Evening star., 1917-05-20

afternoon sun the limitless ex-
II panse of the African veldt lay
shimmerinE and quivering in
torrid heat.
All around there rose, fold upon fold
an interminab1e and maddening success
sion OF low, rounded rises. clothed to
their stony submits with short, coarse
grass and purple Karoo bushes, the
reddish soil baked hard by the drought
of the dry season.
Scarcely a sound broke the stiffness
of the wilderness; not q wing whirred :
got an insect buzzed. There was no
spoor or sign of game. large or small
most of it had been killed of long ago.
The grass bent languidly to the faint
draft that came out of the Eorth as
from a furnace mouth.
All nature dropped and painted for
the silence oppressive.
Out of the west, following the wind
inss ct little kIoof, there crept a lum-
herring. dusty ard dirty white-topped
wagon. OF the Kind used by traders or
hunters. innunerable creakings ana
grosninss and shudderings ,estifyins
to nlaly days journeying with 'pleE-
ttful lack of axle grease.
-Four poorly conditioned oxen drew
the cumbersome equipage. The IollinE
tongues Of the beasts, their languid.
Gra.gtrg Steps, and their lean condi-
ton told eioquently of hard travel and
scanty forage.
Sy the side of the cattle shambled
two kafEr boys" each armed with a
long goad In front of the team strobe
a white man. his naturally fair face
tanned to dusky red, his clothing
soiled and travel stained from many
nights sleeping out his veldt schoon in
the las stages of dilapidation. Resting
In the hollow of his left arm lay a shin
snlartest thing in the whole of lis
shabby outfit For upon the rifle the
little band of adventurcrs depended
mainly for their subsistence from Cay
to day. Game was scarce ani shy: the
wagon was none too plentifutly stocked
with the bare necessaries of flour. gu
gar and coffee; poor shot might mean
a supperless bed.
He was a giant in statue. fully six
feet two. with the build and brawn of
the pioneer. In age he was on the bet
ter side of thirty. A great brown beard
swept his chest. and there was a taw-
ney mEstache to match, while from
under the front peak of his fore-and-
aft pith helmet there cleaned a clean
cut profile and a pair of keen, Saxon
blue eyes of the kind that are apt to be
undimmed by fatigue or undaunted by
disaster.
the kaffirs continually urging the
wearied beasts with throaty. clicking
sounds, the white ''baas'' striding sturd-
tly along, consulting pocket compass
from time to time as the windings of
the kloof brought the sun now upon
one hand, and anon upon the other.
Evening was approaching; not more
than couple of hours daylight re-
mained; it was time to be thinking of a
camp for the night.
After a more than usually heavy as
cent the oxen of their own accord
stopped to breathe. the Kafirs squat
ting listlessly under the wagon out of
the sun. The white man. glancing back
Tor moment. strode without halting
TO the summit of the nearest kopje, and
there stood shading his eyes and look
ing steadfastly northeast. Suddenly he
was reused by a loud cry:
Water, baas; I smell waterr' shout
ed one Of the boys" pointing in the
same direction.
simultaneously the dropping oxen
picked up their heads, and of their
own accord started onward at smart
er pace. The "baas" descended and fell
In at the rear of the wagon, for the
Kaffir instinct is infallible, and water
was surely not far away. This meant
not only renewed life for the cattle a
camping place and probably some game
for the pot, but also the goal Of their
journey.
Likewise success or another dismal
failure!
Half a mile was covered in this fash
ion. the man in the helmet consulting a
rude map as he stumbled through the
slippery veldt grass, after which, with
an exclamation Of satisfaction, he call
ed out:
We must be nearly there, Joeyw
Scarcely had the words left his lips
move more speedily down an easy de-
cine. and the weary beasts broke into a
shambling trot.
A sudden turn round tho shoulder of