, as you call them?"

"Lions won't hurt you so long as you don't meddle with them, and the
tigers won't pass that fire."

"Then the Indians?"

"No Indians about here, my lad, or I should have that fire out pretty
soon and be on the watch. You leave all that to me, and don't you get
worrying yourself about danger because you hear a noise in the forest!
Noise is a noosance, but it don't hurt. There was five thousand times
as much danger in the fangs of that little sarpint I chopped to-day as
in all the noise you're listening to now."

Rob was silent.

"So just you take my advice, my lad: when night comes you say your bit
o' prayers and tuck your head under your wing till it's near daylight.
That's the way to get a good night's rest and be ready for the morning."

Rob started again, for a great, soft-winged thing swept silently by, so
near that he felt the wind of its pinion as it glided on, its outline
nearly invisible, but magnified by the darkness into a marvellous size.

"On'y a bat, my lad!" said Shaddy, yawning.

"Is that one of the blood-sucking ones?"

"Very likely."

"And you talk about there being no danger out here!"

"Nay, not I. There's plenty of dangers, my lad, but we're not going to
be afraid of a thing that you could knock down with one of your hands so
that it would never fly again. It ought to feel scared, not you."

"Is that a firefly?" said Rob, after a few minutes' silence, and he
pointed to a soft, golden glow coming up the river five or six feet
above the stream, and larger and more powerful than the twinkling lights
appearing and disappearing among the foliage at the river's edge.

"Yes, that's a firefly; come to light you to bed, if you like. There,
my lad, it's sleep-time. Get under shelter out of the night damp.
You'll soon be used to all the buzzing and howling and--"

"That was a tiger, wasn't it?" said Rob excitedly, as a shrill cry rang
out somewhere in the forest and sent a thrill through him.

"No. Once more, that's a lion, and he's after monkeys, not after you,
so good-night."

Shaddy drew the sail over him as he stretched himself in the bottom of
the roomy boat, and Rob crept in under the awning. The heavy breathing
enabled him to make out exactly where his companions lay asleep, and
settling himself down forward, he rested his head on his hand, convinced
that sleep would be impossible, and preparing to listen to the faint
rustling noise of the mooring rope on