a pad, saturated it with water, and laid
it on the wound.

"You see I know all about it, Dick," he said cheerily, "from having
watched the doctor at work on Hassan. Now I will tear this cloth into
strips."

He first placed a strip of the cloth over the shoulder, crossed it under
the arm, and then took the ends of the bandage across the chest and
back, and tied them under his other arm. He repeated this process with
half a dozen other strips; then he placed Dick's hand upon his chest,
tied some of the other strips together, and bound them tightly round the
arm and body, so that no movement of the limb was possible. One of the
Malay's knelt down and gave him his assistance, and nodded approvingly
when he had finished; then he helped Harry raise him into a sitting
position against the bulwark.

"That is better," Dick said, "as far as it goes. How was it these
fellows did not kill us at once?"

"I expect the rajah has ordered that all officers who may fall into
their hands are to be kept as hostages, so that he can open negotiations
with the skipper. If he gets what he wants, he hands us back; if not,
there is no manner of doubt that he will put us out of the way without
compunction."

The men were still working at the oars, and for four hours rowed without
intermission through a labyrinth of creeks. At last they stopped before
a small village, tied the prahu up to a tree, and then the man who
seemed to be the captain went ashore with two or three others. The lads
heard a loud outburst of anger, and a voice which they recognized as
that of the rajah storming and raging for some time; then the hubbub
ceased. An hour later the rajah himself came on board with two or three
attendants, and a man whom they recognized as speaking a certain amount
of English. The rajah scowled at them, and from the manner in which he
kept fingering his kris they saw that it needed a great effort on his
part to abstain from killing them at once. He spoke for some time in his
own language, and the interpreter translated it.

"You are dogs--you and all your countrymen. The rajah is sending a
message to your captain to tell him that he must build up his palace
again, pay him for the warships that he has destroyed, and provide him
with a guard against his enemies until a fresh fleet has been built. If
he refuses to do this, you will both be killed."

"Tell him," Harry said, "that if we are dogs, anyhow we have shown him
that we can bite. As t