y man he met. He
felt his feet, so to say, and felt them firmly. He felt now that
wherever he was put down he could make his way.

"A little civilisation doesn't come amiss after the long spell of
trekking we've had, eh, Ridgeley?" said John Dawes, as they sat smoking
their pipes beneath the verandah of the Imperial Hotel towards the close
of a hot day. "But the contrast of it! I suppose, now, you can hardly
bring yourself to believe that old Ingonyama, Vunawayo, and the rest of
'em weren't just so many chaps in a dream?"

"A dream!" echoed Gerard, vacantly. "Oh--ah! Yes, of course."

John Dawes's humour being of the "dry" order, he did not laugh outright.
His young friend _was_ in a dream; and of its nature he was not
ignorant, for Gerard had given him just such vacant answers since a wire
had been handed in some two hours ago, announcing that Mr Kingsland and
his daughter would take up their quarters in the Imperial Hotel during
their two or three days' sojourn in the capital, and would, in fact,
arrive that evening.

"Remember what I said, just before we made acquaintance with the
Igazipuza," went on Dawes, "that you'd have some rare yarns to spin to
old Kingsland? Why, those will be skim milk to all that's happened
since."

"Rather!" assented Gerard, still vacantly, all his attention being
directed towards obtaining as good a view of the gate as was possible
through the sunflowers. And the other, seeing he was in no mood for
conversation, forebore to tax the attention aforesaid.

On the arrival of our two friends in Maritzburg, they had been met by
John Dawes's brother William, his joint partner in that and all
undertakings, who had taken the waggons and cattle--except such of the
latter as had been there and then sold by public auction--away to his
farm, leaving John to enjoy a spell of city life. But before he left,
the two brothers had put their heads together and decided to allow
Gerard a third of the profits of the expedition by way of his share.
The generosity of this arrangement, far in excess of that which had been
agreed upon, touched Gerard not a little.

"Shut up, man alive," had cut in William Dawes, with a good-natured slap
on the shoulder, as Gerard blurted out his thanks. "I've heard enough
about you from Jack here to know you've jolly well earned whatever share
we can give you. So you and he had better have a little fun after your
trip, and when you've had enough of the city come o