it sufficed to relieve them all, and a
night of comparative comfort followed a day of suffering.

Next morning, just after breakfast, a herd of springboks was observed,
and several of the more eager of the party dashed off in pursuit. Among
these was Considine, Hans, Andrew Rivers, and Jerry Goldboy. The two
last were always first in the mad pursuit of game, and caused their
placid Dutch friends no little anxiety by the scrapes they frequently
ran themselves into.

"Follow them, they'll get lost," said Van Dyk to a group of Hottentots.

Two of these, Slinger and Dikkop, obeyed the order.

The antelopes were on a distant sandhill in the plain. There were two
groups of them. Riven and Jerry made for one of these. Becoming
suddenly imbued with an idea worthy of a hunter, Jerry diverged to the
right, intending to allow his companion to start the game, while he
should lie in wait for it under the shelter of a bush. Unfortunately
the game took the opposite direction when started, so that Jerry was
thrown entirely out. As it chanced, however, this did not matter much,
for Jerry's horse, becoming unmanageable, took to its heels and dashed
away wildly over the plain, followed by Dikkop the Hottentot.

"Mind the ant-bear holes!" shouted Dikkop, but as he shouted in Dutch
Jerry did not understand him, and devoted himself to vain endeavours to
restrain the horse. At first the animal looked after itself and avoided
the holes referred to, but as Jerry kept tugging furiously at the reins
it became reckless, and finally put a fore-leg into a hole. Instantly
it rolled over, and the hunter flew off its back, turning a complete
somersault in the air.

A low shrub grows in the karroo, called the ill-tempered thorn. It
resembles a mass of miniature porcupine quills, an inch or two in
length, planted as thickly as possible together, with the needle-points
up and bristling. On one of these shrubs poor Jerry alighted!

"Oh! 'eavens, this is hagony!" he groaned, jumping up and stamping,
while Dikkop almost fell off his horse with laughing.

To hide his mirth he bolted off in pursuit of Jerry's charger, which he
soon caught and brought back, looking supernaturally grave.

"We will rejoin the 'unters, Dikkop," said Jerry, in the tone of a man
who endeavours to conceal his sufferings.

"Ja, Mynheer," said Dikkop.

Whatever Jerry Goldboy might have said, that Hottentot would have
replied "Ja, Mynheer," for he understood not a