actically well. Their hurts, which had never been
serious, had healed wonderfully in that pure air, as those of savages
have a way of doing, and they told me themselves that they felt quite
strong again. Yet with colossal impudence Ayesha had managed to suggest
to my mind that she was going to work some remarkable cure upon them,
who were already cured.

Well, it was of a piece with the rest of her conduct and there was
nothing to do except go to bed, which I did with much gratitude that
my resting place that night was not of another sort. The last thing I
remember was wondering how on earth Ayesha appeared and disappeared
in the course of that battle, a problem as to which I could find no
solution, though, as in the case of the others, I was sure that one
would occur to me in course of time.

I slept like a top, so soundly indeed that I think there was some kind
of soporific in the pick-me-up which looked like sherry, especially as
the others who had drunk of it also passed an excellent night.

About ten o'clock on the following morning I awoke feeling particularly
well and quite as though I had been enjoying a week at the seaside
instead of my recent adventures, which included an abominable battle and
some agonising moments during which I thought that my number was up upon
the board of Destiny.

I spent the most of that day lounging about, eating, talking over the
details of the battle with Umslopogaas and the Zulus and smoking more
than usual. (I forgot to say that these Amahagger grew some capital
tobacco of which I had obtained a supply, although like most Africans,
they only used it in the shape of snuff.) The truth was that after all
my marvellings and acute anxieties, also mental and physical exertions,
I felt like the housemaid who caused to be cut upon her tombstone that
she had gone to a better land where her ambition was to do nothing "for
ever and ever." I just wanted to be completely idle and vacuous-minded
for at least a month, but as I knew that all I could expect in that
line was a single bank holiday, like a City clerk on the spree, of it I
determined to make the most.

The result was that before the evening I felt very bored indeed. I had
gone to look at Inez, who was still fast asleep, as Ayesha said would be
the case, but whose features seemed to have plumped up considerably. The
reason of this I gathered from her Amahagger nurses, was that at
certain intervals she had awakened sufficiently to