rs hurled into our
midst; but when we looked round to see in which direction the enemy
would appear, no one was to be seen.

"Where can that have come from?" exclaimed Mudge.

"The fellows must have retreated, whoever they were. Keep steady, my
lads," cried my father; "on no account leave the camp. Their object
probably is to entice us away, when they hope to destroy us in detail."

My mother had come out of her hut with Edith, who stood trembling by her
side.

"Don't be alarmed," said my father. "The savages, finding that we are
prepared, are not likely to attack us."

"But there is no shelter for them nearer than the neighbouring bush; and
that cry came from a spot close at hand," observed Mudge. "With your
leave, Captain Rayner, I will take two men with me and soon rout them
out of their lurking-place."

"Depend upon it, they are far away by this time," observed my father.

Scarcely had he spoken, when again there came that fearful yell,
sounding like what I could conceive to be the horrible laughter of a
maniac.

"Why, I do believe it comes from some fellow who has climbed into this
very tree," cried Mudge; "and I'll take the liberty of shooting him if
he doesn't come down of his own accord."

I had observed all this time that Pullingo sat very quietly by the fire,
watching what we were about, and merely uttering the word "Gogobera;"
but whether that was the name of the leader of the savages surrounding
us, or of some supposed malign spirit, we could not tell. I now saw,
however, that he was quietly laughing, evidently highly diverted by the
alarm these strange sounds had produced among us.

"The black knows something about it," I sang out. "I shouldn't be
surprised if, after all, it was one of those necromancers he was telling
us about playing off his tricks. Paddy, do you try and get him to tell
us who has been making those hideous noises."

Pullingo quickly understood Paddy, and getting up, went towards the
branch of the tree at which Mudge and several others were looking up.
Taking out his boomerang, he stepped a few paces back; then away it flew
till it took a course upwards and penetrated amid the boughs, and the
next instant down came a large bird, with a black head and a peculiarly
strong beak.

"Dat make laughee," he observed composedly.

We found that our nocturnal visitor was no other than that well-known
member of the feathered tribe, the "laughing jackass;" more
scientifically de