large quantities in the
earth, if we can discover any. The Malays called it _dammar_, and use
it largely for torches. It strikes me that we could turn it into a
splendid varnish, seeing what a hard resinous substance it is. Ebo
would have found some very soon, I have no doubt."

"Then I must find some without him, uncle," I said. "I shall go hunting
for it whenever I am not busy boat-building."

He smiled at my enthusiasm, and after examining the skins to see that
they were all dry and free from attacks of ants, we each took a hatchet
and our guns, and proceeded along by the side of the shore in search of
a stout straight tree that should combine the qualities of being light,
strong, easy to work, and growing near the sea.

We quite came to the conclusion that we should have a great deal of
labour, and only learn by experience which kind of tree would be
suitable, perhaps having to cut down several before we found one that
would do.

"And that will be bad, uncle," I said.

"It will cause us a great deal of labour, Nat," he replied smiling; "but
it will make us handy with our hatchets."

"I did not mean that, uncle," I replied; "I was thinking of savages
coming in this direction and seeing the chips and cut-down trees."

"To be sure, Nat, you are right. That will be bad; but as we are cut
off so from the rest of the island, we must be hopeful that we may get
our work done before they come."

We spent four days hunting about before we found a tree that possessed
all the qualities we required. We found dozens that would have done,
only they were far away from the shore, where it would have been very
difficult to move our boat afterwards to the water's edge.

But the tree we selected offered us a thick straight stem twenty feet
long, and it was so placed that the land sloped easily towards the sea,
and it was sufficiently removed from the beach for us to go on with our
work unseen.

We set to at once to cut it down, finding to our great delight as soon
as we were through the bark that the wood was firm and fibrous, and yet
easy to cut, so that after six hours' steady chopping we had made a big
gap in the side, when we were obliged to leave off because it was dark.

We worked the next day and the next, and then my uncle leaned against it
while I gave a few more cuts, and down it went with a crash amongst the
other trees, to be ready for working up into the shape we required.

Next morning as soon as it wa