Before going to sleep, however, I made a discovery that cheered us up a little. I found two more lozenges in the corner of my pocket. These would give us a shadow of breakfast. I slept rather well, but Jack was troubled with restlessness and with dreams. And in the morning he was no better. Things were looking very black indeed. After making our shadow of breakfast we had but one lozenge left, and then nothing but a little water to live upon. Jack was beginning to show signs of collapse. “I know, old fellow,” he said, “that I could not persuade you to abandon me, but I’ll die very soon, and after I am dead you will still have time to look for the wire.” “Jack,” said I, “look here, shall I go and look for the wire now? I’ll come back in two hours whether I find it or not, and then we shall stay together while we live. I daresay we have both of us pretty well done with this world, but while there’s life there’s hope. What do you say?” “Well,” he said, “I think I can live for more than two hours with the help of this water; yes, old fellow, go and look for it; that’s the best chance.” I made him as comfortable as I could near the water under the shade, and then I started with but little hope. I was already getting weak with hunger, although otherwise I was well enough. I crossed the plain eastward to one of the belts of timber I told you of. The distance was about a quarter or a third of a mile. Then I marked a tree, and on passing through the belt of timber, which was only a few yards across, I marked another. I was now in a second plain just like the first. I crossed it slowly to the eastward, came to another belt of timber, and marked another tree. Then I began to think it was of no use to make any further exertion. Half an hour was already gone; I must in any case turn back in half an hour more. “Oh Leäfar, Leäfar,” I said, and I wrung my hand, “how could you leave us in such misery?” And then I remembered how little Leäfar seemed to think of death in comparison with the doom I had escaped, and I was ashamed of myself, and I said— “The will of God be done.” I had crossed the second belt of timber, and I was marking another tree on the east side of it. I was acting quite mechanically and without conscious purpose, for I had made up my mind to return at once, and so I should not need another marked tree. All in a moment I became conscious of this, and I thought that perhaps my mind was going. Then I turned round to look at the plain which I had just entered, and was just about to leave, and, good heavens! there was the wire! This plain was of about the same dimensions as the other two, and right across it ran the telegraph poles. I just said, “Thank God,” and I ran back as fast as my legs could carry me. Jack was taking a drink of water, and I thought looking a little brighter. I was quite out of breath, and before I could speak he had time to say— “Why, Bob, you’ve hardly been away an hour.”