from his
lips, the boy seemed to swallow something, and, as Dean afterwards said
to his cousin when talking the matter over, "I could see it go down your
throat just as if you were a big bull calf gulping down the cud."

"I can't help it, father; something seems to make me say it: I won't go
unless you come too."

Sir James sank back in his chair, fixing his eyes first upon the doctor,
then upon Dean, and lastly upon his son, and it was quite a minute now
before he opened his lips to emit a long pent up breath. Then he said,
"I must give in, doctor; I'm beaten."

"And you will come too, father?" cried Mark, and his utterance was full
of joyous excitement.

"Yes, my boy; I'll come."

CHAPTER THREE.

FITS OF TEMPER.

"Don't go to sleep, Dozey."

"Who's going to sleep?"

"Your eyes were nearly shut."

"Well, who's to keep them open in this glaring sun?" cried Dean, half
angrily.

"Well, don't jump down a fellow's throat."

"It's enough to make one. I just put my eyes half to, because there's
no shade, and you begin at me directly because once or twice I wouldn't
keep awake to listen to your prosing about something or another after we
had gone to bed, and I did not want to hear."

"I beg pardon," cried Mark, with mock politeness.

"Don't!" cried Dean pettishly. "Now then, what was it you wanted to
say?"

"Well, I was going to say, what do you think of it now we have got
here?"

"Not much; and if it's going to be all like this I shall soon be wishing
we had stayed at home."

"Same here. I say, what a lot of gammon they do write in books! I
always thought Africa was quite a grand country; very hot--"

"Oh, it's hot enough," said Dean sharply. "Yes, it's hot enough to make
everyone seem lazy. Look at those black fellows there, fast asleep in
the sun with their mouths open and the flies buzzing about. But I say,
I don't think much of these soldiers. What little under-sized fellows!"

"Haven't done growing, perhaps," said Dean.

"Oh, yes; they are old 'uns. But they do look like sunburnt boys. But
I say, I expected something very different from this. What stuff people
do write in books! I mean to say it's too bad."

"Yes; just over a month since we started from Southampton, and here we
are dropped in this miserable place along with all our luggage and
boxes, and been caged up in that hotel. Do you know what I felt when I
first looked ashore?"

"No, but I know what I did--as if I