William Dalton

“ Delicious the climate, enchanting the scenery, of the islands of the Indian Archipelago! crowded as they are, from the water’s edge to their very summit, with luxuriant foliage, and offering to the vision a richness of tint unknown in other regions; nevertheless, to two youngsters longing for activity, and the free and natural use of their legs, a voyage along the coast-line of Java, cribbed, cabined and confined in a comparatively small craft, and manned by natives, who, either from ignorance or obstinacy, insist upon hugging the shore and never losing sight of land, was very monotonous. ”

“ Surely it could not be human; he listened; again he heard it; and looking upward you may imagine his astonishment at seeing a boy sitting across one of the upper branches.
"Who cries for help?" said Nicholas.
"It is the miserable Chow, who must die if the benevolent stranger will not aid him," was the reply.
"Canst thou swim, O Chow? If so, drop into the water, for I dare not come nearer," said Nicholas; but scarcely had he spoken when a strong gust of wind toppled the tree over with its great arms stretched out as if to save itself from falling. ”

“ The next morning Nicholas visited the princess, and to his surprise and delight found that she had recovered her strength. "This is indeed joy, O my princess!" said he, kneeling; when, taking him by the hand, the royal lady said, "Kneel not before her whom thou hast so much befriended, O noble youth; for it is naught but the poor fatherless girl La-Loo who is before thee, and would indeed be thy sister."
"This is not possible; the daughter of the Ming can never be less in the world than its princess—first in beauty as in rank," said Nicholas. ”

“ A chief rushes into the ring with a wild shriek and a ferocious look, with creese in one hand and spear in the other; he traverses the ground, leaping from one side of the ring to the other, and, in a menacing posture, bids defiance to some fancied enemy; then he stamps his feet upon the ground and shakes his head, distorts his features, and makes his teeth chatter again; then he throws his lance, and with his creese hacks and hews at the airy enemy, shrieking all the time. ”

“ Nicholas was dreaming of the rebel Li-Kong, the Emperor, the princess, the soldiers, and his father's fleet. A sudden grip upon his arm made him set bolt upright upon his sleeping mat, and there stood Chow, in a state of great excitement, holding in his arms his master's habiliments and accoutrements, as if the place had been on fire, or he had suddenly turned thief, and was about commencing business upon his master's clothes.
"Awake, O my master, we are caught like rats in a trap; the rebels are upon us!" ”

“ This explanation quieted my brother, and made him laugh; but speedily our attention was turned in another direction: our brave cousin, overcome by her exertions or terror at my brother’s narrow escape, had swooned.
“How vexatious!” cried our aunt. “Go,” she added to Prabu, the slave, who had just entered the tent with some message, “carry the foolish girl to her maid.”
What a feeling arose in my heart at these words. As for Martin, with flashing eyes, he said, savagely, “Foolish—she is not foolish; she is as brave and good as an angel. It is you who are wicked.” ”

“ Can it be that one so brave on land should be so great a coward upon water?" said Nicholas.
"Truly it is a maxim, my master that, 'all are cowards who can't help themselves.' Chow in the waters would be less than the least of little fishes, for he cannot swim," was the gloomy reply.
"It is also a maxim, 'that the gods forsake those who forsake themselves,'" said Nicholas, adding, "But it is fatigue, my poor Chow, that destroys thy courage; get thee, therefore, into the cabin and rest for a time, while I keep watch." ”

“ And with his sarong—which he had taken off and bound tightly round his left arm—and creese in hand, he ran towards the animal; but when within a couple of yards of it, he suddenly came to a dead halt, and there stood as if terror-stricken. But so were we, for we saw rise from amongst the tall grass to the height of a man, a huge liboya (a species of boa-constrictor common to Java) ; and there for a moment it remained, putting forth its forked tongue, and glaring at pig and man, as if undecided upon which to spring. ”

“ Suddenly the boat began to rock.
"To your pole, Chow," cried Nicholas. No sooner had he complied, than they found they had entered upon a rapid, for the little craft shot forth almost with the velocity of an arrow. Then came the first faint streaks of daybreak, and they trembled, for they saw that they had entered a narrow creek. "Steady, for our lives, there is hope yet, for yonder vessel may see us," said Nicholas. The vessel to which he alluded was a large junk, so skilfully handled that she seemed to be stemming the torrent. ”

“ A mahout sometimes gets a scratch, but it is the noble elephant that bears the brunt of the battle, and everything depends on his sagacity, courage, and steadiness. If the elephant won’t stand, becomes frightened, and goes off, then, indeed, the sportsman’s life is in some jeopardy; but this seldom happens, and even then the number and arms of the party are out of all proportion to the strength of a tiger or two.’”
“Oh! bother, Claud, I wish you hadn’t such a good memory. But what has tiger-hunting in India to do with me—we are on the island of Bali?” ”

“ We dare not, O noble Nicholas," said Chow! "for the wolves are upon us."
"Onward, my brother, for there are sounds of more terrible beasts than wolves. Let us trust ourselves in the hands of Providence," said the princess.
Seeing the knees of the guide knocking together with fear, Nicholas said, "Get thee to the rear, and follow the mule, thou coward;" then, dismounting, he caught hold of the reins in the nostrils of the camels and averting his eyes from the chasm beneath, led the sure-footed beast along the platform. ”

“ There was a chasm before us, the darkness of which was impenetrable.
“I wonder how deep it is,” said Martin, throwing a large stone into it. But, judging of the great depth by the lapse of time before we could hear the splashing of the stone in some water at the bottom, I began to tremble.
“I sha’n’t go any further,” said I.
“Never say die, old fellow; that hole may be very deep, but then we have to jump across—not down; so here goes.” ”

“ The prince is too honest and brave to be much in favor just now. Wouldst thou be safe, youth, thou must seek the Prince Li-Kong."
"The vile traitor," muttered Nicholas at the name.
"Hist, hist! thou wilt assuredly lose thy head, boy," said Yang, placing his finger upon his lips.
"Let the friend of the merchant of the south open his lips to a purpose. Can, or can he not, aid me to gain admittance within the palace? for it is my father's command that I should seek the Emperor or the Prince Woo-san-Kwei, and at the peril of my life he must be obeyed," said Nicholas firmly. ”