dependent and resourceful--a band of chums
voluntarily taken from their homesteads to render them immune from
invasion by tackling the Hun on his own ground.

All were splendidly mounted on horses inured to the miasmic climate,
"led" animals carrying their necessary equipment. Each man knew how to
take care of himself. He knew only the elementary principles of drill,
but was none the less a very tough proposition for a Hun to tackle.
Skilled in woodcraft and travelling, able to cover great distances with
the minimum of fatigue, and capable of going on short rations without
loss of efficiency the Rhodesians were ideal men for the work on hand.
One and all had a score to wipe off; though few, if any, had fallen in
with von Gobendorff they deeply resented the Hun's audacity in posing
as a Rhodesian, while those who were of Scots descent and bore Scottish
names were highly indignant at the idea of a German adopting the
honourable and ancient cognomen of MacGregor.

Through the far-flung Pathan outposts they passed and rode into the
night. Scores of Askaris, who had thrown away their arms, signified
their willingness to surrender. Some were questioned concerning the
flight of von Gobendorff, their replies confirming the reports of the
prisoners taken at M'ganga; and the surrendered men were ordered to
return and give themselves up to the Indian troops, since the main
objective of the patrol was the pursuit of the spy, von Gobendorff.

That night the patrol bivouacked a short distance from a native kraal,
the inhabitants of which gave them a warm, demonstrative and noisy
welcome, at the same time providing them with a goat, plenty of mealies
and water. Enquiries elicited the information that a party of
villagers had seen a white man hurrying through the bush, and
fortunately had not given any indication of their presence. According
to the natives' report the fugitive was making in a north-westerly
direction.

"He'll have his work cut out to cross the Kiwa," declared the sergeant
of the patrol. "The river's pretty full just now and swarms of hippos.
I doubt whether he'll tackle it at night."

"In that case we'll boot and saddle an hour before sunrise," declared
Wilmshurst. "My man, Bela Moshi, will be able to follow the spoor like
a cat.... Oh, yes, light as many fires as you like. Von Gobendorff is
too far away to see the glare."

The night passed quietly. Although there were wild animals prowling
round they