‘But of these things, for a space, I took no heed. Sun, air, water and sky held my regards in ecstasy. I drank the beauty and the newness of them in till my soul was saturated with the tender loveliness of that nature to which I had been for so long a stranger. Then, and not till then, I tottered towards the clump of tents lying just below me.
‘Men were there, carpenters apparently, hammering at a tall wooden structure. Other men—men-o’-war seamen by their rig—were arriving and departing with burdens.
‘I was close upon them before they saw me. Some [262] ]shrank back. One, I recollect, picked up a rifle and brought it to his shoulder. A man with a gold epaulette on his coat struck it up and spoke to the sailor in English.
‘Presently I was taken into a tent, a doctor appeared from somewhere, and, whilst he dressed my wounds, they gave me a cordial, and I told my story with what seemed to me like the voice of a stranger. I don’t remember much afterwards until I awoke, swinging in a hammock under a shady tree close to the tents.
‘I was a mass of bandages, but sensible, though terribly weak.
‘“You’ve had a narrow escape of brain fever, my lad,” said the doctor. “But we’ve pulled you through all right. Lucky we happened to be here, though, wasn’t it? A nice time you must have had down there. We found your rope; but our men didn’t care about venturing any further, as steam was beginning to come up.”
‘“Four days,” replied the doctor, in answer to my question, “it is since you appeared on the scene and scared the camp.
‘“The Bucephalus? Yes, curiously enough, we met her just entering Singapore Harbour. That’s ten days ago. She spoke us, and asked us to keep a look-out for her boat with two seamen. We have one of them, at all events. I suppose the other poor beggar will be thrown up presently.”
‘I looked at him. “Yes,” he continued, “the old [263] ]volcano is showing every indication of renewed activity. We came here to observe the transit of Venus, but shall have probably to pack up and form another station if those symptoms don’t subside. See there!”
‘Looking in the direction of his outstretched finger, I saw several tall puffs of what seemed like white smoke issuing from the depths of the crater.