"Ho, then! never mind; come back," I cried, recalling the peon. "Look, now!"'

« Wah, wah!” exclaimed the peon, in amazement; "what! vanished again?"

"Pshaw! fool!" said I, sneeringly, well aware how strongly superstitious Asiatics are, and how firmrooted is their belief in apparitions and supernatural agency; "the thing you saw must have been a pariah dog.'

"Nay, sahib," replied the peon, looking distrustfully," pariah dog not seen so far."

"Tush!" I continued; "has not a lungoor been often mistaken for a man before this time?"

"Sahib," said the peon, in response, "all lungoors rest on trees at night; not one lungoor walks on the ground at midnight, sahib: jackals would snap him up for supper."

"Well," I demanded, "even though you saw the shadow of a man passing by, what then?"

The peon shrugged his shoulders significantly, but replied not.

"What then, Kureem?" I repeated; "'tis but one thief prowling about, after all. Is there not a legion of boatmen at hand?"

"Khadawund," now chimed in the peon, assuming at the same time a graver and demurer look; "the place is jungly: 'tis an ugly spot, and perilous likewise;" and again he shrugged his shoulders." No village, nor even a guowallah's+hut, norghaut, nor guardhouse. Oh, sahib! is not the manjhee a great fool to lay-to in the jungle for the night?"

"Bah, fool! that's not your lookout," said I, breaking short the colloquy abruptly. Stepping forward, I leaped on the sand-bank and went alongside the horse-boat.

Buddoo, the saees, was smoking his goorgooree at the doorway, under the chuppur of the floating stable; but his comrade, who had been deputed to act as supernumerary sentinel, was lyfast asleep, and snoring loudly. The saees, after endeavouring ineffectually to waken the boatman, sprung up and came forth on my approach.

"Salaam, sahib, the dandee will not be roused up," said the saees.

Lungoor; a baboon.

"Never mind at present: all quiet here?" I demanded.

"Nothing stirring," quoth Buddoo. "Is the mare less restless?" I inquired.

"Ay, sahib," was the reply. "Has she eaten all her gram || tonight?" I questioned.

"Nay, sahib, the flies teased the mare so much," replied the saees.

"What distance off is the next bazar? what is the number of cosHa! whence cometh this uproar and noise, eh?" I demanded.

Before Buddoo had time to reply from on board the beauliah, Kureem, the peon, was heard shouting loudly, "The pirates, the pirates !"

That portentous yell, like the warning blast of a trumpet, startled in a trice the sleeping sentinel, who, all aghast, sprung up in haste. Without loitering an instant, I hurried to the beauliah, and scrambled on board.

In the immediate vicinity every thing was as quiet and serene as formerly, but momentarily the shouting waxed louder in the direction of the muhajun's camp. Anon the uproar deepened; and, with the continuous din, was blended the trampling noise as of men striving in deadly combat, the crash of falling timbers, and the clash and ringing clink of weapons. Thereupon there was heard wild yells of triumph, and the groans and shrieks of the wounded as they struggled in mortal agony. Ha! a bright fiery gleam shot like a lightning-flash along the jutting promontory. A red glare, as of many torches, bronzed the adjacent jungle. There was a crackling sound, thick wreaths of black smoke rolled in successive eddies across the channel. Amidst showers of sparks and glowing embers, red tongues of fire and spiral trails of flame wreathed round the tall masts in snaky coils; while the ignited coir tackling, vibrating tremulously, glittered bright and red, like golden threads tensely stretched.

"Come along, manjhee !" I shouted; unrig the awning; prepare to unmoor; get ready the sweeps. Speedily, speedily! if attacked, we shall drop down the current."

The manjhee obeyed not, for he was panic-struck, and began to tear his

+ Guowallahs; herdsmen.

Gram; species of pulse.

hair and beat his breast. The dandees, likewise, with the exception of the guluya,* were perfectly unmanned; and crawled out, one by one, from beneath their canvass burrow, shivering and trembling, like half-frozen gipsies emerging from their snowy bivouac under a hedge.

"What art staring at, thou fool?" said Kureem to the manjhee. "Why tearest thou thy hair like a byragee !+ hearest thou not the master's call? Unmoor quickly! What made thee lie-to in this jungly place?"

"Bestir thyself, thou soour!" said I, exceedingly enraged at the cowardly old rascal. "Who shall suffer most when the pirates fire thy beauliah ? What profit wilt thou then have in this or any following venture?"

