Part 29 (1/2)

”You saw it? No, I don't quite follow”

Then he told me what had happened Old Duhbours, and had in process of doing sohoood fortune, a patrol of Mounted Police wasbands, they had co left of either of us a minute later, he declared But that sudden move of mine had saved Beryl I had received the weapon intended for her

Well, I knew this of course, but was not aware that she did Now her care for ratitude, and I--well, I had been allowing a sweet new hope to take possession ofthere, helpless and tended by her, the sight of her gladdening my eyes

Then Brian went on to tell ht No one but e The quickness and unexpected manner of the h by a hair's breadth, for the bullet from Beryl's pistol had passed so close to his head as nearly to stun hied on the insufficiency of evidence connecting him with the ood, that his people, anxious for the safety of their chief, had given away the actual murderers, and these proved to be Sibuko, Maqala and one other, ere noaiting trial

Not for nothing, then, had ht of these two scoundrels hanging about the place, and now I told Brian about it He sighed

”Yes,” he said ”It's the first and only timent, and heavily he's paid for it By the way, the double funeral caely attended All the world seemed to have rolled up Do you know, Kenrick, I can hardly stick it on the farm now You've no idea what it's like without hirown men were si Beryl did not succeed in shooting that villain Kuliso,” he said at last ”Not that he didn't richly deserve it, but--I don't like to think what the result ht have been The law is a very hard-and-fast customer to deal with”

”Yes I pointed that out to her at the ti If I had been there Ias she did”

”What's this? Our patient see at thathim talk a lot, have you, Brian?”

”No fear I've been doing all the talking,” was the answer ”Only telling hiratulate you, Holt, on the abnore ”Otherwise a shattered egg-shell would have been the word instead of a tidy bout of brain fever, not to ai jab beneath the fifth rib”

”You seeh, to some purpose,” I said And after a few cheery re injunction to Brian not to let me talk

But after that Iback I grew listless and seeht was that it was a pity I had returned to life at all I even expostulated with Beryl for her attention to e was puzzled

”I can'ta whispered conversation with Beryl ”We ought to have had hiain by now; but he see direction Has he anything on his mind, do you know, Miss Matterson?”

”Well, in point of fact, I think he has,” she answered with soaveyou this in strict confidence, and only then because it uide to you in the treatment of his case”

”Ah! Noonder if it would do hiood if he were allowed to see his letters”

”It ht Let hi can do hi over an idea Good-bye”

I lay with one out, thinking over the irony of the situation; for I called to arden, and how the position was now exactly that which I had laughingly conjured up Then I pretended to wake

”Would you like to see your letters, Kenrick? The doctor says you may now”

I yawned