78 FALL OF RAIN. 



ladies were comfortably accommodated upon their partners' 

 knees. One gentleman alone was standing. Presently two 

 sticks were laid crosswise on the ground ; the pipes struck up 

 an unusual sort of jig, and the feat commenced. " This," 

 said my kinsman, " is called the ' pater-o-pee,' and none but 

 an accomplished dancer would attempt it." 



To describe this dance would be impossible : it consisted 

 of an eternal hopping into the small compartments formed 

 by the crossing of the cudgels on the floor, without touching 

 the sticks. 



Now, holding reasonable doubts whether, upon Mr. Cooney 

 presenting himself to Monsieur Laporte, this gentleman would 

 favour him with an engagement, I'll bet the manager, not- 

 withstanding, a cool hundred, that, on the strength of the 

 King's Theatre, he has no artiste who will touch Tim Cooney 

 at the pater-o-pee ! 



CHAPTER XV. 



Moon looks suspicious Heavy fall of rain River flooded Sporting 

 writers Criticism on Hawker Originality of the Colonel His outfit 

 of a wild fowl shooter Samuel Singer and his gun. 



WHEN we took a last look from the window of our hut, 

 before we retired to our respective mattresses, there was a 

 broad belt observable around the moon's disc, which is the 

 well-known token of an approaching change of weather; 

 and early this morning, the constant plashing from the roof 

 told us that the rain was falling heavily. The river rose 

 apace, and the flood thundered past the cabin, momentarily 

 increasing by the frequent torrents from the high grounds. 

 The gentle and sparkling stream, on whose moonlight banks 

 I had been musing at midnight, disappeared, and a fierce and 

 turbulent body of discoloured water rushed through its swollen 

 channel, bearing along huge portions of the banks, which had 

 yielded to its fury. 



" We are fairly caught, Frank," said my kinsman. 

 " Hemmed in by the stream, if life depended on it, we could 

 not now communicate with the Lodge. Fortunately the cabin 

 roof is impervious to the water ; and, thanks to the foresight 



