ne, had you been in my place. Had you been in
charge of that party, and I had been carried off, I know you would
have done all in your power to rescue me. You might not have
succeeded quite so well, because you do not know their language;
but I know that you would have tried. After all, I have not run
anything like so much risk as I did when I rescued Meinik from the
leopard. And he, of course, was an absolute stranger to me.

"Besides, you are not rescued, yet; and we won't holloa until we
are out of the wood."

"It is very cool and pleasant here," Harry said, after lying
without speaking for a few minutes. "It was dreadfully hot in that
hut, in the middle of the day; and I used to feel that I lost
almost as much strength, in the day, as I picked up at night. I am
wonderfully better this evening. Of course, that long sleep had
something to do with it, and the pleasure of being free and with
you had still more; but certainly the coolness, and the air blowing
through that opening, have counted for something."

"Well, we shall feed you up as long as you are here, Harry; and I
hope, in a fortnight, to see you pretty firm on your legs again;
and then, if there is nothing to prevent it, we will carry you off
triumphantly."

Meinik here came in, with two bowls of broth; for they had bought a
few earthenware utensils on one of the visits to Toungoo.

"That is first rate!" Harry said, as he finished his first one.
"What is it made of?"

"I never ask questions," Stanley replied--who tried, successfully,
to keep down a smile. "Meinik is a capital cook, and turns out all
sorts of nice little dishes. Here comes his step again.

"What have you there, Meinik?" he asked, as the Burman entered,
with two plates.

"A slice of mutton done on sticks over the fire, master, and some
rice with it."

"That is first rate!" Harry said heartily, when he had finished.
"They did not give me meat, in prison. I suppose they thought that
I was not strong enough for it."

"They eat very little meat themselves, Harry. Now I fancy your
dinner is done, except some fruit. We have got plenty of that."

There were, however, some fried bananas, and Harry declared that he
had feasted like a king.

"If this goes on, Stanley, I will wager that I shall be about in a
week; and shall be offering to run a race with you, in a
fortnight."

"You will be a good deal longer than that, before you are fit to
walk any distance. Still, with a good appetite