CHAPTER IV 



" bush-rangers' rest " 



After a little trouble we luckily picked on a camp 

 with all the qualifications required : well hidden 

 in the bush, but close to the river, with good 

 grazing close by. As there were no native kraals 

 for a good many miles on any side of us, we found 

 game, which was absolutely essential, quite plenti- 

 ful. Though never staying in one camp very long, 

 for we always kept moving lest we should be caught 

 or trapped, we came to look upon this as, at least, 

 our head camp and meeting-place, and it got to 

 be known amongst all the scouts as " The Bush- 

 rangers' Rest." 



I certainly had no wish to fall into the hands of 

 any German patrol, for I feared there might 

 have been some little difficulty in explaining my 

 previous trip through their colony, since, of course, 

 I should have been recognised. Old Rensberg, 

 too, reckoned that if they got in, " being a Dutch- 

 man " would have been ground enough for putting 

 him out of the world. 



Our first work was to see the principal Induna 

 on the river, one Siccumberro, a rather pleasant- 

 looking and decent native. He had behaved well 



no 



