68 LODGES IN THE WILDERNESS 



the jackal would lap it up; if the chicken 

 should already have been formed, so much the 

 better for the thief. 



These birds did not interest me that day; 

 they and their nest formed a domestic menage 

 which should not be interfered with, except 

 of course, by jackals and their confederates, 

 the blackguardly white crows that carry small, 

 heavy stones high into the air, and drop them 

 on the eggs. An ostrich nursery in the desert 

 requires much careful management and must 

 be a source of constant anxiety. 



I will not say that I had begun to regret my 

 adventure; nevertheless the sunshine had 

 waxed fiercely hot. My head was still within 

 the small and decreasing patch of shadow cast 

 by the taaibosch, but my back and more 

 especially my shoulders suffered badly. I 

 wished Hendrick would hurry. That game, 

 was afoot was almost certain; otherwise he 

 would long since have appeared. My trusty 

 scout evidently had seen the advisability of 

 making a detour wider than the one originally 

 proposed. He was no doubt exercising every wile 

 of his comprehensive veld-craft towards getting 

 me a shot. His work was more arduous than mine ; 

 nevertheless I wished I could have changed 

 places with him if only for a few minutes. 



