had commenced, for
he said to himself, "Oh, you cowardly fool! Why, I am standing close to
the bullocks;" and he stepped boldly out in the direction from which the
heavy breathing had come, and began to speak softly to the great sleek
animals, a couple of them responding with what sounded like so many
sighs.

Mark's tramp around the camp became a little faster now as he stepped
out and began musing about how easy it was to frighten one's self by
imagining all sorts of horrors hidden by the darkness.

"Why, the doctor's right," he said; "I don't believe that there's
anything one might mind in the little river, and of course, if there
were lions near, the ponies and the bullocks would know it before I
should. There, who's afraid of its being dark? Not I."

And walking and pausing by turns, the boy kept his watch, working hard
to convince himself that he ought to be very proud of the confidence
placed in him.

"There's something so real about it," he thought. "It's quite grand
marching round and round here with a loaded double-barrelled rifle over
my shoulder. I wonder how old Dean will feel. I'll be bound to say
he'll be just as squirmy as I was. He won't go to sleep the first time
he's on the watch."

The hours seemed to pass very slowly, though it was at their usual rate,
and at last to his great satisfaction not only could he feel sure that
half of his watch must have passed, but that it was growing lighter.

It could not be the approach of dawn, for he could see a few stars
peeping out here and there, and he realised that this was caused by the
lifting of the mist under the influence of a light breeze that felt
almost chilly.

Mark was standing some little distance from the second waggon where the
ponies were picketed, when all at once his heart set up its heavy
beating again, for coming in his direction along the edge of the patch
of forest he could plainly see a big, dark animal creeping cautiously
towards where the ponies were tethered.

Mark watched it for a few moments, till he felt that it must have passed
behind the trunk of one of the larger trees, and then it was gone.

"Could it be a lion?" he thought. "No, it had not the big, shaggy head.
But it might have been a lioness, or perhaps some big leopard. Ah!" he
panted, "there it is again! It's after the ponies. It must be!" and
calling to mind that he had cocked his rifle, he covered the dimly-seen
animal, which was coming very slowly nea