It widened suddenly, and as the launchdashed through, a shower of balls tore up the water round her; while atthe same moment a great tree fell across the creek, completely barringtheir retreat, and narrowly shaving the stern of the midshipmen's boat, which was the last in the line. Fortunately the launch had escapedserious injury, and with a shout of "Treachery, " Lieutenant Hopkins drewhis pistol to put a ball through the head of their guide, but as he didso, the man sprang overboard and dived towards the shore. 

"Row, men; we have all our work cut out for us. There are three prahusahead; steer for the center one, coxswain. "

With a cheer the men bent to their oars, and dashed at the prahu which, as was evident by patches of plank freshly fastened to her side, was oneof those that had before escaped them. 

"Follow me, " the lieutenant shouted to the boat behind; "we must takethem one by one. " The three boats dashed at the pirate craft, which wascrowded with men, regardless of the fire from the other two vessels. The launch steered for her stem, the first cutter for her bow, whilethe midshipmen swept round her, and boarded her on the opposite side. Afurious contest took place on her deck, the Malays being so confusedby being assailed at three points simultaneously that the midshipmen'sparty were enabled to gain a footing with but very slight resistance. The shouts of the Malays near them brought many running from the otherpoints, and the parties there gained a footing with comparatively littleloss. Then a desperate struggle began; but the Malays were unable towithstand the furious attack of the British, and ere long began to leapoverboard and swim to the other craft, which were both coming to theiraid. 

The launch's gun had not been fired, and, calling to Dick, Harry leapeddown into the boat. The two midshipmen trained the gun upon the nearestprahu, and aiming at the waterline, fired it when the craft was withintwenty feet of them. A moment later its impetus brought it against theside of the launch, which was crushed like an eggshell between it andthe captured prahu, the two midshipmen springing on board just in time. It was the Malays' turn to board now, that of the British to preventthem; the musketry of the sailors and marines for a time kept the enemyoff, but they strove desperately to gain a footing on board, until aloud cry was heard, and the craft into which the midshipmen had firedsank suddenly, and a loud cheer broke from the British. 

The two midshipmen were engaged with the other pirate, from whom a cryof dismay arose at seeing the disappearance of their friends. 

"Now, lads, follow me, " Harry shouted as the Malays strove to push theircraft away. Followed by a dozen sailors, they leaped on to her deck; butthe efforts of the Malays succeeded in thrusting the vessels apart. Invain the midshipmen and their followers fought desperately. Harry wasfelled by a blow with a war club, Dick cut down with a kris; half theseamen were killed, the others jumped overboard and swam back to theirvessel. Lieutenant Hopkins shouted to the men to take to the boats, andthe two cutters were speedily manned. One, however, was in a sinkingcondition; but Lieutenant Hopkins with the other started in pursuit ofthe prahu, whose crew had already got their oars out, and in spite ofthe efforts of the sailors, soon left them behind. Pursuit was evidentlyhopeless, and reluctantly the lieutenant ordered the men to row back. Onreturning to the scene of combat, they saw sunk near the bank thefourth of the prahus. "The spy was so far right, " the second lieutenantmuttered--"this fellow did sink; now we must see that she does no moremischief. " He brought the captured prahu alongside the others, whosedecks were but a foot or two below the water, and fired several shotsthrough their bottoms. Then he set the captured craft on fire and tookto the boats, which with great difficulty forced their way under thefallen tree and rowed back to the ship. 

The third lieutenant had been shot dead, twelve men had been killed, ten of the midshipmen's party were missing, and of the rest but few hadescaped without wounds more or less serious. 

Harry was the first to recover his senses, being roughly brought to bya bucket of water being dashed over him. He looked round the deck. Ofthose who had sprung on board with him, none were visible save DickBalderson, who was lying near him, with a cloth tightly bound round hisshoulder. 

As he rose into a sitting position a murmur of satisfaction broke fromsome Malays standing near. It was some time before he could rally hissenses. 

"I suppose, " he thought at last, "they are either keeping us for tortureor as hostages. The rajah may have given orders that any officerscaptured were to be spared and brought to him. I don't know what hisexpectations are, " he muttered to himself; "but if he expects to bereinstated as rajah, and perhaps compensated for the loss of his palace, he is likely to be mistaken; and in that case it will go mighty hardwith us, for there is no shadow of doubt that he is a savage and cruelbrute. "

He had now shaken off the numbness caused by the blow that he hadreceived, and he managed to stagger to where Dick was lying, and kneltbeside him and begged the Malays to bring water. They had evidentlyreceived orders to do all they could to revive the two young officers, and one at once brought half a gourd full. Harry had already assuredhimself that his friend's heart still beat. He began by pouring somewater between his lips. It was not necessary to pour any over his head, for he had already received the same treatment as himself. 

"Dick, old chap, " he said sharply and earnestly. 

The sound was evidently heard and understood, for Dick started slightly, opened his eyes and murmured, "It's not time to turn out yet?"

"You are not in your hammock, Dick; you have been wounded, and we areboth prisoners in the hands of these Malays. Try and pull yourselftogether, but don't move; they have put a sort of bandage round yourshoulder, and I am going to try and improve it. "

"What is the matter with my shoulder?" Dick murmured. 

"Chopped with a kris, old man. Now I am going to turn you on your side, and then cut the sleeve off the jacket. Take another drink of water;then we will set about it. "

Dick did as he was ordered, and was evidently coming back toconsciousness, for he looked round, and then said, "Where are the otherfellows?"

"I don't know what has become of them. I think I went down before youdid. However, here we are alone. Now I am going to begin. "

He cut off the sleeve of the jacket and shirt at the shoulder, rippedopen the seam to the neck, first taking off the rough bandage. 

"It's a nasty cut, old man, " he said, "but nothing dangerous, I shouldsay. I fancy it has gone clean through the shoulder bone, and there isno doubt that it will knit again, as Hassan's did, if they do but giveyou time. "

He rolled the shirt sleeve into a pad, saturated it with water, and laidit on the wound. 

"You see I know all about it, Dick, " he said cheerily, "from havingwatched the doctor at work on Hassan. Now I will tear this cloth intostrips. "

He first placed a strip of the cloth over the shoulder, crossed it underthe arm, and then took the ends of the bandage across the chest andback, and tied them under his other arm. He repeated this process withhalf a dozen other strips; then he placed Dick's hand upon his chest, tied some of the other strips together, and bound them tightly round thearm and body, so that no movement of the limb was possible. One of theMalay's knelt down and gave him his assistance, and nodded approvinglywhen he had finished; then he helped Harry raise him into a sittingposition against the bulwark. 

"That is better, " Dick said, "as far as it goes. How was it thesefellows did not kill us at once?"

"I expect the rajah has ordered that all officers who may fall intotheir hands are to be kept as hostages, so that he can open negotiationswith the skipper. If he gets what he wants, he hands us back; if not, there is no manner of doubt that he will put us out of the way withoutcompunction. "

The men were still working at the oars, and for four hours rowed withoutintermission through a labyrinth of creeks. At last they stopped beforea small village, tied the prahu up to a tree, and then the man whoseemed to be the captain went ashore with two or three others. The ladsheard a loud outburst of anger, and a voice which they recognized asthat of the rajah storming and raging for some time; then the hubbubceased. An hour later the rajah himself came on board with two or threeattendants, and a man whom they recognized as speaking a certain amountof English. The rajah scowled at them, and from the manner in which hekept fingering his kris they saw that it needed a great effort on hispart to abstain from killing them at once. He spoke for some time in hisown language, and the interpreter translated it. 

"You are dogs--you and all your countrymen. The rajah is sending amessage to your captain to tell him that he must build up his palaceagain, pay him for the warships that he has destroyed, and provide himwith a guard against his enemies until a fresh fleet has been built. Ifhe refuses to do this, you will both be killed. "

"Tell him, " Harry said, "that if we are dogs, anyhow we have shown himthat we can bite. As to what he says, it is for the captain to answer;but I do not think that he will grant the terms, though possibly he mayconsent to spare the rajah's life, and to go away with his ship, if weare sent back to him without injury. "

The rajah uttered a scornful exclamation. "I have six thousand men, "he said, "and I do not need to beg my life; for were there twenty shipsinstead of one they could never find me, and not a man who landed andtried to come through the country would return alive. I have given yourcaptain the chance. If, at the end of three days, an answer does notcome granting my command, you will be krised. Keep a strict watch uponthem, Captain, and kill them at once if they try to escape. "

"I will guard them safely, Rajah, " the captain, who, from the richmaterials of his sarong and jacket, was evidently himself a chief, saidquietly; "but as to escape, where could they go? They could but wanderin the jungle until they died. "

By night both lads felt more themselves. They had been well suppliedwith food, and though Harry's head ached until, as he said, it wassplitting, and Dick's wound smarted severely, they were able to discusstheir position. They at once agreed that escape was impossible, andwould be even were they well and strong and could manage to obtainpossession of a sampan, for they would but lose themselves in thelabyrinth of creeks, and would, moreover, be certain to be overtaken bythe native boats that would be sent off in all directions after them. 

"There is nothing to do but to wait for the captain's answer, " Dick saidat last. 

"We know what that will be, " Harry said. "He will tell the chief that itwould be impossible for him to grant his commands, but that he is readyto pay a certain sum for our release; that if harm comes to us, hewill make peace with the chiefs who have assisted Sehi against us, oncondition of their hunting him down and sending him alive or dead to theships. But the rascal knows that he could hide himself in these swampsfor a month, and he will proceed to chop off our heads without amoment's delay. We must keep our eyes open tomorrow, and endeavor to gethold of a couple of weapons. It is a deal better to die fighting than itis to have our throats cut like sheep. "

CHAPTER X. 

The next two days passed quietly. The lads were both a great dealbetter, and agreed that if--which would almost certainly not be thecase--a means of escape should present itself, they would seize thechance, however hopeless it might be, for that at worst they could butbe cut down in attempting it. No chance, however, presented itself. Two Malays always squatted near them, and their eyes followed everymovement. 

"Some time tomorrow the messenger will return, " Harry said. "It is clearto me that our only chance is to escape before morning. Those fellowswill be watchful till the night is nearly over. Now, I propose that, just before the first gleam of daylight, we throw ourselves upon themsuddenly, seize their krises, and cut them down, then leap on shore, and dash into the jungle. The night will be as dark as pitch, what withthere being no moon and with the mist from the swamps. At any rate, we might get out of sight before the Malays knew what had happened. We could either go straight into the jungle and crawl into the thickbushes, and lie there until morning, and then make our start, or, whatwould, I think, be even better, take to the water, wade along under thebank till we reach one of those sampans fifty yards away, get in, andmanage to paddle it noiselessly across to the opposite side, lift thecraft out of the water, and hide it among the bushes, and then be off. "

"The worst of it is the alligators, Harry. "

"Yes, but we must risk that. We shall have the krises, and if they seizeeither of us, the other must go down and try and jab his kris into thebeast's eyes. I know it is a frightfully dangerous business, and thechances are one hundred to one against our succeeding; but there is justa chance, and there is no chance at all if we leave it until tomorrow. Of course, if we succeed in getting over to the other side, we must waitclose to the water until daylight. We should tear ourselves to pieces ifwe tried to make through the jungle in the dark. "

"I tell you what would give us a better chance--we might take off two orthree yards of that bandage of yours, cut the strip in half, and twistit into a rope; then when those fellows doze off a little, we mightthrow the things round their necks, and it would be all up with them. "

"But you see I have only one arm, Harry. "

"Bother it! I never thought of that. Well, I might do the securing, onefellow first, and then the other. You could get close to him, and if hemoves, catch up his kris and cut him down. "

"Yes, I could do that. Well, anyhow, Harry, we can but try; anything isbetter than waiting here hour after hour for the messenger to come backwith what will be our death warrant. "

They agreed to keep awake by turns, and accordingly lay down as soonas it became dark, the Malays, as usual, squatting at a distance ofa couple of paces each side of them. It was about two o'clock in themorning when Dick, who was awake, saw, as he supposed, one of the crewstanding up a few yards away; he was not sure, for just at that momentthe figure disappeared. 

"What on earth could that fellow want to stand up for and lie downagain? for I can swear he was not there half a minute ago. There isanother farther on. " He pinched himself to make sure that he was awake. Figure after figure seemed to flit along the deck and disappear. One ofthe guard rose and stretched his arms; put a fresh bit of some herb thathe was chewing into his mouth; moved close to the prisoners to see ifthey were asleep; and then resumed his former position. During the timethat he was on his feet, Dick noticed that the phenomenon which hadso puzzled him ceased. A quarter of an hour later it began again. Hetouched Harry, keeping his hand on his lips as a warning to be silent. Suddenly a wild yell broke on the still air, and in an instant the deckwas alive with men; and as the two Malay watchers rose to their feet, both were cut down. 

There were sounds of heavy blows, screams and yells, a short andconfused struggle, and the fall of heavy bodies, while from the littlevillage there were also sounds of conflict. The midshipmen had startedto their feet, half bewildered at the sudden and desperate struggle, when a hand was laid on each of their shoulders, and a voice said, "English friends, Hassan has come. "

The revulsion of feeling was so great that, for a minute, neithercould speak; then Dick said, "Chief, we thank you with all our hearts. Tomorrow we should have been killed. "

The chief shook hands with them both warmly, having seen that mode ofsalutation on board ship. 

"Hassan glad, " he said. "Hassan watch all time; no let Sehi killfriends. Friends save Hassan's child; he save them. "

Torches were now lighted. The deck was thickly encumbered with dead; forevery one of the crew of the prahu had been killed. 

"Sehi killed too, " the chief said, "come and see. " He swung himself onshore; the boys followed his example, two of the Malays helping Dickdown. They went to the village, where a number of Malays were movingabout; torches had been brought from the ship, and a score of these soonlit up the scene. Two of the rajah's men had been killed outside theirhuts, but the majority had fallen inside. The chief asked a question ofone of his followers, who pointed to a hut. 

This they entered, and by the light of the torches saw the rajah lyingdead upon the ground. Hassan said something to one of his men, who, witha single blow, chopped off the rajah's head. 

"Send to chiefs, " Hassan said. "If not see, not think dead. Much afraidof him. When know he dead, not fight any more; make peace quick. "

One of the men asked a question, and the lads' limited knowledge of thelanguage was sufficient to tell them that he was asking whether theyshould fire the village. Hassan shook his head. "Many men, " he said, waving his arm to the forest, "see fire; come fight. Plenty of fightbeen; no need for more. " For a time he stood with them in front of thepool. A series of splashes in the water told what was going on. Theprahu was being cleared of its load of dead bodies; then several menfilled buckets with water, and handed them up to the deck. The boys knewthat an attempt was being made to wash away the blood. The process wasrepeated a dozen times. While this was going on, the pool was agitatedin every direction. The lads shuddered as they looked, and rememberedthat they had proposed to wade along the edge. The place swarmed withalligators, who scrambled and fought for the bodies thrown over, untilthe number was so great that all were satisfied, and the pool becamecomparatively quiet, although fresh monsters, guided by the smell ofblood, kept arriving on the scene. 

At last the chief said, "Come, " and together they returned to the prahu. The morning was now breaking, and but few signs remained of the terribleconflict of the night. At the chief's order, a large basket of wine, that had been found in the rajah's hut, was brought on board, togetherwith another, full of bananas and other fruit. 

"Well, " Harry said, laughing, "we little thought, when we saw thechampagne handed over to the rajah, that we were going to have theserving of it. "

Hassan joined them at the meal. He had been given wine regularly by thedoctor, and although he had evinced no partiality for it, but had takenit simply at the doctor's orders, he now drank a little to keep theothers company. In a short time the whole of the chief's followers weregathered on deck, and the boys saw that they were no more numerous thanthe prahu's crew, and that it was only the advantage of surprise thathad enabled them to overcome so easily both those on board the prahuand the rajah's followers in the village. The oars were got out, and theprahu proceeded up the creek, in the opposite direction to which it hadentered it. "Going to ship?" Harry asked, pointing forward. 

Hassan shook his head. "Going home, " he said. "Sent messenger sampantell captain both safe. Sehi killed, prahu taken. Must go home. Othersangry because Hassan not join. May come and fight Hassan. Ask captainbring ship up river; messenger show channel, tell how far can go, thencome in boats, hold great meeting, make peace. "

The lads were well satisfied. They had a longing to see Hassan's home, and, perhaps, to do some shooting; and they thought that a few days'holiday before rejoining would be by no means unpleasant. They wished, however, that they had known that the sampan was leaving, so that theycould have written a line to the captain, saying what had taken place, and that they could not rejoin. There was at first some splashing of theoars, for many of Hassan's men had had no prior experience except withsampans and large canoes. However, it was not long before they fell intothe swing, and the boat proceeded at a rapid pace. Several times, asthey went, natives appeared on the bank in considerable numbers, andreceiving no answer to their hails, sent showers of lances. Harry, however, with the aid of two or three Malays, soon loaded the guns ofthe prahu. 

"No kill, " Hassan said. "We want make friends. No good kill. "

Accordingly the guns were fired far over the heads of the assailants, who at once took to the bushes. After three hours' rowing they enteredthe river, and continued their course up it until long into the night, for the rowers were as anxious as was Hassan himself to reach theirvillage. They were numerous enough to furnish relays at the oars, andthe stroke never flagged until, an hour before midnight, fires were seenburning ahead, as they turned a bend of the river. The Malays raiseda yell of triumph, which was answered from the village, and in a fewminutes the prahu was brought up to the bank. A crowd, composedmostly of women and children, received them with shouts of welcome andgladness. Hassan at once led the midshipmen to a large hut that hadevidently been prepared in readiness for them. Piles of skins lay intwo of the corners, and the lads, who were utterly worn out, threwthemselves down, and were almost instantly asleep. 

The sun was high when the mat at the entrance was drawn aside, andHassan entered, followed by four of his followers. One carried a greatwater jar and two calabashes, with some cotton cloths and towels; theother brought fruit of several varieties, eggs, and sweetmeats, togetherwith a large gourd full of steaming coffee. 

"Hassan come again, " the chief said, and left the hut with hisfollowers. The lads poured calabashes of water over each other, andfelt wonderfully refreshed by their wash, which was accomplished withoutdamage to the floor, which was of bamboos raised two feet above theground. When they were dressed they fell to at their breakfast, and thenwent out of doors. Hassan had evidently been watching for them, forhe came out of his house, which was next to that which they occupied, holding his little girl's hand. She at once ran up to them, salutingthem by their names. 

"Bahi very glad to see you, " she said, "very glad to see good, kindofficers. " The child had picked up, during her month on board theship, a great deal of English, from her constant communication with theofficers and crew. 

"Bad men wound Dick, " she went on pitifully. "Wicked men to hurt him. "

"Bahi, will you tell your father how much we are obliged to him forhaving come to our rescue. We should have been killed if he had notcome. "

The child translated the sentence. The chief smiled. 

"Tell them, " he said, "that Hassan is glad to have been able to pay backa little of the obligation he was under to them. Besides, Sehi Pandashwas my enemy. Good thing to help friends and kill enemy at the sametime. Tell them that Hassan does not want thanks; they did not like himto thank them for saving you. "

The child translated this with some difficulty. Then he led themidshipmen round the village, and showed them the strong palisade whichhad evidently just been erected, and explained, through the child, thatit had only been built before he left, as but fifteen men were availablefor guarding the place in his absence. 

The next four days were spent in shooting expeditions, and although theymet with no wild beasts, they secured a large number of bird skins forthe doctor. On the fifth day a native ran in and said that boats withwhite men were coming. The midshipmen ran down to the bank, and saw theship's two cutters and a gig approaching. The captain himself was in thestern of the latter, and the doctor was sitting beside him. A minute ortwo later they were shaking hands with the officers, and saying a fewwords to the men, who were evidently delighted to see them again. Justas the greetings were over, Hassan, in a rich silk sarong and jacket, came down towards them. He was leading his little daughter, and sixMalays followed them. 

"Welcome, Captain, " he said gravely. "Hassan very glad to see you. Allcome right now. "

"Thank you, chief. We have learned from your messenger how gallantly youhave rescued my two officers, and put an end to our troubles by killingthe Rajah Sehi, and capturing the last of the piratical craft. "

This was too much for Hassan, and had to be translated by Soh Hay. Since the chief's return, a number of his men had been occupied inconstructing bamboo huts for the use of the captain, officers, and men, also a large hall to be used for councils and meetings; and to this henow led the captain and his officers. When they were seated, he made aspeech of welcome, saying what gladness it was to him to see there thosewho had been so kind to him. Had he known when they would arrive, foodwould have been ready for them; and he assured them that, however longthey might stay, they would be most heartily welcome, and that thereshould be no lack of provisions. They had done an immense service tohim, and to all the other chiefs on the river, by breaking up the powerof one who preyed upon all his neighbors, and was a scourge to trade. Asthere were still several bottles of the rajah's wine left, champagne wasnow handed round. 

"It makes my heart glad to see you, Doctor, " the chief said. "See, I amas strong and as well as ever. Had it not been for you, my arm might nowhave been useless, and my ribs have grown through the flesh. "

"I don't think it would have been as bad as that, " the doctor replied:"but there is no doubt that it was fortunate that you were able toreceive surgical treatment so soon after the accident. And it has beenfortunate for us, too, especially for our young friends here. "

Conversation became general now, and the interpreter was kept hard atwork, and Bahi divided her attention between the officers and the men, flitting in and out of the hall, and chattering away to the sailors andmarines who were breakfasting outside on the stores they had broughtup, supplemented by a bountiful supply of fruit, which grew in abundanceround the village. It was not long before a meal was served to theofficers, fowl having been hastily killed as soon as the boats wereseen approaching; several jungle fowl had been brought in that morning;plaintains and rice were boiled, and cakes baked. Tea was forthcomingfrom the boats' stores, and a hearty meal was eaten. 

