d of the cart upon the other. Round it spun, broadside
on to the current, and immediately began to heave over, till at last
the angle was so sharp that the dead body of poor Mouti slid out with
a splash and vanished into the darkness. This relieved the cart, and it
righted for a moment, but now being no longer held up by the bodies of
the horses or by the sustaining power of the wind it began to fill and
sink, and at the same time to revolve swiftly. John understood that
all was finished, and that to stop in the cart would only mean certain
death, because they would be held under water by the canvas tent. So
with a devout aspiration for assistance he seized Jess round the waist
with one arm and sprang off into the river. As he leapt the cart filled
and sank.

"Lie still, for Heaven's sake!" he shouted, when they rose to the
surface.

In the dim light of the dawn which was now creeping over the earth he
could discover the line of the left bank of the Vaal, the same from
which they had been driven into the river on the previous night. It
appeared to be about forty yards away, but the current was running
quite six knots, and he saw that, burdened as he was, it would be quite
impracticable for him to reach it. The only thing to do was to keep
afloat. Luckily the water was warm and he was a strong swimmer. In a
minute or so he saw that about fifty paces ahead some rocks jutted out
twenty yards into the bed of the stream. Then catching Jess by the hair
with his left hand he made his effort, and a desperate one it was. The
broken water boiled furiously round the rocks. Presently he was in it,
and, better still, his feet touched the ground. Next second he was swept
off them and rolled over and over at the bottom of the river, to be
sadly knocked about against the boulders. Somehow he struggled to his
legs, still retaining his hold of Jess. Twice he fell, and twice he
struggled up again. One more effort--so. The water was only up to his
thighs now, and he was obliged to half carry his companion.

As he lifted her he felt a deadly sickness come over him, but still
he staggered on, till at last they both fell of a heap upon a big flat
rock, and for a while he remembered no more.

When he came to himself again it was to see Jess, who had recovered
sooner than he had, standing over him and chafing his hands. Indeed,
as the sun was up he guessed that he must have lost his senses for some
time. He rose with difficulty and shook hi