where I found that not only had his people gone but that he had been left
locked up in the house.



CHAPTER VII


I tried to be brave, but when I heard the pitiful cries of Lord Roberts, I
broke down and almost gave up in despair. This, then, was the end of my
dreams of a happy life during my old age. Oh, human beings! Could you
realize how dependent we are upon your kindness, you would never forget us
in a time like this. I wished that I was a human being possessed of a
soul, and could pray to God for deliverance from such misery as I had
witnessed, when suddenly I remembered that I had heard a teacher in one of
the class-rooms read from the Bible one morning that not even a sparrow
could fall to the ground and He not heed. It gave me courage for I thought
if He could care for a sparrow, He would surely protect us from harm. I
felt better and saying words of encouragement to Lord Roberts, went back
to the house where I crawled under the piazza and remained there
throughout the dreary night.

What a cruel awakening, no fire and nothing to eat. I dragged myself to
Lord Roberts and found that he had fared somewhat better, for he had
discovered a pan of water under the ice-chest, and (he hated to admit it)
had caught and eaten a mouse (I thought again of his liver for breakfast).
He said that he knew they would come back for us and I really thought
myself that they would as soon as they found that we were missing. It had
not rained for some time and, as I walked down to the beach, I saw some of
the cats who had been left go down and try to lap up the salt water. It