"Run away with our prahus! Take them from beneath our very noses! Why, what can you have been doing? Surely you and those who went with you have come upon a store of wine like ourselves, and have indulged so freely that your minds are disturbed. Capture our fleet indeed! A beggarly handful of starving Dyaks, with women and children to feed and protect, and a couple of white-faces to lead them. The idea is laughable!"

The man shouted the words at his companion, and then turned to his comrades with a disdainful laugh and a half-drunken grimace which set them roaring.

"He will say soon that we are in danger," broke in another, pushing his way to the front, "and he will bid us fly to our wives to beg protection from them. Quickly let me find my way to my own particular hut, where dwells a woman who works hard all through the day, and has gained thereby such strength that she will be able to beat off all whom the white-faces may send."

He staggered away through the crowd, who stepped aside with many a guffaw and roar of laughter, and went towards one of the huts near by. As for his comrades, they enjoyed the joke immensely. It suited their mood to a nicety, and, determined to make the most of it and enjoy themselves to the full, they again crowded about the new-comers and plied them with questions.

"Shall we run now? And where can we go?" demanded one of them, making pretence to be full of terror.

"Do you say that we ourselves should get aboard the fleet at once, dragging with us those who lie insensible about the fires, and sail for the sea? There is much of the ocean outside, and there we might even manage to escape these dangerous men!"

"And then, when they had in their largeness of heart decided to be merciful, and had retired from this spot, we might even venture to return to our homes," said the one who had first spoken, giving vent to a sneer. "But come, my friends, admit that this is madness, or we shall quarrel. Say that you are in error, and join us in our jollity."

"We will do neither," was the indignant reply. "Here are we, returned after much trouble and full of weariness, and you jeer at us and tell us that we are fools. Were it not that you are our brothers we would chastise you as you deserve."

The threat, to men in the excited condition of the pirates, who had been lying about the fires and drinking the Dutchman's wine, was one which could not be easily passed over, and besides, all belonged to a race accustomed to bloodshed, and ready at any moment to resent an insult or to repay a wrong with violence. Hardly, therefore, had the words left the lips of the speaker than the two parties were on the verge of a conflict. Glaring at one another as though they were the worst of enemies, each member of the piratical gang seized the kriss which was thrust in his waist-cloth and flashed it in the firelight. A little more and angry words would have led to bloodshed had not an interruption occurred. Fortunately for the gang, the noise of the altercation had come to the Dutchman's ears, and just as blows were about to be exchanged he came from his hut, looking dishevelled and as though he had but just risen from his bed, as was the case. In an instant he realized what was about to happen, and rushing forward with an angry shout he threw himself upon the men, buffeting them, and kicking those within reach of his foot unmercifully.

"Dogs!" he shouted wrathfully. "Have I not told you often and often that there is to be no quarrelling, that you are to do no fighting except at my bidding? Put your weapons away, then, or some of you shall be shot as the dawn breaks. And now what is the trouble? What has caused you all to lose your tempers? Ah, I see that those who were sent to the mountains have returned! Then you have good news. You have come up with this tribe of runaways, and have killed them. Where are the heads of those white men?"

He started back in his astonishment when the leader of the party told him that he and his companions had failed to discover the tribe under Tyler's command, but that they had ascertained that they were making direct for the very river where Hanns Schlott and his gang had their head-quarters, perhaps with the intention of attacking.

"We tracked them to within a very few miles," said the man, "and they may even now be lying near at hand about to fall upon us. For that reason we returned here at once and gave our warning to these men. But they are fools, or rather their brains are dulled with the wine which they have been drinking."

"And you will tell me that this white man and his tribe will attack us here?" said Hanns Schlott suddenly, breaking into a derisive laugh. "Go to your beds, men. It is clear that you are tired, or you would realize that sane men do not put their heads into the open mouth of a lion; you would see that attack from a puny force of three hundred at the most is not to be feared by one which numbers more than three thousand. Get to your huts, for a sleep will do you good. As for you other drunken dogs, it is time that you, too, retired. To your couches, then, and let us pass the remainder of the night in peace."

Without a second look in their direction he strode off to his own abode, while his followers obeyed his orders like beaten curs, showing that they held their Dutch leader in great fear. Soon the clearing was deserted, and but for the fires, which were fast burning down, and for one or two unconscious figures beside them, the stockade was deserted, all having retired to their huts.

"And now comes the time for us," said Tyler in a voice which trembled, so greatly was he excited. "Li Sung, you can go back to your men now that you have told me all that went on over there, and you can send the signal round. In three minutes the first company will be at the edge of the water."

Gathering up his pigtail, the Chinaman slunk off into the darkness, and ere long some fifty dusky and silent figures were creeping to the bank of the Sarebus. A low hoot sounded in the night, and at the signal the Dyak warriors, with Tyler and John Marshall at their head, lay flat upon their faces and crept forward into the water. There was no wading, for that would undoubtedly have given rise to much splashing. Instead, each one immersed his body at once, and creeping along through the mud was quickly in deep water. Then, breasting the stream, they turned to the shelving bank above which was erected the bamboo stockade enclosing the huts of the pirate gang.

