t, marked the gradual fading of the sheen on the
stalactites, until softly the shadows sank and merged into the
darkness of the cave, leaving nothing visible but a faint gleam
where the nearest sulphur cone stood.

Eerie it was in the dim light, eerier it was now in the dark, with
those hoarse mutterings from beneath, and those thunderous
reverberations pealing at irregular intervals through the unknown
spaces above. He had his pipe, but his habitual caution deterred him
from seeking its comfort, and he was glad he had abstained, and glad
at having extinguished the fire, when suddenly he heard the sound of
shrill laughter. A sullen roar from the water-hole beyond drowned
the sound, but he knew in every fibre that he had not been mistaken.
There were others beside him and Venning in the vaults, but not for
a moment was he pleased at the thought. Instinct or the association
of the place warned them of danger. For a long spell, however, he
could distinguish nothing human in the hurly-burly of sounds, and
then again, nearer and plainer, the shrill peal rang out exultant,
with a note in it of some savage beast flinging back the news to the
pack that the scent was hot.

Slowly he stooped his head to hear if Venning slept, for he dreaded
what would happen if the boy awoke in the pitchy darkness and heard
that demoniac cry. The boy's breathing came at regular intervals,
and with a muttered prayer that he would sleep on, the Hunter felt
for the trigger.

"Ngonyama!" From the height a voice calling to him dropped soft as
the flight of a bat, faint as a whisper, yet clear as a bell in all
that turmoil.

He smiled grimly, but did not answer. This was some trick of the
woman. If she was friendly, why had she left them?

"Indhlovu! "--again it fell as from afar.

He ran his hand over the bandolier, loosened the cartridges, and let
his fingers curl round the trigger again.

A gust of wind blowing through some fissure shrieked amid the
heights as if terrified at having wandered into such a prison, then
for a long time the old sounds continued to make sport in the vaults
and tunnels without any interruption.

Then Venning suddenly woke, and Mr. Hume was in a fever to keep the
boy's mind occupied, and to get him asleep again.

"Drink this," he said, picking up the calabash, "and go to sleep
again."

Venning took a long drink, "I dreamt I was by the sea, listening to
the waves. It was almost as good as being home again."