s
hand and feeling his pulse, and then laying his hand upon his forehead.

"Are you a doctor?" said Bart eagerly.

"Yes," said the governor, "this is Doctor Maclane."

"Yes, I am Doctor Maclane," said the tall fair man; "and Miss Maude,
yonder, said I was to be sure and cure you."

"But I'm not ill," cried Bart, flushing.

"No," said Doctor Maclane, "you are not ill. No fever, my lad, nothing
but exhaustion."

"I'll tell you what to prescribe for that," cried Bart excitedly.

"Well, tell me," said the Doctor, smiling.

"The same as Doctor Lascelles does, and used to when Joses and he and I
had been hunting up cattle and were overdone."

"Well, what did he prescribe?" said Doctor Maclane.

"Plenty of the strongest soup that could be made," said Bart. "And now,
please sir, when may we start--to-night?"

"No, no--impossible."

"But the Doctor is surrounded by enemies, sir, and hard pushed; every
hour will be like so much suffering to him till he is relieved."

"To-morrow night, my lad, is the very earliest time we can be ready.
The men could set out at once, but we must have store waggons prepared,
and a sufficiency of things to enable the Doctor to hold his own when
these savage beasts have been tamed down. They do not deserve to be
called men."

"But you will lose no time, sir?" cried Bart.

"Not a minute, my lad; and so you had better eat and sleep all you can
till we are quite ready to start."

"But you will not let them go without me, sir?" cried Bart imploringly.

"Not likely, my lad, that I should send my men out into the desert
without a guide. There! I think he may get up, Doctor, eh?"

"Get up! yes," said the Doctor, laughing. "He has a constitution like a
horse. Feed well and sleep well, my lad, and lie down a good deal in
one of the waggons on your way back."

"Oh, no, sir, I must ride."

"No, my lad, you must do as the Doctor advises you," said the governor,
sternly. "Besides, your horse will want all the rest it can have after
so terrible a ride as you seem to have had."

"Yes, sir," said Bart, who saw how much reason there was in the advice,
"I will do what you wish."

"That's right, my lad," said the governor. "Now then we will leave you,
and you may dress and join us in the next room, where Donna Maude is,
like me, very anxious to learn all about the Doctor's adventures and
your own. You can tell us and rest as well."

Bart was not long in dressing, and as he did so,