"That looks like a war of extermination upon them," said Morris.
"I don't know what that is; but they want to kill them all off," replied Achang, who had improved his language so that his tutor seldom had to correct it.
"That is the same thing. They pay by the foot for crocodiles here."
"The bigger they are, the more dangerous," suggested Louis. "Let us haul him alongside, and see how long he is."
The boat had stopped her screw before Louis fired; and the captain directed Wales to lay her alongside the saurian, which was done in a few minutes. Ropes were passed under his head and tail; and with a couple of purchases made fast to the horizontal rods over the rail, close to the stanchions, the carcass was hoisted partly out of the water. The measure was taken with a line first, to which Lane, who was a carpenter's assistant, applied his rule, which gave twelve feet and two inches as the length of the crocodile.
"That makes him worth eighteen shillings," said Achang.
"About four dollars and a half," added Morris. "We could make something hunting crocodiles. If we could kill ten of them like that fellow it would give us forty-five dollars."
Louis and Scott laughed heartily at this calculation, and thought the idea was derogatory to the character of true sport, though they did not object to turning their victims of this kind into money.
"Must we carry the carcass of this beast down to Kuching in order to get the reward, Achang?" asked Morris.
"The head will be enough; and they can tell how long he is by the size of it."