elling
home. The first brief greetings over, the returned wanderers retired
below and indulged in the luxury of a bath, after which they dressed for
dinner; and it was while the party were gathered round the dinner-table,
an hour or two later, that Sir Reginald related the adventures of
himself and his companions during the preceding twenty-four hours.

"It was shocking bad luck that you should have lost that okapi, after
all," remarked Mildmay, with the sympathy of a true sportsman, as Sir
Reginald brought his narrative to a close. "However," he continued, "it
is something to have learned that we are in the okapi region; and
perhaps you will be more successful next time--that is, unless Sir
Reginald is anxious to get away from here."

Sir Reginald strenuously disavowed any such anxiety, asserting that, on
the contrary, he was quite willing to remain where he was for any
reasonable length of time, and to take turn and turn about on alternate
nights to watch at the drinking-place until they had succeeded in
securing a specimen of so interesting and rare an animal. Then he
inquired in what manner the occupants of the _Flying Fish_ had passed
the day.

"Well," answered Mildmay, speaking for himself and the ladies, "it was
not until breakfast-time that we began to feel in the least degree
anxious about you; and, even then, our anxiety--or rather, mine--was not
very acute, for, as I explained to the ladies, you might have had
exceptionally good sport, and be anxious to save the skins before
leaving to return to the ship. But when eleven o'clock arrived with no
news of you, I felt convinced that something had gone wrong, and then we
all felt ourselves to be in a dilemma. For there were only two courses
open to us: first, to stay where we were and await your return; or,
secondly, to go in search of you. By adopting the first alternative, we
should be on the spot where you would naturally expect to find us if
your detention should happen to be merely of an ordinary nature; or if,
having happened to encounter a body of hostile savages, you should be
holding them at bay while retiring upon the ship. And I may tell you
that it was the recognition of some such possibility as this which made
me feel very reluctant to leave the spot where we were. On the other
hand, however, there was an equal possibility that you might be beset,
or otherwise needing our help, at some spot several miles away. I
therefore compromised matte