"Tie him up fast, and set a watch over him," commanded Jim promptly. "Now, George, I'm ready to give you my plan for the future. I was about to do so when the enemy charged. But, first, are they likely to leave us?" George shook his head promptly, then exchanged a few words with one of the natives who was evidently of some importance. "They will stay there in the forest," he said at last. "They have the great advantage of possessing rifles, and guess they still far outnumber us. So they'll lie there in hiding, and pepper us whenever we show a finger. If we go out to attack them, they will break up and move away; but if we attempt to make for Colon, they will hang on our flanks and kill us little by little." "Then we'll keep them hanging about in the forest. See here, George," said our hero eagerly. "This party of mine was to be merely a sort of cutting-out expedition. We rode hard in order to come up with this ruffian Jaime, and rescue Sadie. The main party was to steam to the lagoon, and there attack the natives. They were then to endeavour to join hands with us. Seems to me we have an excellent chance of a combined movement. We stay here, and make pretence that we dare not move. Meanwhile you send off a couple or more men to our other party. When could they reach us?" "To-morrow morning, perhaps a little earlier. Gee, this is a good plan! The head of the lagoon is only a bare twenty miles from us. My men could reach the spot by late this afternoon. Your other party would march right off, and, allowing for the difficulties of getting through the jungle, could be here even earlier than I said. It's a fine move; fine, and will be just the thing to put an end to this matter." "And your men could start at once, and leave without the enemy being the wiser?" Once more George appealed to the native chief, and presently returned to his brother. "They shall go at once. We will send two parties, consisting of three men each. They will slip away from this spot without anyone seeing them, and will each bear the same message. They will march back with your people, and will crawl in here to let us know of their arrival." Jim called Phineas and Tomkins to him, and discussed the plan with them for a few moments. Then, as all agreed with it, George nodded to the native. Almost instantly six men stood forward from amongst the seated throng, their eyes shining in the sunlight, for by now broad day was upon them. A few guttural words were spoken, then, one by one, the natives wormed their way from the eminence. Jim could hardly have believed it possible that men could leave the spot without watching eyes discovering them; but he had never watched such natives as these before, nor seen how it was possible to take advantage of hollows and boulders. "Gone!" said George, at length, giving vent to a sigh of satisfaction. "Now I suppose we can settle down to the ordinary life of those who are besieged?"