364 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



further disturbance ; nothing further occurred during 

 the night. 



Next morning, after seeing the goats unkraaled, 

 watered, and despatched to their day's pasturage 

 in charge of the two Kaffir herds, Goodrick asked 

 the young Boer at breakfast if he had heard the 

 noise among the horses, and the wild scream, and 

 what could be the cause, and if there were any 

 cattle stealing about this wild neighbourhood. 

 Young Van der Meulen's heavy, immovable 

 countenance changed slightly, but he replied "that 

 he could give no explanation, except that perhaps 

 a leopard might have been prowling about ; they 

 were pretty numerous in the kloof." Stephen 

 explained that he and the Hottentots had spoored 

 everywhere around the stable for leopards, but could 

 find no trace. 



Here the subject dropped, and Van der Meulen 

 relapsed into silence, except when the Englishman 

 asked him what game there was about the hills. 

 " You will find," he said, " plenty of small buck 

 klipspringers, rhebok, and duykerbok, and there are 

 still a fair number of koodoo, which take some 

 stalking though. Then on the berg tops there are 

 several troops of zebras, as well as hyaenas and 

 leopards ; but the zebras we have seldom shot, they 

 take so much climbing after, and you know we 

 Dutchmen prefer riding to walking. You will find 

 still lots of springbok and steinbok, and some black 

 wildebeest (gnu) on the plains beyond the mountains. 

 Yes, I have had many a ' mooi schiet op de plaats ' 

 (pretty shoot on the farm)." Suddenly the young 

 man's heavy features changed again as he said, 

 " Allemaghte ! (Almighty), but I shall be glad to get 



