When finally he tried to discover where he was he made out that he must be sitting on a frozen water-hole covered like a thieves' den by impenetrable thorn-bushes. Even in winter when no leaf clad the branches and vines overhead, the darkness in daytime was thick there. The dog was still with him and had evidently dragged him there to safety. The poor beast was so happy to have a friend with him that he wanted to play by the hour with Ghond, but the latter, being sleepy, dozed off into perfect slumber in spite of the noise of the guns not very far away. After about three hours the dog suddenly whined and then yelled as if he was stricken with madness, after which the earth rocked under terrific sounds of explosion. Unable to bear it, the animal kept tugging the sleeve of Ghond's coat. The detonations rose crescendo upon crescendo till the place where Ghond lay literally swayed like a cradle but he would not leave his hiding. All he said to himself was: "O! Gay-Neck, thou incomparable bird, how well thou hast done thy task. Already thou hast borne the message to the cherry-faced chief, and this is his thunderous reply. O! thou pearl amongst winged creatures!" So on he mumbled while the bombs dropped by aeroplanes ignited the German munition dump. Then the dog, who had been trying to pull him away by the sleeve of his coat, whined and shivered like one in high fever and that instant something sizzled through the air and fell nearby with a thud. With a desperate yell the poor dog dashed out of his hiding place. Ghond followed. But too late. For hardly had he crept half way under the thorns than an ear-splitting explosion seemed to cut the ground from under him; and a violent pain pierced his shoulder. He felt borne up by some demoniac power and flung to the ground with great force. Scarlet diamonds of light danced before his eyes for a few moments, followed by quenching darkness. An hour later when he regained consciousness the first thing that he became aware of was a sound of Hindusthani voices. In order to hear his native language more distinctly he tried to raise his head. That instant he felt a shooting pain like the sting of a thousand cobras. There was no doubt in his mind now that he had been hit and probably mortally wounded. All the same his soul rejoiced every time he heard Hindusthani spoken near him, for that meant that Indian troops, and not the enemy, were in possession of the forest now. "Ah," he said to himself, "my task is accomplished. I can die in peace." CHAPTER VII GAY-NECK TELLS HOW HE CARRIED THE MESSAGE