one or two of them. But what good purpose would that
serve? It would draw the whole band on to his hiding-place, and he
could not hope to resist them ultimately. Besides, the objection to
blood shedding which had held good at first held good still. Dawes was
still in their power.

Then he thought--thought hard and coherently. He must abandon the horse
and steal away. The savages would get tired of watching there for ever.
They would quit their ambush and come in search of him, or, at any
rate, some of them might. They would light upon his spoor, and easily
track him. He must make good his own escape while there was yet time.

Acting on this resolve he sent one more look at the lurking barbarians;
then, crawling carefully down the other side of the _kopje_ so as to
leave it between himself and them, he made for the river, judging that
upon its banks he was likely to find a hiding-place if anywhere.

To gain it took him some little time. We said that the river here
flowed in a long smooth reach, and this reach was thickly bordered with
trees and overhanging bushes. Nothing could have answered his purpose
better. But, as he gained it, he sent one look backward at his late
resting-place, and that look was sufficient to show him that he had left
that refuge not a moment too soon. There was a flash and movement of
something upon the rocky apex. His enemies had taken up the spoor and
had followed it thither.

In this conjecture he was, as it happened, wrong, the real fact being
that the same idea had entered their heads as had entered his; viz. that
the _kopje_ would make a convenient observatory, and two or three of
them had ascended to explore accordingly. Once there, however, they
promptly lighted upon the spoor leading away from it, and were at that
very moment engaged in signalling the discovery to the residue of the
band below.

And now Gerard knew that further flight was useless. With his horse
still under him he might have stood some chance, and bitterly did he
reproach himself for his carelessness and folly in cutting himself loose
from his staunch little steed. On foot the fleet barbarians would run
him down with the untiring persistency of bloodhounds. His only chance
was to hide.

But where? Eagerly, anxiously he explored the river-bank. Plenty of
hiding-places were there, for as we have said, the trees and bushes
overhung the water in thick profusion. It was not sufficient, however,
mer