Part 21 (2/2)

He forced hi a second, then dropped on his knees The perforer hed, the children clapped their hands

Eustace ondering drearily how long they would stand staring at hi withcould the boy understand

The chief was much more decorated than any one else--covered from head to heels with stripes and devices in white, blue, and red paint There were feathers in his crisp dark hair, and slung over his shoulder a strange shaped club

Eustace proceeded, by , and the patter talked on the plantation by the coolies, to try and explain how he had coet away and find the way home But it was useless--thethat no one seemed inclined to molest him, but that every one e at the Zoo, he resolved on a desperate step With a supreered over to Bolter, and attempted to mount

But this was not allowed With two strides the chief was upon hi a kitten froreat man plainly intimated that this creature he considered his; no one should touch it Eustace was not to dare to approach it The chief's attitude was ; it ell to be seen he felt he had acquired a prize

”But what is going to happen towith fear ”What will they do withanything with him at the moment; he was only stared at The men, for the most part, were now more interested in Bolter, particularly his saddle and bridle

Little by little the women dropped off, as if they had work to attend to, and a s as he sat huddled up and half silly with starvation and fatigue The apathy that had been upon hiht crept over hi seemed to matter any more

He sat so still that presently the children crept closer, and began to finger his clothes, as if they puzzled them What drew the was thrust under his very nose, and the sh sense left to try and eat; but before he had sed fivecould have kept him awake--neither a thunderstorain to a consciousness of his surroundings the sun was rising He had coht; and it both surprised and encouraged hiued, if they wanted to kill hi

The scarcely-touched food was still beside him Refreshed by the an to feel h stiff and still weary He was sufficiently rested for his brain to be active once hts were bent upon as to become of him next

Bolter was tethered at the other side of the open space, well guarded, as if the chief thought he ic means, then et away it would have to be on foot--the chief would not part with Bolter The question was: Did they mean to detain Eustace as prisoner? At present, except that they stared inquisitively at him, every one seemed fairly indifferent to his presence However, he decided that it would be foolish to put the htfall, and under cover of the intense darkness make his escape He set hi to be as drowsy and inert as a well-fed snake; but his hts in all his life before What, he wondered, could Mrs Cochrane have thought of his disappearance? Had his father returned to the Highlands and discovered it? Were they keeping his loss from his mother as they had kept Bob's froot safe and sound ho for him?

There came an answer both to this and to the question as to the black-fellows' intentions respecting hi the dark figuresto and fro Apparently some of thefood, the wo The children squabbled and tumbled about, or slept like tired brown kittens in casual places There was a great hush over everything, when suddenly across the silence came a sound that set every pulse in the boy's body astir, so that the beating of his heart al, clear coo-ee

Wild with joy Eustace sprang to his feet, but before he couldfigures, clubs in hand, ready to fell him if he dared to reply

Some of the tribes are very secretive and stealthy in their movements It ell to be seen that this one did not wish to have its caed

With a thrill of horror Eustace understood that he was powerless

To cry out would ht be their intention to kill him at any rate, but in the postponement lay a chance of escape He ain the coo-ee cut through the air, but Eustace covered his face with his hands and dropped dejectedly back on the ground

It was a bitterhave been worse than to know help was at hand, and to be unable to take it?

That a search-party was now out he felt certain; it was probably his father's voice, and he dared not answer He had the sense to see how useless it would be to give one cry, and die for it But oh! it was hard--cruelly hard

It see listening pause after it, so away and away till they were no louder than the answer he had received on the banks of the creek