Prester John

al's work. I would have shirked the loneliness of it, the isolation of responsibility. But I think I would have done well in a subaltern command, for I had a great notion of carrying out order

ch the same feeling as a boy on a Saturday's holiday who has planned a big expedition. One thing only I regretted-that Tam Dyke was not with me to see the fun. The thought of that faithful soul, now beating somewhere on

assuming I had any difficulty in getting away. At first this puzzled us both, and then I thought of Colin. I had trained the dog to go home at my bidding, for often when I used to

e did. On the other hand, his own native scouts brought him pretty accurate tidings of any Kaffir movements. He thought that all the bush country of the plain would be closely watched, and that no one would get through without some kind of pass. But he thought also that the storekeeper might be an exception, for his presence would give rise to no suspicions. Almost his last wor

think better of it. As I turned down into the gorge I heard the sound of horses' feet far behind, and, turning

panions, now with their cattle far out on the plains. Did they know of the great danger, I wondered. All the way down the glen I saw no sign of human presence. The game-birds mocked me from the thicket; a brace of white berghaan circled far up in the blue; and I had for pleasant co

ething strange was going on. It was like the woods on the Berg a week before. I had the impression of many people moving in the bush, and now and then I caught a glimpse of them. My first thought was that I should b

ill, and had no time to spare on me, But the sensation of moving through them was like walking on a black-dark night with precipices all around. I felt odd quiverings between my shoulder blades where a spear might be expected to lodge. Ove

s very still, but I could hear the rustle of movement somewhere within a hundred yards. The hidden folk were busy about their own ends, and I regretted that I had not taken the road by Sikitola's and seen how the kraals looked. They must be empty now, for the young m

couraged me, for at any rate it meant the end of this disquieting ride. Here the bush changed to trees of some size, and after leaving the ridge the road plunge

eopard-skin. In such a man one would have looked for a ting-kop,[1] but instead he had a mass of hair, not like a Kaffir's wool, but long and curled like some popular musician's. I should have been p

d followed his heels growling,

ther,' I said in Kaf

elbow. 'But a short way, Baas,' he repli

You will find little in it, for it is newly built a

ink yonder. I have travelled far, and in the chill nights I desire a cov

termined on. 'Willingly,' I said. 'You may sleep in the storeroom if you care.

only a heavily built native, but now in his savage dress I saw how noble a figure he made. He must have been at least six feet and a half, but his chest was so deep and his shoulders so massive that one

hroat,' I said to myself. 'Your g

ut to meet me. Inside there was nothing but the chairs and benches, and in a corner the pots and pans I had left against my next visit. I unlocked the cupboard and got out a few

t room in the store, but wholly unfurnished. A pile of barrels and packing-c

said. 'If you have come far

to-day to think of the stuff I talked. First I made him sit on a chair opposite me, a thing no white man in the country would have done. Then I told him affectionately that I liked natives, that they were fine fellows and better men than the d

manufacture-and all the while I babbled of myself and my opinions. He must have thought me half-witted, and indeed before long I began to be of the same opinion myself. I told him that I meant to sleep the night here, and go back in the morning to Blaauwildebeestefontei

fine dog,'

e has no grit in him. Any mongrel from a kraal can make him turn tail. Besides, h

back. I could see that he saw the lie of h

I can repay hospitality with advice. You are a stranger here. T

cheerful idiocy. 'But back to the Berg I go the first

ght,' he said, with a tou

an to sing the chorus of a

o place li

to go home

e bristling Colin, and went out. When I looked

, with the aid of gum, Zul