eel swollen
and dry, and a peculiar thickness as of a mist began to obstruct the
distant view.

"How much farther is it?" thought Nic; and he shaded his eyes by holding
the hand which bore the gun across his forehead.

But he saw no better, and he winced from the touch, of the gun-lock, for
it was hot.

Then on, still trusting to the horse more than to himself, for the air
had grown thicker, and the mist hot, strange, and dazzling for a time.
There were singing noises, too, in his ears, and as he gave his head a
shake in his effort to get rid of them, he suddenly found that the
dazzling mist had gone, and he could see right away to the notch--that
dent in the mountains which seemed to lead him on and on, but only to
recede as he advanced.

That clearness of vision did nut last, for the mist closed in again,
lifted, and he saw a bright lake of beautiful silvery water, stretching
out as far as he could see, and toward which with throbbing temples he
urged on the horse. The next minute it had disappeared, and some one
was calling him; the thickening of the air was not from mist, but as of
smoke. He must, he felt, with a terrible sense of depression, have
neared his devastated home, which was burning, and the light breeze was
wafting the dense smoke all over the plain.

"What news to take back to his father!" he thought, in his despair, and
this made his senses reel; something struck him heavily, and then he was
looking up at the blue sky, as a dark object came between him and it.

For a few moments he must have been quite unconscious, while the next
thing he saw was the horse's muzzle close to his face.

He started up into a sitting position, for a dismal howl rang in his
ears, followed by a loud joyous barking, which brought him to his feet,
guessing the truth.

For the heat had produced that dimness of sight, tortured him with the
sight of that imaginary lake, and finally brought on a bad attack of
giddiness, which had made him reel in the saddle and fall heavily to the
ground.

The shock had helped to revive him; and feeling better, he picked up his
gun from where it lay beneath the horse, managed to climb back into the
saddle, and the brave beast started on at once straight for a clump of
trees about a mile away, while, before they were two-thirds of the
distance, the dogs began to bark, and seemed to recover their strength,
for they bounded on, and the horse broke into a gallop, following in
their track.