and we went slowly on through the
darkness--slowly, for the trees were very close and it required great
care to avoid rushing against them; but the doctor seemed to have made
himself acquainted with the forest, and he did not hesitate till all at
once the shouts of the blacks seemed to come from close by upon our
right, and were answered directly from behind us.

"A party of them have worked round," whispered the doctor. "Keep cool.
They cannot know we are so near. Hist! crouch down."

We were only just in time, for hardly had we crouched down close to the
ground than the sound of the savages pushing forward from tree to tree
was heard.

I could not understand it at first, that curious tapping noise; but as
they came nearer I found that each man lightly tapped every tree he
reached, partly to avoid it, by the swinging of his waddy, partly as a
guide to companions of his position.

They came closer and closer, till it seemed that they must either see or
touch us, and I felt my heart beat in heavy dull throbs as I longed for
the rifle that these people had taken from me when they made me
prisoner.

I heard a faint rustle to my right, and I knew it was Jimmy preparing
for a spring. I heard a slight sound on my left just as the nearest
savage uttered a wild cry, and I knew that this was the lock of a gun
being cocked. Then all was silent once more.

Perhaps the savages heard the faint click, and uttered a warning, for
the tapping of the trees suddenly ceased, and not the faintest sound
could be heard.

This terrible silence lasted quite five minutes. It seemed to me like
an hour, and all the while we knew that at least a dozen armed savage
warriors were within charging distance, and that discovery meant certain
captivity, if not death.

I held my breath till I felt that when I breathed again I should utter a
loud gasp and be discovered. I dared not move to bury my face in my
hands or in the soft earth, and my sensations were becoming agonising,
when there was a sharp tap on a tree, so near that I felt the ground
quiver. The tap was repeated to right and left, accompanied by a
curious cry that sounded like "Whai--why!" and the party swept on.

"A narrow escape!" said the doctor, as we breathed freely once more.
"Go on, Gyp. Let's get to earth; we shall be safer there."

I did not understand the doctor's words then, but followed in silence,
with Jack Penny coming close up to me whenever he found the way op