Part 1 (2/2)
”Yes, I atch whilst you sleep, then you sleep whilst I watch,”
replied the Kaffir addressed as 'Nquane ”We shall shoot elephants to- chief must be now close to them, that is why he does not return”
”No: he would return to tell us if he could, I fear he ' lose himself,” exclaimed 'Nquane, ”no, as soon the vulture lose his way in the air, or the springbok on the plains, or the elephant in the forest, as the strong lose himself any where He sees without eyes and hears without ears Hark! is that the lion?”
Both Kaffirs listened attentively for so up the krantz: he s; heclose to us What can he hear now? Ah, there is soh in the bushes, a buck perhaps, the lion will soon feast on it, and that will be the better for us, as when his belly is full he will not want to eat you or me”
Attentively as the Kaffirs watched the bushes, and listened for some sound indicative of the lion's position, they yet could hear nothing; so quietly did the creature , when a sudden flash of light burst fro roar which was succeeded by a silence, broken only at intervals by the distant echoes of the report of the gun, which at first had scarcely been audible in the midst of the lion's roar, for such it proved to be
As these sounds burst over the ca for soer, or cause for action; for half a minute no man spoke, but then Bernhard exclaimed--
”That must have been Hans, he must have met the lion in the dark;” and, ”Oh, Hans! Hans!” he shouted:
”Here so,” replied a voice from the summit of the kloof; ”is that Bernhard?”
”Yes, Hans: are you hurt?”
”No, but the lion is: he is dying in a bush not far off I don't like to hted branches here?”
'Nquane, the Kaffir, and Bernhard each seized a large blazing branch, and grasping their guns, ascended the steep slope to the position occupied by Hans
”Up this way,” said Hans, ”the lion is to your right, and I think dead; but we had better not go near hiht this grass, and go look for hi this, Hans advanced to sorass before him
”He's dead,” exclaimed Hans, ”so come, and ill skin him: he's a fine fellow!”
”Coed Bernhard, ”and tell us where you have been, then come and skin the lion”
”No, business first,” exclaiht spoil the skin in a few minutes, and before the lion was cold; so ill first free him of his coat, then I will eat”
It took Hans and his two companions only a short time to divest the lion of its skin, when the three returned to camp, where the new-comer was heartily welco a meal from the remains of the supper left by his co hisprevious fast, did not give one the idea of a very re--probably not reat size; he was, however, what is called well put together, and seeth; his eyes were deep-set and small, with that earnest look about thereat deal more than most eyes His companions seemed quite to understand Hans' peculiarities, for they did not address a word to hi fully aware that had they done so they would have obtained no answer When, however, he had coer, Bernhard said--
”What have you seen and done, Hans? and why are you so late? We feared you had lost the line for our resting-place before it got dark, and would not reach us to-night”
”Lost the line,” replied Hans; ”that was not easy, considering you stopped at the only river for ten ht, only I reood fat eland for supper, and so I returned”
”And what made you nearly stop away, Hans?”
”Fewbushes and krantzes whenlions are on the look-out, and the sun has set for two hours,” replied Hans
”Was there nothing else that kept you?” inquired Bernhard ”You left us all of a sudden”
”Yes, there was so else kept me away”