The Press., 1894-11-08
and that other game was abundant,

and that other game was abundant It is not often that this veldt is accessible
 from scarcity of water-and it seem-
 ed good enough to quit the wagon road
 for time and try the bush for ivory
 Before reaching Scio Pans, therefore,
 we turned right handed and struck into
 the bush with one wagon, the other,
 i'll charge of our head driver, being sent
 on to the water, there to await our
 coming.
 "We had some Masarwa bushen with
 us, and they were as keen as hawks. at
 the prospect of showing us heavy game
 and getting a liberal supply of flesh.
 Northward we trekked steadily through
 wild desolate country for the best part
 of one day and outspanned by desert
 pool for the night. Here we were great
 ly disappointed to find no spoor of ele-
 phant, although giraffe, ostrich, gems
 bok and hartebeest were fairly plenti-
 full. Next day at dawn we again push ed doggedly OH, Angus and I taking different directions and riding some miles ahead of the wagon on the look out for elephant spoor. 1 rode behind a Masarwa at steady pace all morning without finding the least sign of the game we wanted, and after an off sad dle at midday once more pushed on in a northwesterly direction >4-
 Rather suddenly we came upon a klompie of giraffe, and as the elephants seemed very much in the air and we wanted meat l rammed the spurs f1r- and galloped headlong for the camels.
 It was desperately hot, and we were shut up in thick, thorny bush in which not a breath of wind stirred, and I con. sequently had not got my coat on. The beast rode for, a fat, fresh young COW, led me pretty dance of two miles, hell for leather, at terrific pace through the very thorniest jungle she could pick, and although l presently ranged close up to her rn1np and with my third bull let, firing from my horse, brought her down with crash, she had taken pret- ty heavy toll of me- My flannel shirt was torn to ribbons, and my chest and shoulders were rarely gashed about Never hunt camel, gentlemen, in a thick bush without stout coat ou That's the advice of an old veldtman, and it's worth remembering. I ought to have known better that day, but l was not prepared for game at that par ticular moment.
 Well, stuck my knife into the cows back and found her we'll covered with fat, and the Masarwa coming up soon after we set to work to skin and cut her up. Presently, having fastened about 20 pounds of meat to my saddle and carrying the long, prehensile tongue dangling far below my belt saddled up, leaving the Masarwa, who had calabash of water, to finish the job and wait for the wagon to pick him up the next morning.
 ''I myself took sweep north north east, with the intention of working round to the wagon before sundown.
 ''I had not left the Masarwa half an hour when suddenly, to my intense surprise, cut the spoor of wagon run ming pretty we'll east and west and go- ing westward. It was not fresh, but at | the same time not very old either. It | might have been month or two old at | most. Now, thought I, what in the does this mean?' Very few hunters use this veldt. knew Khama | had sent no wagons that way this sea- son, and the only white man in front of | us this year was Dirk Sarreberg, one of | the few Dutch hunters to whom Khama gave permission to hunt ill his veldt.
 "Starreberg's wagon it could only be. And yet 1t struck me as strange that | Dirk, whom knew well-for he was 8 noted interior hunter-should be trek | king in this veldt. He was, I knew, bound for the Victoria falls Probablyytl ike ourselves, enticed by the unwonted water supply and the possibility of slap at the elephants, he had turned off somewhere between Nata river and Oaka and pushed across for the Chobe. Thus reasoning, l turned my horses lead, and with the westering sun now 'n my right flank struck homeward for he wagon. I rode on for half a mile md then came another strange thing. AS l crossed an open glade I saw com ng toward me the figure of man. I lneW 1n moment who it was. The Touching walk. the big, burly form, he vast red beard, the rife carried-as Dirk always carried his-by the muzzle nd, with the stock poised behind his houlder-it was none but Dirk Starre- 'erg himself. But there was something miss with him. He looked worn and roubled, almost distraught, it seemed 0 me, at that distance, and he gazad either to the right nor left of him, but assed hurriedly and very swiftly in ront of me at distance of about 80 aces.
 Hello, DirkP shouted 'Allemag- lg, war loup jij? Yacht cen bitje, Dirkl' Almighty, where are you off to? Wait
 little, Dirk To my utter astonish-l lent the man took not the slightest mo-