netrated further in toward the heart of this
district, their anticipations in the matter of game became ever more
abundantly realised; vast herds of antelope of various descriptions, and
including more than one new species, being constantly visible from the
ship's deck whenever she was raised a few hundred feet in the air. And,
in addition to antelope, a few elephants, an occasional herd of buffalo,
a troop or two of wild horses, a rhinoceros, a family of lions, a
skulking leopard, or a gorilla, was a by no means unusual sight; to say
nothing of the countless troops of monkeys and other unimportant game
with which the country seemed to be literally swarming.

Such a district seemed to be the very realisation of a sportsman's or a
naturalist's dream of paradise; and it was quickly decided that a halt
should be called, and at least a few days devoted to the pursuit of game
and the collection of natural history specimens. A suitable spot in
which to bring the _Flying Fish_ to earth was accordingly sought for,
and found in a small open space of about thirty acres, almost entirely
surrounded by bush, and in close proximity to a tiny streamlet which
emptied itself into a small shallow lake about half a mile distant from
the selected site.

Here they hunted with moderate success for a week, not killing any very
large amount of game--for they soon discovered that they could do very
little without horses--but managing, by patient stalking and the
secreting of themselves in artfully devised ambushes, to secure a few
choice and rare skins and horns, besides the tusks of eight elephants
and the plumage of over a dozen ostriches.

On the day of their departure from this temporary halting-place,
however, a piece of surprising and wholly unexpected good fortune befell
them. It was one of those especially glorious mornings which are never
encountered anywhere but in the tropics. A very heavy dew had fallen
during the night, revivifying the vegetation parched by the fervid heat
of the previous day, and causing the foliage and flowers to glow for a
brief period in their brightest and freshest tints, whilst they exhaled
their choicest odours; and a light cool northerly breeze imparted a
temporary freshness to the early morning air, as yet uninfluenced by the
scarcely risen sun.

They had "broken camp," and had risen to a height of about one thousand
feet above the ground level, preparatory to the resumption of their
southward jour