A NIGHTIARE OF TiHE DOLDRUILS.

as they darted along with their back or dorsal fins exposcd. They were all little fish ; I saw no sharks. ‘I'hc body to which the leg belonged was covered by a white cloth. The captain called my attention to the parcel attached to the mast, and said that it possibly contained the food which the Malays leave beside their dead after burial.

“But let's go to breakfast now, Mr. Barron,” said he, with a slow, reproachful, impatient look round the breathless scene of occan. *“ Ifthere's any amusement to be got out of that thing yonder there's a pre- clous long, quict day before us, T fear, for the entertainment.”

We breakfasted, and in duc coursc re- turned on deck. The slewing of the barquc had caused the raft to shift its bearings, otherwisc its distance remained as it was when we went below.

“Mr. Perkins,” said the captain, “lower a boat and bring aboard that parcel from the raft's jury-mast, and likewisc take a peep at the figure under the cloth, and re- port its sex and what it looks like."

I asked leave to go in the boat, and when she was lowered, with three men in her, I followed Mr. Perkins, and we rowed over to the raft. All about the frail bamboo con- trivance the water was beautiful with the colours and movements of innumerable fish. As we approached we were grected by an evil smell. The raft seemed to have been

‘“ THE BOWMAN JERKED THE CLOTH CLEAR OF THE RAFT,"

1G 1

afloat for a considerable period 5 its sub- merged portionwas green with marine adhe- sions or growths. The fcllow in the bows of the boat, manceuvring with the boat- hook, cleverly snicked the parcel from the jury-mast and handed it along to the mate, who put it beside him without opening i, for that was to be the captain's privilege.

“OIf with that cloth,” said Mr. Perkins, “and then back water a bit out of this atmosphere.”

The bowman jerked the cloth clear of the raft with his boathook ; the white sheet floated Tike a snowflake upon the water for a few breaths, then slowly sank. The body exposed was stark-naked and tawny. It was a male. I saw nothing revolting in the thing 5 it would have been otherwise per- haps had it been white. The hair was long and black, the nose aquiline, the mouth puckered into the aspect of a hare-lip ; the gleam of a few white teeth painted a ghastly contemptuous grin upon the dead face. The only shocking part was the footless leg.

“ Shall T hook him overboard, sir ? " said the bowman.

“No, fct him take his easc as he lies,” answered the mate, and with that we re- turned to the barque.

We climbed over the side, the boat was hoisted to the davits, and Mr. Perkins took the parcel out of the stern-sheets and handed it to the captain, The cover was a kind of fine can- vas, very ncatly stitched with white thread. Captain Cayzer ripped through the stitching with his knifc, and cexposed a couple of books bound in some kind of skin or parchment.T'hey were probably the Koran, but the characters nonce of us knew. The captain turned them about for a Dit, and I stood })y looking at them he then replaced them in their