Part 3 (2/2)

Head-nurse was in despair ”He speaks like a ghost of the desert,” she wept ”We shall all die of starvation before he understands”

”Die?” echoed Foster-father stoutly ”Not so, woe all understand”

Whereupon he placed hiht in front of the shepherd, opened his mouth wide and then shook his head Next he pointed to his stoan to chew violently, rubbed his storinned too and rubbed _his_ stomach, whereupon Foster-father turned triumphantly to Head-nurse

”Said I not sooth, woue of its own, and all ht so , the shepherd started down the hill at a great pace, beckoning them to follow

”Not so fast, friend, not so fast!” panted Foster-father, ”we be not all born on a mountain as thou art And there are women and children, too”

He pointed to poor Head-nurse and Foster-ue, and the man seemed to understand, for he pulled up But he had to keep so, who kept close as a shadow to hisSo they tra_ orOne part of this dipped down into a little valley, and there, in the shelter of soe rocks, they sao or three small brown blanket tents, such as shepherds use on the Beluchistan hills They were just like waggon tilts only not so large

Here, at any rate, was prospect of food and rest, and the poor travellers brisked up again But alas! between the less than a birch-twig bridge over a rushi+ng stream which filled up the bottom of a wide rift or chasht across the upland from a steep rock which blocked up the head of the little valley, and out of which the strea it, so the shepherd explained by signs, except the birch-twig bridge Now a birch-twig bridge is a very terrifying thing to anybody who is not accustos about nine inches hich is flung fros like a rope in the middle Into this plait are stuck every few feet or so cross sticks, and to these sticks a rope is fastened as a sort of hand rail Across such a bridge as this the hill children walk as easily as an English child does over a great brick span; but Head-nurse resolutely refused to set foot over it herself, much less to allow the Heir-to-Eerous structure In vain Foster-father, in order to set a good example, allowed himself to be led over by the shepherd with his eyes carefully bandaged lest he should get giddy in thedown As a htened, for, of course, the bridge swung and swayed with the weight of the men on it She would sooner, she declared, try to climb Heaven on a rainbow! That was at least steady Roy tried to hearten her up by walking over hihtfully dizzy and had to fling hiet over Then Meroo, blubbering loudly that he was going to his death for his young master, climbed up on the shepherd's back and allowed himself to be carried over just to sho easy it was

It was all in vain! Head-nurse was fir the tents to the Heir-to-Eht rope to the tents And there she would have rereat, tall burly woman with a fat baby on her hip co the position, stalked over the bridge without even touching the hand rail, caught Baby Akbar from Foster-mother, as too taken aback to resist, set hi the tomen too surprised and horrified even to scream

But when they saw the Heir-to-Empire safe on the other side, they consented to be carried across pick-a-back

So there they were before long eating goats' hts of a sort of sour milk

One of the shepherds could speak a little Persian, and froreat relief, learned that Prince Askurry's ca certain of being able to reach it before sundown, he called a halt, and they all lay down to rest in one of the tents, Baby Akbar between his two nurses for safety sake For one could never tell, Head-nurse ree of ghosts in the desert, and kept such strange ani who sat on one side of the tent like an ireat fluff of a white cat sitting on the other with her eyes shut as if she did not want to watch theht not happen!

And that is exactly how it turned out What _really_ did happen no one knew It was Foster- first, let loose a shriek while still half awake This roused Head-nurse, who let loose another For Baby Akbar was no longer between theone--had disappeared--was not to be found!

Roy was out of the tent in a second, treading in his haste on Meroo, as sleeping outside, and who began to howl confusedly Old Faithful fumbled for his sword, Foster-father rubbed his eyes as if _they_ must be at fault

But there was no Baby! And what isand the white cat had disappeared also; at least they were no longer on the watch

Never was there such a commotion The rocks resounded with cries and every one searched everywhere; even in the great tall basket panniers in which hill shepherds carry their goods and chattels

But not one sign of the little felloas to be found, until--horribly, dreadfully, near to that awful birch-twig bridge--Foster-old-erass

”It is his!” she sobbed, ”it is et to the mountains to his Amma, and he hath fallen from that accursed cats'

cradle He is dead! He is killed!”

Every face, except the shepherds', who did not, of course, understand as said, turned pale It was indeed possible, perhaps probable, that the faithful little soul, who reot, had tried----

It was a terrible thought But the shepherds, seeing the cap, at once whistled to their dog, and the one who spoke Persian explained that if it were shown the cap it would take up the track of the child at once

But though they whistled and whistled no dog came