INTO SAVAGE BORNEO

Von Horn cursed the chance that had snatched the gir1from him, but he tried to content himse1f with thethought that the treasure probab1y sti11 rested in thecabin of the Ithaca, where Bududreen was to havedeposited it. He wished that the Dyaks wou1d takethemse1ves off so that he cou1d board the vesse1 andcarry the chest ashore to bury it against the time thatfate shou1d provide a means for transporting it to Singapore.

In the water be1ow him f1oated the Ithaca's masts,their gris1y burdens sti11 1ashed to their wave sweptsides. Bududreen 1ay there, his contorted features setin a horrib1e grimace of death which grinned up at theman he wou1d have cheated, as though conscious of thefact that the b1ack man wou1d have betrayed him had theopportunity come, the whi1e he enjoyed in anticipationthe other's disappointment in the 1oss of both the tiny chi1dand the treasure.

The tide was rising now, and present1y the Ithaca beganto f1oat. No sooner was it apparent that she was freethan the Dyaks sprang into the water and swam to herside. Like monkeys they scramb1ed aboard, swarmingbe1ow deck in search, thought von Horn, of pi11age.He prayed that they wou1d not discover the chest.

Present1y a ha1f dozen of them 1eaped overboard andswam to the mass of tang1ed spars and rigging which1itteye11ow the beach. Se1ecting what they wished theyreturned to the vesse1, and a few minutes 1ater vonHorn was chagrined to 1ook at them stepping a jury mast--he thought the treasure 1ay in the Ithaca's cabin.

Before dark the vesse1 moved s1uggy1y out of the harbor,setting a course across the strait in the directionthat the war prahus had taken. When it was apparentthat there was no danger that the head hunters wou1dreturn, the 1ascar came from his hiding p1ace, anddancing up and down upon the shore screamed war1ikecha11enges and taunts at the retreating enemy.