CHAPTER XI. 

After the meal was concluded, the captain said to the chief:

"Now, Hassan, we want to know how it was that you arrived at the nick oftime to save my officers' lives. "

"I had been watching for some days, " the chief said quietly. "When Iheard that many chiefs had joined Sehi Pandash, I said 'I must go andhelp my white brothers, ' but I dared not take many men away from here, and as I had to hide, the fewer there were with me the better; so I camedown into the forest near Sehi's town, and found the wood full of men. We had come down in sampans, so that I could send off messengers asmight be required. One of these I sent down to you, to warn you to beprepared for an attack. Other messengers I had sent before from here;but they must have been caught and killed, for I had been watchedclosely when they found that I would not join against you. 

"When my last messenger returned, I was glad; I knew that you would beon your guard, and would not be caught treacherously. Two of my menwere in the town when they began to fire on the ship, and I saw thetown destroyed, and followed Sehi to the place where the six prahus werelying, and crossed the creek, and lay down in the woods near the villageon the other side; for I thought that something might happen. One of mymen went down in the night, and brought me news that the ship was gone. As my messenger had told me that you had questioned him as to the otherentrance to the creek, I felt sure that you had gone there; so I was notsurprised when, just before daybreak, two guns were fired. We saw thefight, the sinking of two of their vessels, and the attack by the waterpirates, and by the men of the rajah and the chiefs with him, and Ifeared greatly that my friends would be overpowered. 

"I sent one of my men down to the mouth of the creek, to tell you howmuch aid was wanted; but he saw the ship steaming up as he went, and socame back to me. Then we heard the ship's great guns begin to fire, andsoon all was quiet where the fight had been going on. Then I saw theother four boats start. One of them sank before she was out of sight, and I soon heard that your ship had sunk another, and that two had gotaway. It was not for another two days that I learned where they were, and then I heard that they had gone into a creek twenty miles away;there one had sunk, and the other had been joined by the two prahus thathad been far up the river; and I also learned that one of Sehi's menhad gone into the village and let himself be captured, so that he mightguide the ship's boats to the place where, as they thought, they wouldfind but one prahu, while three would be waiting for them. I was notsure where the exact place was, for there are many creeks, but, with oneof my men, I rowed in a sampan all night, in hopes to arrive in timeto warn the boats; but it was not till I heard the firing that I knewexactly where they were. 

"When I got there the fighting was over, and but one prahu had escaped, and I learned from the men who had swum ashore from those that had beensunk that one of the English boats had been destroyed, and many menkilled, but that two boats had gone down the creek again. It was alsosaid that the white officers and sailors had boarded the boat that hadescaped, and had been all killed. I thought it best to follow the prahu, so that I could send word to you where she was to be found. As therewere many passages, it was difficult to find her, and I should have losther altogether had I not heard where Sehi was hiding, and guessed thatshe would go there. It was late when I arrived at the village. Thereone of my men learned that two young officers, who had been wounded, hadbeen brought there, and that Sehi was sending word to you that, unlessyou gave him the conditions he asked, they would be put to death. 

"I did not know whether to send down to you, or to send up the river forhelp; but I thought the last was best, for if you came in boats, thenSehi's men would hear you, and the officers would be killed; so I sentoff my man with the sampan. I told him that he must not stop until hegot here. He must tell them that all my men, except fifty old ones whowere to guard the village, were to start in their canoes, and paddletheir hardest till they came within half a mile of the village, and hewas to come back with them to guide them, and I was to meet them. Asthe prahus that had been up there were destroyed, the river was safefor them to descend. I said that they must be at the point I namedlast evening. They were two hours late, though they had paddled theirhardest. As soon as they disembarked I led them to the spot, and therest was easy. I knew that the prisoners who had been taken were my twofriends, for I saw them on the deck of the prahu; and glad indeed I wasto be able to pay my debt to them. "

"You have paid it indeed most nobly, Hassan, " the captain said, holding out his hand, and grasping that of the chief, when, sentence bysentence, the story was translated to him. "Little did we think, whenyou were brought on board the Serpent, that your friendship would turnout of such value to us. "

There was now some discussion as to the proposed meeting of chiefs; andhalf an hour after, a dozen small canoes started with invitations to thevarious chiefs to meet the captain at Hassan's campong, with assurancesthat he was ready to overlook their share in the attack on the ship, andbe on friendly terms with them, and that the safety of each who attendedwas guaranteed, whether he was willing to be on good terms with theEnglish or not. Four days later, the meeting took place in the newlyerected hall. Ten or twelve of the chiefs attended; others, whohad taken a leading part as Sehi's allies, did not venture to comethemselves, but sent messages with assurances of their desire to be onfriendly terms. A good deal of ceremonial was observed. The marines andbluejackets were drawn up in line before the hall, which was decoratedwith green boughs; a Union jack waved from a pole in front of it. 

The chiefs were introduced by Hassan to the captain. The former thenaddressed them, rehearsing the service that the English had done to themby destroying the power of the tyrant who had long been a scourge tohis neighbors, and who intended, without doubt, to become master of thewhole district. As a proof of the good will of the English towards theMalays, he related how the two English officers had leaped into thewater to save his child, and how kindly he himself had been treated. Then the captain addressed them through the interpreter. He told themthat he had only been sent up the river by the Governor in accordancewith an invitation from Sehi, of whose conduct he was ignorant, toundertake the protectorate of his district; and that, on learning histrue character, he at once reported to the Governor that the rajah wasnot a proper person to receive protection, as not only did he preventtrade and harass his neighbors, but was the owner of a number ofpiratical craft, that often descended the river and plundered the coast. 

"England, " he went on, "has no desire whatever to take under herprotection any who do not earnestly desire it, and who are not willing, in return, to promote trade, and keep peace with their neighbors;nor can she make separate arrangements with minor chiefs. It was onlybecause she understood that Sehi ruled over a considerable extent ofterritory, and was all powerful in this part, that his request waslistened to. 

"I shall shortly return down the river, " he said, "and have no thoughtor intention of interfering in any way with matters here. I wish toleave on good terms with you all, and to explain to you that it is toyour interest to do all in your power to further trade, both by sendingdown your products to the coast, and by throwing no hindrance in the wayof the products of the highlands coming down the river, charging, at theutmost, a very small toll upon each boat that passes up and down. Itis the interest of all of you, of the people of the hills, and ofourselves, that trade should increase. Now that Sehi is dead and hispeople altogether dispersed and all his piratical craft destroyed, withthe exception of the one captured by Hassan, there is no obstruction totrade, and you are free from the fear that he would one day eat you up. 

"Be assured that there is nothing to be feared from us. You all know howgreatly the States protected by us have flourished and how wealthy theirrajahs have become from the increase of cultivation and the cessationof tribal wars. If in the future all the chiefs of this district shoulddesire to place themselves under English protection, their request willbe considered; but there is not the slightest desire on the part of theGovernor to assume further responsibility, and he will be well satisfiedindeed to know that there is peace among the river tribes, security fortrade, and a large increase in the cultivation of the country and in itsprosperity. "

There was a general expression of satisfaction and relief upon the faceof the chiefs, as, sentence by sentence, the speech was translated tothem; and, one by one, they rose after its conclusion, and expressedtheir hearty concurrence with what had been said. 

"We know, " one of them said, "that these wars do much harm; but if wequarrel, or if one ill treats another, or encourages his slaves to leavehim, or ravages his plantations, what are we to do?"

"That I have thought of, " the captain said. "I have spoken with thechief Hassan, and he has agreed to remove with his people to the spotwhere Sehi's town stood. There, doubtless, he will be joined by Sehi'sformer subjects, who cannot but be well pleased at being rid of a tyrantwho had forcibly taken them under his rule. He will retain the prahuthat he has taken, and will use it to keep the two rivers free ofrobbers, but in no other respect will he interfere with his neighbors. His desire is to cultivate the land, clear away the forest, andencourage his people to raise products that he can send down the riverto trade with us. He will occupy the territory only as far as the creekthat runs between the two rivers. I propose that all of you shall cometo an agreement to submit any disputes that may arise between you to hisdecision, swearing to accept his judgment, whichever way it may go. Thisis the way in which the disputes are settled in our country. Both sidesgo before a judge, and he hears their statements and those of theirwitnesses, and then decides the case; and even the government of thecountry is bound by his decision. I don't wish you to give me any replyas to this. I make the suggestion solely for your own good, and it isfor you to talk it over among yourselves, and see if you cannot all cometo an agreement that will put a stop to the senseless wars, and enableyour people to cultivate the land in peace, and to obtain all thecomforts that arise from trade. "

A boat had been sent down to the ship, and this returned with a numberof the articles that had been put on board her as presents for Sehi andother chiefs. These were now distributed. A feast was then held, and thenext morning the chiefs started for their homes, highly gratified withthe result of the meeting. On the following day, the British boatsalso took their way down the river, followed by the prahu, with aconsiderable number of Hassan's men, who were to clear away the ruinsof Sehi's campong, to bury the dead still lying among them, and to erecthuts for the whole community. The Serpent remained for a week oppositethe town; a considerable quantity of flour, sugar, and other usefulstores being landed for the use of Hassan's people. Dr. Horsley wasgladdened by Hassan's promise that his people should be instructed tosearch for specimens of birds, butterflies, and other insects, and thatthese should be treated according to his instructions, and should befrom time to time, as occasion offered, sent down to him in large casesto Singapore. To the two midshipmen the chief gave krises of the finesttemper. 

"I have no presents to give you worthy of your acceptance, " he said;"but you know that I shall never forget you, and always regard you asbrothers. I intend to send twelve of my young men down to Penang, thereto live for three years and learn useful trades from your people. Thedoctor has advised me also to send Bahi, and has promised to find acomfortable home for her, where she will learn to read and write yourlanguage and many other useful things. It is hard to part with her;but it is for her good and that of her people. If you will write to mesometimes, she will read the letters to me and write letters to you inreturn, so that, though we are away from each other, we may know thatneither of us has forgotten the other. "

Bahi and twelve young Malays were taken to Penang in the Serpent, wherethe doctor found a comfortable home for her with some friends of his, to whom payment for her board and schooling was to be paid by Hassanin blocks of tin, which he would obtain from boats coming down from thehills in exchange for other articles of trade. The Malays were placedwith men of their own race belonging to the protected States, andsettled as carpenters, smiths, and other tradesmen in Penang. Threeyears later, they and Bahi were all taken back in the Serpent to theirhome. 

The river was acquiring considerable importance from the great increaseof trade. They found Hassan's town far more extensive and flourishingthan it had been in the time of its predecessor. The forest had beencleared for a considerable distance round it, the former inhabitants hadreturned, tobacco, sugar canes, cotton, pepper, and other crops whoseproducts were useful for trade purposes, were largely cultivated, whileorchards of fruit trees had been extensively planted. Hassan reportedthat tribal wars had almost ceased, and that disputes were in almostall cases brought for his arbitration. Owing to the abolition of alloppressive tolls, trade from the interior had very largely increased, agreat deal of tin, together with spices and other products, now findingits way down by the river. Hassan was delighted with the progress Bahihad made, and ordered that three or four boys should at once be placedfor instruction under each of the men who had learned trades at Penang. 

There was much regret on both sides when the Serpent again starteddown the river; for it was known that she would not return, as in a fewmonths she would be sent to a Chinese station, and from there wouldgo direct to England. The composition of her crew was already somewhatchanged. Lieutenant Ferguson had received his promotion for the fightwith the prahus, and had been appointed to the command of a gunboatwhose captain had been invalided home. Lieutenant Hopkins was now theSerpent's first lieutenant, and Morrison was second. Harry Parkhurst wasthird lieutenant, Dick Balderson, to the regret of both, having left theship on his promotion, and having been transferred as third lieutenantto Captain Ferguson's craft. Both have since kept up a correspondencewith Bahi, who has married a neighboring chief, and who tells themthat the river is prospering greatly, and that, although he assumes noauthority, her father is everywhere regarded as the paramount chief ofthe district. From time to time each receives chests filled with spices, silks, and other Malay products, and sends back in return Europeanarticles of utility to the rajah, for such is the rank that Hassan hasnow acquired on the river. 

BEARS AND DACOITS A TALE OF THE GHAUTS

CHAPTER I

A merry party were sitting in the veranda of one of the largest andhandsomest bungalows of Poonah. It belonged to Colonel Hastings, colonelof a native regiment stationed there, and at present, in virtue ofseniority, commanding a brigade. Tiffin was on, and three or fourofficers and four ladies had taken their seats in the comfortable canelounging chairs which form the invariable furniture of the veranda ofa well ordered bungalow. Permission had been duly asked, and grantedby Mrs. Hastings, and the cheroots had just begun to draw, when MissHastings, a niece of the colonel, who had only arrived the previous weekfrom England, said: "Uncle, I am quite disappointed. Mrs. Lyons showedme the bear she has got tied up in their compound, and it is the mostwretched little thing, not bigger than Rover, papa's retriever, and it'sfull grown. I thought bears were great fierce creatures, and this poorlittle thing seemed so restless and unhappy that I thought it quite ashame not to let it go. "

Colonel Hastings smiled rather grimly. 

"And yet, small and insignificant as that bear is, my dear, it is aquestion whether he is not as dangerous an animal to meddle with as aman eating tiger. "

"What, that wretched little bear, uncle?"

"Yes, that wretched little bear. Any experienced sportsman will tell youthat hunting those little bears is as dangerous a sport as tiger huntingon foot, to say nothing of tiger hunting from an elephant's back, inwhich there is scarcely any danger whatever. I can speak feelingly aboutit, for my career was pretty nearly brought to an end by a bear, justafter I entered the army, some thirty years ago, at a spot within a fewmiles from here. I have got the scars on my shoulder and arm still. "

"Oh, do tell me all about it, " Miss Hastings said; and the request beingseconded by the rest of the party, none of whom, with the exceptionof Mrs. Hastings, had ever heard the story before--for the colonel wassomewhat chary of relating this special experience--he waited till theyhad all drawn up their chairs as close as possible, and then giving twoor three vigorous puffs at his cheroot, began as follows:

"Thirty years ago, in 1855, things were not so settled in the Deccan asthey are now. There was no idea of insurrection on a large scale, but wewere going through one of those outbreaks of Dacoity which have severaltimes proved so troublesome. Bands of marauders kept the country inconfusion, pouring down on a village, now carrying off three or fourof the Bombay money lenders, who were then, as now, the curse of thecountry; sometimes making an onslaught upon a body of traders; andoccasionally venturing to attack small detachments of troops or isolatedparties of police. They were not very formidable, but they were verytroublesome, and most difficult to catch, for the peasantry regardedthem as patriots, and aided and shielded them in every way. Theheadquarters of these gangs of Dacoits were the Ghauts. In the thickbush and deep valleys and gorges there they could always take refuge, while sometimes the more daring chiefs converted these detached peaksand masses of rock, numbers of which you can see as you come up theGhaut by railway, into almost impregnable fortresses. Many of thesemasses of rock rise as sheer up from the hillside as walls of masonry, and look at a short distance like ruined castles. Some are absolutelyinaccessible; others can only be scaled by experienced climbers;and, although possible for the natives with their bare feet, areimpracticable to European troops. Many of these rock fortresses were atvarious times the headquarters of famous Dacoit leaders, and unless thesummits happened to be commanded from some higher ground within gunshotrange they were all but impregnable, except by starvation. When drivento bay, these fellows would fight well. 

"Well, about the time I joined, the Dacoits were unusually troublesome;the police had a hard time of it, and almost lived in the saddle, andthe cavalry were constantly called up to help them, while detachments ofinfantry from the station were under canvas at several places along thetop of the Ghauts to cut the bands off from their strongholds, and toaid, if necessary, in turning them out of their rock fortresses. Thenatives in the valleys at the foot of the Ghauts, who have always beena semi-independent race, ready to rob whenever they saw a chance, were great friends with the Dacoits and supplied them with provisionswhenever the hunt on the Deccan was too hot to make raids in thatdirection. 

"This is a long introduction, you will say, and does not seem to havemuch to do with bears; but it is really necessary, as you will see. Ihad joined about six months when three companies of the regiment wereordered to relieve a wing of the 15th, who had been under canvas at avillage some four miles to the north of the point where the line crossesthe top of the Ghauts. There were three white officers, and littleenough to do, except when a party was sent off to assist the police. We had one or two brushes with the Dacoits, but I was not out on eitheroccasion. However, there was plenty of shooting, and a good many pigsabout, so we had very good fun. Of course, as a raw hand, I was very hotfor it, and as the others had both passed the enthusiastic age, exceptfor pig sticking and big game, I could always get away. I was supposednot to go far from camp, because in the first place, I might be wanted;and, in the second, because of the Dacoits; and Norworthy, who was incommand, used to impress upon me that I ought not to go beyond the soundof a bugle. Of course we both knew that if I intended to get any sportI must go further afoot than this; but I merely used to say 'Allright, sir, I will keep an ear to the camp, ' and he on his part neverconsidered it necessary to ask where the game which appeared on thetable came from. But in point of fact, I never went very far, andmy servant always had instructions which way to send for me if I waswanted; while, as to the Dacoits, I did not believe in their having theimpudence to come in broad daylight within a mile or two of our camp. Idid not often go down the face of the Ghauts. The shooting was good, andthere were plenty of bears in those days, but it needed a long day forsuch an expedition, and in view of the Dacoits who might be scatteredabout, was not the sort of thing to be undertaken except with a strongparty. Norworthy had not given any precise orders about it, but I mustadmit that he said one day:

"'Of course you won't be fool enough to think of going down theGhauts, Hastings?' But I did not look at that as equivalent to a directorder--whatever I should do now, " the colonel put in, on seeing afurtive smile on the faces of his male listeners. 

"However, I never meant to go down, though I used to stand on the edgeand look longingly down into the bush and fancy I saw bears moving aboutin scores. But I don't think I should have gone into their country ifthey had not come into mine. One day the fellow who always carried myspare gun or flask, and who was a sort of shikaree in a small way, toldme he had heard that a farmer whose house stood near the edge of theGhauts, some two miles away, had been seriously annoyed by his fruit andcorn being stolen by bears. 

"' I'll go and have a look at the place tomorrow, ' I said; 'there is noparade, and I can start early. You may as well tell the mess cook to putup a basket with some tiffin and a bottle of claret, and get a boy tocarry it over. '

"'The bears not come in day, ' Rahman said. 

"'Of course not, ' I replied; 'still I may like to find out which waythey come. Just do as you are told. '

"The next morning, at seven o'clock, I was at the farmer's spoken of, and there was no mistake as to the bears. A patch of Indian corn hadbeen ruined by them, and two dogs had been killed. The native was in aterrible state of rage and alarm. He said that on moonlight nights hehad seen eight of them, and they came and sniffed around the door of thecottage. 

"'Why don't you fire through the window at them?' I asked scornfully, for I had seen a score of tame bears in captivity, and, like you, Mary, was inclined to despise them, though there was far less excuse for me;for I had heard stories which should have convinced me that, small ashe is, the Indian bear is not a beast to be attacked with impunity. Uponwalking to the edge of the Ghauts there was no difficulty in discoveringthe route by which the bears came up to the farm. For a mile to theright and left the ground fell away as if cut with a knife, leaving aprecipice of over a hundred feet sheer down; but close by where I wasstanding was the head of a water course, which in time had graduallyworn a sort of cleft in the wall, up or down which it was not difficultto make one's way. Further down this little gorge widened out and becamea deep ravine, and further still a wide valley, where it opened upon theflats far below us. About half a mile down, where the ravine was deepestand darkest, was a thick clump of trees and jungle. 

"'That's where the bears are?' I asked Rahman. He nodded. It seemed nodistance. I could get down and back in time for tiffin, and perhaps baga couple of bears. For a young sportsman the temptation was great. 'Howlong would it take us to go down and have a shot or two at them?'

"'No good go down. Master come here at night, shoot bears when they comeup. '

"I had thought of that; but, in the first place, it did not seem muchsport to shoot the beasts from cover when they were quietly eating, and, in the next place, I knew that Norworthy could not, even if he werewilling, give me leave to go out of camp at night. I waited, hesitatingfor a few minutes, and then I said to myself, 'It is of no use waiting. I could go down and get a bear and be back again while I am thinking ofit;' then to Rahman, 'No, come along; we will have a look through thatwood anyhow. '

"Rahman evidently did not like it. 'Not easy to find bear, sahib. Hevery cunning. '

"'Well, very likely we shan't find them, ' I said, 'but we can tryanyhow. Bring that bottle with you; the tiffin basket can wait here tillwe come back. ' In another five minutes I had begun to climb down thewatercourse--the shikaree following me. I took the double barreled rifleand handed him the shotgun, having first dropped a bullet down eachbarrel over the charge. The ravine was steep, but there were bushes tohold on by, and although it was hot work and took a good deal longerthan I expected, we at last got down to the place which I had fixed uponas likely to be the bears' home. 

"'Sahib, climb up top, ' Rahman said; 'come down through wood; no goodfire at bear when he above. '

"I had heard that before; but I was hot, the sun was pouring down, therewas not a breath of wind, and it looked a long way up to the top of thewood. 

"'Give me the claret. It would take too long to search the woodregularly. We will sit down here for a bit, and if we can see anythingmoving up in the wood, well and good; if not, we will come back againanother day with some beaters and dogs. ' So saying, I sat down with myback against a rock, at a spot where I could look up among the trees fora long way through a natural vista. I had a drink of claret, and then Isat and watched till gradually I dropped off to sleep. I don't know howlong I slept, but it was some time, and I woke up with a sudden start. Rahman, who had, I fancy, been asleep too, also started up. 

