fter this, while my uncle and Roger Trew insisted on remaining on watch
for the remainder of the night. We added fresh fuel to our fire, and
loaded and frequently fired our muskets, and kept, as may be supposed, a
very strict watch. Next morning we found some hair of the creature in
the spot where he had been observed clinging to the bushes, while drops
of blood were seen for some distance in the direction he had taken.

At an early hour we proceeded on our road to the house. The banks of
the river were very picturesque, though there was not much water in it.
It was, however, my uncle supposed, the only full stream in the island.
He had discovered the beds of several others, which remained perfectly
dry. We were eagerly looking out in the hope of seeing another mias, my
uncle being as anxious as any one. He had some time before, he told us,
captured a couple; but one of them had managed to escape, and the other,
left alone, had pined for his mate, while he evidently resented the
close captivity to which he was subjected. Proceeding down the banks of
the river, we came to a part where, though not much increased in width,
it was evidently deeper, with two or three calm pools, over which the
trees threw their boughs, clearly reflected on the smooth surface. At
the lower end of one of the pools I caught sight of what appeared to be
a log floating on the water. Presently I saw it moving against the
stream. "There must be a powerful eddy there," I thought. I pointed it
out to Mr Sedgwick. After looking at it for an instant, he made a sign
to the rest of the party to keep back. We were all collected together
behind a bush, through the branches of which we could observe the banks
of the river below us. Presently there was a rustling in the underwood
in the direction we were looking, and we caught sight of a huge
orang-outan making his way down to the water. Some fruit-bearing tree
hung over it, in the branches of which he took his seat, and began to
eat away at his leisure, letting the husks and rind fall into the water,
and now and then a whole fruit. The log, so it still seemed, was coming
close under where the baboon was seated, and remained stationary. The
orang-outan apparently took no notice of the object in the water.

"If we were nearer, we should see a pair of wicked eyes looking up out
of the end of that log," whispered my uncle, "with some rows of
formidable teeth, and a huge mouth below it."

"What!