their plans at the head of the basin."

"You speak as confidently as though you deemed it an absolute certainty
that you will eventually succeed in making your escape from those
wretches. Do you still regard the project as a hopeful one?" said
Sibylla inquiringly.

"Yes, most certainly," answered Ned, as he carefully withdrew the bullet
from his carbine, and substituted for it a charge of small shot. "The
fellows are certain to grow careless, sooner or later, and afford us a
chance to give them the slip, even if we do not fall in with a man-of-
war and get taken. Keep up your spirits, Miss Stanhope; keep up your
spirits and your courage, I say, for I am always thinking and planning,
and I never mean to rest satisfied until I have taken you out of the
hands of those wretches and safe back to England again."

"You are very good to say so, Mr Damerell, nay more than good,"
answered Sibylla frankly, "and come what may, I shall never, _never_
forget your constant watchful care."

"Oh, don't say too much about that," answered Ned cheerfully. "I look
upon you almost as a second sister, you know, and I am only doing for
you just exactly what I should wish to be done for my sister Eva if she
were placed in a similar position to yours. And as long as you are
compelled to remain on board the _Cloud_, I hope you will trust me as
fully and as implicitly as if I were your brother; it will perhaps make
you feel less lonely, you know, if it serves no other good purpose. And
now, where is my bird? I am quite ready for him."

The creature was still hopping about among the branches of a tree almost
directly overhead, apparently feeding on the fruit or berries which it
found there; and taking careful aim, Ned fired. The report of the
carbine went echoing back and forth between the cliffs in the most
astounding manner, raising a tremendous disturbance, not only by its
reverberations along the cliffs on both sides of the basin, but also
from the cries of the countless startled birds which suddenly appeared
in the air, and the excited chattering of the equally startled monkeys.
As the smoke from the piece blew away, Ned saw his quarry tumbling from
branch to branch, and bough to bough, until it finally brought up in a
small bush which overhung the water some fifty feet above its surface.

"Killed him, by all that's lucky!" exclaimed Ned joyously. "Now, if you
do not mind being left in the boat a moment by yourself whilst I sli