ud-shadow for all the sign that
he could see, and at last he began to grow weary and think of whistling
to Ned to come up to him.

"He ought to have been back again by now."

The words had hardly been muttered before Chris started, for a hand was
laid upon his leg.

"See 'em?"

"No. I was just going to whistle. How's your eye?"

"Getting all right again now. But you ought to be able to see the
enemy. Have you looked well?"

For answer Chris began to shuffle himself back, moving on hands and toes
till he was level with Ned.

"Looked well? Of course. Here, you catch hold and have a good look
yourself.--Ah! Don't you say another word about that eye, or we shall
fall out. I know: you've bathed it well, and it's ever so much better.
Catch hold, I say."

Ned took the glass without a word and crept up to the stone which had
sheltered the observer, and there was silence for a few minutes, during
which Chris's patience became exhausted.

Then he cried--

"You ought to have seen them by this time. What are they doing?"

"Cooking," said Ned laconically.

"What!" cried Chris in astonishment.

"Well, I'm not sure they're cooking, but they've made a fire."

"Where--where? I say: no nonsense. Can you really see them?"

"No, but I can see the smoke of a fire curling up, and their horses are
grazing just at the edge of the forest part where the long grass
begins."

"Your eye must have grown worse and worse," said Chris, with grim
humour, as he crawled up alongside of his companion. "It must be very
bad indeed, or you couldn't see all that. Let's have a look."

"Keep your head down, mind," said Ned, handing the glass.

"Oh, that's all right; they couldn't tell heads from stones at this
distance. You must have been dreaming, Ned; I can't see smoke or
horses."

"You're not looking in the right direction; bear round more to the
left."

Chris made the object-glass of the binocular describe the segment of a
circle, and then after another look he gave vent to a long, low whistle.

"I never thought to look so far this way," he said, as softly as if he
was afraid of being heard.

"You can see them, then?"

"Yes, and the Indians too; dozens of them, I think. Here, catch hold."

"What are you going to do?"

"Tell them down below, and see what they mean to do."

The glass was passed into Ned's hand with a warning not to lose sight of
the enemy again, and then Chris shuffled back and downward for a f