34 LODGES IN THE WILDERNESS 



magic lantern which projected these phantasms 

 on the sky-screen was the vizier of the Thirst 

 King — striving to lure the unwary to a terrible 

 doom. 



Although the heat was so intense, we were 

 not badly distressed by it. The thrill of the 

 unaccustomed exhilirated us; each breath we 

 drew was as a draught of new wine. Interest- 

 ing and unusual incidents befel. Ever and 

 anon a troop of ostriches sped over the plains, 

 their white plumes outstretched and thrilling. 

 On the right, arising from the hollow of an 

 undulation upwards of a mile away, could be 

 seen a small thicket of " black sticks." Irregu- 

 larly grouped and standing at various angles 

 they shewed clear and distinct through the 

 miraculously transparent air. " Gemsbokke," 

 said Andries, laconically. The bodies of the 

 oryx were out of sight ; nothing was visible but 

 their long and almost straight horns. Soon the 

 earth-tremor betrayed us, and the thicket of 

 " black sticks " became agitated. It broke up, 

 scattered and reformed in smaller thickets. 

 Then a herd of about fifty oryx swung at a 

 gallop out of the hollow and sped up the wind, 

 leaving a long trail of dust to mark its course. 

 Night fell again; again the star-curtain de- 

 scended. At about ten o'clock we once more 



