ht the
fruit and water, the surly-looking leader having the door unbarred, to
give a look round, and then, on their being satisfied that the prisoners
had an ample supply of provisions, the door was closed again, to Peter
Pegg's great relief, for he placed his lips close to Archie's ear and
whispered:

"Oh, I have been squirming! I was afraid they would begin to hunt for
the spear they left behind."

"Spear left behind?" said Archie.

"Yes; didn't I tell you? They forgot one last night, and it's tucked in
behind you, under the leaves.--Now then," thought the lad, "what's it
going to be--sentry by day only, or one all night?"

The latter proved to be the case, for after the two prisoners had
partaken of an evening meal--Archie making no opposition now--Peter Pegg
peered out from time to time, to see that the sentry had drawn nearer to
the door; and there he was, plain enough, till it grew too dark to
distinguish anything a few yards away, when at last the silence became
so profound that the lad began to hope that the watch was given up. He
whispered his belief to his fellow-prisoner, and said that he was going
to see whether it would be possible to creep out by way of the roof,
when his hopes were dashed by a cough; but on peering out he could see
nothing, and, full of disappointment, he walked slowly to where Archie
lay, and whispered to him again.

"I can't see anything," he said, "but I have watched him so often that I
could make it all out. He's been taking a bit of one of them betel-nuts
out of a bag, and then taking a sirih-leaf from a sort of book, and
laying it on his hand before he opened his little brass box full of that
wet lime. Then he smeared some of the lime over the leaf, laid the bit
of nut on it, rolled the leaf up into a quid, and tucked it in his
cheek, just like a Jack-tar. Nasty brute! Making his teeth black and
the corners of his mouth all red. 'Tain't as if it was a bit of decent
'bacco! Well, perhaps when he has had a good chew he will go to sleep."

"It will be impossible for you to try to get out to-night, Pete."

"Impossible, sir? I'll just show you! I'm not going to be kept shut up
here like a tame hanimile in a cage, I can tell him."

"But supposing you do try to break through the thatch, he is certain to
hear you."

"Suppose he does, sir! How will he know but what I'm one of them big
monkeys as they send up trees to pick the cocoa-nuts, or one of the wild
cat sort of