, everything is so quiet that--Whoo--hoop! What's that? Like
somebody learning to play the key bugle without any wind. Here, I know:
it's one of them long-legged, long-necked birds with a big beak, that
stands a little way out in the river and picks up the frogs. Yes,
that's it. Now it's all right, so here goes."

He crossed to the other side of the building so as to be farthest from
the tree where he had last seen the sentry, and, as quietly as he could,
he began to climb the back wall of the great stable; and, as he had
anticipated, this did not prove difficult, the crossbars and uprights,
interlaced with cane and palm-strip, furnishing plenty of foot and hand
hold, so that, without making much rustling, he drew himself up and up
till his head came in contact with one of the sloping bamboo rafters, to
which battens of the same cane were lashed with thin rotan; and, as he
expected, upon these battens lay a dense thatch of so-called attap--that
is to say, large mats of palm-leaves were laid one over the other till a
thick cover, which would throw off the most intense of the tropic rains,
roofed the building in.

Standing with his toes well wedged into the side, the would-be fugitive
raised one arm and began feeling about in the mats above him, and
chuckled.

"Why, it's just nonsense," he said. "Talk about escaping. Why, one has
got nothing to do but shove these up a little way and creep through.
Then the attap will all fall back again, and no one will see as the
place has been disturbed. Then there is the getting down again. Well,
that's just as easy as it is to get up. Oh, don't I wish Mister Archie
was all right! These 'ere Malays must be fools to think of shutting up
a couple of English young fellows in a place like this. Well, it's
awful hot here. The mats are quite warm still with the sunshine. I
will just let in some air."

He began thrusting the attap thatch a little upward, and there was a
loud scuffling and beating of wings.

"Birds," he muttered; "and a good roost, too. Wonder what they are."

Then there was a puff of cool, moist, night air seeming to be sucked
into the building as he made an opening.

"Ah, that's just prime," he sighed; and he raised himself a little more,
and then, as he thrust out one hand to get a fresh hold of the bamboo
batten, he stopped short, silent and motionless, and with cold
perspiration breaking out all over his face, for his hand had closed
upon one of the