ng up the rear.

Already news of MacGregor's disappearance had spread, although there
was no thought of treachery in the minds of the other officers. They
had come to the conclusion that the Rhodesian in an access of zeal had
blundered right into the enemy column.

The appearance of the horse bore out this surmise. The animal was
lathered with foam, its eyes bloodshot and its limbs trembling. Across
the hind quarters was the sear of a bullet that had cut away the hair
and left a slight wound in the hide. One stirrup was missing, cut
through by means of a sharp implement, while the saddle and reins were
dappled with blood-stains.

"Bless my soul, Manners!" exclaimed the colonel turning to the
adjutant. "What does this mean?"

"Dunno, sir, I'm sure," answered the dum-founded officer.

"We can't let the affair drop," decided the C.O. "It's not fair on
MacGregor to sit still. Tell off a section and follow the horse's
tracks. Perhaps the man has been wounded--it looks very much like
it--and may be lying out in the bush."

Promptly Bela Moshi and about a dozen men were dispatched to follow up
the spoor. Good trackers all, they ought to experience but little
difficulty, notwithstanding the fact that hundreds of men had been
trampling the ground, for the Haussas vie with the Australian
aborigines and the Red Indian in the act of tracing a man or an animal
for miles with uncanny skill and persistence.

Hardly had the Haussas departed on their errand when a couple of
British naval officers literally staggered into the bivouac. At first
they were too utterly done up to speak. They were parched with thirst,
their drill uniforms torn in their long trek through the scrub, and
their boots were cut almost to pieces. One of them was limping badly
as the result of a sprained ankle.

Under the care of Doctor Barclay the stragglers soon recovered
sufficiently to give a coherent account of their misadventures. They
were the observer and pilot of one of the seaplanes attached to the
Rovuma column, their base being close to a large sheet of water formed
by the inundation of the river. Out reconnoitring they had discovered
a party of Huns and had bombed them very effectually. That was their
version, although Wilmshurst had good reason to believe that they were
quite under a misapprehension on that score. On the return flight the
engine developed ignition troubles, and there was no help for it but to
plane down. The a