had set, the long white cap-tent was gleaming under the
leafy screen of the gigantic "nwana."

CHAPTER XV.

THE TERRIBLE TSETSE.

The verdant carpet that stretched away around them--the green leaves
upon the trees--the flowers by the fountain--the crystal water in its
bed--the black bold rocks towering up at a distance--all combined to
make a lovely picture. The eyes of the wayfarers were glad as they
beheld it; and while the wagon was outspanning, every one gave utterance
to their delightful emotions.

The place seemed to please every one. Hans loved its quiet and sylvan
beauty. It was just such a place as he would choose to ramble in, book in
hand, and dream away many a pleasant hour. Hendrik liked it much,
because he had already observed what he termed "extensive spoor" about
the spot: in other words, he had noticed the tracks of many of Africa's
largest wild animals.

Little Trueey was delighted to see so many beautiful flowers. There were
bright scarlet geraniums, and starlike sweet-scented jessamines, and the
gorgeous belladonna lily, with its large blossoms of rose-colour and
white; and there were not only plants in flower, but bushes, and even
trees, covered with gaudy and sweetly-perfumed blossoms. There was the
"sugar-bush," the most beautiful of its family, with its large
cup-shaped corollas of pink, white, and green; and there, too, was the
"silver-tree" whose soft silvery leaves playing in the breeze, looked
like a huge mass of silken flowers; and there were the mimosas covered
with blossoms of golden yellow that filled the air with their strong and
agreeable perfume.

Rare forms of vegetation were around or near at hand: the arborescent
aloes, with their tall flower-spikes of coral red, and euphorbias of
many shapes; and _zamia_, with its palm-like fronds; and the soft-leaved
_Strelitzia reginae_. All these were observed in the neighbourhood of
this new-discovered fountain.

But what received little Trueey's admiration more than any other was the
beautiful blue water-lily, which is certainly one of the loveliest of
Africa's flowers. Close by the spring, but a little farther in the
direction of the plain, was a vley, or pool--in fact, it might have been
termed a small lake--and upon the quiet bosom of its water the sky-blue
corollas lay sleeping in all their gorgeous beauty.

Trueey, leading her little pet on a string, had gone down on the bank to
look at them. She thought she could never