l lighter sails above them, which
we used to call skyscrapers. I now observed that although there were
several large boats engaged in the chase, they were but slow sailers,
and that the small ones were drawing ahead of them. These of course
would be more easily dealt with by the _Barbara's_ crew than the larger
craft.

The latter were vessels of about forty tons, carrying fifty or sixty
persons. The hulls of those I had seen on landing were neatly built,
with round heads and sterns; and over the hulls were light small houses,
composed of bamboos, and divided into three or four cabins. The sides
were formed of split bamboos about four feet high, with windows in them
to open and shut at pleasure; the roofs were almost flat, and thatched
with palm leaves. The oars are worked by the crew standing at the fore
and after-part of the vessel. I thought that probably the boats now in
chase of the _Barbara_ were modifications of this sort of craft, and
more adapted to warlike purposes than they were. The natives became at
length even more excited than I was as the breeze occasionally fell and
gave their boats an advantage. They knew also that the land breeze
would soon set in, which I did not. They probably fancied that when it
did the vessel would be caught in a trap, not knowing that she could
haul her wind and still keep ahead of them.

I stood watching the various circumstances of the chase, till at length,
greatly to my relief, I saw the boats, as if by signal, begin to return
together towards the shore, while the _Barbara_ continued standing off
shore till she met the sea-breeze, when she hauled her wind and stood
away to the northward. My Dutch friend congratulated me on her escape.

"And as it appears that you are not to be detained as a prisoner, the
sooner you get out of this place the better," he observed. "I will
gladly welcome you to my abode, where you can remain till we gain
further information as to the result of the British expedition against
Batavia. If it is ultimately successful, your ship will put in at that
place, and you can rejoin her."

I gladly accepted his offer. As we passed through the large entrance
court he pointed out two large Indian-fig-trees, and told me that under
them was the place where criminals were executed. On each side of the
court was a row of the same description of tree. We descended the hill
towards the harbour. On approaching it I heard the shrill voice of a
boy c