had searched
cautiously for him, suspecting he was up to mischief of some sort. Then
he had lit upon traces of blood, and following them he came to a spot
where a sheep had recently been killed, amid a clump of mimosa. There
were footmarks around, which he traced to some rocks hard by, and there
he found the meat, roughly quartered, hidden in a cleft. It was quite
fresh, and must have been deposited there that day. As he left the
place he saw somebody lying behind a low bush watching him, but
pretended not to notice. Shortly afterwards, as he returned to where
the flock was left, the accused came hurrying up. He accounted for his
absence by a cock-and-bull story, that he had seen a jackal skulking
near the sheep, and bad gone after it to drive it away. Witness
pretended to believe this tale, but as he was listening he noticed two
splashes of blood on the prisoner's leg. He evinced no suspicion
whatever, but on reaching home sent off at once for the District Police.
When the sheep were counted in that night one was missing. The
prisoner's hut was searched that night, and the skin was found, hidden
among a lot of blankets. It was quite fresh, and must have been flayed
off that day. He could swear that, and could swear to the skin. He
produced it in court. It bore his mark--an "S" reversed. On the
discovery of the skin Gonjana was arrested. The value of the sheep was
about 1 pound.

The prisoner's attorney, who all this time has been taking copious notes
or pretending to, jumps up to cross-examine. But little enough change
can he get out of the witness, whose statement is clear enough, nor does
anybody expect he will, least of all himself. As for the man he saw
lying behind the bush watching him, the prosecutor cannot absolutely
swear it was Gonjana, but he is certain of it short of that. The spoor
was the spoor of one man. He is accustomed to follow spoor--has been
all his life; he is certain, too, that no other people were in the
neighbourhood. He did not analyse the blood spots on the prisoner's
leg--they _might_ have been pig's blood, as Mr Darrell so sagely
suggests, there being hardly such a thing as a pig in the whole district
of Doppersdorp--but they were blood spots anyhow; that he can swear.
Why should the skin found in the prisoner's hut have been brought home
and not the meat? Well, skins were negotiable at some canteens, and
natives were fond of grog. He made no allegations against any ca