hy should he not obtain possession of the pouch, and thus
share in the secret which might lead to boundless wealth? He need not
retain it long, only long enough to master its contents. He could
easily return it.

Then his instincts of good seemed to get the upper hand. He was not a
blackguard, he told himself, and surely to take advantage of this man's
helplessness to steal his secrets would be a blackguardly and dishonest
act. But, alas and alas! When the possibility opens of acquiring
wealth, a man's best instincts are sure to be heavily handicapped, and
so it was here.

He took a cup of milk which stood by the bedside, and, raising the
patient's head, put it to his lips. It was only goat's milk, and thin
stuff at that, thanks to the parched state of the veldt; but poor
Renshaw drank eagerly, then fell back quiet and composed. It seemed as
though the delirium had departed.

Watching him thus for a moment the stranger left him and sought the
house door. He seemed to feel an irresistible longing for the open air.
But so close, so stifling was the night that, as he stood outside, he
hardly realised the change into the outer air. Not a living thing was
moving, not a sound was heard, save now and then the trumpet-like sneeze
of a goat in the kraals. Overhead, the dark vault of heaven seemed
literally to flash and grow with constellations. Shooting stars darted,
rocket-like, across the zenith in numbers unknown to our colder skies;
and, as he looked, a bright meteor shot athwart the velvety space,
leaving a red sinuous trail. But in the dead still solitude a voice
seemed to whisper to his now heated imagination, "The Valley of the Eye!
The Valley of the Eye!"

Re-entering, he stole a glance at his patient. The latter was now
slumbering peacefully. His hand had relaxed its convulsive grasp of the
buckskin pouch, and was resting beside him. Now was the time.

The stranger bent over him; then the deft "snick" of a sharp knife. The
pouch was in his hand.

For the moment he felt like a common footpad. His heart beat violently
as he regained his seat near the window and the light. For some minutes
he sat watching the sick man. But the latter slept on peacefully. Now
for the secret!

He ripped open one side of the pouch in such wise that it could easily
be sewn up again. Then came a waterproof wrapper which, being unrolled,
disclosed a large sheet of parchment-like paper covered with writing.

Down t