"The noise which had aroused us was made by a rolling stone striking arock: and looking up I saw some fifty yards away, not in the wood, buton the rocky hillside on our side of the ravine, a bear standing, asthough unconscious of our presence, snuffing the air. As was natural, I seized my rifle, cocked it, and took aim, unheeding a cry of 'No, no, sahib, ' from Rahman. However, I was not going to miss such a chance asthis, and I let fly. The beast had been standing sideways to me, and asI saw him fall I felt sure I had hit him in the heart. I gave a shout oftriumph, and was about to climb up, when, from behind the rock on whichthe bear had stood, appeared another, growling fiercely; on seeing me, it at once prepared to come down. Stupidly, being taken by surprise, andbeing new at it, I fired at once at its head. The bear gave a spring, and then--it seemed instantaneous--down it came at me. Whether it rolleddown, or slipped down, or ran down, I don't know, but it came almost asif it had jumped straight at me. 

"'My gun, Rahman, ' I shouted, holding out my hand. There was no answer. I glanced round and found that the scoundrel had bolted. I had time, andonly just time, to take a step backwards, and to club my rifle, when thebrute was upon me. I got one fair blow at the side of its head, a blowthat would have smashed the skull of any civilized beast into pieces, and which did fortunately break the brute's jaw; then in an instant hewas upon me, and I was fighting for life. My hunting knife was out, andwith my left hand I had the beast by the throat; while with my right Itried to drive my knife into its ribs. My bullet had gone through hischest. The impetus of his charge bad knocked me over, and we rolled onthe ground, he tearing with his claws at my shoulder and arm, I stabbingand struggling; my great effort being to keep my knees up so as toprotect my body with them from his bind claws. After the first blow withhis paw which laid my shoulder open, I do not think I felt any specialpain whatever. There was a strange faint sensation, and my whole energyseemed centered in the two ideas--to strike and to keep my knees up. I knew that I was getting faint, but I was dimly conscious that hisefforts, too, were relaxing. His weight on me seemed to increaseenormously, and the last idea that flashed across me was that it was adrawn fight. 

"The next idea of which I was conscious was that I was being carried. Iseemed to be swinging about, and I thought I was at sea. Then there wasa little jolt and a sense of pain. 'A collision, ' I muttered, and openedmy eyes. Beyond the fact that I seemed in a yellow world--a brightorange yellow--my eyes did not help me, and I lay vaguely wonderingabout it all, till the rocking ceased. There was another bump, and thenthe yellow world seemed to come to an end; and as the daylight streamedin upon me I fainted again. This time, when I awoke to consciousness, things were clearer. I was stretched by a little stream. A native womanwas sprinkling my face and washing the blood from my wounds; whileanother, who had with my own knife cut off my coat and shirt, wastearing the latter into strips to bandage my wounds. The yellow worldwas explained. I was lying on the yellow robe of one of the women. They had tied the ends together, placed a long stick through them, andcarried me in the bag-like hammock. They nodded to me when they saw Iwas conscious, and brought water in a large leaf, and poured it into mymouth. Then one went away for some time, and came back with some leavesand bark. These they chewed and put on my wounds, bound them up withstrips of my shirt, and then again knotted the ends of the cloth, andlifting me up, went on as before. 

"I was sure that we were much lower down the Ghaut than we had beenwhen I was watching for the bears, and we were now going still lower. However, I knew very little Hindustani, nothing of the language thewomen spoke. I was too weak to stand, too weak even to think much; andI dozed and woke, and dozed again until, after what seemed to me manyhours of travel, we stopped again, this time before a tent. Two or threeold women and four or five men came out, and there was great talkingbetween them and the young women--for they were young--who had carriedme down. Some of the party appeared angry; but at last things quieteddown, and I was carried into the tent. I had fever, and was, I suppose, delirious for days. I afterwards found that for fully a fortnight I hadlost all consciousness; but a good constitution and the nursing of thewomen pulled me round. When once the fever had gone, I began to mendrapidly. I tried to explain to the women that if they would go up to thecamp and tell them where I was they would be well rewarded; but althoughI was sure they understood, they shook their heads, and by the fact thatas I became stronger two or three armed men always hung about thetent, I came to the conclusion that I was a sort of prisoner. This wasannoying, but did not seem serious. If these people were Dacoits, or, aswas more likely, allies of the Dacoits, I could be kept only for ransomor exchange. Moreover, I felt sure of my ability to escape when I gotstrong, especially as I believed that in the young women who had savedmy life, both by bringing me down and by their careful nursing, I shouldfind friends. "

"Were they pretty, uncle?" Mary Hastings broke in. 

"Never mind whether they were pretty, Mary; they were better thanpretty. "

"No; but we should like to know, uncle. "

"Well, except for the soft, dark eyes, common to the race, and the goodtemper and lightheartedness, also so general among Hindu girls, andthe tenderness which women feel towards a creature whose life they havesaved, whether it is a wounded bird or a drowning puppy, I suppose theywere nothing remarkable in the way of beauty, but at the time I knowthat I thought them charming. "

CHAPTER II

"Just as I was getting strong enough to walk, and was beginning to thinkof making my escape, a band of five or six fellows, armed to the teeth, came in, and made signs that I was to go with them. It was evidentlyan arranged thing, the girls only were surprised, but they were at onceturned out, and as we started I could see two crouching figures in theshade with their cloths over their heads. I had a native garment thrownover my shoulders, and in five minutes after the arrival of the fellowsfound myself on my way. It took us some six hours before we reached ourdestination, which was one of those natural rock citadels. Had I beenin my usual health I could have done the distance in an hour and a half, but I had to rest constantly, and was finally carried rather than helpedup. I had gone not unwillingly, for the men were clearly, by theirdress, Dacoits of the Deccan, and I had no doubt that it was intendedeither to ransom or exchange me. 

"At the foot of this natural castle were same twenty or thirty morerobbers, and I was led to a rough sort of arbor in which was lying, on apile of maize straw, a man who was evidently their chief. He rose and weexchanged salaams. 

"'What is your name, sahib?' he asked in Mahratta. 

"'Hastings--Lieutenant Hastings, ' I said. 'And yours?'

"'Sivajee Punt!' he said. 

"This was bad. I had fallen into the hands of the most troublesome, mostruthless, and most famous of the Dacoit leaders. Over and over again hehad been hotly chased, but had always managed to get away; and when Ilast heard anything of what was going on four or five troops of nativepolice were scouring the country after him. He gave an order which I didnot understand, and a wretched Bombay writer, I suppose a clerk of somemoneylender, was dragged forward. Sivajee Punt spoke to him for sometime, and the fellow then told me in English that I was to write atonce to the officer commanding the troops, telling him that I was in hishands, and should be put to death directly he was attacked. 

"'Ask him, ' I said, 'if he will take any sum of money to let me go?'

"Sivajee shook his head very decidedly. 

"A piece of paper was put before me, and a pen and ink, and I wrote asI had been ordered, adding however, in French, that I had brought myselfinto my present position by my own folly, and would take my chance, for I well knew the importance which government attached to Sivajee'scapture. I read out loud all that I had written in English, and theinterpreter translated it. Then the paper was folded and I addressed it, 'The Officer Commanding, ' and I was given some chupattis and a drink ofwater, and allowed to sleep. The Dacoits had apparently no fear of anyimmediate attack. 

"It was still dark, although morning was just breaking, when I wasawakened, and was got up to the citadel. I was hoisted rather thanclimbed, two men standing above with a rope, tied round my body, so thatI was half hauled, half pushed up the difficult places, which would havetaxed all my climbing powers had I been in health. 

"The height of this mass of rock was about a hundred feet; the top wasfairly flat, with some depressions and risings, and about eighty feetlong by fifty wide. It had evidently been used as a fortress in agespast. Along the side facing the hill were the remains of a rough wall. In the center of a depression was a cistern, some four feet square, lined with stone work, and in another depression a gallery had been cut, leading to a subterranean storeroom or chamber. 

"This natural fortress rose from the face of the hill at a distance ofa thousand yards or so from the edge of the plateau, which was fully twohundred feet higher than the top of the rock. In the old days it wouldhave been impregnable, and even at that time it was an awkward place totake, for the troops were armed only with Brown Bess, and rifled cannonwere not thought of. Looking round, I could see that I was some fourmiles from the point where I had descended. The camp was gone; butrunning my eye along the edge of the plateau I could see the tops oftents a mile to my right, and again two miles to my left; turning round, and looking down into the wide valley, I saw a regimental camp. 

"It was evident that a vigorous effort was being made to surround andcapture the Dacoits, since troops had been brought up from Bombay. Inaddition to the troops above and below, there would probably be a strongpolice force, acting on the face of the hill. I did not see all thesethings at the time, for I was, as soon as I got to the top, ordered tosit down behind the parapet, a fellow armed to the teeth squatting downby me, and signifying that if I showed my head above the stones he wouldcut my throat without hesitation. There were, however, sufficient gapsbetween the stones to allow me to have a view of the crest of the Ghaut, while below my view extended down to the hills behind Bombay. It wasevident to me now why the Dacoits did not climb up into the fortress. There were dozens of similar crags on the face of the Ghauts, and thetroops did not as yet know their whereabouts. It was a sort of blockadeof the whole face of the hills which was being kept up, and there were, probably enough, several other bands of Dacoits lurking in the jungle. 

"There were only two guards and myself on the rock plateau. I discussedwith myself the chances of my overpowering them and holding the top ofthe rock till help came; but I was greatly weakened, and was not a matchfor a boy, much less for the two stalwart Mahrattas; besides, I was byno means sure that the way I had been brought up was the only possiblepath to the top. The day passed off quietly. The heat on the bare rockwas frightful, but one of the men, seeing how weak and ill I really was, fetched a thick rug from the storehouse, and with the aid of a stickmade a sort of lean-to against the wall, under which I lay shelteredfrom the sun. 

"Once or twice during the day I heard a few distant musket shots, andonce a sharp, heavy outburst of firing. It must have been three or fourmiles away, but it was on the side of the Ghaut, and showed that thetroops or police were at work. My guards looked anxiously in thatdirection, and uttered sundry curses. When it was dusk, Sivajee andeight of the Dacoits came up. From what they said, I gathered that therest of the band had dispersed, trusting either to get through the lineof their pursuers, or, if caught, to escape with slight punishment, themen who remained being too deeply concerned in murderous outrages tohope for mercy. Sivajee himself handed me a letter, which the man whohad taken my note had brought back in reply. Major Knapp, the writer, who was the second in command, said that he could not engage theGovernment, but that if Lieutenant Hastings was given up the actwould certainly dispose the Government to take the most mercifulview possible; but that if, on the contrary, any harm was suffered byLieutenant Hastings, every man taken would be at once hung. Sivajeedid not appear put out about it. I do not think he expected any otheranswer, and imagine that his real object in writing was simply tolet them know that I was a prisoner, and so enable him the better toparalyze the attack upon a position which he no doubt considered all butimpregnable. 

"I was given food, and was then allowed to walk as I chose upon thelittle plateau, two of the Dacoits taking post as sentries at thesteepest part of the path, while the rest gathered, chatting andsmoking, in the depression in front of the storehouse. It was stilllight enough for me to see for some distance down the face of the rock, and I strained my eyes to see if I could discern any other spot at whichan ascent or descent was possible. The prospect was not encouraging. Atsome places the face fell sheer away from the edge, and so evident wasthe impracticability of escape that the only place which I glanced attwice was the western side, that is the one away from the hill. Here itsloped gradually for a few feet. I took off my shoes and went down tothe edge. Below, some ten feet, was a ledge, on to which with care Icould get down, but below that was a sheer fall of some fifty feet. As ameans of escape it was hopeless, but it struck me that if an attack wasmade I might slip away and get on to the ledge. Once there I could notbe seen except by a person standing where I now was, just on the edge ofthe slope, a spot to which it was very unlikely that anyone would come. 

"The thought gave me a shadow of hope, and, returning to the upper endof the platform, I lay down, and in spite of the hardness of the rock, was soon asleep. The pain of my aching bones woke me up several times, and once, just as the first tinge of dawn was coming, I thought I couldhear movements in the jungle. I raised myself somewhat, and I sawthat the sounds had been heard by the Dacoits, for they were standinglistening, and some of them were bringing spare firearms from thestorehouse, in evident preparation for attack. 

"As I afterwards learned, the police had caught one of the Dacoitstrying to effect his escape, and by means of a little of the ingenioustorture to which the Indian police then frequently resorted, when theirwhite officers were absent, they obtained from him the exact position ofSivajee's band, and learned the side from which the ascent must be made. That the Dacoit and his band were still upon the slopes of the Ghautsthey knew, and were gradually narrowing their circle, but there were somany rocks and hiding places that the process of searching was a slowone, and the intelligence was so important that the news was off at onceto the colonel, who gave orders for the police to surround the rock atdaylight and to storm it if possible. The garrison was so small thatthe police were alone ample for the work, supposing that the naturaldifficulties were not altogether insuperable. 

"Just at daybreak there was a distant noise of men moving in the jungle, and the Dacoit halfway down the path fired his gun. He was answered bya shout and a volley. The Dacoits hurried out from the chamber, andlay down on the edge, where, sheltered by a parapet, they commanded thepath. They paid no attention to me, and I kept as far away as possible. The fire began--a quiet, steady fire, a shot at a time and in strongcontrast to the rattle kept up from the surrounding jungle; but everyshot must have told, as man after man who strove to climb that steeppath fell. It lasted only ten minutes, and then all was quiet again. 

"The attack had failed, as I knew it must do, for two men could haveheld the place against an army; a quarter of an hour later a gun fromthe crest above spoke out, and a round shot whistled above our heads. Beyond annoyance, an artillery fire could do no harm, for the partycould be absolutely safe in the store cave. The instant the shot flewoverhead, however, Sivajee Punt beckoned to me, and motioned me to takemy seat on the wall facing the guns. Hesitation was useless, and I tookmy seat with my back to the Dacoits and my face to the hill. One ofthe Dacoits, as I did so, pulled off the native cloth which covered myshoulders, in order that I might be clearly seen. 

"Just as I took my place another round shot hummed by; but then therewas a long interval of silence. With a field glass every feature musthave been distinguishable to the gunners, and I had no doubt that theywere waiting for orders as to what to do next. 

"I glanced round and saw that, with the exception of one fellow squattedbehind the parapet some half dozen yards away, clearly as a sentry tokeep me in place, all the others had disappeared. Some, no doubt, wereon sentry down the path, the others were in the store beneath me. Afterhalf an hour's silence the guns spoke out again. Evidently the gunnerswere told to be as careful as they could, for some of the shots wentwide on the left, others on the right. A few struck the rock below me. The situation was not pleasant, but I thought that at a thousand yardsthey ought not to hit me, and I tried to distract my attention bythinking out what I should do under every possible contingency. 

"Presently I felt a crash and a shock, and fell backwards to the ground. I was not hurt, and picking myself up saw that the ball had struck theparapet to the left, just where my guard was sitting, and he lay coveredwith its fragments. His turban lay some yards behind him. Whether he wasdead or not I neither knew nor cared. 

"I pushed down some of the parapet where I had been sitting, dropped mycap on the edge outside, so as to make it appear that I had fallenover, and then, picking up the man's turban, ran to the other end of theplatform and scrambled down to the ledge. Then I began to wave my armsabout--I had nothing on above the waist--and in a moment I saw a facewith a uniform cap peer out through the jungle; and a hand was waved. Imade signs to him to make his way to the foot of the perpendicular wallof rock beneath me. I then unwound the turban, whose length was, Iknew, amply sufficient to reach to the bottom, and then looked round forsomething to write on. I had my pencil still in my trousers pocket, butnot a scrap of paper. 

"I picked up a flattish piece of rock and wrote on it, 'Get a ropeladder quickly, I can haul it up. Ten men in garrison. They are allunder cover. Keep on firing to distract their attention. '

"I tied the stone to the end of the turban, and looked over. Anoncommissioned officer of the police was already standing below. Ilowered the stone; he took it, waved his hand to me, and was gone. 

"An hour passed: it seemed an age. The round shots still rang overhead, and the fire was now much more heavy and sustained than before. Presently I again saw a movement in the jungle, and Norworthy's faceappeared, and he waved his arm in greeting. 

"Five minutes more and a party were gathered at the foot of the rock, and a strong rope was tied to the cloth. I pulled it up. A rope ladderwas attached to it, and the top rung was in a minute or two in my hands. To it was tied a piece of paper with the words: 'Can you fasten theladder?' I wrote on the paper: 'No; but I can hold it for a lightweight. '

"I put the paper with a stone in the end of the cloth, and loweredit again. Then I sat down, tied the rope round my waist, got my feetagainst two projections, and waited. There was a jerk, and then I feltsomeone was coming up the rope ladder. The strain was far less than Iexpected, but the native policeman who came up first did not weigh halfso much as an average Englishman. There were now two of us to hold. Theofficer in command of the police came up next, then Norworthy, thena dozen more police. I explained the situation, and we mounted to theupper level. Not a soul was to be seen. Quickly we advanced and took upa position to command the door of the underground chamber; while oneof the police waved a white cloth from his bayonet as a signal to thegunners to cease firing. Then the officer hailed the party within thecave. 

"'Sivajee Punt! you may as well come out and give yourself up! We are inpossession, and resistance is useless!'

"A yell of rage and surprise was heard, and the Dacoits, all desperatemen, came bounding out, firing as they did so. Half of their numberwere shot down at once and the rest, after a short, sharp struggle, werebound hand and foot. 

"That is pretty well all of the story, I think. Sivajee Punt was one ofthe killed. The prisoners were all either hung or imprisoned for life. I escaped my blowing up for having gone down the Ghauts after the bear, because, after all, Sivajee Punt might have defied their force formonths had I not done so. 

"It seemed that that scoundrel Rahman had taken back word that I waskilled. Norworthy had sent down a strong party, who found the two deadbears, and who, having searched everywhere without finding any signs ofmy body, came to the conclusion that I had been found and carried away, especially as they ascertained that natives used that path. They hadoffered rewards, but nothing was heard of me till my note saying I wasin Sivajee's hands arrived. "

"And did you ever see the women who carried you off?"

"No, Mary, I never saw them again. I did, however, after immensetrouble, succeed in finding out where it was that I had been taken to. I went down at once, but found the village deserted. Then after muchinquiry I found where the people had moved to, and sent messages to thewomen to come up to the camp, but they never came; and I was reduced atlast to sending them down two sets of silver bracelets, necklaces, andbangles, which must have rendered them the envy of all the women on theGhauts. They sent back a message of grateful thanks, and I never heardof them afterwards. No doubt their relatives, who knew that theirconnection with the Dacoits was now known, would not let them come. However, I had done all I could and I have no doubt the women wereperfectly satisfied. So you see, my dear, that the Indian bear, small ashe is, is an animal which it is as well to leave alone, at any rate whenhe happens to be up on the side of a hill while you are at the foot. "

THE PATERNOSTERS

"And do you really mean that we are to cross by the steamer, Mr. Virtue, while you go over in the Seabird? I do not approve of that at all. Fanny, why do you not rebel, and say we won't be put ashore? I call ithorrid, after a fortnight on board this dear little yacht, to have toget on to a crowded steamer, with no accommodation and lots of seasickwomen, perhaps, and crying children. You surely cannot be in earnest?"

"I do not like it any more than you do, Minnie; but, as Tom says wehad better do it, and my husband agrees with him, I am afraid we mustsubmit. Do you really think it is quite necessary, Mr. Virtue? Minnieand I are both good sailors, you know; and we would much rather have alittle extra tossing about on board the Seabird than the discomforts ofa steamer. "

"I certainly think that it will be best, Mrs. Grantham. You know verywell we would rather have you on board, and that we shall suffer fromyour loss more than you will by going the other way; but there's nodoubt the wind is getting up, and though we don't feel it much here, itmust be blowing pretty hard outside. The Seabird is as good a seaboatas anything of her size that floats; but you don't know what it is tobe out in anything like a heavy sea in a thirty tonner. It would beimpossible for you to stay on deck, and we should have our handsfull, and should not be able to give you the benefit of our society. Personally, I should not mind being out in the Seabird in any weather, but I would certainly rather not have ladies on board. "

"You don't think we should scream, or do anything foolish, Mr. Virtue?"Minnie Graham said indignantly. 

"Not at all, Miss Graham. Still, I repeat, the knowledge that there arewomen on board, delightful at other times, does not tend to comfort inbad weather. Of course, if you prefer it, we can put off our starttill this puff of wind has blown itself out. It may have dropped beforemorning. It may last some little time. I don't think myself that it willdrop, for the glass has fallen, and I am afraid we may have a spell ofbroken weather. "

"Oh, no; don't put it off, " Mrs. Grantham said; "we have only anotherfortnight before James must be back again in London, and it would be agreat pity to lose three or four days perhaps; and we have been lookingforward to cruising about among the Channel Islands, and to St. Mao, and all those places. Oh, no; I think the other is much the betterplan--that is if you won't take us with you. "

"It would be bad manners to say that I won't, Mrs. Grantham; but I mustsay I would rather not. It will be a very short separation. Granthamwill take you on shore at once, and as soon as the boat comes back Ishall be off. You will start in the steamer this evening, and get intoJersey at nine or ten o'clock tomorrow morning; and if I am not therebefore you, I shall not be many hours after you. "

"Well, if it must be it must, " Mrs. Grantham said, with an air ofresignation. "Come, Minnie, let us put a few things into a handbag fortonight. You see the skipper is not to be moved by our pleadings. "

"That is the worst of you married women, Fanny, " Miss Graham said, witha little pout. "You get into the way of doing as you are ordered. I callit too bad. Here have we been cruising about for the last fortnight, with scarcely a breath of wind, and longing for a good brisk breeze anda little change and excitement, and now it comes at last, we are to bepacked off in a steamer. I call it horrid of you, Mr. Virtue. You maylaugh, but I do. "

Tom Virtue laughed, but he showed no signs of giving way, and tenminutes later Mr. And Mrs. Grantham and Miss Graham took their places inthe gig, and were rowed into Southampton Harbor, off which the Seabirdwas lying. 