CHAPTER XII
Captain of a Fleet

Standing beside the spot where the sampans had been drawn up, he watched as the Dyak women and children embarked, enjoining strict silence upon all of them. But they had been well drilled to the movement, and, thanks to that, they all passed swiftly and without confusion from their hiding-place in the jungle above to the sampans, and in the latter to the prahu selected for them. Once a certain number were on board, the sampans returned for a crew of men, and thus in an incredibly short space of time all but the half-company watching beside the stockade, and those who had gone amongst the fleet of prahus, were safely on board awaiting the order to let go. But there was still something else to do, and all watched anxiously as they realized that the stockade was to be entered, and that the figure of a man crawling across the firelit clearing would be that of their leader.

"Now for the two captives," said Tyler in matter-of-fact tones, when the embarkation had been carried out to his satisfaction. "I feel satisfied now that the larger proportion of the tribe will make good its escape, for they are on board, and even if the alarm be given now, they are safe from Hanns Schlott and his friends. Even at this moment I think I see some of the prahus sinking, and certainly more than one has been cut from its moorings and is floating away upon the river, and gradually getting lower. That being the case, the Dutchman and his friends will have to swim after us if they discover our trick, for we shall leave nothing. And now for the captives."

For a few moments he stood up in the sampan, while Li Sung went ashore with some of the Dyaks and hunted carefully through the jungle near at hand, lest by chance some child should have been overlooked, or one of the women, tired out by the long journey which she had borne so well, and by this long night of anxious watching and waiting, should have fallen asleep and remained behind, forgetful of the fact that her sisters were embarking.

"That is well," he said in tones of satisfaction, when the Chinaman had returned with the report that not a soul was to be seen, and that the jungle was untenanted. "We can now see to the other matter. Li, you will come with me to the other shore, while the men here who have managed the embarkation will ferry their boats after us, and will lie off the bank prepared to come in close and take the remainder of the party off. Tell them that they are to leave an interval between each sampan, so as to have plenty of room in case of having to beat a rapid retreat, and that they are on no account to retire till all their comrades have joined them. Take the oars now, and let us push over."

He gave the words of command in a calm voice, which betrayed no sign of excitement or of confusion, but for all that Tyler could scarcely keep his limbs from trembling, while his lips twitched spasmodically and he was obliged to press them close together to keep them still; for the thought of those helpless captives stirred him strangely, the fear that their fate depended upon himself, and that upon his courage and discretion their rescue or continued imprisonment would result, kept his mind ill at ease and filled him with a feeling of nervousness to which he had up to this been a stranger.

"It must be done," he kept saying to himself as he was being wafted to the opposite shore, "and after all, why should I not be successful? for the part which has already been carried out so silently has been far larger and more full of difficulties, and yet see how smoothly it has worked. Yes, I will rescue those two helpless prisoners whatever happens."

With this resolution before him he became calmer and more at his ease, and prepared to set about the task in a manner which at once showed that he was full of courage and determination.

"Stand ready to embark rapidly," he said, as he crept to John Marshall and lay down beside him in the darkness. "If you hear me shout you will know that I require help, but otherwise you are not to come nearer to the stockade. Now I am going, but before I go I will remind you that this company will embark on the English vessel which the pirates towed in. Men have already made a small prahu fast to her bows, and once the signal is given, and we are aboard, they will cut the cables and swing her round. After that she will be carried down by the stream."

"And it won't be long afore we get some of her canvas up," whispered the sailor. "Then if this here Dutchman and his men come after us, or any of them coves down the river attempt to stop us, why, we shall be able to tackle 'em in proper style. Now, sir, be careful, please, for you're our leader. Jest think of that, for these here Dyaks jest think a deal of yer and would be sorry if yer came to harm. There's me, too, you must remember"—and the honest fellow felt for Tyler's hand and gripped it firmly,—"what would I do to get on without yer? But you'll take the best of care, that I'm sure of, and you'll carry this through like the rest. If yer shout I'll be there in a twinkling, and if yer should happen to come up with that Dutch chap, jest think of how I downed him. Put yer fist in his face, and it'll silence him sooner than anything. Good-bye, and good luck!"

With another squeeze of the hand he released Tyler, the latter springing to his feet at once.

"Then all is settled," he said quietly. "If I shout, you come to help; if not, you remain here or embark at once. My orders are that the safety of the tribe is not on any account to be risked on my behalf."

A second later, when the sailor would have spoken to his leader, he was astonished to find that he had gone, and that his place was occupied by thinnest air. It gave him a start when he considered with what silence Tyler had gone, but a moment's reflection reminded him of the fact that his leader was dressed in native costume, and that he wore soft sandals upon his feet.

