And the Red Chief was speeding back to vanish into the scrub. At the Secret Camp he told the guards and women his plan.

“So there you are,” he ended. “We bait the Trap with your young wives, and mine, and Burradella’s, and with all others willing and able to come, and with our babies and the tribe’s children. That Trap is our one hope. Now, are you prepared to risk your wives and children in this one desperate surprise blow? Or would you rather have them stay here while the enemy kill us off one by one?”

“We follow where you lead, Red Chief,” was the grave answer. The women silently nodded assent.

The Red Chief laughed delightedly.

“We will beat them,” he cried enthusiastically, “when I have such warriors and women and children with me! Never fear, we shall beat them. Now, we do not need all of you—only the able-bodied, for we have a lot to do, and then, just before the attack comes at tomorrow’s dawn, it is only the able-bodied who will be able to crawl away back through the scrub.”

He selected twenty unmarried girls, forty of the younger married women with their children, and all girls and boys still in camp of from eight years onward. He then started back, urging all possible speed, with forty girls and young women and six guards, leaving the remaining eight guards to bring the others on at a slower pace to give the toddlers a chance of not becoming too tired to do their “play-acting” properly that night.

The Red Chief hurried his party through the scrub to the summit of Porcupine Ridge, ordered them remain hidden there until he made sure that all was well, then raced down the spur leading from Black Hill and along the scrub edge to Burradella. With one relieved glance he saw that all was going very well; the lean-to gunyahs of bushes were already being erected down at the end of the Trap; the boys were very busy collecting bushes and firewood; the ten old women had just arrived and were choosing their camp-sites with matronly efficiency.

The Red Chief sent a boy runner to bring his boy scouts back from the ridges, then started to help “bait” the Trap with a smiling enthusiasm that spread from men and women to the youngest boy and girl.

Presently the strongest children with the women began to come in, guided close along the sheltering scrub edge by the guards. The other women with the toddlers were coming by easy stages.

Before sundown the Trap was perfectly arranged. Even Burradella nodded his satisfaction, his eyes roving round the shadowing Trap searching for any touch that might have been overlooked.

Just at sundown a scout came running to the Red Chief.

“Many fresh Cassilis warriors have come running into the Mullibah Lagoon camp, to be heartily greeted by the others,” he panted. “We think they are all gathered together now!”

“We have got them!” said the Red Chief exultantly to Burradella. “I’m sure of it. They scouted all around the scrubs and are sure now they’ve got us cornered within the Big Scrub. They’ve all gathered together to hunt us out tomorrow. All we’ve got to do now is let their scouts discover the Trap, the camp they are seeking. We must do that very cunningly—and then we’ll cripple them.”