HOW WE PLAYED ROBINSON CRUSOE.

said, “ Baik!” (Good.) “ How big your country?” I tried to explain. He
listened for a moment. “Big as Negri Blanda?” (Holland.) Ilaughed. “A
thousand times larger!” The old fellow shook his head sadly, and looked at.
me reproachfully.

“ Tidak! Tidak!” (No, no.) “Rajah. Orang Blanda (Dutchman) show me
chart of the world. Holland all red. Take almost all the world. Rest of coun-
tries small, small. All in one little corner. How can Rajah say his country
big?”

There was no denying the old man’s knowledge; I, too, had seen one of
these Dutch maps of the world, which are circulated in Java to make the natives
think that Holland is the greatest nation on earth.

One day glided into another with surprising rapidity. We could swim, ex-
plore, or lie out in our long chairs, and read and listlessly dream. All about our
little island the silver sheen of the sea was checkered with sails. These strange
native craft held for me a lasting fascination. I gazed out at them as they glided
by, and saw in them some of the rose-colored visions of my youth. Piracy,
Indian Rajahs and spice islands seemed to live in their queer red sails and palm-
matting roofs. At night a soft warm
breeze blew from off shore and lulled us
to sleep ere we were aware.

One morning the old chief made us a
visit before we were up. He announced
his approach by a salute from a muzzle-
loading musket. I returned it by a dis-
charge from my revolver. He had come
over with the morning tide to ask us
to spend the day, as his guests, wild-pig
hunting. Of course we accepted with
alacrity. Iam not going to tell you how
we found all the able-bodied men and
dogs on the island awaiting us, how they
beat the jungle with frantic yells and
shouts while we waited on the opposite
side, or even how many pigs we shot.
It would all take too long.

We went fishing every day. The many-
colored and many-shaped fish we caught were a constant wonderment to us.
One was bottle-green, with sky-blue fins and tail, and striped with lines of gold.
Its skin was stiff and firm as patent leather. Another was pale-blue, with a
bright-red proboscis two inches long. We caught cuttle-fish with great lustrous
eyes, long jelly feelers and a plentiful supply of black fluid ; squibs, prawns,
mullets, crabs and devil-fish. These last are considered great delicacies by

 

A MALAY BOY.