'Awfully sorry!' he said, 'but I can scarcely keep my eyes open. Here 's my watch; be sure and not let me oversleep.'
Haan got up. His movements were slow and clumsy, but his eyes were keen and alert.
'Forty minutes, Mr. Hoole,' he said with a smile. 'Not a second more.'
He did not sit on the keg as Hoole and Trentham had done, but posted himself a few paces from the rest of the party, at a spot where the ground rose slightly. Hoole, just before he closed his eyes, saw the stout figure pacing slowly up and down.
Rather more than two hours afterwards Meek, in his sleep, threw out his left leg, and dealt Grinson, who lay at his side, a smart kick on the shin.
'Belay, there!' shouted Grinson, starting up. 'What swab--what dirty lubber----'
''Twas a nightmare, Mr. Grinson,' said Meek penitently. 'I dreamt as a kangaroo was a-coming to peck me, and----'
'Peck you! A goose might----'
He paused and looked around. Hoole and Trentham were a few yards away, fast asleep. Haan was not in sight.
'Whose watch is this, Ephraim?' asked Grinson.