. I tell you what it is, sir, you would
not have felt more pleased than I do if you had been made an admiral."

"But the man is dying fast, Bolter," said Major Sandars.

"Dying, sir? why he has been dying fast all day."

"Then is not this rather unseemly before ladies?" said Captain Horton.

"Unseemly? Before ladies?" said the doctor in a puzzled way. "Why,
can't you see for yourselves? Ha, ha, ha!" he said, laughing softly.
"Don't you see the remedies have beaten the poison. There's a
delightful sleep he has dropped into."

"Sleep?" exclaimed Miss Linton.

"To be sure, my dear. Look what a lovely perspiration is coming out on
his forehead. There, come away, and let him sleep. He'll be nearly
well by to-morrow morning."

Bob Roberts leaped up from the deck, as if sent by a sling, made a dash
at Ensign Long, swung him round, indulged in a kind of war dance
indicative of triumph; then looked extremely ashamed of himself, and
dashed off into the gun-room to spread the news that the doctor had
saved Gray's life.

"That's not a bad sort of boy," said the doctor, looking after Bob; and
then, as Ensign Long raised his chin in the air, and looked very
dignified, "tell you what Sandars, if I were you I'd get Captain Horton
to make a swop. Let's give him Tom Long in exchange for the middy.
What do you say?"

Tom Long marched off, looking very much disgusted; and Sergeant Lund
having been summoned to bring a file to watch by the sick man, the much
relieved party went down to dinner.

CHAPTER FIVE.

UP THE PARANG RIVER.

That evening the anchor was dropped off the mouth of the Parang river;
and as the night closed in all eyes were directed to the thickly-wooded
country on each side of the stream, whose banks were hidden by the dense
growth of mangrove trees, which, now that the tide was up, seemed to be
growing right out of the water, which those on board could see through
their glasses to be smoothly flowing amidst the stems.

Further inland tall columnar nipah palms could be seen fringing the
tidal way, and apparently growing amidst the mangroves, with the water
washing their roots.

Dense green vegetation, and a broad flowing muddy river--that was all
that greeted the eyes of the eager lookers-on, till darkness set in.
Not a trace of town or village, not even a fisherman's hut or a boat.
All was vegetation and the flowing river.

Once Bob Roberts thought he saw a boat coming down the stream, and i