the forks, and upon these the meat was suspended, and hung down in
numberless festoons.

Before the sun went down, the neighbourhood of the camp presented a rare
appearance. It looked somewhat like the enclosure of a yarn-bleacher,
except that the hanging strips, instead of being white, were of a
beautiful clear ruby colour.

But the work was not yet completed. The feet remained to be
"preserved," and the mode of curing these was entirely different. That
was a secret known only to Swartboy, and in the execution of it the
Bushman played first fiddle, with the important air of a _chef de
cuisine_. He proceeded as follows:--

He first dug a hole in the ground, about two feet deep, and a little
more in diameter--just large enough to admit one of the feet, which was
nearly two feet diameter at the base. The earth which came out of this
hole Swartboy placed in the form of a loose embankment around the edge.

By his direction the boys had already collected upon the spot a large
quantity of dried branches and logs. These Swartboy now built over the
hole, into a pyramid of ten feet high, and then set the pile on fire.
He next proceeded to make three other pits precisely similar, and built
over each a fire like the first, until four large fires were burning
upon the ground.

The fires being now fairly under way, he could only wait until each had
burned down. This would carry the process into the night, and so it
turned out; but Swartboy had a foresight of this. He knew he would get
through with the more important portion of his work before bedtime.

When the first fire had burned quite to red cinders, Swartboy's hardest
turn of duty began. With a shovel he lifted the cinders out of the
hole, until it was empty; but he was more than an hour in performing
this apparently simple labour. The difficulty arose from the intense
heat he had to encounter, which drove him back after every few moments'
work; so that he was compelled to retreat at intervals in order to cool
himself.

The "baas," as well as Hendrik and Hans, took turns with him, until all
four were perspiring as if they had been shut up for half-an-hour in a
baker's oven.

When the hole was thoroughly scooped clean of coals, Swartboy, assisted
by Von Bloom, lifted one of the huge feet; and, carrying it as near as
they dare go on account of the scorching heat, they dropped it in upon
its base.

The sandy earth which had been originally removed, and which