oud warning cry, and several lithe dark forms bounded like
cats over the fence, and half-running, half-creeping, made for the bush
as fast as ever they could pelt, while three more who were seated round
a fire, each with a beef bone in his fist, gnawing the meat off, flung
it down among a heap of other relics of the feast, and started up to
fly. Evidently they were unaware of the smallness of our force, or
perhaps took us for a posse of Mounted Police.

"Look at that! Only look at that!" cried Revell, pointing to the fire,
beside which lay the head and a remnant of the carcase of one of the
stolen animals. And throwing all prudence to the winds, he up with his
piece and let fly at one of the fleeing forms.

"Steady, steady!" warned Brian. "No shooting, mind! Trask, _do_ you
hear!"

Too late. Trask had already pressed the trigger, and more fortunate--or
unfortunate--than Revell, who had missed, owing to the fidgeting of his
horse, one of the fleeing Kafirs was seen to stumble and fall, then,
rising with an effort, dragged himself into the welcome cover of the
bush.

"First bird!" cried Trask, wild with excitement. "He's dead. I saw him
`tower.'"

"No, you didn't. You didn't see anything," returned Brian meaningly.
"None of us saw anything of the sort, see! You only shot to scare, and
I told you not to do that unless you were driven to it."

"That's so," said Revell, "we only shot to scare. Don't be an idiot,
Trask."

"But--" began that obtuse worthy. "Oh--ah--um--yes, I see!" he broke
off as the idea at last found lodgment in his thick skull.

Now all this had befallen in a very twinkling. The thieves had vanished
as though into thin air--certainly into thick bush--and here we were,
with fifteen out of the sixteen oxen composing the stolen span: better
luck than might have fallen to our lot. But what about the stolen
horses? And just then, as though in reply to my thoughts, I, who was
taking no part in the foregoing wrangle, suddenly beheld two mounted
figures dart away from some hiding place just the other side of the
kraal. In a moment they were under cover of the bush and safe out of
shot, but in that moment I had recognised the steed bestridden by the
hindermost one. It was Meerkat--Beryl's own particular and favourite
horse--and it I had pledged myself to recover.

Shouting my discovery to the others, I was off on the track of the
fugitives, like a whirlwind. In that moment I recognised