lonesome. So dere dey sits outside de hole, waitin' for him to come
out. An' dere he sits inside de hole, waitin' for dem to come in; an'
so dere ain't needer in nor out, but dey bofe sits an' waits.

"Ses all de birds outside--`If you don't come out an' let us get at you,
we'll yust about dance on you' chest'.

"Ses Ole Owl inside, ses he--not a word! not a sound!

"Well, dey wait all day, an' dey wait all afternoon, but Ole Owl ain't
a-comin' out, an' dey ain't a-goin' in. Den it drop sundown, an' de
birds dey ha' to fly som'eres to sleep. Dey look at one anoder. `Yust
wait till to-morrow, dat's all!' ses dey, an' off dey fly to deir
sleepin' places.

"When dey's gone Ole Owl comes out. `I reckon I'll hatto get as much to
eat as I can to-night,' ses he, `an' den hide some place to-morrow, so
dey won't see me.'

"An' dat's yust what he done, an' yust what he's hatto do ever since--
hunt all night an' hide all day, for fear de rest o' de birds see him
an' ketch him, if he move about in de daylight.

"So now you knows how it come dat de Ole White Owl can on'y fly at
night," ended Old Hendrik.

"Oh!" said little Annie.

CHAPTER NINE.

WHY OLD JACKAL SLINKS HIS TAIL.

The little girl was full of excitement. Driving home with her mother
from the "dorp," she had seen Ou' Jackalse himself--Mynheer Jackal--
slinking across the veldt, and all the tales Old Hendrik had told her
about him crowded her mind as she watched him. She could hardly contain
herself now, as she stood before the old Hottentot pouring forth the
story. There was only one regret in it--"He must have been in some
trouble, Ou' Ta'," said she; "'cause all the time I watched him his tail
was right down. I watched and I watched to see if it wouldn't stick up,
'cause then I'd know he was thinking of a plan; but it never did."

Old Hendrik smiled. "So his tail was a-hangin' an' a-slinkin' ahter
him, was it? An' didn't he look back at you over his shoulder as he
went?"

"Yes, he did," answered Annie, still more eager at finding how well Old
Hendrik knew the ways and doings of Ou' Jackalse. "I kept hoping he was
thinking of fetching Ou' Wolf to work for us, then I could tell Ou' Wolf
not to trust him any more, no matter what he said."

Old Hendrik's delight bubbled into a jeering shake of the head and a
half laugh of derision over the subject as he repeated the name--"Ou'
Jackalse, hey! Ou' Jackalse!"

"But you needn't to be feared