ng party to tell women from men.

Then by the commander's orders the village and fleet of canoes was
fired, and a dozen or so of rockets went screaming and spitting
among the thick mountain jungle, doing no damage to the natives, but
terrifying them more than a heavy shell fire. *****

"Let us away from here, Nuta," said Martin, "'tis not safe. In the hut
by the side of the big pool we can rest till the ship has gone and our
people return. And I shall bind thy arm up anew."

The woman obeyed him silently, and in a few minutes they were skirting
the side of the mountain by a narrow leaf-strewn path, taking the
opposite direction to that followed by the two officers and bluejackets.
Half an hour's walk brought them to the river bank, which was clothed
with tall spear-grass. Still following the path, they presently emerged
out into the open before a deep, spacious pool, at the further end of
which was a dilapidated and deserted hut. Here the woman, faint with the
pain of her wound, sank down, and Martin brought her water to drink, and
then proceeded to re-examine and properly set her broken arm.

*****

The two officers--the second lieutenant and a ruddy-faced, fair-haired
midshipman named Walters--had hardly proceeded a hundred yards along the
beach, when the boy stopped.

"Oh, Mr. Grayling, let us turn back and go the other way. There's a big
river runs into the next bay, with a sort of a lake about a mile up; I
saw it in the plan of the island, this morning. We might get a duck or
two there, sir."

"Any way you like," replied the officer, turning about, "and walking
along the beach will be better than climbing up the mountain in the
beastly heat for the sake of a few tough pigeons."

Followed by the three bluejackets, who were armed with rifles, they set
off along the hard white sand. In a few minutes they had rounded the
headland on the north side and were out of sight of the ship. For quite
a mile they tramped over the sand, till they came to the mouth of the
river, which flowed swiftly and noisily over a shallow bar. A short
search revealed a narrow path leading up along the bank, first through
low thicket scrub, and then through high spear-grass. Further back, amid
the dense forest, they could hear the deep notes of the wild pigeons,
but as young Walters was intent on getting a duck they took no heed, but
pressed steadily on.

"By jove! what a jolly fine sheet of water!" whispered the midshipman as
they e