casks and breakers."

"Then retire at once, Mr. Hardy. We will follow you."

As they issued from under the trees, the arrows again fell fast.

"Don't fire," the captain said; "perhaps they may issue out, and
then we will give them a lesson--that it is better not to interfere
with men who are doing them no harm."

This proved to be the case. No one had been hit by the fire from
the boats and, now that the shooting had ceased, the natives, with
shouts of triumph, ran out from the forest. There were some
hundreds of them.

The captain hailed the boat in front.

"Stop rowing, Mr. Hardy, and open fire on them.

"Now, lads," he went on, to his own crew, "fire steadily, and don't
throw away a shot."

[Illustration: The rattle of musketry broke out again.]

As the rattle of musketry broke out again from both boats, many of
the natives dropped. The others stopped, at once. A shower of
arrows was discharged; and then, as the fire was kept up, they fled
back into the woods; and the men, again taking to their oars, rowed
out without further molestation to the brig. None of the crew had
been killed, but four were wounded by the arrows.

"I hope they are not poisoned," Fairclough said, in a low voice, to
Harry. "I don't know whether they use poison, on these islands; but
we must hope not. However, we will not frighten them by even
hinting at the possibility of such a thing."

Happily, however, no evil symptoms resulted. The wounds were, for
the most part slight and, the next day, all were able to return to
their duty. The fair weather now set in and, ten days later, the
brig dropped anchor in the river, opposite Calcutta.

Harry at once went ashore, and handed to the Governor a full report
of what had taken place.

"I have not time to read this rather bulky report of yours, at
present, Captain Lindsay," the latter said, with a smile. "Please
give me the pith of it, as shortly as possible."

"The island, sir, is well adapted for a trading station; and would,
I should think, when the forests are partly cleared away, be a
healthy one. I have interviewed the tumangong, who has signed a
document agreeing, at any time in the future that it may be
desired, to cede either a trading station or the whole island to
us. He was greatly pleased with the presents that you sent; and is,
I believe, thoroughly in earnest in his desire for a trading
station to be established so close to him. The Rajah of Johore has
ratified this agre