" BILL " THE DAMARA. 97 



On first seeing the gnoos, I left my henchman, 

 " Bill," a Damara lad, who carried my spare gun, 

 at some distance behind, with directions to follow 

 on my track according to circumstances. Now that 

 the gnoos were lost to me, I shouted loudly to the 

 youth, and also discharged my gun more than once, 

 but was unable to elicit a reply. Thinking, how- 

 ever, that he might have returned to our encamp- 

 ment (which was at no great distance) I also 

 repaired there. But " Bill " had not been heard of. 

 The harassing suspicion at once crossed my mind 

 that the lions had eaten him. Without a moment's 

 delay, I hurried back to the spot where I had last 

 seen the beasts, but all my endeavours to find the 

 poor fellow were unavailing. What with my anxiety 

 on his account, and my exertions under a broiling 

 sun (for if the weather was frosty at night, it cal- 

 cined one by day), I was unable to proceed farther, 

 and sat down on the ground to wait for the 

 arrival of the waggons, which were now moving 

 forward. Just at this moment, the J)amara, to my 

 inexpressible delight, emerged from the bush. His 

 story was soon told. Ho had, like myself, lost his 

 way, and it was long before he was able to recover 

 the right track.' 



o 



Again : late one evening I had badly wounded a 

 lion, and at an early hour on the succeeding morn- 

 ing was following the 1 ^ody tracks of the beast, in 

 the hope of putting m end to his career. Pre- 

 sently we came upon tho " spoor ' of a whole troop 

 of lions, and also that t, " a solita, y giraffe. So many 

 tracks confused us ; and whilst endeavouring to 



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