He assures me--and I believe him when he says that he loves the boy as
if he were his own child--that he has made him his heir, and that he
will, he hopes, inherit a fair estate and a good sum at the bank. Of
course I am unwilling to deprive the boy of these advantages, which are
superior to any I can hope to give him. At the same time, if he
accompanies Hendricks, he will be exposed to many dangers, and might not
live to enjoy them. I hope, however, that Hendricks will allow me to
bring the boy away, when I promise to restore him should he not prove to
be our son, or should he desire to return; and I trust he will not under
any circumstances alter his intentions towards him. The boy, as it is,
has no real claim upon the hunter, who might at any time change his
mind, and leave him destitute, though I do not, judging from his
character, see any likelihood of his doing that. I however must, at all
events, remain here some days, for I have lost two horses on the
journey, and my faithful follower, Vermack, has been so severely injured
by a lion, narrowly escaping with his life, that he is at present
utterly unable to travel, though he declares he shall be as soon as I am
prepared to start. He received the injury from which he is suffering on
the morning of the day we reached this place. He had got off to tighten
the girths of his saddle, but had again mounted, and was following some
way behind, when a monstrous animal rushed out from behind a thicket,
and sprang on his horse. His side and leg were much lacerated as he
threw himself from his saddle, and before he could get on his feet and
unsling his rifle, the lion had killed his horse, and was about to leap
on him, but the brave old Dutchman was up to the emergency. The sound
of his shot, as he fired at the brute's head, was the first indication
we had of his danger.

"`Galloping back, we saw him on the ground, while the lion lay dead on
the top of the horse, close to him. Fortunately, Hendricks had
outspanned at no great distance off, and had sent out some hunters, who,
coming up directly afterwards, assisted us in carrying the wounded man
to the camp. That very night the horses which Denis Maloney and the
Kaffir had ridden were attacked by a troop of hyenas, and one was so
severely injured that we were obliged to put him out of his misery.
Hendricks cannot spare us any of his horses, and it may be some days
before I can obtain any fresh ones, though I have sent