this process, or to the action of nature, or to the
combined efforts of nature and his friends, that Bumpus owed his
recovery, we cannot pretend to say; but certain it is that, on Corrie
making a severer dab than usual into the pit of the seaman's stomach, he
gave a gasp and a sneeze, the latter of which almost overturned Poopy,
who chanced to be gazing wildly into his countenance at the moment. At
the same time he involuntarily threw up his right arm, and fetched
Corrie such a tremendous backhander on the chest that our young hero was
laid flat on his back--half stunned by the violence of his fall, yet
shouting with delight that his rugged friend still lived to strike
another blow.

Having achieved this easy though unintentional victory, Bumpus sighed
again, shook his legs in the air, and sat up, gazing before him with a
bewildered air, and gasping from time to time in a quiet way.

"Wot's to do?" were the first words with which the restored seaman
greeted his friends.

"Hurrah!" screamed Corrie, his visage blazing with delight, as he danced
in front of him.

"Werry good," said Bumpus, whose intellects were not yet thoroughly
restored, "try it again."

"Oh! how cold your cheeks are," said Alice, placing her hands on them,
and chafing them gently; then, perceiving that she did not communicate
much warmth in that way, she placed her own fair soft cheek against that
of the sailor. Suddenly throwing both arms round his neck, she hugged
him, and burst into tears.

Bumpus was somewhat taken aback by this unexpected explosion, but, being
an affectionate man as well as a rugged one, he had no objection
whatever to the peculiar treatment. He allowed the child to sob on his
neck as long as she chose, while Corrie stood by with his hands in his
pockets, sailor-fashion, and looked on admiringly. As for Poopy, she
sat down on a rock a short way off, and began to smile and talk to
herself in a manner so utterly idiotical that an ignorant observer would
certainly have judged her to be insane.

They were thus agreeably employed when an event occurred which changed
the current of their thoughts, and led to consequences of a somewhat
serious nature. This event, however, was in itself insignificant. It
was nothing more than the sudden appearance of a wild-pig among the
bushes close at hand.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

A WILD CHASE--HOPE, DISAPPOINTMENT, AND DESPAIR--THE SANDAL-WOOD TRADER
OUTWITS THE MAN-OF-WAR.

When the