a wide and prolonged exposure
of his teeth, readily agreed to do.

Langley was extremely voluble to Whitson that night over his new
acquaintance. Whitson listened with his usual impassiveness, and then
asked Langley how it was that "an old loafing nigger," as he expressed
it, had impressed him so remarkably. Langley replied that he did not
quite know, but he thought the effect was largely due to the man's
teeth. But all the same he was "a very entertaining old buffer."

Next afternoon, Langley was so impatient to resume conversation with
his new friend, that he repaired to the ant-heap quite half-an-hour
before the appointed time. He had not, however, long to wait, as Ghamba
soon appeared emerging from a donga a couple of hundred yards away.

Langley was more impressed than ever. Ghamba told him all about the
Basutos, amongst whom he had lived; about the old days in Natal, before
even the Dutch occupation, when Tshaka's impis wiped whole tribes out
of existence; of the recent wars in Zululand and the Cape Colony, and
as to the probability of future disturbances. Charmed as was Langley by
the old man's conversation, he felt that on this occasion there was a
little too much of it, that Ghamba was not nearly so good a listener as
he had been on the previous day, so when the latter at length put a
question to him, thus affording an opportunity for the exercise of his
own pent-up loquacity, Langley felt elated, more especially as several
inquiries were grouped together in the one asking, Ghamba asked whether
anything had been heard of Umhlonhlo; whether the capture of that
fugitive rebel was considered likely, and whether it was true that a
reward of 1500 pounds had been offered by the Government for his
capture, dead or alive.

Umhlonhlo, it will be remembered, was the Pondomise chief who rebelled
in 1880, treacherously murdered Mr. Hope, the magistrate of Qumbu, and
his two companions, and who has since been an outlaw with a price on
his head.

Langley replied to the effect that it was quite true such a reward had
been offered; that nothing as yet had been ascertained as to
Umhlonhlo's whereabouts, but that the Government believed him to be in
Pondoland; that he was sure to be captured eventually; that he,
Langley, only wished he knew where Umhlonhlo was, so as to have the
chance of making five hundred pounds with which to buy a certain nice
little farm he knew of; and that should he ever succeed in obtaining
the