water that way and one could do it. The relief of 

 really understanding was so great that the thought 

 of a night out no longer worried me. 



There was enough wood gathered, and I stretched 

 out on the grass to rest as there was nothing else to 

 do. We were both tired out, hot, dusty, and very 

 very thirsty ; but it was too late to hunt for water 

 then. I was lying on my side chewing a grass stem, 

 and Jock lay down in front of me a couple of feet 

 away. It was a habit of his : he liked to watch my 

 face, and often when I rolled over to ease one side 

 and lie on the other he would get up when he found 

 my back turned to him and come round deliberately 

 to the other side and sling himself down in front of 

 me again. There he would lie with his hind legs 

 sprawled on one side, his front legs straight out, and 

 his head resting on his paws. He would lie like that 

 without a move, his little dark eyes fixed on mine all 

 the time until the stillness and the rest made him 

 sleepy, and he would blink and blink, like a drowsy 

 child, fighting against sleep until it beat him ; and 

 then one long-drawn breath as he rolled gently 

 over on his side, and Jock was away in Snoozeland. 



In the loneliness of that evening I looked into his 

 steadfast resolute face with its darker muzzle and 

 bright faithful eyes that looked so soft and brown 

 when there was nothing to do but got so beady black 

 when it came to fighting. I felt very friendly to the 

 comrade who was little more than a puppy still ; 

 and he seemed to feel something too ; for as I lay 

 there chewing the straw and looking at him, he stirred 

 149 



