ws fell among them.

They had collected the dead deer at one spot, and were standing in a
group; looking round they saw a large number of natives crowning the low
hills all round them, and saw that while they had been stalking the deer
they themselves had been stalked by the natives. Without a moment's
hesitation the hunters disposed the bodies of the deer in a circle;
seizing the two horses they threw them beside the deer, fastening their
limbs with the lassoes which they carried, so that they could not move;
then the six men threw themselves down in the circle.

All this had been done in a couple of minutes. The arrows were falling
fast among them, but none had been hit, and as soon as the preparations
were complete they opened a steady fire at the enemy. With the
exception of the man who had come out with the horses all were good
shots, and their steady fire at once checked the advance of the natives,
whose triumphant yelling ceased, as man after man went down, and they
speedily followed the example of their opponents, and, throwing
themselves down on the grass, kept up a fire with their arrows in a
circle of seventy or eighty yards round the hunters.

Gradually, however, their fire ceased, for to use their bows they were
obliged to show their heads above the grass, and whenever one did so the
sharp crack of a rifle was heard; and so often did the bullets fly true
to their aim that the natives soon grew chary of exposing themselves.

"What will they do now?" Dick asked, as the firing ceased.

"They are cowards," Jumbo said contemptuously. "If they had been Zulus,
or Swazis, or Matabele, they would have rushed in upon us, and finished
it at once."

"Well, I am very glad they are not," Dick said; "but what is to be
done?"

"They will wait for night," Tony answered; "then, when we cannot see
them, they will creep up close and charge."

"In that case," Dick said, "the best thing will be for us to keep in a
body, and fight our way through them, and make for the camp."

Jumbo shook his head.

"They quiet now because they think they got us safe; if we try to get
away, they rush down upon us; we shoot many, but we all get killed."

"Then," Dick said, "the best thing will be for me to jump on my horse
and ride straight through them; if I get off alive, I will make for the
caravan and bring back Mr Harvey and the rest to your assistance."

"No good," Blacking said; "your horse would be stuck full of arrows
b