denly.

The sailor looked at his companion in dismay. "Dash my timbers," he said,
"I never thought of that; that is a go. Perhaps we can manage it in the
native way: they boil things by putting water into a big shell, and
dropping hot stones into it until it boils. We have not got any shells,
but we might find a hollow in the rock that will hold water."

"That is all very well, Wilcox; but how are we going to heat our stones?"

"You have done me there, Master Stephen," the sailor said, in a tone of
utter disgust; "we have not got flint or tinder."

"We might manage the tinder easily enough," Stephen said, "by using rotten
wood; but tinder is of no use without steel. We shall have to eat our
biscuits without meat, Wilcox, unless we can light a fire by rubbing two
sticks together."

"That ain't to be done, sir; I have seen white men try it over and over
again, and I have tried it myself, but it ain't no manner of good. The
Almighty has given us a lot of knowledge that he has not given to these
black fellows, but he has balanced it up by giving them the knack of
lighting a fire which he has not given to us. I never heard of a white man
who could make fire in that way."

"Well, I will have a try, anyhow," Joyce said; "there can't be anything
special about a Malay that he can make fire more than a white man."

"You may try as much as you like, Master Joyce," the sailor said, shaking
his head solemnly, "but mark my words, you won't be able to do it. It is a
pity, too, for with all this wood that has been drying as if on purpose
for us, we could have had one without being afraid of the smoke."

"Well, we must not grumble; we have got a lot to be thankful for; and we
can do without meat well enough."

"Yes, Mr. Joyce," Wilcox said reluctantly; "only, you know, I wish we had
not come across that cask of salt junk, then one would never have thought
about it; but seeing it there, and not being able to cook it, is enough to
make a saint grumble, I should say."

"Not if he were really a saint, Wilcox. However, don't make up your mind
that you are not going to get your teeth into that junk till I give up the
hope of making a fire."

"Well, sir, we will roll the three barrels over here, and then set about
rigging up the tent. There is nothing like being busy."

By nightfall they had got the tent up. They had had some argument over the
best site. All would have preferred to have erected it on the low ground,
near their wel