ch lined the inside, and which, when the nut
ripened, would have become hard and solid.

"You will find them of different degrees of ripeness," the mate said,
"Some of them will furnish us with drink, some with food, and as there are
trees along here as far as we can see, we need not worry ourselves as to
victuals. Well, we have done our work for the day and will make this our
camp, and talk over what is the best thing to do next."

After much deliberation it was decided that they should paddle up the
river the next day, leaving two of their number at the edge of the forest
to keep a look-out for the ship.

"It is as well to see what there is on the river," the mate said. "Of
course if we come to a village we shall let ourselves drop down quietly
again. And we must keep a sharp look-out as we go; it would never do to
let them get a sight of us, for none of the natives of these islands are
to be trusted, and I am sure that none of us wish to have our heads used
as a decoration in their huts. What I hope to come upon is the site of an
abandoned village. These people often shift their quarters. They have no
belongings to speak of to move, and a couple of days' labour is enough for
them to put up fresh huts. But in the places they have occupied we are
sure to find bananas; and if we can but get a boat-load of them we shall
be victualled for a voyage, and after waiting long enough to give the ship
a chance of finding us, the sooner we are off the better. Many of these
islands are inhabited by tribes that spare no one who falls into their
hands, and it would be better to take our chance on the sea than to remain
here. There are a good many little Dutch settlements scattered about. What
we have got to do is to light upon one of these. There is no mistaking
them for native villages, and once we can get a point of departure we
shall have no difficulty in laying our course either for Timor or Java.
Stephen, I shall leave you as the junior officer here to-morrow. Wilcox
will stay with you. If you see the ship you will light a big fire and
throw green leaves on it to make as big a smoke as possible. They would
know at once that it was a signal, for the natives would do nothing to
attract notice, especially if their intentions were hostile."

"All right, sir! We will keep a sharp look-out. You won't be away many
hours, I suppose?"

"Certainly not. We don't want to do any exploring. All we want to do is to
look for food, and the