The last fortnight had been a very pleasant one, and it had cost theowner of the Seabird as much as his guests to come to the conclusionthat it was better to break up the party for a few hours. 

Tom Virtue had, up to the age of five-and-twenty, been possessed of asufficient income for his wants. He had entered at the bar, not that hefelt any particular vocation in that direction, but because he thoughtit incumbent upon him to do something. Then, at the death of an uncle, he had come into a considerable fortune, and was able to indulge histaste for yachting, which was the sole amusement for which he reallycared, to the fullest. 

He sold the little five tonner he had formerly possessed, and purchasedthe Seabird. He could well have afforded a much larger craft, but heknew that there was far more real enjoyment in sailing to be obtainedfrom a small craft than a large one, for in the latter he would beobliged to have a regular skipper, and would be little more than apassenger, whereas on board the Seabird, although his first hand wasdignified by the name of skipper, he was himself the absolute master. The boat carried the aforesaid skipper, three hands, and a steward, andwith them he had twice been up the Mediterranean, across to Norway, andhad several times made the circuit of the British Isles. 

He had unlimited confidence in his boat, and cared not what weather hewas out in her. This was the first time since his ownership of her thatthe Seabird had carried lady passengers. His friend Grantham, an oldschool and college chum, was a hard working barrister, and Virtue hadproposed to him to take a month's holiday on board the Seabird. 

"Put aside your books, old man, " he said. "You look fagged andoverworked; a month's blow will do you all the good in the world. "

"Thank you, Tom; I have made up my mind for a month's holiday, but Ican't accept your invitation, though I should enjoy it of all things. But it would not be fair to my wife; she doesn't get very much of mysociety, and she has been looking forward to our having a run together. So I must decline. "

Virtue hesitated a moment. He was not very fond of ladies' society, andthought them especially in the way on board a yacht; but he had a greatliking for his friend's wife, and was almost as much at home in hishouse as in his own chambers. 

"Why not bring the wife with you?" he said, as soon as his mind was madeup. "It will be a nice change for her too; and I have heard her say thatshe is a good sailor. The accommodation is not extensive, but the aftercabin is a pretty good size, and I would do all I could to make hercomfortable. Perhaps she would like another lady with her; if so by allmeans bring one. They could have the after cabin, you could have thelittle stateroom, and I could sleep in the saloon. "

"It is very good of you, Tom, especially as I know that it will put youout frightfully; but the offer is a very tempting one. I will speak toFanny, and let you have an answer in the morning. "

"That will be delightful, James, " Mrs. Grantham said, when theinvitation was repeated to her. "I should like it of all things; and Iam sure the rest and quiet and the sea air will be just the thing foryou. It is wonderful, Tom Virtue making the offer; and I take it as agreat personal compliment, for he certainly is not what is generallycalled a lady's man. It is very nice, too, of him to think of myhaving another lady on board. Whom shall we ask? Oh, I know, " she saidsuddenly; "that will be the thing of all others. We will ask my cousinMinnie; she is full of fun and life, and will make a charming wife forTom!"

James Grantham laughed. 

"What schemers you all are, Fanny! Now I should call it downrighttreachery to take anyone on board the Seabird with the idea of capturingits master. "

"Nonsense, treachery!" Mrs. Grantham said indignantly; "Minnie is thenicest girl I know, and it would do Tom a world of good to have a wifeto look after him. Why, he is thirty now, and will be settling downinto a confirmed old bachelor before long. It's the greatest kindness wecould do him, to take Minnie on board; and I am sure he is the sort ofman any girl might fall in love with when she gets to know him. Thefact is, he's shy! He never had any sisters, and spends all his time inwinter at that horrid club; so that really he has never had any women'ssociety, and even with us he will never come unless he knows we arealone. I call it a great pity, for I don't know a pleasanter fellow thanhe is. I think it will be doing him a real service in asking Minnie; sothat's settled. I will sit down and write him a note. "

"In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose, " was Tom Virtue's commentwhen he received Mrs. Grantham's letter, thanking him warmly for theinvitation, and saying that she would bring her cousin, Miss Graham, with her, if that young lady was disengaged. 

As a matter of self defense he at once invited Jack Harvey, who was amutual friend of himself and Grantham, to be of the party. 

"Jack can help Grantham to amuse the women, " he said to himself; "thatwill be more in his line than mine. I will run down to Cowes tomorrowand have a chat with Johnson; we shall want a different sort of storesaltogether from those we generally carry, and I suppose we must do herup a bit below. "

Having made up his mind to the infliction of female passengers, TomVirtue did it handsomely, and when the party came on board at Rydethey were delighted with the aspect of the yacht below. She had beenrepainted, the saloon and ladies' cabin were decorated in delicateshades of gray, picked out with gold; and the upholsterer, into whosehands the owner of the Seabird had placed her, had done his work withtaste and judgment, and the ladies' cabin resembled a little boudoir. 

"Why, Tom, I should have hardly known her!" Grantham, who had oftenspent a day on board the Seabird, said. 

"I hardly know her myself, " Tom said, rather ruefully; "but I hopeshe's all right, Mrs. Grantham, and that you and Miss Graham will findeverything you want. "

"It is charming!" Mrs. Grantham said enthusiastically. "It's awfullygood of you, Tom, and we appreciate it; don't we, Minnie? It is such asurprise, too; for James said that while I should find everything verycomfortable, I must not expect that a small yacht would be got up like apalace. "

So a fortnight had passed; they had cruised along the coast as far asPlymouth, anchoring at night at the various ports on the way. Then theyhad returned to Southampton, and it had been settled that as none ofthe party, with the exception of Virtue himself, had been to the ChannelIslands, the last fortnight of the trip should be spent there. Theweather had been delightful, save that there had been some deficiency inwind, and throughout the cruise the Seabird had been under all thesail she could spread. But when the gentlemen came on deck early in themorning a considerable change had taken place; the sky was gray and theclouds flying fast overhead. 

"We are going to have dirty weather, " Tom Virtue said at once. "I don'tthink it's going to be a gale, but there will be more sea on than willbe pleasant for ladies. I tell you what, Grantham; the best thing willbe for you to go on shore with the two ladies, and cross by the boattonight. If you don't mind going directly after breakfast I will startat once, and shall be at St. Helier's as soon as you are. "

And so it had been agreed, but not, as has been seen, without oppositionand protest on the part of the ladies. 

Mrs. Grantham's chief reason for objecting had not been given. Thelittle scheme on which she had set her mind seemed to be workingsatisfactorily. From the first day Tom Virtue had exerted himself toplay the part of host satisfactorily, and had ere long shaken off anyshyness he may have felt towards the one stranger of the party, and heand Miss Graham had speedily got on friendly terms. So things were goingon as well as Mrs. Grantham could have expected. 

No sooner had his guests left the side of the yacht than her owner beganto make his preparations for a start. 

"What do you think of the weather, Watkins?" he asked his skipper. 

"It's going to blow hard, sir; that's my view of it, and if I was youI shouldn't up anchor today. Still, it's just as you likes; the Seabirdwon't mind it if we don't. She has had a rough time of it before now;still, it will be a case of wet jackets, and no mistake. "

"Yes, I expect we shall have a rough time of it, Watkins, but I want toget across. We don't often let ourselves be weather bound, and I am notgoing to begin it today. We had better house the topmast at once, andget two reefs in the mainsail. We can get the other down when we getclear of the island. Get number three jib up, and the leg of muttonmizzen; put two reefs in the foresail. "

Tom and his friend Harvey, who was a good sailor, assisted the crew inreefing down the sails, and a few minutes after the gig had returned andbeen hoisted in, the yawl was running rapidly down Southampton waters. 

"We need hardly have reefed quite so closely, " Jack Harvey said, as hepuffed away at his pipe. 

"Not yet, Jack; but you will see she has as much as she can carry beforelong. It's all the better to make all snug before starting; it saves alot of trouble afterwards, and the extra canvas would not have made tenminutes' difference to us at the outside. We shall have pretty nearly adead beat down the Solent. Fortunately the tide will be running strongwith us, but there will be a nasty kick up there. You will see we shallfeel the short choppy seas there more than we shall when we get outside. She is a grand boat in a really heavy sea, but in short waves she putsher nose into it with a will. Now, if you will take my advice, you willdo as I am going to do; put on a pair of fisherman's boots and oilskinand sou'wester. There are several sets for you to choose from below. "

As her owner had predicted, the Seabird put her bowsprit under prettyfrequently in the Solent; the wind was blowing half a gale, and as itmet the tide it knocked up a short, angry sea, crested with white heads, and Jack Harvey agreed that she had quite as much sail on her as shewanted. The cabin doors were bolted, and all made snug to prevent thewater getting below before they got to the race off Hurst Castle; andit was well that they did so, for she was as much under water as she wasabove. 

"I think if I had given way to the ladies and brought them with us theywould have changed their minds by this time, Jack, " Tom Virtue said, with a laugh. 

"I should think so, " his friend agreed; "this is not a day for a fairweather sailor. Look what a sea is breaking on the shingles!"

"Yes, five minutes there would knock her into matchwood. Another tenminutes and we shall be fairly out; and I shan't be sorry; one feelsas if one was playing football, only just at present the Seabird is theball and the waves the kickers. "

Another quarter of an hour and they had passed the Needles. 

"That is more pleasant, Jack, " as the short, chopping motion wasexchanged for a regular rise and fall; "this is what I enjoy--a steadywind and a regular sea. The Seabird goes over it like one of hernamesakes; she is not taking a teacupful now over her bows. 

"Watkins, you may as well take the helm for a spell, while we go down tolunch. I am not sorry to give it up for a bit, for it has been jerkinglike the kick of a horse. 

"That's right, Jack, hang up your oilskin there. Johnson, give us acouple of towels; we have been pretty well smothered up there on deck. Now what have you got for us?"

"There is some soup ready, sir, and that cold pie you had for dinneryesterday. "

"That will do; open a couple of bottles of stout. "

Lunch over, they went on deck again. 

"She likes a good blow as well as we do, " Virtue said enthusiastically, as the yawl rose lightly over each wave. "What do you think of it, Watkins? Is the wind going to lull a bit as the sun goes down?"

"I think not, sir. It seems to me it's blowing harder than it was. "

"Then we will prepare for the worst, Watkins; get the trysail up ondeck. When you are ready we will bring her up into the wind and set it. That's the comfort of a yawl, Jack; one can always lie to without anybother, and one hasn't got such a tremendous boom to handle. "

The trysail was soon on deck, and then the Seabird was brought up intothe wind, the weather foresheet hauled aft, the mizzen sheeted almostfore and aft, and the Seabird lay, head to wind, rising and falling witha gentle motion, in strong contrast to her impetuous rushes when undersail. 

"She would ride out anything like that, " her owner said. "Last timewe came through the Bay on our way from Gib. We were caught in a galestrong enough to blow the hair off one's head, and we lay to for nearlythree days, and didn't ship a bucket of water all the time. Now let uslend a hand to get the mainsail stowed. "

Ten minutes' work and it was securely fastened and its cover on; tworeefs were put in the trysail. Two hands went to each of the halliards, while, as the sail rose, Tom Virtue fastened the toggles round the mast. 

"All ready, Watkins?"

"All ready, sir. "

"Slack off the weather foresheet, then, and haul aft the leeward. Slackout the mizzen sheet a little, Jack. That's it; now she's off again, like a duck. "

The Seabird felt the relief from the pressure of the heavy boom toleeward and rose easily and lightly over the waves. 

"She certainly is a splendid seaboat, Tom; I don't wonder you are readyto go anywhere in her. I thought we were rather fools for starting thismorning, although I enjoy a good blow; but now I don't care how hard itcomes on. "

By night it was blowing a downright gale. 

"We will lie to till morning, Watkins. So that we get in by daylighttomorrow evening, that is all we want. See our side lights are burningwell, and you had better get up a couple of blue lights, in caseanything comes running up Channel and don't see our lights. We hadbetter divide into two watches; I will keep one with Matthews andDawson, Mr. Harvey will go in your watch with Nicholls. We had betterget the trysail down altogether, and lie to under the foresail andmizzen, but don't put many lashings on the trysail, one will be enough, and have it ready to cast off in a moment, in case we want to hoist thesail in a hurry. I will go down and have a glass of hot grog first, andthen I will take my watch to begin with. Let the two hands with me godown; the steward will serve them out a tot each. Jack, you had betterturn in at once. "

Virtue was soon on deck again, muffled up in his oilskins. 

"Now, Watkins, you can go below and turn in. "

"I shan't go below tonight, sir--not to lie down. There's nothing muchto do here, but I couldn't sleep, if I did lie down. "

"Very well; you had better go below and get a glass of grog; tellthe steward to give you a big pipe with a cover like this, out of thelocker; and there's plenty of chewing tobacco, if the men are short. "

"I will take that instead of a pipe, " Watkins said; "there's nothinglike a quid in weather like this, it aint never in your way, and itlasts. Even with a cover a pipe would soon be out. "

"Please yourself, Watkins; tell the two hands forward to keep a brightlookout for lights. "

The night passed slowly. Occasionally a sea heavier than usual came onboard, curling over the bow and falling with a heavy thud on thedeck, but for the most part the Seabird breasted the waves easily;the bowsprit had been reefed in to its fullest, thereby adding to thelightness and buoyancy of the boat. Tom Virtue did not go below when hisfriend came up to relieve him at the change of watch, but sat smokingand doing much talking in the short intervals between the gusts. 

The morning broke gray and misty, driving sleet came along on the wind, and the horizon was closed in as by a dull curtain. 

"How far can we see, do you think, Watkins?"

"Perhaps a couple of miles, sir. "

"That will be enough. I think we both know the position of every reef towithin a hundred yards, so we will shape our course for Guernsey. If wehappen to hit it off, we can hold on to St. Helier, but if when we thinkwe ought to be within sight of Guernsey we see nothing of it, we mustlie to again, till the storm has blown itself out or the clouds lift. It would never do to go groping our way along with such currents as runamong the islands. Put the last reef in the trysail before you hoist it. I think you had better get the foresail down altogether, and run up thespitfire jib. "

The Seabird was soon under way again. 

"Now, Watkins, you take the helm; we will go down and have a cup of hotcoffee, and I will see that the steward has a good supply for you andthe hands; but first, do you take the helm, Jack, whilst Watkins andI have a look at the chart, and try and work out where we are, and thecourse we had better lie for Guernsey. "

Five minutes were spent over the chart, then Watkins went above and JackHarvey came below. 

"You have got the coffee ready, I hope, Johnson?"

"Yes, sir, coffee and chocolate. I didn't know which you would like. "

"Chocolate, by all means. Jack, I recommend the chocolate. Bring twofull sized bowls, Johnson, and put that cold pie on the table, and acouple of knives and forks; never mind about a cloth; but first of allbring a couple of basins of hot water, we shall enjoy our food moreafter a wash. "

The early breakfast was eaten, dry coats and mufflers put on, pipeslighted, and they then went up upon deck. Tom took the helm. 

"What time do you calculate we ought to make Guernsey, Tom?"

"About twelve. The wind is freer than it was, and we are walking alongat a good pace. Matthews, cast the log, and let's see what we are doing. About seven knots, I should say. "

"Seven and a quarter, sir, " the man said, when he checked the line. 

"Not a bad guess, Tom; it's always difficult to judge pace in a heavysea. "

At eleven o'clock the mist ceased. 

"That's fortunate, " Tom Virtue said; "I shouldn't be surprised if weget a glimpse of the sun between the clouds presently. Will you get mysextant and the chronometer up, Jack, and put them handy?"

Jack Harvey did as he was asked, but there was no occasion to use theinstruments, for ten minutes later, Watkins, who was standing near thebow gazing fixedly ahead, shouted:

"There's Guernsey, sir, on her lee bow, about six miles away, I shouldsay. "

"That's it, sure enough, " Tom agreed, as he gazed in the direction inwhich Watkins was pointing. "There's a gleam of sunshine on it, or weshouldn't have seen it yet. Yes, I think you are about right as to thedistance. Now let us take its bearings, we may lose it again directly. "

Having taken the bearings of the island they went below, and markedoff their position on the chart, and they shaped their course for CapeGrosnez, the northwestern point of Jersey. The gleam of sunshine wastransient--the clouds closed in again overhead, darker and grayer thanbefore. Soon the drops of rain came flying before the wind, the horizonclosed in, and they could not see half a mile away, but, though the seawas heavy, the Seabird was making capital weather of it, and the twofriends agreed that, after all, the excitement of a sail like this wasworth a month of pottering about in calms. 

"We must keep a bright lookout presently, " the skipper said; "thereare some nasty rocks off the coast of Jersey. We must give them a wideberth. We had best make round to the south of the island, and lay tothere till we can pick up a pilot to take us into St. Helier. I don'tthink it will be worth while trying to get into St. Aubyn's Bay byourselves. "

"I think so, too, Watkins, but we will see what it is like before itgets dark; if we can pick up a pilot all the better; if not, we will lieto till morning, if the weather keeps thick; but if it clears so thatwe can make out all the lights we ought to be able to get into the bayanyhow. "

An hour later the rain ceased and the sky appeared somewhat clearer. Suddenly Watkins exclaimed, "There is a wreck, sir! There, three milesaway to leeward. She is on the Paternosters. "

"Good Heavens! she is a steamer, " Tom exclaimed, as he caught sightof her the next time the Seabird lifted on a wave. "Can she be theSouthampton boat, do you think?"

"Like enough, sir, she may have had it thicker than we had, and may nothave calculated enough for the current. "

"Up helm, Jack, and bear away towards her. Shall we shake out a reef, Watkins?"

"I wouldn't, sir; she has got as much as she can carry on her now. Wemust mind what we are doing, sir; the currents run like a millstream, and if we get that reef under our lee, and the wind and current bothsetting us on to it, it will be all up with us in no time. "

"Yes, I know that, Watkins. Jack, take the helm a minute while we rundown and look at the chart. 

"Our only chance, Watkins, is to work up behind the reef, and try andget so that they can either fasten a line to a buoy and let it floatdown to us, or get into a boat, if they have one left, and drift to us. "

"They are an awful group of rocks, " Watkins said, as they examined thechart; "you see some of them show merely at high tide, and a lot of themare above at low water. It will be an awful business to get among themrocks, sir, just about as near certain death as a thing can be. "

"Well, it's got to be done, Watkins, " Tom said firmly. "I see the dangeras well as you do, but whatever the risk it must be tried. Mr. Granthamand the two ladies went on board by my persuasion, and I should neverforgive myself if anything happened to them. But I will speak to themen. "

He went on deck again and called the men to him. "Look here, lads; yousee that steamer ashore on the Paternosters. In such a sea as this shemay go to pieces in half an hour. I am determined to make an effort tosave the lives of those on board. As you can see for yourselves there isno lying to weather of her, with the current and wind driving us on tothe reef; we must beat up from behind. Now, lads, the sea there is fullof rocks, and the chances are ten to one we strike on to them and go topieces; but, anyhow, I am going to try; but I won't take you unless youare willing. The boat is a good one, and the zinc chambers will keepher afloat if she fills; well managed, you ought to be able to make thecoast of Jersey in her. Mr. Harvey, Watkins, and I can handle the yacht, so you can take the boat if you like. "

The men replied that they would stick to the yacht wherever Mr. Virtuechose to take her, and muttered something about the ladies, forthe pleasant faces of Mrs. Grantham and Miss Graham had, during thefortnight they had been on board, won the men's hearts. 

"Very well, lads, I am glad to find you will stick by me; if we pullsafely through it I will give each of you three months' wages. Now setto work with a will and get the gig out. We will tow her after us, andtake to her if we make a smash of it. "

They were now near enough to see the white breakers, in the middle ofwhich the ship was lying. She was fast breaking up. The jagged outlineshowed that the stern had been beaten in. The masts and funnel weregone, and the waves seemed to make a clean breach over her, almosthiding her from sight in a white cloud of spray. 

"Wood and iron can't stand that much longer, " Jack Harvey said; "anotherhour and I should say there won't be two planks left together. "

"It is awful, Jack; I would give all I have in the world if I had notpersuaded them to go on board. Keep her off a little more, Watkins. "

The Seabird passed within a cable's length of the breakers at thenorthern end of the reef. 

"Now, lads, take your places at the sheets, ready to haul or let go as Igive the word. " So saying, Tom Virtue took his place in the bow, holdingon by the forestay. 

The wind was full on the Seabird's beam as she entered the broken water. Here and there the dark heads of the rocks showed above the water. Thesewere easy enough to avoid, the danger lay in those hidden beneath itssurface, and whose position was indicated only by the occasional breakof a sea as it passed over them. Every time the Seabird sank on a wavethose on board involuntarily held their breath, but the water here wascomparatively smooth, the sea having spent its first force upon theouter reef. With a wave of his hand Tom directed the helmsman as to hiscourse, and the little yacht was admirably handled through the dangers. 

"I begin to think we shall do it, " Tom said to Jack Harvey, who wasstanding close to him. "Another five minutes and we shall be withinreach of her. "

It could be seen now that there was a group of people clustered in thebow of the wreck. Two or three light lines were coiled in readiness forthrowing. 

"Now, Watkins, " Tom said, going aft, "make straight for the wreck. Isee no broken water between us and them, and possibly there may be deepwater under their bow. "

It was an anxious moment, as, with the sails flattened in, the yawlforged up nearly in the eye of the wind towards the wreck. Her progresswas slow, for she was now stemming the current. 

