When we came to the stream, I made her sit down, and bathed her hands and arms, washed the cut on her shoulder, and tied it up again. Then I washed as much of the blood off my face and neck as I could--I was still bleeding a bit--and made a crude bandage with a second handkerchief I had in my pocket. The girl tried to help me with this last, but her swollen hands still refused to do anything, and with a gesture of despair she gave it up. “I cannot use my hands,” she said piteously. Then, looking at my face, “Are you much hurt?” “Nothing really,” I said; “keep your arms still now for a while.” We went fairly slowly, and it took us an hour to get to the tent. I didn’t try to talk to her much, for I could see that her arms hurt a lot as we walked over the rough stones. “My God!” said Forsyth, whom we ran into just at the _tangi_ mouth examining plants. “What on earth have you been doing? And who have you got here?” Then he shouted to Wrexham to get the medicine-chest out quick. “Had a fight, killed some unpleasing gentlemen, picked up this lady, and left Payindah with two rifles holding the valley.” By this time the others had run up to us, and Wrexham had brought the medicine-chest, so I said to Forsyth: “Tackle her first, arrow gash on right shoulder, and arms all to hell from ropes. Talks strange Greek slowly.” He gathered up the medicine-chest and piloted the girl to the tent. While he was overhauling her and dressing the cut on her shoulder, I turned to Wrexham and hurriedly explained things. “Right-o,” he said, “I’ll cut along now and join Payindah. Two men can hold that pass all night. As soon as Firoz has put some food out--the girl looks as if some wouldn’t hurt her--send him along and Alec, too, as soon as he’s done with you both. You’d better sit down and keep quiet a bit; you look a trifle war-worn. Have you talked to the damsel yet?” As he spoke he was pulling open the ammunition-boxes, from one of which he took out a small square tin and from another a little round cylinder. “Yes. She talks Greek, all right, though it sounds funny. But I didn’t worry her much; she was looking pretty cheap. What’s that you’re digging out?” “A few pounds of powder and some lighters that I brought. With that and some string I’ll rig up some booby-traps in case we have to come away in a hurry.” He opened his little tool-chest and pulled out a hacksaw. “That’ll get the chain off the girl’s ankle. Put a pad underneath while you work.” “Good idea. I’ll do it when Forsyth’s done with her. Do you think we shall have to bolt from here?” “I fancy so, but I don’t want to go till we’ve found out something from the girl. She will be able to tell us what’s going on inside. Nor do I want to trek by night if we can hold on till morning and then slip away quietly. They’ll be shy of trying to cross the open space in daylight if they think we’re still there.”