The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-01-22

were fully awakened by couple of
laughing jackasses in the branches
of tree near by Their almost hui
man laughter seemed to mock us in
our misery. Charlie was now con-
scious, but thoroughly exhausted. He
tried again and again to speak to me,
but was unable to do so, his tongue
being double its normal size. My
own clave to the roof OF my mouth
and / was hardly able to swallow, /
really think, as l look back on the
horror of it all, that the only thing
which saved me from going mad was
the strain which l was forced to put
upon my naturally slow brain for the
sake of my more FRUSTRATED mate.
All at once, with an unnatural ener-
gy, Charlie picked up his swag, glared
at me with bloodshot eyes, and, point
ing into the distance toward the sun,
beckoned me to follow. looked in
the direction he indicated, and saw
in the nsaf distance a beautiful blue
lake.
haustion for the moment and tramped
and tramped on through the spinifex
grass, needless of it's sharp pricking
and the scratches of the brambles as
we forced our way through the scrub.
But, alas! that lake was always the
same distance off when we thought
we had twice walked far enough to
reach it. We must have been strug-
Cling on for hours, when atlast, un.
able to go another step, we both
dropped down as we were ascending
ridge, the mirage ever before us.
By this time my tongue was getting
so swollen that l could hardly speak,
while I could see, in spite of my half
maddened senses, that my poor mate
would not last much longer. He was
absolutely past speech or effort of
any kind, just babbling like an infant
of ten months. AS a last despairing
attempt I crawled back to dead
tree little higher on the ridge, and
managed to set it on fire; its blazing
branches might perchance give a sig
ter now if l set the bush on fire!
No torture could be greater than
the death we were slowly but surely
facing. BY the time the tree was
properly blazing 1 had managed to
get back. to Charlie, who was now sit
ting up, absolutely mad, and gesticu-
lating wildly. Occasionally smile
would fit across his pain stricken
face as he seemed to living over again
some boyish freak. His bloodshot
eyes seemed almost to be leaving
theirI sockets, when all at once he
jumped up again and staggering for
ward to some imaginary water he fell
and knew at once that he was dead.
I sank down beside him and knew no
more. On opening my eyes black
fellow was leaning over me moisten-
ing my lips from his canvas water
bag. My head and eyes were very
painful, and as drop by drop he man
aged to get the precious liquid slow
ly through my parched lips and over
my swollen tongue the fiery agony
grew gradually less, and when at last
I managed to drink little it seemed
as if / could have drained a lake.
The black fellow had boy with him,
and their ponies were tethered close
by. He tended me for hours, until at
last had sufficiently revived to be as
sisted onto one of the ponies. Then
for the first time he spoke to me.
You die UNI very soon me not
come, but now good" Then, point
ing to poor Charlie, he said: me
bury UNI by m bye" AS he spoke he
covered my poor mate with some
boughs, and catching hold of my
horses bride he asked where want
ed to go. When told him he replied:
This track is no good; plenty white
men die here" asked how he had
found me, and he explained that he
belonged to station some few miles
distant. He had been sent after some
horses, had seen the smoke of the
burning tree, and having found us he
thought at first t1at we were both
dead. When we arrived at the sta
ton the situation was explained, and
with weeks kindly nursing was
once more able to take to the road,
this time being on the right track
for Broken Hill.
TWs