"Say, Mister Archie, sir," grumbled Peter, as Minnie sat pressing her
old companion's hand in token of her gratitude for what he had said.

"What is it, Pete?"

"I can't understand what this chap says, but he made me shut up your
knife, and has put away his own, so I think he means we have got as much
green stuff as we can carry."

"Yes, that's it, Pete. Well, what?"

"Only this, sir. You see the moon there?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, is it a heclipse or an echo, or anything of that kind, over
yonder?"

"Where? What do you mean?"

"This 'ere way, sir. You are looking t'other."

"Nonsense!"

"You are looking the wrong way, sir. Hold them branches back. Yes;
it's getting wuss, sir. Blest if they ain't burning the Residency
down!"

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.

THE FISHERMAN'S PLAN.

Peter's conclusion was only a guess, but it soon became evident that a
fire was raging somewhere in the direction of the station. But this did
not seem to trouble the two Malays, who shifted the position of the boat
by pushing it clear of the trees, to one of which they secured the
sampan so that it swung in the stream, while they rearranged the
greenery that had been collected, and worked hard in the bright
moonlight so as to give it some semblance of a market-boat carrying down
supplies from higher up the river.

This done to the satisfaction of the owner, whom Peter had been working
hard to help, the lad uttered an apologetic cough.

"Look here, Pete," said Archie impatiently; "if you are going to say
that we had better remain in hiding on account of the moonlight and the
glare of that fire, you had better be silent, for we must trust to these
people to do what they think best."

"I warn't a-going to say nothing of the sort, Mister Archie, sir,"
protested the lad.

"Then what were you going to say? I know that that cough or grunt of
yours means that you are going to object to something."

"No, sir; it's not a object to anything unless you say I can't have it.
I was only going to ask if Miss Minnie didn't say something about having
fruit aboard this 'ere craft."

"Yes, yes!" cried Minnie excitedly.

"Well, miss," said Peter, with a sigh of relief, "if you won't think it
rude of me, I should just like to say that Mister Archie here ain't had
a mossel of nothing to eat since the day before yesterday, and PP ain't
much better."

"Oh Dula!" exclaimed Minnie; and she uttered a few words in the Malay
tongue that