n rose, which fortunately she did very soon, as she was only
just past her full. As soon as she was up we started again, and
with a breathing space or two, trekked all that night, which I
spent seated on the after part of the wagon and keeping a sharp
look out, while, notwithstanding the roughness of the road and
his hurt, Anscombe slept like a child upon the cartel inside.

I was very tired, so tired that the fear of surprise was the only
thing that kept me awake, and I recall reflecting in a stupid
kind of way, that it seemed always to have been my lot in life to
watch thus, in one sense or another, while others slept.

The night passed somehow without anything happening, and at dawn
we halted for a while to water the oxen, which we did with
buckets, and let them eat what grass they could reach from their
yokes, since we did not dare to outspan them. Just as we were
starting on again the voortrekker, whom I had set to watch at a
little distance, ran up with his eyes bulging out of his head,
and reported that he had seen a Basuto with an assegai hanging
about in the bush, as though to keep touch with us, after which
we delayed no more.

All that day we blundered on, thrashing the weary cattle that at
every halt tried to lie down, and by nightfall came to the
outspan near to the house called the Temple, where we had met the
Kaffirs returning from the diamond fields. This journey we had
accomplished in exactly half the time it had taken on the outward
trip. Here we were obliged to stop, as our team must have rest
and food. So we outspanned and slept that night without much
fear, since I thought it most improbable that the Basutos would
attempt to follow us so far, as we were now within a day's trek
of Pilgrim's Rest, whither we proposed to proceed on the morrow.
But that is just where I made a mistake.

CHAPTER IV

DOCTOR RODD

I did get a little sleep that night, with one eye open, but
before dawn I was up again seeing to the feeding of our remaining
horse with some mealies that we carried, and other matters. The
oxen we had been obliged to unyoke that they might fill
themselves with grass and water, since otherwise I feared that we
should never get them on to their feet again. As it was, the
poor brutes were so tired that some of them could scarcely eat,
and all lay down at the first opportunity.

Having awakened Footsack and the other boys that they might be
ready to take advantage