A large room in which the casks of fresh water were stored was set apart for their use.

These casks were turned on end and a deck of planks placed over them, on which the Malays laid their sleeping mats and little wooden pillows.

They ranged themselves twenty a side.

But you may be asking, what was _I_ doing during these pearling expeditions?
Well, I was intrusted with the important duty of receiving the shells from the men, and crediting each with the number he delivered.

Thus I was nearly always left alone on the ship--save for the dog; because even the two Malay women frequently went out diving, and they were credited for work done precisely as the men were.
If I had no shells to open whilst the divers were absent, I filled in my time by sewing sails, which Jensen himself would cut to the required shape--and reading, &c.