them, and were, moreover, ready to obey him. At his command two of them
took on their shoulders the basket, in which Lion had been carefully
laid on a heap of dried grass, and trotted nimbly off with it; Frank,
who had witnessed the manoeuvre, running by the side, and steadying the
litter with his hand, whenever any piece of rough ground had to be
traversed.

This part of the work despatched, Omatoko next went down to the place
where the carcasses of the koodoos had been carefully protected from
vultures and hyenas by a heap of logs laid over them. Committing each
koodoo to the care of three or four, whom he chose out of the throng for
the purpose, he sent them after the others. Then he himself,
accompanied by his nephew, whom he introduced by the name of "Toboo,"
and the son of the chief, whom he addressed as "Kalambo," prepared to
set out on the journey, as a guard of honour to the Englishmen.

In about two hours' time they arrived at the kraal, where the chief,
Umboo, was expecting them; and the three lads, who had been on the look
out for something entirely different to all that they had ever beheld
before, were, for once, not disappointed.

The village was built in the shape of a perfect oval, each cottage
approaching its next neighbour so nearly as only to allow room for
passing to and fro; and on the outer side of the ellipse were enclosures
for the cattle. The boys were somewhat surprised at this arrangement,
having been prepared to find the oxen pastured in the space enclosed by
the huts, where they would have been safe from attack until the men had
been overpowered. But they learned afterwards that the Hottentots
rather desired that the cattle should protect them, than they the
cattle. In the event of an attack from an enemy, the latter would, it
was reckoned, be unwilling to destroy the sheep and oxen--the latter,
indeed, being in general the booty which had been the inciting cause of
the attack--and thus time was gained, and the enemy taken at a
disadvantage.

The houses themselves were circular, composed of wicker-work overlaid
with matting; this latter being woven out of rushes, and further sewn
with the fibre of the mimosa. The mats supplied a twofold want. They
readily admitted the passage of air, and so secured good ventilation;
and they were of a texture so porous that rain only caused them to close
tighter, and so rendered them waterproof. Our travellers had already
had satisfactory evi