he horse at once; for faith, it's a long ride the poor beast
has just come off. By the way," he added, turning to Roden as the
Kaffir departed, "I seem to have seen him somewhere before. Has he been
with any one here?"

"He was with that arch-sweep, Sonnenberg, who employed him to do a
particularly dirty trick, and got `had' sweetly in return, as you would
be the first to allow if I were to disclose it. There is another thing
I might reveal which would convince you that in defining Tom as a man of
his word I was speaking no more than the literal truth, only I promised
him never to mention it. You have got a right good boy in him, Father
O'Driscoll, and if I had any use for a boy I'd employ him myself."

"Oh, I'm quite satisfied, I assure ye, Mr Musgrave. Many thanks for
your trouble."

Thus Tom obtained the best place in Doppersdorp, and Roden was able in
some slight measure to requite the loyalty and good faith of the
_ci-devant_ savage warrior, who might, by breaking his word, have
delivered him over on that memorable morning to a violent and barbarous
death.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

LAMBERT MAKES A DISCOVERY.

Lambert's predecessor in the district-surgeoncy of Doppersdorp had an
odd hobby--viz., a mania for taking in newspapers representing, not only
all parts of the British Empire, but other sections, wild or tame, of
the known world. Now, nothing is so cumbersome and space-devouring as
files of old newspapers, wherefore those accumulated by Dr Simpson had,
by the time of that estimable practitioner's departure, come to take up
the whole available space afforded, by two fair-sized rooms.

At this time, however, it occurred to Lambert that he had custodied this
bulky collection of bygone journalism about long enough, wherefore, he
wrote to his predecessor suggesting its removal. But the answer he
received was to the effect that the cost and trouble of such removal
would be too great, and that he might consider these musty old files
henceforward his own property, the merit of which endowment being
somewhat negative, in that it empowered the recipient to destroy the
cumbersome gift; and to such destruction Lambert forthwith resolved to
proceed, yet by degrees; for it could not be that among all these
records he should fail to find other than a great deal of highly
interesting and, from time to time, strange and startling matter. So
Lambert would frequently lug in some dusty old file, which, having dul