eding was to get the kettle to boil and make some tea, a
task necessitating another visit to the wagon stores he had brought from
Morgenstern's, when, for the first time, he noticed that a little sack
of meal was missing.

At first he was doubtful, then he felt sure, and jumped at once to the
reason. Jack and Tanta Sal must have gone off to join the blacks he had
seen watching, and not gone empty handed.

Dyke's brow wrinkled up for a few moments. Then his face cleared, for
an antidote for the disease had suggested itself, one which he felt
would come on in periodical fits.

"Here, Duke," he cried. "Up!"

The dog sprang in at the back of the wagon, and looked inquiringly at
him.

"Lie down: watch!"

Duke settled himself upon the wagon floor, laid his outstretched head
upon his paws, and stayed there when his master left to go back to the
house, fetch in the boiling kettle, make tea, and after sweetening half
a basinful and adding a little milk, he took it to his patient's side,
raised his head, held it to his lips, and all unconscious though he was,
found him ready to drink with avidity, and then sink back with a weary
sigh.

"There, old chap," cried Dyke, ignoring the fact that he had not tried,
"you couldn't have tipped off a lot of tea like that yesterday. It's
all right: going to get better fast, and give Master Jack such a licking
as he never had before."

Trying to believe this himself, he now thought of his own breakfast,
fetched in the hot cake and a tin pannikin of milk, and sat down to this
and some tea.

The first mouthfuls felt as if they would choke him, but the sensation
of distaste passed off, and he was soon eating ravenously, ending by
taking Duke a tin of milk for his share, and a piece of the hot bread.

That was a weary morning, what with his patient and the animals about
the place. But he had set his teeth hard, and feeling that he must
depend fully upon himself and succeed, he took a sensible view of his
proceedings, and did what he could to lighten his responsibility, so as
to leave him plenty of time for nursing and attending to his invalid.

The first thing was to do something about the horses and cattle; and,
feeling that he could not do everything by himself, he at once let all
loose to shift for themselves, hoping that they would keep about the
little desert farm, and not stray away into danger. Horses then and
cattle were loosened, to go where they pleased, and the openin