.

They had a quiet enough night again to warrant confidence, and
every one felt rested and refreshed next day.

Just after breakfast Kate appeared to tell her mistress that a
Chinaman from the plantation wished to speak to her. His name was
Sinkum Fung, and he was the plantation storekeeper, a man who
thought a good deal of himself, but for lying and trickery, Mr.
Orban declared, was no better than his neighbours the coolies who
dealt at his shop.

As soon as Sinkum Fung was shown on to the veranda, he did a good
deal of bowing and scraping by way of politeness, and he had so
much to say on the subject of his own unimpeachable integrity that
it was a long time before Mrs. Orban could bring him to an
explanation of his early visit. Both she and Eustace guessed he
must be wanting to sell something, and probably hoped to drive a
good bargain in Mr. Orban's absence, the cunning of the average
Chinese being unsurpassed.

After a considerable preamble, Sinkum began the following
remarkable tale, all told in such strange Chinkee patter, and with
so much self-praise interspersed, that it took the listeners' whole
attention to unravel it.

CHAPTER VII.

PETER'S NIGHTMARE.

Some nights before Sinkum Fung was sitting in his store waiting for
customers. His best trade was always in the evening, when the
coolies' work was over, and they had time to do some shopping. But
it was getting late, and Sinkum thought it about time to close the
store and go to bed. Suddenly there fell a shadow across the
threshold, and a big black-fellow entered--a stranger whom Sinkum
Fung had never seen before. What had he come to buy? Sinkum asked
politely. But the black-fellow had come to buy nothing--he had a
fierce, wild face, and his voice made Sinkum tremble when he said
he had not come to buy, but to sell. He declared his name to be
Jaga-Jaga of the great "Rat clan" now living in the Bush not far
away. He had found, he said, a white man hanging in a tree, caught
and held fast by the dreadful "wait-a-bit" cane that will swing
round man or beast at a touch, and hold them fast till they die of
exposure and starvation. This man was dead, and on his body,
Jaga-Jaga said, he discovered sundry things which he now brought to
the store to sell. What would Sinkum Fung give for them? The
payment must be made in food, for the tribe were nearly starving.
Food was difficult to procure in the intense heat; the ground was
arid and unproductive.