II A CHEERLESS RIDE 21 



and lower, at last disappeared altogether. I expected 

 I should have reached the road before this, and, 

 attributing my not doing so to the fact of the path 

 having taken a turn to the right, still kept on till 

 twilight had given place to moonlight — a fine bright 

 moonlight, indeed, for it wanted but two nights to 

 the full, but, under the circumstances, perhaps a trifle 

 cold and cheerless. Still, thinking I must be close to 

 the road, I kept on for another couple of hours or so, 

 when, it being intensely cold, I resolved to try and 

 light a fire, and pass the night where I was, and ride 

 on again early the following morning. Having no 

 matches, in endeavouring to get a light I had to 

 make use of my cartridges, of which I had only three 

 remaining. Breaking one of these open, I rubbed 

 some of the powder well into a bit of linen torn from 

 my shirt, slightly wetted, and, putting it into the 

 muzzle ot the rifle, ignited it with the cap and a little 

 powder lett in the bottom of the cartridge. So far 

 well and good, but this was, unfortunately, almost as 

 far as I could get ; for, though I managed to induce 

 some grass to smoulder, I could not for the life of 

 me make it flare, and soon had the mortification of 

 finding myself, after two more unsuccessful attempts, 

 just as cold and hungry as before, and minus my 

 three cartridges to boot. Were the same circum- 

 stances to occur again, no doubt everything would be 

 very difi^erent ; but at that time I was quite a tyro in 

 all forest lore. It was now piercingly cold, though 

 during the day the sun had been as hot as at mid- 

 summer in England — regular South African fashion. 

 Still, I thought it better to pass the night where I 

 was ; so, tying my horse to a tree, I cut a little grass 

 with my pocket-knife to lie upon, and turned in. 

 My entire clothing consisted of a hat, shirt, pair of 



