uld supply enough food for two days.

Hans was correct in his judgment, and obtained an easy shot at a
reitbok, which he killed, and thus provided his companions with food
sufficient for two days. Roughly cooked as it was, and eaten with
nothing else, it yet was not despised by any one of the party.

About two hours' additional riding from the last resting-place completed
the day's journey, and a suitable locality having been chosen, the party
halted for the night, Hans agreeing to sleep first whilst Victor
watched, and then to take his turn about midnight.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

NIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS--THE LIONS ROAR--THE SAVAGE OUTWITTED BY A
LION--THE PARTY TAKE UP A GOOD POSITION.

There are few more singular experiences to the civilised man than to
camp in the wilderness; and there are now but few countries in the world
where such an event can occur. Man has now spread so widely over our
planet, that but few spots can be found in the state in which nature
framed them. To find any spot so far removed from the residence of man
that no sound can reach it which is indicative of a human being, is
indeed a rarity. The distant bark of a dog, the tinkle of a bell, the
bleating of a sheep, or the sound of a signal gun, can all be heard on a
still night for many miles. Thus, when we say that to experience the
full effects of a night in the wilderness, we should be at least forty
or fifty miles from any residence of human beings, and in a country
where the wild animals are as yet no more than partially thinned by the
occasional visits of hunters, probably Africa alone of all the
continents yields to the hunter the thorough wilderness, with its
attendant thrilling additions. India is generally too much populated:
America somewhat destitute of numerous members of the ferae which abound
in Africa. Europe is the land of men and cities, and thus we return to
Africa as the true hunter's paradise.

Scarcely has the sun disappeared below the African horizon, than the
hunter realises the novelty of his position in the wilderness; for a
space of nearly half an hour the air vibrates with the sharp
cricket-like cry, or deep hum of hundreds of insect creatures who are
thus signalling their presence to each other. From amidst a lofty
ruined mass of rocks, which appeared by day deserted by every living
creature, except a few lizards and poisonous snakes, a grim gaunt figure
stalks out, and ascending a prominent block of stone,