down and had sworn to shoot him, he had ridden on 

 to Komati, leaving one horse behind bad with horse- 

 sickness. The report about shooting him was, of course, 

 ridiculous probably his own imagination but it was 

 some comfort to know that he was in such a state of 

 terror that his own fancies were hunting him down. 



At Komati we learned that he had stayed three days 

 at the store of that Goanese murderer, Antonio the 

 same Antonio who on one occasion had tried to drug 

 and hand over to the enemy two of our men who had got 

 into trouble defending themselves against raiding 

 natives ; the same Antonio who afterwards made an 

 ill-judged attempt to stab one Mickey O'Connor in 

 a Barberton canteen and happily got brained with a 

 bottle of his own doctored spirit for his pains. 



Antonio suspecting something wrong about a white 

 man who came on horseback and dawdled aimlessly 

 three days at Komati Drift, going indoors whenever 

 a stranger appeared, wormed the secret out with 

 liquor and sympathy ; and when he had got most of 

 Seedling's money out of him, by pretence of bribing 

 the Portuguese officials and getting news, made a bold 

 bid for the rest by saying that a warrant was out for 

 him in Delagoa and he must on no account go on. 

 The evil-looking half-caste no doubt hoped to get the 

 horse saddle and bridle, as well as the cash, and was 

 quite prepared to drug Seedling when the time came, 

 and slip him quietly into the Komati at night where 

 the crocodiles would take care of the evidence. 



Antonio, however, overshot the mark ; Seedling 

 who knew all about him, took fright, saddled up and 



