104 
MEETING WITH NATIVES. 
the beach. We threw down our guns under a large oak- 
tree and stretched ourselves upon the yielding, moss-like 
grass. We were pretty well used up, some of the party 
entirely so; Williams, too, complained more and more of 
his hand, which was now quite swollen. We ate our cold 
dinner, laid back drowsily for a half-hour, and then pre- 
pared to cross the jungle to the opposite beach, where 
we hoped to find the boat in sight. One of the men, who 
had taken oft‘ his boots when we first stopped, now went 
to the beach to wash his bleeding feet before putting 
them on again. Suddenly we heard his voice: — 
“ ‘ Here's some Malay boats down the beach, sir !’ 
“ This was a very acceptable piece of information. We 
had been longing to fall in with some of the natives to 
offer them a heavy reward for the discovery of the men, 
if alive, and a moderate one for their bones if dead : we 
thought they would be more likely to succeed in their 
native wilds tlian we. 
“Every man sprang to his feet with renewed strength 
and started up the beach, — some, however, very slowly. 
Among these latter were poor Baber and our interpreter, 
the former of whom had been suftering from the jungle- 
fever for the last month, and the latter of whom, having 
just left a counting-room, was poorly prepared to stand 
fatigue. In my anxiety to inquire about the men, I walked 
rapidly ahead, while the captain brought up the others at 
a more moderate gait. 
“A half-hour’s walk under the broiling sun (thermo- 
meter at 101° on board the schooner) brought me to the 
nearest phrau, when, as I could not speak the language, I 
commenced making friendly gestures. The men who 
