had been shot.  Two were dead; but the old one, which the Major had fired at, was alive, although severely wounded, having received two shots, one in his arm and the other in his leg, which was broken by the ball.  All the poor old creature’s fierceness appeared to have left him.  It was evidently very weak from the loss of blood, and sat down leaning against the rock.  Every now and then it would raise itself, and look down upon the wound in its leg, examining the hole where the bullet had passed through; then it would hold up its wounded arm with its other hand, and look them in the face inquiringly, as much as to say, “What have you done this for?”

“Poor creature,” said Alexander; “how much its motions are those of a human being.  Its mute expostulation is quite painful to witness.”

“Very true,” said the Major; “but still, if it had not those wounds, it would tear you to pieces if it could.”

“That it certainly would,” said Swinton; “but still it is an object of pity.  It can not recover, and we had better put it out of its misery.”

Desiring Bremen to shoot the animal through the head, our travelers then walked back to the caravan.  As they returned by the banks of the river, they perceived Begum very busy, scraping up the baked mud at the bottom of a pool.

“What is the princess about?” said Alexander.

“I know,” cried Omrah, who immediately ran to the assistance of the baboon; and after a little more scraping, he pulled out a live tortoise about a foot long.

“I have heard that when the pools dry up, the tortoises remain in the mud till the pools are filled up again,” said Swinton.

“Are they good eating, Swinton?”

“Excellent.”

“Turtle soup in the desert, that’s something unexpected.”

The Hottentots now set to work and discovered five or six more, which they brought out.  They then tried in vain to get at the water in the deep cleft, but finding it impossible, the caravan continued its course.

“How much more of this desert have we to traverse,” said Alexander, “before we come to the river?”

[Illustration:  THE TORTOISE DISCOVERY.]

“I fear that we shall not arrive there before to-morrow night,” said Swinton, “unless we travel on during the night, which I think will be the best plan; for fatiguing as it will be to the animals, they will be even more exhausted if they pass another day under the sun without water, and at night they will bear their work better.  We gain nothing by stopping, as the longer they are on the journey, the more they will be exhausted.”

“I am really fearful for the horses, they suffer so much.”

“At night we will wash their mouths with a sponge full of water; we can spare so much for the poor creatures.”

“In the deserts of Africa you have always one of three dangers to encounter,” said Swinton; “wild men, wild beasts, and want of water.”