y bending down over the neck of his horse, and escaped.
He was quickly up to his friends.

"Hurrah! here he comes," said Denis. "I will relieve you, Crawford, and
mount my animal."

"But he has no saddle," said Crawford.

"Oh, never mind that; I've ridden many a mile without one; and your
horse will go all the faster for not having my weight on his back,"
answered Denis, as he threw himself off and quickly mounted one of the
horses Gozo brought up.

No time was lost in asking Gozo questions. Lionel, who was as well
accustomed to ride without a saddle as was Denis, at once climbed up on
the back of his own horse.

Again the party set off, allowing the herdsmen to escape with their
cattle; and looking back, they saw the Zulus in considerable numbers on
the top of the hill they had just crossed; but the slope on the opposite
side was not very steep, and pushing on they gained the summit before
their pursuers had reached the bottom of the valley. Waving an ironical
farewell, they galloped forward. Still it was prudent not to pull rein
as yet, and on they went at a rate which soon carried them far out of
reach of their enemies.

"I wish that Mangaleesu had not joined Umbulazi; for though the prince
fancies he will succeed, there is every probability that he will be
defeated, as, besides being supported by the king, Cetchwayo has by far
the larger number of people with him," said Hendricks, addressing
Crawford. "Had I found an opportunity, I would have spoken to
Mangaleesu on the subject, and urged him to retreat while there was
time."

While the two elders of the party were conversing as they rode on
together, the three boys were galloping alongside each other and
exchanging remarks in somewhat disjointed sentences, as people are wont
to do when going at a fast rate on horseback, especially if their steeds
are without saddles, as was the case in the present instance with two of
the lads.

"I cannot tell you how glad I was to see you come back with Hendricks,
for I was much afraid that you had been caught by the Zulus and killed,"
said Percy, turning to Lionel. "How did you manage to escape?"

"It was not so difficult as you might have supposed," answered Lionel.
"When I got out of the hut, I crept along, keeping as much as possible
under the shadow of bushes and rocks. If I heard the slightest sound, I
stopped and lay flat on the ground, just as the Zulus do when
approaching an enemy or trying to escape.