against which his teeth--great brown fangs--pressed with manifest spasmodic energy. Now what was Ottley's purpose in taking such extraordinary pains to transport a living Arab in a dead man's coffin from Rakh to Cairo, and, perhaps, London? Perhaps the Arab could tell me. Burning with curiosity, I stooped down and took from his mouth the mechanical contrivances which held the jaws apart. The Arab uttered on the instant a deep, raucous sigh. His eyeballs rolled upwards and became fixed. He appeared to have fainted. I rushed away to procure some water. That water was in the hold. Seizing a dipper, I sprang down the steps, hurried to the cask and filled it. The whole business occupied only a few seconds. I certainly could not have been away from the deck half a minute, but when I returned the sarcophagus was empty. The Arab had disappeared. Utterly astounded, I gazed about me. Had the whole thing been a dream? It appeared so, but no--I caught sight of a tall, dark figure making off hot foot across the promontory. He had leaped ashore, a distance of twelve feet or more, and was running towards the desert. In a second I was after him. I thought of the crocodiles while in mid air; but it was too late to turn back at that juncture. My feet landed in a patch of oozy sand. I scrambled out of it and up the slope among the reeds. A loud rustle and a stink of musk warned me of a saurian neighbour. I gave a mighty leap and cleared the reeds. Then I ran as I had never run before, for my Arab was in front, and a hungry monster came hard upon my heels. A log lay in my path. It was another crocodile. I cleared it with a bound and gained the desert. I was hunted for some seconds, I believe, but I never looked back, so I do not know at what point the saurian gave up the chase. The Arab was a marvel. He had a lead of one hundred yards and he maintained it. He had three broken ribs and I was as sound as a bell. Yet, at the end of twenty minutes not his breath but mine gave out. I was forced to pause for a spell. He ran on. His lead doubled. Setting my teeth, I resumed the chase. But I might have spared myself the trouble. He gradually grew farther and farther away from me. I did my best, but at last I was compelled to admit myself beaten. The Arab's tall form grew less and less distinguishable against the stars. Finally it melted into the mists of the horizon. I was alone on the desert. I sat down to rest and took counsel with myself. I had turned pirate and committed, technically, a number of other atrocious crimes for absolutely nothing. Plainly I could not return to the punt.