A WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE. 71 



trated the mystery, though he chose to wait the few minutes before it would become 

 clear to his comrades. 



Suddenly the horsemen broke into hearty laughter, and well they might. 



Diedrick, the Hottentot, was the only African belonging to the expedition who 

 sported the European luxury of trousers. He had received a present of a pair of 

 coarse canvas ones from Mr. Godkin, who saw the longing looks he cast upon them 

 while at Petermaritzburg. 



Diedrick was as proud as a child over his present and wore them continually. 

 He had left the camp that morning earlier than the horsemen, unnoticed by them. 

 He had been born and reared in the home of the ostrich, and the signs which he saw 

 the previous day told him the birds were in the vicinity, even though, unlike the 

 Texan, he had not been able to catch sight of any one of them. 



When he departed, it was not to hunt ostriches, but their eggs, of which he was 

 very fond. 



I have expressed a poor opinion of the intelligence of the ostrich : let me give 

 you another illustration. 



When a Bushman discovers one of their nests he steals all the eggs but one or 

 two, taking care to leave no other evidence of his visit. Even though, when the 

 mother went off for a time, she left a dozen, she has not enough sense to compre- 

 hend that nearly all have been abstracted, but resumes laying, only to have her nest 

 depleted by regular visits from the Bushman, who watches for her departure. 



The native keeps this up for weeks and months, and the stupid bird continues 

 laying from June to October, never suspecting that all the time she is steadily con- 

 tributing to the support of a thieving Bushman and his family. 



While the hunters were having their own sport with the ostriches, Diedrick was 

 despoiling a nest that he found without difficulty. In it were more than a score of 

 eggs, which he resolved to take into camp. 



But how to carry them was the question. A single one is considered the 

 equivalent of two dozen ordinary hen's eggs, so you can easily see that the task was 

 considerable. 



But Diedrick was equal to the emergency. In a twinkling, he had doffed his 

 beloved trousers, and, tying the bottom of the legs in a knot, he deposited the 

 plunder within, the space required being all that could be spared in the legs and 

 some of the portion above the bifurcation of the garments. 



Then, slinging his odd load over his shoulders, he started back. Catching sight 

 of the horsemen, he changed his course so as to join them, when, as I have told 

 you, he was received with much merriment, which was increased by the solemnity of 

 the Hottentot's visage. He had never been known to smile, and seemed to be 

 mystified by the high spirits of his companions. 



But he was complimented on his achievement, and the party set out on their re- 

 turn to camp. When they arrived, their pleasure was heightened by learning from 

 Mr. Godkin that the wounded Orak was much better, and, in all probability, would 

 recover in a brief while. 



