"What is it?"

"Listen. Isn't this peculiar?"

Panton was silent there in the darkness for a few minutes, and then with
his lips to Oliver's ear,--

"I say," he said, "isn't this rather queer?"

"What? I don't understand you."

"If that's people on the brig she's coming nearer to us; I thought at
first that the wind might be bringing the sound, but it isn't. The
sound's coming closer."

"Mr Rimmer is down, then, patrolling round with some of his men. Be
careful, or they may shoot."

"Not he. Mr Rimmer wouldn't leave his wooden fort in the darkness.
Listen."

"Yes, you're right. Whoever it is, is coming this way."

"It's the enemy, then, and we must retreat again."

"But which way? What are we to do? We must be near the brig at
daybreak, so that as soon as it is light we may make a rush for it."

"We ought to be, but we mustn't be within sight of Mr Papuan at
daybreak; for, so near as we are, we shall have some of his arrows
quivering in us. I don't know that I am very much afraid of a wound as
a rule, but I am awfully scared about having a poisoned arrow in me. I
don't want to die of locked jaw."

"Hist. Back," whispered Oliver. "We must go somewhere, for they're
coming on, and it sounds like a good number of them."

Talking was quite plain now, and those who spoke were evidently full of
confidence, for one man spoke in a loud voice, and a chorus of agreement
or dissent arose, otherwise the enemy must have heard the whispering of
the little party, which now retreated steadily, but with the result that
Oliver grew confused, for he felt that he had entirely lost all sense of
direction, and letting Panton come up abreast he told him so.

"Don't matter," said the latter. "You've evidently been going all
wrong, and no wonder. Nature never meant us to play rats and owls. But
I daresay we shall get right after all. I wish there were some trees so
that we could shelter under them, and--"

"But there is nothing for a long distance but those barren rocks a
quarter of a mile from the brig's bows. If we could reach them."

"Yes, where do you think they are?"

"I can't think. I don't know, only that they must be somewhere."

"Yes, that's exactly where they are," said Panton, with a little laugh.
"Somewhere, unless the earth has swallowed them up, but where that
somewhere is I don't know, nor you either, so we're lost in the dark."

"Hush, not so loud, the daylight cannot be very far-off now."