proceed, whereupon the
little fellow hobbled painfully away from the _nullah_ in the direction
whence he had appeared. On and on he went until he at length came to a
standstill at the foot of a hill, where a little stream came splashing
down in a miniature cascade from the rocks above. Then Grantham realized
the meaning of the little man's action. Stretched out beside a rock was
the tall figure of a man. Like his companion, he presented a miserable
appearance. His clothes, if clothes they could be called, were in rags,
his hair was long and snowy white, matching his beard, which descended
to within a few inches of his waist. His eyes were closed, and for a
moment Grantham thought he was dead. This was not the case, however, for
upon his companion approaching him he held out his hand and inquired
whether he had discovered the man who had fired the shot?

To Grantham's surprise the other made no reply in words, but, taking his
friend's hand he made some mysterious movements upon it with his
fingers, whereupon the latter raised himself to a sitting position.

"My friend tells me that you are an Englishman," he said in a voice that
shook with emotion. "I'm glad we have found you. I heard your rifle shot
and hailed you. We are in sore distress, and have been through such
adventures and such misery as no man would believe. I have poisoned my
foot, and am unable to walk any further. As you can see for yourself I
am blind, while my companion is dumb."

This statement accounted for the smaller man's curious behaviour and the
other's closed eyes.

"You have suffered indeed," said Grantham pityingly. "But how did it all
come about?"

"We were traders, and we fell into the hands of the Chinese," the taller
man answered. "With their usual amiability they set to work to torture
us. My companion's tongue they cut out at the roots, while, as I have
said, they deprived me of my sight. After that they turned us loose to
go where we would. We have wandered here, there, and everywhere, living
on what we could pick up, and dying a thousand deaths every day. It
would have been better if we had died outright--but somehow we've come
through. Can you take us to a place where we can procure food? We've
been living on jungle fruit for an eternity. My foot wants looking to
pretty badly, too."

"We'll do all we can for you," said Grantham. "That's if we can get you
down to the Ford, which is about five miles away."

"You'll have to carry me