hereas by going
alone with one man, such as Grootboom, one was able to penetrate their
lines and to lie hid almost among them, watching their disposition and
gaining information as to their numbers, supplies, and whereabouts of
their women and cattle, etc.

Now, every night was spent at this work--that is to say, the night was
utilised for creeping to their positions, and one watched them during
the day. But it was impossible to do this without leaving footmarks
and tracks, which the sharp eyes of their scouts were not slow to
discover, and it very soon dawned upon them that they were being
watched, and consequently they were continually on the look-out to
waylay and capture us.

One night Grootboom and I had ridden to the neighbourhood of one of
the enemy's camps, and were lying waiting for the early dawn before we
could discover exactly where they were located.

It was during the hour before sunrise that, as a rule, the enemy used
to light their fires for cooking their early morning food. One could
thus see exactly their position, and could rectify one's own, so as
to find a place where one could lie by during the day and watch their
movements.

On this occasion the first fire was lit and then another sparkled up,
and yet another, but before half a dozen had been lighted Grootboom
suddenly growled under his breath:--

"The swine--they are laying a trap for us."

I did not understand at the moment what he meant, but he said:--

"Stop here for a bit, and I will go and look."

He slipped off all his clothing and left it lying in a heap, and stole
away in the darkness, practically naked. Evidently he was going to
visit them to see what was going on.

The worst of spying is that it makes you always suspicious, even of
your best friends. So, as soon as Grootboom was gone in one direction,
I quietly crept away in another, and got among some rocks in a
small kopje, where I should have some kind of a chance if he had any
intention of betraying me and returning with a few Matabele to capture
me.

For an hour or two I lay there, until presently I saw Grootboom
creeping back through the grass--alone.

Ashamed of my doubts, I therefore came out and went to our rendezvous,
and found him grinning all over with satisfaction while he was putting
on his clothes again. He said that he had found as he had expected,
an ambush laid for us. The thing that had made him suspicious was that
the fires, instead of lighting up all