p. And then you must skin him, and
let him go again. The others will travel miles and miles as
soon as they see him, and never come back again.'

"'It makes me sick to think of it,' said Shadrach. 'Surely
you know some other way of scaring them?'

"The old Kafir shook his head slowly, but the yellow man
ceased to smile and play with the straw and spoke.

"'I do not believe in that way, baas. A Shangaan baboon'--he
grinned at his companion--'is more easily frightened than
those of the Drakensberg. I am of the bushmen, and I know.
If you flay one of those up yonder, the others will make
war, and where one came before, ten will come every night.
A baboon is not a fat lazy Kafir; one must be careful with
him.'

"'How would you drive them away, then?' asked Shadrach.

"The yellow man shuffled his hands in the dust, squatting
on his heels. There! There! See, the baboon in the yard is
doing the very same thing.

"'If I were the baas,' said the yellow man, 'I would turn
out the young men to walk round the fields at night, with
buckets to hit with sticks, and make a noise. And I--well, I
am of the bushmen--' he scratched himself and smiled
emptily.

"'Yes, yes?' demanded Shadrach. He knew the wonderful ways
of the bushmen with some animals.

"'I do not know if anything can be done,' said the yellow
man, 'but if the baas is willing I can go up to the rocks
and try.'

"'How?'

"But he could tell nothing. None of these wizards that have
charms to subdue the beasts can tell you anything about it.
A Hottentot will smell the air and say what cattle are
near, but if you bid him tell you how he does it, he
giggles like a fool and is ashamed.

"'I do not know if anything can be done,' the yellow man
repeated. 'I cannot promise the baas, but I can try.'

"'Well, try then,' ordered Shadrach, and went away to make
the necessary arrangements to have the young Kafirs in the
fields that night.

"They did as he bade, and the noise was loathsome,--enough
to frighten anything with an ear in its head. The Kafirs
did not relish the watch in the dark at first, but when
they found that their work was only to thump buckets and
howl, they came to do it with zest, and roared and banged
till you would have thought a judgment must descend on
them. The baboons heard it, sure enough, and came down
after a while to see what was going on. They sat on their
rumps outside the circle of Kafirs, as quiet as people in a
church, and watched