will call you when it's time for you to look out, and then you can
rouse me up if you see anything, and I will be alongside you in a
moment."

Edgar having agreed to this, Rob sat himself down on a stool, with his
head just above the window-sill, on which it soon dropped. He was, in
reality, fast asleep, though all the time he thought that he was keeping
a very bright lookout, and that he saw savages creeping up in the
distance, but that he was waiting to give the alarm until they should
get somewhat closer. At last he awoke with a most uncomfortable crick
in his neck, and found, to his surprise, that the dawn had broken.
Hector and Edgar were sleeping soundly, and believing that no blacks
would venture near the house by daylight, he wisely crept into his bunk,
where he lay until roused by the sound of the gong which summoned the
family to prepare for breakfast.

The night had passed without any appearance of the blacks, and the
captain, who had searched round the house in every direction, could find
no traces of them. He began, indeed, to suspect that Rob must have been
mistaken in supposing that he had seen a lurking native in the scrub.
He and Mr Berrington, followed by Bruce, after breakfast made a long
circuit through the scrub, and visiting the spot Rob described, the
captain had reason to change his opinion, for he at length found traces
of natives, and the remains of a fire, where they must have encamped
that very night. This satisfied him that the precautions he had taken
had not been useless, but, as far as he could judge, the blacks had
retreated to the westward. The chief anxiety of the family was now
about Harry and Mr Hayward, who had not yet returned. Late in the day,
however, Rob and Edgar, who were patrolling round and round the house
under the idea that they were keeping guard, saw Harry galloping up to
them.

"Well, what news?" shouted Rob. "We have been expecting the blacks all
day, but they have not come yet. Have you fallen in with them?"

"Yes, indeed we have!" answered Harry, "and had a desperate fight too.
We killed some of them, and the rest ran off. Lieutenant Bertram, of
the police, believes that they will still remain lurking in the
neighbourhood, and has come on with some of his men to be ready to act
as a guard to the house should father wish it. We have had some
exciting work, let me tell you. It was wonderful the way our black
police hunted down their countrymen; but I mu