e captured
Matabili considered it the better plan to turn traitor, and endeavour to
make himself useful to his captors. He therefore informed them that if
they journeyed up westward of North, they might enter Moselekatse's
country from a position where they were not expected, and where no spies
were on the look out; and thus, if the attack were made at daybreak, a
fearful slaughter must ensue.

Acting on this advice, the Boers started in the required direction, and
were ready to dash upon their foes as soon as the first streaks of
daylight illumined the land. Their attack was entirely unexpected, for
the Matabili who had committed the slaughter on the wandering farmers,
and who had attacked the hunters, had only just returned, and were
rejoicing in their successes and in the trophies they had brought to the
feet of their king. Before, however, the sun had risen more than ten
times its height above the horizon, about 400 of the Matabili warriors
were lying dead on the plains around their huts.

Hans Sterk had not, like many of his companions, been entirely occupied
with slaughtering the enemy, he had been searching in all directions to
find some traces of the prisoners who had been carried off by the
Matabili; but he failed in doing so, until he found a wounded enemy, to
whom he promised life if he would inform him where the white maidens
were hidden. It was with difficulty that the two communicated, for Hans
was but imperfectly acquainted with the half-Kaffir dialect spoken by
the Matabili, and the wounded man understood but a few words of Dutch.
Still, from him Hans learnt that Katrine and her sister were prisoners
at Kapain, where Moselekatse then was; this place being a day's journey
from Mosega, where the battle, or rather slaughter, had just taken
place.

Hans' interests were not the same as those of the other Dutchmen; he was
mainly bent upon recovering Katrine from her barbarous jailor, and
immediately making her his wife; whilst his companions were only anxious
to capture and carry off the large herds of cattle which were grazing
around, and to take with them the waggons lately taken from the
travellers. It was in vain that Hans pointed out to the commander of
the expedition the advantages to be derived from following up with
rapidity the successes already obtained, and to attack the chief of the
Matabili where it was impossible he could escape. Carried away by his
brief success, and uninfluenced by the