one of us like that. Not then, anyhow. We could take or leave
it, and though dad could do with his share when it was going, he always
knew what he was about, and could put the peg in any time. So we had
one strongish tot while the tea was boiling. There was a bag of ship
biscuit; we fried some hung beef, and made a jolly good supper. We were
that tired we didn't care to talk much, so we made up the fire last
thing and rolled ourselves in our blankets; I didn't wake till the sun
had been up an hour or more.

I woke first; Jim was fast asleep, but dad had been up a goodish while
and got things ready for breakfast. It was a fine, clear morning;
everything looked beautiful, 'specially to me that had been locked up
away from this sort of thing so long. The grass was thick and green
round the cave, and right up to the big sandstone slabs of the floor,
looking as if it had never been eat down very close. No more it had. It
would never have paid to have overstocked the Hollow. What cattle and
horses they kept there had a fine time of it, and were always in grand
condition.

Opposite where we were the valley was narrow. I could see the sandstone
precipices that walled us in, a sort of yellowish, white colour, all
lighted up with the rays of the morning sun, looking like gold towers
against the heavy green forest timber at the foot of them. Birds were
calling and whistling, and there was a little spring that fell drip,
drip over a rough rock basin all covered with ferns. A little mob of
horses had fed pretty close up to the camp, and would walk up to look
curious-like, and then trot off with their heads and tails up. It was a
pretty enough sight that met my eyes on waking. It made me feel a sort
of false happiness for a time, to think we had such a place to camp in
on the quiet, and call our own, in a manner of speaking.

Jim soon woke up and stretched himself. Then father began, quite
cheerful like--

'Well, boys, what d'ye think of the Hollow again? It's not a bad earth
for the old dog-fox and his cubs when the hounds have run him close.
They can't dig him out here, or smoke him out either. We've no call to
do anything but rest ourselves for a week or two, anyhow; then we must
settle on something and buckle to it more business-like. We've been too
helter-skelter lately, Jim and I. We was beginning to run risks, got
nearly dropped on more nor once.'

There's no mistake, it's a grand thing to wake up and know you've got
not