schief. Fairburn told me that they had run
under the lee of the island during the gale, and were about to return to
the coast of Borneo to watch for me. We bade an affectionate farewell
to the junk, which had proved to us an ark of safety, and we carried
away a number of relics of her. My crew received us with loud cheers,
and not the least welcome, after all his adventures, was, I suspect,
Ungka the ape, who quickly made himself at home.

"Where shall we steer for?" asked Fairburn.

"For Java," I replied. "I must not forget my promise to the widow Van
Deck and little Maria."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I must now bring my adventures to a close. We reached Sourabaya in
safety, and were heartily welcomed, not by the widow Van Deck, but by
the wife of Lieutenant Jeekel, for she had made the honest officer happy
by marrying him. As they were anxious to go to Europe, I offered them a
passage as far as Calcutta in the _Fraulein_, and little Maria
accompanied them. I need not say that she and Eva became very great
friends.

I can scarcely describe the pleasure my return with Eva afforded our
kind friends the Northcotes, or the sensation our romantic history
created wherever it was known. Every assistance was given me to prove
my identity, and with a variety of documents I sailed for England. I
was very sorry to part with some of my friends, who could not accompany
me. I presented the _Fraulein_ to Fairburn, and Blount sailed with him,
carrying Prior to Manilla. They all ultimately, by energy and
perseverance, made themselves independent. When I reached England, I
put my affair into the hands of a clever lawyer, and I found that I had
few difficulties to contend with. All those who had been instrumental
in the abduction of my sister and me were dead. A few days only before
our arrival, the papers had announced the death of a Sir Reginald
Seaton, without any claimant to his title or estates. He had once been
blessed with a large family, but one after the other they had been laid
in their graves, and he alone had been left a solitary and decrepit old
man. Thus Heaven had proved the avenger of crime, and prevented the
guilty ones from enjoying the profits of their guilt. The papers I
possessed clearly proved that I was the rightful heir; and as there was
no one to oppose my claim, I was, without much difficulty, allowed to
take possession of the property. I did