ting fire to the grass to beat back the scurrying
hordes, Jack Barry and Little began to draw breath free from pangs and
scrutinized each other in silent appraisal of damages. Neither had given
sign of the agony sustained, save an occasional inevitable moan; yet
neither had escaped without grievous injury that was painful if not more
serious. But Little's bubbling spirits had not been utterly quenched,
only damped; and now he grinned at the skipper with a brave effort at
humor.

"Ain't very big, but ain't their darned feet hot!" he said, shrugging
his shoulders suggestively.

"Huh!" grunted Barry, swabbing away at his throat, which still bled.
"Only thing that bothers me is that a white man can't very well
reciprocate the same way. I'd lose an eye to change dispositions with
Leyden for just one hour and have him in my hands!"

"Cheer up, old hoss," grinned Little. "Go to it, if the chance turns up,
and maybe the missionaries will convert you back to whitemanship
again."

Their thoughts were turned into a pleasanter channel by the arrival of
Miss Sheldon, recovered from her faintness and eager to be of service to
them. She knelt between them, Rolfe's medicine kit in her hands, and
began to cleanse and bandage their more painful hurts. The seamen, cut
down from their trees, were in the hands of their shipmates.

"This is horrible, Captain Barry," murmured Natalie, avoiding his eyes.
A flush overspread her fair face as she strove to utter the thoughts
nearest her heart. "I am terribly upset about this," she said. "It seems
impossible that sailors of any civilized government could do things like
this."

"They don't, Miss," returned Barry grimly. He sought her eyes, and her
gaze met his for an instant, to be immediately lowered. "These fellows
were no more sailors than you are. Perhaps you will be disagreeably
surprised to hear that your friend Mr. Leyden looked in on us while the
ants were feeding."

"Mr. Leyden? Impossible!" cried the girl, drawing back and regarding
Barry with horror. "Surely you are mistaken."

"I thought you wouldn't believe it," rejoined Little, with a wry smile.
"True, though, Miss, and he said he'd look in on us again before the
ants took their dessert."

"What about Vandersee, Cap'n Barry?" blurted out Rolfe, coming up and
breaking in on the talk without ceremony.

"Vandersee?" queried the skipper. "What of him, Rolfe? I'd have given a
lot to have him around when this happened. I'll bet