of this work, and Romer said
that he wished he was back in prison again; and so did I, I can assure
you; but there was no getting out, for had we gone out the animals would
have torn us to pieces. We agreed that we had no chance but the animals
becoming tired and going away; and most anxious we were, for the
excitement had made us very thirsty, and we wanted water. We remained
for two hours in this way imprisoned by baboons, when all of a sudden a
shrill cry was given by one of the animals, and the whole herd went
galloping off as fast as they could, screaming louder than ever. We
waited for a short time to see if they would return, and then Hastings
crawled out first, and looking out of the cave very cautiously, said
that they were all gone, and that he could see nothing but a Hottentot
sitting down watching some cattle; we therefore all came out, very happy
at our release. That was our first adventure; we had plenty afterwards;
but I think it is now time we should go to bed. It is my opinion we
shall have a fine day to-morrow, sir; but there's no saying."

"I do so want to hear what happened to you afterwards, Ready," said
William.

"Well, so you shall; but there's a time for everything, and this is
bed-time, unless you like to go with me; the weather has cleared up, and
I want to catch a fish or two for to-morrow."

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

As Ready had predicted, the weather set in fine after the violent storm
of which we have made mention. For a fortnight, with little
intermission, it continued fine, and during that time, Ready, Mr
Seagrave, and William worked from daylight till dusk at the storehouse,
which they were so anxious to complete, and were so tired when their
work was over, that even William did not ask Ready to go on with his
history. At last the storehouse was complete, thatched and wattled in
on three sides, leaving one open for ventilation; the lower part, which
had been arranged for the folding of the stock at night and during the
rainy season, was also wattled in with cocoa-nut boughs on three sides,
and made a very comfortable retreat for the animals. The winding path
to the storehouse was also cut through the cocoa-nut grove, but the
stumps were not removed, as they could not spare the time. All the
stores that they had brought round were put into the storehouse, and
they were now ready to take up some other job. It was, however, agreed
that, on the day after the building was fini