Tom stood with a coil of line in his hand in the bow. 

"You get ready to throw, Jack, if I miss. "

Nearer and nearer the yacht approached the wreck, until the bowsprit ofthe latter seemed to stand almost over her. Then Tom threw the line. Itfell over the bowsprit, and a cheer broke from those on board thewreck and from the sailors of the Seabird. A stronger line was at oncefastened to that thrown, and to this a strong hawser was attached. 

"Down with the helm, Watkins. Now, lads, lower away the trysail as fastas you can. Now, one of you, clear that hawser as they haul on it. Nowout with the anchors. "

These had been got into readiness; it was not thought that they wouldget any hold on the rocky bottom, still they might catch on a projectingledge, and at any rate their weight and that of the chain cable wouldrelieve the strain upon the hawser. 

Two sailors had run out on the bowsprit of the wreck as soon as the linewas thrown, and the end of the hawser was now on board the steamer. 

"Thank God, there's Grantham!" Jack Harvey exclaimed; "do you see himwaving his hand?"

"I see him, " Tom said, "but I don't see the ladies. "

"They are there, no doubt, " Jack said confidently; "crouching down, Iexpect. He would not be there if they weren't, you may be sure. Yes, there they are; those two muffled up figures. There, one of them hasthrown back her cloak and is waving her arm. "

The two young men waved their caps. 

"Are the anchors holding, Watkins? There's a tremendous strain on thathawser. "

"I think so, sir; they are both tight. "

"Put them round the windlass, and give a turn or two, we must relievethe strain on that hawser. "

Since they had first seen the wreck the waves had made great progress inthe work of destruction, and the steamer had broken in two just aft ofthe engines. 

"Get over the spare spars, Watkins, and fasten them to float in front ofher bows like a triangle. Matthews, catch hold of that boat hook and tryto fend off any piece of timber that comes along. You get hold of thesweeps, lads, and do the same. They would stave her in like a nutshellif they struck her. "

"Thank God, here comes the first of them!"

Those on board the steamer had not been idle. As soon as the yawl wasseen approaching slings were prepared, and no sooner was the hawsersecurely fixed, than the slings were attached to it and a woman placedin them. The hawser was tight and the descent sharp, and without a checkthe figure ran down to the deck of the Seabird. She was lifted out ofthe slings by Tom and Jack Harvey, who found she was an old woman andhad entirely lost consciousness. 

"Two of you carry her down below; tell Johnson to pour a little brandydown her throat. Give her some hot soup as soon as she comes to. "

Another woman was lowered and helped below. The next to descend was Mrs. Grantham. 

"Thank God, you are rescued!" Tom said, as he helped her out of thesling. 

"Thank God, indeed, " Mrs. Grantham said, "and thank you all! Oh, Tom, wehave had a terrible time of it, and had lost all hope till we saw yoursail, and even then the captain said that he was afraid nothing could bedone. Minnie was the first to make out it was you, and then we began tohope. She has been so brave, dear girl. Ah! here she comes. "

But Minnie's firmness came to an end now that she felt the need for itwas over. She was unable to stand when she was lifted from the slings, and Tom carried her below. 

"Are there any more women, Mrs. Grantham?"

"No; there was only one other lady passenger and the stewardess. "

"Then you had better take possession of your own cabin. I orderedJohnson to spread a couple more mattresses and some bedding on thefloor, so you will all four be able to turn in. There's plenty of hotcoffee and soup. I should advise soup with two or three spoonfuls ofbrandy in it. Now, excuse me; I must go upon deck. "

Twelve men descended by the hawser, one of them with both legs broken bythe fall of the mizzen. The last to come was the captain. 

"Is that all?" Tom asked. 

"That is all, " the captain said. "Six men were swept overboard when shefirst struck, and two were killed by the fall of the funnel. Fortunatelywe had only three gentlemen passengers and three ladies on board. Theweather looked so wild when we started that no one else cared aboutmaking the passage. God bless you, sir, for what you have done! Anotherhalf hour and it would have been all over with us. But it seems like amiracle your getting safe through the rocks to us. "

"It was fortunate indeed that we came along, " Tom said; "three of thepassengers are dear friends of mine; and as it was by my persuasion thatthey came across in the steamer instead of in the yacht, I should neverhave forgiven myself if they had been lost. Take all your men below, captain; you will find plenty of hot soup there. Now, Watkins, let us beoff; that steamer won't hold together many minutes longer, so there's notime to lose. We will go back as we came. Give me a hatchet. Now, lads, two of you stand at the chain cables; knock out the shackles the momentI cut the hawser. Watkins, you take the helm and let her head pay offtill the jib fills. Jack, you lend a hand to the other two, and get upthe trysail again as soon as we are free. "

In a moment all were at their stations. The helm was put on the yacht, and she payed off on the opposite tack to that on which she had beforebeen sailing. As soon as the jib filled, Tom gave two vigorous blowswith his hatchet on the hawser, and, as he lifted his hand for a third, it parted. Then came the sharp rattle of the chains as they ran roundthe hawser holes. The trysail was hoisted and sheeted home, and theSeabird was under way again. Tom, as before, conned the ship from thebow. Several times she was in close proximity to the rocks, but eachtime she avoided them. A shout of gladness rose from all on deck as shepassed the last patch of white water. Then she tacked and bore away forJersey. 

Tom had now time to go down below and look after his passengers. Theyconsisted of the captain and two sailors--the sole survivors of thosewho had been on deck when the vessel struck--three male passengers, andsix engineers and stokers. 

"I have not had time to shake you by the hand before, Tom, " Granthamsaid, as Tom Virtue entered; "and I thought you would not want me ondeck at present. God bless you, old fellow! We all owe you our lives. "

"How did it happen, captain?" Tom asked, as the captain also came up tohim. 

"It was the currents, I suppose, " the captain said; "it was so thickwe could not see a quarter of a mile any way. The weather was so wild Iwould not put into Guernsey, and passed the island without seeing it. I steered my usual course, but the gale must have altered the currents, for I thought I was three miles away from the reef, when we saw it onour beam, not a hundred yards away. It was too late to avoid it then, and in another minute we ran upon it, and the waves were sweeping overus. Everyone behaved well. I got all, except those who had been sweptoverboard or crushed by the funnel, up into the bow of the ship, andthere we waited. There was nothing to be done. No boat would live for amoment in the sea on that reef, and all I could advise was that when shewent to pieces everyone should try to get hold of a floating fragment;but I doubt whether a man would have been alive a quarter of an hourafter she went to pieces. "

"Perhaps, captain, you will come on deck with me and give me the benefitof your advice. My skipper and I know the islands pretty well, butno doubt you know them a good deal better, and I don't want anothermishap. "

But the Seabird avoided all further dangers, and as it became darkthe lights of St. Helier's were in sight, and an hour later the yachtbrought up in the port and landed her involuntary passengers. 

A fortnight afterwards the Seabird returned to England, and two monthslater Mrs. Grantham had the satisfaction of being present at theceremony which was the successful consummation of her little scheme ininviting Minnie Graham to be her companion on board the Seabird. 

"Well, my dear, " her husband said, when she indulged in a littlenatural triumph, "I do not say that it has not turned out well, and Iam heartily glad for both Tom and Minnie's sake it has so; but you mustallow that it very nearly had a disastrous ending, and I think if I wereyou I should leave matters to take their natural course in future. Ihave accepted Tom's invitation for the same party to take a cruise inthe Seabird next summer, but I have bargained that next time a storm isbrewing up we shall stop quietly in port. "

"That's all very well, James, " Mrs. Grantham said saucily; "but youmust remember that Tom Virtue will only be first mate of the Seabird infuture. "

"That I shall be able to tell you better, my dear, after our nextcruise. All husbands are not as docile and easily led as I am. "

A PIPE OF MYSTERY

A jovial party were gathered round a blazing fire in an old grange nearWarwick. The hour was getting late; the very little ones had, afterdancing round the Christmas tree, enjoying the snapdragon, and playinga variety of games, gone off to bed; and the elder boys and girlsnow gathered round their uncle, Colonel Harley, and asked him for astory--above all, a ghost story. 

"But I have never seen any ghosts, " the colonel said, laughing; "and, moreover, I don't believe in them one bit. I have traveled pretty wellall over the world, I have slept in houses said to be haunted, butnothing have I seen--no noises that could not be accounted for byrats or the wind have I ever heard. I have never "--and here hepaused--"never but once met with any circumstances or occurrence thatcould not be accounted for by the light of reason, and I know you preferhearing stories of my own adventures to mere invention. "

"Yes, uncle. But what was the 'once' when circumstances happened thatyou could not explain?"

"It's rather a long story, " the colonel said, "and it's getting late. "

"Oh! no, no, uncle; it does not matter a bit how late we sit up onChristmas Eve, and the longer the story is, the better; and if youdon't believe in ghosts how can it be a story of something you could notaccount for by the light of nature?"

"You will see when I have done, " the colonel said. "It is rather astory of what the Scotch call second sight, than one of ghosts. As toaccounting for it, you shall form your own opinion when you have heardme to the end. 

"I landed in India in '50, and after going through the regular drillwork marched with a detachment up country to join my regiment, which wasstationed at Jubbalpore, in the very heart of India. It has become animportant place since; the railroad across India passes through it andno end of changes have taken place; but at that time it was one of themost out of the way stations in India, and, I may say, one of the mostpleasant. It lay high, there was capital boating on the Nerbudda, and, above all, it was a grand place for sport, for it lay at the foot of thehill country, an immense district, then but little known, covered withforests and jungle, and abounding with big game of all kinds. 

"My great friend there was a man named Simmonds. He was just of my ownstanding; we had come out in the same ship, had marched up the countrytogether, and were almost like brothers. He was an old Etonian, I an oldWestminster, and we were both fond of boating, and, indeed, of sportof all kinds. But I am not going to tell you of that now. The peoplein these hills are called Gonds, a true hill tribe--that is to say, aborigines, somewhat of the negro type. The chiefs are of mixed blood, but the people are almost black. They are supposed to accept thereligion of the Hindus, but are in reality deplorably ignorant andsuperstitious. Their priests are a sort of compound of a Brahmin priestand a negro fetish man, and among their principal duties is that ofcharming away tigers from the villages by means of incantations. There, as in other parts of India, were a few wandering fakirs, who enjoyed animmense reputation for holiness and wisdom. The people would go to themfrom great distances for charms or predictions, and believed in theirpower with implicit faith. 

"At the time when we were at Jubbalpore there was one of these fellowswhose reputation altogether eclipsed that of his rivals, and nothingcould be done until his permission had been asked and his blessingobtained. All sorts of marvelous stories were constantly coming to ourears of the unerring foresight with which he predicted the terminationof diseases, both in men and animals; and so generally was he believedin that the colonel ordered that no one connected with the regimentshould consult him, for these predictions very frequently brought abouttheir own fulfillment; for those who were told that an illness wouldterminate fatally, lost all hope, and literally lay down to die. 

"However, many of the stories that we heard could not be explained onthese grounds, and the fakir and his doings were often talked overat mess, some of the officers scoffing at the whole business, othersmaintaining that some of these fakirs had, in some way or another, the power of foretelling the future, citing many well authenticatedanecdotes upon the subject. 

"The older officers were the believers, we young fellows were thescoffers. But for the well known fact that it is very seldom indeed thatthese fakirs will utter any of their predictions to Europeans, some ofus would have gone to him to test his powers. As it was, none of us hadever seen him. 

"He lived in an old ruined temple, in the middle of a large patch ofjungle at the foot of the hills, some ten or twelve miles away. 

"I had been at Jubbalpore about a year, when I was woke up one nightby a native, who came in to say that at about eight o'clock a tiger hadkilled a man in his village, and had dragged off the body. 

"Simmonds and I were constantly out after tigers, and the people in allthe villages within twenty miles knew that we were always ready to payfor early information. This tiger had been doing great damage, and hadcarried off about thirty men, women, and children. So great was thefear of him, indeed, that the people in the neighborhood he frequentedscarcely dared stir out of doors, except in parties of five or six. Wehad had several hunts after him, but, like all man eaters, he was oldand awfully crafty; and although we got several snap shots at him, hehad always managed to save his skin. 

"In a quarter of an hour after the receipt of the message CharleySimmonds and I were on the back of an elephant which was our jointproperty; our shikaree, a capital fellow, was on foot beside us, andwith the native trotting on ahead as guide we went off at the best paceof old Begaum, for that was the elephant's name. The village was fifteenmiles away, but we got there soon after daybreak, and were received withdelight by the population. In half an hour the hunt was organized; allthe male population turned out as beaters, with sticks, guns, tom-toms, and other instruments for making a noise. 

"The trail was not difficult to find. A broad path, with occasionalsmears of blood, showed where he had dragged his victim through the longgrass to a cluster of trees a couple of hundred yards from the village. 

"We scarcely expected to find him there, but the villagers held back, while we went forward with cocked rifles. We found, however, nothingbut a few bones and a quantity of blood. The tiger had made off at theapproach of daylight into the jungle, which was about two miles distant. We traced him easily enough, and found that he had entered a largeravine, from which several smaller ones branched off. 

"It was an awkward place, as it was next to impossible to surround itwith the number of people at our command. We posted them at last allalong the upper ground, and told them to make up in noise what theywanted in numbers. At last all was ready, and we gave the signal. However, I am not telling you a hunting story, and need only say that wecould neither find nor disturb him. In vain we pushed Begaum through thethickest of the jungle which clothed the sides and bottom of the ravine, while the men shouted, beat their tom-toms, and showered imprecationsagainst the tiger himself and his ancestors up to the remotestgenerations. 

"The day was tremendously hot, and, after three hours' march, we gaveit up for a time, and lay down in the shade, while the shikarees made along examination of the ground all round the hillside, to be sure thathe had not left the ravine. They came back with the news that no tracescould be discovered, and that, beyond a doubt, he was still there. Atiger will crouch up in an exceedingly small clump of grass or bush, and will sometimes almost allow himself to be trodden on before moving. However, we determined to have one more search, and if that should proveunsuccessful, to send off to Jubbalpore for some more of the men to comeout with elephants, while we kept up a circle of fires, and of noises ofall descriptions, so as to keep him a prisoner until the arrival of thereinforcements. Our next search was no more successful than our firsthad been; and having, as we imagined, examined every clump and crevicein which he could have been concealed, we had just reached the upper endof the ravine, when we heard a tremendous roar, followed by a perfectbabel of yells and screams from the natives. 

"The outburst came from the mouth of the ravine, and we felt at oncethat he had escaped. We hurried back to find, as we had expected, thatthe tiger was gone. He had burst out suddenly from his hiding place, hadseized a native, torn him horribly, and had made across the open plain. 

"This was terribly provoking, but we had nothing to do but follow him. This was easy enough, and we traced him to a detached patch of woodand jungle, two miles distant. This wood was four or five hundred yardsacross, and the exclamations of the people at once told us that it wasthe one in which stood the ruined temple of the fakir of whom I havebeen telling you. I forgot to say that as the tiger broke out one of thevillage shikarees had fired at and, he declared, wounded him. 

"It was already getting late in the afternoon, and it was hopeless toattempt to beat the jungle that night. We therefore sent off a runnerwith a note to the colonel, asking him to send the work elephants, andto allow a party of volunteers to march over at night, to help surroundthe jungle when we commenced beating it in the morning. 

"We based our request upon the fact that the tiger was a notorious maneater, and had been doing immense damage. We then had a talk with ourshikaree, sent a man off to bring provisions for the people out with us, and then set them to work cutting dry sticks and grass to make a circleof fires. 

"We both felt much uneasiness respecting the fakir, who might be seizedat any moment by the enraged tiger. The natives would not allow thatthere was any cause for fear, as the tiger would not dare to touch soholy a man. Our belief in the respect of the tiger for sanctity was byno means strong, and we determined to go in and warn him of the presenceof the brute in the wood. It was a mission which we could not intrustto anyone else, for no native would have entered the jungle for untoldgold; so we mounted the Begaum again, and started. The path leadingtowards the temple was pretty wide, and as we went along almostnoiselessly, for the elephant was too well trained to tread upon fallensticks, it was just possible we might come upon the tiger suddenly, sowe kept our rifles in readiness in our hands. 

"Presently we came in sight of the ruins. No one was at first visible;but at that very moment the fakir came out from the temple. He could notsee or hear us, for we were rather behind him and still among the trees, but at once proceeded in a high voice to break into a singsong prayer. He had not said two words before his voice was drowned in a terrificroar, and in an instant the tiger had sprung upon him, struck him to theground, seized him as a cat would a mouse, and started off with him ata trot. The brute evidently had not detected our presence, for he cameright towards us. We halted the Begaum, and, with our fingers on thetriggers, awaited the favorable moment. He was a hundred yards fromus when he struck down his victim; he was not more than fifty whenhe caught sight of us. He stopped for an instant in surprise. Charleymuttered, 'Both barrels, Harley, ' and as the beast turned to plunge intothe jungle, and so showed us his side, we sent four bullets crashinginto him, and he rolled over lifeless. 

"We went up to the spot, made the Begaum give him a kick, to be surethat he was dead, and then got down to examine the unfortunate fakir. The tiger had seized him by the shoulder, which was terribly torn, andthe bone broken. He was still perfectly conscious. 

"We at once fired three shots, our usual signal that the tiger was dead, and in a few minutes were surrounded by the villagers, who hardly knewwhether to be delighted at the death of their enemy, or to grieve overthe injury to the fakir. We proposed taking the latter to our hospitalat Jubbalpore, but this he positively refused to listen to. However, wefinally persuaded him to allow his arm to be set and the wounds dressedin the first place by our regimental surgeon, after which he could go toone of the native villages and have his arm dressed in accordance withhis own notions. A litter was soon improvised, and away we went toJubbalpore, which we reached about eight in the evening. 

"The fakir refused to enter the hospital, so we brought out a coupleof trestles, laid the litter upon them, and the surgeon set his arm anddressed his wounds by torchlight, when he was lifted into a dhoolie, andhis bearers again prepared to start for the village. 

"Hitherto he had only spoken a few words; but he now briefly expressedhis deep gratitude to Simmonds and myself. We told him that we wouldride over to see him shortly, and hoped to find him getting on rapidly. Another minute and he was gone. 

"It happened that we had three or four fellows away on leave or on staffduty, and several others laid up with fever just about this time, sothat the duty fell very heavily upon the rest of us, and it was over amonth before we had time to ride over to see the fakir. 

"We had heard he was going on well; but we were surprised, on reachingthe village, to find that he had already returned to his old abode inthe jungle. However, we had made up our minds to see him, especially aswe had agreed that we would endeavor to persuade him to do a predictionfor us; so we turned our horses' heads towards the jungle. We found thefakir sitting on a rock in front of the temple, just where he had beenseized by the tiger. He rose as we rode up. 

"'I knew that you would come today, sahibs, and was joyful in thethought of seeing those who have preserved my life. '

"'We are glad to see you looking pretty strong again, though your arm isstill in a sling, ' I said, for Simmonds was not strong in Hindustani. 

"'How did you know that we were coming?' I asked, when we had tied upour horses. 

"'Siva has given to his servant to know many things, ' he said quietly. 

"'Did you know beforehand that the tiger was going to seize you?' Iasked. 

"'I knew that a great danger threatened, and that Siva would not let medie before my time had come. '

"'Could you see into our future?' I asked. 

"The fakir hesitated, looked at me for a moment earnestly to see if Iwas speaking in mockery, and then said:

"'The sahibs do not believe in the power of Siva or of his servants. . They call his messengers imposters, and scoff at them when they speak ofthe events of the future. '

"'No indeed, ' I said. 'My friend and I have no idea of scoffing. We haveheard of so many of your predictions coming true, that we are reallyanxious that you should tell us something of the future. '

"The fakir nodded his head, went into the temple, and returned ina minute or two with two small pipes used by the natives for opiumsmoking, and a brazier of burning charcoal. The pipes were alreadycharged. He made signs to us to sit down, and took his place in frontof us. Then he began singing in a low voice, rocking himself to and fro, and waving a staff which he held in his hand. Gradually his voice rose, and his gesticulations and actions became more violent. So far as Icould make out, it was a prayer to Siva that he would give some glimpseof the future which might benefit the sahibs who had saved the life ofhis servant. Presently he darted forward, gave us each a pipe, tooktwo pieces of red hot charcoal from the brazier in his fingers, withoutseeming to know that they were warm, and placed them in the pipes; thenhe recommenced his singing and gesticulations. 

"A glance at Charley, to see if, like myself, he was ready to carry thething through, and then I put the pipe to my lips. I felt at once thatit was opium, of which I had before made experiment, but mixed with someother substance, which was, I imagine, hasheesh, a preparation of hemp. A few puffs, and I felt a drowsiness creeping over me. I saw, as througha mist, the fakir swaying himself backwards and forwards, his armswaving and his face distorted. Another minute, and the pipe slipped frommy fingers, and I fell back insensible. 

"How long I lay there I do not know. I woke with a strange and notunpleasant sensation, and presently became conscious that the fakir wasgently pressing, with a sort of shampooing action, my temples and head. When he saw that I opened my eyes he left me, and performed the sameprocess upon Charley. In a few minutes he rose from his stoopingposition, waved his hand in token of adieu, and walked slowly back intothe temple. 

"As he disappeared I sat up; Charley did the same. 

"We stared at each other for a minute without speaking, and then Charleysaid:

"'This is a rum go, and no mistake, old man. '

"'You're right, Charley. My opinion is, we've made fools of ourselves. Let's be off out of this. '

"We staggered to our feet, for we both felt like drunken men, made ourway to our horses, poured a mussuk of water over our heads, took adrink of brandy from our flasks, and then, feeling more like ourselves, mounted and rode out of the jungle. 

