nearly
always able to make my way to any required point of the compass by
following certain well-defined animal paths, which I mapped out bit by
bit during my explorations. On this occasion, for instance, as soon as
we had crossed the river and had struck into the jungle, we were
fortunate enough to find a rhino path leading in the right direction,
which greatly facilitated our progress. As we were making our way along
this path through the dry bed of a nullah, I happened to notice that
the sandy bottom sparkled here and there where the sunbeams penetrated
the dense foliage. This at once filled my head with thoughts of
precious stones, and as the spot looked likely enough, I started to dig
vigorously at the gravel with my hunting knife. After a few minutes of
this work, I came across what I at first took to be a magnificent
diamond sparkling in the damp sand: it was about half an inch long, and
its facets looked as if they had been cut by an Amsterdam expert. I
tested the stone on my watch glass and found that it cut my initials
quite easily, and though I knew that quartz would do this as well, it
did not seem to me to have either the general appearance or angles of
any quartz I had ever seen. For a moment or two I was greatly delighted
with my discovery, and began to have rosy dreams of a diamond mine; but
I am sorry to say that on closer examination and testing I was forced
to the conclusion that my find was not a diamond, though unlike any
other mineral I had ever come across.

My hopes of rapidly becoming a millionaire having thus been dashed to
the ground, we proceeded on our way, getting further and further into
the depths of a gloomy forest. A little distance on, I noticed through
a break in the trees a huge rhino standing in full view near the edge
of a ravine. Unfortunately he caught sight of us as well, and before I
could take aim, he snorted loudly and crashed off through the tangled
undergrowth. As I followed up this ravine, walking stealthily along in
the delightful shade of the overhanging palms, I observed on my left a
little nullah which opened out of the main channel through a confused
mass of jungle and creeper. Through this tangle there was a
well-defined archway, doubtless made by the regular passage of rhino
and hippo, so I decided to enter and explore what lay beyond. I had not
gone very far when I came upon a big bay scooped out of the bank by the
stream when in flood and carpeted with a deposit