Evening star., 1896-12-26

a hundred miles to get q chance"
"Well. don't think you need go so far,
by long way; there was an old nigger at
the post last week who said there were
lions not far off, and. somehow, these beg
gars always seem to know; I fancy they
can smell them out"
Il say, Travers," exclaimed, after a mo-
ment's pause, do you think We can get
leave to try it at night?''
Travers looked thoughtful for mo-
ment. "Well.'' he said. no! It's past
praying for and that's the fact Old Ben
son would never listen to 1t, especially if
he thought there were lion in the case.
He hates sport CT all sorts. ever since his
brother was killed by a lion down in the
Zulu country, but we might manage 1t, all
the same. He wouldn't mind after 1t was
over. and one or two of us have tried 1t
before, only We never had the luck to fall
across anything worth having.
The idea was exciting-doubly with the
addition of its unauthorized character, and
Travers and 1 discussed it eagerly as we
made the best of our way back to the post
at Makalesi. AS we went, we noted care
fully the various landmarks by which we
hoped to find our way back to the spot at
night. and we easily satisfied ourselves that
we could do so without risk of mistake.
By the time we had made our plans We had
almost reached our destination, and could
see the little outpost on the other side OF
the river. The spot was we'll chosen, no
doubt, for an outpost. but nobody could
have recommended Makalesi, either for its
beauty or for its convenience as a place
of residence.
1t stood on the swell Of the rising ground.
perhaps a hundred yards from the ford of
the Makalesi river, which 1t efectually
commanded. but for that very reason it
was exposed without shelter to the full heat
of the sun. 1t was very little of fortress.
Some attempt had been made to surround
the TIN ee or four rough houses that formed
the post with slight e6rthworks and
ditch. but these had not been completed;
and part of the fortification still consisted
of the larger of wagons drawn up SO as to
complete the circle. I. was occupied by
rather more than fifty of the irregular
force-half police. halp troopers-that had
been recently organized under the orders of
DIR. Benson, who had teen engaged in the
rough and ready work of the frontier. both
in killing and curing. for the past fifteen
years. The discipline of the force was
loose. but the men themselves were of that
class which experience has shown the most
effective for the first rough undertakings
OF colonizing In nearly all parts of the
world.
Our arrival vas hailed with a hearty well
come on all hands, and an active interest
was shown in what we had to tell as to the
locality in which VIE had come across the
game we had secured Travers was careful
to let no hint drop as to our discovery of
the watering place under the Kopje, and Of
course 1 followed his example. but 1 no.
ticed that he said nothing of the supposed
sentinel native to whom he had called my
attention. looked on this omission of his
as proving conclusively that he had only
oSCh JOhihS "Heu tOlQ me ABOUT H., ana
! was careful not to give him the salts
faction Of seeing that I remembered 1t by
making any reference to it in anything 1
had to say of our adventures.
/ soon found Travers had been right as
to the Christmas provisions. however for I
found that party was to be sent out to
try whether bullock could be got at the
nearest kraal. Under any other circum-
stances l should have been glad of the
chance to accompany them, but now, warn
ed by look from Travers. 1 pleaded that
my mornings tramp had been enough for
one day, and so remained behind. We were
jovial party at the post in spite of the
heat and the want of thousand and one
conveniences Of civilization which we have
learned to consider necessaries. There are
very few necessaries of life in Bechuana-
land, and somehow men seem to get on
very we'll without most of what they are
accustomed to elsewhere The post at Ma
kalesi was a singularly democratic COM
munity. OF course. there were Benson and
his lieutenant. Thompson, who were off,
GERS. but, except for the purpose of a loose
discipline, the distinction was very NOM
inal one.
About half a dozen of the men went off
on the bullock-hunting expedition. and the
rest of us spent our time in smoking play
ing checkers and doing our best to keep
cool through the heat of the afternoon.
Somehow the hours dragged slowly away
though to my impatience the time seemed
endless. lay and smoked my pipe, dream
ing of the adventure before me- 1t had
been the ambition of my life as a. sports
man to kill a lion and even now 1 could
hardly believe that my dream was SO near
fulfillment- ] only saw Travers OCCASION
ally. but whenever 1 did so his look of in
telligence showed that there had been no
change in his plans. He was on duty for
part, at least, of the afternoon, and / saw
little of him until he made his appearance
at the evening meal, just as it was growing
dark This meal formed the central point
of the day at the Makalesi post and was
invariably festive occasion, at which the
aoE EIc.c ,tHft
rison gave free rein to their high spirits
That evening was no exception; indeed. the
idea that 1t was Christmas time seemed to
call forth a greater amount of mirth and
tollity than usual In spite of my excited
expectation OF the nights adventure /
managed to enjoy myself. and 1t wasn't un-
til we were obliged to break up about o
O'Clock that began to grow impatient once
more.
Most of the men not on duty as sentries
turned IN. but, after trying in vain to soothe
my excitement with pipe, took to walk
ing restlessly up and down the incIosed
space. i had begun to think Trayers was
never coming when, just as my attention
had been attracted by the sounds of the
party returning from their beef-seeking ex-
cursion, saw him glide quietly toward me
with something In each hand.
Hush he whispered, come on, Hall
now's our chance! Everybody's after the
bullock, so We shall get away clear"
AS he spoke he placed one of the guns he
carried in my hand and proceeded to creep
through hole under one of the wagons
l followed him in silence
Part III.
Travers had chosen the place we'll and
although there was little room to spare in
getting through, We met with no interrup-
tion. No doubt, he was right in waiting for
the return of the foraging party, as we
could hear plainly that their arrival was
the center of interest for the time, and we
had made our way cut at the point removed
the farthest from the entrance We got
clear of the wsgoEs ard crept cautiously
down the slope toward the river Fortu-
nately for us, the night was dark, and
Travers' experience on sentry duty no
doubt told him exactly the best course to
take to avoid observation. 1 know I held
my breath as l followed him, expecting
every moment to hear the challenge of
some sentry which would prove fatal to our
expedition; ntne came. however, and we
glided silently, STOPPING low as we went
down the bare slope till we had reached
the comparative safety of the rivers bank
We were well equipped for the expedition.
Travers mad managed to secure two light
repeating rifles instead of the heavier weap-
ems we had carried in the morning, and now
he silently handed me my share of the
necessary ammunition as We stood for a