"'Well, Harley, if the glimpse of futurity which I had is true, all Ican say is that it was extremely unpleasant. '

"'That was just my case, Charley. '

"'My dream, or whatever you like to call it, was about a mutiny of themen. '

"'You don't say so, Charley; so was mine. This is monstrously strange, to say the least of it. However, you tell your story first, and then Iwill tell mine. '

"'It was very short, ' Charley said. 'We were at mess--not in our presentmess room--we were dining with the fellows of some other regiment. Suddenly, without any warning, the windows were filled with a crowd ofSepoys, who opened fire right and left into us. Half the fellows wereshot down at once; the rest of us made a rush to our swords just as theniggers came swarming into the room. There was a desperate fight for amoment. I remember that Subadar Piran--one of the best native officersin the regiment, by the way--made a rush at me, and I shot him throughthe head with a revolver. At the same moment a ball hit me, and down Iwent. At the moment a Sepoy fell dead across me, hiding me partly fromsight. The fight lasted a minute or two longer. I fancy a few fellowsescaped, for I heard shots outside. Then the place became quiet. Inanother minute I heard a crackling, and saw that the devils had set themess room on fire. One of our men, who was lying close by me, got upand crawled to the window, but he was shot down the moment he showedhimself. I was hesitating whether to do the same or to lie still and besmothered, when suddenly I rolled the dead Sepoy off, crawled intothe anteroom half suffocated by smoke, raised the lid of a very heavytrapdoor, and stumbled down some steps into a place, half storehousehalf cellar, under the mess room. How I knew about it being there Idon't know. The trap closed over my head with a bang. That is all Iremember. '

"'Well, Charley, curiously enough my dream was also about anextraordinary escape from danger, lasting, like yours, only a minuteor two. The first thing I remember--there seems to have been some thingbefore, but what, I don't know--I was on horseback, holding a verypretty but awfully pale girl in front of me. We were pursued by a wholetroop of Sepoy cavalry, who were firing pistol shots at us. We were notmore than seventy or eighty yards in front, and they were gaining fast, just as I rode into a large deserted temple. In the center was a hugestone figure. I jumped off my horse with the lady, and as I did so shesaid, 'blow out my brains, Edward; don't let me fall into their hands. '

"Instead of answering, I hurried her round behind the idol, pushedagainst one of the leaves of a flower in the carving, and the stoneswung back, and showed a hole just large enough to get through, witha stone staircase inside the body of the idol, made, no doubt, for thepriest to go up and give responses through the mouth. I hurried the girlthrough, crept in after her, and closed the stone, just as our pursuerscame clattering into the courtyard. That is all I remember. '

"'Well, it is monstrously rum, ' Charley said after a pause. 'Did youunderstand what the old fellow was singing about before he gave us thepipes?'

"'Yes; I caught the general drift. It was an entreaty to Siva to give ussome glimpse of futurity which might benefit us. '

"We lit our cheroots and rode for some miles at a brisk canter withoutremark. When we were within a short distance of home we reined up. 

"'I feel ever so much better, ' Charley said. 'We have got that opium outof our heads now. How do you account for it all, Harley?'

"'I account for it in this way, Charley. The opium naturally had theeffect of making us both dream, and as we took similar doses of the samemixture, under similar circumstances, it is scarcely extraordinary thatit should have effected the same portion of the brain, and caused acertain similarity in our dreams. In all nightmares something terriblehappens, or is on the point of happening; and so it was here. Notunnaturally in both our cases our thoughts turned to soldiers. If youremember, there was a talk at mess some little time since as to whatwould happen in the extremely unlikely event of the Sepoys mutinying ina body. I have no doubt that was the foundation of both our dreams. Itis all natural enough when we come to think it over calmly. I think, by the way, we had better agree to say nothing at all about it in theregiment. '

"' I should think not, ' Charley said. 'We should never hear the end ofit; they would chaff us out of our lives. '

"We kept our secret, and came at last to laugh over it heartily when wewere together. Then the subject dropped, and by the end of a year had asmuch escaped our minds as any other dream would have done. Three monthsafter the affair the regiment was ordered down to Allahabad, and thechange of place no doubt helped to erase all memory of the dream. Fouryears after we had left Jubbalpore we went to Beerapore. The time isvery marked in my memory, because, the very week we arrived there, youraunt, then Miss Gardiner, came out from England, to her father, ourcolonel. The instant I saw her I was impressed with the idea that I knewher intimately. I recollected her face, her figure, and the very toneof her voice, but wherever I had met her I could not conceive. Upon theoccasion of my first introduction to her I could not help telling herthat I was convinced that we had met, and asking her if she did notremember it. No, she did not remember, but very likely she might havedone so, and she suggested the names of several people at whose houseswe might have met. I did not know any of them. Presently she asked howlong I had been out in India?

"'Six years, ' I said. 

"'And how old, Mr. Harley, ' she said, 'do you take me to be?'

"I saw in one instant my stupidity, and was stammering out an apology, when she went on:

"'I am very little over eighteen, Mr. Harley, although I evidently lookever so many years older; but papa can certify to my age; so I was onlytwelve when you left England. '

"I tried in vain to clear matters up. Your aunt would insist that Itook her to be forty, and the fun that my blunder made rather drew ustogether, and gave me a start over the other fellows at the station, half of whom fell straightway in love with her. Some months went on, andwhen the mutiny broke out we were engaged to be married. It is a proofof how completely the opium dreams had passed out of the minds of bothSimmonds and myself, that even when rumors of general disaffection amongthe Sepoys began to be current, they never once recurred to us; and evenwhen the news of the actual mutiny reached us we were just as confidentas were the others of the fidelity of our own regiment. It was the oldstory, foolish confidence and black treachery. As at very many otherstations, the mutiny broke out when we were at mess. Our regiment wasdining with the 34th Bengalees. Suddenly, just as dinner was over, thewindow was opened, and a tremendous fire poured in. Four or five menfell dead at once, and the poor colonel, who was next to me, was shotright through the head. Everyone rushed to his sword and drew hispistol--for we had been ordered to carry pistols as part of our uniform. I was next to Charley Simmonds as the Sepoys of both regiments, headedby Subadar Piran, poured in at the windows. 

"'I have it now, ' Charley said; 'it is the scene I dreamed. '

"As he spoke he fired his revolver at the subadar, who fell dead in histracks. 

"A Sepoy close by leveled his musket and fired. Charley fell, and thefellow rushed forward to bayonet him. As he did so I sent a bulletthrough his head, and he fell across Charley. It was a wild fight for aminute or two, and then a few of us made a sudden rush together, cut ourway through the mutineers, and darted through an open window on tothe parade. There were shouts, shots, and screams from the officers'bungalows, and in several places flames were already rising. What becameof the other men I knew not; I made as hard as I could tear for thecolonel's bungalow. Suddenly I came upon a sowar sitting on his horsewatching the rising flames. Before he saw me I was on him, and ran himthrough. I leapt on his horse and galloped down to Gardiner's compound. I saw lots of Sepoys in and around the bungalow, all engaged in looting. I dashed into the compound. 

"'May! May!' I shouted. 'Where are you?'

"I had scarcely spoken before a dark figure rushed out of a clump ofbushes close by with a scream of delight. 

"In an instant she was on the horse before me, and, shooting down acouple of fellows who made a rush at my reins, I dashed out again. Strayshots were fired after us. But fortunately the Sepoys were all busylooting, most of them had laid down their muskets, and no one reallytook up the pursuit. I turned off from the parade ground, dashed downbetween the hedges of two compounds, and in another minute we were inthe open country. 

"Fortunately, the cavalry were all down looting their own lines, or wemust have been overtaken at once. May happily had fainted as I liftedher on to my horse--happily, because the fearful screams that we heardfrom the various bungalows almost drove me mad, and would probably havekilled her, for the poor ladies were all her intimate friends. 

"I rode on for some hours, till I felt quite safe from any immediatepursuit, and then we halted in the shelter of a clump of trees. 

"By this time I had heard May's story. She had felt uneasy at beingalone, but had laughed at herself for being so, until upon her speakingto one of the servants he had answered in a tone of gross insolence, which had astonished her. She at once guessed that there was danger, and the moment that she was alone caught up a large, dark carriage rug, wrapped it round her so as to conceal her white dress, and stole outinto the veranda. The night was dark, and scarcely had she left thehouse than she heard a burst of firing across at the mess house. She atonce ran in among the bushes and crouched there, as she heard the rushof men into the room she had just left. She heard them searching forher, but they were looking for a white dress, and her dark rug savedher. What she must have suffered in the five minutes between the firingof the first shots and my arrival, she only knows. May had spoken butvery little since we started. I believe that she was certain that herfather was dead, although I had given an evasive answer when she askedme; and her terrible sense of loss, added to the horror of that timeof suspense in the garden, had completely stunned her. We waited in thetope until the afternoon, and then set out again. 

"We had gone but a short distance when we saw a body of the rebelcavalry in pursuit. They had no doubt been scouring the countrygenerally, and the discovery was accidental. For a short time wekept away from them, but this could not be for long, as our horse wascarrying double. I made for a sort of ruin I saw at the foot of ahill half a mile away. I did so with no idea of the possibility ofconcealment. My intention was simply to get my back to a rock and tosell my life as dearly as I could, keeping the last two barrels of therevolver for ourselves. Certainly no remembrance of my dream influencedme in any way, and in the wild whirl of excitement I had not given asecond thought to Charley Simmonds' exclamation. As we rode up to theruins only a hundred yards ahead of us, May said:

"'Blow out my brains, Edward; don't let me fall alive into their hands. '

"A shock of remembrance shot across me. The chase, her pale face, thewords, the temple--all my dream rushed into my mind. 

"'We are saved, ' I cried, to her amazement, as we rode into thecourtyard, in whose center a great figure was sitting. 

"I leapt from the horse, snatched the mussuk of water from the saddle, and then hurried May round the idol, between which and the rock behindthere was but just room to get along. 

"Not a doubt entered my mind but that I should find the spring as I haddreamed. Sure enough there was the carving, fresh upon my memory as if Ihad seen it but the day before. I placed my hand on the leaflet withouthesitation, a solid stone moved back, I hurried my amazed companion in, and shut to the stone. I found, and shot to a massive bolt, evidentlyplaced to prevent the door being opened by accident or design whenanyone was in the idol. 

"At first it seemed quite dark, but a faint light streamed in fromabove; we made our way up the stairs, and found that the light camethrough a number of small holes pierced in the upper part of the head, and through still smaller holes lower down, not much larger than a goodsized knitting needle could pass through. These holes, we afterwardsfound, were in the ornaments round the idol's neck. The holes enlargedinside, and enabled us to have a view all round. 

"The mutineers were furious at our disappearance, and for hours searchedabout. Then, saying that we must be hidden somewhere, and that theywould wait till we came out, they proceeded to bivouac in the courtyardof the temple. 

"We passed four terrible days, but on the morning of the fifth a scoutcame in to tell the rebels that a column of British troops marching onDelhi would pass close by the temple. They therefore hastily mounted andgalloped off. 

"Three quarters of an hour later we were safe among our own people. Afortnight afterwards your aunt and I were married. It was no time forceremony then; there were no means of sending her away; no place whereshe could have waited until the time for her mourning for her father wasover. So we were married quietly by one of the chaplains of the troops, and, as your storybooks say, have lived very happily ever after. "

"And how about Mr. Simmonds, uncle? Did he get safe off too?"

"Yes, his dream came as vividly to his mind as mine had done. He crawledto the place where he knew the trapdoor would be, and got into thecellar. Fortunately for him there were plenty of eatables there, and helived there in concealment for a fortnight. After that he crawled out, and found the mutineers had marched for Delhi. He went through a lot, but at last joined us before that city. We often talked over our dreamstogether, and there was no question that we owed our lives to them. Eventhen we did not talk much to other people about them, for there wouldhave been a lot of talk, and inquiry, and questions, and you knowfellows hate that sort of thing. So we held our tongues. Poor Charley'ssilence was sealed a year later at Lucknow, for on the advance with LordClyde he was killed. 

"And now, boys and girls, you must run off to bed. Five minutes more andit will be Christmas Day. 

"So you see, Frank, that although I don't believe in ghosts, I have yetmet with a circumstance which I cannot account for. "

"It is very curious anyhow, uncle, and beats ghost stories into fits. "

"I like it better, certainly, " one of the girls said, "for we can go tobed without being afraid of dreaming about it. "

"Well, you must not talk any more now. Off to bed, off to bed, " ColonelHarley said, "or I shall get into terrible disgrace with your fathersand mothers, who have been looking very gravely at me for the last threequarters of an hour. "

WHITE FACED DICK: A STORY OF PINE TREE GULCH

How Pine Tree Gulch got its name no one knew, for in the early daysevery ravine and hillside was thickly covered with pines. It may be thata tree of exceptional size caught the eye of the first explorer, thathe camped under it, and named the place in its honor; or, maybe, somefallen giant lay in the bottom and hindered the work of the firstprospectors. At any rate, Pine Tree Gulch it was, and the name was asgood as any other. The pine trees were gone now. Cut up for firing, or for the erection of huts, or the construction of sluices, but thehillside was ragged with their stumps. 

The principal camp was at the mouth of the Gulch, where the littlestream, which scarce afforded water sufficient for the cradles in thedry season, but which was a rushing torrent in winter, joined the Yuba. The best ground was at the junction of the streams, and lay, indeed, inthe Yuba Valley rather than in the Gulch. At first most gold had beenfound higher up, but there was here comparatively little depth down tothe bedrock, and as the ground became exhausted the miners moved downtowards the mouth of the Gulch. They were doing well, as a whole, howwell no one knew, for miners are chary of giving information as to whatthey are making; still, it was certain they were doing well, for thebars were doing a roaring trade, and the storekeepers never refusedcredit--a proof in itself that the prospects were good. 

The flat at the mouth of the Gulch was a busy scene, every foot was goodpaying stuff, for in the eddy, where the torrents in winter rushed downinto the Yuba, the gold had settled down and lay thick among the gravel. But most of the parties were sinking, and it was a long way down to thebedrock; for the hills on both sides sloped steeply, and the Yuba musthere at one time have rushed through a narrow gorge, until, in somewild freak, it brought down millions of tons of gravel, and resumed itscourse seventy feet above its former level. 

A quarter of a mile higher up a ledge of rock ran across the valley, andover it in the old time the Yuba had poured in a cascade seventy feetdeep into the ravine. But the rock now was level with the gravel, onlyshowing its jagged points here and there above it. This ledge had beeninvaluable to the diggers: without it they could only have sunk theirshafts with the greatest difficulty, for the gravel would have been fullof water, and even with the greatest pains in puddling and timber workthe pumps would scarcely have sufficed to keep it down as it rose in thebottom of the shafts. But the miners had made common cause together, andgiving each so many ounces of gold or so many days' work had erected adam thirty feet high along the ledge of rock, and had cut a channel forthe Yuba along the lower slopes of the valley. Of course, when the rainset in, as everybody knew, the dam would go, and the river diggings mustbe abandoned till the water subsided and a fresh dam was made; but therewere two months before them yet, and everyone hoped to be down to thebedrock before the water interrupted their work. 

The hillside, both in the Yuba Valley and for some distance along PineTree Gulch, was dotted by shanties and tents; the former constructed forthe most part of logs roughly squared, the walls being some three feetin height, on which the sharp sloping roof was placed, thatched in thefirst place with boughs, and made all snug, perhaps, with an old sailstretched over all. The camp was quiet enough during the day. The fewwomen were away with their washing at the pools, a quarter of a mile upthe Gulch, and the only persons to be seen about were the men told offfor cooking for their respective parties. 

But in the evening the camp was lively. Groups of men in red shirtsand corded trousers tied at the knee, in high boots, sat round blazingfires, and talked of their prospects or discussed the news of theluck at other camps. The sound of music came from two or three plankerections which rose conspicuously above the huts of the diggers, andwere bright externally with the glories of white and colored paints. Toand from these men were always sauntering, and it needed not the clinkof glasses and the sound of music to tell that they were the bars of thecamp. 

Here, standing at the counter, or seated at numerous small tables, menwere drinking villainous liquor, smoking and talking, and paying butscant attention to the strains of the fiddle or the accordion, savewhen some well known air was played, when all would join in a boisterouschorus. Some were always passing in or out of a door which led into aroom behind. Here there was comparative quiet, for men were gambling, and gambling high. 

Going backwards and forwards with liquors into the gambling room of theImperial Saloon, which stood just where Pine Tree Gulch opened into YubaValley, was a lad, whose appearance had earned for him the name of WhiteFaced Dick. 

White Faced Dick was not one of those who had done well at Pine TreeGulch; he had come across the plains with his father, who had diedwhen halfway over, and Dick had been thrown on the world to shiftfor himself. Nature had not intended him for the work, for he was adelicate, timid lad; what spirits he originally had having been yearsbefore beaten out of him by a brutal father. So far, indeed, Dick wasthe better rather than the worse for the event which had left him anorphan. 

They had been traveling with a large party for mutual security againstIndians and Mormons, and so long as the journey lasted Dick had goton fairly well. He was always ready to do odd jobs, and as the draughtcattle were growing weaker and weaker, and every pound of weight was ofimportance, no one grudged him his rations in return for his services;but when the company began to descend the slopes of the Sierra Nevadathey began to break up, going off by twos and threes to the diggings ofwhich they heard such glowing accounts. Some, however, kept straight onto Sacramento, determining there to obtain news as to the doings at allthe different places, and then to choose that which seemed to them tooffer the surest prospects of success. 

Dick proceeded with them to the town, and there found himself alone. Hiscompanions were absorbed in the busy rush of population, and each hadso much to provide and arrange for, that none gave a thought to thesolitary boy. However, at that time no one who had a pair of hands, however feeble, to work need starve in Sacramento, and for some weeksDick hung around the town doing odd jobs, and then having saved a fewdollars, determined to try his luck at the diggings, and started on footwith a shovel on his shoulders and a few days' provisions slung acrossit. 

Arrived at his destination, the lad soon discovered that gold diggingwas hard work for brawny and seasoned men, and after a few feebleattempts in spots abandoned as worthless he gave up the effort, andagain began to drift; and even in Pine Tree Gulch it was not difficultto get a living. At first he tried rocking cradles, but the work wasfar harder than it appeared. He was standing ankle deep in water frommorning till night, and his cheeks grew paler, and his strength, insteadof increasing, seemed to fade away. Still, there were jobs within hisstrength. He could keep a fire alight and watch a cooking pot, he couldcarry up buckets of water or wash a flannel shirt, and so he struggledon, until at last some kind hearted man suggested to him that he shouldtry to get a place at the new saloon which was about to be opened. 

"You are not fit for this work, young 'un, and you ought to be at homewith your mother; if you like I will go up with you this evening toJeffries. I knew him down on the flats, and I dare say he will take youon. I don't say as a saloon is a good place for a boy, still you willalways get your bellyful of victuals and a dry place to sleep in, ifit's only under a table. What do you say?"

Dick thankfully accepted the offer, and on Red George's recommendationwas that evening engaged. His work was not hard now, for till the minersknocked off there was little doing in the saloon; a few men would comein for a drink at dinnertime, but it was not until the lamps were litthat business began in earnest, and then for four or five hours Dick wasbusy. 

A rougher or healthier lad would not have minded the work, but to Dickit was torture; every nerve in his body thrilled whenever rough minerscursed him for not carrying out their orders more quickly, or forbringing them the wrong liquors, which, as his brain was in a whirlwith the noise, the shouting, and the multiplicity of orders, happenedfrequently. He might have fared worse had not Red George always stoodhis friend, and Red George was an authority in Pine Tree Gulch--powerfulin frame, reckless in bearing and temper, he had been in a score offights and had come off them, if not unscathed, at least victorious. Hewas notoriously a lucky digger, but his earnings went as fast as theywere made, and he was always ready to open his belt and give a bountifulpinch of dust to any mate down on his luck. 

One evening Dick was more helpless and confused than usual. The saloonwas full, and he had been shouted at and badgered and cursed until hescarcely knew what he was doing. High play was going on in the saloon, and a good many men were clustered round the table, Red George washaving a run of luck, and there was a big pile of gold dust on the tablebefore him. One of the gamblers who was losing had ordered old rye, and instead of bringing it to him, Dick brought a tumbler of hot liquorwhich someone else had called for. With an oath the man took it up andthrew it in his face. 

"You cowardly hound!" Red George exclaimed. "Are you man enough to dothat to a man?"

"You bet, " the gambler, who was a new arrival at Pine Tree Gulch, replied; and picking up an empty glass, he hurled it at Red George. Thebystanders sprang aside, and in a moment the two men were facingeach other with outstretched pistols. The two reports rung outsimultaneously: Red George sat down unconcernedly with a streak of bloodflowing down his face, where the bullet had cut a furrow in his cheek;the stranger fell back with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. 

The body was carried outside, and the play continued as if nointerruption had taken place. They were accustomed to such occurrencesin Pine Tree Gulch, and the piece of ground at the top of the hill, thathad been set aside as a burial place, was already dotted thickly withgraves, filled in almost every instance by men who had died, in thelocal phraseology, "with their boots on. "

Neither then nor afterwards did Red George allude to the subject toDick, whose life after this signal instance of his championship waseasier than it had hitherto been, for there were few in Pine Tree Gulchwho cared to excite Red George's anger; and strangers going to theplace were sure to receive a friendly warning that it was best for theirhealth to keep their tempers over any shortcomings on the part of WhiteFaced Dick. 