"All the better," murmured John Marshall, "for it'll make his chances brighter. I don't half like this game of his, and never did, though I see that he's right in making the attempt. But it's risky. It's the worst part of all this little adventure, and I shall be thankful when I see him safe amongst us again. Ah! there he goes through the entrance, and it will be well for him to hurry, for a few minutes ago the stockade was out of sight, while now one can see it fairly easily, showing that morning is coming."

That this was the case became evident to all the watchers, for as they lay there on the bank their figures up to this had been invisible to one another, while now a keen searcher of the spot would have discovered them to a certainty had he been within close range of them. Indeed the night seemed to have gone quite suddenly, while a damp mist, which often precedes the morn in Borneo, lay over river and land, wrapping them in semi-obscurity.

"In ten minutes it will go, de sun will suck up de water from de air, and all will be bright," whispered Li Sung, who had thrown himself down beside John Marshall. "When massa comes, and we get aboard, de pirate see us sailing away, and dey get velly angry at de sight. He, he, he! De Dutchman him rave velly fine, and say many tings, but him not be able to follow, for he no havee ships."

The Chinaman again indulged in a half-audible chuckle, which caused the sailor to stretch out his hand and grip him by the shoulder.

"Silence," he said sternly, "and listen! Laugh and cackle as much as you wish when the master is with us again, but make a sound now and I'll—"

Exactly what the boatswain would have threatened to do to the faithful Chinaman it would be difficult to state, though his wrinkled forehead and the scowl upon his face might have indicated something terrible. However, a sound within the stockade suddenly arrested the altercation, and both lay there listening eagerly.

Creak! creak! Was it the door of the hut in which the prisoners were kept, or could some native have suddenly awakened before the dawn had come, as was so often their custom, and thrown wide the gate of his humble abode?

Both longed to clear up the question, but found it impossible, for from the position which they had taken up they were unable to command a view of the whole of the clearing within the stockade. Those on the prahus, however, could have enlightened them, for from the river the dull glare of the embers of the dying fires, the bamboo stockade, and every hut within were distinctly within view, while the dusky figure crawling across to that part where the captives had been taken was plainly discernible. With straining eyes each one of the Dyak tribe aboard the prahus watched the young leader whom they had come to look up to and admire. They saw him creep rapidly, but with every caution, through the entrance to the stockade and then across the clearing. As they stared at him through the misty haze, which was gradually and insensibly giving place to the light of day, they noted how he paused before the hut occupied by the rascally Dutch leader of the pirates, and each wondered with beating heart whether any sound had alarmed him.

Creak! creak! Ah! they, too, heard the noise of a wicket thrown open, and started at the sound. Then they stood there on the sloping decks listening for a shout, for a pistol-shot, for the roar of a hundred and more voices to tell them that the young Englishman had been discovered. But no, not another sound disturbed the silence of the awakening day, and the dusky figure was seen to be advancing again. Ah, he was at the hut where the prisoners were kept! Was he entering? Why did he pause at the door, and for what reason did he so hurriedly dart behind the dwelling?

Well might each member of the watching tribe of Dyaks ask the question, for the movements of their leader seemed unaccountable. But Tyler knew well what he was doing, and sounds which failed to spread so far as the men lying on the bank without the stockade, or those others waiting aboard the prahus, reached his ears distinctly.

"There is someone moving," he said to himself, as he reached the hut which harboured the prisoners. "Who can it be? Perhaps some fellow turning in his couch."

Sitting up as high as possible, he listened eagerly, and then crept on a few paces. Then of a sudden he became aware of the fact that a door had been thrown open, and realizing that the sound came from the Dutchman's hut, he scrambled hastily behind the one close to which he was crouching.

"Hanns Schlott!" he exclaimed in tones of vexation. "His guilty mind will not allow him to sleep, and so he has come out to walk about the clearing. Ah, I have had my mind so fully occupied that I did not notice that it is already getting light, and he will be able to see me! Yes, even now I can observe his figure."

Staring through the mist and haze, which had so suddenly risen, Tyler watched the Dutchman emerge from his abode and stalk out into the clearing. Then, realizing with a start that to delay would be more dangerous than to proceed with the rescue, he waited for a few moments to allow a second hut to come between himself and the Dutchman, and then scrambled at his fastest pace to the door which would give access to the dwelling within which were the prisoners. A second later he had thrust it in, and was crawling through the opening.

"Who is that?" he heard someone demand in frightened tones, while there was the sound of a shriek commenced but suddenly arrested. "Oh, what is happening to us?"

"Hush! Do not make a sound for your lives," answered Tyler in low tones, crawling right into the hut and closing the door. "Do not be frightened, for I have come to help you and take you away."

"Then you are English? But I caught sight of a native, and that is what frightened me. Who are you?"

The question was asked in a whisper, while the young woman leant forward till she was close to Tyler, for his voice had reassured her.

