"Well, I've seen worse things than that," said the doctor, grimly. "Why, it's a woman; and she's coming this way." "The spirits come in all shapes from the mountains to tempt people," said the trembling Malay. "Now, they are tigers, now they are crocodiles, and sometimes women and men." "Ah, the women are the worst kind of spirits," said the doctor--"especially," he added to himself, "if they are middle-aged and jealous of their husbands. Here, get up, sir; don't lie there; you're crushing my specimens. That's only a Malay woman." The figure was struggling slowly along, the rugged, rock-strewn bank of the stream making her passage very arduous, for the little river was running now in the bottom of a ravine like a huge rift in the mountain side. The rocks towered up at a swift angle, and a traveller would have found the best road to be decidedly in the bed of the stream. The woman ashore, however, evidently preferred the dry land, and kept on picking her way toilsomely from rock to rock, now descending into some rift, and anon climbing forth once more into sight, and more than once she seemed to fall. She was quite a couple of hundred yards away still, and the doctor watched her approach with growing interest, feeling no little compassion for her, as he saw that she was evidently footsore, and struggled towards them in a weary, halting manner, that grew pitiable as she advanced. At last the piled-up rocks grew evidently so difficult that the woman toiled slowly down to the bed of the stream, where the doctor saw her stoop and scoop up the sweet, cool water with her hand, evidently to drink with avidity. After this she made an effort to continue her course, but she seemed to totter and sink down upon a stone at the side of the stream, waving her brown hand once more as if for help. "Poor thing!" said the doctor, stepping out of the boat into the shallow water, but only to be seized by the two Malays. "No, no, master," they cried together; "you must not go. It is a spirit, and it will kill you!" "Let go, you silly, superstitious fellows!" cried the doctor, wrenching himself free. "Women are very dangerous creatures, but I think I shall get back safe." Then, to the horror of his two men, he waded up the stream to where the native woman sat back, half reclining against the rock, with her feet washed by the running water. As it is well known, when once the sun is below the horizon, the twilight is extremely short in the tropics; and the fast-coming darkness was deepened by the depth of the rocky ravine, so that as the doctor waded carefully on to avoid a nasty fall, the figure of the woman in her gay plaid sarong was beginning to look filmy and indistinct enough to make anyone of superstitious tendencies doubtful of the reality of that upon which he gazed.