gain the hand
was moved, and the long boat crept across to the island on the left,
which was swept by the sharp suspicious eyes of the natives. Again
the bowman directed his gaze into the narrow opening, and this time
he looked long. There was one small island to pass, and if the canoe
kept on the north side, it would have to come right into the hiding-
place; if it kept to the south, it would reappear at the end of the
passage by which the Okapi had entered.

In either case, the danger of discovery seemed certain. The three
pairs of eyes from behind the tall grass were glued to the man's
face. They saw him start, then move his hand to the left, and as the
canoe went stealthily out of their view round the south side, they
heard the sullen plunge made by a crocodile as, disturbed from his
sleep, he took to the waters.

Then the three crept back to the boat. "Pull her through the
screen," whispered the hunter, as he caught up his rifle, "but make
no noise;" and he took up another position ashore, this time facing
the other end of the channel.

With great caution the boys coaxed the Okapi through the trailing
branches, so that she would be hidden from view if the natives
looked up the channel. Then they waited and waited for ages before
the hunter showed himself.

"Well?" they asked in a whisper.

"They have passed on."

"And?" they said, watching his face.

"I don't quite like it. They may have no suspicions, but I think
they have; for one man pointed up in this direction."

"If they suspected anything they would have stopped surely."

"Perhaps not. The native doesn't like the look of a trap, and it
maybe that they passed on with the intention of returning at night.
Or they may have gone for the other boats." Mr. Hume stood up to
glance shorewards.

"Would it not be better to move on?" said Venning.

"If we could be sure that we should not be seen from the land, that
would be the move." He stroked his beard. "I guess we'll move," he
said, "just about dusk, for I'm pretty sure in my mind that they did
take particular notice of this channel, and my policy is always to
listen to your instincts."

"Instincts," muttered Compton; "call them nerves."

Mr. Hume laughed. "About the time you were born, Dick, I was playing
a lone hand in Lo-Ben's country as trader and hunter, when a loss of
nerve would have meant loss of life. See! So just leave this to me,
and shove her along."

Compton grinned back at the hunte