s twenty foot long."

"Well, that must have been a pleasant sort of thing," said Tom, as I sat
there listening thoughtfully, for the sailor seemed disposed to go on
talking.

"I remember one year, fifteen years ago I daresay it is, we were going
from Singapore to Hong Kong, and it was a strangely hot calm time, when
all at once away about a mile on our lee bow I saw something rise up out
of the sea five-and-twenty or thirty feet, as it seemed to be, but it
went down again directly; and I rubbed my eyes, thinking it was fancy,
but directly after out it came again, making a curious kind of thrust
like as if it was a long neck of something under the water. Then down
it went again, and I called the officer of the watch to look at it; and
he came with his glass, laughing-like, but just then out it came again
and he tried to get a glimpse of it through his glass, but he never
could be quick enough, for there was no telling where the thing would
dart out its head, and when it did come up it went down again directly.

"I was in hopes it would come nigher, but it went the other way,
shooting out its head once when it was a good way off, and then we did
not see it any more."

"And what do you think it was?" I said eagerly.

"Not knowing, can't say," he replied quietly. "Our officer said,
half-laughing, half-puzzled like, that he should have said it was the
sea-serpent, only no one would believe him if he did."

"Did you ever see anything else?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, my lad, I've seen a good many things that people wouldn't
believe. I remember once seeing a curious thing off the muddy Malay
coast, a long way north of Malacca, where you have mangrove swamps right
down about the mouths of the rivers, places where the crocodiles go in
and out."

"I say, how big's a crocodile?" said Tom sharply.

"All sizes, mate," said the sailor. "I've seen 'em two foot long and
I've seen 'em twenty."

"Oh, not bigger than that?" said Tom contemptuously.

"No, my lad, that's the biggest I ever see, but I've heerd of 'em being
seen five or six and twenty."

"But tell us about the strange thing you saw off the Malay coast," I
said impatiently.

"Oh, ah! yes," he said, "that was just as the mist was lifting that lay
between us and the coast. It was in a shallow muddy sea, and three or
four of us was trying to make out the trees ashore, and wondering
whether there would be any chance of our getting some fresh fruit and
vegetables b