"Wind, my dear sir; wind. Let it blow away. If any one were to tell him of it now he would stare with astonishment and ask you if you meant to insult him. Take my word for it, the hallucination has completely passed away. The fresh wound, with its loss by haemorrhage, and the reaction, has acted antagonistically to his mental trouble. He has, so to speak, stepped mentally from the attack on the Boers to their attack on us, and as soon as he recovers his strength he'll be as good a man as ever." "But when we tell him about his charge?" said the colonel. "Why tell him, sir? Let it rest. If it ever comes out by accident, that's quite another thing. The trouble has settled itself, as some troubles will." "I wish this one would," said the major, "for I'm getting very sick of being penned up here on very reduced rations. Have they quite forgotten us at headquarters?" "No," said the colonel. "Their hands are full.--Meanwhile, doctor, our ranks are very thin, so as fast as you can send the poor lads back to the ranks, let us have them again. The Boers will not let us rest like this for long." CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. AT LAST! But the Boers had received so severe a lesson that they did leave the garrison severely alone for nearly a month, save that there were often sharp encounters between patrols and the foraging parties which made a dash whenever there was a chance of capturing something for the military larder. It had come to the colonel holding a private council, at which the doctor was present to give his opinion how long it would be before the wounded men would be sufficiently strong to undertake a night march and then push on to try and join hands with the nearest post held by our forces. "If we could feed the lads as they ought to be fed, in about a month," replied the doctor quietly. "Going on as we are now--never." The colonel started from his seat. "Do you mean this, Emden?" he said excitedly. "The men's appearance speaks for itself. It is all the healthy can do to keep body and soul together; the wounded are at a standstill." "No, no," said the colonel warmly; "all of our officers, though certainly weak, have returned to their duty." "Yes," said the doctor; "but then they all partook more of a certain essence than the men do. The poor fellows had done marvellously well, and the more educated, better-class fellows compare wonderfully well with those of a lower station; but there is that difference." "And pray what is the wonderful essence, doctor?" said Captain Edwards, smiling. "_Esprit de corps_, my dear sir," said the doctor. "Well," cried the colonel, "then you have settled it, doctor. We are not going to surrender." "No!" came in chorus. "We can't go and leave our weak ones behind." "No!" came with double the force.