With Axe and Rifle

They had been feeding on the body of Dio’s horse, utterly indifferent to the venom with which the flesh was impregnated. We kept to windward of it, and directly we had passed the foul birds flew back to their banquet. This showed us that the guide had led us aright, and that we could trust him. Losing patience, I entreated the sergeant to move on faster, reminding him that even should our friends not be attacked by the Indians, they were certainly suffering from want of water. He inquired how far off I calculated we should find the train.