he nerves of the adventurers were so shaken by the vicissitudes of
their day's adventure that they found it impossible to obtain sound and
refreshing sleep that night, notwithstanding their terrible fatigue;
their slumbers were broken by horrible dreams, and further disturbed by
the cries of wild beasts of various descriptions which kept the forest
in a perfect uproar the whole night long. So great, indeed, was the
disturbance from the latter cause, that, on comparing notes over the
breakfast table next morning, the party came to the conclusion that they
must be in a district literally swarming with big game, and that it
might be worth their while to spend a few days there hunting. This they
did; with such success that their stay was prolonged for nearly a month,
by which time they had collected such a quantity of skins, horns, tusks,
skulls, and other trophies of the chase that even they, inveterate
sportsmen as they were, acknowledged themselves satisfied. The
professor, meanwhile, had devoted himself enthusiastically to the
forming of a collection of rare birds, beetles, and butterflies, in
which pursuit he had been fully as successful as his companions in
theirs; so that when the time came for them to leave this delightful
spot they did so in the highest possible state of health and spirits;
the remembrance of their ugly adventure on Everest disturbing them no
more than would the memory of a troublesome dream.

Their next destination was the island of Borneo; and they arranged their
departure so as to pass over Calcutta and enter the Bay of Bengal during
the hours of darkness, their intention being to make the latter part of
the trip by water rather than by air.

They descended to the surface of the sea at daylight, the land being at
that time invisible from the elevation of ten thousand feet at which
they had been travelling during the night. Not a sail of any
description was in sight; the sparkling sea was only moderately ruffled
by the north-east monsoon; and appearances seemed to warrant a belief
that the passage would be a thoroughly pleasant one. The travellers
were in no hurry whatever, and they were, moreover, longing for a sniff
of the good wholesome sea-breeze; the _Flying Fish_ therefore proceeded
very leisurely on her course, her engines revolving dead slow, which
gave her a speed of about sixteen knots through the water.

They proceeded thus during the whole of that day and the succeeding
night,