out, I
expected to get a glimpse before long of one of their lanterns. All,
however, remained dark, and the time dragged slowly in the same
monotonous way, making me wish I could walk side by side with my
companion, who seemed to be far more cautious in the darkness than I
thought necessary.

We must have gone, as I hoped in a perfectly straight direction, for
what appeared to be nearly an hour, and I was getting desperate about
our slow progress, when suddenly the assagai-shaft was jigged sharply
and then dragged; and for a moment I saw a faint spark of light far
ahead, due to the fact that Joeboy had gone down suddenly upon hands and
knees. I followed suit, and lay flat, listening, but only hearing my
heart throbbing slowly and heavily. Not a sound was to be heard for
fully half-a-minute; and then came the familiar click of iron against
iron, caused, as I well knew, by a horse champing at his bit and moving
the curb-chain. Directly after there was the dull _thud, thud_ of
horses' hoofs coming from our right, and I knew that mounted men were
approaching us at right angles to our course, and thought we must be
discovered the next minute or else trampled on by the horses.

For a moment or two my heart seemed to stand still and then to go at a
gallop, for the horses came nearer and nearer; and I tried to press
myself closer and closer to the sand as one horse passed within two or
three yards of my feet, and another a little way in front.

I could hardly believe the men had gone by without seeing us, though I
had not seen them, and still crouched down, expecting to hear the riders
turn and come back. Hence it was like a surprise when I heard a faint
rustling which indicated that Joeboy was getting up; and, warned by a
jerk of the spear-shaft, I sprang up too.

"All ride by," said the black; and I realised now that a patrol must
have passed, with the men riding two or three horse-lengths apart to
keep guard against any surprise parties of our troop.

We went on again for a short distance, and then there was another
stoppage; for from the front came the murmur of voices talking in a low
tone, suggestive of a little outpost in front.

Joeboy made a brief halt, and then we went down on hands and knees, and
crawled to the right for about fifty yards before turning again in the
direction of the wagons; and this movement was kept up for quite a
hundred yards; then the black rose to his foot, and our walk
recommenced.