ut a safer camping ground where they might,
perhaps, obtain immunity from such unpleasant nocturnal visitors.

Through the livelong night the thoughts of both Leigh and Kenyon had, as
may well be imagined, been very busy; but whilst Leigh was entirely
absorbed in the one idea of avenging his murdered wife and child, the
purposes of the American went deeper. He, too, had a righteous act of
retribution to perform, but he had also first, in the execution of his
duty, to find Grenville alive, and release him, if it could be done; and
then, again, vengeance, according to his idea, would not be consummated
by a bullet wound or a spear-thrust: he simply yearned to get his hated
enemy in his clutches, and to make him ignominiously expiate the
countless crimes of his villainous life under the hands of the public
executioner, but feared that such a triumph would be utterly
unobtainable, for, setting aside all other considerations, and glancing
at Leigh's stern, set countenance, Kenyon felt that the common enemy
would receive but short shrift so far as the Englishman was concerned if
once he fell into the power of the little band.

Clearly, however, it was little use as yet planning the cooking of a
hare which appeared much more likely to catch them than to allow the
reverse to happen, and until they knew how and where the enemy was
posted it was absolutely necessary to exercise the greatest discretion,
which, in vulgar parlance, meant "making themselves scarce," which they
accordingly did without further loss of time, giving the place leg-bail,
and putting five-and-twenty miles between themselves and the kloof ere
they again halted for the night.

CHAPTER FOUR.

THE MOUTH OF HELL.

Leigh had naturally asked Kenyon for an explanation of his wild
excitement consequent upon the production of the treasured scrap of
paper, and for information concerning the murderer whom he designated as
"Zero," and these details the American had promised to give him the
moment he was absolutely sure that the man whom he now knew to be,
without a doubt, responsible for the deaths of Lady Drelincourt and her
infant son, was identical with the slaver for whom their party was
searching. Of this last he felt morally certain, for his deductions
had, all through, proved much too correct to turn out utterly wrong in
their final act: still it was a methodical and praiseworthy habit of
his, born of his wide experience amongst criminals of every clas