A WIDE DETOUR 167 



wasted. We dismounted and stole cautiously 

 to our right — Hendrick and I, — Andries re- 

 maining with the horses. A low ' s-s-s-t-" 

 from Hendrick, and we dropped in our tracks 

 to the ground. The keen-eyed Hun had again 

 discerned the tips of the "black sticks" over 

 the rim of the earth-curve. We crept back to 

 Andries and the horses, held a council of war 

 and finally decided upon our strategy. 



Andries was heavily built ; almost corpulent. 

 This to him was a matter of great grief. His 

 mount was strong, but no horse that ever was 

 foaled could, with sixteen stone on its back, 

 run down a herd of oryx. 



Hendrick and I, accordingly, were to do 

 the riding. The game was still several miles 

 away, on our left front as we turned and faced 

 the camp, but it nevertheless was necessary 

 that we should make another wide sweep so as 

 to get further to windward. So we rode off 

 northward, leaving Andries behind. He de- 

 cided to remain where he was, it being an even 

 chance as to whether the herd, after it had 

 started, would break past him or to the north- 

 eastward. In any event its course would not 

 be more than 45 degrees on either side of the 

 point from which the wind was blowing. An- 

 dries, moreover, had an almost uncanny knack 



