"We lie just as we are," he said. "I see that each one has taken up a position, and the only alteration I can suggest is that the four policemen separate and place themselves between the others. They are used to rows more than we are, and will be able to give advice. For the rest, reckon we'll sit tight." "Sit tight!" echoed Phineas, somewhat at a loss. "Just lie as we are, and never give them a shot back unless a man exposes himself. When'll the moon go down?" It was a question of some importance, and our hero breathed more freely when he heard that the morning would come and still find the moon in the sky. "Then we shall have light right through," he said in tones of relief. "Don't forget; not a shot unless you see a man. Just lie still under cover. Ching, guess you could manage to light a fire and get some grub cooking." The Chinaman smiled on them all. Cooking, after all, was his forte, not fighting, though he was no laggard where that was concerned, having already shown that he possessed courage. He rose from his prone position, re-arranged his pigtail, and set about the preparation of a meal for the whole party with just the same calmness and method as he was wont to employ in Phineas's kitchen. Within five minutes he had collected sufficient driftwood to make a fire, and had laid it at the bottom of a little hollow. In double that time he had a billy slung over the flames, so that very soon a most appetizing steam pervaded the place. Then he wagged his head in a manner all his own and declared that the meal was ready. "And we for it," said Jim, rising from the position he had taken beside Tomkins. "See here, Ching. Dish out an allowance for each man, and bring it to him. It won't do to leave our stations. We'll grub right where we lie, and so be ready." It was a wise precaution to take, for none could say when the enemy would attempt a second rush. Meanwhile bullets streamed from the jungle, now from this point, and then from that, a splash of flame lighting up the dense shadows for an instant. But of late the firing had become far less rapid, while the characteristic crack of the Mausers which Jaime and his rascals employed had ceased altogether. "Simply showing that they are otherwise engaged," said Jim, discussing the affair with Phineas and Tomkins. "They are, no doubt, hunting for a likely spot from which to make a charge; and to my mind there's one spot above all others which they are likely to select. Look away over here. This rocky eminence runs on into the jungle, so that a band dashing out there would not have to come uphill. It's level ground all the way. Again, it happens to be a shorter cut from the jungle, and will give us less time to put in our shots. That's my opinion."