All hands were "as
busy as bees," as Harry remarked.

Supper over--the last they expected to take together for some weeks--
most of the party prepared for rest. The fire was allowed to smoulder,
but no fresh sticks were put on, and they believed that even should any
natives be in the neighbourhood they would not have discovered the camp.

Harry proposed, before turning in, taking a bath in another water-hole,
a short distance down the bed of the river, as they did not quite like
the idea of bathing in the one from which they were to fill their kettle
and water-bottles the next morning. The sun had only just disappeared,
though darkness was rapidly coming on. However, there was the moon
which would enable them to see their way. They could not possibly lose
it by returning along the bank of the river; but as the scrub was
tolerably open and the ground hard, they settled to make their way
through it instead of trudging over the soft sand in the bed of the
stream.

They had got near the water-hole when they saw a number of small lights
moving among the trunks of the trees, now appearing, now disappearing.

"Why, those must be fire-flies," cried Reggy.

"They are far too red and bright for that," whispered Paul; "don't speak
above your breath. The lights come from the fire-sticks carried by
natives, they always move about with them by night, and they are
gathering round the water-hole. See! there are others coming from an
opposite direction, they are either going to have a corrobberee or a
fight, perhaps both; we must take care not to be discovered. They are
so intent on what they are about, however, that they are not likely to
observe us."

"I should like to see what they are going to do," said Reggy. "We need
not retreat, I suppose?"

"Oh, no! let us stop," said Harry. "They will not find us out if we
keep quiet."

"We had better be off," remarked Hector, somewhat alarmed; "they may
knock us all on the head."

"No, no," replied Harry, "we have our arms, and we are not going to run
away from a few blacks; I vote we stay and see what is going forward."

Paul consented, though he felt it would be more prudent to return to the
camp and warn their friends of the neighbourhood of the natives.

Concealed by some low bushes they remained where they were, and could
see all that was going forward. Suddenly all was dark, but the sound of
the natives' voices showed that they were still near where they had
first