The manjhee shook his head despairingly; but the guluya, and others of the crew who had recovered from their panic, headed by Kureem and the saees, leaped on the ledge of sand and loosened the wooden piles to which the craft were moored.

The beauliah and the other barks launched off the shoal into deep water, swung round with the current, and we remained thenceforward at our anchorage, moored by a single coir rope.

"Ho, Kureem!" said I, "be ready at my signal to cut the mooring-tackle; and, harkye, pass the word to the saees and the manjhees of the other craft to be prepared to cut the cables and drop down at a moment's warning."

"Wah, wah, sahib!-look, look!" cried the guluya, flurriedly, pointing up the channel. "A budjerow, a budjerow !"§

'Twas even so. Close under the lee of the nearest headland, a budjerow, apparently broken adrift, hove in sight, and drifted down the stream broadside on. The craft seemed evidently quite unmanageable, if navigated at all; yet, nevertheless, it seemed exceedingly strange that not one sweep was manned, for several people were seen hurrying to and fro along the deck, and gliding constantly athwart the open windows, but no voices were heard.

"How now, Kureem," said I, hastily; "what dost make out the craft to be?"

"Khodawund," replied the peon, hesitatingly, "some of the muhajun's men may have cut the budjerow adrift; but yet -" and he paused.

"But yet!" said I; " what then?" "Sahib," quoth Kureem, "after all, there may be treachery nigh!”

Just at this moment the budjerow, caught in the eddies of the rapids, spun round like a teetotum; and, reeling to a side, drove upon the shoals, and partially heeled over broadside on.

Meanwhile the previous fierce din and uproar at the muhajun's anchorage had been succeeded by a voiceless stillness, only broken at intervals by the crash of burning spars; but presently faint shouts were heard afar off, and a desultory firing of musquetry began to boom across the channel, whereupon groups of straggling Indians were seen clambering along the steep ridges in the vicinity of the uppermost headland. Simultaneous with the firing, a dingy,|| crowded with men, hove in sight, and neared fast the grounded budjerow, startling in its rapid course innumerable flocks of white-plumaged water-fowl, which, rising with shrill screams, whirled round a winged feathery hurricane, and scattering right and left, swept past overhead like fleecy clouds wildly driven athwart a tempestuous sky. The dash of paddles, abrupt and irregular, seemed strongly to betoken some urgent emergency. On running close alongside the budjerow, a great tumult and evident confusion could be descried from the beauliah's deck. Several men on board the budjerow, darting aft, leaped upon the sank-bank, and, snatching up divers bulky packages, waded through the shallows, and hurried off shoreward; while others, springing through the open venetianed windows, gained a footing in the dingy, which then was abruptly shot off into mid channel without an instant's further pause.

Scarce had the dingy, pushing down the stream with might and main, doubled the outermost shoal, when lo!

a second heavy craft skimmed past the uppermost headland, and, edging away to a side shoreward, was seen closely to hug the land, and steal furtively under the shadows of the steep banks, skirting the innermost channel in which the beauliah lay moored, and neared us apace.

"I'll remain no longer in suspense; 'tis time to bestir ourselves, any how," said I, exceedingly perplexed whether to make a bold stand, or at once seek safety in flight, for I could detect the dandees already flinching from their posts, and preparing to leap overboard and save themselves by swimming. "Quickly, Kureem! hail that pulwar, and demand their business here; roundly and boldly, now. Dost hear? hail, I tell you!"

After some little hesitation, Kureem hailed, but no answer was returned.

"Hallo there!" I shouted, mounting, rifle in hand, the short ladder leaning against the beauliah's raised deck; " at your peril advance one stroke nearer! Sheer off, or I'll send a shot through you!"

In a twinkling the men lay on their sweeps, a cluster of smouldering matches glimmered like fireflies, and some dozen matchlocks were levelled towards the deck of the beauliah, while the quickdrawn breathings of the panting rowers were too distinctly audible.

"Hold, fools!" cried one of the pulwar's crew authoritatively, at the same time knocking up the levelled pieces with his sword; "see ye not the Sahib log?"†

"The police-guard pulwar!-the police-guard pulwar!" cried Kureem, most joyfully, after reconnoitring eagerly.

