THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 89 



steamy heat of the inside of the jungle which exhausts the 

 strongest man in an incredibly short time. 



Half an hour later, when champagne had gone freely round, a 

 good supper had been done ample justice to, and tobacco was 

 shedding its soothing influence on the scene, our ci revenarits" 

 began to look a little more like living flesh and blood, and then 

 at last we heard all about it. 



It appeared that the Philosopher had once made his way 

 though with great difficulty across the island. In returning dark- 

 ness fell ; unable to pick his way, he became more and more in- 

 volved in difficult jungle. Still he forced his way, getting deeper 

 and deeper into a cane brake. At last tied up by dozens of 

 the long whip-like strings of sharp recurved thorns, and fairly 

 worn out by hours of struggling, he dropped where he stood 

 utterly exhausted and parched with thirst. He heard many 

 guns, which he rightly apprehended were designed to attract 

 his notice, and having stuck to his gun, fired many shots in 

 return, which we I think heard, but which the dense juno-le 

 and the deep roar of the Surf close beside them, barred to the ears 

 of those on shore. After lying for an hour or so, and recovering 

 again a little strength, he succeeded in disentangling himself 

 and in forcing a way about 20 yards nearer to the shore, by 

 that time, for this took him an hour to accomplish, he was 

 not only utterly exhausted, but he found himself literally 

 bound hand and foot by these terrible bands, so that he could 

 neither advance, retreat, nor even lie down, and was compelled 

 to come to a halt half propped up against a tree, half huno- by 

 his clothes (or what remained of them) in the cane shoots ; and 

 there he remained, an endless time it seemed to him, every 

 other feeling sunk in the terrible growing thirst ; at last the 

 guns which had ceased for long were resumed, but he was too 

 exhausted to fire in reply, indeed he had fired so often in 

 vain that he saw no use in it. Pi'esently he became convinced 

 that the guns were approaching and he succeeded in firing. 

 Then they grew nearer and nearer and he fired again, and heard 

 immediately faint shouts ; he tried to reply but his tono-ue 

 was swollen, and with his whole throat dry and hard as a board. 

 Finally, a dim glimmer flickered as it seemed in the far 

 distance, (though as a matter of fact even a couple of blue 

 lights are not visible a hundred yards through jungle like 

 this) voices sounded close, and he knew that it was all rio-ht. 



Our party, when they landed, had found the chief officer, 

 McKirdy and Mackay, quite done up on the beach ; they had 

 had nothing to eat or drink since noon, and from two to past nine 



