urned to shore, and he directed a couple of
sailors to climb. They were more than willing, under a promise of grog. I
may venture to drop the abstract form of narrative here, and put the
breath of life into it.

Baker had engaged a Malay as interpreter for the voyage; by good luck he
was a native of Brunei. This man stared and laughed a little to himself on
hearing the order. As the sailors began to mount, he said:

'Tuan Cap'n! Say 'm fellows looky sharp on snakes.'

The men paused suddenly, looking down, but Baker swore very loud and very
often to the effect that he'd eat every snake within miles, and that
Tuzzadeen was the son of a sea-cook. So the climbers went up, but
gingerly. Tuzzadeen sat grinning. They had not mounted high, luckily, for
on a sudden one gave a screech, and both crashed down, the second dropping
in sheer fright. But he who uttered that yell had good cause for it,
evidently. He danced and twisted, threw himself down and bounded to his
feet, roaring with pain. His eyes showed the white in a circle all round,
and his brows, strained upward, almost touched the hair. All leapt out,
splashing through the shallow water, pale with alarm--seized their
writhing comrade, and stripped him. Tuzzadeen examined his body; presently
the convulsions grew fainter, and he struggled in a more intelligent sort
of way, though still roaring.

'Him bit by fire-ant, I say, Tuan Cap'n,' observed Tuzzadeen.

'Well! Here's a blasphemous fuss about an unmentionable little ant! D'you
call yourself a gore-stained British seaman, Forster? Just let's hear you
do it, you unfit-for-repetition lubber, so as we may have a right-down
blank laugh.'

Forster collected his wits and answered earnestly, 'It was an ant maybe.
But I tell you, Cap'n Baker, there ain't no difference betwixt that ant
and a red-hot iron devil. Oh law! I'll be good from this day. I know how
the bad uns fare now.'

'That's a blessed resolution anyhow,' said Baker. 'But it didn't last
above a minute, you see. Come, show yourself a man, and shin up them
shrouds again.'

'No, Cap'n Baker,' he answered slowly and impressively, 'not if you was to
put the Queen's crown on top of the tree and fix a keg of rum half-way
up.'

Then they found that the other man had hurt himself badly in falling.
Baker was stubborn. But promises and taunts failed to move one of them,
and he was too fat to climb himself.

'Confound it, Tuz,' said he discontentedly, as they pulled