t had been their original hue. Though Captain
Broderick had given him a good suit which he wore on Sundays, and had
offered him another instead of the one which has been described, he
could never be induced to leave it off. He had worn a portion of it at
his marriage, and he hoped to live and die in it, he said. He was a
first-rate hunter, and was more frequently out with his gun than
labouring on the farm, which was evidently not much to his taste, though
when his services were absolutely required he worked as hard as any one,
and amply repaid his host for the support he received.

The other man was a Kaffir, called Matyana. He belonged to a tribe
almost exterminated by Dingan, the predecessor of Panda, and
consequently hated the Zulus as much as did the Dutchman. Having made
his escape from his enemies, though desperately wounded, he had been
found by Captain Broderick in an apparently dying condition; but being
carried to the farm, and carefully tended, he recovered. Although his
people are generally supposed to be destitute of gratitude, he showed
that he possessed that virtue by willingly remaining on with his
protector, and rendering him all the service in his power.

Both these men, being well acquainted with the country, and thoroughly
trustworthy, were selected by the Captain for the proposed expedition.
They willingly undertook the duty, and set out well-armed and well
mounted, promising to discover Hendricks and his party if they were
still in the land of the living.

Denis begged to go with them, but Mrs Broderick interfered, declaring
that he was utterly unable to undertake the journey; he indeed confessed
to Percy that he scarcely felt up to a gallop, while he certainly was in
no hurry to quit Falls Farm.

Percy agreed with him, and thought indeed that he showed his good taste
in enjoying the society of his mother and sisters.

The young ladies found time, after the day was over, to play and sing
and talk, although they had nothing to say about their neighbours, and
especially to listen to the accounts Denis and Percy gave them of their
adventures.

By the bye, the three fair daughters of Captain and Mrs Broderick,
Helen, Rose, and Maud, ought before this to have been formally
introduced to the reader. The eldest was about two-and-twenty, Rose was
just eighteen, and Maud was a year younger than Percy. Miss Broderick
recollected a great deal about England, and it is just possible might
have p