were
preparing to start they were shocked to find poor Gray was dying.

His companions, full of remorse for bygone harshness, their better
natures stirred to the depths of humanity by his pitiful case, knelt
around to support him in those last moments as he lay stretched
speechless on his desolate sand bed. Thus comforted, his fading eyes
closed for ever as the red sun rose above the level plain.

The party remained in camp that day to bury him, though they were so
weak that they were hardly able to dig a grave in the sand sufficiently
deep for the purpose.

They had lived on the flesh of the worn-out horse for fifteen days, and
once or twice were forced to camp without water. Though the sun was
always hot, at night a gusty wind blew from the south with an edge like
a razor, which made their fire so irregular as to be of little use to
them. The sudden and cruel extremes of heat and cold racked the
exhausted frames of the explorers with pain, and Burke and King were
hardly able to walk. They pushed on, only sustained by the thought that
but a few hours, a few miles, now separated them from the main party,
where the first felicitations on the success of their exploit awaited
them, and, what was of greater importance to men shattered by hardships
and privation, wholesome food, fresh clothing, and the comfort of a
properly organised camp.

On the morning of April 21, with every impatient nerve strung to its
utmost tension, and full of hope, they urged their two remaining camels
forward for the last thirty miles; and Burke, who rode a little in
advance of the others, shouted for joy when they struck Cooper's Creek
at the exact spot where Brahe had been left in charge of the depot.

'I think I see their tents,' he cried, and putting his weary camel to
its best speed, he called out the names of the men he had left there.

'There they are! There they are!' he shouted eagerly, and with a last
spurt left the others far behind.

When Wills and King reached the depot they saw Burke standing by the
side of his camel in a deserted camp, _alone_.

He was standing, lost in amazement, staring vacantly around. Signs of
recent departure, of a final packing-up, everywhere met the eye: odd
nails and horseshoes lay about, with other useful things that would not
have been left had the occupants merely decamped to some other spot.
Then, as one struck by some terrible blow, Burke reeled and fell to the
ground, overcome by the revulsio