k of sheep or a herd of cattle will increase if there is no
selling. You may take it that under favourable circumstances a herd of
cattle will nearly double itself every two years, allowing, of course, a
large proportion of the bull calves to be sold off as soon as they
arrive at maturity. Sheep will increase even faster. If you can do
without selling, you will be surprised, if you start with say fifty
sheep or ten cows, in how short a time you will have as many animals as
your land will carry."

"But what are we to do then, sir?"

"Well, you will then, providing the country has not in the meantime
become too thickly settled, pay some small sum to the natives for the
right of grazing your cattle on their unoccupied ground. They cultivate
a mere fraction of the land. In this way you can keep vastly larger
herds than your own ground could carry. However, it is time to be
turning in for the night. To-morrow we will start the first thing after
breakfast to inspect Langston's land."

CHAPTER X.

THE GLADE.

When the party assembled at breakfast the next morning, Mr. Atherton's
first question was:

"Is there such a thing as a boat or a good-sized canoe to be had, Mr.
Mitford? If you had an elephant here I might manage, but as I suppose
you do not keep such an animal in your stud I own that I should greatly
prefer going by water to running the risk of breaking a horse's back and
my own neck. If such a thing cannot be obtained I will get you, if you
will, to let me have a native as guide, and I will walk, taking with me
some small stock of provisions. I can sleep at this hut of Langston's,
for I say frankly that I should not care about doing the distance there
and back in one day."

"I have a boat," Mr. Mitford said smiling, "and you shall have a couple
of natives to paddle you up. I will give orders for them to be ready
directly after breakfast. You will scarcely be there as soon as we are,
but you will be there long before we leave. Of course we shall spend
some time in going over the ground, and we shall take a boy with us with
a luncheon basket, so you will find refreshment awaiting you when you
get there."

"That will suit me admirably." Mr. Atherton said. "A boating excursion
up an unknown river is just the thing I like--that is, when the boat is
a reasonable size. I was once fool enough on the Amazon to allow myself
to be persuaded that a canoe at most two feet wide would carry me, and
the tortures I s