nd listen
to them."

Gertie complied with alacrity, and took her father's arm.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, with a little scream, as a thorn full five inches
long gave her a wicked probe on the left shoulder.

Hans Marais sprang up and gallantly raised the branch which had touched
her.

"It is only Kafirs who can run against mimosa thorns with impunity,"
said the handsome young Dutchman.

Gertie laughed, remarked that mimosa thorns, like South African
gentlemen, were unusually long and sharp, and passed on.

Hans sat down on the ground, filled his large pipe, and gazed dreamily
into the fire, with something of the sensation of a hunter when he makes
a bad shot.

"Now then, Goliath," said the ever busy George Dally; "move your long
legs out o' that. Don't you see the pot's about to bile over?"

Hans quietly obeyed.

"If I chanced to be alongside o' that Tottie over there just now,"
continued George, "I'd be inclined to stop his noise with a rap on his
spotted pate."

"You'd have to make it a heavy rap, then, to produce any effect," said
Hans, taking a long draw at his pipe, "for he belongs to a hard-headed
race."

The truth of the young farmer's words was verified just then in a way
that was alarming as well as unexpected.

One of the heavy waggons, which had been delayed behind the others by
some trifling accident, came lumbering up just as Hans spoke. There was
a softish sandy spot in advance of it, into which one of the front
wheels plunged. The tilt caught on part of the waggon to which Ruyter
belonged. To prevent damage the active Hottentot sprang forward. In
doing so he tripped and fell. At the same instant a tremendous crack of
the whip and a shout produced a wrench at the waggon, the hind wheel of
which went over Ruyter's head and crushed it into the ground!

A roar of consternation followed, and several eager hands carefully dug
out the poor man's head. To the surprise of all, the five-ton waggon
had _not_ flattened it! The sand was so soft that it had not been
squeezed at all--at least to any damaging extent,--a round stone having
opportunely taken much of the pressure on itself, so that the Hottentot
soon revived, and, beyond a headache, was little the worse of the
accident. He returned to his place at the fire, but did not resume his
part in the discussions, which were continued as noisily as before.

In strong contrast with the other groups were those of the Dutch-African
boers who had b