ignities told pretty severely on the
unfortunate Englishmen. But, as time went on, and they were taken
further and further into the interior, and heavy burdens were daily
bound on their shoulders, and the lash was frequently applied to urge
them on, the keen sense of insult which had at first stirred them into
wild anger became blunted, and at last they reached that condition of
partial apathy which renders men almost indifferent to everything save
rest and food. Even the submissive Stevenson was growing callous. In
short, that process had begun which usually ends in making men either
brutes or martyrs.

As before, we must remark that Jack Molloy was to some extent an
exception. It did seem as if nothing but death itself could subdue that
remarkable man. His huge frame was so powerful that he seemed to be
capable of sustaining any weight his tyrants chose to put upon him. And
the influence of hope was so strong within him that it raised him almost
entirely above the region of despondency.

This was fortunate for his comrades in misfortune, for it served to keep
up their less vigorous spirits.

There was one thing about the seaman, however, which they could not
quite reconcile with his known character. This was a tendency to groan
heavily when he was being loaded. To be sure, there was not much reason
for wonder, seeing that the Arabs forced the Herculean man to carry
nearly double the weight borne by any of his companions, but then, as
Miles once confidentially remarked to Armstrong, "I thought that Jack
Molloy would rather have died than have groaned on account of the weight
of his burden; but, after all, it _is_ a tremendously heavy one--poor
fellow!"

One day the Arabs seemed to be filled with an unusual desire to torment
their victims. A man had passed the band that day on a fast dromedary,
and the prisoners conjectured that he might have brought news of some
defeat of their friends, which would account for their increased
cruelty. They were particularly hard on Molloy that day, as if they
regarded him as typical of British strength, and, therefore, an
appropriate object of revenge. After the midday rest, they not only put
on him his ordinary burden, but added to the enormous weight
considerably, so that the poor fellow staggered under it, and finally
fell down beneath it, with a very dismal groan indeed!

Of course the lash was at once applied, and under its influence the
sailor rose with great dif