“Killum dead um!” cried Jimmy, grinning with triumph. “Jimmy killum headums; Gyp killums tail.”
“I wish you’d look, doctor, and see if he bit me,” said Jack, speaking disconsolately. “I lay down as you told me, and put my head right on that snake.”
“Don’t you know whether it bit you?” said the doctor anxiously.
“No, not the least idea,” said Jack, shaking his head. “I think it must have bit me, I was so close.”
“I don’t believe it did,” I said. “Why, you must have known.”
“Think so?” said Jack dismally. “I say, doctor, is it best, do you think, to lie right down?”
“Yes, if you look first to see whether there is danger from snakes. There, lie down, my lad, and rest.”
Jack obeyed him very reluctantly, and after Gyp and Jimmy had both re-curled themselves, the doctor and I lay down to talk in a low voice about our prospects, and then as I lay listening to his words, and wondering whether I should ever succeed in tracing out my father, all seemed to become blank, till I started up on being touched.
“Had a good nap?” said the doctor. “Then let’s get on again.”
We started once more, with the ground now becoming more difficult. Trees were fewer, but rocks and rugged patches of stony soil grew frequent, while a pleasant breeze now played about our faces and seemed to send vigour into our frames.