ent after the Arab seized me by the arm
and pointed towards the plain before us.

I looked in the direction which Hassan indicated, and my eyes rested on
the dismantled wall of a ruined palace. I observed nothing further for a
few minutes, then a dusky form seemed to be hiding in the shadow of the
wall. "_Coot!_" came the signal again, striking upon the air softly as
if the one who uttered it feared to be discovered. The cry had
apparently been uttered by someone beyond the river bank, for the man
lurking in the shadow of the ruin stepped boldly out from it into the
moonlit plain. He stood there silent for a moment, then dropped into the
high grass, above which we saw him raise his head and cautiously return
the signal.

"What do you think he is doing there, Hassan? " I asked the Arab, in a
whisper, as I saw his hand wander to the hilt of his sword.

"The hill-men have seen our tent while out on one of their expeditions,"
he responded, softly. "I think they are going to attempt to take us by
surprise, but by the aid of the Prophet we will outwit them."

I felt no particular inclination to place much trust in Mahomet's help,
as the danger which confronted us dawned fully upon my mind, so instead
I moved quickly over to Denviers, and awoke him.

[Illustration: "THE SWARTHY FACE OF A TURBANED HILL-MAN."]

"Is it the owl again?" he asked, as I motioned to him to look through
the opening of the tent. Immediately he did so, and saw the swarthy face
of a turbaned hill-man raised above the rank grass, as its owner made
slowly but steadily towards our tent, worming along like a snake, and
leaving a thin line of beaten-down herbage to show where his body had
passed. Denviers drew from his belt one of the pistols thrust there, for
we had taken the precaution at Rangoon to get a couple each, since our
own were lost in our adventure off Ceylon. I quietly imitated his
example, and, drawing well away from the entrance of the tent, so that
our watchfulness might not be observed, we waited for the hill-man to
approach. Half-way between the ruined palace wall and our tent he
stopped, and then I felt Hassan's hand upon my arm again as, with the
other, he pointed towards the river bank.

We saw the grass moving there, and through it came a second hill-man,
who gradually drew near to the first. On reaching him the second comer
also became motionless, while we next saw four other trails of
beaten-down grass, marking the advance of fur