in this, neither the surgeons, nor the officers who stood
around the bed of the wounded man. When Daniel could be questioned, he
knew no more about it than the others. There had been no one standing
near him; nor had he seen anybody come near him at the time of the
accident; the blow, moreover, had been so violent, that he had fallen
down unconscious. All these details soon became current among the
sailors and passengers who had crowded on deck. They were received with
incredulous smiles, and, when they could no longer be held in doubt,
with bursts of indignation.

What! Lieut. Champcey had been struck in broad daylight, in the midst of
the crew! How? By whom?

The whole matter was so wrapped up in mystery, that it became all
important to clear it up; and the sailors themselves opened at once a
kind of court of inquest. Some hairs, and a clot of blood, which were
discovered on an enormous block, seemed to explain the riddle. It would
seem that the rope to which this enormous block was fastened had slipped
out of the hands of one of the sailors who were engaged in the rigging,
carrying out the manoeuvre superintended by Daniel.

Frightened by the consequences of his awkwardness, but, nevertheless
preserving his presence of mind, this man had, no doubt, drawn up the
block so promptly, that he had not been noticed. Could it be hoped that
he would accuse himself? Evidently not. Besides, what would be the use
of it? The wounded man was the first to request that the inquiries might
be stopped.

When, at the end of a fortnight, Champcey returned to duty, they ceased
talking of the accident; unfortunately, such things happen but too
frequently on board ship. Besides, the idea that "The Conquest" was
drawing near her destination filled all minds, and sufficed for all
conversations.

And really, one fine evening, as the sun was setting, land was seen, and
the next morning, at daybreak, the frigate sailed into the Dong-Nai,
the king of Cochin Chinese rivers, which is so wide and so deep, that
vessels of the largest tonnage can ascend it without difficulty till
they reach Saigon.

Standing on deck, Daniel watched the monotonous scenes which they
passed,--a landscape strange in form, and exhaling mortal fevers from
the soil, and the black yielding slime.

After a voyage of several months, he derived a melancholy pleasure from
seeing the banks of the river overshadowed by mango trees and mangroves,
with their supple, snakeli