the colonel; "but Captain Roby keeps on
repeating it to the doctor and the major; while that man who was
wounded, too, endorses all his captain says. It sounds monstrous."

"Don't believe it, sir," cried Dickenson excitedly.

"I have told you that I cannot believe it," said the colonel; "but Mr
Lennox is missing, and it looks horribly corroborative of Roby's tale.
There, go and find him--if you can. We can't add that to our other
misfortunes; it would be a disgrace to us all."

"You mean, sir," said Dickenson coldly, "if Drew Lennox had--has--well,
I suppose I must say it--run away?"

"Exactly."

"Well, sir, I don't feel in the least afraid. He is either a prisoner,
lying badly wounded somewhere about the kopje, or--dead."

He said the last word in a husky tone, and then started violently.

"What is it, man?" cried the colonel excitedly, for the young officer
seemed as if he were suffering from some violent spasm. "Are you hurt?"

"Something seemed to hurt me, sir," said the young man; "but it was only
a thought."

"A thought?"

"Yes, sir," was the reply. "I was wondering whether it was possible."

"Whether what was possible?" said the colonel impatiently. "Don't speak
in riddles, man."

"No, sir. It came like a flash. Suppose the poor fellow was somewhere
near the spot where we exploded the ammunition?"

"Fancy," said the colonel coldly. "There must have been plenty of
places round about the part you attacked without Lennox being there.
There, lose no time; find him, and bring him back."

"He half believes that wretched story put about by Roby," said Dickenson
to himself as he walked stiffly away, depressed in mind as well as body,
and anything but fit for his journey, as he began to feel more and more.
But he made an effort, stepped out boldly in spite of a sharp, catching
pain, and answered briskly to the sentries' challenges as he passed into
the light shed by the lanterns here and there.

"Ready, sir?" said a voice suddenly.

"Yes; quite. The sooner we're off the better."

"The ponies are waiting, sir; and I've got the password, and know
exactly where the outposts are if I can hit them off in the dark, for
it's twice as black as it was last night."

"Then it will be a bad time for our search."

"Search, sir?" said the sergeant bluntly. "We're going to do no
searching to-night."

"What!" cried Dickenson.

"It's impossible, sir. All we can do is to get as close as we can to
the