ards,
left the blockhouse--which they now perceived was only one of many in
sight arranged in a somewhat irregularly curved line which probably
conformed to the line of the frontier--and set off, at the same
astonishing speed that the first had displayed, heading inward from the
frontier line. They watched him for about five minutes, and then lost
sight of him over the brow of a slight undulation. Beyond the roughly
constructed blockhouses there was not a sign of inhabitants in any
direction; the land was rough and uncultivated, there were neither
cattle nor sheep to be seen; and if, as they strongly suspected, the
blockhouses in sight accommodated a few men, none of their occupants
revealed their presence nor made the slightest attempt to interfere with
the uninvited visitors. It was a moot point between Dick and Grosvenor
whether they should not take the bull by the horns, as it were, by
riding up to the nearest blockhouse and attempting to get into
communication with its occupants at once; but Grosvenor was very
strongly opposed to any such step, upon the ground that, if they did so,
they might be summarily turned back and ordered to quit the country
forthwith, which, as Phil pointed out with some emphasis, would be an
exceedingly tame and ignominious ending of their long and arduous
journey. His policy was to let well enough alone, to get as far into
the country as possible before attempting to open up communication with
its inhabitants, and, meanwhile, to show in every possible manner by
their sober behaviour that their mission was a peaceable one.

But if the borderland of this mysterious country presented a somewhat
wild and uninviting appearance, it was not long before the travellers
perceived that this state of things prevailed only over a very narrow
belt of territory. For as they pressed on toward the interior they
first sighted another line of blockhouses, considerably larger and more
substantially constructed than the first, each perched upon a commanding
knoll and completely surrounded by a stout, lofty, and practically
unclimbable stockade; then they saw a few cattle dotted about, grazing,
under the protection of quite a strong force of armed men, similar in
all respects to the individual whom they had first sighted. These
people took no notice of the strangers beyond removing themselves and
their charges well out of the route which was being pursued by the
wagon; it was evident that they had no des