a soldier must hold to his
arms. Then it was the cartouche-box; this, drawn round before him, he
was troubled by the position of his haversack, and ready to rage with
despair at the difficulties which he had to overcome.

At last, though, he sat there shivering, and listening to try and make
out whether the poor boy's moanings had been heard, before drawing a
deep breath and beginning to drag the poor fellow's wrists over his
shoulders. Then, making one tremendous heave as he threw himself
forward, he had Punch well upon his back and staggered up, finding
himself plunging down the slope headlong as he struggled to keep his
feet, but in vain; for his balance was gone, and a heavy fall was saved
by his going head first into the tangled branches of a scrub oak, where
he was brought up short with his shako driven down over his eyes.

Penton regained his balance and his breath--to stand listening for some
sound of the enemy having taken the alarm, but all was quite still--and,
freeing his rifle, he began to use it in the darkness as a staff of
support, and to feel his way amongst the shrubs and stones downward
always, the butt saving him from more than one fall, for he could not
take a step without making sure of a safe place for his feet before he
ventured farther.

It was a long and tedious task; but in the silence of the night the
sound of the rushing water acted as a guide, and by slow degrees, and
after many a rest, he felt at last that he must be getting nearer to the
river.

But, unfortunately, the lower he plunged downwards the deeper grew the
obscurity, while the moisture from the rushing stream made the tangled
growth more dense. Consequently, he had several times over to stop and
fight his way out of some thicket and make a fresh start.

At such times he took advantage more than once of some low-growing
horizontal oak-boughs, which barred his way and afforded him a
resting-place, across which he could lean and make the bough an easy
support for his burden.

It had seemed but a short distance down to the stream from where he
scrutinised his probable path overhead, and doubtless without burden and
by the light of day half an hour would have been sufficient to carry him
to the river's brink; but it was in all probability that nearer three
hours had elapsed before his farther progress was checked by his finding
himself in the midst of a perfect chaos of rocks, just beyond which the
water was falling heavily;