"I heard a splash in the water," she added. "Did you hear it too?"
"Alligator," answered Dain shortly, with a careless glance towards the
creek. "The darker the night," he continued, "the shorter will be our
road, for then we could keep in the current of the main stream, but if it
is light--even no more than now--we must follow the small channels of
sleeping water, with nothing to help our paddles."
"Dain," interposed Nina, earnestly, "it was no alligator. I heard the
bushes rustling near the landing-place."
"Yes," said Dain, after listening awhile. "It cannot be Babalatchi, who
would come in a big war canoe, and openly. Those that are coming,
whoever they are, do not wish to make much noise. But you have heard,
and now I can see," he went on quickly. "It is but one man. Stand
behind me, Nina. If he is a friend he is welcome; if he is an enemy you
shall see him die."
He laid his hand on his kriss, and awaited the approach of his unexpected
visitor. The fire was burning very low, and small clouds--precursors of
the storm--crossed the face of the moon in rapid succession, and their
flying shadows darkened the clearing. He could not make out who the man
might be, but he felt uneasy at the steady advance of the tall figure
walking on the path with a heavy tread, and hailed it with a command to
stop.
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