eavin' the bodies lyin' scattered about the place. I waited up in my
tree until the murderin' thieves had got clear away, and then I starts
to climb down, intendin' to foller 'em and find out what they meant to
do with the white men as they'd took away alive with 'em, when, as my
feet touched the solid ground once more, dash my wig if these here four
mates of mine didn't drop out of some other trees close at hand. They'd
been worried wi' the ants and what not, same as I was, and, seein' me
shinnin' up a tree, they'd gone and done likewise, and that's the way
that we five escaped bein' massicreed.

"Then the five of us goes to work and holds a council o' war, as you may
say; and we agreed that two of us should foller up the savages to find
out what game they was up to, while t'other three should go back to the
boat and take care of her. But, seein' that away from the scattered
embers of the fire it was so dark that you could hardly see your hand
before you, we agreed that 'twas no use attemptin' to do anything until
daylight; so we got up into our trees again, and held on where we were
in case any o' them savages should come back. And a precious lucky
thing it was that we thought of doin' so, for--it's the solemn truth I'm
tellin' you, gen'lemen--we hadn't very much more'n got settled back on
our perches when back comes about a dozen o' them savages, creepin' out
from among the trees as quiet as cats, and starts searchin' the whole
place up and down as though they'd lost somethin'. My mates and me
reckoned it up that them niggers had seen us and counted us some time
yesterday, and had found, after the massacree, that we wasn't all
accounted for, and so they'd come back to look for us. It was a
fort'nit thing for us that we was pretty well hid by the leaves, also
that the niggers didn't seem to think of lookin' for us up in the trees,
and by and by, just as the day was breakin', they took theirselves off
again.

"When they'd got fairly away out o' our neighbourhood I climbed down
again, and the others follered suit; and Mike, here, and I made sail
along the path that the niggers had gone, while the other three topped
their booms for the boat, the onderstandin' bein' that they was to get
her afloat and swung round all ready, and then wait till Mike and me
j'ined 'em.

"Well, Mr Carter, sir, and gen'lemen, Mike here and me follered along
the path that the savages had took, for a matter of a couple o' mile,
when we