Four Young Explorers Part 12

"But there are some lakes up the river, Mr. Eng told me; and I think we shall get out of this tangle very soon; and when we come to higher ground we will go on sh.o.r.e, and try our luck on foot."

The captain talked as though he had some scheme in his head which he was not yet prepared to unfold to his companions. But what could he do?

Nothing had been said on board of the ship about coming back to Sarawak for the hunters, and to give up hunting and exploring would be simply to return to Kuching, and idle away the time for the next two weeks. Louis did not like this idea at all; and yet it seemed to be the alternative which Scott must have in his mind.

"Mias!" shouted Achang, when the conversation had proceeded so far.

"Where is your mias?" demanded Louis; for most of the party had come to calling the orang by his Malay name.

The Bornean pointed into the forest, the trees of which were growing in the water, though there was an undergrowth of screw-pines, which had been abundant all along the river. They were not pines as the explorers understood the word at home. The plant is a bush or small tree with half a dozen or more branches angling upward from the trunk, and twisting a little towards it, from which feature it takes its name. It has long, lanceolated leaves, and therefore is not at all like the American pine.

"Stop her, Lane!" called the captain in a tone that "meant business."

"Back her!"

The last order was given because there was an opening through the screw-pines which afforded a full view of the taller trees about twenty rods farther from the stream. The captain then took the wheel from Lane, rang the gong to go ahead; and, putting the helm hard-a-starboard, the boat came about, headed into the opening. Looking forward, there seemed but very few trees or bushes compared with the number along the flowing stream.

"Do you see the mias, Louis?" asked Scott.

"I do; and he is in a very favorable position. He is a big one, and must be a male," replied Louis, who stood at the stem with a repeating-rifle in his hand.

"Do you see him, Flix?"

"I do; and he has a green nest in the same tree with him."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "YOU ARE NEAR ENOUGH, CAPTAIN."

_Page 99._]

By this time all the party had taken their rifles. The boat moved very slowly. A seaman sounded the depth with a boathook, and reported eight feet. As she approached the orang, the brute showed his teeth, and uttered several successive growls, as though he understood that danger was near; but he did not attempt to escape.

"I wonder can the blackguard swim," said Felix, who had his rifle ready to fire.

"I have read that he is a poor swimmer," replied Louis.

"How does he get about here where the water is eight feet deep?"

"He is not as agile as the gibbon; but he can make his way from one tree to another in the same manner, and his road is through the trees, and not on the ground."

"Here I am, and I can't go any farther," said the captain, as he rang to stop her. "I can't get the boat through this clump of bushes."

"You are near enough, Captain; let her rest where she is," replied Louis, as he aimed his rifle at the orang, which was sitting on a branch holding on with both hands.

Louis fired, and the creature fell with a loud splash into the water at the foot of the tree. But he was not dead, and was struggling to escape.

He was evidently wounded very badly, and when the hunter saw his opportunity he fired again. The orang had grasped a screw-pine, and he held on, but he struggled no more. The captain had ordered the sampan to be brought alongside, and two men were at the paddles. Louis and Felix joined them, and they paddled towards the _game_.

"I think he is dead though he still holds on at the bush," said Louis.

"We shall soon find out," added Clingman, as he threw a slip-noose over his head. "Heave ahead now!" he continued, as Clinch grasped the line with him, and they pulled together.

The orang did not make any movement, and it was certain that he was dead. When they had drawn him within a few feet of the sampan, the line was made fast, and the men paddled to the steamer. A purchase was rigged to the top of one of the stanchions, and the dead animal was hoisted into the sampan.

"Now, Lane, measure him," said the captain.

The body was laid out at full length in the bottom of the boat; and the carpenter took his length on a boathook, which he notched to indicate the height of the animal. He was directed to take several other measurements; in fact, Louis kept him at work for over an hour, with another hand to a.s.sist him in spreading out the limbs. The captain became quite impatient; for he was less a scientist than the young millionaire, though he had a taste for natural history.

"Have you finished, Louis?" asked Scott as the former returned to the yacht.

"All done; but Lane must sum up the results," replied Louis.

"What good will all those measurements do you?" demanded the captain rather contemptuously.

"They will not put any money in my pocket, but I want to know the size of the game I have killed," answered Louis, somewhat nettled by the manner of Scott. "When a man has caught a fish he wants to know what his prize weighs."

"All right; but I want to get a little farther into the woods here, and I can get around the bushes ahead of her," replied the captain, who had been studying up a course by which he could go a considerable distance farther inland.

He backed the boat, and then went ahead very slowly, with Clingman feeling of the bottom with the boathook. It was novel sailing through the forest in a steam-launch, and all hands enjoyed it. The screw-pines were rather scattered, and the forest of large trees was quite open.

After the boat had gone about half a mile, as the captain judged, Clingman made a report.

"By the mark, one," said he, as the depth is given with the lead, in fathoms.

"Six feet; we are shoaling," added Captain Scott. "Try it again."

"Five feet," returned the seaman.

The steamer continued on her course, with Scott at the wheel, for some time longer. The dry land could be seen through the trees at no great distance ahead. The boat continued on her course for a quarter of an hour, when Clingman call out a depth which caused the captain to ring the gong to stop her. The last report was three feet, and the keel was evidently grinding through the soft mud. Then he rang to back her; and when she had increased her depth to four feet, he struck the gong to stop her.

"Dinner is ready, gentlemen," said Pitts.

"We must attend to that before we do anything more," added the captain.

"Keep a sharp lookout ahead, Clingman."

The party went into the after cabin, and the novelty of dining on board of a steamer in the woods was sufficiently inspiring to add a big interest to the occasion.

"What have you got for dinner, Pitts?" asked Felix, as he entered the cabin. "Have you got any stewed crocodiles?"

"Not a croc, Mr. McGavonty," replied the cook.

"Any boiled orang-outang?"

"Not an orang. The captain bought six dozens of eggs at the village where we stopped yesterday, and I have ham and eggs for dinner, which I hope will suit you," replied Pitts.

"The best thing in the world for me. Whisper! Are they crocodiles'

eggs?"

"Not a bit of it, sir."

The princ.i.p.al dish proved to be very satisfactory to the boys, whose appet.i.tes had been sharpened by the exercise of the forenoon. The cuisine had been very good along the rivers, for Pitts had generally been the caterer as well as the cook and steward. Chickens and eggs had been plentiful enough, and at the town he had obtained some fish. There was no fresh beef or mutton. They had a barrel of excellent salt beef from the stores of the ship; and Pitts made a splendid hash, which suited all hands better than almost anything else.

While they were at dinner the steward brought in Lane's report of the measurements of the orang Louis had shot. It was given to the Captain at the head of the table; and he read it off: "Height, 4 feet, 5-1/4 inches; arms spread out full length, from end to end of longest fingers, 7 feet, 10 inches; length of arm, 3 feet, 3 inches; length of hand, 10-1/2 inches; length of foot, 12-1/4 inches; round the waist, 4 feet, 2 inches. Four men estimated on the weight, and the average is 185 pounds.'"