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“etll” the da mat? a. 
On first seeing the gnoos, I left my henchman, 
“ Bill,” a Damara lad, who carried my spare gun, 
at some distance behind, with directions to follow 
on my track according to circumstances. Now that 
the gnoos were lost to me, I shouted loudly to the 
youth, and also discharged iny gun more than once, 
but was unable to elicit a reply. Thinking, how¬ 
ever, that he might have returned to our encamp¬ 
ment (which was at no great distance) I also 
repaired there. But “ Bill” had not been heard of. 
The harassing suspicion at once crossed my mind 
that the lions had eaten him. Without a moment’s 
delay, I hurried back to the spot where I had last 
seen the beasts, but all my endeavours to find the 
poor fellow were unavailing. What with my anxiety 
on his account, and my exertions under a broiling 
sun (for if the weather was frosty at night, it cal¬ 
cined one by day), I was unable to proceed farther, 
and sat down on the ground to wait for the 
arrival of the waggons, which were now moving 
forward. Just at this moment, the Damara, to my 
inexpressible delight, emerged from the bush. His 
story was soon told. He had, like myself, lost his 
way, and it was long before he was able to recover 
the right track.” 
Again : late one evening I had badly wounded a 
lion, and at an early hour on the succeeding morn¬ 
ing was following the bloody tracks of the beast, in 
the hope of- putting an end to his career. Pre¬ 
sently we came upon the “ spoor” of a whole troop 
of lions, and also that of a solitary giraffe. So many 
tracks confused us; and whilst endeavouring to 
H 
