There we waited in that dense blackness beneath the trees, listening to the faintest sound, till quite an hour had elapsed, and we were burning to go on, when all at once Ti-hi, who was behind us, uttered a faint hiss, and as we turned sharply a familiar voice said:
“All rightums! Jimmy been round round, find um Mass Joe fader!”
“You have found him?” I cried.
“Not talk shouto so!” whispered Jimmy. “Black fellow come.”
“But have you found him?” I whispered.
“Going a find um; all soon nuff!” he replied coolly. “Come long now.”
He struck off to the right and we followed, going each minute more cautiously, for we soon heard the busy hum of many voices—a hum which soon after developed into a loud chatter, with occasional angry outbursts, as if something were being discussed.
Jimmy went on, Gyp keeping close to his heels now, as if he quite understood the importance of not being seen. We had left the dense forest, and were walking in a more open part among tall trees, beneath which it was black as ever, but outside the stars shone brilliantly, and it was comparatively light.
The voices seemed so near now that I thought we were going too far, and just then Jimmy raised his hand and stopped us, before what seemed to be a patch of black darkness, and I found that we were in the shadow cast by a long hut, whose back was within a yard or so of our feet.
Jimmy placed his lips close to my ear, then to the doctor’s, and to each of us he whispered: