ose they come this way?"

"Throw at 'em again, sir. Ready?"

There were plenty of loose fragments of lava lying about in the sandy
soil, stones which had doubtless been ejected by the volcano, to fall
upon its slopes, and which had in course of time been washed lower and
lower, and armed with these, they began to pelt the sides of the fire,
the effect being wonderfully speedy. As the first stones fell there was
a strange rustling and hissing, heads were raised menacingly up, and as
a second couple fell the reptiles began to move off rapidly.

"Two biggest coming this way, Ned," said Jack excitedly, and gathering a
half-dozen or so smaller stones in his right hand, he hurled them
catapult fashion right at the advancing heads, with the result that the
two reptiles turned sharply, and went off at full speed in beneath the
abundant growth of plants, while at the end of a few minutes the
missiles thrown in their track produced no effect.

"That's done, sir," said Ned coolly, "and our to-morrow's dinner's safe,
and it'll be very hard if I don't dodge something better to go with it.
Hist! hear that!"

The call had been uttered evidently much nearer, and Jack grasped his
spear.

"That's right, sir," whispered Ned, "but this is a big place, and it
ain't likely that they'll come right over us. Let's lie still and
listen. We can't see them, and they can't see us."

At that moment Jack pinched the speaker's arm, and pointed over him.

"Something to see that way? All right, sir."

He softly wrenched himself round, and gazed in the indicated direction,
to see a black figure standing in bold relief against the orange slope
of the mountain. He was nearby a hundred feet higher than where they
lay, having mounted upon a ridge which was probably one of the hardened
lava-streams which had flowed down, and as they watched him, one by one
seven more joined him.

He stood looking round for a few moments, and then uttered the cry they
had heard before, and turned to descend, making straight for the bend of
the ravine which seemed to lead to the shore.

The call was responded to, and a few minutes after another party came
into sight away to the left, making apparently for the same place, and
if they kept on, it was evident that they would pass about a hundred
yards from Jack and his companion, so that their policy was to lie quite
still.

"Be too dark to see us in ten minutes, sir," whispered Ned.

"Yes; and then we can't