"It is too long a story to tell you, but I have come to rescue you and the little girl. Follow me at once, please, and do exactly as I say. Now, to the door!"

Waiting only to see that they had risen, and that the young woman had whispered reassuring words to the child, and had cautioned her against making a sound, Tyler went to the door and gently opened it.

"We shall have day with us in a few moments," he said, turning swiftly and with an involuntary exclamation of dismay. "Now, listen to me. We have captured the English ship from the pirates, and have also taken the prahus. My men are Dyaks, and they will be your friends. You must follow me at once, keeping well behind the huts. When we get to the opening through the stockade we will run. Do you understand? Then follow."

Glancing swiftly around, and failing to catch sight of Hanns Schlott, Tyler led the way into the clearing, and then, stealing along through the mist, he directed the prisoners amongst the huts so as to keep them out of sight. Very soon they came to a point where the dwellings ended, and where nothing but open ground stretched between the fugitives and the stockade. And here they came to an abrupt halt, while a feeling of dismay came over them; for there in the opening stood the burly figure of Hanns Schlott, his face turned to the river, while he stared into the mist as if something had occurred to awaken his suspicions.

"Strange!" he was murmuring; "is it the wine which I drank last night, or can it be the thought of that beggarly Englishman, by name Tyler Richardson, who threatened to follow me and see me hanged as a murderer? Tush! My eyes are playing me a trick, and I am out of sorts."

He stamped upon the ground in his vexation, and turned from the river for a moment. But again his eyes went back in that direction as if he were fascinated, while on this occasion he started forward, and, sheltering his eyes with his hand, stared into the cloud of watery vapour with an eagerness which showed that he was still ill at ease.

"Surely that is strange!" he said in hesitating tones. "Of course the mist is thickest over the water, but the prahus are outlined in it, though dimly, I admit. But how comes it that the ship which we captured is turned with stern this way, and her bows pointing to the sea? It is beyond my comprehension, for the tide does not make this way for three hours at least. And—am I really bewildered this morning and muddled by the wine?—half the fleet seems to have disappeared!"

He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, and, tearing his hat from his head, thrust his fingers through his hair. Then once more he fixed his attention on the river, and stood there as if undecided still, and as though hesitating how to act. Meanwhile Tyler and his charges had watched him with feelings approaching dismay.

"We cannot possibly afford to wait more than three or four minutes," said the former, "and if he does not move then, we must rush past him. But I do not like to see him staring so hard at the river, for it seems to me that he suspects something, and I know that whatever he thinks at the moment he will soon realize what is happening once the sun clears the mist away. Get ready, miss, and if you see me start forward at a walk, be prepared to rush after me and go straight through the opening. I will see to that fellow."

The seconds seemed to be minutes, so slowly did they pass, and though Tyler only permitted some three of the latter to elapse before making a move, almost half an hour seemed to have been occupied in watching the burly Dutchman. Indeed, now that he had come so close to success in the undertaking which he had set himself, the fear that, after all, he would be beaten, that Hanns Schlott would cut off his retreat and retain his prisoners, filled Tyler's mind with apprehension and anxiety, and those few minutes seemed almost a lifetime. And all the while the Dutchman stood as if rooted to the spot, still unable to make up his feeble mind as to what was happening, and hesitating to awake his followers at this early hour and bring them rushing forth on a fool's errand, which would cause them to grumble and laugh at their leader.

Suddenly, as he turned to the collection of huts behind him, his eye fell upon the figure of a swarthy Dyak, with sandalled feet, who was advancing towards him, and taking him for one of his own men he called eagerly to him.

"Come here and tell me what you see," he said in commanding tones. "My sight is not very certain in these early morning mists, and often plays me false. Say, are the prahus still at their moorings, and why is it that the vessel which we captured has her head turned to the sea?"

He was in the act of turning once more to the river, to direct the gaze of the native who had advanced towards him, when another doubt, something unusual about the man, seemed to strike him, and he swung round, to face Tyler with a start of surprise.

"Sandals!" he gasped. "Sopping waist-cloth, and—and colour which runs in streaks down the body and leaves white beneath!"

Like a flash he recognized who this native must be, and stood there staring at him as though the discovery stifled him, as though the boldness of the Englishman took his breath away. Then, quick as lightning, a thought, a horrible dread, came over him.

"Had the Englishman come to the stockade with others of his country? Was that the reason of the disappearance of some of the prahus? And had this man, this youth whom he had openly called a cub, but whom in his heart he feared not a little, and whose persistence had amazed him, had this Tyler Richardson tracked him to this spot, and by some uncanny means induced him, the leader of this gang of pirates, to emerge from his hut at that early hour in the morning and walk alone, like a helpless fly, into the web which had been woven to catch him?"

