The diving expeditions went away from the ship with the ebb tide, and returned with the flow.

Sometimes their search would take them long distances away, and on one occasion they were working fully ten miles from the _Veielland_.

When the water suddenly became rough, rendering the divers unable to paddle their own little skiffs back to the ship, they made their way to the whale-boat, clambered aboard, and returned in her, trailing their own craft at the stern.

The boats, however, were not always brought back to the ship at night; as a rule they were buoyed near the pearling beds, whilst the divers returned to their quarters aboard.

I might here explain that the sleeping accommodation for the Malays was both ample and comfortable.