ement. I wished that I could have gone with him, but I knew
that I must obey him.

O how anxiously I waited his return! Minute after minute passed away,
and still he did not come back. I began to fear that some harm had
happened to him--that he might have fallen over the precipice in the
dark, or have been captured. It never for a moment occurred to me that
he would desert me. An hour or more must have passed. Still he did not
appear. I began to consider whether I could not creep out to search for
him. I could have loosened from off me the ropes which bound my arms in
an instant; but I did not want to do so unless I was prepared to run
away altogether. I have heard of people's hair turning grey in a night;
mine would, I think, have done so with anxiety had I been older.

At last the side of the hut was lifted up, and the captain crawled in,
and placed himself on the litter on which he had been brought to the
place. "Quick, Jack," he whispered, "put the ropes round me as they
were before! Those blacks are more wide-awake rascals than I fancied.
I have been most of the time lying down not twenty yards from the hut,
afraid to move. I was creeping along when I saw a black fellow, with
musket on shoulder, emerge from behind a hut. He stood for some time
looking directly at me, as if he had seen me. He had not though; but
directly afterwards he began pacing up and down with the steadiness of
an old soldier. I crept on when his back was turned, but never could
move far enough before he was about again, and scrutinising all the
ground before him. The only direction in which I could move without the
certainty of being seen was towards this spot, so back again I have
come, with the hope still strong that we might find some other way of
escaping. Once or twice I thought of springing up and killing the man;
but in so doing I should very likely have roused others, and we should
have lost any future chance of escaping."

This result of the captain's expedition put me into low spirits again,
for I fully expected that the blacks would kill us all in the morning,
and my only surprise was that they had not so done already. I did not
say so to the captain, but he, having with his teeth secured the bands
round my arms again, I went and sat down where the blacks had first
placed me. I did not sleep soundly again, nor did he. I sat silent,
anxiously waiting for the morning.

I think I must have gone off into a doze, wh