sted between the two tribes. There had been expeditions
of war in the past, and for months the fighting men of Ridgehunt had
been expecting an attack from the island of Oolooz. Nearly twenty miles
of water separated the two islands. The attacking force would have to
cover that distance in small craft. Shortly before the advent of the
white people, King Pootoo's men captured a small party of scouts who had
stolen across the main on a tour of exploration. They were put to death
on the night of the arrival in Ridgehunt. A traitor in their midst had
betrayed the fact that Oolooz contemplated a grand assault before many
weeks had gone. Guards stationed on the summits of the gate posts
constantly watched the sea for the approach of the great flotilla from
Oolooz. King Pootoo had long been preparing to resist the attack. There
were at least five hundred able-bodied men in his band, and Hugh could
not but feel a thrill of admiration as he looked upon the fierce,
muscular warriors and their ugly weapons.

He set about to drill them in certain military tactics, and they,
believing him to be a god whom no enemy could overthrow, obeyed his
slightest command. Under his direction breastworks were thrown up along
the western hills, trenches were dug, and hundreds of huge boulders were
carried to the summits overlooking the pass, through which the enemy
must come in order to reach the only opening in the guerdon of the
hills. It was his plan to roll these boulders from the steep crests into
the narrow valley below just as the invaders charged through, wreaking
not only disaster but disorder among them, no matter how large their
force. There was really but one means of access by land to the
rock-guarded region, and it was here that he worked the hardest during
the fourth week of their stay among the savages.

He was working for his own and her safety and freedom. In Ridgehunt they
were idols; in the hands of the unknown foe their fate might be the
cruel reverse. Pride in the man who was to lead their brown friends to
victory swelled in the heart of the fair Briton, crowding back the
occasional fear that he might be conquered or slain. She had settled
upon the course to pursue in case there was a battle and her protector
fell. A dagger made from the iron-like wood used by the natives in the
manufacture of spears and knives hung on the wall of her room. When he
died, so should she, by her own hand.

Gradually they began to grasp the mea