the buck. What a pity,
though; there goes a delicious dinner of good fresh venison."

"Never mind, you may get another chance."

"I don't know. If this is an island, there are not likely to be a great
many, and once they are shot at they will become shy. See anything, my
lad?" he cried to the man in the sheltered top.

"No, sir, not a sign o' nothing," replied the sailor.

"Keep a sharp look-out."

"Ay, ay, sir."

The mate turned to the wounded passengers.

"These fellows generally have an idea that their officer is as blind as
a mole, and that they are as cunning as the cleverest man who was ever
born. Now that fellow thinks I don't know he was asleep at his post."

"Was he?" said Oliver, rather anxiously.

"To be sure he was. If he had been awake he would have seen those deer
and given warning, seeing how all the men are longing for a bit of fresh
meat."

"Well, it seems probable," said Panton.

"No seem about it, Mr Panton. He was fast asleep, sir, till I fired.
Then he woke up and was all eagerness. Now if I was not a
good-tempered, easy-going sort of man, do you know what I should do?"

"Haul that bit of sail down and let him take his chance of getting an
arrow in him for his neglect."

The mate walked away, and ordered another man aloft to take the
culprit's place, the offender receiving a very severe bullying, and
being sent below.

The day wore slowly by, and as it grew towards sundown, Mr Rimmer began
to walk faster about the deck with a growing anxiety which was shared by
Drew's two companions.

"I don't know who'd be in command!" he said. "Here have I just got
through one worry because you didn't return, had a sharp attack from
savages, and had you two badly wounded; and now off goes Mr Drew and
gets himself lost. Here has he been away all these hours, and he might
have been back in six. There, I know how it is. The niggers are out in
force, and have got between them and the brig as sure as can be, that is
if they haven't been killed before now. It will be dark directly, and
as sure as fate we shall have another attack to-night. Wish I hadn't
let him go."

"He'll be too cautious to get into a trap," said Oliver, whose face
looked drawn and old with anxiety.

"He'll mean to be, sir, but the blacks have a cleverness of their own,
and it's hard to get the better of them, civilised as we are. Tut, tut,
tut! It would be madness to start in search of them without knowing
which