A NEST OF BEES 
I2I 
' calling,’ by following which he hoped to find honey. 
Presently we heard a whistle, and running up found ‘ Nora’ 
contemplating a tall ants’ nest 8 or 9 feet high, with 
a huge grin on his ugly face. On closer inspection I 
perceived a lot of bees crawling in and out of holes in the 
pillar of the old ants’ nest. We were soon at work collect- 
ing dry sticks and grass, and lighting two bonfires to 
windward of the pillar. We then by our collective weight 
broke the pillar in two, and bolted as hard as we could go, 
followed by a perfect swarm of bees, which stung us all over 
from head to foot. Then, armed with torches of burning 
wood and sticks, we approached the base of the ants’ nest, 
and with the aid of an axe got at some honey, which we 
lifted out. 
The fires had now caught the thick bush round the nest, 
and, blazing up to an immense height, forced us to beat a 
hasty retreat, with the exception of ‘ Nora,’ who, armed with 
his axe, and standing absolutely naked, surrounded by 
flames, remained hacking away at the ants’ nest, and every 
now and then putting his hand into the hole and producing 
more honey, whilst above and upon his head swarmed the 
bees. Up his naked back they crawled in hundreds, and 
little did he seem to care or notice the stings, except that 
every now and then he would stop for a second to scratch 
himself. 
The base of the hill was so hard that it was impossible to 
break it, so we left what honey remained in it to the busy 
little workers. After dusting off the bees which crawled 
over the immense quantity we had collected, we put it in a 
tohe, and as we walked away an onlooker w^ould assuredly 
have laughed heartily at our comical appearance, as we all 
scratched away at the irritating stings we had received. 
It was quite the most delicious-flavoured honey I had ever 
tasted, but, then, the circumstances attending its capture 
gave us a greater relish for it. 
In the afternoon we encountered a lot of game, but as 
we were going down-wind the whole time, and the caravan 
