in the wagon; Swartboy and Totty upon
the ground--but these lay close to the fires, and therefore did not fear
wild beasts of any kind.

But the hyenas and jackals upon this occasion appeared to be both
numerous and bold. In a few minutes after they were first heard, their
cries rose around the camp on all sides, so near and so loud as to be
positively disagreeable--even without considering the nature of the
brutes that uttered them.

At last they came so close, that it was impossible to look in any
direction without seeing a pair of green or red eyes gleaming under the
light of the fires! White teeth, too, could be observed, as the hyenas
opened their jaws, to give utterance to their harsh laughter.

With such a sight before their eyes, and such sounds ringing in their
ears, neither Von Bloom nor any of his people--tired as they were--could
go to sleep. Indeed, not only was sleep out of the question, but, worse
than that, all--the field-cornet himself not excepted--began to
experience some feelings of apprehension, if not actual alarm.

They had never beheld a troop of hyenas so numerous and fierce. There
could not be less than two dozen of them around the camp, with twice
that number of jackals.

Von Bloom knew that although, under ordinary circumstances, the hyena is
not a dangerous animal, yet there are places and times when he will
attack human beings. Swartboy knew this well, and Hans, too, from having
read of it. No wonder, then, that some apprehension was felt by all of
them.

The hyenas now behaved with such boldness, and appeared so ravenous,
that sleep was out of the question. Some demonstration must be made to
drive the brutes away from the camp.

Von Bloom, Hans, and Hendrik, laid hold of their guns, and got out of
the wagon, while Swartboy armed himself with his bow and arrows. All
four stood close by the trunk of the nwana, on the other side from that
where the fires were. In this place they were in the shadow, where they
could best observe anything that should come under the light of the
fires without being themselves seen. Their position was well chosen.

They had scarcely fixed themselves in it, when they perceived a great
piece of neglect they had been guilty of. Now, for the first time it
occurred to them what had brought the hyenas around them in such
numbers. Beyond a doubt it was the flesh of the elephant,--the
_biltongue_.

That was what the beasts were after; and all now saw that a mi