the poison and carry it off,
and it would anyway be good for him, as his pulse shows him to be very
feverish."

"We'll go and hunt for water," said Warley, "Nick and I; you stay with
Frank."

They took their guns, and went off in different directions. Warley
directed his steps towards another kloof, about two miles off, between
two high and stony hills. Trees and grass seemed to be growing in it
almost as abundantly as in that which he had just left, and if so, there
was probably either a brook, or water underground, which might be
obtained by digging. He hurried on as fast as he could, for the
darkness was fast coming on, and was within a hundred yards of the
kloof, when a fine gemsbok, with its tall upright horns, came bounding
down the narrow path at its utmost speed. The creature checked itself
the moment it saw Ernest. The hills on either side were too steep to be
mounted, unless at a foot-pace, and the gemsbok's instinct taught it
that this would place it at the mercy of an enemy. As soon therefore as
it could stop itself, it turned short round and galloped back into the
kloof. Warley fired after it, but his nerves were discomposed, and the
light was so bad that he could hardly have hoped to hit. He could hear
the bok rushing along with unabated speed, the sound of its feet dying
off in the gorge of the mountain; but two minutes afterwards there came
another sound, which seemed like the crack of a ride, though at a
considerable distance.

If this was so, there must be some person, beside their own party,
somewhere about; for the shot could not have been fired by either Lavie
or Nick. At another time, Warley would have hesitated before going in
search of a stranger in so wild a region as that of the Kalahari. The
shot might have come from a party of Bushmen or Bechuanas; some few of
whom, he knew, had possessed themselves of European firearms. In that
case, himself and his whole party would run a very imminent risk of
being seized and murdered for the sake of their rifles. And even if the
person should prove to be a European, it was as likely as not, that he
was an escaped convict from the Cape prisons, who might be even more
dangerous to encounter than the savages of the desert. But Frank's
situation forbade any considerations of this kind. To secure even the
chance of obtaining help for him, was enough to overpower all other
calculations.

He hurried on accordingly in the direction whence the