making for a larger tract
of bush that grew near: but before it had got half-way across the open
ground, the quagga came up behind, and uttering his shrill "couaag,"
reared forward, and dropped with his fore-hoofs upon the hyena's back.
At the same instant the neck of the carnivorous animal was clutched by
the teeth of the ruminant and held as fast, as if grasped by a vice.

All looked to see the hyena free itself and run off again. They looked
in vain. It never ran another yard. It never came alive out of the
clutch of those terrible teeth.

The quagga still held his struggling victim with firm hold--trampling it
with his hoofs, and shaking it in his strong jaws, until in a few
minutes the screams of the hyena ceased, and his mangled carcass lay
motionless upon the plain!

One would think that this incident might have been enough to warn our
hunters to be cautious in their dealings with the quagga. Such a sharp
biter would be no pleasant horse to "bit and bridle."

But all knew the antipathy that exists between the wild horse and the
hyena; and that the quagga, though roused to fury at the sight of one of
these animals, is very different in its behaviour towards man. So
strong, in fact, is this antipathy, and so complete is the mastery of
the ruminant over the carnivorous animal, that the frontier farmers
often take advantage of these peculiar facts, and keep the hyenas from
their cattle by bringing up with the herd a number of quaggas, who act
as its guards and protectors.

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.

THE PIT-TRAP.

While they were watching the movements of the quaggas, Von Bloom rose
suddenly to his feet. All turned their eyes upon him as he did so.
They saw by his manner that he was about to propose something. What
could it be?

The thought had just occurred to him that they should at once set about
digging the pit.

It was near sunset--wanting only half-an-hour of it; and one would
suppose he would have done better to leave the work till next morning.
But no. There was a good reason why they should set about it at once;
and that was, that they might not be able to complete it in time if they
did not do part of it that night.

It would be no slight undertaking to dig a pit of proper size, for they
would require one that would at least hold half-a-dozen quaggas at a
time. Then there was the carrying away the earth that should come out
of it, the cutting the poles and branches to cover it, and the