The weird, unexplored land stretches away on every side, though one could not see much of it on account of the grassy hillocks.

I, a white man, was alone among the blacks in the terrible land of "Never Never,"-- as the Australians call their _terra incognita_; and I was wrestling with a gigantic cannibal chief for the possession of two delicately-reared English girls, who were in his power.

Scores of other savages squatted before us, their repulsive faces aglow with interest and excitement.

Very fortunately Bruno was not on the spot.

I knew what he was of old, and how he made my quarrels his with a strenuous energy and eagerness that frequently got himself as well as his master into serious trouble.