Part 85 (2/2)

”I say to-morrow”

”Shall you be fit?”

Jem was silent for a few minutes

”I'm like you, Mas' Don,” he said ”I dunno; but I tell you what, ill not say to-o first chance What do you say to that?”

”Anything is better than being in the power of such wretches as these, Jem; so let's do as you say”

Jem nodded his head as he sat in the bottoht, and Don watched the soft silver sea, the black velvet-looking shore, and the brilliant stars; and then, just as in his faintness, hunger, and misery, he had detered to sit there and suffer the long night through, and began wondering how long it would be before , he becaood to those who suffer, for he saw that Je his head, as if in acquiescence with that which he had said; and then he seeainst the side

”He's asleep!” said Don to hio to sleep directly”

This turned Don's thoughts to the ti's work, and a hasty dinner, he had seen Jeainst a tub, and drop off apparently in an instant

”I wish I could go to sleep and forget all this,” Don said to hih--”all this horror and weariness and misery”

He shook his head: it was iain at the dark shore that they were passing, at the shi+ sea, and then at the bronzed backs of the warriors as they paddled on in their drowsy, e as he gazed Thethe line looked ht away into infinity, so far aas the last rower froht on one side, and gleamed pallidly on the other as the blades stirred it; and then they grew more misty and more misty, but kept on _plash_--_plash_--_plash_, and the paddles of the line of canoes behind echoed the sound, or seemed to, as they beat the water, and Jem whispered softly in his ear,--

”Don't move, Mas' Don, my lad, I'm not tired!”

But he didon Jem's knees, and the poor fellow s sunshi+ne Sunshi+ne, and not moonshi+ne; and Don stared ”Why, Jem,” he said, ”have I been asleep?”

”S'pose so, Mas' Don I know I have, and when I woke a bit ago, you'd got your head inyour bit of rest”

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

TOMATI ESCAPES

”Have they been rowing--I ht, Je line of canoes following the one he was in

”S'pose so, o to sleep and keep on, just as old Rumble's s, which used to keep on going Theoes to sleep all but their ar Don now, as he looked eagerly about to see that they were going swiftly along the coast line; for their captors had roused the of day, and sent the canoes forward at a rapid rate for about an hour, until they ran their long narrow vessels in upon the beach and landed,their prisoners do the saht waters ca down over a series of cascades

Here it see, and after satisfying their own thirst, leave was given to the unhappy prisoners to assuage theirs, and then a certain amount of the food found in the various huts was served round

”Better than nothing, Mas' Don,” said Je his portion with the same avidity as was displayed by his fellow-prisoners ”'Tarn't good, but it'll fill up”

”Look, Jem!” whispered Don; ”isn't that To, and stared in the direction indicated by Don

”Why, 'tis,” he whispered ”Don't take no notice, lad, or they'll stop us, but let's keep on edging along till we get to hio first, or follow me?”