Part 61 (2/2)

Those who remained by the camp had had their adventures too; and their tale was by no means a merry one, for it disclosed the unpleasant fact, that the sheep and goats were all lost The flock had been carried off, in a ularseen again

Hans began his tale:--

”Nothing unusual occurred on the day you left us I was busy all the afternoon in cutting 'wait-a-bit' thorns for a kraal Totty helpedthem up, while Jan and Truey looked after the flock The anirass was good, and they had had enough of trotting lately

”Well--Totty and I got the kraal, as you see, all ready So, when night caetting our supper, we all went to bed We were precious tired, and all of us slept soundly throughout the night without being disturbed Both jackals and hyenas came around, but we knew they would not break into that kraal”

Hans pointed to the circular enclosure of thorn-bushes, that had been well constructed

He then proceeded with his narration:--

”In the ain milked the cow; and we had breakfast The flock was let out upon the grass, and so were the cow and the two horses

”Just about an to think ere to have for dinner, for the breakfast had cleared up everything I did not like to kill another sheep, if it could be helped So bidding Jan and Truey stay close by the wagon, and leaving Totty to look after the flock, I took aboks out on the plain; and I would stalk theboks When I got out of the valley here, and had a better view, I sahat astonished me, I can assure you

”I could scarce credit my eyes The whole plain, towards the west, appeared to be one vast crowd of aniht yellow sides, and the snohite hair on their ruboks They were all in , while hundreds of theh, and leaping on top of each other I assure you all it was one of the strangest sights I ever beheld, and one of the pleasantest too; for I knew that the creatures that covered the plain, instead of being fierce wild beasts, were nothing but graceful and beautiful little gazelles

”My first thought was to get near them, and have a shot; and I was about to start off over the plain, when I perceived that the antelopes were co with considerable rapidity; and if I only re in upon them I lay down behind a bush and waited

”I had not very long to wait In less than a quarter of an hour the foremost of the herd drew near, and in five minutes more a score of them ithin shot

”I did not fire for some ti the ht handsome forms, their smooth slender limbs, their cinnamon-coloured backs, and white bellies, with the band of chestnut along each side I looked at the lyre-shaped horns of the bucks, and above all, at the singular flaps on their croup, that unfolded each ti silky hair, as white as snow itself

”All these points I noticed, and at length, tired of ad doe--for I was thinking of my dinner, and knew that doe-venison was thecarefully, I fired The doe fell, but, to my astonishalloped back a bit, or bounded up into the air; but they again set to browsing quite unconcerned, and the main body advanced as before!

”I loaded as quickly as I could, and brought down another,--this ti the rest!

”I proceeded to load for the third time; but, before I had finished, the front ranks had passed on both sides of me, and I found myself in theer behind the bush, but rose to ht it down also Its comrades did not pause, but ran over its body in thousands!

”I loaded again, and stood right up on my feet

”Now for the first tie conduct of the springboks; for, instead ofoff at my appearance, they only bounded a little to one side, and then kept on their course

They seemed possessed by so that such was their hen upon one of their ht I, must be a ”trek-boken”

”I was soon convinced of this, for the herd every th they becaularly situated Not that I was afraid of the creatures, as theytheir horns upon et out of my way But the nearest only were alarmed; and, as my presence in no way terrified those that were an hundred yards off, the latter round Of course the nearest ones could only get a few paces fro up over their backs--so that with the ones thus constantly bounding up into the air there was all the ti around s I had in this unusual situation, or how long I ht have loaded and fired away for some time, but just at the moment the sheep caht I I had heard that such a thing was co towards the valley--the foremost were already into it, and would soon be on the spot, where I had just seen our little flock feeding!