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southeast monsoon--but they had been light and infrequent, although the sky was generally cloudy for days at a time. The house had been put in shape for them, however, and the three men went ahead with work on its interior whenever the weather hampered outdoor activities.

    By midsummer for the northern hemisphere, and what amounted to midwinter for them, they had all the major details complete. It was then, and only then, that in the two white men, at least, a vague spirit of restlessness appeared.

    McCobb noticed it in Stone when he found him staring at the rocky summit of the small mountain which rose behind the house. But McCobb did not notice it in himself when he became petulant over the fact that the iron runners he had carefully made for the winch sled did not fit.

    Stone found him glaring at the metal strips, spitting disgustedly and swearing under his breath.

    He grinned. "Why don't you kick them, McCobb?"

    "Hell! They're too short."

    "Well--we'll make a new sled. It's easier."

    "Yes."

    They looked at each other and laughed.

    That day at lunch Stone said:

    "You know, it's getting to be about time for us to do a little exploring around the place. I was looking at the hill the other day. It wouldn't be much of a trick to climb it."

    McCobb was surprised at the intensity of his impulse. "That's an excellent idea!
    I've been itching to get out and around for weeks."

    "Feel shut in?"

    "Well--"

    "Why not admit it? I do. But I didn't want to go out and look for trouble until we were comfortable here. The rest of the island could wait on us."

    McCobb ate in silence for a moment.

    "What was your impression of the size and shape of the island when you saw it from the sea?"

    "Just what I gave you when we first discussed it. Vague. It wasn't very large--
    although I couldn't see it all on account of the relative feebleness of the moonlight.
    Coming in this time, it was misty. I think it's about four miles long, running north and south, and perhaps three miles and a half wide."

    "There ought to be a good many interesting things and places, then."

    "We'll see."

    They walked out of the stockade side by side. Jack shut the gate behind them.

    McCobb felt his nerves tingling.

    "I'm excited," he said, in a tone that did not appear to contain any emotion whatever.

    "So am I."

    Stone led the way around the wooden, wire-topped wall. At its rear, he broke into the green riot of vegetation. He went gingerly, in spite of the fact that he was shod in knee-high leather boots. He carried his rifle in the crook of his arm, and its trigger was set on the safety catch.

    The ground behind the house descended at first into a sort of valley filled with deep ferns. Insects hummed there and birds flew overhead. They saw a small monkey at a distance, and one of the boas with which they had become familiar moved lazily from their path.

    On the opposite side of the vale the trees grew thick and vines ran between them so that they were forced to hack their way in places. A steady rise commenced and with every hundred yards the walking conditions improved.

    Eventually Stone stopped and pointed.

    The trees thinned. A few rods distant from them, they were supplanted by grass as high as the armpits of a tall man. They hastened to the edge of this unexpected prairie. A broad, rolling savannah dotted here and there with clumps of trees opened before them to the base of the mountain.

    It was much like the African veldt and, while they were looking, a herd of animals moved up over a small rise.

    "Good Lord!" McCobb whispered.

    Stone gripped his arm. "Those are a kind of zebu. Little ones. The ancestors of cows.

    The men waited in the shadow while the herd approached. The creatures were certainly cowlike, although their legs were slender and on their backs they had a large hump. They were led by a bull and presently they stopped to graze. They ate with a continual switching of their tails and a frequent uplifting of their broad, bland