usly employed in
paddling down the river, and, for Eva's sake, I was doubly anxious to be
off. I was almost despairing of his return, when the long feathery
leaves of the shrubs near me were pushed aside, and, breathing with
haste, Kalong appeared. In an instant he perceived how matters stood,
and, making a sign to me to take my seat in the canoe, he stepped in
after me, and, seizing a paddle, shoved her head off from the bank. He
then began to ply it most energetically, and Blount and I followed his
example, while Hassan steered her down the stream.

There had been no time to lose, for the scouts of a number of people on
the bank showed that he had been hotly pursued. He did not stop to
explain what had happened; and for half an hour or more we paddled on in
perfect silence, keeping always in the centre of the stream. By degrees
the shrieks and cries of the combatants grew fainter on our ears, till
they ceased altogether.

Kalong then for a moment ceased paddling, and drew a deep breath, which
seemed much to relieve his heart. He then explained briefly, that he
had gone up to our cottage, and that, finding it already sacked, and
seeing nothing of us, he was about to return, when he was seen, and
pursued by the attacking party. He dashed on, and was just in time to
reach the canoe and escape them.

"And now, Massa, pull away again, or some of them black fellows follow
and kill us," he exclaimed, suiting the action to the word. All night
long we paddled on, and to such good purpose, that we entirely distanced
any enemies who might have been following us. Whenever a village
appeared; we crossed over to the other side of the stream, and as the
night was dark, and we kept perfect silence, we were unobserved.
Sometimes, for miles together, there were no signs of human habitations,
the dark forest clothing either bank of the stream, so that we were able
to converse without fear of betraying ourselves.

Hassan then told us that he hoped we might reach the sea in two days, by
paddling on during all the hours of darkness, and remaining concealed
while it was light.

"And what do you propose doing when we get to the sea?" I asked.

"Then, Massa," said Kalong, "we will pull away from the land, and trust
to Providence, you sometime tell me about--we fall in with the schooner,
or some other craft--or we go over to coast of Celebes. No good to
trust to people about here. As Massa say, if we do all we can,
Providenc