“What about to-night, Captain Bradleigh?” said Jack anxiously.
“Well, if I were you, sir, I should go to bed and have a good long sleep.”
“Oh, impossible,” cried the lad; “I could not close my eyes for feeling that the blacks were come back.”
“Try, sir,” said the captain; and when the others went to lie down, on the captain’s assurance that steam would be still on and the strictest watch would be kept, Jack lay down to try.
But he did not try, he had no time. Wearied out with the dangers of the day, he laid his head on his pillow, after placing a double gun and loaded revolver close to the bed’s head, and just closed his eyes.
They did not open again till Ned stood there and announced that it was “some bells,” and that it was time to rise.
“How many, Ned?” said Jack sleepily.
“Oh, I dunno, sir, only that it answers to seven o’clock.”
“And the savages?” cried Jack excitedly.
“Nowhere in sight, sir; but they’ve left the broken canoe as a present for you. It’s floating close in to the sands where we made our start the day before yesterday. Lovely morning, sir, but I wish the neighbours hadn’t been quite so friendly and wanted to come and see how we were getting on.”