The boat was about thirty feet long, and hewn from a single log that had been spread at the centre, so as to hold two men of medium size, sitting side by side. On the gunwale, or top edge, there were planks a foot and a half in width, and these planks extended the whole length of the boat, and were closed at the ends by short ones that had a considerable slope forward; the latter planks served to keep out the waves, and, as they were somewhat narrower than the width of the log, they gave the craft its very pinched appearance. They were fastened to the boat by means of coarse twine, or "coir" twisted from the fibres of the cocoa-nut-tree. The joints were daubed with pitch and oil to render them water-proof, but they were only partially so, and when the boat leaned far over to leeward, it was likely that a good deal of water would be shipped. "You are quite right," said the Doctor, in response to the observation just recorded, which was made by Frank, "but she doesn't go far over to leeward, even in the strongest winds." "How can that be," queried Frank, "when she's so narrow?" "The outrigger keeps her down," was the reply; "you have been so absorbed with looking at the boat that you haven't seen the outrigger." [Illustration: OUTRIGGER BOAT FROM LADRONE ISLANDS.] The youth now perceived a log of wood nearly as long as the boat, and sharpened at the ends, lying parallel to, and about twenty feet away from it. It was held in place by means of a couple of bamboo poles, that were curved above the water so as to offer no resistance by dragging. Frank had observed the poles, but had not noticed the log, as it was almost completely submerged, and, besides, it was so near the color of the water that it could not be readily distinguished from it. "You see the use of the outrigger," said the Doctor; "when sailing, they always keep it on the windward side, and before it could tip over the boat must lift the log clean from the water, and high in air, which it is hardly able to do. Perhaps it might in a cyclone, or in a very strong gale, but at such times the boats seek the shelter of the land or lie to and face the storm as best they can." "I remember now," said Fred, "that we saw some boats with outriggers while we were at the Philippine Islands, and there were some at Rangoon and Singapore, but I don't think any of them were as graceful as this." "That is so," was the reply. "The Cingalese, as the people of Ceylon are called, are famous for the lightness and swiftness of their boats, and their speed is something marvellous. They have been known to sail fifteen or twenty miles an hour, and when at their best speed they hardly seem to touch the waves, which they skim with the velocity of a bird; they go far out to sea, and have been known to make voyages of hundreds of miles. Their carrying capacity is not great, but the wants of these people are so few that they can get along with a much smaller stock of provisions than the majority of sailors."