236 



A Breath from the Veldt 



any farther I should lose not only myself but my horse. But for that, I could 

 undoubtedly have captured the antelope on foot. 



In no very happy mood I returned, and without much difficulty found my 

 steed, who was still standing with head down and heaving flanks. After some 

 ten minutes' rest I started to return, moving, as I thought, in the direction of 

 the camp, but after a walk of an hour it got pitch dark and I could only 

 make a blind guess at the way home. I knew, however, I must have come 

 somewhere about as far as I had ridden, so I climbed a high tree, in the hope 

 of seeing the glow of our fire. 



No ; nothing but impenetrable darkness presented itself on all sides. I was 

 in for a night on the open Veldt — that was plain enough — so down I sat to 

 meditate on the situation, and how to make the best of it. 



Whilst musing thus I distinctly heard the subdued roar of a lion not very 

 far off, answered by another apparently far away. That woke me up, and I lost 

 no time in building a huge fire and tying up Brenke to a tree. The next thing 

 was to cut grass for him with my hunting-knife. This task was laborious and 

 not very successful, for to cut hard, coarse grass with a hand-knife is a slow 

 process. Poor Brenke was so played out that he could not eat. I, too, was 

 dead tired, and as hungry as an ostrich, having eaten nothing since the morning. 



By and by the moon rose, and the lion again roared some way off. I climbed 

 the tree again to have another spy. This time I thought I heard a shot, and a 

 few minutes after I was sure that it was followed by another. The difficulty 

 was to tell its direction, but happily all doubts were soon at rest. I heard the 

 sound of frogs and water-insects close at hand, and then I knew that the spruit 

 must be close by, and that I had only to follow it up westward to find the camp. 

 Now riding at night in a country like this is not a very safe or pleasant under- 

 taking ; but I was ravenously hungry, tired, and cold ; so I saddled Brenke 

 again, and as the moon was bright and the ground flat and open, I cantered 

 quietly along for about a mile, when I saw, to my joy, the gleam of the camp 

 fire ; and not long after this I was enjoying tea and rostercooks, and some 

 strong language from Oom Roelef, who had not only lost his buck but expended 

 six of his cartridges on my unworthy self The old man was in a great state of 

 mind, and swore he would not let me go out hunting again without a string. 



The following day I should have gone in search of the wounded antelope, but 

 that I knew I could not find the place again. And now a petty chief turned up 

 and said he would take us to a pan under the mountain where many roans, sable 

 and koodoos, and some giraffes drank. We thought we could put in a week 



