by their drivers, three naked
Kafirs, who plunged into the river in their wake, holding their assegais
high over their heads, for the water came fully breast-high. They could
even hear the rattle of the assegai hafts as the savages climbed up the
opposite bank, laughing like children as they shook the water drops from
their sleek, well-greased skins. They counted thirteen head of cattle.

"A baker's dozen, by Jove! Stolen, of course," whispered Hoste.
"_Allamaghtaag_! if only we had known of that before we might have gone
to _voer-ly_ [Waylay] that drift, for it must be a drift. We might have
bagged all three niggers and trundled the oxen back to camp. A full
span, save three. Suppose they've eaten the rest. That'll be one
apiece--the _schelms_!"

"It isn't altogether too late now," said Carhayes. "I smell some fun
ahead. Let them get up over the rise, and then we'll go down and look
if their spoor seems worth following."

"And what if they are only the advance guard of a lot more?" suggested
Hoste.

"They are not," was the confident reply. "There are too few beasts and
too few niggers. I tell you there's some fun sticking out for us."

Quickly the horses were saddled. A high, bushy ridge precluded all
chance of their presence being discovered by the three marauders as soon
as the latter had crossed the river, and it certainly had not been
discovered before. Then, having allowed sufficient time to elapse, they
forded the river and rode forward on the other side, so as to converge
on the spoor leading up from the drift below.

"Here it is--as plain as mud," said Carhayes, bending over in his saddle
to examine the ground, which, dry and sandy, showed the hoof-prints and
footmarks so plainly that a child might have followed them. "They are
well over the rise by now, and the way isn't so rough as I expected.
Our plan is to make straight for the top of the hill. We can't get up
much quicker than they can, I'm afraid, unless we want to blow our
horses, which we don't. But once we are up there we shall find it all
open _veldt_, and all we've got to do is to ride them down in the open,
shoot the niggers, and head the stock back for the river again. Anyone
propose an amendment to that resolution?"

"We are four fools," said Payne laconically, knocking the ashes out of
his pipe and pocketing that useful implement.

"_Ja_! That's so," said Carhayes, joining heartily in the laugh which
greeted this remar