f battle already kindling in his eyes. "It will be a saving of
time in the long run."

"I certainly think so," said I. "Now, my man, heave ahead with your
yarn."

"Well, sir," resumed the man, "we shoved off from the ship's side--
three-and-twenty of us, as you know--but, beg pardon, sir, I forgot--you
wasn't on deck--"

"Never mind about that, my lad," interrupted I; "go ahead as quickly as
possible. You shoved off from the ship and pulled away into the river.
What happened then?"

"Nothin' at all, sir," was the reply. "We just pulled into the river,
and as soon as we was fairly inside we started to look round for a spot
where we could get ashore; but, try where we would, we couldn't find
nothin' but soft mud that wouldn't have bore the weight of a cat, much
less of a man. But while we was huntin' for a place we came across a
narrer creek, just wide enough for us to pull into; and Tonkin up's
hellum and says as we'll try in there. So we pulled along for a matter
of nigh upon a mile, when all at once the creek comes to an end, and we
find the boat's nose jammed in among a lot of mangrove roots. Then pore
Jim Nesbitt ups and volunteers to try and scramble along the mangroves
and see if he can find a spot firm enough for us to land upon; and when
he'd been gone about a quarter of a hour he comes back again and says
he've found a place. So, actin' upon Tonkin's orders, each one of us
grabs a fowl, or a bottle, or what not, and away we goes in pore Jim's
wake; and presently out we comes at a place where the mangroves stopped
and the bush began, and where the mud was hard and firm enough to walk
upon, and a little later we comes upon a sort of path through the bush,
follerin' which we presently comes into a little open space where there
was nothin' but grass, with big trees growin' all round it, and there we
brought ourselves to an anchor, and cried `Spell ho!'

"Then we had some grub and a drop or two of grog, and a smoke, and then
some of us stretched out on the grass to have a snooze; but the ants and
creepin' things was that wishious and perseverin' that we couldn't lie
still for two minutes on end; so we all gets up and starts huntin' for
fruit. But the only fruit we could find was cokernuts, and they was to
be had, as many as we wanted, just for the trouble of shinnin' up the
trees. So we ate nuts and drank the milk--with just a dash of rum in it
now and again--until we didn't want any more; and then we