Part 40 (1/2)

”Is it the s, Izibu?”

She nodded

”Then of hi Nor did I know even that he had been left behind, _iiswayo!” said the chief earnestly, invoking the name of the ancestral head of his tribe And then for the first time a ray of hope caresy, and his head drooped forward He was h to his followers Then he subsided to the ground A sign or two and a groan

Sapazani was dead

”Poor devil!” said Inspector Bray ”He's a fine fellohen all's said and done, and a plucky one”

”Whatever else he entleman,” said Ben Halse, fully appreciative of the fact that the dead chief had observed the strictest secrecy with regard to such former transactions as have been alluded to

But Verna said nothing She fed and fostered that ray of hope

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

LEFT BEHIND

Even though the rescue party failed in its object in so far that no rescue was effected, still, it isof Denhaes and had given the wounded man time, when he recovered consciousness, to crawl into the -place he could find

This was in the thick of a cluhs foreneral _melee_ his fall had been unperceived, or he would have been cut to pieces then and there He had lost his rifle, but still had his revolver and cartridges That was so Yet, when all was said and done, here was he alone, in the heart of a now hostile country, every hand against him did he but show hi any, for even did hethe attention of his enemies

It ith vast relief that he discovered that his injury, though painful, was not serious He could only conjecture that he had received a nu blow just behind the left shoulder from a heavy knobkerrie hurled with tremendous force, and such indeed was the case At first it seeh it would burst his coat, but it was only a contusion, though a severe and painful one

Lying low in the welco-place he could hear deep-toned voices all round him, some quite near The impi had returned fro for its dead and wounded Here was a fresh eleht upon him? Then the only course left open would be to sell his life as dearly as possible

He could hear voices now quite close to his hiding-place They were coloo to breathe, he unbuttoned his holster It was e pain of his injury he had not noticed its unusual lightness The pistol was gone He had dropped it when falling from the horse He was totally unarmed, and to that extent utterly helpless

Not ten yards fro-place the voices stopped He could hear soroan, then another and deeper one He had not ress, under Verna's tuition, to be able to athered that they had found a wounded comrade Heavens! but what if the latter had seen or heard him, and should put them on his track, perhaps under the impression that he was one of the hi, then another, then another It was as though burning needles were being thrust into him, but he dared notHe conjectured he had got into the vicinity of a nest of black ants, but he could not lie still thus to be devoured alive They had , nor dared he ht back stories he had heard fro those accused of witchcraft: spreadeagling theht was not a pleasant one, bearing in mind his own helplessness, and now, did he fall into the hands of those without, such ht conceivably be his own fate

The voices had ceased He heard a peculiar sound, then a ru upon the earth in the agonies of death

Then the voices were raised again, but now receding Soon they were silent altogether

Given a little exertion, and South Africa, by reason of the dryness of its atmosphere, is one of thethirst which had been growing upon Denha point At all costs he must slake it, but hohere?

He knew that the Gilwana Riverit up to about a ht Was it safe to venture forth?

Well, he , and he reo he and Ben Halse had given the alarht at Minton's store Since then another stubborn fight, and now here was he, a helpless fugitive, who more likely than not would be a dead one at any mo lying there It was a dead body Stooping over it in the gathering ood proportions It was horribly s, the result of a Dum-dum bullet, but there was a stab in the chest fro of the mysterious sounds he had heard The man had been killed by his comrades, probably at his own request, because he was too badly injured tohim off the field

He turned away from the corpse in repulsion and horror, and as he did so the whites of the sightless eyeballs seemed to roll round as if to follow him He felt faint and weak There was a little whisky in his flask, and this, although of no use at all for thirst-quenching purposes, was good as a ”pick-h the still dawn in front Another effort and the bank is gained