mind now, old chap."

"But you didn't say a word about the lions."

"What?" cried Emson excitedly. "You have had no lions there, surely?"

"Yes," said Dyke, bitterly now, for he was waking up, and felt deeply
aggrieved. "Two great beasts."

"But in open day?"

Dyke nodded.

"Then why didn't you fire? A shot or two would have scared them away."

"Yes," continued the boy in the same bitter tone; "but you can't fire
when your gun's empty, and you have no cartridges."

"But you had plenty when we started. I filled your pouch."

"Yes, but it came undone in the ride after the eland. It's lost. I
sent Duke to try and find it, and he didn't come back."

"My poor old chap!" cried Emson, leaning forward to grasp his brother's
shoulder. "I did not know of this."

"No, you couldn't know of it, but you were precious hard upon me."

"My dear old chap, I spoke to you like a brute. I ought not to have
left you, but I was so delighted with the way in which you had brought
down the game, and, as it were, filled our larder, that I thought you
ought to have all the honour of keeping guard, while I played drudge and
went to fetch the sledge to carry the meat home. But tell me: the lions
came?"

"One did," said Dyke, "and gave me turn enough, and when I got away from
him to try and catch Breezy here, another savage brute hunted me and
nearly struck me down. Oh, it was horrid!" he cried, as he ended his
rough narrative of what he had gone through.

"Dyke, old chap, I shall never forgive myself," said Emson, grasping his
brother's hand. "I'd do anything to recall my words."

"Oh, it's all right," cried the boy, clinging to the hand that pressed
his; "I'm better now. I was so exhausted, Joe, that I suppose I
couldn't keep awake. I say, how was it I didn't fall off?"

"The cob was standing quite still when I came up, and looked half asleep
himself."

"Poor old Breezy! He had such a fright too. I thought I should never
catch up to him. But I did."

"Can you forgive me, old fellow?"

"Can I what? Oh, I say, Joe! Don't say any more, please. Here, give
me some cartridges to put in my pocket. I'm all right now, and there
are sure to be some more lions there. But, I say, I don't think I
should like to shoot at that first one."

Emson handed a dozen cartridges, and then shouted to Jack to stop, which
the Kaffir and his two dumb companions willingly did.

"What are you going to do, Joe?"

"Discretion is t