I was silent, and lay listening, so to speak, with all my might, till a low swishing sound reached us, just as if someone had brushed against a bush.
Uncle Dick laid his hand upon my shoulder, and he pressed it hard, as if silently saying, “Did you hear that?”
I answered him in a similar way, and then he whispered:
“Someone is prowling round the tent, and we shall have to go out and challenge them.”
“Suppose they are savages with bows and arrows?” I whispered back.
“Too dark for them to take aim,” he said. “A bold dash out will scare them, and I’ll fire over their heads.”
I felt as if it would be safer to stay where we were; but it seemed cowardly, so I was silent.
“I’ll go out at once,” said Uncle Dick, and I was silent for a moment, and then rose with my gun ready.
“I’ll come with you, uncle,” I whispered.
He pressed my hand before creeping softly out; and I followed, to find that the darkness was as black as inside the tent; that the fire-flies had ceased to shimmer and flash about the low trees, and that the fire was so nearly out that there was nothing visible but a faint glow.