STORY OF DENDROBIUM LOWII 127 



festooned with greenery. A noise of howling came through 

 it. He asked Tuzzadeen what this meant. Tuzzadeen, 

 Malay and Moslem, was much amused. 



' Baby born ! ' he laughed. ' Father go to bed ; mother 

 feed him with rice and salt.' 



' Feed the father ? ' Baker cried. 



' Yes. Them naked chaps say father's child, not mother's. 

 Women cry over him. You hear ? ' 



' Lord 'a mercy, I must see this ! ' And before Tuzza- 

 deen could interfere he opened the door. 



Wild uproar broke out on the instant, men shouted, 

 women screamed and wailed — in a solid mass they rushed 

 from the spot. Tuzzadeen caught Baker and ran him back 

 up the passage, the sailors following. They fled for their 

 lives, slid down the notched log and along the path, pursued 

 by terrific clamour — but not by human beings apparently. 

 Perceiving this, Tuzzadeen stopped. 



' I go back,' he said breathlessly. ' Them kill us in 

 jungle when them like. 1 make trade. You pay ? ' 



' Anything — anything ! ' cried Baker. ' We haven't 

 even our guns ! ' 



So the Malay went back to negotiate, but they ran on — 

 came to the awful bridge, Baker foremost. He reached the 

 middle. One of the sailors behind would wait no longer — 

 advanced — and both fell headlong down. The sailor was 

 killed instantly ; Baker, in the middle of the bridge, dropped 

 among the branches of a tree. 



There he lay, bruised, half conscious, until Tuzzadeen's 

 shouts roused him, and he answered faintly. 



' Hold on ! ' cried the Malay. ' We come good time, 

 Tuan Cap'n ! Before dark ! ' Six hours to wait at least ! 



Baker began to stir^ — found he had no limbs broken, 

 and thought of descending. His movements were quickened 

 by the onslaught of innumerable ants, not a venomous 



