“Nonsense! Try again. I daresay you will be able to go off now, after coming out and talking to me.”
“But can’t I stay with you, father?” protested the boy.
“No. You must have sleep, and if you don’t you will be uneasy to-morrow. What makes you so wakeful? Not going to be ill, are you?”
“Oh, no, father; I’m quite well.”
“Then go back to the waggon and lie down.”
“Good-night, father.”
“Good-night,” was the reply. “Ah, there’s another of those jackals. What a miserable note it is!”
“Yes, father; but I think the hyaenas are worse,” said Mark eagerly.
“Didn’t I tell you to go back to bed, sir!”
“Yes, father, but—”