tching the grazing cattle, with the Illaka seated
upon a fallen tree nursing his spear and looking on, while in the
distance, each with his gun over his arm, they could see Sir James and
the doctor, evidently making a circuit of the camp.

"Ponies, gen'lemen?" said the big fellow. "No, I ain't seen them; I
have been so busy over my bullocks. Somebody must have taken them down
to the riverside to get a good feed a-piece of that strong reedy grass
that they are so fond of. You will find them down there."

"Come along," cried Mark, and the two boys hurried off in the direction
of the river, threading their way amongst the trees till they caught
sight of the running water sparkling in the rays of the morning sun.

"There they are," cried Mark, "munching away and regularly enjoying
themselves. Oh, you beauties! But hallo! Who's that chap watching
them?" and he drew his cousin's attention to a tall, thin, peculiar
looking fellow who was standing close to the water's edge watching the
ponies as if to keep them from going farther along the stream.

The man turned his head as he heard the boys approach, and then looked
back at the ponies and drove one a short distance nearer the camp.

"Hullo, you!" cried Mark sharply. "What are you doing here?"

The man shrugged his shoulders, and made a comprehensive sign which
included the four little animals.

"Yes, I see that," said Mark, "but what do you want here?"

The man shook his head sadly, and the boys saw that he was very yellow,
as if dried in the sun, and had a particularly thin and peculiar face,
with two long, pendant, yellowish moustachios which reached far beneath
his chin. His beard was closely clipped, and they noted that he held a
pair of small scissors, and as he drew back one of his twisted
moustachios, he was occupied the while carefully snipping off the
greyish stubble that just showed slightly upon his chin.

"But how did you come here?" asked Mark.

"Walked," said the man sadly.

"When?"

"Last--night," sighed the stranger, uttering the first word in quite a
high-pitched tone, the second sounding almost like a groan.

He was very shabbily dressed--just an old flannel shirt and a pair of
fustian trousers, while his head was covered by one of the regular,
broad-brimmed, flop felt hats so common amongst Englishmen for
protection from the sun.

"Well, you are a cheerful looking gentleman," thought Mark, and he had
hard work on meeting his cousin's