126 LODGES IN THE WILDERNESS 



lete. It was like Autumn shedding the petals 

 of a flower that had lived its allotted day. 



The hunted creatures, in their dismay, com- 

 pleted the circle of frantic effort; they sped 

 back to the spot where they had been dis- 

 turbed. They passed it; they grew smaller 

 and smaller until they melted into the infinite 

 mystery of the desert. 



Three bucks had fallen to Andries' rifle. I 

 dismounted, and we piled the carcases on 

 Prince's patient back. Bucephalus, as usual, 

 grew frantic on being brought within smelling- 

 distance of the slain game. Then we strolled 

 to where the wagon was waiting for us, at a 

 spot some three miles away, close to the head 

 of the Kanxas Gorge. There we dined sump- 

 tuously on roasted springbuck liver, — one of 

 the best of desert delicacies. 



Once more I explored the gorge — that de- 

 serted city which once teemed with human life. 

 It was narrow, it was neither long nor deep ; a 

 mere scar it was on the desert's flank. The 

 greatest depth was not more than fifty feet; it 

 was possibly a mile long and the width varied. 

 The sides contained caves, on the walls of 

 which could still be seen traces of fires lit long, 

 long ago. And there, thickly traced on the 

 ledges was the mysterious, black-pigmented 



