stairs.

What did it all mean, and where was Doctor Kingsmead? He knew that
Bostock was forward in the galley, for the black had pointed there when
he asked, and the thing to do now was to go and find him to hear the
worst.

Just then, like a flash, came the recollection of the two reports he had
heard that morning when he was on the sands, and he began to wonder
whether that was in any way connected with what had happened.

And now he tried to rise and get up on deck, but at the first movement
the sick feeling came back, and he leaned back to let it pass off.

As he sat there, there was a burst of laughing from the blacks--a sound
so full of careless, boyish merriment that it cheered him with the
thought that perhaps, after all, nothing very serious was the matter.

He made another effort, and stood up to take a step or two, with the
sick feeling passing off as he once more listened to the laughter of the
blacks.

And now a fresh thought came to him; he must not let the blacks see that
he was suffering, or they might look down upon him with contempt, so
that he would perhaps lose the high position he had won in their
estimation.

This seemed to give him strength, and, setting his teeth hard he put on
an air of stoical indifference as he stepped out on deck, feeling that
he was growing firmer each moment.

There was a strange sight before him as he walked aft, for the blacks
were gathered round four of their party, who had evidently begun in the
middle and worked away from thence towards head and tail, in pairs,
skinning the great snake, to the great defilement of the clean deck.

Black Jackum made way for the boy to see as he came up, grinning as was
his wont.

"Good eatum," he said, eagerly. "Cookum, good."

"Yes," said Carey, quietly. "Where is Cookie?"

"Cookie?" repeated the black, half-wonderingly, and he turned to one of
the party who had stopped on board.

"Baal. Cookie he."

The man made some reply, and ran towards the forecastle to squat upon
the deck and thump upon the hatch with his fists, saying something with
great rapidity of speech, the only words Carey could grasp being Dan and
mumkull.

Black Jackum turned to the boy as soon as his companion had finished.

"Cookie," cried Jackum, pointing down at the closed and fastened hatch.
"Big Dan mumkull everybody open dat."

"Big Dan says he'll kill everyone who opens that hatch?" cried Carey.

"Issum," said the black, nodding a good