cealed excitement. Then, as he returned to English,
they would drop back into their places, but never take their eyes off
the face of the speaker. Only our China "boys" took no interest in
the past of Maur. It was tiffin time, and they were anxious to set
before us our lunch of rice curry, gula Malacca, whiskey and soda.

The sun was directly above us, and the fierce, steely glare of the
Malayan sky and water dazzled our eyes. Mount Ophir looked as far
ahead as ever. The winding course of the river seemed at times to
take us directly away from it.

Just as we had finished our meal, and had lighted our manilas, the
steersman turned the little launch sharply about, and headed directly
for the shore. In a moment we had shot under and through the deep
fringe of mangrove trees, and had emerged into the jungle. On all
sides the trees rose, columnar and straight, and the ground was firm,
although densely covered with ferns and vines.

The launch stopped, and the chief turned to me. "Now for the climb. We
have thirty miles to the base of the mountain. We will push on ten
miles, and spend the night at a Malay village. The next day we will
try and reach the base of the mountain."

I looked about me. We might have been surrounded by prison walls,
for all hope there seemed to be of our getting an inch into the jungle.

Our servants gathered up our rather extensive impedimenta, and sprang
into the water. We were forced to follow suit, and begin our day's
march with wet feet. A few steps up the stream we came upon an old
elephant track and plunged boldly in,--and it was in! For three
miles we labored through a series of the most elaborate mud-holes
that I have ever seen. The elephants in breaking a path through the
jungle are extremely timid in their boldness. The second one always
steps in the footprints of the first. Year after year it is the same,
until in course of time the path is marked by a series of pitfalls,
often two feet in depth; and as it rains nearly every day they become
a seething, slimy paste of mud.

Our heavy cloth shoes and stockings did not protect us from the
attacks of innumerable leeches; for when we at last reached an open
bit of forest and sat down to rest, we found dozens of them attached
to our legs and even on our bodies. They were small, and beautifully
marked with stripes of bright yellow.

It was twilight when we neared the welcome kampong. We had sent a
runner ahead to notify the punghulo of o