74 THE WOODLANDS ORCHIDS 



him such immense advantage above all other men in the 

 struggle for existence — he does not notice his surroundings 

 much. Briefly, a tremendous squall caught them in sight of 

 port — one of those sudden outbursts v/hich make fresh-water 

 sailing so perilous in the Tropics. The wind swooped down 

 like a hurricane from every quarter at once, as it seemed. 

 For a moment the lake lay still, hissing, beaten down by the 

 blow ; then it rose in solid bulk like waves of the ocean. In 

 a very few minutes the squall passed on ; but it had swamped 

 the sampan. They were so near the land, however, that the 

 Subanos, hastening to the rescue, met them half way in the 

 surf, escorted them to shore, laughing and hallooing, and 

 returned to dive for the cargo. It was mostly recovered in 

 time. 



These people do not build houses in the water, like so 

 many of their kin. They prefer the safety of high trees ; it 

 is not by any means so effectual, but such, they would say, 

 was the custom of their ancestors. At this village the houses 

 were perched not less than fifty feet in air, standing on a 

 solid platform. But if the inhabitants are thus secured 

 against attack, on the other hand — each family living by 

 itself up aloft — an enemy on the ground would be free to 

 conduct his operations at leisure. So the unmarried men 

 and a proportion of the warriors occupy a stout building 

 raised only so far above the soil as to keep out reptiles. Here 

 also the chief sits by day, and public business is done. The 

 visitors were taken thither. 



When Roebelin had dried his clothes the afternoon was 

 too far advanced for exploration. The crew of the prau 

 chattered and disputed at the top of their shrill voices as case 

 after case was brought in, dripping, and examined. But 

 Sam Choon found time in the midst of his anxieties to warn 

 Roebelin against quitting the cleared area. ' Bagabos come 

 just now, they say,' he shouted. But the noise and the fuss 



