hat we had not a moment to spare, and had
barely climbed beyond their reach when they sprang after us. One active
fellow caught Browne, (who was somewhat behind the rest), by the foot,
and endeavoured to drag him from the trunk he was climbing, in which he
would probably have succeeded, had not Max let fall a leaf-basket of
stones directly upon his head, which stretched him groaning upon the
ground, with the blood gushing from his mouth and nose.

At this moment Atollo himself, with the rest of his party, joined our
besiegers below, and at a signal from him, the greater part of them
immediately commenced scaling the tree at different points. Our
assailants numbered not more than thirteen or fourteen, including
Browne's former foe, who did not seem to be in a condition to climb, and
the man recently wounded, who was still lying upon the ground,
apparently lifeless. We felt that we were now irrevocably committed to
a struggle of life and death, and we were fully determined to fight
manfully, and to the very last. We stationed ourselves at nearly equal
distances among the branches, armed with the bludgeons previously placed
there, so as to be able to hasten to any point assailed, and to assist
one another as occasion should require. The savages yelled and
screeched hideously, with the hope of intimidating us, but without any
effect, and we kept watching them quietly, and meeting them so promptly
at every point, that they were uniformly obliged to quit their hold and
drop to the ground before they could effect a lodgment among the
branches. Occasionally we addressed a word of encouragement to one
another, or uttered an exclamation of triumph at the discomfiture of
some assailant more than ordinarily fierce and resolute. But with this
exception, we were as quiet as if industriously engaged in some ordinary
occupation. This lasted for full fifteen minutes, without our enemies
having gained the slightest advantage. Atollo himself had not, thus
far, taken any part in the attack, except to direct the others.

At length, he fixed his eye upon Browne, who stepping about in the top
of the tree with an agility that I should not have expected from him,
and wielding a tremendous club, had been signally successful in
repelling our assailants. After watching him a moment, he suddenly
commenced climbing a large stem near him, with the marvellous rapidity
that characterised all his movements. Browne had just tumbled one of
the