MORRIS AND HOLLY LEAVE ME. 97 



" Well, good-bye, old man. Grod knows if ever we 

 shall meet again," lie said. 



" (rood-bye, my dear, dear friend ! " 



We embraced ; tears stood in his eyes, while I was 

 completely upset, and felt nearer breaking down than 

 ever I did before. 



Morris with a valise in his hand, Holly with a carpet 

 bag, both walked silently away ; presently the latter 

 slackened his pace, stopped, turned round, looked 

 towards me, threw down his carpet bag, and came up 

 to me running. " I can't go," he said, " without bid- 

 ding you good-bye." I held out my hand, he took it ; 

 and when I quietly told him " I should have been very 

 much disappointed if you had," he gave me one long, 

 long look, sadder far than I thought his face could 

 express, dropped my hand, and slowly, without once 

 turning, followed Morris. " Oh ! does not a parting 

 like this make amends ? " 



Alone ! yes, I am alone ; to realise the fact was 

 dreadful ; the more I contemplated it the more unequal 

 I felt to the task before me. Action was the only 

 remedy, so I explained to the Boers that I was going 

 ahead, told Umganey to catch the pony, and taking my 

 rifle, and followed by a couple of the dogs, forded the 

 river, and slowly rode on to our next resting-place. 



For days past, especially during the morning treck, 

 I had seen abundant proofs that bush-buck were far 

 from scarce along our route. But I always had too 

 much to do to think of hunting, and even if it had been 

 otherwise, as certain as I either dropped behind or went 

 ahead, some accident or other would occur to cattle or 

 wagon ; thus I had made up my mind never to lose 

 sight of them, and would even now have stuck to my 

 H 



