FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44  
45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   >>   >|  
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
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44  
45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

twenty

 

directly

 

curious

 
sailor
 
laughing
 

remember

 
officer
 

mangrove

 

Malacca

 

things


serpent
 

wouldn

 

people

 

shallow

 

lifting

 
strange
 

impatiently

 

chance

 

wondering

 
ashore

vegetables

 
crocodile
 

sharply

 

crocodiles

 

mouths

 

rivers

 

places

 
biggest
 

contemptuously

 

bigger


puzzled

 

swamps

 

strangely

 

Singapore

 

rubbed

 

thinking

 

thirty

 

listening

 

thoughtfully

 

pleasant


disposed

 

talking

 

daresay

 

fifteen

 

shooting

 

nigher

 
telling
 

replied

 

quietly

 

knowing