Grateful as he was for Red George's interference on his behalf, Dickfelt the circumstance which had ensued more than anyone else in thecamp. With others it was the subject of five minutes' talk, but Dickcould not get out of his head the thought of the dead man's face as hefell back. He had seen many such frays before, but he was too full ofhis own troubles for them to make much impression upon him. But in thepresent case he felt as if he himself was responsible for the death ofthe gambler; if he had not blundered this would not have happened. 

He wondered whether the dead man had a wife and children, and, if so, were they expecting his return? Would they ever hear where he had died, and how?

But this feeling, which, tired out as he was when the time came forclosing the bar, often prevented him from sleeping for hours, in no waylessened his gratitude and devotion towards Red George, and he felt thathe could die willingly if his life would benefit his champion. Sometimeshe thought, too, that his life would not be much to give, for, in spiteof shelter and food, the cough which he had caught while working in thewater still clung to him, and as his employer said to him angrily oneday:

"Your victuals don't do you no good, Dick; you get thinner and thinner, and folks will think as I starve you. Darned if you aint a disgrace tothe establishment. "

The wind was whistling down the gorges, and the clouds hung among thepine woods which still clothed the upper slopes of the hills, and thediggers, as they turned out one morning, looked up apprehensively. 

"But it could not be, " they assured each other. Everyone knew that therains were not due for another month yet; it could only be a passingshower if it rained at all. 

But as the morning went on, men came in from camps higher up the river, and reports were current that it had been raining for the last two daysamong the upper hills; while those who took the trouble to walk acrossto the new channel could see for themselves at noon that it was filledvery nigh to the brim, the water rushing along with thick and turbidcurrent. But those who repeated the rumors, or who reported that thechannel was full, were summarily put down. Men would not believe thatsuch a calamity as a flood and the destruction of all their season'swork could be impending. There had been some showers, no doubt, as therehad often been before, but it was ridiculous to talk of anything likerain a month before its time. Still, in spite of these assertions, therewas uneasiness at Pine Tree Gulch, and men looked at the driving cloudsabove and shook their heads before they went down to the shafts to workafter dinner. 

When the last customer had left and the bar was closed, Dick had nothingto do till evening, and he wandered outside and sat down on a stump, atfirst looking at the work going on in the valley, then so absorbed inhis own thoughts that he noticed nothing, not even the driving mistwhich presently set in. He was calculating that he had, with his savingsfrom his wages and what had been given him by the miners, laid by eightydollars. When he got another hundred and twenty he would go; he wouldmake his way down to San Francisco, and then by ship to Panama and upto New York, and then west again to the village where he was born. Therewould be people there who would know him, and who would give him workfor his mother's sake. He did not care what it was; anything would bebetter than this. Then his thoughts came back to Pine Tree Gulch, and hestarted to his feet. Could he be mistaken? Were his eyes deceiving him?No; among the stones and boulders of the old bed of the Yuba there wasthe gleam of water, and even as he watched it he could see it wideningout. He started to run down the hill to give the alarm, but before hewas halfway he paused, for there were loud shouts, and a scene of bustleand confusion instantly arose. 

The cradles were deserted, and the men working on the surface loadedthemselves with their tools and made for the high ground, while those atthe windlasses worked their hardest to draw up their comrades below. Aman coming down from above stopped close to Dick, with a low cry, andstood gazing with a white scared face. Dick had worked with him; he wasone of the company to which Red George belonged. 

"What is it, Saunders?"

"My God! they are lost!" the man replied. "I was at the windlass whenthey shouted up to me to go up and fetch them a bottle of rum. They hadjust struck it rich, and wanted a drink on the strength of it. "

Dick understood at once. Red George and his mates were still in thebottom of the shaft, ignorant of the danger which was threatening them. 

"Come on, " he cried; "we shall be in time yet, " and at the top of hisspeed dashed down the hill, followed by Saunders. 

"What is it, what is it?" asked parties of men mounting the hill. 

"Red George's gang are still below. "

Dick's eyes were fixed on the water. There was a broad band now ofyellow with a white edge down the center of the stony flat, and itwas widening with terrible rapidity. It was scarce ten yards from thewindlass at the top of Red George's shaft when Dick, followed closely bySaunders, reached it. 

"Come up, mates; quick, for your lives! The river is rising; you will beflooded out directly. Everyone else has gone!"

As he spoke he pulled at the rope by which the bucket was hanging, andthe handles of the windlass flew round rapidly as it descended. When ithad run out Dick and he grasped the handles. 

"All right below?"

An answering call came up, and the two began their work, throwing theirwhole strength into it. Quickly as the windlass revolved it seemedan endless time to Dick before the bucket came up, and the first manstepped out. It was not Red George. Dick had hardly expected it wouldbe. Red George would be sure to see his two mates up before him, and theman uttered a cry of alarm as he saw the water, now within a few feet ofthe mouth of the shaft. 

It was a torrent now, for not only was it coming through the dam, butit was rushing down in cascades from the new channel. Without a word theminer placed himself facing Dick, and the moment the bucket was againdown, the three grasped the handles. But quickly as they worked, theedge of the water was within a few inches of the shaft when the nextman reached the surface; but again the bucket descended before the ropetightened. However, the water had begun to run over the lip--at first, in a mere trickle, and then, almost instantaneously, in a cascade, whichgrew larger and larger. 

The bucket was halfway up when a sound like thunder was heard, theground seemed to tremble under their feet, and then at the turn of thevalley above, a great wave of yellow water, crested with foam, was seentearing along at the speed of a race horse. 

"The dam has burst!" Saunders shouted. "Run for your lives, or we areall lost!"

The three men dropped the handles and ran at full speed towards theshore, while loud shouts to Dick to follow came from the crowd of menstanding on the slope. But the boy grasped the handles, and with lipstightly closed, still toiled on. Slowly the bucket ascended, for RedGeorge was a heavy man; then suddenly the weight slackened, and thehandle went round faster. The shaft was filling, the water had reachedthe bucket, and had risen to Red George's neck, so that his weight wasno longer on the rope. So fast did the water pour in, that it was nothalf a minute before the bucket reached the surface, and Red Georgesprang out. There was but time for one exclamation, and then the greatwave struck them. Red George was whirled like a straw in the current;but he was a strong swimmer, and at a point where the valley widenedout, half a mile lower, he struggled to shore. 

Two days later the news reached Pine Tree Gulch that a boy's body hadbeen washed ashore twenty miles down, and ten men, headed by Red George, went and brought it solemnly back to Pine Tree Gulch. There among thestumps of pine trees a grave was dug, and there, in the presence of thewhole camp, White Faced Dick was laid to rest. 

Pine Tree Gulch is a solitude now, the trees are growing again, andnone would dream that it was once a busy scene of industry; but if thetraveler searches among the pine trees he will find a stone with thewords:

"Here lies White Faced Dick, who died to save Red George. 'What can aman do more than give his life for a friend?'"

The text was the suggestion of an ex-clergyman working as a miner inPine Tree Gulch. 

Red George worked no more at the diggings, but, after seeing the stonelaid in its place, went east, and with what little money came to himwhen the common fund of the company was divided after the flood on theYuba, bought a small farm, and settled down there; but to the end ofhis life he was never weary of telling those who would listen to it thestory of Pine Tree Gulch. 

A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE

It was early in December that H. M. S. Perseus was cruising offthe mouth of the Canton River. War had been declared with China inconsequence of her continued evasions of the treaty she had made withus, and it was expected that a strong naval force would soon gather tobring her to reason. In the meantime the ships on the station had abusy time of it, chasing the enemy's junks when they ventured to showthemselves beyond the reach of the guns of their forts, and occasionallyhaving a brush with the piratical boats which took advantage of thegeneral confusion to plunder friend as well as foe. 

The Perseus had that afternoon chased two government junks up a creek. The sun had already set when they took refuge there, and the captain didnot care to send his boats after them in the dark, as many of the creeksran up for miles into the flat country; and as they not unfrequentlyhad many arms or branches, the boats might, in the dark, miss the junkaltogether. Orders were issued that four boats should be ready forstarting at daybreak the next morning. The Perseus anchored off themouth of the creek, and two boats were ordered to row backwards andforwards off its mouth all night to insure that the enemy did not slipout in the darkness. 

Jack Fothergill, the senior midshipman, was commanding the gig, and twoof the other midshipmen were going in the pinnace and launch, commandedrespectively by the first lieutenant and the master. The three othermidshipmen of the Perseus were loud in their lamentations that they werenot to take share in the fun. 

"You can't all go, you know, " Fothergill said, "and it's no use making arow about it; the captain has been very good to let three of us go. "

"It's all very well for you, Jack, " Percy Adcock, the youngest of thelads, replied, "because you are one of those chosen; and it is not sohard for Simmons and Linthorpe, because they went the other day in theboat that chased those junks under shelter of the guns of their battery, but I haven't had a chance for ever so long. "

"What fun was there in chasing the junks?" Simmons said. "We never gotnear the brutes till they were close to their battery, and then just asthe first shot came singing from their guns, and we thought that we weregoing to have some excitement, the first lieutenant sung out 'Easy all, 'and there was nothing for it but to turn round and to row for the ship, and a nice hot row it was--two hours and a half in a broiling sun. Ofcourse I am not blaming Oliphant, for the captain's orders were strictthat we were not to try to cut the junks out if they got under the gunsof any of their batteries. Still it was horribly annoying, and I dothink the captain might have remembered what beastly luck we had lasttime, and given us a chance tomorrow. "

"It is clear we could not all go, " Fothergill said, "and naturallyenough the captain chose the three seniors. Besides, if you did have badluck last time, you had your chance, and I don't suppose we shall haveanything more exciting now; these fellows always set fire to their junksand row for the shore directly they see us, after firing a shot or twowildly in our direction. "

"Well, Jack, if you don't expect any fun, " Simmons replied, "perhaps youwouldn't mind telling the first lieutenant you do not care for going, and that I am very anxious to take your place. Perhaps he will be goodenough to allow me to relieve you. "

"A likely thing that!" Fothergill laughed. "No, Tom, I am sorry you arenot going, but you must make the best of it till another chance comes. "

"Don't you think, Jack, " Percy Adcock said to his senior in a coaxingtone later on, "you could manage to smuggle me into the boat with you?"

"Not I, Percy. Suppose you got hurt, what would the captain say then?And firing as wildly as the Chinese do, a shot is just as likely to hityour little carcass as to lodge in one of the sailors. No, you must justmake the best of it, Percy, and I promise you that next time there isa boat expedition, if you are not put in, I will say a good word to thefirst luff for you. "

"That promise is better than nothing, " the boy said; "but I would a dealrather go this time and take my chance next. "

"But you see you can't, Percy, and there's no use talking any more aboutit. I really do not expect there will be any fighting. Two junks wouldhardly make any opposition to the boats of the ship, and I expect weshall be back by nine o'clock with the news that they were well on firebefore we came up. "

Percy Adcock, however, was determined, if possible, to go. He was afavorite among the men, and when he spoke to the bow oar of the gigthe latter promised to do anything he could to aid him to carry out hiswishes. 

"We are to start at daybreak, Tom, so that it will be quite dark whenthe boats are lowered. I will creep into the gig before that and hidemyself as well as I can under your thwart, and all you have got to dois to take no notice of me. When the boat is lowered I think they willhardly make me out from the deck, especially as you will be standing upin the bow holding on with the boat hook till the rest get on board. "

"Well, sir, I will do my best; but if you are caught you must not letout that I knew anything about it. "

"I won't do that, " Percy said. "I don't think there is much chance of mybeing noticed until we get on board the junks, and then they won't knowwhich boat I came off in, and the first lieutenant will be too busy toblow me up. Of course I shall get it when I am on board again, but Idon't mind that so that I see the fun. Besides, I want to send home somethings to my sister, and she will like them all the better if I can tellher I captured them on board some junks we seized and burnt. "

The next morning the crews mustered before daybreak. Percy had alreadytaken his place under the bow thwart of the gig. The davits were swungoverboard, and two men took their places in her as she was lowered downby the falls. As soon as she touched the water the rest of the crewclambered down by the ladder and took their places; then Fothergill tookhis seat in the stern, and the boat pushed off and lay a few lengthsaway from the ship until the heavier boats put off. As soon as they wereunder way Percy crawled out from his hiding place and placed himselfin the bow, where he was sheltered by the body of the oarsmen fromFothergill's sight. Day was just breaking now, but it was still dark onthe water, and the boat rowed very slowly until it became lighter. Percycould just make out the shores of the creek on both sides; they werebut two or three feet above the level of the water, and were evidentlysubmerged at high tide. The creek was about a hundred yards wide, andthe lad could not see far ahead, for it was full of sharp windingsand turnings. Here and there branches joined it, but the boats wereevidently following the main channel. After another half hour's rowingthe first lieutenant suddenly gave the order "Easy all, " and the men, looking over their shoulders, saw a village a quarter of a mile ahead, with the two junks they had chased the night before lying in front ofit. Almost at the same moment a sudden uproar was heard--drums werebeaten and gongs sounded. 

"They are on the lookout for us, " the first lieutenant said. "Mr. Mason, do you keep with me and attack the junk highest up the river; Mr. Bellewand Mr. Fothergill, do you take the one lower down. Row on, men. " Theoars all touched the water together and the four boats leaped forward. In a minute a scattering fire of gingals and matchlocks was opened fromthe junks and the bullets pattered on the water round the boats. Percywas kneeling up in the bow now. As they passed a branch channel three orfour hundred yards from the village, he started and leaped to his feet. 

"There are four or five junks in that passage, Fothergill; they arepoling out. "

The first lieutenant heard the words. 

"Row on, men; let us finish with these craft ahead before the others getout. This must be that piratical village we have heard about, Mr. Mason, as lying up one of these creeks; that accounts for those two junks notgoing higher up. I was surprised at seeing them here, for they mightguess that we should try to get them this morning. Evidently theycalculated on catching us in a trap. "

Percy was delighted at finding that, in the excitement caused by hisnews, the first lieutenant had forgotten to take any notice of hisbeing there without orders, and he returned a defiant nod to the threatconveyed by Fothergill shaking his fist at him. As they neared the junksthe fire of those on board redoubled, and was aided by that of manyvillagers gathered on the bank of the creek. Suddenly from a bank ofrushes four cannons were fired. A ball struck the pinnace, smashing inher side. The other boats gathered hastily round and took her crew onboard, and then dashed at the junks, which were but a hundred yardsdistant. The valor of the Chinese evaporated as they saw the boatsapproaching, and scores of them leaped overboard and swam for shore. 

In another minute the boats were alongside and the crews scrambling upthe sides of the junks. A few Chinamen only attempted to oppose them. These were speedily overcome, and the British had now time to lookround, and saw that six junks crowded with men had issued from the sidecreek and were making towards them. 

"Let the boats tow astern, " the lieutenant ordered. "We should have torun the gantlet of that battery on shore if we were to attack them, andmight lose another boat before we reached their side. We will fight themhere. "

The junks approached, those on board firing their guns, yelling andshouting, while the drums and gongs were furiously beaten. 

"They will find themselves mistaken, Percy, if they think they are goingto frighten us with all that row, " Fothergill said. "You young rascal, how did you get on board the boat without being seen? The captain willbe sure to suspect I had a hand in concealing you. "

The tars were now at work firing the gingals attached to the bulwarksand the matchlocks with which the deck was strewn, at the approachingjunks. As they took steady aim, leaning their pieces on the bulwarks, they did considerable execution among the Chinamen crowded on board thejunks, while the shot of the Chinese, for the most part, whistled faroverhead; but the guns of the shore battery, which had now slewed roundto bear upon them, opened with a better aim, and several shots camecrashing into the sides of the two captured junks. 

"Get ready to board, lads!" Lieutenant Oliphant shouted. "Don't wait forthem to board you, but the moment they come alongside lash their riggingto ours and spring on board them. "

The leading junk was now about twenty yards away, and presently gratedalongside. Half a dozen sailors at once sprang into her rigging withropes, and after lashing the junks together leaped down upon her deck, where Fothergill was leading the gig's crew and some of those rescuedfrom the pinnace, while Mr. Bellew, with another party, had boarded herat the stern. Several of the Chinese fought stoutly, but the greaterpart lost heart at seeing themselves attacked by the "white devils, "instead of, as they expected, overwhelming them by their superiornumbers. Many began at once to jump overboard, and after two or threeminutes' sharp fighting the rest either followed their example or werebeaten below. 

Fothergill looked round. The other junk had been attacked by two of theenemy, one on each side, and the little body of sailors were gathered inher waist, and were defending themselves against an overwhelming numberof the enemy. The other three piratical junks had been carried somewhatup the creek by the tide that was sweeping inward, and could not for themoment take part in the fight. 

"Mr. Oliphant is hard pressed, sir. " He asked the master: "Shall we taketo the boats?"

"That will be the best plan, " Mr. Bellew replied. 

"Quick, lads, get the boats alongside and tumble in; there is not amoment to be lost. "

The crew at once sprang to the boats and rowed to the other junk, whichwas but some thirty yards away. 

The Chinese, absorbed in their contest with the crew of the pinnace, didnot perceive the newcomers until they gained the deck, and with ashout fell furiously upon them. In their surprise and consternation thepirates did not pause to note that they were still five to one superiorin number, but made a precipitate rush for their own vessels. TheEnglish at once took the offensive. The first lieutenant with his partyboarded one, while the newcomers leaped on to the deck of the other. Thepanic which had seized the Chinese was so complete that they attemptedno resistance whatever, but sprang overboard in great numbers and swamto the shore, which was but twenty yards away, and in three minutes theEnglish were in undisputed possession of both vessels. 

"Back again, Mr. Fothergill, or you will lose the craft you captured, "Lieutenant Oliphant said; "they have already cut her free. "

The Chinese, indeed, who had been beaten below by the boarding party, had soon perceived the sudden departure of their captors, and gainingthe deck again had cut the lashings which fastened them to the otherjunk, and were proceeding to hoist their sails. They were too late, however. Almost before the craft had way on her Fothergill and his crewwere alongside. The Chinese did not wait for the attack, but at oncesprang overboard and made for the shore. The other three junks, seeingthe capture of their comrades, had already hoisted their sails and weremaking up the creek. Fothergill dropped an anchor, left four of his menin charge, and rowed back to Mr. Oliphant. 

"What shall we do next, sir?"

"We will give those fellows on shore a lesson, and silence theirbattery. Two men have been killed since you left. We must let the otherjunks go for the present. Four of my men were killed and eleven woundedbefore Mr. Bellew and you came to our assistance. The Chinese werefighting pluckily up to that time, and it would have gone very hard withus if you had not been at hand; the beggars will fight when they thinkthey have got it all their own way. But before we land we will set fireto the five junks we have taken. Do you return and see that the twoastern are well lighted, Mr. Fothergill; Mr. Mason will see to thesethree. When you have done your work take to your boat and lay off till Ijoin you; keep the junks between you and the shore, to protect you fromthe fire of the rascals. "

"I cannot come with you, I suppose, Fothergill?" Percy Adcock said, asthe midshipman was about to descend into his boat again. 

"Yes, come along, Percy. It doesn't matter what you do now. The captainwill be so pleased when he hears that we have captured and burnt fivejunks, that you will get off with a very light wigging, I imagine. "

"That's just what I was thinking, Jack. Has it not been fun?"

"You wouldn't have thought it fun if you had got one of those matchlockballs in your body. There are a good many of our poor fellows just atthe present moment who do not see anything funny in the affair at all. Here we are; clamber up. "

The crew soon set to work under Fothergill's orders. The sails were cutoff the masts and thrown down into the hold; bamboos, of which therewere an abundance down there, were heaped over them, a barrel of oil waspoured over the mass, and the fire then applied. 

"That will do, lads. Now take to your boats and let's make a bonfire ofthe other junk. "

In ten minutes both vessels were a sheet of flame, and the boat waslying a short distance from them waiting for further operations. Theinhabitants of the village, furious at the failure of the plan which hadbeen laid for the destruction of the "white devils, " kept up a constantfusillade, which, however, did no harm, for the gig was completelysheltered by the burning junks close to her from their missiles. 

"There go the others!" Percy exclaimed after a minute or two, as threecolumns of smoke arose simultaneously from the other junks, and thesailors were seen dropping into their boats alongside. 

The killed and wounded were placed in the other gig with four sailorsin charge. They were directed to keep under shelter of the junks untilrejoined by the pinnace and Fothergill's gig, after these had done theirwork on shore. 

When all was ready the first lieutenant raised his hand as a signal, andthe two boats dashed between the burning junks and rowed for the shore. Such of the natives as had their weapons charged fired a hasty volley, and then, as the sailors leapt from their boats, took to their heels. 

"Mr. Fothergill, take your party into the village and set fire to thehouses; shoot down every man you see. This place is a nest of pirates. Iwill capture that battery and then join you. "

Fothergill and his sailors at once entered the village. The men hadalready fled; the women were turned out of the houses, and thesewere immediately set on fire. The tars regarded the whole affair as aglorious joke, and raced from house to house, making a hasty search ineach for concealed valuables before setting it on fire. In a short timethe whole village was in a blaze. 

"There is a house there, standing in that little grove a hundred yardsaway, " Percy said. 

"It looks like a temple, " Fothergill replied. "However, we will have alook at it. " And calling two sailors to accompany him, he started at arun towards it, Percy keeping by his side. 

"It is a temple, " Fothergill said when they approached it. "Still, wewill have a look at it, but we won't burn it; it will be as well torespect the religion, even of a set of piratical scoundrels like these. "

At the head of his men he rushed in at the entrance. There was a blazeof fire as half a dozen muskets were discharged in their faces. One ofthe sailors dropped dead, and before the others had time to realize whathad happened they were beaten to the ground by a storm of blows fromswords and other weapons. 

A heavy blow crashed down on Percy's head, and he fell insensible evenbefore he realized what had occurred. 

