He could acknowledge now that she had cause to be proud of
him. She would be sorry for his death. He did not think that she loved
him, he did not expect it; but he was glad to have loved her, and he
wished he could have told her how much the thought of her had been to
him during these years of difficulty. It was very hard that he might not
see her once more in order to thank her for all she had been to him. She
had given his life a beauty it could never have had, and for this he was
very grateful. But the secret of George's death would die with him; for
Walker was dead, and Adamson, the only man left who could throw light
upon it, might be relied on to hold his tongue. And Alec, losing
strength each day, thought that perhaps it were well if he died.

But Condamine could not bear to see his chief thus perish. For four
years that man had led them, and only his companions knew his worth. To
his acquaintance he might seem hard and unsympathetic, he might repel by
his taciturnity and anger by his sternness; but his comrades knew how
eminent were his qualities. It was impossible for anyone to live with
him continually without being conquered by his greatness. If his power
with the natives was unparalleled, it was because they had taken his
measure and found him sterling. And he had bound the whites to him by
ties from which they could not escape. He asked no one to do anything
which he was not willing to do himself. If any plan of his failed he
took the failure upon himself; if it succeeded he attributed the
success to those who had carried out his orders. If he demanded courage
and endurance from others it was easy, since he showed them the way by
his own example to be strong and brave. His honesty, justice, and
forbearance made all who came in contact with him ashamed of their own
weakness. They knew the unselfishness which considered the comfort of
the meanest porter before his own; and his tenderness to those who were
ill knew no bounds.

The Swahilis assumed an unaccustomed silence, and the busy, noisy camp
was like a death chamber. When Alec's boy told them that his master grew
each day weaker, they went about with tears running down their cheeks,
and they would have wailed aloud, but that they knew he must not be
disturbed. It seemed to Condamine that there was but one chance, and
that was to hurry down, with forced marches, to the nearest station.
There they would find a medical missionary to look after him and the
c