"Well?" said the doctor. "What then?" "What then, sir? Here are we just two days out from the town, and he's lost one of them already." "Lost? Nonsense!" "Well, where is he, then, sir? He has gone." "Gone?" "Yes, sir. Sniffed at his job, I suppose, and gone off. I saw him safe enough last night; this morning he is nowhere. My foreloper he was, and now we shall have to stop here three or four days, perhaps a week, while I go back and hunt up another; and I can tell you, sir, they are precious scarce." "That's vexatious," said the doctor. "Don't be put out, Denham, I think I see how it is. The poor fellow was no doubt scared by the alarm of the lion in the night, and very likely we shall see him come creeping in before it is time to start." "Oh, thank you, sir," said the big fellow. "I am very glad you take it so easy. Some gen'lemen would be ready to jump down a poor man's throat for half this." "Indeed!" said the doctor, smiling. "Well, I don't think you will find Sir James and me so unreasonable as to bully a good servant for an unavoidable mishap." "Thank you, sir," said the big fellow, smiling. "That's done me good. I was afraid to meet you this morning, and I hope you are right, because we must have two of us to each waggon, and I don't suppose either of your servants would like to be asked to do such nigger's work. Hadn't I better start back at once and get another? It would save time if I took one of them ponies." Sir James winced as he looked at the big fellow's proportions, and glanced uneasily at the doctor, who said, smiling, "No, we will wait to see if the man turns up, and if not our two boys shall mount the ponies and canter back to the station with a note to Captain Lawton asking him to help us to a fresh foreloper." The man chuckled heartily. "Why do you laugh?" said the doctor. "Do you think the captain cannot be trusted?" "Oh, him, sir," replied the man. "Cap'n Lawton's a regular gen'leman. He'd do anything to serve a fellow-countryman. I was grinning, sir, because you thought I should be too much for the pony. Well, I am a big 'un, out and outer; but I growed so. You are quite right, sir, it would be rather hard on one of the brave little beasts, and I hope that black 'un will show up again, but I'm afraid of it. That lion last night scared him, but he'd be more scared to come and face you gen'lemen again." Meanwhile, Mark had proposed that they should go to look at the spot where he stood to fire at his disturber. This was agreed to, and as they had to pass Dan Mann, Mark put in a word or two about hurrying on the breakfast, and told him to be sure to frizzle the bacon well. "Ay, ay, sir!" cried the little fellow, beaming upon them; and they went on, looked at the ground by daylight, and saw no trace of footprints, only finding the spot where the unpleasant thorn bush had been crushed by Mark's fall.