front of the far boat stood up and threw a spear."

"Right you are, sir, and no mistake. There goes another. Can you see
how many there are in the first boat?"

"Three, I think; and one's a woman."

"I thought two of them," said Peter; "and there's eight or ten or a
dozen in the other. Well, sir, the far-off one must be enemies, and the
little boat must be friends. I know which side we ought to take, and we
can now."

"What do you mean? Fire?"

"That's right, sir."

"But we shall show where we are."

"Of course; but we can't help that, sir," cried Peter excitedly. "Here
they come. They'll overtake the little 'un directly. You've got bullet
cartridges, sir, for I tried one. But I don't know whether this double
gun will carry so far; so you had better wait."

"One barrel's rifled, Pete, and it will," said Archie, drawing himself
into a kneeling position and resting the barrels upon a horizontal
bough.

"Look sharp, sir! Oh, murder--there goes another spear! I couldn't
hardly see, but it must have gone close to that woman who is handling
the bamboo. Oh, do fire, sir!"

There was the sharp report of one barrel, and then, as the smoke rose,
Archie fired again, and opened the breech and rapidly inserted the
cartridges that Peter handed to him; while, as if startled by the
reports, the rowers in the far boat laid on their oars, and those astern
started up, and the lads could dimly see their spears bristling in the
gathering gloom.

"Give them another, sir--only one--and reload. You missed first time.
You must bring down a couple now."

Archie fired again, and this time one of the Malays seemed to spring out
of the boat and drift behind.

"That's good, sir. Here's your cartridge. Now then! Give them two
now. They are coming straight for us where the smoke shows. Quick,
sir!"

_Bang, bang_ went the double gun, the reports almost simultaneous, for
in his excitement Archie had no thought of reserving one shot; and as he
hastily reloaded he could see in the rapidly dimming light that the
rowers were changing the course of their naga, as if to get out of the
line of fire, and were beginning to make for the opposite shore; while
the big Malay in the small sampan had ceased his efforts to pole his
boat more swiftly along, and was using the bamboo to steer the little
vessel, which, gathering force from the man's efforts combined with the
swift stream, plunged right in through the hanging boughs behi