“There, sir,” he said, “that’s just what we want, only no sentry. You will have to creep out with the prog and the spears, and the krises when they comes, which we shall have all ready, while I’m feeding him, and then go on yourself giving him some bread which we will save up for him. I shall join you, and tell him to kneel down; up we gets. You will crawl on and hold on by the ropes while I settle down with my legs under his ears. It will be just as easy as A, B, C.”
“IF,” said Archie, in capital letters.
But the days passed wearily on; provisions were stored up, and there had been no chance of securing a kris, let alone two, and Peter declared that it was all out of aggravation that some sentry or another always took up his daily task before the elephants came.
“They are making a regular custom of it, sir,” he said. “Cuss them!”
“What’s that, Pete?”
“I only said custom, sir. I warn’t swearing. I won’t say what I might have said if you hadn’t been here.”
That very afternoon, as if fate had become weary of fighting against them, Peter, who had been watching the sentry’s weapons with covetous eyes till it was beginning to grow dusk, suddenly uttered an ejaculation.
“What is it, Pete?”
“Look here, sir. Be smart, before it gets dark. I have been watching this ’ere chap for a hour. He has been nodding off to sleep all the time, and now he’s off sound.”
“What of that?”