HUMAN BEINGS AT LAST 607 
crackling, for he could not be any great distance away. 
Again I shouted out his name, and, with the light of the 
fire to help me, again looked for my trail ; but I did 
not find it. I lay down flat on the sand, and watched the 
furious burning of the fire ; and so watching fell asleep. 
For a couple of hours I slept calmly and well ; having first 
taken the precaution to lie down in a spot where the 
fire could not reach me, yet near enough to be safe from 
tio'ers and other wild animals. 
o 
Day was breaking when I awoke. The fire had 
dwindled a good deal since its progress was checked by 
a fresh belt of live poplars, which it had only been able 
to blacken and scorch ; and a heavy column of smoke 
hung over the forest. My boots, which were leaning 
against a tree-root, had not lost one drop of their precious 
contents ; the earth underneath them was not even damp. 
I swallowed a mouthful of water, and set about looking 
for my trail of the night before, and now I quickly found 
it. When I came to Kasim, he was lying in the same 
position in which I left him. He glared at me with the 
wild, startled eyes of a faun ; but upon recognizing me, 
made an effort, and crept a yard or two nearer, gasping 
out, “ I am dying.” 
“Would you like some water?” I asked quite calmly. 
He merely shook his head, and collapsed again. He had 
no conception of what was in the boots. I placed one 
of the boots near him, and shook it, so that he might hear 
the splashing of the water. He started, uttered an in- 
articulate cry ; and when I put the boot to his lips, he 
emptied it at one draught, without once stopping ; and 
the next moment he emptied the second. 
May 6th. Kasim went through the same series of 
changes that I had gone through the evening- before. 
As soon as he recovered his reason, we took counsel 
totrether : and as the outcome of our deliberations, decided 
that our best plan was to go back to the pool, and take 
a good rest somewhere near it, and wash ourselves, a 
luxury we had not enjoyed for more than a week. But 
Kasim was still so weak that he was unable to keep up 
