down to the water, when the poor animals filled themselves almost to bursting, walked away, and returned to drink more.  They also repeated their draught several times, and then lay down, and would have fallen asleep by the side of the pool had not Omrah, who could now speak freely, said, “No, no; lion come here for water; up the rock again and sleep there—­I bring horses.”  This good advice was followed, and when they had gained the summit of the rising ground they again lay down and slept till daylight.

When they awoke, they found themselves much refreshed, but they now felt—­what they had not done during their extreme suffering from thirst—­the craving pangs of hunger.  Omrah was fast asleep, and the horses picking among the herbage, about two hundred yards off.

“We have much to thank God for,” said Alexander to the Major.

“We have indeed, and, next to divine aid, we have to thank that poor boy.  We have been as children in his hands, and we are indebted to him and his resources for our lives this night.  I could not speak yesterday, nor could you; but his courage in remaining with the horse as an offering to the lion I shall not forget.”

“He is a child of the desert,” replied Alexander; “he has been brought up among lions, and where there is scarcity of water, and he has most wonderfully guided us in our path; but we are still in the desert, and have lost our companions.  What must we do?  Shall we attempt to regain the caravan, or push off to the westward, to fall in with the river again?”

“We will talk of this an hour hence,” replied the Major; “let us now go down to the pool, and as soon as I have had a drink I will try if I can not kill something for a meal.  My hunger is now almost as great as was my thirst.”

“And mine too, so I will go with you; but we must be careful how we approach the water, as we may fall in with some animal to make a meal of.”

“Or with a lion, ready to make a meal of us,” replied the Major; “so in either instance we must approach it cautiously.”

As they walked to the pool, they discovered the head of an antelope just above a rock.  The Major fired, and the animal fell.  The report of the rifle was answered by a roar; three lions bounded away from the rock, and went at a quick canter over the plain.

“Both our suppositions have proved correct,” observed Alexander, as they walked up to where the antelope lay dead; “but how are we to cook the animal?”

“Any dry stuff will serve for a fire, if we can only get enough, and a very little cooking will serve us just now.  Here comes Omrah.  Let us carry the game up to where we slept last night, as soon as we have had a drink.”

They went to the pool, and were surprised to behold the filthy puddle which had appeared to them so like nectar the night before.  They were not sufficiently thirsty to overcome their disgust, and they turned away from it.