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CHAPTER IV. 
The Gate of the East — Under the Fig Tree— Javanese Market — Monkeys 
for Sale — Jungle Scene — “Massacre of the Innocents” — Centipedes 
and Scorpions — The Tiger’s Paw — A Ludicrous Incident — Mew 
Island — Description of a Coral Eeef — Gutta-percha Ti-ees — A 
Deserted Village — Hornbills. 
AYe were detained some time at “ tlie Gate of the 
East/’^ — as the Straits of Simda have been called— 
with orders to intercept the troop-shij)s on their way 
to China, for we had had tidings of the terrible 
Indian mutiny, and the troops were wanted else- 
where. AYe beguiled the time by catching tiger- 
sharks, and landing on the woody islets which dot 
the calm deep waters of the sleepy Straits ; we shot 
wild pigs on Thwart-the-way Island, and astonished 
the noisy cockatoos on Krakatua Island. As we 
invaded their solitudes, they ascended screaming 
in large flocks, and circled round and round the 
highest tree-tops. 
