pected, and so they went on and on until they reached a part of the
scrub sufficiently open to enable them to penetrate into it. Here Rob
and Edgar thought that they could without difficulty procure plenty of
fruit. They were soon hard at work picking away with great delight.

"Keep together," cried Rob, "or we may chance to lose ourselves."

"No fear," answered Effie, "we will look where you go."

Edgar said the same. Rob felt very proud of being the leader of so
large a party, but in his eagerness to pick a quantity of fruit, he did
not watch over them as carefully as he should have done. On and on they
went, Rob making a remark every now and then to those near him.
Presently he heard Tommy shriek out, "A snake, a snake!" and throwing
down his basket, he ran off towards the more open part of the scrub.

"Come back!" cried Rob. "It is only a paddy-melon, and won't hurt you
or any one else."

Tommy, however, would not stop.

"Come along, Edgar, and catch the child," cried Rob, forgetting Effie
and Albert, whom he had not seen for some minutes.

It was some time before Tommy could be overtaken.

"You stupid monkey!" cried Rob, when he caught him; "there are no snakes
here to do you any harm."

Tommy, however, was not easily persuaded, and still asserted that he had
seen the head of a big snake. At length they got him to come back and
pick up his basket.

"Hulloa! Where are Effie and Albert?" asked Rob. "We left them close
here, I am sure."

They looked about in every direction; they shouted, but no answer came.

"This is provoking!" cried Rob. "I expected those children to keep
close to us; see how obstinate they are! I'll make them remember this
when we catch them."

Rob became very anxious when, after hunting about for some time, he
could find neither his little sister nor his cousin. How they could
have got out of hearing seemed incredible. Rob, though very clever in
his own opinion, was in a serious difficulty. While he fancied that he
was going west, he had turned east; and thinking that he was just
getting out of the scrub, he found himself, to his surprise, close to
the river.

His first exclamation was, "Dear me! how could we have got over to the
other side?" Then, after due reflection, he recollected that was
impossible; he must have gone in an opposite way to what he had
supposed.

Darkness came on. Tommy began to cry, and Edgar felt very much inclined
to join him. "Poor Alber