A moment's thought relieved his fears. If Challis had been caught, the negroes would not have needed to ride after him. If he had once got past them, they would hardly be aware of it. He concluded that something had caused the animals to stampede. Challis might be trusted to avoid being ridden down. Reassured though he was, Royce spent an uneasy night. After setting a double watch at each corner of the fort, he turned in, but set his alarm clock to wake him in an hour. He then made a round of the fort, to assure himself that the sentries were not asleep. It was not easy, as he knew, to keep negroes awake on guard. The necessity of waking so frequently, after short naps, was very wearing. "By the time Tom gets back," he thought, "I shall be half dead with fatigue." About dawn he had reason to be glad that he had not spared himself. He found the men on duty at the south-west corner fast asleep. Rousing them, not too gently, he looked out over the wall to see for himself whether there was any sign of the enemy. His first impression was one of relief. There was no indication of anything unusual, so far as he could see in the grey dawn. A second glance, however, raised a doubt. There seemed to be more bushes on the slope than he remembered on this side of the fort. Here and there, projecting slightly above the general contour, there were dark, shapeless masses. He called up Kulana, who acted as interpreter in John's absence. "You see those?" he said quietly. "What are they?" The objects were very dim and indistinct. The man peered at them, and in a moment said, in the same hushed tone as Royce had used: "Dem bushes, sah." Kulana, however, was hardly awake yet. One of the negro guards, who had had time to collect himself, noticed Kulana and his master staring at something on the hillside. He, too, peered into the semi-darkness. "Men!" he exclaimed excitedly. "No, bushes!" rejoined Kulana. They were raising their voices in dispute, each sticking to his opinion, and Royce bade them be silent. Unable to decide the matter himself, he felt that he dared take no risks. Quietly summoning the garrison, he sent them to their allotted posts behind the wall, ordering them to be careful not to show their heads above it. Then he resolved to put the matter to the test. Taking his rifle, he fired just above the nearest of the suspicious objects, not directly aiming at it, hoping that fright would effect his purpose. The result was immediate, and though not wholly unexpected, was none the less surprising. The harmless discharge of his rifle was followed by a movement recalling the effect of a gunshot on a covey of hidden birds. The hillside seemed to start into life and motion. A number of low, dark forms sprang up in the half-light, swiftly descended the hill, and disappeared in the mist on the level ground beyond.