The thought sent the blood surging to his face, only to recede in an instant and leave him deadly pale. He gasped, threw back his head to take in a much-needed breath, and would have set the air ringing with a shriek of dismay had not Tyler suddenly stopped him. Instantly realizing that he had been recognized, and that his disguise was discovered, he threw himself upon the Dutchman like a hound, and, mindful of the advice which John Marshall had given him just before they had parted, dealt Hanns Schlott a terrific blow between the eyes.

"For you!" he shouted, throwing silence and caution to the winds in his excitement as he delivered the blow. "That to show you that a Dutchman cannot stop an Englishman!"

Had he been struck by a hammer Hanns Schlott could not have been more staggered, or thrown off his balance. Indeed, the suddenness and the unexpected nature of the attack, and the force with which the fist crashed upon his face, had combined to send him to the ground, and but for the fact that the edge of the stockade happened to be close at hand he would have gone upon his back in the clearing, just as he had on a former occasion fallen crash to the floor of the schooner's cabin before the fist of John Marshall. Instead, however, his bulky figure was driven heavily against the bamboos, and, recoiling from them with the force of the impact, he was thrown once more in the direction of his opponent. Nor did Tyler hesitate how to act. Drawing back a pace he leapt again at the leader of the pirates, sending both his fists beneath his chin. Ah! That was sufficient to stop Hanns Schlott, in spite of his great weight. As the doubled fingers struck him his chin shot into the air and his head was doubled back. Then, throwing his arms helplessly before him, he fell like a log, his back coming into violent contact with the ground.

"Quickly!" called Tyler, turning to beckon to the two who followed him. "Now give me a hand and together we will run to the boats."

Grasping the child by her disengaged hand he, together with the young woman whom he had rescued, ran at their fastest pace down to the river, bearing their charge between them. A second later John Marshall and his men confronted the fugitives and hastened them to the boats.

"Jest a proper whop!" cried the former in tones of delight, his enthusiasm urging him to give his congratulations without delay. "I tell yer I saw it all, for I had taken good care to creep to a spot where I had the entrance under view, and I reckon I could hear the fist strike him. But he's only downed for a minute. He's silly just now, but he'll be shouting afore we are well on the river, and then there will be some fun. This way, my dear. Give the child to me, and you'll see that John Marshall can take care of her."

Lifting the child in his arms he went to one of the sampans and embarked, the young woman following. As for Tyler, he too ran down to the water's edge, and stood there while his men scrambled aboard their boats.

"All there?" he demanded quietly. "Then push off at once and make for the English ship. Li Sung, you can shout to the others to cut away from their moorings and make for the sea."

Leaping into one of the sampans he took his place in the bows and stood there eagerly watching the scene before him. Nor had he any difficulty in observing each one of the prahus which the tribe commanded, for, as is so often the case in the East, the sun had risen with startling suddenness, and, streaming along the open space left by the river, had swept the mist away as if with a broom. And there, as if with the movement of a magician's wand, a brilliant day had suddenly displaced the gloom, showing the broad surface of the Sarebus flashing in the morning rays, and stirred here and there by the keels of the prahus, while on either side and behind was a net-work of green, enormous trees standing in serried lines and huddled together till it scarcely seemed to need the trailing creepers, the ferns, and the festoons of dazzling blooms to fill up the intervals. And lower down, with the rising sun as a setting to them, were a score of piratical vessels, some with masts alone to be seen, while others floated upon the river in ungainly positions, careening this way and that, some with bows thrust high into the air, and others with their decks on the point of being submerged.

"The remainder of Hanns Schlott's fleet," said Tyler with just the trace of a smile wreathing his lips. "He will be at a loss without them. But listen to the noise he is making. He is bellowing as if he had been hurt."

"And he will shout so loud and will rush by the paths along the river so that de men below hear," chimed in Li Sung, who stood by his master's side. "You see; China boy him tellee you dat de Dutchman havee a velly big try to turn de table. He shout and him halloo, and as me say, he send de men along de river bank. But who cares? Li him quite happy. He hab big ship velly soon, and him sail to meet him wife and family."

"If those below will let you," laughed Tyler, feeling now as though a load of anxious care had been lifted from his mind. "But, as you say, Li, it does not matter very much, for the tribe is now a hundred times better off than an hour ago, for we have ships, and we have weapons, and there is liberty and freedom before us. But here is the ship. Up we go!"

Thanks to the careful drilling which the Dyaks had received there was no confusion at this, almost the last stage of their adventurous journey. Obedient to the orders of their leader, those who had been told off to look to the English schooner had warped her round till her head pointed down-stream, and had then hung on to her, prepared at any moment to tow her towards the bend, while two of their comrades, placed in a sampan at the stern, severed the cables with their swords. Waiting, therefore, for a shout from Tyler, they pulled at their sweeps, and hardly had the rescued prisoners and their escort scrambled aboard than the schooner was under weigh.

