Nat the Naturalist; or, A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern Seas
by George Manville Fenn.
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Nat's mother and father have died, and he is being brought up by an aunt
and uncle, the latter being his mother's brother. His aunt does not
care at all for boys, and in particular makes sniping remarks at Nat the
whole time. But Nat's uncle is very fond of him, and they are great
friends.
But enter the aunt's brother, a famous naturalist, back from some trip
in South America. Nat, who has already shown great interest in
collecting specimens from nature, is enthralled, helps him to stuff and
catalogue his specimens, and eventually persuades him to take him (Nat)
with him on his next trip.
This requires a little training in shooting and sailing. Then they are
off, on a P&O liner sailing from Marseilles. On arriving in the Java
Seas they disembark, purchase a little boat, and set off. Very soon they
are joined by an enthusiastic native, and the trio spend some years
collecting numerous splendid specimens, of birds, beetles, and anything
else they can.
An unfriendly tribe of natives steal their boat, but does not find their
hut and specimens. They set-to to build a boat of some sort, to get
themselves away from such an unfriendly place. At the same time their
native assistant disappears, presumably murdered by the unfriendly
locals. What happens next I will not spoil the story by telling.
You'll enjoy it.
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NAT THE NATURALIST; OR, A BOY'S ADVENTURES IN THE EASTERN SEAS,
BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.