mother and father to serve in the same way.  I had become so weak that by late at night, I had only accomplished eleven miles, and I lay down about five miles from the Gorge of Tarns, again choking for water.  While lying down here, I thought I heard the sound of the foot-falls of a galloping horse going campwards, and vague ideas of Gibson on the Fair Maid—­or she without him—­entered my head.  I stood up, and listened, but the sound had died away upon the midnight air.  On the 1st of May, as I afterwards found, at one o’clock in the morning, I was walking again, and reached the Gorge of Tarns long before daylight, and could again indulge in as much water as I desired; but it was exhaustion I suffered from, and I could hardly move.

My reader may imagine with what intense feelings of relief I stepped over the little bridge across the water, staggered into the camp at daylight, and woke Mr. Tietkens, who stared at me as though I had been one, new risen from the dead.  I asked him had he seen Gibson, and to give me some food.  I was of course prepared to hear that Gibson had never reached the camp; indeed I could see but two people in their blankets the moment I entered the fort, and by that I knew he could not be there.  None of the horses had come back, and it appeared that I was the only one of six living creatures—­two men and four horses—­that had returned, or were now ever likely to return, from that desert, for it was now, as I found, nine days since I last saw Gibson.

Mr. Tietkens told me he had been in a great state of anxiety during my absence, and had only returned an hour or two before from the Circus.  This accounted for the sounds I heard.  He said he had planted some smoked horsesticks, and marked a tree.  This was a few hours after I had left it in the morning.  He said he saw my foot-marks, but could not conclude that I could be on foot alone, and he thought the tracks must be older than they looked.  Any how, we had missed meeting one another somewhere on the range.  We were both equally horrified at Gibson’s mischance.  When we woke Jimmy up he was delighted to see me, but when told about Gibson, he said something about he knowed he worn’t no good in the bush, but as long as I had returned, etc., etc.  I told them both just what had occurred out there; how Gibson and I had parted company, and we could only conclude that he must be dead, or he would long before have returned.  The mare certainly would have carried him to the Circus, and then he must have reached the depot; but it was evident that he had gone wrong, had lost himself, and must now be dead.  I was too much exhausted and too prostrate to move from the camp to search for him to-day, but determined to start to-morrow.  Mr. Tietkens got everything ready, while I remained in a state of semi-stupor.  I was cramped with pains in all my joints, pains in the stomach, and violent headaches, the natural result of having a long-empty stomach suddenly filled.