k stood at gaze at fifty paces,
then cantered leisurely away, their long, spear-like horns glinting to
the sunlight. But neither the splendour of the dawn, nor the pleasant
flowers, scarcely even the great antelopes, had any attraction for
Nakeesa's eyes.

At last, just upon hot noon, Nakeesa looked skywards, and saw against
the hard, torrid glare bands of vultures wheeling and circling high
above the earth. There, at last, was her goal. Below the foul birds
the giraffe undoubtedly lay dead. Sinikwe's presence alone kept them
aloof. In half an hour Nakeesa stood by the carcase and greeted her
husband. Sinikwe paused in his operations--he was chopping ribs from
the huge frame, and from head to foot was smeared and stained with
blood. For once he was in a good humour; blood and meat had rendered
him mellow, as with wine. The day passed in butchering and drying meat,
in a continual round of feasting. At night, by the fire, Sinikwe,
utterly gorged and drunk with flesh, lay down to sleep. Nakeesa had had
enough, but she had not eaten in so gross a manner as her lord. Even to
the woman of the desert there seem intuitively to come restraints and
limits, which to the man are unknown.

The stars came sparkling forth in their hosts, the deep indigo hollow of
space intensifying their marvellous brightness. Amid that galaxy of
diamonds, the Southern Cross, Orion's Belt, the Great Dog, Centaurus,
Cetus, and many another constellation, stood majestic.

Presently the weird, shrill wail of the jackal and the hideous cry of
hyaenas told that even in these dry wastes the night creatures were
wandering in search of food. These sounds disturbed not Nakeesa, though
she heard them; she knew that the fire and the presence of human life
would sufficiently protect the giraffe's carcase. There were no lions
so far from water. Towards midnight the risen moon, now nearly at her
full, shone broad upon the veldt. Her intense brightness made clear all
things upon the desert, and paled the stars. The night grew very chill
as the hours crept by. Unconsciously, Nakeesa and her man lay yet
closer to the fire. It was an hour past midnight when Nakeesa suddenly
awoke. Neither the strong moonlight nor the fretful cries of the
jackals had roused her, but an almost imperceptible vibration of the
sand somewhere near. What danger was it? Very softly she raised her
head and peered from beneath her cloak. Yes, she was right; there, ten
y