OVERHEARD CONVERSATION It was a little gully, hardly more than a tramped footpath, leading down the bank up which we crept until we attained the level.

With eyes sharpened by the long night vigil we could perceive the dim outlines of buildings, and a glow or two of distant lights.

I felt of the face of my watch, deciding the time to be not far from half-past twelve.

Our tramp had seemed longer than a trifle over three hours, and it was a relief to know we still had so much of darkness left in which to operate.

I touched the man lying next me, unable to tell one dark form from another.
"Who are you ?" "Wilson, sir." "Where is the guide ?" "Right yere, sah," and the speaker wriggled toward me on his face.