y discovered upon the softened
ground the imprint of horses' hoofs. The tracks led in the direction of
the forest and afterwards turned towards the ravine. This was a
favorable circumstance for the capture of the horses in the ravine did
not present any great difficulties. Between ten and twenty paces
farther he found in the grass the fetters which one of the horses had
broken in his escape. This one must have run away so far that for the
time being he must be regarded as lost. On the other hand, the two
espied by Stas were behind a low rock, not in the hollow itself, but on
the brink. One of them was rolling about, while the other was cropping
the new light-green grass. Both looked unusually exhausted, as if after
a long journey. But the daylight had banished fear from their hearts,
so they greeted Stas with a short, friendly neigh. The horse which was
rolling about started to his feet. The boy observed that this one also
had freed himself from his fetters, but fortunately he apparently
preferred to remain with his companion instead of running away wherever
his eyes should lead him.

Stas left both horses near the rock and went to the brink of the ravine
to ascertain whether a farther journey by way of it was feasible. And
he saw that owing to the great declivity the water had flowed away and
the bottom was almost dry.

After a while his attention was attracted to a white object entangled
in the climbing plants in the recess of the opposite rocky wall. It
appeared that it was the top of the tent which the wind had carried as
far as that and driven into the thicket so that the water could not
carry it away. The tent, at any rate, assured Nell of a better
protection than a hut hurriedly constructed of boughs; so its recovery
greatly delighted Stas.

But his joy increased still more when from a lower recess partly hidden
by lianas Saba sprang out, holding in his teeth some kind of animal
whose head and tail hung from his jaws. The powerful dog, in the
twinkling of an eye, reached the top, and laid at Stas' feet a striped
hyena with broken back and gnawed foot. After which he began to wag his
tail and bark joyfully as if he wanted to say:

"I admit that I behaved like a coward before the lions, but to tell the
truth, you sat perched on the tree like guinea-fowls. Look, however! I
did not waste the night altogether."

And he was so proud of himself that Stas was barely able to induce him
to leave the bad-smelling anim