schooner. I found the
deck covered with Chinese, and when I said to the little Portuguese
captain, "Where is the little cabin Mr. Ruppell promised me I should
have?" he answered, "Oh, ma'am, pray go back to your boat. I have
neither water nor fuel for the people who are already on board. The
cabin is filled with the family and friends of the Chinese owner of the
schooner, and I cannot give you even room to sit down anywhere." It was
indeed true. My friend, the court scribe's wife, said, "Come and sit by
me on the deck." "But the children, they cannot be exposed day and night
on deck." "Oh well, there is no other place for them." So I jumped into
the life-boat again, and reclaimed my treasures. "Rather," said Miss
Woolley and I, "die on shore than in that horrid boat." Indeed we felt
quite cheerful now we had the boat to ourselves; and Kimchack said he
had already been two nights on board the _Good Luck_ and had had no room
to lie down. There we were, however, in the middle of the river, with no
one to row the boat. Stahl could not move it by himself. At this moment
a small boat pulled alongside, and Mr. Helms' face appeared in the
darkness. How glad we were to see him! and he, faint and exhausted with
wandering all day in the jungle, was glad of a glass of wine, which was
soon got out of the provision basket. Then we opened a tin of soup, and
fed our tired and hungry children, who behaved all through those
terrible days as if it was a picnic excursion got up for their
amusement. They enjoyed everything, and were no trouble at all, either
Alan or Mab. Edith was a baby, and suffered very much from want of
proper food--but that was later on. Mr. Helms and his crew rowed our
boat into Jernang Creek, where there were some Malay houses. In one of
these he and Alan went to sleep, but he advised us to remain in the boat
until the morning. We laid Mab and Edith on one of the seats; Miss
Woolley lay on the other; and I sat at the bottom of the boat to prevent
the children from falling off. The mosquitoes were numerous on that mud
bank, and I was very glad when the morning dawned. At six o'clock Mr.
Helms came to say we could have an empty Malay house on shore for a few
days, so we gladly mounted up the landing-place and found a kind and
hospitable reception from our Malay friends. They had put up some mat
partitions in a large room, that we might sleep in private, and
presented us with a nice curry for breakfast. We then unpacked