for a few weeks
longer, till we are clear of the place," said my uncle, turning round.

I remembered the fearful danger Oliver and I had escaped when carried
off by the Papuans from our island; and I prayed that we might be again
preserved from a similar catastrophe. We had made no great progress
when it was time to encamp.

"I must charge you, my friends," said Mr Sedgwick, "whoever is on the
watch at night, to keep a bright look-out. The orang-outans are our
least formidable enemies, for it is seldom that they will attack a
person, as the one did we have just encountered; but tigers are far more
daring; and if we were to allow the fire to get low, we should run a
great risk of a visit from one of them."

We had still an hour or two of daylight. We were all somewhat tired
with our long climb: the girls especially required rest. We immediately
set to work to form our encampment, making huts, as we had done on the
previous nights. Having collected a good supply of dried leaves, we
spread mats over them inside the young ladies' bower, to which they
retired to rest while supper was preparing. We had still some birds
remaining; but my uncle took his gun, saying that he would try to shoot
a few more for our meal, and I begged to be allowed to accompany him.

"You will not have much difficulty in providing our supper," I observed,
"considering the number of birds flying about in all directions."

The woods were indeed full of sounds of all sorts. I fancied that among
them I could distinguish the voices of wild beasts.

"Hark!" I said. "Surely that must be a lion! It is just like the cry
I have heard they often give."

My uncle laughed.

"No, indeed," he said. "The voices you hear are those of pigeons."

I could scarcely suppose, however, that he was right, so loud and
booming was the sound which came from the woods.

"Oh, what beautiful apples are those?" I observed, as I looked up at a
tree in which a number of various birds were collected, among which were
several white cockatoos. "I should like to carry some back to the
camp."

The fruit we were looking at was round, with a smooth shining skin of a
golden orange colour, which might rival in appearance the golden apples
of the Hesperides.

"Let them remain where they hang," he answered. "Whoever might attempt
to eat them would certainly be made very ill, if they did not die.
Those beautiful apples possess the most poisonous properties of any
fru