his way and that way and
changed his seat twice for a fresh piece of hot stone. Suddenly at his
last change he caught the captain's eye, and said quite cheerfully:

"Getting a bit drier now." Then, seeing a surprised look in his brother
officer's countenance, he said quietly, "I'm a soldier, sir, and we've
no time for thinking if there's another comrade gone out of our ranks."

"No," said Roby laconically, and he hold out his hand, in which
Dickenson slowly laid his own, looking rather wistfully as he felt it
pressed warmly. "I--I hope we shall be better friends in the future,
Dickenson," said the captain rather awkwardly.

"I hope so too, sir," replied Dickenson, but there was more sadness than
warmth in his tones as his hand was released.

"Yes; soldiers have no time for being otherwise.--There!"

The captain sprang up, and Dickenson stiffly followed his example.

"Fall in, my lads.--Well, corporal, how are you now?"

"Head's horrid bad, sir; but this bit of a rest has pulled me together.
I should like to fall out when we get near the way down to the spring."

"Of course, my lad, of course.--Here, any one else like a drink?"

"Yes, sir," came in chorus from the rank.

"All of us, please, sir," added the sergeant.

"Very well, then; we'll fall out again for a few minutes when get down.
'Tention! Right face--march!"

The men went on, all the better for their rest, while the captain joined
Dickenson in the rear, and marched step by step with him for some
minutes in silence.

"What confoundedly bad walking it is down here!" he said at last.
"Shakes a man all to pieces."

"I hadn't noticed it," said Dickenson, with something like a sigh.

"I say!"

Dickenson turned to look in the captain's face.

"Come straight to the chief with me, Dickenson. I don't like my job of
telling him. He'll say I oughtn't to have let the poor fellow go down."

"I don't think he will," replied Dickenson, after a few moments'
silence. "The old man's as hard as stone over a bit of want of
discipline; but he's always just."

"Think so?" said the captain.

"Yes. Always just. I'll come with you, though I feel as weak as water
now. But I shall be better still when we get down to the quarters; and
it has got to be done."

No more was said till the bottom of the kopje was nearly reached, and at
a word from the sergeant the men went off left incline down and down and
in and out among the loose blocks of weathered and lic