e him drown before
his eyes. He accordingly slipped the loop of the wire over his
head, and struck out with the stream.

So rapid had been the course of his thoughts that the man was still
within some fifteen yards of him. He could see him faintly
struggling and, swimming with long, steady strokes, soon overtook
him.

"Put your arm on my shoulder," he said; "I will soon get you
ashore."

The Sikh did as he was told, and Lisle turned to make for the shore
they had left. To his dismay, however, he found that the centre
current was carrying him to the opposite side. As soon as he found
this to be the case, he ceased his efforts and allowed himself to
float down. Doubtless the Ashantis would be on the watch, and any
movement in the water would catch their eyes.

He could hear their voices on the bank and, occasionally, a shot
was fired over his head. He felt sure, however, that he was still
unseen; and determined to float quietly, till the course of the
current changed, and brought him back to the side from which he
started. He felt the Sikh's grasp relaxing, and threw his arms
round the man's neck.

A quarter of an hour passed and then, to his dismay, he saw that he
was close to the bush, on the wrong side of the river. He himself
was getting rapidly weaker, and he felt that he could not support
the weight of the soldier much farther. Accordingly he grasped a
branch that overhung the river, pulled himself in to the shore, and
there lay at the edge of the mud.

When he recovered his breath, he began to calculate his chances.
The bush overhead seemed very thick, and he resolved to shelter
there for a time. Occasionally he could hear the sound of voices
close by, and was sure that the Ashantis were in force there.

His companions would, he was sure, regard him as dead when, on
pulling on the wire, they found that it was loose; and after the
failure of this attempt to establish a bridge, would probably start
on their return march, without delay. He had, therefore, only
himself to rely upon, beyond what assistance he could get from the
Sikh, when the latter regained consciousness.

He poured a little spirits into the man's mouth, and presently had
the satisfaction of seeing him move. Waiting until the movement
became more decided, he said:

"You must lie still; we are across on the Ashanti side. They don't
know we are here and, when you are able to move, we will crawl down
some little distance and hide in the bush