was jerked off my feet and dragged along the rough
ground, bumping, choking, and strangling. For the brute had made a
snatch at my revolver, caught the lanyard, and held on, with the
slip-noose tight between the collar of my jacket and my chin, and his
pony cantering hard. I can just remember the idea flashing to my brain
that this must be something like the lassoing of an animal by a cowboy
or one of those South American half-breeds, and then I was seeing
dazzling lights and clouds that seemed to be tinged with blood; and
after that all was dark for I can't tell how long, before I began to
come to, and found myself right away on the veldt, with the sun beating
down upon my head, and a raging thirst nearly driving me mad. I suppose
I was mad, or nearly so," continued Lennox after a brief pause, "for my
head was all in a whirl, and I kept on seeing Boers dragging me over the
veldt by the neck, and hearing horses galloping round me, all of which
was fancy, of course; for at times I was sensible, and knew that I was
lying somewhere out in the great veldt where all was silent, the horses
I heard being in my head. Then I seemed to go to sleep and dream that I
was being dragged by the neck again, on and on for ever."

"Horrible," panted Dickenson.

"Yes, old fellow, it was rather nasty; but I suppose a great part of it
was fancy, and even now I can't get it into shape, for everything was so
dull and dreamy and confused. All I can tell you more is, that I woke
up once, feeling a little more sensible, and began to feel about me.
Then I knew that my sword was by my side and my hand numb and throbbing,
for the sword-knot was tight about my wrist. I managed to get that
loosened, and after a good deal of difficulty sheathed my sword, after
which I began to feel for my revolver, and got hold of the cord, which
passed through my hand till I felt that it was broken--snapped off or
cut. That was all I could do then, and I suppose I fainted. But I must
have come to again and struggled up, moved by a blind sort of instinct
to get back to Groenfontein. I say I suppose that, for all the rest is
a muddle of dreams and confusion. The doctor says you and a party came
and found me wandering about in the dark, and of course I must have been
making some blind kind of effort to get back to camp. I say, old
fellow, I ought to have been dead, I suppose?"

"Of course you ought, sir," said the doctor, stepping in to lay a hand
upon the p