k seat. He will
hold on till he fairly breaks down, rather than give in; but he
himself, if he has ever campaigned with the Sikhs, would be the
first to allow that they can march him off his feet.

"Have you got a spare pair of shoes in your kit, Bullen?"

"Yes."

"Then I should advise you to take those you have on, off; and put
on a fresh pair."

"I will take your advice, sir; but I really think that it would be
best to follow the custom of the native troops, and march
barefooted."

"It would not do," the colonel said, decidedly. "The soles of their
feet are like leather. You would get half a dozen thorns in your
foot, before you had gone half a mile; and would stub your toes
against every root that projected across the path. No, no; stick to
your shoes."

Lisle changed his boots, and then went across to the Sikhs; who
fell in as they saw him coming.

"You have got everything, sergeant?" he asked.

"Yes; a hundred and thirty rounds of ball cartridge, the two
stretchers, and some food and drink for our comrade."

"You have got a good supply of torches, I hope. There may be some
small risk in carrying them, but I am convinced that the Ashantis
will not venture to return, tonight, whatever they may do tomorrow.
With three torches--one at the head, one in the middle of the line,
and one in the rear--we should be able to travel through the paths
better than if we had to grope our way in the dark."

The little party at once moved off, many of the officers and men
gathering round, to wish them good luck and a safe return. Four
hours took them to the spot where Lisle had turned into the path.
For the last mile he had had three torches burning in front, so
that he should not overlook the signs he had made on the trees.

"There it is, sergeant," he said, at last, "two slashes; the other
one is on the left, fifty yards on."

They turned off when they came to this.

"Here we are, all right, Pertab!" Lisle said, as they came to the
tree.

"Allah be praised!" the man said, faintly. "I seem to have been
hearing noises in the wood, for a long time; and when I heard you
coming, I was by no means sure that it was not an illusion, like
the others."

"Here are twenty of your comrades with me, Pertab, and we shall
soon get you into camp."

"I didn't expect you till morning," the wounded man said. "I
thought that you would be far too tired to come out and, without
you, they could not have found me."

"They would ha