who knew him went on two different occasions; but
they came away no wiser than ourselves. Neither Tobias nor his bones
have ever come to light."

We went on chatting by the fire that night, and presently turned into
our wagons.

I am bound to confess that the Dutchman's grim story grew upon and
fascinated me. Mystery has always a curious attraction. Here was
hidden away some dark episode, in which this simple, unfortunate Boer
had lost his life. I determined to try to unravel the clew; and the
gold, too, lent an additional motive to the search.

I had small difficulty in persuading Koenraad du Plessis next morning to
lead me to the place of misfortune. We settled to trek thither, hunting
on our way; and in six days' time we found ourselves outspanned for the
night beneath the loom of the great rock fortress which held so securely
the Dutchman's secret. It was the hour of sunset as we neared the
mountain range, which lay between us and the north-west. The sky was a
sheet of red and gold, against which the rugged mass stood out in a
wonderful relief. Up above the mountain tops, long skeins of great
birds, all following one another slowly and majestically in an endless
maze of evolutions, were silhouetted black against the flaming heavens.
We were a good mile away from the nearest string, but there was a
wonderful stillness of the atmosphere; all nature seemed hushed, except
for the birds--and the faint notes of their peculiar plaintive whistle
told me instantly what they were.

"Why, Koenraad," I said, "those are pelicans, and they're just going
down to water somewhere in the mountains! See, there they go!"

As I spoke the lower skein sank gently into the mountains, and presently
chain after chain of the singular evolutionaries disappeared softly
within the range, until the last bird had vanished, and the now fading
sky lay clear and unflecked.

"Allemaghte!" ejaculated Du Plessis in his deepest tones; "those are
pelicans surely, and they have gone down to water. Strange that I have
never seen them there before. There is the vlei, sure enough! We will
never rest now till we find it."

We were up at dawn next morning, and as we breakfasted we saw with
intense interest the pelicans rise from the heart of the mountain,
slowly circle about the sky, and then stretch their flight, in their
leisurely and majestic fashion, in our direction. As they quitted the
mountain, they sank lower towards the flat countr