life-line and the air-tube; unscrewed the various pieces--glasses, nuts,
and valves--of the helmet, carefully examined them, oiled them, and
re-fastened them, much to the interest and curiosity of "the natives."
The helmet itself he polished up till it shone like a great globe of
silver, to the intense admiration of "the natives." The pump he took to
pieces elaborately, much to the anxiety of "the natives," who evidently
thought he had wantonly destroyed it, but who soon saw it gradually put
together again, much to their satisfaction, and brought into good
working order. Rooney even went the length of horrifying one or two of
"the natives" by letting one of the heavy shoulder-weights fall on their
naked toes. This had the effect of making them jump and howl, while it
threw the others into ecstasies of delight, which they expressed by
throwing back their heads, shutting their eyes, opening their mouths,
and chuckling heartily.

Aileen and Miss Pritty, in the meantime, lay on the sofas in the cabin,
and at last obtained much-needed refreshment to their weary spirits by
falling into deep, dreamless, and untroubled slumber.

Thus the gun-boat with its varied freight sped on until it reached
Sarawak, where the pirates were sent ashore under a strong guard.

With these our tale has now nothing more to do; but as this cutting
short of their career is not fiction, it may interest the reader to know
that they were afterwards tried by a jury composed half of native chiefs
and half of Europeans, who unanimously found them guilty. They were
condemned to be shot, and the sentence was carried out immediately, in
the jungle, two miles outside of the town. They were buried where they
fell, and thus ended one of the sharpest lessons that had ever been
taught to a band of miscreants, who had long filled with terror the
inhabitants of Borneo and the neighbouring archipelago.

Some idea may be formed of the service done on this occasion--as
estimated by those who were well able to judge--when we say that the
captain of the gun-boat afterwards received, in recognition of his
prowess, a handsome sword and letter of thanks from the Rajah, Sir James
Brooke; a certificate, with a pocket chronometer, from the
Netherlands-Indian Government; a commander's commission from the Sarawak
Government; and letters of grateful thanks from the Resident Governor of
the west coast of Borneo, the Council of Singapore for the Netherlands
Government, an