of the yard."

"Haw-haw!" laughed Mike. "This here arn't Bristol, little Jemmy Wimble,
and I'm a free gen'leman now."

"Yes, you look it," said Don, contemptuously. "You scoundrel! How did
you come here?"

"Don't call names, Mr Don Lavington, sir," whined the ruffian. "How
did I come here? Why, me and these here friends o' mine are gentlemen
on our travels. Arn't us, mates."

"Ay: gen'lemen on our travels," said the more evil-looking of the pair;
"and look here, youngster, if you meets any one who asks after us, and
whether you've seen us, mind you arn't. Understand?"

Don looked at him contemptuously, and half turned away.

"Who was there after you?" said Mike Bannock, suspiciously.

"Some of a tribe of Maoris," replied Jem.

"No one else?"

"No."

"Ah, well, we arn't afeared of them." He patted the stock of his gun
meaningly. "Soon make a tribe of them run home to their mothers. See
them big birds as we shot at? And I say, young Lavington, what have you
been doing to your face? Smudging it to keep off the flies?"

Don coloured through the grey mud, and involuntarily clapped his hand to
his face, for he had forgotten the rough disguise.

"Never you mind about his face," said Jem grinning. "What birds?"

"Them great birds as we shot at," said Mike. "I brought one of 'em
down."

"You! You couldn't hit a haystack," said Jem. "You hit no bird."

"Ask my mates!" cried Mike eagerly. "Here you, Don Lavington, you
usen't to believe me when I told you 'bout big wild beasts and furrin
lands. We see three birds just here, fourteen foot high."

"You always were a liar, Mike," said Don contemptuously. "You did not
see any bird fourteen feet high, because there are no such things. You
didn't see any birds at all."

"Well, of all--" began Mike, but he stopped short as he heard Don's next
words,--

"Come, Jem! Come, Ngati! Let's get on."

He stepped forward, but after a quick exchange of glances with his
companions, Mike stood in his way.

"No you don't, young un; you stops along of us."

"What!" cried Don.

"We're three English gen'lemen travelling in a foreign country among
strangers, and we've met you two. So we says, says we, folks here's a
bit too handy with their spears, so it's as well for Englishmen when
they meet to keep together, and that's what we're going to do."

"Indeed, we are not!" cried Don. "You go your way, and we'll go ours."

"That's our way," said Mike quickl