Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-04-08
HOW BURLINGTON RETURNED,

HIS right shoulder.
Suddenly the buffalo disappeared in
dip OF the Vcldt. and few moments later
came again into view a good hundred
yards further 10 the south. Norris pull
ed ms LEFT rein. and made for the exact
spot at which the bun had reappeared.
Tie found himself on the edge OF a tiny
clin which dropped twenty feet in a
sheer fan TO a little stream. and he was
compelled TO ride along the bank until
ne reached The incline which the buffalo
had descended. lie forded the stream.
gailoped under the opposite bank across
patch Of ground which had been tram
pied into mud by the hoofs Of beasts
coming here TO water. and mounted
again to the open. The bull had gained
quarter Of miles grace from his
mistake and was heading straight for
huge cone Of granite
Norris recognized the cone IL tower
ed up from the veldt, its cliffs scanned
into guilics by the rain-wash Of ages,
and he had used 1t more than once as a
landmark during the last fortnight; for
II rose due southwest OF his camp.
He watched the bull approach the cone
and vanish into one of the gulies. IT
did not reappear. and he rode forward.
keeping close eye upon the gully. AS
he came opposite to it, however he saw
though the opening vista Of green
trees flashing in the sunlight. He turn
cd his horse through the passage and
refined up in a granite amphitheatre.
The floor seemed about half a mile In
diameter; ii was broken into hillocks
ana strewn with patches Of a dense UNI
dergrowth. while here and there "A big
tree grew. The walls. which converged
slightly towards an opn top. were roped
from summit 10 base with wild flowers,
so that the whole circumference of the
cone was one blaze Of color
Norris hitched forward and reloaded
his rife. Then ne advanced slowly be-
tween the bushes on the alert for a
charge from the wounded bull; but moth
ing stirred. No sound came TO his ears
except the soft padding noise Of his
horses hoofs upon the turf. There was
not "a crackle of the bTushwoOd. and the
trees seemed carved out of metal lie
rode through absolute silence in a sus-
pension of an movement. once his horse
trod upon a bOueh. and the swapping OF
the twigs sounded like so many cracks
of a pistol AT frst the silence struck
Norris as merely curious, little later
as very lonesome. once or twice ne
stopped his horse with a sudden jerk of
the reins, and sat crOuched forwards
with his neck outstretche3. listening
once or twice he cast "a quick furtive
glance over his shoulder TO make GER
tain that no one stood between himself
and the entrance 10 the hollow He for
got the buffalo; he caught himself labor
ing his breath and found it necessary
deliberately 20 explain the circumstance
I'm his thoughts Old the ground of heat.
The next moment he began to plead this
heat not merely as an excuse for his
uneasiness. but as a reason for return
ing 10 camp. The heat was intense he
argued. Above him the light Of an
African midday sun poured out Of n
brassy sky into the hollow as into sort
Of inverted funnel, and lay in binding
pools upon the slabs of rock. Within
the hollow. every cup of the innumerable
flowers which tapestried the cliffs SEEM
ed a mouth breathing heat. He became
possessed with = parching thirst and
ne felt his tongue. heavy and hbrous,
like a dried fig There was however,
one obstacle which prevented him from
acting upon his impulse, and that OBJ
stacle was his sense of shame. II was
not so much that he thought il cowardly
20 give up the chase and quietly return,
but he knew that the second after he
had given way he would be gallOping
madly towards the entrance in a child's
panic Of terror He finally compromised
matters by dropping the reins upon his
horses neck. i'm the unfOrmulated hope
that the animal would turn Of its own
accord; but the hOfse kept straight on.
As Norris drew towards he innermost
wall Of granite, there was a quick rustic
all across its face, as though the screen
of shrubs and flowers had been fluttered
by a draught Of wind. Norris drew him
self erect with a distinct appearance of
relief, loosened the clench of his fingers
upon his rifle. and began once more TO
search the bushes for the buffalo
For a moment his attention was arrest
ed by n queer object, lying upon the
ground 10 his left. 1t was in shape
something like a melon, but bigger. and it
seemed to be plastered over with black
mould. Norris rode by 1t. turned a cor
ner and then. with a gasp, refined back
his horse upon its launches. Straight in
front Of him q broken rifle lay across his
path.
Norris stood still and glared at it
stupidity. Some vague recollection float
ed elusively through his brain. He tried
TO grasp and fix it clearly i'm his mind.
Ii was r recollection of something which
had happened-a long while ago-in Eng
land when he was at school Suddenly,
he remembered. 1t was not something
which had happened, but something ne
had read under the great elm-trees in
the close. il was that passage in "RO-
binson Crusoe" which tells Of the naked
footprint I'm the sand.
Norris dismounted and stopped TO lift
the rifle; but all at once ne Strengthened
himself and swung round. with his arms
guarding his head. There was no one,
however, behind him, and lac gave n lit
tie quavering laugh, and picked up the
rifle. II was heavy, 1O-bore. Holland
&-Holland, win a single barrel, and
that barrel was twisted like cork
screw. The lock had been wrenched Off,
and there We're marks upon the stock
marks Of teeth, and other queer, unin-
telligible marks. as we'll
Norris held the rifle i'm his hands, gazing
vacantly straight ahead. He was think
ing of the direction in which he had
come, southwest, and OF the stream which
he had crossed, and Of the patch of
trampled mud. where track obiberated
track. He dropped his rifle. Ii rang
upon a stone, and again the screen Of
foliage shivered and rustled. Norris,
however, paid no attention TO the move
ment, but ran back TO that object which
ne had passed and took it in his hands.
II was oval in shape being slightly
broader at one end than the other. Nor
ris. drew his knife and cleaned the mould
from one side OF it. To the touch OF the
blade IT seemed softer than stone and
smoother Chah Mood. more ,ike bone"
he said to himself. In the side which
he had cleaned there was a little round
hole filled up with mould. Norris dug his
knife I'm ana scraped around the whole
as one cleans a caked pipe. He drew out
little cube Of mud. There was Sc
cond corresponding hole on the other
side. He turned the narrower end OF
the thing upwards. 1t was hollow, lie
saw, but packed full of mould and more
deliberately packed; for there were finger
marks i'm the mould. what an aimless