s well have a tot of grog served out, and then the sailors can march
down to the landing place and bring up the boats and take the guns and
what ammunition you have left, on board. Mr. Morrison will go back
with me to the ship; he has one of his arms broken by a ball from the
prahus."

"I did not know that he was wounded, sir; he did not report it. I should
not have sent him if I had known it."

"It is just as well as it is, Ferguson; it will give me an opportunity
of specially recommending him for promotion in my report. The assistant
surgeon temporarily bandaged his arm when he reached the ship."

"Is she afloat, sir?"

"No; I want you back as soon as possible. We shall have to get out the
anchors and heave on them. We put on a full head of steam and drove her
two or three hundred yards through the mud before she finally brought
up. I wanted to get as near to you as possible, in order to clear the
woods round you."

By two o'clock the whole ship's company were on board again, and set
to work to get her off; but it was not until after some hours' exertion
that the Serpent was again afloat. She was at once turned round, steamed
down to the mouth of the creek, and cast anchor opposite the village.

CHAPTER IX.

The party landed at the village the next morning, but found it entirely
deserted.

"It is most important that we should take a prisoner, Ferguson," the
captain said, as he and the first lieutenant paced up and down the
quarterdeck; "we must catch the two prahus if we can. At present we
don't know whether they have gone up or down the river, and it would
be absolutely useless for us to wait until we get some clew to their
whereabouts. After we have finished with them, we will go up the other
branch, and try to find the two we know to be up there. I should not
like to leave our work unfinished."

"Certainly not, sir. I am afraid, though, it is of no use landing to try
to get hold of a prisoner. No doubt the woods are full of them. There
are the townspeople and those who came to help them; and though many of
those who tried to swim ashore from the sunken boats may have been
taken by the alligators, still the greater portion must have landed all
right."

"I should think, Mr. Ferguson, that it would be a good plan to send a
party of twenty men on shore after nightfall and to distribute them, two
Men to a hut. Possibly two or three of the Malays may come down to the
village before morning, either to f