UNWELCOME DISCOVERY. 65 



in apparent security, and alarm them prema- 

 turely. On a sudden, however, it seemed to alter 

 its course and to move slowly under the shadow 

 of the bank, or, as the sailors term it, to ' hug 

 the shore : ' it was apparently propelled by some 

 hidden power, for it now no longer wheeled 

 about, but advanced steadily with one end fore- 

 most, and as I watched its movements while it 

 crept cautiously along, I fancied every now and 

 then that I could distinguish the slight splash of 

 a paddle, and my heart sank within me. 



It was evidently the gun-boat of a wild-fowl 

 shooter, and of one who was no novice in the 

 craft; but when the first feeling of disappoint- 

 ment had passed away, I easily succeeded in 

 persuading myself that I should derive more 

 pleasure from witnessing his operations than 

 in spoiling his sport which would have been 

 the result of a premature movement on my 

 part, for he was yet at least half a mile from 

 the objects of his pursuit but it occurred 

 to me at the same moment that I might even 

 manage to convert him into an unconscious but 

 important ally in contributing to my the jackal's 

 share of it. Taking, therefore, a hasty survey 

 of the harbour and its shores, I saw that if I 

 could contrive to conceal myself at a certain point 

 on a long and narrow belt of shingle at some 



