ants, the long heads in
their husks were seen showering out towards the line, as if flung by the
hand of man! Those placed at the near end of the line immediately took
them up, pitched them to the next, and these to the next, and so on,
until, in a very short while from the time a head was plucked from the
stalk, it was delivered to the storehouse of the baboons far off among
the cliffs!

Had this work gone on much longer the field-cornet would have had but a
poor gathering in harvest time. The baboons thought the corn ripe
enough, and would soon have made a crop of it, but at this moment their
operations were interrupted.

Totty knew but little of the danger she underwent, when she ran forth
with nothing but that long broom-handle to drive off a troop of chacmas.
She only thought of the loss her kind master was sustaining; and down
the ladder she hurried, and ran straight out to the corn-field.

Several sentinels met her by its edge, grinned, chattered, screamed,
barked, and showed their long canine teeth; but they only received a
blow over their ugly snouts from the broom-handle. Their cries summoned
the others; and in a few moments the poor Hottentot was standing in the
midst of an angry circle of chacmas, that were only prevented from
springing in upon her by the expert manner in which she continued to ply
the broom-stick.

But this slight weapon would not have served much longer, and Totty's
fate--that of being torn to pieces--would soon have been sealed, had not
four horsemen, or rather "quagga-men," at that moment galloped up to her
rescue.

These were the hunters returning from the chase; and a volley from their
guns at once scattered the ugly chacmas, and sent them howling back to
their caves.

After that the field-cornet looked well to his maize, until it was ready
for gathering; when it was all brought home, and deposited in safety out
of the reach of either birds, reptiles, quadrupeds, or _quadrumana_.

CHAPTER XLV.

THE WILD HOUNDS AND THE HARTEBEEST.

Since the taming of the quaggas the hunting had been attended with
tolerable success. Not a week passed without adding a pair of
tusks--sometimes two or three pairs--to the collection, which now began
to assume the form of a little pyramid of ivory standing near the bottom
of the nwana.

Von Bloom, however, was not quite satisfied with his progress. He
thought they might do far better if they had only a few dogs.

Though the quaggas wer