"No more risky than the whole of our trip, Penny," said the doctor gravely. "Are you afraid?"

"Well, I don't know," drawled Jack softly. "I don't think I am, but I ain't sure. But I sha'n't run away. Oh, no, I sha'n't run away."

"Come along then," said the doctor. "Shoulder your rifle carelessly, and let's put a bold front upon our advance. They may be friendly.

Now, Jimmy, lead the way."

The black's eyes glittered as he ran to the front, stooping down almost as low as if he were some animal creeping through the bush, and taking advantage of every shrub and rock for concealment.

He went on, with Gyp close at his heels, evidently as much interested as his leader, while we followed, walking erect and making no effort to conceal our movements.

We went on like this for quite a quarter of a mile, and the doctor had twice whispered to me that he believed it was a false alarm, in spite of Jimmy's cautionary movements, and we were about to shout to him to come back, when all at once he stopped short behind a rugged place that stood out of the mountain slope, and waved his waddy to us to come on.

"He has come upon them," I said, with my heart beating faster and a curious sensation of sluggishness attacking my legs.

"Yes, he has found something," said the doctor; and as I glanced round I could see that Jack Penny had my complaint in his legs a little worse than I. But no sooner did he see that I was looking at him than he s.n.a.t.c.hed himself together, and we went on boldly, feeling a good deal encouraged from the simple fact that Gyp came back to meet us wagging his tail.

As we reached the spot where Jimmy was watching, he drew back to allow us to peer round the block of stone, saying softly:

"Dat's um. Black fellow just gone long."

To our surprise there were no natives in the hollow into which we peered, but just beyond a few stunted bushes I could see smoke arising, so it seemed, and the black whispered:

"Black fellow fire. Cook.u.m damper. Roastum sheep's muttons."

"But there is no one, Jimmy," I said.

"Jus' gone long. Hear Jimmy come long. Run away," he whispered.

"That is no fire," said the doctor, stepping forward. "It is a hot spring."

"Yes, yes, much big fire; go much out now. Mind black fellow; mind spear killum, killum."

"Yes, a hot spring, and this is steam," said the doctor, as we went on to where a little basin of water bubbled gently, and sent forth quite a little pillar of vapour into the air; so white was it that the black might well have been excused for making his mistake.

"Jimmy run long see where black fellow gone. Cook.u.m dinner here. Eh!

whar a fire?" he cried, bending down and poking at the little basin with the b.u.t.t of his spear before looking wonderingly at us.

"Far down in the earth, Jimmy," said the doctor.

"Eh? Far down? Whar a fire mak.u.m water boils?" cried the black excitedly; and bending down he peered in all directions, ending by thrusting one hand in the spring and s.n.a.t.c.hing it out again with a yell of pain.

"Is it so hot as that, Jimmy?" I said.

"Ah, roastum hot, O!" cried Jimmy, holding his hand to his mouth. "Oh!

Ma.s.s Joe, doctor, stop. Jimmy go and find black fellow."

We tried very hard to make the black understand that this was one of Nature's wonders, but it was of no avail. He only shook his head and winked at us, grinning the while.

"No, no; Jimmy too cunning-artful. Play trick.u.ms. Make fool o' Jimmy.

Oh, no! Ha! ha! Jimmy cunning-artful; black fellow see froo everybody."

He stood shaking his head at us in such an aggravating way, after all the trouble I had been at to show him that this was a hot spring and volcanic, that I felt ready to kick, and I daresay I should have kicked him if he had not been aware of me, reading my countenance easily enough, and backing away laughing, and getting within reach of a great piece of rock, behind which he could dodge if I grew too aggressive.

I left Jimmy to himself, and stood with the doctor examining the curious steaming little fount, which came bubbling out of some c.h.i.n.ks in the solid rock and formed a basin for itself of milky white stone, some of which was rippled where the water ran over, and trickled musically along a jagged crevice in the rocky soil, sending up a faint steam which faded away directly in the glowing sunshine.

"I say," said Jack Penny, who had crouched down beside the basin, "why, you might cook eggs in this."

"That you might, Penny," said the doctor.

"But we ain't got any eggs to cook," said Jack dolefully. "I wish we'd got some of our fowls' eggs--the new-laid ones, you know. I don't mean them you find in the nests. I say, it is hot," he continued. "You might boil mutton."

"Eh! whar a mutton? Boil mutton?" cried Jimmy, running up, for he had caught the words.

"At home, Jimmy," I said, laughing. The black's disgust was comical to witness as he tucked his waddy under one arm, turned his nose in the air, and stalked off amongst the rocks, in the full belief that we had been playing tricks with him.

He startled us the next moment by shouting:

"Here um come! Gun, gun, gun!"

He came rushing back to us, and, moved by his evidently real excitement, we took refuge behind a barrier of rock and waited the coming onslaught, for surely enough there below us were dark bodies moving amongst the low growth, and it was evident that whatever it was, human being or lower animals, they were coming in our direction fast.

We waited anxiously for a few minutes, during the whole of which time Jimmy was busily peering to right and left, now creeping forward for a few yards, sheltered by stones or bush, now slowly raising his head to get a glimpse of the coming danger; and so careful was he that his black rough head should not be seen, that he turned over upon his back, pushed himself along in that position, and then lay peering through the bushes over his forehead.

The moving objects were still fifty yards away, where the bush was very thick and low. Admirable cover for an advancing enemy. Their actions seemed so cautious, too, that we felt sure that we must be seen, and I was beginning to wonder whether it would not be wise to fire amongst the low scrub and scare our enemies, when Jimmy suddenly changed his tactics, making a sign to us to be still, as he crawled backwards right past us and disappeared, waddy in hand.

We could do nothing but watch, expecting the black every moment to return and report.

But five minutes', ten minutes' anxiety ensued before we heard a shout right before us, followed by a rush, and as we realised that the black had come back past us so that he might make a circuit and get round the enemy, there was a rush, and away bounding lightly over the tops of the bushes went a little pack of a small kind of kangaroo.

It was a matter of moments; the frightened animals, taking flying leaps till out of sight, and Jimmy appeared, running up panting, to look eagerly round.

"Whar a big wallaby?" he cried. "No shoot? No killum? Eh? Jimmy killum one big small ole man!"

He trotted back as he spoke, and returned in triumph bearing one of the creatures, about equal in size to a small lamb.

This was quickly dressed by the black, and secured hanging in a tree, for the doctor would not listen to Jimmy's suggestion that we should stop and "boil um in black fellow's pot all like muttons;" and then we continued our climb till we had won to a magnificent position on the shoulder of the mountain for making a careful inspection of the country now seeming to lie stretched out at our feet.

A more glorious sight I never saw. Green everywhere, wave upon wave of verdure lit up by the sunshine and darkening in shadow. Mountains were in the distance, and sometimes we caught the glint of water; but sweep the prospect as we would in every direction with the gla.s.s it was always the same, and the doctor looked at me at last and shook his head.

"Joe," he said at last, "our plan appeared to be very good when we proposed it, but it seems to me that we are going wrong. If we are to find your father, whom we believe to be a prisoner--"

"Who is a prisoner!" I said emphatically.

"Why do you say that?" he cried sharply, searching me with his eyes.

"I don't know," I replied dreamily. "He's a prisoner somewhere."

"Then we must seek him among the villages of the blacks near the sea-sh.o.r.e. The farther we go the more we seem to be making our way into the desert. Look there!" he cried, pointing in different directions; "the foot of man never treads there. These forests are impa.s.sable."