ne o'clock, when the Englishman and Colonial left to
turn in. They found Halket asleep, close to the side of the tent, with
his face turned to the canvas. And they lay down quietly that they might
not disturb him.

At ten o'clock all the camp was asleep, excepting the two men told off
to keep guard; who paced from one end of the camp to the other to keep
themselves awake; or stood chatting by the large fire, which still burnt
at one end.

In the Captain's tent a light was kept burning all night, which shone
through the thin canvas sides, and shed light on the ground about; but,
for the rest, the camp was dead and still.

By half-past one the moon had gone down, and there was left only a blaze
of stars in the great African sky.

Then Peter Halket rose up; softly he lifted the canvas and crept out.
On the side furthest from the camp he stood upright. On his arm was tied
his red handkerchief with its contents. For a moment he glanced up at
the galaxy of stars over him; then he stepped into the long grass, and
made his way in a direction opposite to that in which the camp lay. But
after a short while he turned, and made his way down into the river bed.
He walked in it for a while. Then after a time he sat down upon the bank
and took off his heavy boots and threw them into the grass at the side.
Then softly, on tip-toe, he followed the little footpath that the men
had trodden going down to the river for water. It led straight up to the
Captain's tent, and the little flat-topped tree, with its white stem,
and its two gnarled branches spread out on either side. When he was
within forty paces of it, he paused. Far over the other side of the
camp the two men who were on guard stood chatting by the fire. A dead
stillness was over the rest of the camp. The light through the walls of
the Captain's tent made all clear at the stem of the little tree; but
there was no sound of movement within.

For a moment Peter Halket stood motionless; then he walked up to the
tree. The black man hung against the white stem, so closely bound to
it that they seemed one. His hands were tied to his sides, and his head
drooped on his breast. His eyes were closed; and his limbs, which had
once been those of a powerful man, had fallen away, making the joints
stand out. The wool on his head was wild and thick with neglect, and
stood out roughly in long strands; and his skin was rough with want and
exposure.

The riems had cut a little into his ankle