ts sleeping depths. So insignificant a disturbance
even as the falling of a leaf into the water sufficed to evolve a
slowly-widening circle of silver light, whilst a frog, a lizard, or a
water-rat, making an aquatic excursion, revealed his form and presence
much more distinctly than would have been the case at noonday.

Our attention, however, was soon distracted from this witching scene--
the exquisite beauty of which is not to be described in mere words--by a
noise of singing and shouting on Merlani's island. Presently a feeble
flickering fame became visible on the sandy beach, which, quickly
increasing in brilliancy, revealed the evident fact that a party of the
buccaneers were intent upon a carouse. With the aid of a telescope we
could see that these men, some twenty in number, had seated themselves
round the fire--which they had probably kindled for the twofold purpose
of providing themselves with light and smoking away the mosquitoes--and
were industriously passing round a bulky jar, presumably containing
spirits, from which, as it came round, each man scrupulously replenished
his pannikin; the intervals not devoted to the more important business
of drinking being occupied in the singing, or rather _shouting_, of
ribald songs, in the performance of which every man's aim appeared to be
to out-yell everybody else. This lasted for rather more than an hour,
when a temporary lull occurred, and we were in hopes that the orgy was
about over and that the hubbub had ceased for the night, when a large
boat full of men was seen to be pulling off in our direction. I did not
like the look of this at all; the idea of being boarded there in that
out-of-the-way spot by a score of desperadoes, half crazy with drink,
and, even at the best of times, ripe for any deed of diabolical
mischief, was so uninviting that I suggested to Carera the advisability
of at once arming all hands, so as to be in readiness for any emergency.
I could see that Carera was even more discomposed than ourselves at the
approach of the boat, but he would not for a moment listen to my
proposal to arm the felucca's people, hastily explaining--and possibly
he was right--that the display of weapons would be only too likely to
further excite our coming visitors and lead to some overt act productive
of a terrible disaster. He expressed the opinion--his teeth chattering
with fear, meanwhile, to such an extent that he could scarcely
articulate--that the visit wo