“Lions won’t hurt you so long as you don’t meddle with them, and the tigers won’t pass that fire.”
“Then the Indians?”
“No Indians about here, my lad, or I should have that fire out pretty soon and be on the watch. You leave all that to me, and don’t you get worrying yourself about danger because you hear a noise in the forest! Noise is a noosance, but it don’t hurt. There was five thousand times as much danger in the fangs of that little sarpint I chopped to-day as in all the noise you’re listening to now.”
Rob was silent.
“So just you take my advice, my lad: when night comes you say your bit o’ prayers and tuck your head under your wing till it’s near daylight. That’s the way to get a good night’s rest and be ready for the morning.”
Rob started again, for a great, soft-winged thing swept silently by, so near that he felt the wind of its pinion as it glided on, its outline nearly invisible, but magnified by the darkness into a marvellous size.
“On’y a bat, my lad!” said Shaddy, yawning.
“Is that one of the blood-sucking ones?”
“Very likely.”
“And you talk about there being no danger out here!”