eaking.

"Well, go on," whispered Don.

"That's all," said Jem, sullenly.

"But you were going to say what you did when the man struck me."

"Was I? Ah, well, I forget now."

Don was silent, for Jem had given him something terrible to dwell upon
as he tried to think.

At last he spoke again.

"Where are the enemy, Jem?"

"Enemy, indeed!" growled Jem. "Savages like them don't deserve such a
fine name. Brutes!"

"But where are they? Did you see what they did?"

"See? Yes. Don't ask me."

"But where are they?"

"Sleep. Drunk, I think. After they'd tied us prisoners all up and shut
up all the women and children in the big _whare_, what do you think they
did?"

"Kill them?"

"Killed 'em? No. Lit fires, and set to and had a reg'lar feast, and
danced about--them as could!" added Jem with a chuckle. "Some on 'em
had got too many holes in 'em to enjoy dancing much. But, Mas' Don."

"Yes, Jem."

"Don't ask me to tell you no more, my lad. I'm too badly, just now.
Think you could go to sleep?"

"I don't know, Jem. I don't think so."

"I'd say, let's try and get ourselves loose, and set to and get away,
for I don't think anybody's watching us; but I couldn't go two steps, I
know. Could you run away by yourself?"

"I don't know," said Don. "I'm not going to try."

"Well, but that's stupid, Mas' Don, when you might go somewhere,
p'r'aps, and get help."

"Where, Jem?"

"Ah!" said the poor fellow, after a pause, "I never thought about that."

They lay still under the blinking stars, with the wind blowing chill
from the icy mountains; and the feeling of bitter despondency which hung
over Don's spirit seemed to grow darker. His head throbbed violently,
and a dull numbing pain was in his wrists and ankles. Then, too, as he
opened his lips, he felt a cruel, parching, feverish thirst, which
seemed by degrees to pass away as he listened to the low moaning, and
then for a few minutes he lost consciousness.

But it was only to start into wakefulness again, and stare wildly at the
faintly-seen fence of the great _pah_, right over his head, and through
which he could see the twinkling of a star.

As he realised where he was once more, he whispered Jem's name again and
again, but a heavy breathing was the only response, and he lay thinking
of home and of his bedroom all those thousand miles away. And as he
thought of Bristol, a curious feeling of thankfulness came over him that
his mother was i