with his fellows. I fired again, straight into the shoulder this time, and
brought him down; but he took a third bullet before he cried
_peccavi_. I had a good time for pretty near the whole of that day,
and was lamenting that I had not brought a Cape cart and pair of horses
with me to bring home the spoil, when, happening to look into the face of
my brown guide, I saw that his complexion had turned the colour of blighted
sandalwood. He did not speak, but swift as thought ripped out his knife,
and cut the thongs which bound the springbok and other trophies of the
day's sport to his saddle, letting everything fall in an undignified heap
on to the veldt. Then, without a word of farewell, or any other kind of
word for that matter, he drove his one spur into the flank of his wretched
nag, and fled round the bend of a kopje, which, thank Providence, was close
handy, and as he went I saw something splash against a rock a dozen yards
behind him. I had glanced hurriedly over the veldt the moment I caught that
queer expression on the saffron face of my assistant, but as far as the eye
could reach I could see nothing. Now, however, looking backwards, I saw
three or four men riding out of a donga two thousand five hundred yards
away.

Twenty-five seconds later I had caught and passed my fleeing servant, who
was heading for some kopjes, which lay right in front, about a mile and a
half away. As I passed him he yelled, "Booers, baas, Booers! Ride hard,
baas, ride hard; there are three hundred in the donga." When I heard that
item of news I just sat down and attended strictly to business, and I am
free to wager that never since the day he was foaled had that horse covered
so much ground in so short a space of time as he did by the time he reached
the kopjes. My servant had adroitly dodged into a sluit which hid him from
view, and I knew that he could work his way out far better than I could.
Besides, if they captured him, the worst he would get would be a cut across
the neck with a sjambok for acting as hunting-guide to a detested
Rooitbaaitje; whilst as for me, they would in all probability discredit my
tale concerning the hunting trip, and give me a free, but rapid, pass to
that land which we all hope to see eventually, but none of us are anxious
to start for; because a correspondent has no right to carry a rifle during
war time, a thing I never do unless I am out hunting. I gave my tired horse
a spell, whilst I searched the veldt w