d by his
hand.

"Yes there is; yonder is one sitting on the rocks," said Stumps; "don't
you see him move?"

"That's not a native," returned Slagg, "it's too long in the back for a
human being. It's a big monkey--a gorilla, maybe. Did you ever hear
tell of gorillas being in them regions?"

"I rather think not," said Sam; "and to my mind it looks more like a
rock than anything else."

A rock it proved to be, to the discomfiture of Slagg and Stumps; but the
rock was not without interest, for it was soon seen that a rope was
attached to it, and that the rope, stretching across the entrance to a
creek, was lost in the foliage on the side opposite to the rock.

"Why, I do believe," said Sam, suddenly, in an impressive whisper, "that
there is a vessel of some sort at the other end of that rope, behind the
point, partly hid by the trees. Don't you see the top of her masts?"

After long and earnest gazing, and much whispered conversation--though
there was no occasion for caution at such a distance from the land--they
came to the conclusion that a vessel lay concealed just within the mouth
of the creek towards which the wind was driving them, and that, as they
apparently had not been discovered by those who owned the vessel, their
wisest course would be to land, if possible without attracting
attention, somewhat farther along the coast.

"But how is that to be done," asked Robin, "as we have neither oar nor
rudder?"

"Nothing easier," returned Slagg, seizing the axe and wrenching up the
plank that had prevented Stumps from finding a watery grave, "I've on'y
got to cut a handle at one end, an' we've got an oar at once."

In a few minutes the handy youth converted the piece of plank into a
rude oar, with which he steered the raft, so that it gradually drew to
the southward of the creek where the strange vessel lay, and finally
took the land in another inlet not far distant.

It was evident, from the silence around, that no one was stirring in the
vessel, and that their approach had not been perceived. Congratulating
themselves on this piece of good fortune, they lowered their sail, drew
the raft under the bushes, which in some parts of the inlet came close
down to the sea, and then hurried stealthily through a palm-grove
towards the vessel. They reached the margin of the grove in a few
minutes, and there discovered that the stranger was apparently a Chinese
craft, but whether a trading-vessel, or smuggler, or pirat