"
"I think that is a very good idea, Peters. What do you all say? Will you
each take your turn alphabetically for the present, and at the end of
fifteen days, when each of you have led three times, you can decide
whether each squad shall choose a permanent leader or go on as you have
begun."
All at once agreed to the proposal. They felt, good friends as they
were, that it would be very difficult to decide now.
"Very well, then, it shall be so," Chris said. "To-morrow we shall
certainly do some scouting, but in a day or two you may be shut up here;
and until we get away there will be no scouting to be done. We must have
some signals. Suppose we are scattered over two or three miles, we may
want to assemble, and must be able to signal. I thought of it before we
started from home, and put down in my pocket-book the sort of thing that
I fancied would be wanted. I will read it out to you."
He stirred the fire into a blaze and then read:
"One shot followed by another and a third, with ten seconds between
them, will mean 'Enemy seen on the right'; with twenty seconds between,
'Enemy seen on the left'; then, after a pause, two shots in quick
succession will mean 'Enemy in strength'; three shots will be 'Small
party only'; one shot, followed at an interval of ten seconds by two in
succession, will mean 'Retire to the point agreed on before we
separated'; followed by three shots in quick succession, will be 'Close
in to the centre'.
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