Then he placed himself at the head of the band and marched off, the wagon following in the rear.

Before they had been gone a mile several of the men had been compelled to take their places in the wagon, and by the time three miles had been passed the rest had one by one been forced to give in.
Malcolm was one of the last.

He took his seat by the driver, and the now heavily freighted wagon moved slowly across the country.

A store of provisions sufficient for several days had been placed in the wagon, and after proceeding fifteen miles a halt was made at a deserted village, and two of the houses in the best condition were taken possession of, Malcolm and the sergeant of the party, a young fellow named Sinclair, occupying the one, and the men taking up their quarters in another.
The next morning the benefit of the change and the removal from the fever tainted air made itself already apparent.

The distance performed on foot was somewhat longer than on the preceding day; the men were in better spirits, and marched with a brisker step than that with which they had left the camp.