any of you. We want to drop in on the
party without any notice."

The quartermaster was a very intelligent fellow, and he took in the
situation at a glance. The "Big Four" stepped lightly on the platform,
and Felix had taken pains to be the last one to mount the gangway. Scott
led the way, and halted at the door of the music-room. He waited there
till the hymn they were singing was finished, and then threw open the
door, and marched in. He took off his cap, and bowed as gracefully as a
dancing-master to the assembly.

Louis and Morris followed him, and imitated the example he had given
them; but Felix had disappeared, and they did not know what had become
of him. The musical party seemed to be so utterly confounded at the
sudden and unexpected appearance of the hunters from Borneo that they
seemed to be struck dumb with amazement.

"Louis, my son!" Mrs. Belgrave screamed as she rushed upon her boy, and
folded him in her arms, kissing him as though he had come back to her
from a tomb or a grave beneath the ocean.

"Morris!" cried Mrs. Woolridge, as she imitated the example of Mrs.
Belgrave.

"My brother!" exclaimed Miss Blanche, as she divided the neck and arms
of the returned hunter with her mother.

"This is somewhat unexpected, Captain Scott," said Captain Ringgold, as
he came forward, and took the hand of the captain of the Blanchita, who
alone of the trio was not in the arms of a mother.

"I should say that it might be, Captain," replied Scott as coolly as
though the meeting was nothing unusual.

"But how under the sun did you get here, Scott?" demanded the commander,
scrutinizing the expression of the third officer,--which was his rank on
board of the ship,--to ascertain if there were any signs of a calamity
there.

"We came by water, Captain," answered the young officer, with a cheerful
smile, which indicated anything but a disaster.

"Of course you did, inasmuch as there is no other way to get here. In
what steamer did you come? for I believe there is no regular line from
Sarawak to Bangkok," added Captain Ringgold.

"We came by the steamer Blanchita."

"I don't understand it at all," said the commander with a perplexed look
on his face. "Do you mean that you made the voyage in the steam-yacht,
Mr. Scott?" and there was a decided expression of incredulity on his
face.

"That is exactly what I mean to assert; and if you have any doubts about
the truth of what I say, I appeal to Louis and Morris to