llis: now that he had joined in the scheme, he
evinced more ardor in its execution than the young men themselves. He
said that it would not be enough to capture skins for Mr. and Mrs.
Wolston, they must also capture one a-piece for Mary and Sophia
likewise, and talked as if the adventure of Sir Marmaduke and his
seventeen tigers had been a bagatelle.

Some hours before dark they landed at a spot well known to both Fritz
and Jack; it was a place where Becker and his sons had some time
before been engaged in deadly conflict with a herd of lions, and where
one of their dogs had fallen a victim to the enraged monarchs of the
forest.

"My plan," said Willis, "is to kill the sheep and place the quarters
on the shore, just as bait is thrown into the water to bring the fish
within the net."

"A reminiscence of Sir Marmaduke," said Jack.

"Then," continued Willis, "we shall light a fire to take the place of
the sun, who is about to retire for the night. This done, I propose
that we should return to the pinnace, keep the mutton within rifle
range, and riddle the skins that come to feast upon it."

After some opposition on the part of Fritz and Jack, who preferred to
encounter their antagonists on more equal terms, the proposal of
Willis was ultimately agreed to.

CHAPTER XI.

ON THE WATCH--FECUNDITY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS--LATEST NEWS FROM THE
MOON--A DEATH-KNELL EVERY SECOND--THE INCONVENIENCES OF BEING TOO NEAR
THE SUN--NARCOTICS--WILLIS CONTRALTO--HUNTING TURNED UPSIDE
DOWN--ELECTRIC CLOUDS--PARTIALITIES OF LIGHTNING--BELLS AND
BELL-RINGERS--CONDUCTING RODS--THE RETURN--THE TWO SISTERS--TOBY
BECOMES A DRAGOMAN.

As is usual in tropical climates, a blazing hot day was succeeded by
an intensely dark night. The fire that the hunters had made on shore
cast a lurid glare on the prominent objects round about. The flames,
as they fitfully lit up the landscape into that dim distinctness
termed by artists the _chiar oscuro_, made the bushes and trunks of
trees appear like monsters issuing stealthily from the forest that
lined the background. There seemed to be some attraction, however,
elsewhere for the real monsters, not a single wild beast having as yet
appeared on the scene.

The two young men were eagerly straining their eyes from the stern of
the pinnace, whilst the dogs kept diligently wagging their tails in
expectation of a signal for the onset. The position of Willis could be
ascertained now and then by an e