270 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



through low bushes and scrub until the summit was 

 attained. This hill was flat topped, and we waded 

 across its uneven surface, through long sour grass, 

 for a mile or more. Now we were near the nek, 

 trending from a lower hill that sloped two miles 

 away to a long, deep valley, in which lay the fountain 

 I have spoken of. This nek was a sort of ridge, 

 leading from the lower to the higher mountains ; it 

 was shut in on either hand by precipitous rocks, 

 which bent inwards and afforded no sort of foothold 

 even for the chamois-like klipspringer. The 

 mountain whereon we stood, which communicated 

 with one end of the nek, led off in various sharp 

 spurs to other heights, and as it was only by this 

 passage that the more secluded hills could be reached 

 from the water (and the water from them) without a 

 long deviation, the antelopes in this vicinity used it 

 pretty regularly in their nightly journey to quench 

 their thirst. The length of the nek was about 250 

 yards, its width in the broadest part about fifty 

 yards. Tobias had chosen for our ambush two 

 places, the first about forty paces from the entrance 

 out of the lower ground, the other on the opposite 

 side and sixty yards or so nearer the exit to the 

 higher hills. 



It was an eerie walk over these mournful, solemn 

 mountains by the pale moonlight, and we were not 

 sorry, at last, to reach our destination. We were 

 soon snugly ensconced with our backs to a rocky 

 wall, and in front of us a screen of bush, which would 

 effectually conceal us from passing game. With the 

 three rugs we had brought with us we enwrapped 

 ourselves as well as possible, for the air was keen 

 and searching. Silence almost complete lay upon 



