d
capsicums, and a little cinnamon and nutmeg; a basket of mangoes,
and some tobacco. As soon as it became dusk, they took their places
in the boat, Meinik carrying down two or three faggots of wood.

The boat was a canoe, hewn out of a pine log. It would have carried
four people comfortably, and there was plenty of room for them both
to lie down at full length. It was very light, the wood having been
cut away until it was little thicker than cardboard. This was the
almost universal method of construction: even the war canoes, that
would carry sixty paddlers--sitting two by two on a bench--and
thirty soldiers, being hewn from great single logs of teak. The
nets were stowed one, at each end. In the middle was the fireplace,
on which the brands of the fire had already been laid. Near it were
the faggots and stores.

Meinik and Stanley sat on the nets, each with a paddle. The former
had hidden the greater portion of his store of money in the ground,
before entering the village. As soon as they had fairly started,
Stanley said:

"Had we not better get rid of the fire, Meinik? Its light would
draw attention to us."

"That matters little," the Burman replied. "There are not likely to
be war canoes about at night, and I expect that most of them will
have gone down the river. People fish either by night or by day
and, even if a war canoe came along, they would not trouble about
it for, of course, many men too old to go to the war remain here,
and go on fishing. People cannot starve because there is fighting.
The old men and women must cultivate the fields and fish, or both
they and the people of the towns would starve.

"Many even of the young men do not go. They keep away from their
villages during the day, and work in the fields; and the headmen
shut their eyes, for they know that if the fields are not
cultivated, the people cannot pay their share of the taxes.

"Still, it is as well to be on the safe side. When the fire has
burnt low we will lay a cloth over the top of the boat, so that the
glow of the embers will not be seen."

They kept their course near the middle of the river; partly because
the current there was stronger, partly because any war canoes that
might be coming up would keep close to one bank or the other. They
kept on their way until there was a faint gleam of light in the
sky; and then paddled into the shore, chose a spot where some
bushes drooped down into the water and, forcing the canoe in behi