he awoke all was dark around him.

"I must have slept a good many hours," he said. "I feel precious
hungry." He ate a hunch of bread, took a drink of water from the bottle,
and soon fell asleep again. The morning was breaking when he again woke.
A quarter of an hour later he heard voices, and cocking his rifle and
lying down full length on the grass, waited. In another minute to his
joy he heard Mr. Atherton's voice shouting, "Where are you, Wilfrid?
Where have you hidden yourself?"

CHAPTER XVI.

THE PURSUIT OF TE KOOTI.

He leapt to his feet and ran forward. Mr. Atherton was approaching,
accompanied by a party of six natives.

"Why, Mr. Atherton, I was not expecting you for another three hours."

"Well, you see, Wilfrid, your mother was anxious about you. She did not
say anything, for she is a plucky woman, and not given to complaining or
grumbling, still I could see she was anxious, so I arranged with these
natives to be ready to start three hours before daybreak, so as to get
here just as the sun was rising."

"It is awfully kind of you, Atherton; but surely the natives would have
been able to find me without your troubling yourself to come all this
way again. I am sure you must have been dreadfully tired after all your
work yesterday."

"Well, Wilfrid, perhaps I was just a little bit anxious myself about
you, and should have fussed and fidgeted until you got back, so you see
the quickest way to satisfy myself was to come with the natives."

"What time did you get in last night?"

"About eight o'clock in the evening, I think. We were all pretty well
knocked up, but the two ladies bore it bravely, so you see I had no
excuse for grumbling."

"I am sure you would not have grumbled anyhow," Wilfrid laughed; "but I
know that when one is carrying anyone the weight at the head is more
than double the weight at the feet, and that was divided between them,
while you had the heavy end all to yourself. And how is Sampson?"

"I think he will do, Wilfrid. The natives took him in hand as soon as he
got there, and put leaf poultices to his wounds. They are very good at
that sort of thing; and so they ought to be, considering they have been
breaking each other's heads almost from the days of Adam. Well, let us
be off. We have brought the stretcher with us, and shall get you back in
no time."

Wilfrid lay down upon the stretcher. Four of the natives lifted it and
went off at a light swinging pace. From time t