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It standeth in the countrey of Bengala. Here be many Tigers, wild Bufs, and great store of wilde foule: they are very great idolaters. Tanda standeth from the riuer Ganges a league, because in times past the riuer flowing ouer the bankes, in time of raine did drowne the countrey and many villages, and so they do remaine.
The arrival of my uncle with his man, carrying a quantity of the light ratan rope, gave us some hopes of being able to rescue our friends on board the brig. "To be sure, this will float as easily as a cork," exclaimed Roger; "and I see no reason why I should not tow the end off aboard the brig. You, Tanda, pay it out as you see I want it." Again my uncle warned him of the danger.
However, he at length took me up, but he was very nearly overcome, I suspect, when we were met by our friends." Several days have passed since I last wrote in dear Walter's journal. Mr Sedgwick seems scarcely yet to have got over the loss of Tanda; indeed he was his right hand man.
"Here, Frau, you and your young ladies shall occupy these two apartments," said my uncle to Frau Ursula, who stood smiling from ear to ear at the polite way in which he addressed her. "You shall have bedsteads brought in directly; and I must leave you to arrange them, while Tanda and I get supper ready. The lads here and the sailor will no doubt assist us."
In a very few hours they would render the fort scarcely bearable; besides which they would be certain to attract beasts of prey. Tanda and Potto Jumbo undertook to perform this unpleasant work, and to bury them in some soft ground at the bottom of the hill. The rest of us then set off to the sea-shore, carrying a large sheet which had been saved from the wreck to act as a signal.
It was a tree upwards of forty feet high, with enormous sharply lobed leaves, some of which were one foot wide and one and a half long. The fruit which Tanda picked was of the form and size of a melon, and attached by its stem directly to the trunk. "We must cut some, for it is the chief vegetable I have in season," said my uncle, cutting it in slices, and handing it to Tanda to fry.
Towards these Tanda made his way, while Mr Sedgwick swam towards the four which were still floating. He was already bringing them back, when, to my horror, I saw between him and Tanda a huge snout appear above the surface. I knew it to be that of a crocodile. I trembled for the fate of our kind friend. Tanda, I thought, would be safe, as he was near the shore. Could I save Mr Sedgwick?
As we knew that the house had been burned down, and no accommodation was to be found on the shore, it was agreed that the ladies, with Oliver and Potto Jumbo, Mr Sedgwick and Tanda, should remain at the fort, in case any stray Malays might have failed to get off. It was important also to drag away the dead bodies as soon as possible.
There were strange noises in the forest, and it seemed as if the trees were knocking together, while the animals round us uttered unusual cries. My uncle and Tanda were the only people who remained inside. He again cried to us to come back, and at length the Frau was persuaded to return. He had struck a light, and enabled us to see our way.
You see, Emily, these creatures build nests for themselves and their young ones, and indeed, from what Tanda told Mr Sedgwick, I believe they build one every night when they go to sleep in the boughs of a large tree. Certainly this one seemed to have no inclination to attack us, and I could easily believe that they would not generally do so, unless alarmed and afraid of being attacked themselves.
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