such as my
imagination at that time had not fully conceived. I felt awed, almost
oppressed, with the deep silence around, and, I must confess, looked
somewhat nervously over my shoulder as I returned to the fire and sat
down to keep watch at my post.

CHAPTER THREE.

WHEREIN I MOUNT GUARD, AND HOW I DID IT, ETCETERA.

Now it so happened that the battle which I had to fight with myself
after taking my post was precisely the converse of that which I fought
during the earlier part of that night. Then, it was a battle with
wakefulness; now, it was a struggle with sleep; and of the two fights
the latter was the more severe by far.

I began by laying down my rifle close by my side, leaning back in a
sitting posture against the palm-tree, and resigning myself to the
contemplation of the fire, which burned merrily before me, while I
pondered with myself how I should best employ my thoughts during the
three long hours of my watch. But I had not dwelt on that subject more
than three minutes, when I was rudely startled by my own head falling
suddenly and heavily forward on my chest. I immediately roused myself.
"Ah! Ralph, Ralph," said I to myself in a whisper, "this won't do, lad.
To sleep at your post! shame on you! Had you been a sentinel in time
of war that nod would have cost you your life, supposing you to have
been caught in the act."

Soliloquising thus, I arose and shook myself. Then I slapped my chest
several times and pulled my nose and sat down again. Only a few minutes
elapsed before the same thing occurred to me again, so I leaped up, and
mended the fires, and walked to and fro, until I felt thoroughly awake,
but in order to make sure that it should not occur again, I walked to
the edge of the circle of light and gazed for some time into the dark
forest, as I had done before. While standing thus I felt my knees give
way, as if they had been suddenly paralysed, and I awoke just in time to
prevent myself falling to the ground. I must confess I was much amazed
at this, for although I had often read of soldiers falling asleep
standing at their posts, I had never believed the thing possible.

I now became rather anxious, "for," thought I, "if I go to sleep and the
fires die down, who knows but wild beasts may come upon us and kill us
before we can seize our arms." For a moment or two I meditated awaking
Jack and begging him to keep me company, but when I reflected that his
watch was to come immediate