enough to be very soft, but there it was, plainly
enough--the calm, quiet crunching up of the food a span of oxen had
eaten, indicative of the fact that they had been pulled up by their
drivers and were utilising their waiting time by chewing the cud.

"Forward!" whispered Lennox, and his men crept after him without a
sound, every one full of excitement, for the general idea was that they
were about to surprise some convoy wagon that had gone astray.

A minute later the munching of the oxen sounded quite loudly, and the
little party was brought to a halt by a deep, gruff voice saying in Boer
Dutch:

"What a while you've been! How much higher can we get?"

"Fix bayonets!" cried Lennox sharply, and a yell of dismay arose,
followed by a dozen random shots, as the metallic clinking of the keen,
dagger-like weapons was heard against the muzzles of the men's rifles.

The shots fired seemed to cut the black darkness, and the exploded
powder spread its dank, heavy fumes in the direction of the men's faces,
but as far as Lennox could make out in the excitement of leading his
party on in a charge, no one was hurt; and the next minute his little
line was brought up short, several of the men littering angry
ejaculations, and as many more bursting into a roar of laughter.

CHAPTER FOUR.

WAYS AND MEANS.

"Here, what in the name of wonder!" cried Dickenson angrily. "Yah!
Keep those horns quiet, you beast."

"What is it?" cried Lennox excitedly.

"Roast-beef, sir--leastwise to-morrow, sir," cried one of the men.
"We've bay'neted a team of oxen."

"Speak the truth, lad," cried another from Lennox's left. "We've been
giving point in a gun-carriage."

"Silence in the ranks!" cried Lennox sternly as he felt about in the
darkness, joined now by his comrade, and found that their charge had
been checked by a big gun, its limber, and the span--six or eight and
twenty oxen--several of the poor beasts having received thrusts from the
men's bayonets.

It was a strange breastwork to act as a protection, but from behind its
shelter a couple of volleys were sent in the direction of the flashes of
light which indicated the whereabouts of the enemy, and this made them
continue their flight, the surprise having been too great for their
nerves; while the right interpretation was placed upon the adventure at
once--to wit, that in ignorance of the fact that Colonel Lindley had
done in the darkness exactly what might have been expe