pose, Doctor," Harry said indignantly, "that we are
going to fight for such a rascal as he is against the men he has been
plundering."

"I don't expect he does think that we are going to fight for him, unless
he can show us that it is to our interest to do so. I should imagine
that he hopes that the effect of our appearance here will be to either
induce his neighbors to come to some arrangement with him, or that he
will endeavor to make peace with them by offering to throw us over, and
to join with them against us."

"Then, I should say, Doctor, that the best thing would be to hang the
ruffian up at once."

"Well, yes, that might be a good plan, Parkhurst," the doctor said with
a smile, "and might save us a good deal of trouble; but, you see, we
have come up here at his invitation; we have just been eating his food
and drinking his liquor, and it would scarcely place us in a favorable
position in the eyes of the natives in general were we to commence our
alliance with him by hanging him."

Harry laughed. "No, I suppose not, Doctor. Still, what are we to do?"

"We must wait, lad. We are here to ascertain the precise situation, and
it will be some time before that will be cleared up. Certainly for the
present there will be nothing for us to do but to keep quiet and see how
matters turn out, and to get through the time as best we may. We shall
have fine opportunities for shooting and botanizing, for whatever the
chief's designs may be, it is certain that at present he will do all in
his power to please us. The captain today, at my suggestion, said that,
in order to keep the men in good health, it would be desirable that they
should have every opportunity of going ashore, and that the officers
should make expeditions in search of game into the interior. He promised
at once to afford us every facility, and to provide us with guides and
beaters."

The next day permission was granted to several of the officers and to
twenty sailors and a dozen marines to go on shore. Before starting, the
whole ship's company were drawn up, and the captain addressed them upon
the absolute necessity for good behavior.

"The Malays," he said, "are a fierce race, very proud and independent,
and quick to resent the smallest insult. Each man carries a kris, and is
ready to use it on the slightest provocation. Every man who goes ashore
must remember that not only his own life, but those of many others,
and the success of the mission on which