had enough of this stuff," said Mudge at last. "Tell your
friends to turn in again and go to sleep; and you do the same, Master
Pullingo, or you will not be fit for your duty to-morrow."

Burton and one of the men relieved Mudge and me; but though they kept a
look-out for the karakul, the magician did not think fit to return to
his post: possibly the gleam of the fire on their muskets as they walked
round the camp may have shown him that the experiment would be
dangerous.

We talked over the matter the next morning, and came to the conclusion
that, for some reason or other, the natives were anxious to prevent us
continuing our journey. Of course, we settled to take no notice; and as
soon as breakfast was over we packed up our traps and got ready to
start, telling Pullingo to lead the way. He hesitated, and finally
declared that he could not venture in the direction where the karakul
had appeared.

"You may go any way you like," observed Mudge; "but we shall go straight
forward, and you may join us on the other side."

Naggernook and his attendants had been watching our proceedings, and
when they saw that we were advancing in the direction of the mound they
bolted off, crying out, "Karakul! karakul!" We replied with shouts of
laughter. Mudge fired a shot ahead to make them understand that that
would clear the way of all foes. It was a hint which they were well
capable of understanding, and, we hoped, would prevent their countrymen
from molesting us. Our great object was to avoid coming into collision
with them, for if blood was once shed we could not tell where it might
end. It was important to show the natives our power, and that we did
not entertain the slightest fear of them.

We marched forward in our usual order, and soon left the "sorcerer's
hillock," as we called it, far behind. Whether he and his associates
were following us we could not tell; though, of course, knowing the
country, they might be advancing in the same direction on either side of
us, and still keeping carefully out of sight.

I have not spoken much as yet of the appearance of the country, or the
trees we met with. Near the river, and as far as we could see along the
coast, were groups of magnificent pines known as the Norfolk Island
Pine, a hundred feet in height, with perfectly straight stems, fit for
masts to the largest ships. The most numerous trees were the eucalypti,
or stringy-bark tree, of various species, some of the pro