c servant
gazed.

"Now, Quashy," he said, "it seems to me quite impossible that our
animals could have strayed in a few hours quite out of such an enormous
circle of vision. They _must_ be somewhere about, though we can't see
them."

"Yes, massa, dey _must_ be somewhar, as you say."

"Well, then, it follows that they must be concealed in one of the few
clumps of bushes that lie around us. So we must search these instantly,
for our only hope lies in finding the horses."

"Das so, massa."

Even our negro's elastic spirit seemed to be subdued to some extent by
the prospect before them; for, apart from the fact that the bushy islets
in the grassy sea were scarcely high enough to entirely conceal so large
an object as a horse, they were scattered about at such immense
distances from each other that a complete search of them implied
toilsome labour for at least the whole of that day. Lawrence felt,
however, that it had to be done, and arranged that his man should search
towards the east, while he should take the west. To prevent the risk of
their losing the mound on which they stood, one of their ponchos was
thrown over the top of the highest bush and fixed there as a signal. So
eager were they to begin, that both started off without a thought of
breakfast.

It is not necessary to follow the steps of each. In regard to Lawrence,
it may suffice to say that he wandered during the whole of that sultry
day over the boundless plain, wearily but persistently examining the few
bush-islets that lay to the west of their bivouac without finding a
trace of the lost steeds. As the sun began to decline towards the east
he gave up in despair, and, with weary limbs and something like wolfish
hunger, returned towards the rendezvous.

Very different had been the experience of his sable servant.

Starting off, as we have said, at the same time with his master, Quashy
found the two horses, after a two hours' search, quietly grazing in a
grassy hollow. A low shrub-covered mound lying close to this hollow
intervened between it and the spot where our adventurers had spent the
night, thus effectually concealing the lost steeds from view.

The instant Quashy made the discovery he ran to the nearest elevation on
the plain with the intention of shouting the news to his master, but by
that time Lawrence was two or three miles away on the other side of the
bivouac, quite beyond the range of sight and hearing.

Quashy, therefore, ran