e gently, and smiled as I rapidly bound up
his injury as well as I could.

"Thank ye, my lad," he said. "I must preserve discipline, and we're
getting pressed. Taken off a bit of the middle finger--hasn't it?"

"Half of it, I'm afraid," I said.

"What have you got to be afraid of? Might have been worse. Suppose it
had been the first finger; then I shouldn't have been able to draw
trigger--eh? That'll do--won't it? I'm in a hurry."

"I haven't stopped the bleeding," I replied.

"Never mind. Mother Nature will soon do that. Now then, back you go.
Show them how you young farmers can shoot."

I was on my way back to my place when the clattering of hoofs made me
turn my head, and I saw a man in the Light Horse uniform come galloping
up, utterly regardless of the danger he ran from obstructing stones.

"Back!" he shouted. "Retire on the main body as fast as you can go.
Colonel's orders."

We were in full retreat at once, after emptying our rifles upon the
steadily advancing enemy, who came on, running from stone to stone,
cleverly taking advantage of every bit of cover. We soon came in sight
of the men we had relieved, who were hurrying to the rear as fast as
they could get their wounded men along; while, to my great satisfaction,
there was Joeboy striding along at a tremendous rate: it was a walk, but
such a walk as would have compelled me to trot to keep up with him. He
could not have kept it up much longer, I could see, for the perspiration
was streaming down his face and neck, and he was breathing hard; but at
the end of another quarter of a mile, as the firing in front grew louder
and louder, I saw about a couple of dozen of the troopers coming to our
help, four of whom dismounted, giving up their horses to comrades, and
quickly spreading a blanket upon the ground.

It struck me at once that Joeboy would refuse to give up his load; but I
got up to him just in time, and at a word from me the young officer,
still perfectly insensible, was lifted from the big black's shoulders,
laid upon the blanket, and then the four men took the corners in a good
grip and trotted off at the double. Joeboy, grinning with satisfaction,
now took hold of my saddle-bow and ran by my side till we reached the
strong position in a great notch in one side of the valley, where the
Colonel was defending himself against a large body of the enemy coming
on from the plains below.

It was a capitally chosen spot, as I soon saw, fo