"I wonder can the blackguard swim," said Felix, who had his rifle ready to fire.
"I have read that he is a poor swimmer," replied Louis.
"How does he get about here where the water is eight feet deep?"
"He is not as agile as the gibbon; but he can make his way from one tree to another in the same manner, and his road is through the trees, and not on the ground."
"Here I am, and I can't go any farther," said the captain, as he rang to stop her. "I can't get the boat through this clump of bushes."
"You are near enough, Captain; let her rest where she is," replied Louis, as he aimed his rifle at the orang, which was sitting on a branch holding on with both hands.
Louis fired, and the creature fell with a loud splash into the water at the foot of the tree. But he was not dead, and was struggling to escape. He was evidently wounded very badly, and when the hunter saw his opportunity he fired again. The orang had grasped a screw-pine, and he held on, but he struggled no more. The captain had ordered the sampan to be brought alongside, and two men were at the paddles. Louis and Felix joined them, and they paddled towards the game.
"I think he is dead though he still holds on at the bush," said Louis.
"We shall soon find out," added Clingman, as he threw a slip-noose over his head. "Heave ahead now!" he continued, as Clinch grasped the line with him, and they pulled together.
The orang did not make any movement, and it was certain that he was dead. When they had drawn him within a few feet of the sampan, the line was made fast, and the men paddled to the steamer. A purchase was rigged to the top of one of the stanchions, and the dead animal was hoisted into the sampan.