off when they were at work. Their captain,
however, wore a handsome costume. He was seated on a cushion just
before the poop, enjoying the luxury of an evening smoke, a long pipe
with a bowl being in his hand. We were now taken up before him; and he
again put questions to us, which of course, as before, we were unable to
answer. At length we heard him shouting out to the men forward. One of
them came aft, and the chief said a few words to him. On this he turned
round to us, and said, "Talky Inglis?" I nodded. "Where you come
from?" he asked, pretty quickly. I told him we had been wrecked at no
great distance, and had been floated away from the place. After I had
put my explanation in several different ways, he seemed to understand
me. He explained what I had said to the chief, who seemed greatly
delighted, and immediately issued some orders to his men. They
forthwith got out their sweeps, and began pulling away in the direction,
we supposed, of the wreck. I was very glad of this, as I thought there
was a possibility, should any of our companions have escaped drowning,
of finding them.

I now told our interpreter that we were very hungry and thirsty. He
understood me more by the signs I made than the words, I suspect; and,
nodding, made me understand that some food would be brought us. "But we
are thirsty, thirsty!" I exclaimed. Indeed, my parched tongue made me
feel that without a draught of water I could scarcely swallow food. On
this our interpreter, going into the hold, brought up a thick cane of
bamboo, and pulling a stopper out of the top, showed us, to our great
satisfaction, that it was full of water. I never enjoyed a more
delicious draught. I thought of my companions, however, and handed it
to Oliver, who passed it on to Macco, after which I took another pull at
it; and so we continued passing it round, till we had drained the
contents.

We were ready by this time for dinner, and were thankful to see several
dishes brought out of the little building which formed the cook-house on
deck. The chief signed to us to sit down and fall to. One was rice; of
that there was no doubt. Another, too, I soon discovered to be that
most valuable production of the East, the bread-fruit: this was cut in
slices and fried. The third, however, puzzled me excessively, and its
appearance was far from attractive. There was, besides, a little saucer
with red pepper. Oliver and I at once attacked the bread-fru