Verily 'twas even so; for as the pulwar, slowly drifting down, swung round, the brazen badge-plates of the police patrol were seen flashing in the clear moonlight.

"Salaam, sahib!" shouted the jumadar in command of this armed band, saluting me obsequiously from a distance, and pausing from his vituperative abuse of his men for essaying to fire.

"Ye haremzadehs!" cried Kureem, quite renerved and audacious," are ye blind? has fear taken away your eyesight? saw ye not the sahib's beauliah a coss off? Ho, jumadar! dost thou

Pulwar; row-boat.

+ Haremzadehs; a term of reproach.

fight against honest men, and suffer the robbers to get fairly off?"

"Holla there! come alongside, and bring-to the pulwar," I cried; "and, Kureem, hark ye! watch what course the dingy takes."

"Khodawund, your slave is in fault," said the jumadar, crossing his hands, and again salaaming fawningly as the pulwar sheered close alongside the sand-bank under the beauliah's counter. "Khodawund, your slave would represent that treachery- that an ambuscade, was dreaded much."

"Whence do ye come?" I inquired. "Khedawund, from the stationpost at the ghaut of the Faqueers, two coss beyond," replied the jumadar. "What a bad look-out! slept on guard: eh was it not so?" I demanded, justly enraged at the culpable remissness of the officials on duty. "Well, what answer art coining? Speak! explain how this has happened!"

"Khodawund," said the jumadar, with a bland, insinuating address, "your slave would represent that Hooladhar, the fisherman, on passing the ghaut, made casual report at the guardhouse of the anchorage of a muhajun's fleet of budjerows near the jungle creek, some coss lower down the channel."

"Well, what has this Hooladhar to do with the transaction?-why lug him into the affair?" said I, sharply. "Yet stay; what time of the night was it when this occurred ?"

"Khodawund, it was the first watch of the night," replied the jumadar, after a little hesitation.

"Nay, jumadarjee," exclaimed a great bushy-bearded fellow, quite familiarly and bluntly," nay, 'twas the second watch of the

"Ah, I see how it is!" said I; "your trusty scout at the outpost had been bribed, and played you false, eh?"

"Khoedawund, your slave is ignorant of this matter; not a dingy was seen astir," continued the jumadar, in a tone of bitter irony at being so easily duped by external appearances. "Well, good, very good; all at once, by the beard of the Prophet! unexpectedly, in a twinkling, in rushes Panchoo, crying, Oh, jumadarjee! wah, wah-prepare, prepare―there is a fearful uproar !'” "Who may this same Panchoo be?" I inquired.

“Khodawund, as the pulwar neared the decoits-may their mothers eat dirt! did not the dogs of burnt fathers scatter every where like a flock of wild fowl in a jeel, scared by the shikaree?"*

"Doubtless," I resumed, jeeringly, "the achievements of Ruftum,+ and the far-famed Secunder, are trifles when compared with thy exploits. Hast taken any prisoners?"

"Nay, khoedawund," replied the jumadar, while a sardonic grin transiently lighted up the Mussulman's swarthy visage; nay, but, by the soul of the Prophet! were not the groans

Shikaree; Indian hunter, or fowler.

"Then there are none saved? Is naught of the spoil retaken?" I demanded.

"Naught, khoedawund!" was the reply of the leader of the burqundazes.§ "Your slave would make affirmation," continued the jumadar, "that divers corpses, charred by the flames, or gashed by tulwars, were witnessed floating about, and likewise much blood in pools on the sand, beside the shore of the creek, where lay the smoking carcasses of the fleet. Furthermore, Abdoolah, the chuokeedar, || having waded ashore, entered into the only budjerow unscathed by fire, and, full of amazement, found the same, saving a shattered matchlock and certain fragments of broken shields, sacked thoroughly; by the Prophet, as empty as an ant-eaten cocoa-nut!"

"Then there is naught known concerning the muhajun's fate?" I inquired.

"Maraj, what is past is gone," replied the jumadar; "that which is decreed is known to God. If the hour of the muhajun's destiny had come, what arm is there that could avert his doom? Peradventure, by this time may he not have become food for alligators. What can thy slave say more?"

"That budjerow, stranded on yonder shoal, was boarded by a dingy which sheered off as soon as your pulwar hove in sight round the headland. Dost know," I inquired, "whether the men on board are decoits,¶ or some of the muhajun's people?"