ner no good."

Mackintosh stared at him, wondering whether he knew what had happened,
and whether, when he knew, he would realise on what terms he and Walker
had been. He went about his work, sleek, silent, and smiling, and who
could tell his thoughts?

"I expect he's had dinner on the way, but you must keep the soup hot at
all events."

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the silence was suddenly
broken into by a confusion, cries, and a rapid patter of naked feet. A
number of natives ran into the compound, men and women and children;
they crowded round Mackintosh and they all talked at once. They were
unintelligible. They were excited and frightened and some of them were
crying. Mackintosh pushed his way through them and went to the gateway.
Though he had scarcely understood what they said he knew quite well what
had happened. And as he reached the gate the dog-cart arrived. The old
mare was being led by a tall Kanaka, and in the dog-cart crouched two
men, trying to hold Walker up. A little crowd of natives surrounded it.

The mare was led into the yard and the natives surged in after it.
Mackintosh shouted to them to stand back and the two policemen, sprang
suddenly from God knows where, pushed them violently aside. By now he
had managed to understand that some lads who had been fishing, on their
way back to their village had come across the cart on the home side of
the ford. The mare was nuzzling about the herbage and in the darkness
they could just see the great white bulk of the old man sunk between the
seat and the dashboard. At first they thought he was drunk and they
peered in, grinning, but then they heard him groan, and guessed that
something was amiss. They ran to the village and called for help. It was
when they returned, accompanied by half a hundred people, that they
discovered Walker had been shot.

With a sudden thrill of horror Mackintosh asked himself whether he was
already dead. The first thing at all events was to get him out of the
cart, and that, owing to Walker's corpulence, was a difficult job. It
took four strong men to lift him. They jolted him and he uttered a dull
groan. He was still alive. At last they carried him into the house, up
the stairs, and placed him on his bed. Then Mackintosh was able to see
him, for in the yard, lit only by half a dozen hurricane lamps,
everything had been obscured. Walker's white ducks were stained with
blood, and the men who had carried him wiped t