e you're hurt; what am I to say to your mother? Why, she'd
never forgive me."

"Nor me either, Jem, if I were to go and hide, while you stood out
here."

"But it's going to be real dangerous, Mas' Don."

"It will be just as dangerous for you, Jem. What should I say to your
wife if you were hurt?"

"Don't know, Mas' Don," said Jem sadly. "I don't think she'd mind a
deal."

"You don't mean it, Jem!" cried Don sharply. "Now, are you coming into
shelter?"

"No," said Jem, with a peculiarly hard, stern look in his face. "I'm
going to fight."

"Then I shall stay too, Jem."

"Won't you feel frightened, Mas' Don?"

"Yes, I suppose so. It seems very horrible."

"Yes, so it is, but it's them others as makes it horrible. I'm going to
give one on 'em something for spearing that poor chap. Look out, Mas'
Don; here they come!"

There was a fierce shout of defiance as the scouts came running in now
as hard as they could, followed by a body of about two hundred naked
warriors, whose bronzed bodies glistened in the sunshine. They came on
in a regular body, running swiftly, and not keeping step, but with
wonderful regularity, till they were about fifty yards from the _pah_,
when, after opening out into a solid oblong mass to show a broader
front, they stopped suddenly as one man, dropped into a half-kneeling
position, and remained perfectly motionless, every savage with his head
bent round, as if he were looking over his left shoulder, and then
turning his eyes to the ground, and holding his weapon diagonally across
his body.

The whole business was as correctly gone through as if it was a
manoeuvre of some well-drilled European regiment, and then there was an
utter silence for a few minutes.

Not a sound arose from either side; enemies and friends resembled
statues, and it was as if the earth had some great attraction for them,
for every eye looked down instead of at a foe. Don's heart beat
heavily. As the band of heavy warriors came on, the air seemed to
throb, and the earth resound. It was exciting enough then; but this
was, in its utter stillness, horribly intense, and with breathless
interest the two adventurers scanned the fierce-looking band.

All at once Jem placed his lips close to Don's ear, and whispered,--

"Dunno what to say to it all, Mas' Don. P'r'aps it's flam after all."

"No, Jem; they look too fierce," whispered back Don.

"Ay, my lad, that's it; they look so fierce. If they didn't