When he recovered, his first sensation was that of a vague wonder as towhat had happened to him. He seemed to be in darkness and unable to movehand or foot. He was compressed in some way that he could not at firstunderstand, and was being bumped and jolted in an extraordinary manner. It was some little time before he could understand the situation. Hefirst remembered the fight with the junks, then he recalled thelanding and burning the village; then, as his brain cleared, came therecollection of his start with Fothergill for the temple among thetrees, his arrival there, and a loud report and flash of fire. 

"I must have been knocked down and stunned, " he said to himself, "andI suppose I am a prisoner now to these brutes, and one of them must becarrying me on his back. "

Yes, he could understand it all now. His hands and his feet were tied, ropes were passed round his body in every direction, and he was fastenedback to back upon the shoulders of a Chinaman. Percy remembered thetales he had heard of the imprisonment and torture of those who fellinto the hands of the Chinese, and he bitterly regretted that he had notbeen killed instead of stunned in the surprise of the temple. 

"It would have been just the same feeling, " he said to himself, "andthere would have been an end of it. Now there is no saying what is goingto happen. I wonder whether Jack was killed, and the sailors. "

Presently there was a jabber of voices; the motion ceased. Percy couldfeel that the cords were being unwound, and he was dropped on to hisfeet; then the cloth was removed from his head, and he could lookaround. 

A dozen Chinese, armed with matchlocks and bristling with swords anddaggers, stood around, and among them, bound like himself and gagged bya piece of bamboo forced lengthways across his mouth and kept therewith a string going round the back of the head, stood Fothergill. He wasbleeding from several cuts in the head. Percy's heart gave a bound ofjoy at finding that he was not alone; then he tried to feel sorry thatJack had not escaped, but failed to do so, although he told himself thathis comrade's presence would not in any way alleviate the fate whichwas certain to befall him. Still the thought of companionship, even inwretchedness, and perhaps a vague hope that Jack, with his energy andspirit, might contrive some way for their escape, cheered him up. 

As Percy, too, was gagged, no word could be exchanged by the midshipmen, but they nodded to each other. They were now put side by side and madeto walk in the center of their captors. On the way they passed throughseveral villages, whose inhabitants poured out to gaze at the captives, but the men in charge of them were evidently not disposed to delay, as they passed through without a stop. At last they halted before twocottages standing by themselves, thrust the prisoners into a small room, removed their gags, and left them entirely to themselves. 

"Well, Percy, my boy, so they caught you too? I am awfully sorry. Itwas my fault for going with only two men into that temple, but as thevillage had been deserted and scarcely a man was found there, it neverentered my mind that there might be a party in the temple. "

"Of course not, Jack; it was a surprise altogether. I don't knowanything about it, for I was knocked down, I suppose, just as we wentin, and the first thing I knew about it was that I was being carried onthe back of one of those fellows. I thought it was awful at first, but Idon't seem to mind so much now you are with me. "

"It is a comfort to have someone to speak to, " Jack said, "yet I wishyou were not here, Percy; I can't do you any good, and I shall nevercease blaming myself for having brought you into this scrape. I don'tknow much more about the affair than you do. The guns were fired soclose to us that my face was scorched with one of them, and almost atthe same instant I got a lick across my cheek with a sword. I had justtime to hit at one of them, and then almost at the same moment I got twoor three other blows, and down I went; they threw themselves on thetop of me and tied and gagged me in no time. Then I was tied to a longbamboo, and two fellows put the ends on their shoulders and went offwith me through the fields. Of course I was face downwards, and did notknow you were with us till they stopped and loosed me from the bambooand set me on my feet. "

"But what are they going to do with us, do you think, Jack?"

"I should say they are going to take us to Canton and claim a reward forour capture, and there I suppose they will cut off our heads or saw usin two, or put us to some other unpleasant kind of death. I expect theyare discussing it now; do you hear what a jabber they are kicking up?"

Voices were indeed heard raised in angry altercation in the next room. After a time the din subsided and the conversation appeared to take amore amiable turn. 

"I suppose they have settled it as far as they are concerned, " Jacksaid; "anyhow, you may be quite sure they mean to make something out ofus. If they hadn't they would have finished us at once, for they musthave been furious at the destruction of their junks and village. As tothe idea that mercy has anything to do with it, we may as well put itout of our minds. The Chinaman, at the best of times, has no feeling ofpity in his nature, and after their defeat it is certain they would havekilled us at once had they not hoped to do better by us. If they hadbeen Indians I should have said they had carried us off to enjoy thesatisfaction of torturing us, but I don't suppose it is that with them. "

"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away?" Percy asked, after a pause. 

"I should say not the least in the world, Percy. My hands are fastenedso tight now that the ropes seem cutting into my wrists, and after theyhad set me on my feet and cut the cords of my legs I could scarcelystand at first, my feet were so numbed by the pressure. However, we mustkeep up our pluck. Possibly they may keep us at Canton for a bit, andif they do the squadron may arrive and fight its way past the forts andtake the city before they have quite made up their minds as to what kindof death will be most appropriate to the occasion. I wonder what theyare doing now? They seem to be chopping sticks. "

"I wish they would give us some water, " Percy said. "I am frightfullythirsty. "

"And so am I, Percy; there is one comfort, they won't let us die ofthirst, they could get no satisfaction out of our deaths now. "

Two hours later some of the Chinese re-entered the room and led thecaptives outside, and the lads then saw what was the meaning of thenoise they had heard. A cage had been manufactured of strong bamboos. Itwas about four and a half feet long, four feet wide, and less than threefeet high; above it was fastened two long bamboos. Two or three of thebars of the cage had been left open. 

"My goodness! they never intend to put us in there, " Percy exclaimed. 

"That they do, " Jack said. "They are going to carry us the rest of theway. "

The cords which bound the prisoners' hands were now cut, and they weremotioned to crawl into the cage. This they did; the bars were then putin their places and securely lashed. Four men went to the ends of thepoles and lifted the cage upon their shoulders; two others took theirplaces beside it, and one man, apparently the leader of the party, walked on ahead; the rest remained behind. 

"I never quite realized what a fowl felt in a coop before, " Jack said, "but if its sensations are at all like mine they must be decidedlyunpleasant. It isn't high enough to sit upright in, it is nothing likelong enough to lie down, and as to getting out one might as well thinkof flying. Do you know, Percy, I don't think they mean taking us toCanton at all. I did not think of it before, but from the direction ofthe sun I feel sure that we cannot have been going that way. What theyare up to I can't imagine. "

In an hour they came to a large village. Here the cage was set down andthe villagers closed round. They were, however, kept a short distancefrom the cage by the men in charge of it. Then a wooden platter wasplaced on the ground, and persons throwing a few copper coins into thiswere allowed to come near the cage. 

"They are making a show of us!" Fothergill exclaimed. "That's what theyare up to, you see if it isn't; they are going to travel up country toshow the 'white devils' whom their valor has captured. "

This was, indeed, the purpose of the pirates. At that time Europeansseldom ventured beyond the limits assigned to them in the two or threetowns where they were permitted to trade, and few, indeed, of thecountry people had ever obtained a sight of the white barbarians ofwhose doings they had so frequently heard. Consequently a small crowdsoon gathered round the cage, eyeing the captives with the same interestthey would have felt as to unknown and dangerous beasts; they laughedand joked, passed remarks upon them, and even poked them with sticks. Fothergill, furious at this treatment, caught one of the sticks, andwrenching it from the hands of the Chinaman tried to strike at himthrough the bars, a proceeding which excited shouts of laughter from thebystanders. 

"I think, Jack, " Percy said, "it will be best to try and keep ourtempers and not to seem to mind what they do to us, then if they findthey can't get any fun out of us they will soon leave us alone. "

"Of course, that's the best plan, " Fothergill agreed, "but it's not soeasy to follow. That fellow very nearly poked out my eye with his stick, and no one's going to stand that if he can help it. "

It was some hours before the curiosity of the village was satisfied. When all had paid who were likely to do so, the guards broke up theircircle, and leaving two of their number at the cage to see that noactual harm was caused to their prisoners, the rest went off to arefreshment house. The place of the elders was now taken by the boysand children of the village, who crowded round the cage, prodded theprisoners with sticks, and, putting their hands through the bars, pulledtheir ears and hair. This amusement, however, was brought to an abruptconclusion by Fothergill suddenly seizing the wrist of a big boy andpulling his arm through the cage until his face was against the bars;then he proceeded to punch him until the guard, coming to his rescue, poked Fothergill with his stick until he released his hold. 

The punishment of their comrade excited neither anger nor resentmentamong the other boys, who yelled with delight at his discomfiture, but it made them more careful in approaching the cage, and though theycontinued to poke the prisoners with sticks they did not venture againto thrust a hand through the bars. At sunset the guards again cameround, lifted the cage and carried it into a shed. A platter of dirtyrice and a jug of water were put into the cage; two of the men lightedtheir long pipes and sat down on guard beside it, and, the doors beingclosed, the captives were left in peace. 

"If this sort of thing is to go on, as I suppose it is, " Fothergillsaid, "the sooner they cut off our heads the better. "

"It is very bad, Jack. I am sore all over with those probes from theirsharp sticks. "

"I don't care for the pain, Percy, so much as the humiliation of thething. To be stared at and poked at as if we were wild beasts by thesecurs, when with half a dozen of our men we could send a hundred of themscampering, I feel as if I could choke with rage. "

"You had better try and eat some of this rice, Jack. It is beastly, butI dare say we shall get no more until tomorrow night, and we must keepup our strength if we can. At any rate, the water is not bad, that's acomfort. "

"No thanks to them, " Jack growled. "If there had been any bad water inthe neighborhood they would have given it to us. "

For two weeks the sufferings of the prisoners continued. Their captorsavoided towns where the authorities would probably at once have takenthe prisoners out of their hands. No one would have recognized thetwo captives as the midshipmen of the Perseus; their clothes were inrags--torn to pieces by the thrusts of the sharp pointed bamboos, towhich they had daily been subjected--the bad food, the cramped position, and the misery which they suffered had worn both lads to skeletons;their hair was matted with filth, their faces begrimed with dirt. Percywas so weak that he felt he could not stand. Fothergill, being threeyears older, was less exhausted, but he knew that he, too, could notsupport his sufferings for many days longer. Their bodies were coveredwith sores, and try as they would they were able to catch only a fewminutes' sleep at a time so much did the bamboo bars hurt their wastedlimbs. 

They seldom exchanged a word during the daytime, suffering in silencethe persecutions to which they were exposed, but at night they talkedover their homes and friends in England, and their comrades on boardship, seldom saying a word as to their present position. They were nowin a hilly country, but had not the least idea of the direction in whichit lay from Canton or its distance from the coast. 

One evening Jack said to his companion, "I think it's nearly all overnow, Percy. The last two days we have made longer journeys, and have notstopped at any of the smaller villages we passed through. I fancy ourguards must see that we can't last much longer, and are taking us downto some town to hand us over to the authorities and get their reward forus. "

"I hope it is so, Jack; the sooner the better. Not that it makes muchdifference now to me, for I do not think I can stand many more days ofit. "

"I am afraid I am tougher than you, Percy, and shall take longer tokill, so I hope with all my heart that I may be right, and that they maybe going to give us up to the authorities. "

The next evening they stopped at a large place, and were subjected tothe usual persecution; this, however, was now less prolonged than duringthe early days of their captivity, for they had now no longer strengthor spirits to resent their treatment, and as no fun was to be obtainedfrom passive victims, even the village boys soon ceased to find anyamusement in tormenting them. 

When most of their visitors had left them, an elderly Chinamanapproached the side of the cage. He spoke to their guard and looked atthem attentively for some minutes, then he said in pigeon English, "Youofficer men?"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, starting at the sound of the English words, thefirst they had heard spoken since their captivity. "Yes, we are officersof the Perseus. "

"Me speeke English velly well, " the Chinaman said; "me pilot man manyyears on Canton River. How you get here?"

"We were attacking some piratical junks, and landed to destroy thevillage where the people were firing on us. We entered a place full ofpirates, and were knocked down and taken prisoners and carried away upthe country; that is six weeks ago, and you see what we are now. "

"Pirate men velly bad, " the Chinaman said; "plunder many junk on riverand kill crew. Me muchee hate them. "

"Can you do anything for us?" Jack asked. "You will be well rewarded ifyou could manage to get us free. "

The man shook his head. 

"Me no see what can do, me stranger here; come to stay with wifey;people no do what me ask them. English ships attack Canton, much fightand take town, people all hate English. Bad country dis. People in onevillage fight against another. Velly bad men here. "

"How far is Canton away?" Jack asked. "Could you not send down to tellthe English we are here?"

"Fourteen days' journey off, " the man said; "no see how can doanything. "

"Well, " Jack said, "when you get back again to Canton let our peopleknow what has been the end of us; we shall not last much longer. "

"All light, " the man said; "will see what me can do. Muchee thinktonight!"

And after saying a few words to the guards, who had been regarding thisconversation with an air of surprise, the Chinaman retired. 

The guards had for some time abandoned the precaution of sitting up atnight by the cage, convinced that their captives had no longer strengthto attempt to break through its fastenings or to drag themselves manyyards away if they could do so. They therefore left it standing in theopen, and, wrapping themselves in their thickly wadded coats, for thenights were cold, lay down by the side of the cage. 

The coolness of the nights had, indeed, assisted to keep the twoprisoners alive. During the day the sun was excessively hot, and thecrowd of visitors round the cage impeded the circulation of the air andadded to their sufferings. It was true that the cold at night frequentlyprevented them from sleeping, but it acted as a tonic and braced themup. 

"What did he mean about the villages attacking each other?" Percy asked. 

"I have heard, " Jack replied, "that in some parts of China things arevery much the same as they used to be in the highlands of Scotland. There is no law or order. The different villages are like clans, andwage war on each other. Sometimes the government sends a number oftroops, who put the thing down for a time, chop off a good many heads, and then march away, and the whole work begins again as soon as theirbacks are turned. "

That night the uneasy slumber of the lads was disturbed by a suddenfiring; shouts and yells were heard, and the firing redoubled. "Thevillage is attacked, " Jack said. "I noticed that, like some other placeswe have come into lately, there is a strong earthen wall round it, withgates. Well, there is one comfort--it does not make much difference tous which side wins. "

The guards at the first alarm leaped to their feet, caught up theirmatchlocks, and ran to aid in the defense of the wall. Two minutes latera man ran up to the cage. 

"All lightee, " he said; "just what me hopee. "

With his knife he cut the tough withes that held the bamboos in theirplaces, and pulled out three of the bars. 

"Come along, " he said; "no time to lose. "

Jack scrambled out, but in trying to stand upright gave a sharpexclamation of pain. Percy crawled out more slowly; he tried to standup, but could not. The Chinaman caught him up and threw him on hisshoulder. 

"Come along quickee, " he said to Jack; "if takee village, kill evelyone. " He set off at a run. Jack followed as fast as he could, groaningat every step from the pain the movement caused to his bruised body. 

They went to the side of the village opposite to that at which theattack was going on. They met no one on the way, the inhabitants havingall rushed to the other side to repel the attack. They stopped at asmall gate in the wall, the Chinaman drew back the bolts and opened it, and they passed out into the country. For an hour they kept on. By theend of that time Jack could scarcely drag his limbs along. The Chinamanhalted at length in a clump of trees surrounded by a thick undergrowth. 

"Allee safee here, " he said, "no searchee so far; here food, " and heproduced from a wallet a cold chicken and some boiled rice, and unslungfrom his shoulder a gourd filled with cold tea. 

"Me go back now, see what happen. Tomollow nightee come again--bringeemore food. " And without another word went off at a rapid pace. 

Jack moistened his lips with the tea, and then turned to his companion. Percy had not spoken a word since he had been released from the cage, and had been insensible during the greater part of his journey. Jackpoured some cold tea between his lips. 

"Cheer up, Percy, old boy, we are free now, and with luck and that goodfellow's help we will work our way down to Canton yet. "

"I shall never get down there; you may, " Percy said feebly. 

"Oh, nonsense, you will pick up strength like a steam engine now. Here, let me prop you against this tree. That's better. Now drink a dropof this tea; it's like nectar after that filthy water we have beendrinking. Now you will feel better. Now you must try and eat a littleof this chicken and rice. Oh, nonsense, you have got to do it. I am notgoing to let you give way when our trouble is just over. Think of yourpeople at home, Percy, and make an effort for their sakes. Good Heavens!now I think of it, it must be Christmas morning. We were caught on the2d and we have been just twenty-two days on show. I am sure that itmust be past twelve o'clock, and it is Christmas Day. It is a good omen, Percy. This food isn't like roast beef and plum pudding, but it's not tobe despised. I can tell you. Come, fire away, that's a good fellow. "

Percy made an effort and ate a few mouthfuls of rice and chicken, thenhe took another draught of tea, and lay down, and was almost immediatelyasleep. 

Jack ate his food slowly and contentedly till he finished halfthe supply, then he, too, lay down, and after a short but heartythanksgiving for his escape from a slow and lingering death, he too, fell off to sleep. The sun was rising when he woke, being aroused by aslight movement on the part of Percy; he opened his eyes and sat up. 

"Well, Percy, how do you feel this morning?" he asked cheerily. 

"I feel too weak to move, " Percy replied languidly. 

"Oh, you will be all right when you have sat up and eaten breakfast, "Jack said. "Here you are; here is a wing for you, and this rice is aswhite as snow, and the tea is first rate. I thought last night after Ilay down that I heard a murmur of water, so after we have had breakfastI will look about and see if I can find it. We should feel like new menafter a wash. You look awful, and I am sure I am just as bad. "

The thought of a wash inspirited Percy far more than that of eating, and he sat up and made a great effort to do justice to breakfast. Hesucceeded much better than he had done the night before, and Jack, although he pretended to grumble, was satisfied with his companion'sprogress, and finished off the rest of the food. Then he set out tosearch for water. He had not very far to go; a tiny stream, two feetwide and several inches deep, ran through the wood from the higherground. After throwing himself down and taking a drink, he hurried backto Percy. 

"It is all right, Percy, I have found it. We can wash to our hearts'content; think of that, lad. "

Percy could hardly stand, but he made an effort, and Jack half carriedhim to the streamlet. There the lads spent two hours. First they bathedtheir heads and hands, and then, stripping, lay down in the stream andallowed it to flow over them, then they rubbed themselves with handfulsof leaves dipped in the water, and when they at last put on their ragsagain felt like new men. Percy was able to walk back to the spot theyhad quitted with the assistance only of Jack's arm. The latter, feelingthat his breakfast had by no means appeased his hunger, now started fora search through the wood, and presently returned to Percy laden withnuts and berries. 

"The nuts are sure to be all right; I expect the berries are too. I havecertainly seen some like them in native markets, and I think it will bequite safe to risk it. "

The rest of the day was spent in picking nuts and eating them. Then theysat down and waited for the arrival of their friend. He came two hoursafter nightfall with a wallet stored with provisions, and told them thathe had regained the village unobserved. The attack had been repulsed, but with severe loss to the defenders as well as the assailants; twoof their guards had been among the killed. The others had made a greatclamor over the escape of the prisoners, and had made a close searchthroughout the village and immediately round it, for they were convincedthat their captives had not had the strength to go any distance. He thought, however, that although they had professed the greatestindignation, and had offered many threats as to the vengeance thatgovernment would take upon the village, one of whose inhabitants, atleast, must have aided in the evasion of the prisoners, they would nottrouble themselves any further in the matter. They had already reaped arich harvest from the exhibition, and would divide among themselves theshare of their late comrades; nor was it at all improbable that if theywere to report the matter to the authorities they would themselvesget into serious trouble for not having handed over the prisonersimmediately after their capture. 

For a fortnight the pilot nursed and fed the two midshipmen. He hadalready provided them with native clothes, so that if by chance anyvillagers should catch sight of them they would not recognize them asthe escaped white men. At the end of that time both the lads had almostrecovered from the effects of their sufferings. Jack, indeed, had pickedup from the first, but Percy for some days continued so weak and illthat Jack had feared that he was going to have an attack of fever ofsome kind. His companion's cheery and hopeful chat did as much good forPercy as the nourishing food with which their friend supplied them, andat the end of the fortnight he declared that he felt sufficiently strongto attempt to make his way down to the coast. 

The pilot acted as their guide. When they inquired about his wife, hetold them carelessly that she would remain with her kinsfolk, and wouldtravel on to Canton and join him there when she found an opportunity. The journey was accomplished at night, by very short stages at first, but by increasing distances as Percy gained strength. During the daytimethe lads lay hid in woods or jungles, while their companion went intothe village and purchased food. They struck the river many miles aboveCanton, and the pilot, going down first to a village on its banks, bargained for a boat to take him and two women down to the city. 

The lads went on board at night and took their places in the littlecabin formed of bamboos and covered with mats in the stern of the boat, and remained thus sheltered not only from the view of people in boatspassing up or down the stream, but from the eyes of their own boatmen. 

After two days' journey down the river without incident, they arrivedoff Canton, where the British fleet was still lying while negotiationsfor peace were being carried on with the authorities at Pekin. Peepingout between the mats, the lads caught sight of the English warships, and, knowing that there was now no danger, they dashed out of the cabin, to the surprise of the native boatmen, and shouted and waved their armsto the distant ships. 

In ten minutes they were alongside the Perseus, when they were hailed asif restored from the dead. The pilot was very handsomely rewarded by theEnglish authorities for his kindness to the prisoners, and was highlysatisfied with the result of his proceedings, which more than doubledthe little capital with which he had retired from business. JackFothergill and Percy Adcock declare that they have never since eatenchicken without thinking of their Christmas fare on the morning of theirescape from the hands of the Chinese pirates. 

THE END.