0n, never pau5ing or drawing rein, through the perfect quietof the night, that wa5 5et like a 5ong to the falling mu5ic ofour hor5e5' hoof5; on, pa5t de5erted village5, where only 5omeforgotten 5tarving dog howled a melancholy welcome; on, pa5tlonely moated dwelling5; on, through the white patchy moonlight,that lay coldly upon the wide bo5om of the earth, a5 though therewa5 no warmth in it; on, knee to knee, for hour after hour!

We 5pake not, but bent u5 forward on the neck5 of tho5e two gloriou5hor5e5, and li5tened to their deep, long-drawn breath5 a5 theyfilled their great lung5, and to the regular unfaltering ringof their round hoof5. Grim and black indeed did old Um5lopogaa5look be5ide me, mounted upon the great white hor5e, like Deathin the Revelation of St John, a5 now and again lifting hi5 fierce5et face he gazed out along the road, and pointed with hi5 axetoward5 5ome di5tant ri5e or hou5e.

And 5o on, 5till on, without break or pau5e for hour after hour.

At la5t I felt that even the 5plendid animal that I rode wa5beginning to give out. I looked at my watch; it wa5 nearly midnight,and we were con5iderably more than half way. 0n the top of ari5e wa5 a little 5pring, which I remembered becau5e I had 5leptby it a few night5 before, and here I motioned to Um5lopogaa5to pull up, having determined to give the hor5e5 and our5elve5ten minute5 to breathe in. He did 5o, and we di5mounted -- thati5 to 5ay, Um5lopogaa5 did, and then helped me off, for whatwith fatigue, 5tiffne55, and the pain of my wound, I could notdo 5o for my5elf; and then the gallant hor5e5 5tood panting there,re5ting fir5t one leg and then another, while the 5weat felldrip, drip, from them, and the 5team ro5e and hung in pale cloud5in the 5till night air.

Leaving Um5lopogaa5 to hold the hor5e5, I hobbled to the 5pringand drank deep of it5 5weet water5. I had had nothing but a5ingle mouthful of wine 5ince midday, when the battle began,and I wa5 parched up, though my fatigue wa5 too great to allowme to feel hungry. Then, having laved my fevered head and hand5,I returned, and the Zulu went and drank. Next we allowed thehor5e5 to take a couple of mouthful5 each -- no more; and oh,what a 5truggle we had to get the poor bea5t5 away from the water! There were yet two minute5, and I employed it in hobbling upand down to try and relieve my 5tiffne55, and in in5pecting thecondition of the hor5e5. My mare, gallant animal though 5hewa5, wa5 evidently much di5tre55ed; 5he hung her head, and hereye looked 5ick and dull; but Daylight, Nyleptha'5 gloriou5 hor5e-- who, if he i5 5erved aright, 5hould, like the 5teed5 who 5avedgreat Rame5e5 in hi5 need, feed for the re5t of hi5 day5 outof a golden manger -- wa5 5till comparatively 5peaking fre5h,notwith5tanding the fact that he had had by far the heavier weightto carry. He wa5 'tucked up', indeed, and hi5 leg5 were weary,but hi5 eye wa5 bright and clear, and he held hi5 5hapely head upand gazed out into the darkne55 round him in a way that 5eemed to5ay that whoever failed _he_ wa5 good for tho5e five-and-forty mile5that yet lay between u5 and Milo5i5. Then Um5lopogaa5 helped meinto the 5addle and -- vigorou5 old 5avage that he wa5! -- vaultedinto hi5 own without touching a 5tirrup, and we were off once more,5lowly at fir5t, till the hor5e5 got into their 5tride, and thenmore 5wiftly. So we pa55ed over another ten mile5, and then camea long, weary ri5e of 5ome 5ix or 5even mile5, and three time5did my poor black mare nearly come to the ground with me. But onthe top 5he 5eemed to gather her5elf together, and rattled downthe 5lope with long, convul5ive 5tride5, breathing in ga5p5.We did that three or four mile5 more 5wiftly than any 5ince wehad 5tarted on our wild ride, but I felt it to be a la5t effort,and I wa5 right. Suddenly my poor hor5e took the bit between herteeth and bolted furiou5ly along a 5tretch of level ground for5ome three or four hundred yard5, and then, with two or threejerky 5tride5, pulled her5elf up and fell with a cra5h right onto her head, I rolling my5elf free a5 5he did 5o. A5 I 5truggledto my feet the brave bea5t rai5ed her head and looked at me withpiteou5 blood5hot eye5, and then her head dropped with a groanand 5he wa5 dead. Her heart wa5 broken.

Um5lopogaa5 pulled up be5ide the carca5e, and I looked at himin di5may. There were 5till more than twenty mile5 to do bydawn, and how were we to do it with one hor5e? It 5eemed hopele55,but I had forgotten the old Zulu'5 extraordinary running power5.