THE WILD MEM. 



77 



The listeners looked inquiringly at the Bushman, but, instead of replying, he 

 walked over to the wagon where Orak was lying. The fellow had many peculiarities, 

 and one of them was, at times, a dislike to exchange words with his employers. 



"What did he tell you?" asked Bob Marshall. 



"Nothing, except that when he stopped on the slope of the hill, he learned that 

 a large party of mounted Bushmen were hovering in the neighborhood. He gave 

 no particulars, for I don't suppose he had much more to tell." 



"That's curious," remarked the cowboy, "for I took a good look 'round the 

 country for more game, and I didn't catch a glimpse of any two or four-legged 

 creatures." 



"There's nothing strange in that, for, if you and Pongo were on the plains of 

 New Mexico or Arizona, it would be^<?, and not he, who would be the first to dis- 

 cover the approach of danger." 



Jack, however, was not prepared to admit that his skill was any the less because 

 he happened to be in the Dark Continent, instead of galloping over the prairies of 

 his own glorious land. 



But the declaration of the director of the expedition received a striking confirma- 

 tion before the Texan could say much in the way of protest. 



Naturally, while the Americans sat on the ground, discussing the situation, 

 their eyes turned toward the range of hills where Pongo had detected signs of 

 the presence of his warlike countrymen. Along the crest of the nearest range, 

 fully a score and a half of Bushmen suddenly appeared, rising to view as simul- 

 taneously as if they formed a line of trained cavalry that had come up the slope 

 on a walk. 



Every one of the hunters seemed to detect them at the same moment, several 

 expressions of surprise being uttered. All, with the exception of Orak, instantly 

 sprang to their feet and stared wonderingly at the savage horsemen. 



The latter formed a picturesque sight. Their animals were small and of a dark 

 color, their riders being naked, with the exception of a kind of breech-cloth of 

 sheep-skin. Their heads looked large, because of the spread of bushy wool above, 

 and the only armament of half of them was a single long spear, while the rest 

 carried bows and arrows. The bows of the Bushmen are small, and they carry their 

 arrows thrust in their head-dress, from which they can snatch and fire them so 

 rapidly that one of the insignificant warriors often has two or three missiles in the 

 air at the same time. 



These did not seem to be formidable weapons, but, when you learn that each 

 spear and arrow was tipped with deadly poison, you will understand the dread in 

 which they are held by their enemies. 



The bows were short and sturdy, but the Bushmen who use them do so with 

 surprising accuracy, while those who throw the javelins display a skill hardly less 

 than that of the warriors of antiquity. 



Certainly there was no such emotion as fear, among the American members of 

 th< hunting party when they surveyed the row of native horsemen on the crest at 



