248 CATTLE STEALERS AT NIGHT. [chap. ix. 
tlie only remaining camel and some of the donkeys I 
have covered with jackets made of tent-cloth. 
“ June 21 si. —Nil. 
“ June 22 d .—We were awoke last night by a report 
from the sentry that natives were prowling around the 
camp; — I accordingly posted three additional guards. 
At a little after 2 a.m. a shot was fired, followed by two 
others in quick succession, and a sound as of many feet 
running quickly was heard passing the entrance of the 
camp. I was up in a moment, and my men were 
quickly under arms : the Turks’ drum beat, and their 
camp (that was contiguous to mine) was alive with 
men, but all was darkness. I lighted my policeman’s 
lantern, that was always kept ready trimmed, and I 
soon arrived at the spot where the shot had been fired. 
The natives had been endeavouring to steal the cattle 
from the Turks’ kraal, and favoured by the darkness 
they had commenced burrowing with the intention of 
removing the thorn bushes that formed the fence. Un¬ 
fortunately for the thieves, they were unaware that 
there were watchers in the kraal among the cattle : 
it was a pitch dark night, and nothing could be dis¬ 
tinguished ; but the attention of one of the sentries was 
attracted by the snorting and stamping of the goats, 
that evidently denoted the presence of something un¬ 
common. He then perceived close to him, on the other 
side the hedge, a dark object crouching, and others 
standing, and he heard the bushes moving as though 
some one was at work to remove them. He imme¬ 
diately fired; and the sound of a rush of men in retreat 
induced both him and the other sentry to repeat the 
shot. By the light of the lantern we now searched the 
place, and discovered the body of a native lying close 
to the fence just above a considerable hole that he had 
scraped beneath the thorns, in order to extract the 
stems that were buried in the ground, and thus by 
drawing away the bushes he would have effected an 
entrance. He had commenced operations exactly op¬ 
posite the sentry, and the musket being loaded with 
