Half an hour after, when all was very still in the burning heat of the sun, when not a breath of air rippled the river or rustled through the trees; when Englishman and Malay were resting, and the very sentries had hard work to keep from going to sleep at their posts, there was a soft rustling noise in the tree beneath which Tom Long was sleeping; and after this had been repeated several times a lithe Malay softly descended till he was within six or eight feet of the ground, when he slipped and fell, but regained his feet instantly, as Tom Long started into wakefulness and clapped his hand to his sword, upon seeing the strange Malay just before him.
The Malay, however, raised one hand deprecatingly, and smiled a very significant smile as he turned to go.
“Here, stop! surrender! Why—Oh! I say, Ali; that’s capital,” he said, as the Malay still smiled at him. “You quite took me in.”
The Malay smiled and nodded, and walked straight off to where a sentry was watching them both; and the man, seeing the Malay come straight from his officer, made way, saluted, and the dark figure passed from the fortified lines and walked away towards where the enemy lay amongst the trees.
“That’s a brave thing to do,” muttered Tom Long, and resuming his seat he took another sleep, and was awakened the next time by Captain Smithers laying his hand upon his shoulder.
“Ali has gone,” he said.
“Yes, I know,” said Tom Long. “He quite took me in. It was a splendid disguise.”
“Capital!” said Captain Smithers. “The very sentries were puzzled.”
“Yes, of course they would be,” replied Tom Long; and the captain walked away.
“The sentries must have been puzzled before he came to me,” said Tom Long to himself. “That man yonder, though, seemed to take it as a matter of course. I shall be very glad, though, when all this hiding and dodging is over, and the hunting-party are back, for I am not going to believe that they are in danger after all.”