and we've
forgotten to adopt our friend the trader's advice, and make two fires."

So saying, Jack laid down his rifle, and kicking the logs with his heavy
boot, sent up such a cloud of bright sparks as must certainly have
scared the wild animal, whatever it was, away; for we heard no more of
it that night.

"You're right, Jack," remarked Peterkin; "so let us get up a blaze as
fast as we can, and I'll take the first watch, not being sleepy. Come
along."

In a few minutes we cut down with our axes a sufficient quantity of dry
wood to keep two large fires going all night; we then kindled our second
fire at a few yards distant from the first, and made our camp between
them. This precaution we took in order to scare away the wild animals
whose cries we heard occasionally during the night. Peterkin, having
proposed to take the first watch--for we had to watch by turns all the
night through--lighted his pipe and sat down before the cheerful fire
with his back against the stem of a palm-tree, and his rifle lying close
to his hand, to be ready in case of a surprise. There were many natives
wandering about in that neighbourhood, some of whom might be ignorant of
our having arrived at their village on a peaceful errand. If these
should have chanced to come upon us suddenly, there was no saying what
they might do in their surprise and alarm, so it behoved us to be on our
guard.

Jack and I unrolled the light blankets that we carried strapped to our
shoulders through the day, and laying ourselves down side by side with
our feet to the fire and our heads pillowed on a soft pile of
sweet-scented grass, we addressed ourselves to sleep. But sleep did not
come so soon as we expected. I have often noted with some surprise and
much interest the curious phases of the phenomenon of sleep. When I
have gone to bed excessively fatigued and expecting to fall asleep
almost at once, I have been surprised and annoyed to find that the
longer I wooed the drowsy god the longer he refused to come to me; and
at last, when I have given up the attempt in despair, he has suddenly
laid his gentle hand upon my eyes and carried me into the land of Nod.
Again, when I have been exceedingly anxious to keep awake, I have been
attacked by sleep with such irresistible energy that I have been utterly
unable to keep my eyelids open or my head erect, and have sat with my
eyes blinking like those of an owl in the sunshine, and my head nodding
like that of