e
Princess Ella, who in the use of the bow and arrow was as skilful as any
warrior of the tribe. They were all mounted on fleet steeds, especially
trained to the pursuit of the giraffe; for to horses not so broken in,
the scent of the camelopard is so offensive that they cannot be induced
to approach it.

It was a fine fresh morning. The horsemen, eight in number, were
attended by a much larger company of Basutos on foot, whose business it
was to spread themselves in all directions over the woodland, and drive
the gigantic animals towards the spot where the horsemen were lying in
ambush. These accordingly dispersed, north, east, and west; while the
riders, in groups of two or three, repaired to their appointed station.

"Were you fond of riding when in your own country, Ernest?" asked the
princess, as they cantered lightly side by side over the mossy turf.

"I seldom had the opportunity," answered Warley. "Horses are costly,
both to buy and to keep, in England, and I was not rich, you know."

"Not rich! How strange it seems to me, to hear you say that! It seems
to me that the very poorest in England must be far richer than my mother
or myself. All the things that appear to me to be really valuable are
within the reach of every one there, so at least I gather from what you
have told me; while we can obtain none of them, even though we gave all
we had for their possession."

"Viewing things in that light, what you say is true, Ella. But you have
advantages which few in England possess. You have influence and power
over others--"

"Ah, I understand, and you will teach us how to use these rightly. I
rejoice every day more and more that you have come among us."

"And I am not less glad, Ella, believe me."

"You!--you glad to be here, Ernest? What! far away from your home and
friends, in a wild and strange land like this? You are jesting,
surely."

"Indeed I am not, Ella. I would not be back in England, if a wish could
place me there."

Ella would have replied, but they had now reached the spot where they
had agreed to assemble, and the rest of the party joined them. It was
an open glade, of perhaps an acre in extent, in the heart of a thickly
wooded country. For the most part, the trees were not more than ten or
twelve feet high, though here and there oomahaamas and baobabs were to
be seen, the former towering to a great height against the sky--the
latter of enormous girth, sixty or eighty feet at