STORY OF DENDROBIUM LOWII 123 



swore very loud and very often to the effect that he'd eat 

 every snake within miles, and that Tuzzadeen was the son 

 of a sea-cook. So the cHmbers went up, but gingerly. 

 Tuzzadeen sat grinning. They had not mounted high, luckily, 

 for on a sudden one gave a screech, and both crashed down, 

 the second dropping in sheer fright. But he who uttered 

 that yell had good cause for it, evidently. He danced and 

 twisted, threw himself down and bounded to his feet, roaring 

 with pain. His eyes showed the white in a circle all round, 

 and his brows, strained upward, almost touched the hair. 

 All leapt out, splashing through the shallow water, pale with 

 alarm — seized their writhing comrade, and stripped him. 

 Tuzzadeen examined his body ; presently the convulsions 

 grew fainter, and he struggled in a more intelligent sort of 

 way, though still roaring. 



' Him bit by fire -ant, I say, Tuan Cap'n,' observed 

 Tuzzadeen. 



' Well ! Here's a blasphemous fuss about an un- 

 mentionable little ant ! D'you call yourself a gore-stained 

 British seaman, Forster ? Just let's hear you do it, you 

 unfit-for-repetition lubber, so as we may have a right-down 

 blank laugh.' 



Forster collected his wits and answered earnestly, ' It 

 was an ant maybe. But I tell you, Cap'n Baker, there ain't 

 no difference betwixt that ant and a red-hot iron devil. Oh 

 law ! I'll be good from this day. I know how the bad uns 

 fare now.' 



' That's a blessed resolution anyhow,' said Baker. ' But 

 it didn't last above a minute, you see. Come, show yourself 

 a man, and shin up them shrouds again.' 



' No, Cap'n Baker,' he answered slowly and impressively, 

 ' not if you was to put the Queen's crown on top of the 

 tree and fix a keg of rum half-way up.' 



Then they found that the other man had hurt himself 