"We will keep in rear," said Tyler, calling John Marshall to his side. "Take the tiller, my lad, and keep her in the centre of the stream. I will go with Li Sung, and will arrange to have a sail or two bent. There will be no difficulty either, for many are hanging in their places half-furled."

"And what wind there is is down-stream," added the boatswain. "Give the sheets a pull to bring 'em tight, and then get the darkies to shy a bucket or two of water over the sails. It'll make 'em draw, and send us along bowling."

"I'll see what can be done about guns, too," went on Tyler, "for I fancy that we shall have to fight for it later on. But it will be a small affair compared with what we have had already, and somehow I don't seem to mind much."

"And I don't think no more of the idea than that," burst in the sailor, snapping his fingers. "I'm jest light-hearted, I am, and I keeps on a-roaring at the Dutchman. Lor', didn't he catch it!"

The honest fellow went to the tiller with a broad grin upon his features, looking a peculiar object indeed as he stood there in his strange garb of a Dyak. As for Tyler, it was a wonder that he did not see the ridiculous side of his appearance also, for the swim across the river had not improved his disguise by any means. In fact the merest glance was sufficient to show that he was no native, for long white streaks extended from his neck to his feet, while his face presented a mottled appearance. Then, owing to his swim across the river, and to the subsequent grovelling in mud and in the dust within the stockade, he had obtained a coating which matched but badly with the stain of the betel-nut, while his waist-cloth and turban were much discoloured. But he had no time for the subject, and indeed, when he looked toward the stern to see the boatswain in similar attire, he found nothing wrong, nothing out of the ordinary, and it seemed only what was to be expected to have a big raw-boned native there, watching the rigging with nautical eye, and standing at his tiller in a business-like manner which showed that he was a sailor born and bred.

"The sails first and the guns afterwards," said Tyler, running forward with Li Sung. "Get to work, like a good fellow, and take charge of one gang. I will do what I can with the other."

Thanks to the fact that the vessel had been sailed into the river, and that those who had captured her had not taken the trouble to strip her of her canvas, but had merely furled the sheets to the yards, the new owners of the schooner had little difficulty in setting a large amount of sail, so much so that ere long those on board the prahu were being overhauled, and seeing that their sweeps were no longer needed, prepared to come aboard.

"Make her fast to the stern and we will drop a ladder for you," shouted Tyler, Li Sung interpreting the order. "She may be useful to us later on, or I would have her scuttled. Now, how are the others doing?"

He turned his face down the river, and watched the other prahus which bore the tribe of Dyaks who had journeyed with him so far.

"Good!" he exclaimed. "My followers evidently understand all about vessels of that description, and they have them now fairly under weigh. Then the stream is helping them along, and as they are smaller and more easily manœuvred than this schooner, they should be able to keep well ahead. But we will see to that, and should any be lagging we will keep them company, for it would never do to leave them behind. How are they behaving at the pirate's stronghold?"

"Dey velly angry," said Li Sung with twinkling eyes, shaking his head at Tyler. "Dey not know velly fine what have happened, but dey see de prahus going, and dey watch dose which have not sunk. Ah! dis morning am a velly bad one for dem."

"But there will be a worse to follow, Li. I hope to come this way again later on, and drive them out altogether. But for the time being we have enough to do without talking of that. I see that a number of the pirates have plunged into the jungle, and are no doubt bound for their friends lower down. When can we expect to come across another stockade?"

"Plenty quick, massa. De pirates havee anoder place a mile below, on de right of de bank, and before velly long we be dere. Dey be ready for us too, me tink, and den de guns fire and de swords flash."

"We shall see to that," said Tyler calmly, "and as there seems to be no doubt that we shall have to encounter these fellows I will see what can be done in the way of defence. But let us get our men aboard, and then set more sails."

Turning abruptly to the stern again, he ran there with the Chinaman and threw a rope-ladder overboard, up which the dusky Dyaks ascended with the agility of monkeys. Then he took them along the deck with him and set them to work at the rigging. Fortunately there was little difficulty about the matter, and very soon the schooner was showing quite a large amount of canvas, which, now that it was drenched with water, as John Marshall had advised, caught the wind and sent the ship surging towards the sea. And meanwhile the other prahus had made good way, and, keeping to the centre of the river, which broadened rapidly now that they had passed out of sight of Paddi, went sweeping along in front of the English vessel which bore their leader. That the Dyaks were full of excitement and of courage there was no doubt, for they crowded to the bulwarks of their several prahus and flung shouts of defiance at the pirates who raced along beside them. Indeed, never before had they been in the position of being able to taunt these fierce enemies, and now that the opportunity had come, and they realized to the full that for the very first time it was they who were masters of the situation, while those who had so often attacked them and caused them untold suffering were helpless and beaten, they taunted them till the pirates raged with anger, and waved swords, blow-pipes, and spears at them as if bidding them wait but a little time and then join in combat with those who in former days had trembled at the approach of one even of these fierce warriors of the sea.

