an enemy, stabbing, parrying, dodging, and darting here and there
in a way that suggested instant immolation for the unfortunate he
encountered.

"Look at him, Mas' Don," whispered Jem. "Look at him pretending.
That's the way they fight. By-an'-by, you'll see lots o' that, but you
mark my words, none on 'em won't go nigh enough to hurt one another."

Ngati ceased as suddenly as he had begun, returned the spear to Don, and
seemed to intimate that he should go through the same performance.

"You wait a bit, old chap!" cried Jem. "We don't fight that way."

"Hah!" ejaculated Ngati, and he ran across to a portion of the _pah_
where several of his warriors were busily binding some of the posts more
securely.

"It do make me laugh," said Jem; "but I s'pose all that bouncing helps
'em. Poor things. Mas' Don, you and I ought to be werry thankful as we
was born in Bristol, and that Bristol's in old England. Say, shall you
give any one a chop if it does come to a fight?"

Don shook his head.

Jem laughed.

"If it warn't for wasting the powder, I tell you what we'd do. Get up
a-top yonder where we could lean over the palings, wait till the other
chaps comes up, and then shoot over their heads with the pistols.
That'd make some of 'em run."

There was another shout here, for two of the scouts came running in, and
every man seized his spear, and darted to the spot he was expected to
defend.

"Why, Mas' Don, how they can run! Look at 'em. An Englishman wouldn't
run like that from a dozen men. Here, let's chuck these spears away.
We sha'n't want 'em. An Englishman as has got fists don't want no
spears. Look! Look!"

The two scouts had come running in very swiftly till they were about a
hundred yards from the gateway of the _pah_, when they stopped short and
faced about as two of the enemy, who were in chase, dashed at them,
spear in hand.

Then, to Jem's astonishment, a sharp passage of arms occurred; the
spears clashed together, there was a wonderful display of thrusting and
parrying, and the two enemies fell back, and the scouts continued their
retreat to the shelter of the fort.

"What do you think of that, Jem?" said Don excitedly. "That was real
fighting."

"Real?" cried Jem; "it was wonderful!" and he spoke huskily. "Why, both
those chaps was wounded, and these here's got it, too."

The two scouts were both gashed about the arms by their enemies' spears,
but they came bravely in, without makin