Craig was very weak and ill, and more than once he asked Brace to have him laid down under a shady tree to die, so that better use might be made of the bearers. "Impossible, my good fellow," Brace used to say. "I can't spare you-- the smartest sergeant in the troop." "Smartest, sir?" repeated Craig, with a piteous smile. "A helpless invalid, too weak to lift a sword, let alone use it, or sit a horse." "Wait, Craig, and you will sit a horse yet, and help me to redeem this terrible reverse." The days wore slowly on, and we seemed no nearer; and, but for the energy and knowledge of Dost, we should have starved; but his knowledge of the natives of the country people enabled him somehow or another to provide for our commissariat, and we marched on with the sepoys always bearing poor Craig's dhooly, and making no attempt to escape. I said something about it one night to Brace. "Wait," he said, "and then we shall have to be doubly watchful. They will try to escape when we have overtaken the enemy; and our great peril will be their betraying our presence; for we cannot play the lion now, Gil; we must play the fox." It was a wonder to me that we did not come upon any stragglers from the force we were pursuing; but we did not overtake any; neither did we come upon a broken-down horse. "Plain proof," said Brace, "that they are taking care of them. Gil, my lad, if we do not recapture those guns, they will prove to be deadly in their injury to our side; for, depend upon it, those daring fellows will train themselves to use them, and they will be terrible weapons in an enemy's hands." "More need for us to get them back," I said. "You don't despair of overtaking them?" "I will not," he said firmly; and then, to change the subject, "How did you think our horses looked?" "Very well. Why don't you ride?" "Why don't you?" he retorted. "Because all our poor fellows have to walk." "Exactly, Gil; my reason. Wait a bit, and we'll mount them all. Ah, if that time would only come!" It did not then, nor yet for many days, during which we had steadily followed the track, never once losing it; but I could note how weary both Haynes and Brace grew. "You see," said the former, "they must be making for some trysting-place--one of the big towns, perhaps; and if they reach it, our chance has gone." "Don't let Brace hear you say that," I whispered; but from hints the captain dropped that night, I was certain that he was thinking something of the kind. It was toward evening, after a fearfully hot day, during part of which we had been forced to rest, while Dost had gone on in advance to investigate, that we were toiling on through a very beautiful part of the country--all green, and a succession of park-like patches and plains, that were wonderfully refreshing after weary tramps over brown deserts of dust, that we were suddenly checked by our advance men announcing a native some distance ahead.