“One of the sheep got loose,” said Gordon.

“No, it was not a sheep.”

“Well, what could it have been? There are no animals here, hardly, except the pigs which have run wild.”

“It looked as big as a sheep, but it was not a pig,” said Don thoughtfully. “Could it have been a man going on all fours?”

“Hullo! What’s the matter?” cried Gordon looking up sharply, as one of his two neighbours came to the door with his wife.

“Well, I doan’t know,” said the settler. “My wife says she is sure she saw a savage creeping along through the bush behind our place.”

“There!” said Don excitedly.

“Here’s t’others coming,” said Jem.

For at that moment the other settler, whose log-house was a hundred yards below, came up at a trot, gun in hand, in company with his wife and sister.

“Here, look sharp, Gordon,” he said; “there’s a party out on a raid. We came up here, for we had better join hands.”