al life and strength and energy.
Awaking in such a condition of mind and body leads one, contradictory
though it may seem, to spend the first few minutes of reviving
consciousness in restful contemplation and enjoyment of one's
surroundings. Raising himself on one elbow, our hero let his eyes
wander dreamily over the vast plain. There was much monotony about it,
no doubt, but the majesty of illimitable space neutralised that
impression. On the horizon the intensifying tone of the rapidly
increasing light harmonised with the varying greens and yellows of the
herbage. Here and there one or two uplands in the far distance caught
the sheen of day and relieved the prospect with streaks of varied hue.
Still nearer a few clumps of low shrubbery increased this diversity a
little. In the middle-distance the varied colours and forms of the
grasses became distinct enough to invest the scene with character, while
in the immediate foreground additional force and interest were given to
the landscape by the person of Quashy lying flat on his back, with his
great eyes closed and his huge mouth open.

The state of dreamy contemplation did not last long. The stern
realities of the situation seemed to rush in upon his mind with sudden
power. Lost! lost! The captives perhaps still unrescued from the
savages! Manuela in danger! It was a dreadful state of things.

"Come, Quashy!" cried Lawrence, leaping up and giving the negro a rough
shake that brought him instantly to a sitting and blinking condition.
"Get up. We must be off. Saddle the horses--the hor--why, where _are_
the horses?"

He finished the sentence in tones of anxiety, for no horses were
visible.

Bounding into the patch of bushes, on the edge of which they had passed
the night, Lawrence ran through it hastily, followed by his man, who had
shaken off lethargy in a moment.

The patch was small. Moreover, the shrubs were barely tall enough to
conceal a horse. In five minutes it became quite certain that the
horses were not there.

From the highest point of the rising ground they had a clear view of the
plains all round, but after the keenest scrutiny not a speck resembling
a horse was to be seen. The searchers looked at each other in dismay.

"Lost! and our horses gone!" said Lawrence, in a voice which excess of
alarm had reduced to a sort of low, hoarse whisper.

"Most awrful!" murmured Quashy.

Lawrence cleared his throat and paused, while his sympatheti