arked down
their prey they are not likely to leave the track till the end."

I did not like the sound of that word, "end." It was ominous, but I
held my tongue.

"As likely as not," continued the doctor, "the enemy are creeping
cautiously along within a couple of hundred yards of where we stand,
and--"

"I say," cried Jack Penny eagerly, "it's rather cold standing about
here; hadn't we better make haste on?"

"Decidedly, Penny," said the doctor. "Forward!"

"Yes, let's get forward," I said, and the doctor suddenly clapped his
hand over my mouth and whispered:

"Hush! Look there!"

"I can't see anything," I said, after a long gaze in the direction by
which we had come.

"Can you see just dimly, close to where that big star makes the blur in
the water, a light-coloured stone?"

"Yes."

"Watch it for a minute."

I fixed my eyes upon the dimly-seen rock, just where quite a blaze of
stars flecked the black water with their reflections, but for a time I
saw nothing. I only made my eyes ache, and a strong desire came upon me
to blink them very rapidly. Then all at once the stone seemed darker
for a moment, and then darker again, as if a cloud had come between the
glinting stars and the earth.

It was so plain that a couple of the savages had glided by that stone
that we felt it would be best to remain where we were for the present,
awaiting the attack that we knew must follow.

"We are prepared now," whispered the doctor, "and if we must fight it
would be better to fight now than have to turn suddenly and meet an
attack on our rear."

The result was that we remained watching through the next painful hour,
guns and bows ready for the first oncoming of the savages; but with
terrible distinctness there was the washing sound of the river hissing
past the rocks, and the rising and falling musical roar of the distant
cascade--nothing more!

Then another hour of silence in that awful chasm passed away, with the
expectation of being attacked every moment keeping our nerves upon the
stretch.

How different it all seemed, what a change from the peaceful life at
home! There I had led a happy boyish life, with the black for my
companion; sometimes he would disappear to live amongst his tribe for a
few weeks, but he always returned, and just after breakfast there would
be his merry black face eagerly watching for my coming to go with him to
"kedge fis" in some fresh creek or water-hole that he had discovered; t