As for the pirates, they were utterly beaten and baffled, and helpless to follow those who had made such an audacious attack upon them, by means of the river, for not a sampan had been left to them, while every prahu that they had possessed was now sailing for the sea or was beneath the water. They raced down the stream by forest paths, sometimes being within full view of Tyler and his men, and at others buried in the jungle which completely hid them from sight. But their intention was obvious, for as they ran they fired their flint muskets and shouted at the top of their voices, with the one object of warning their comrades below.

"The shots will have been heard long ago," said Tyler quietly, as he gazed with satisfaction at the rigging, "and when we come to this other stronghold we shall have to face more enemies. Let us see at once to the guns."

With Li Sung in close attendance he went to the cabin, and then thoroughly searched the ship, returning before very long with an abundance of ammunition and small-arms, while the Chinaman staggered beneath the weight of shot for a swivel-gun which was secured to the deck amidships.

"Can the Dyaks be trusted to fire these weapons?" asked Tyler, indicating the flint-locks. "It would never do to give them into their hands if they were unaccustomed to firearms, for otherwise they would be shooting one another."

"Massa need havee no fear. De Dyaks plenty knowee de gun, but dey too poor to buy, and de powder and de shot too dear for dem to havee when at home," replied Li Sung with elevated eyebrows. "But dey knowee allee about dese tings. Oh yes, massa, dey fire de gun plenty time before, and you see, Li soon showee dem allee about dese."

With a knowing wag of his head the Chinaman called the Dyaks about him and began to distribute the firearms amongst them, cautioning them at the same time to be careful in their use of them, for fear of accidents.

"And let them know that they are not to open fire until I have given the word," interposed Tyler in the middle of Li's explanations. "A scattered volley will be useless to us, and I have been told that natives always waste ammunition by firing when still long out of range of the enemy. We must endeavour to cool their excitement, and to make them wait till the prahus are close upon us. But what is that down lower? Surely I see a stockade of some sort there?"

"Dat de oder place," responded Li Sung quickly, shading his eyes from the glare of the sun for the space of a minute ere he gave the reply. "Dat Pakoo, massa, and dere am de pirates. Li see dem wid de boom, and dey trying to close de river."

At once all eyes were turned down the stream, where, some hundreds of yards away, a number of prahus and sampans of large size could be seen floating on the water. A careful inspection soon showed Tyler that the Chinaman had made no mistake, for as he looked he distinctly saw four of the largest sampans linked together in line, while their crews tugged at the sweeps which the craft carried instead of the oars used on smaller boats of a similar description. Behind the boats a long curling cable of large dimensions was being towed, and very soon it became clear to all aboard the escaping prahus that this was a boom which the pirates were endeavouring to make fast to the opposite shore and so bar the progress of the fugitives.

"We will soon make an end of that for them," said Tyler quietly, "for I should think that the boom would hardly hold a couple of the prahus, and much less the fleet which we have captured. But this schooner will rip through the chains and logs as if the boom were composed of string, and will open the passage to our comrades. Keep her for the very centre," he shouted, turning his head towards the boatswain, "and see if you cannot overtake our friends."

Coming down-stream with a brisk breeze and a swift current to aid them, Tyler and his friends approached the boom, which had by now been firmly secured, at a rapid pace, and very soon two of the prahus, which were somewhat in advance of their consorts, reached the obstruction, and were brought to a stand-still, for the boom was unusually powerful. A third struck against it with the same result, and it began to look as though, after all, escape for the tribe and their young leader would not be so easy. Indeed, to the pirates, who had streamed from their stronghold at the warning shouts of their comrades of Paddi, victory already appeared to be on their side, and they rent the air with hoarse shouts of delight. Crowded upon their prahus, which they had manned in all haste, they pulled into the river to the lower side of the boom, and there hung on their oars while they watched the enemy coming down upon the stream. As a fourth and a fifth vessel lodged upon the boom their excitement and delight became even greater, and, unable to contain themselves any longer, and being led by the largest of their prahus, they pulled at the boom, and prepared to come to close quarters with the men who had dared to make such an attack upon their friends. Leaping into sampans, which each of the prahus towed in her wake, some rowed at once for the boom, and gliding over it, or lifting their boat across the logs and chains, embarked again and came towards their victims at a furious pace. Others, discarding the aid of a boat, leapt into the water and swam to the boom, upon which they climbed. Then, balancing upon it with as much ease as an average European does on a wide pavement, they came splashing along, brandishing their weapons and shouting fiercely to terrify those whom they were about to attack.

"For the centre!" shouted Tyler, turning again to John Marshall. "Cut through the boom, and then throw her up into the wind till we see that all our friends are through. If we fail to break it, I will lead a party with axes."

