exceedingly unwilling to leave their cover or expose
themselves in any way.

On his right the river bank was but a couple of hundred yards, and
running up from this was a bush-fringed donga, which might be any or no
depth, but which ended at about half that distance. Upon this Blachland
had got his eye and was puzzling out as to how he might turn it to
account. Now he discovered that the same idea was occurring to his
assailants, for although the intervening space was almost devoid of
bush, the grass was long and tangled from the bush line to the chasm,
and it was shaking and quivering in a very suspicious manner.

"Great minds jump together," he muttered grimly, all his attention
centred on this point, and entirely disregarding a terrific fire which
was suddenly opened upon him, with the object, he suspected, of
diverting it. "Just as I thought."

One glimpse only, of the naked, crawling savage, flattened to the earth,
but even that was sufficient. The thud of the bullet ploughing through
ribs and vitals, was music to his ears as that savage flattened out more
completely, beating the earth in his death throes; and a very shout of
exultant snarling laughter escaped him--mingling with the roar of rage
that went up from his enemies. He was growing terrible now--ferocious,
bloodthirsty, as his ruthless foes, yet cool and firm as the rock behind
which he lay.

"Two shots, two birds!" he exclaimed. "If I can keep on at this rate
it's good enough."

The assailants were now mad with rage. They howled out taunts and
jeers, and blood-curdling promises of the vengeance they would wreak
upon him when they got him into their power. At this he laughed--
laughed long and loud.

"That will be never!" he cried. "Ho, Ziboza, thou valiant fighting
induna. How many of the King's hunting dogs does it take to pull down
one lion? Are the Ingubu all killed or have they driven thee from their
midst to follow a new leader? But I tell thee, Ziboza, thou art a dead
man this day. I may be, but thou art surely."

"Ah--ah--'Sipau!" snarled the chief. "It is easy to boast, but thou art
cornered. We have thee now."

"Not yet. And a cornered animal is a dangerous one. Come and take me."

To this interchange of amenities succeeded a lull. Clearly they were
planning some fresh surprise. And then Blachland started, with a pang
of sharp pain. His left hand was streaming blood. Then his spirits
rose again. It was only a cut