204 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



time in my life, I must have swooned. But, luckily, 

 I bethought me of poor, faithful Klaas, sore stricken ; 

 and I called to him, in as cheerful a voice as 

 I could muster, ' Get forward Klaas, for your life, 

 as hard as you can, and, please God, we'll pull you 

 through.' 



" Never had I admired the Bushman's fierce 

 courage more than now. Most men would have 

 sunk upon the sand, and given up life and hope. 

 Not so this aboriginal. ' Ja, sieur ; I will loup,' 

 was all he said. 



" Then we scrambled onward, occasionally 

 halting as the deadly sickness overtook Klaas ; 

 but all the while I pushed him forwards, and urged 

 him with my voice. At last the light came, and, as 

 my poor Bushman grew feebler and more slow, I 

 found room to pass him, and so dragged him behind 

 me to the opening into Paarl Kloof. Here I 

 propped him for a moment on the sand outside, 

 with his back to the mountain, and loudly called 

 ' 'Ariseep ' while I got breath for a moment. 



" The sun was sinking in blood-red splendour 

 behind the mountains, and the kloof and rock walls 

 were literally aglow with the parting blush of day. 

 Nature looked calm and serenely beautiful, and 

 hushed in a splendour that ill-accorded with the 

 agitating scene there at the mouth of the tunnel. 

 All this flashed across me as I called for the old 

 man. I looked anxiously at Klaas, and examined 

 his wound ; there were two deep punctures in the left 

 shoulder, and from his having had to use some 

 degree of force to drag off the reptile, the orifices 

 were more torn than is usual in cases of snake-bite. 

 Klaas was now breathing heavily, and getting dull 



