serpent lay flat, he struck a blow with his sharp beak so violent, that
it split the skull of the reptile in twain! Life was now extinct, and
the hideous form, extended to its full length, lay lithe and motionless
upon the grass.

Jan and Truey clapped their hands, and uttered exclamations of joy.

The serpent-eater took no heed of their demonstrations, but, approaching
the dead cobra, bent over it, and coolly set about making his dinner.

CHAPTER FORTY SIX.

TOTTY AND THE CHACMAS.

Von Bloom and his family had now been months without bread. They were
not without a substitute, however, as various roots and nuts supplied
them with a change of food. Of the latter, they had the ground or
pig-nut (_Arachis hypogea_), which grows in all parts of Southern
Africa, and which forms a staple food of the native inhabitants. For
vegetables they had the bulbs of many species of _Ixias_ and
_Mesembryanthemums_, among others the "Hottentot fig" (_Mesembryanthemum
edule_). They had the "Caffir bread"--the inside pith of the stems of a
species of _Zamia_; and the "Caffir chestnut," the fruit of the
_Brabeium stellatum_; and last, not least, the enormous roots of the
"elephant's foot" (_Testudinaria elephantipes_). They had wild onions
and garlic too; and in the white flower-tops of a beautiful floating
plant (_Aponogeton distachys_), they found a substitute for asparagus.

All these roots and fruits were to be obtained in the neighbourhood, and
no man knew better how to find them, and "crow" them up when found, than
did Swartboy the Bushman. Well might he, for in Swartboy's early days
he had often been compelled to subsist for weeks, and even months, on
roots alone!

But although they could procure a constant supply of these natural
productions, they considered them but a poor substitute for bread; and
all of them longed to eat once more what is usually termed the "staff of
life"--though in South Africa, where so many people live exclusively
upon the flesh of animals, bread is hardly entitled to that appellation.

Bread they were likely to have, and soon. When trekking from the old
kraal, they had brought with them a small bag of maize. It was the last
of their previous year's stock; and there was not in all over a bushel
of it. But that was enough for seed, and would produce many bushels if
properly planted, and carefully tended.

This had been done shortly after their arrival at their present home. A
fertile