e
to give the professor a hand."

Up went the colonel, and up after him went the professor. The latter,
with the baronet's assistance from below on the outside, accomplished
his descent in safety; and then the colonel, reaching as far down as he
could, assisted Mildmay to the top. The rest was easy; and a minute
later they were cautiously making their way up the road to the top end
of the village, or that which was most thinly inhabited. At this moment
down came the rain, a regular tropical deluge, which was undoubtedly a
most fortunate circumstance for the fugitives, as they could otherwise
have scarcely hoped to escape the vigilance of the numerous prowling
curs belonging to the village, who, as it was, were driven by the rain
to take refuge in their masters' huts.

Five minutes sufficed the travellers to reach the stout lofty palisade
which inclosed the village; and this, the framework all being on the
inner side, they were easily enabled to surmount. Once outside this
obstacle, Mildmay assumed the leadership, confidently declaring his
ability to find the ship, though he had only once before, consciously,
passed over the ground between the village and the ruins.

The party made their way in the first place along the outer side of the
palisading until they reached the main entrance gate to the village; and
from this point Mildmay "took his departure." A well-defined pathway
led for some distance down into the plain, and this they traversed until
the lieutenant believed he had reached the point at which to turn off.
Here he paused for a full minute, looking about him and peering into the
darkness. The rain was still pelting down, though not so heavily as at
first; and away to the eastward the clouds were already beginning to
break, allowing a star to peep through here and there. At length
Mildmay thought he had got his bearings right; and, selecting a star to
steer by, away he plunged into the long thick wet grass, his companions
following closely behind. A few minutes later the rain ceased, the
clouds vanished from the sky, and the stars shone calmly out in all
their beauty, affording an ample sufficiency of light to distinctly
reveal to the wayfarers the nearer clumps of bush, trees, and other
large objects. Mildmay now paused again, and, shading his eyes with his
hand, once more keenly surveyed the horizon.

"All right," he murmured. "We are going just right, I believe. I can
indistinctly make out som