ied to make myself believe that I was only
listening to Ebo breathing, and every now and then indulging in a
regular snore. No, I would not believe it, and lay with my feeling of
horror increasing each moment till I lay so helpless now, that if I had
wanted to get my gun I could not, I dared not move.

Then there was another horror in the shape of a curious lapping noise
from the sea, with a splashing and wallowing as of some great beast; and
I did know this, that horrible crocodiles came up the rivers and lived
about their mouths, going out to sea and back, and though we had seen no
river yet in this island, it was evident that this was one of the
monsters crawling about on the shore, and I seemed to see it in the
moonlight with its great coarse, scaly back, crooked legs, long stiff
tail, and hideous head with sly cruel-looking eyes, and wide, long,
teeth-armed jaws.

After a while I knew as well as could be that with its strange instinct
it would scent us out and come nearer and nearer, crawling along over
the soft sand and leaving a track that could easily be seen the next
day. I even seemed to see its footprints with the wide-spread toes, and
the long, wavy furrow ploughed by its tail.

It was all one terrible nightmare, growing worse and worse; the noise on
the shore increased, the rustling and crashing in the woods; there was a
strange humming and buzzing all around, and the breathing sounded closer
and deeper.

At last when I felt as if I could bear it no longer, and that if I did
not rouse my uncle and Ebo we should be destroyed, I tried to call out,
but my voice sounded weak and faint; there was a terrible sense of
oppression about me, and the humming and singing noise increased.

I contrived, however, to touch Ebo, and he muttered angrily and changed
his position, the noise he made in doing so waking my uncle, who started
up on one elbow as if to listen.

"He hears it all, then," I said to myself, and with a wonderful sense of
relief I knew that we should be saved.

Why did I not spring up to help him? you will say.

Ah! that I could not do, for I lay there perfectly paralysed with fright
and quite speechless, till to my horror I saw in the dim light of the
reflected moonbeams my uncle lie down again, when I made a tremendous
effort and gasped forth something or another, I cannot say what.

"Hallo!" he exclaimed. "Anything the matter, Nat?" and getting up
quickly he struck a match and lit a little