Knowing that he could have full confidence in the boatswain, he left him to carry out the order unaided, and at once ran in search of something with which to cut the boom should the weight of the schooner prove insufficient. But there was really no need for him to have fears on the matter, for, thanks to the powerful stream and to the pull of her canvas, the English vessel which he and his men had appropriated rushed at the obstruction at such a pace that it was clear that nothing could stop her. Steered by the deft hand of the sailor, she headed for the very centre, the weakest spot, and, striking it with all her force, severed it as if it had been paper. Then, plunging on in her course, she bore down upon the large prahu which had led the attack upon those who had been arrested by the boom, and ere the latter could be moved aside by means of her sweeps the schooner was upon her. Ah! The crash of rending wood-work filled the air, while shrieks and shouts of alarm were heard on every side. But the schooner never faltered, indeed her frame never even seemed to feel the jar, but, plunging on, she rolled the prahu upon her beam-ends, and then drove clean over her, sending her straight to the bottom. As for those of her crew who had leapt upon the boom, or had taken to the sampans, they were left upon the surface of the river gazing at the retreating fleet in consternation, as yet unable to realize that those who a minute before seemed at their mercy had so suddenly made good their escape, and had robbed them of one of their finest prahus. With fear in their hearts they turned to their stockade again, and disappeared within, feeling that to attempt pursuit of such an enemy would end only in further suffering.

"And now for Sarawak!" shouted Tyler, as the fleet of prahus sailed clear of the boom, and headed for the sea once more. "Our troubles are almost over, and within a day we should be safely amongst friends. Hurrah for Sarawak!"

CHAPTER XIII
The Rajah of Sarawak

The news that more enemies might yet have to be encountered scarcely caused our hero any uneasiness, for he had come to understand that the prahus manned by the pirates were no match for an English ship, unless, indeed, the latter were becalmed, or in some way unable to offer resistance. But for all that he did not allow the subject to escape him, and having, by dint of shouts and signals, induced his followers to draw close together, and lay-to for a time, he sent a message to each one of the prahus that they were to keep behind the schooner, and that on no account were the men to show their arms, or to wave to the enemy. Then, turning the schooner's bows once more towards the sea, he led the way a ship's length ahead of the fleet, and ere long arrived off the tributary upon which the Rembas pirates had their lair. But there was no sign of the latter, and, indeed, not a boat crossed the water till the coast was at hand and they were making through the wide mouth of the river.

"A fleet making in," said John Marshall in Tyler's ear, suddenly pointing to one edge of the wide bay into which the Sarebus poured. "They will pass close to us as we run into the sea, and from the looks of them they are pirates."

"And we have much the same appearance," said Tyler calmly. "We will keep on without an attempt to alter our course, and perhaps they will take us for their friends. One moment and I will get rid of this colour from my face, and will hunt out a coat. Then I can take the helm and pretend to be the Dutchman."

Running below he quickly unearthed a coat from one of the cabins, and, having obtained a bucket and a piece of soap, immersed his face in water. Five minutes later he returned to the deck with a less dusky complexion, and with the coat about his shoulders.

"Now for the helm," he said, noticing that the fleet was now close at hand, and that the pirates would pass within hailing distance. "It seems to me that they will not even question us, for they will know that the men of Paddi have recently captured an English schooner, and will think nothing of the fact that the latter is leading the prahus to sea. But I do hope that our fellows will not allow their excitement to get the better of them, and shout and jeer at these strangers."

By now the gathering of prahus, which had been sighted entering the mouth of the river Sarebus, was close at hand, steering a course which would take it close beside the fleet under Tyler's command. But it was evident that the leader, whatever his feelings with regard to the men of Paddi, had no suspicions of the new-comers, for he had posted himself in the bows of his own particular command, and as he swept past the schooner he leapt upon the rail and shouted a greeting, to which Tyler responded by waving his arm. Then all the dusky pirates from Rembas, a gang as celebrated in those seas for their bloodthirstiness and acts of violence as were the men of Paddi, lined the bulwarks and sent their cheers across the narrow space which intervened as the two fleets sailed by one another. Quick to grasp the fact that they were undiscovered, the Dyaks replied with loud cries and much waving of the arms, and then, ere there was time for any more, or for the exchange of words, the prahus had separated and were swiftly running away from one another.

"And now there is nothing but the open sea and a grand passage between us and friends," exclaimed Tyler, with every sign of satisfaction, "and, that being the case, I am reminded that we have eaten nothing for many hours. Li Sung, just get below and see what is to be found. We will divide the provisions, and send their share to the men and women on the other prahus. And now I can devote a little time to the captives whom we rescued."

Six hours later, having coasted along within easy distance of the line of surf which beat without cessation upon the land of Borneo, the fleet bore up to the left, and entered the river which led to the town of Sarawak, and ere very long had sighted the collection of buildings which went by that name.

"And there's two ships of some sort," cried John Marshall as he stood by his leader's side, suddenly pointing to a creek close beside the houses. "They're English too, and what's more, they're sending their boats away. It looks as though they were coming in this direction."