For him Travers and d'Alcacer were two
powerful Rajahs--probably relatives of the Ruler of the land of the
English whom he knew to be a woman; but why they should come and
interfere with the recovery of his own kingdom was an obscure problem.
He was concerned for Lingard's safety. That the risk was incurred mostly
for his sake--so that the prospects of the great enterprise should not
be ruined by a quarrel over the lives of these whites--did not strike
him so much as may be imagined. There was that in him which made such
an action on Lingard's part appear all but unavoidable. Was he not Rajah
Hassim and was not the other a man of strong heart, of strong arm, of
proud courage, a man great enough to protect highborn princes--a friend?
Immada's words called out a smile which, like the words, was lost in the
darkness. "Forget your weariness," he said, gently, "lest, O Sister, we
should arrive too late." The coming day would throw its light on some
decisive event. Hassim thought of his own men who guarded the Emma and
he wished to be where they could hear his voice. He regretted Jaffir was
not there. Hassim was saddened by the absence from his side of that man
who once had carried what he thought would be his last message to his
friend. It had not been the last. He had lived to cherish new hopes and
to face new troubles and, perchance, to frame another message yet, while
death knocked with the hands of armed enemies at the gate. The breeze
steadied; the succeeding swells swung the canoe smoothly up the unbroken
ridges of water travelling apace along the land. They progressed slowly;
but Immada's heart was more weary than her arms, and Hassim, dipping the
blade of his paddle without a splash, peered right and left, trying to
make out the shadowy forms of islets. A long way ahead of the canoe and
holding the same course, the brig's dinghy ran with broad lug extended,
making for that narrow and winding passage between the coast and the
southern shoals, which led to the mouth of the creek connecting the
lagoon with the sea.

Thus on that starless night the Shallows were peopled by uneasy souls.
The thick veil of clouds stretched over them, cut them off from the
rest of the universe. At times Mrs. Travers had in the darkness the
impression of dizzy speed, and again it seemed to her that the boat was
standing still, that everything in the world was standing still and only
her fancy roamed free from all trammels. Lingard, perfectly