irectly by another whishing sound
and a thud in the earth.

"Spear it is," growled May.

"Ay, ay," said another of the party; "and I've got it too!"

"Hush! Silence there!" whispered Murray excitedly. "Not wounded, my
lad?"

"Nay, sir," came in a subdued voice, "but it would have stuck in my
shirt, on'y it was gone to tinder and wouldn't hold nowt. Here it is,
though, sir--nigger's spear, and they can see us, though we can't see
them."

"From which way did it come?"

"Way we're going, sir," said the man, in a muffled voice; and as he
spoke once more came the whish of a well-thrown spear, making another of
the men wince, and proving plainly from which direction the missile had
come.

The imminence of the fresh danger made the little party forget their
sufferings, and with the quickness of highly disciplined men, they were
apt to obey the orders whispered sharply by the midshipman. They fell
into line, made ready, and at the command given by their officer, six
muskets flashed out, sending their bullets whizzing breast high through
the smoke, out of which, as if crossing them, came as many spears, this
time the deadly missiles being followed by a burst of savage yells.

"Load!" whispered Murray, as the yells were followed by a silence so
strange and nerve-startling that the young officer felt his heart thump
heavily against his breast.

Then, as the whistling of the air arose caused by the driving down of
the cartridges, he bethought himself and uttered a hurried question--

"Any one hurt?"

"Yes, sir," came in Tom May's familiar voice; and the midshipman, new to
the heart-stirring horrors of a real engagement, waited anxiously for
the man's next words.

"None of us, sir," came after what seemed to be a long pause, "but some
o' them got it bad and made 'em yell and run i'stead o' keeping on the
slink."

"Hah!" ejaculated Murray, as he pressed his hand to his painfully
throbbing breast. "I thought you meant--"

"Our lads, sir? Oh no; we're all right: the enemy, sir. That volley
started 'em. I heard 'em rush off quite plain. Like us to give 'em
another?"

Murray was silent as he stood straining his eyes and ears, to pierce the
smoke and hear the _whish_ of another spear.

"No," he said, at last, in a low tone full of relief, "waste of powder;"
and then he started, and gave vent to a cry of joy. "Hear that, my
lads?" For from some distance away to their left came a shout which
meant in this p