suddenly became rough, rendering the divers unable to paddle their
own little skiffs back to the ship, they made their way to the
whale-boat, clambered aboard, and returned in her, trailing their
own craft at the stern. The boats, however, were not always
brought back to the ship at night; as a rule they were buoyed near
the pearling beds, whilst the divers returned to their quarters
aboard. I might here explain that the sleeping accommodation for
the Malays was both ample and comfortable. A large room in which
the casks of fresh water were stored was set apart for their use.
These casks were turned on end and a deck of planks placed over
them, on which the Malays laid their sleeping mats and little
wooden pillows. They ranged themselves twenty a side. But you may
be asking, what was I doing during these pearling expeditions?
Well, I was intrusted with the important duty of receiving the
shells from the men, and crediting each with the number he
delivered. Thus I was nearly always left alone on the ship--save
for the dog; because even the two Malay women frequently went out
diving, and they were credited for work done precisely as the men
were.

If I had no shells to open whilst the divers were absent, I filled
in my time by sewing sails, which Jensen himself would cut to the
required shape--and reading, &c. My library consisted of only five
books--a copy of the Bible, and a four-volume medical work in
English by Bell, which I had purchased at Singapore. I made quite
a study of the contents of this work, and acquired much valuable
information, which I was able to put to good use in after years,
more particularly during my sojourn amongst the Blacks. Bruno
generally sat by my side on deck when I was alone,--in fact he was
nearly always with me. He took to me more than to Jensen from the