"I think Mr. McGavonty fired that one; for he is a dead shot too, but not quite so sure as Mr. Belgrave," said Achang; and he was correct in his supposition. Both of them hit the crocodile in the eye.
The next report that reached the ears of the party was followed by five more in quick succession; and the Bornean explained that the hunter had missed his aim five times out of six, but his victim turned over after the last one.
"Mr. Scott is better with lasso than with rifle," criticised Achang, with a smile.
The next shot caused the fourth of the reptiles to upset himself on the water, and then the screw of the ship began to turn again. The crocodile's reasoning powers did not seem to be well developed, as Mrs. Belgrave suggested when she saw one of their number killed; for they might have known there was mischief in the air. The Nimrods came on deck, and then carried their rifles to their staterooms, where the commander required them to lock up the weapons in their closets.
The third officer was ordered to have the gangway hoisted up when he returned to the deck, and the ship proceeded to sea. The weather was pleasant, and not very warm for the tropics; in fact, they had suffered more from the heat in New York and in Von Blonk Park than in Bangkok, though it is sometimes extremely hot there. The south-west monsoon cooled the air where they were, though the sun poured down its blistering rays.
There was an awning over the platform where the conferences were held, and another over the after part of the promenade deck. But the former, with its arm-chairs, was the most desirable location to be had; and in a short time the company had seated themselves there without any call to attend a lecture. As soon as deep water was indicated by the soundings, the pilot was discharged, and the captain then gave out the course south by east. Everything was in working order on board; and the commander joined the party on the promenade, as it had always been called before Conference Hall was located there. It commanded the best view on both sides, though not forward, where it was obstructed by the pilot-house.
"What have you seen in Bangkok, Miss Blanche, that the absentees have not seen?" asked Louis, who had seated himself at her side, after patting Miss Mingo, whom she was holding in her lap.
"A great many things," she replied. "One was the royal barge, which they said was rowed or paddled by one hundred and fifty men; but a good many of us did not believe it contained so many."
"I have read about it, though I did not see it. It is said to be one hundred and fifty feet long, and the book I read said it was paddled by one hundred and twenty men," added Louis. "But it does not make much difference, and the books do not agree in regard to a great many things in this part of the world. What did you think of the people you saw, Miss Blanche?"
"A lady and gentleman were pointed out to us by one of the kind missionaries who guided us, and I could hardly tell which was the lady and which the gentleman till I had studied them a while," returned the fair maiden. "Both of them wore what appeared to be trousers; but it proved to be a cloth as big as a sheet wound around the waist, and so disposed about the legs as to look like trousers; but the garment was the same on both of them. The lady had something like a shawl, which was passed over the left shoulder, and under the right arm, with some kind of a jacket under it. The gentleman wore a sort of tunic, which was regularly buttoned up in front like a coat. The hair of each was shaved off close to the head, except a tuft on the crown, which was bunched up. They wore no ornaments of any kind, perhaps because it was not a dress occasion. I saw one woman who had a kind of necklace on the top of the shawl."