eet along the gravel; and then,
all at once, from the rhododendron bushes rose a wild, unearthly yell.
He could bear it no longer; he would make one last effort, even if they
tomahawked him on the very verandah.

Somehow--he never knew how--he found himself in the midst of that quiet
musical party, wild with terror, scarcely able to speak.

'The Red Indians!' he gasped. 'Don't let them get me! Save me--hide me
somewhere!' and he remembered afterwards that he made a mad endeavour to
get inside the piano.

He was instantly surrounded by the astonished family. 'My dear
Clarence,' said Mrs. Jolliffe, 'you're perfectly safe--you've been
frightening yourself with your own game. There are no Indians here.'

Another howl from the shrubbery seemed to contradict her. 'There,
didn't you hear that?' he cried. 'Oh, you won't believe me till it's too
late! There are hundreds of them round the stockade. They may have
scalped Jack and Guy by this time!'

'And why ain't you being scalped too?' inquired Uncle Lambert.

'I'm sure you needn't talk!' he retorted; 'you weren't any more anxious
to fight than I am.'

'But isn't that different? I thought you had fought them before, and
conquered?'

'Then you thought wrong! Those--those weren't real Indians--I made them
up, then!'

'Now we've got it!' said Uncle Lambert. 'Well, Master Clarence, you've
made your little confession, and now it's my turn--_I_ made Yellow
Vulture up!'

'Are you sure--really sure--on your honour?' he asked eagerly.

'Honest Injun!' said Lambert. 'You see, I began to think the military
business was getting rather overdone; the army, like Wordsworth's world,
was "too much with us," and it occurred to me to see whether the
General's courage would stand an outside test--so I composed that little
challenge. Yes, you see before you the only Wah Na Sa Pash Boo--no
others are genuine!'

Tinling felt that those girls were laughing at him; they had probably
been in the secret for some time; but he could not care much just
then--the relief was so delicious!

'It was too bad of you, Lambert,' said Mrs. Jolliffe. 'He was really
horribly frightened, and there are those other two down in the stockade
all alone--you might have thought of that--they will be half out of
their minds by this time!'

'My dear Cecilia,' was the reply,'don't be uneasy, I _did_ think of it.
The moment they begin to feel at all uncomfortable they have directions
to open a certain packet whi