32 LODGES IN THE WILDERNESS 



But this might not be ; our plan of campaign 

 had been cunningly devised and had to be 

 strictly adhered to. We were about to contend 

 with an enemy who gave no quarter. The fiat 

 of Andries had gone forth; we were to travel 

 on without pause until sunrise. Then we 

 might sleep if the sun permitted. 



At length the seemingly interminable night 

 ended: "the phantom of false morning,' 

 which so often had mocked us, gave place to 

 dawn virginal and splendid. Then day came 

 on rapid feet. Just as the sun cleared the rim 

 of the earth the wagon halted, and at once the 

 yokes fell from the necks of the tired oxen. 

 Within a few minutes we lay fast asleep 

 beneath a hastily-constructed sun-screen. 



Scarcely more than an hour had elapsed 

 before the heat awoke us and we sprang to 

 our feet with hardly a trace of fatigue. The 

 strong sunshine seemed to sting us to vigour; 

 it was aether rather than air that we breathed. 

 Around us lay infinite expanses, glowing and 

 quivering, radiating fervour against fervour 

 into the moveless atmosphere. Before us and 

 to our right and left the horizon was unbroken. 

 Behind us could still be faintly traced the 

 contour of the hilly country from which we had 

 yesterday emerged. 



