t seemed very dark as we set forth, for the moon had not yet
risen, and the starlight was insufficient to render our march easy, as
we followed the elastic stride of our silent guide. Our excitement was
intense, as we threaded the thickness of some bushy kloof by narrow game
paths known to our guide and lit upon in the darkness with the unerring
instinct of the savage. Every now and then a rustle and patter, as
something scurried away, and once some large animal, alarmed, started
away with a sudden and tremendous crash which it seemed must have been
heard for miles. Not one of us dared break the Xosa's enjoinment to
strict silence, and thus we proceeded. How long this lasted we could
only guess, but it seemed that we were hours traversing the interminable
tortuousness of bushy ravines, or scaling the side of a slope with such
care as not to disturb a single stone. At last Jan Boom came to a halt,
and stood, listening intently.

In the gloom we could make out nothing distinct. We were facing a dark
mass of thick bush, with a rugged boulder here and there breaking
through, as if it had fallen from a stunted krantz which crowned the
slope not very much higher above. It took some straining of the eyes to
grasp these details. When we looked again our guide had disappeared.

"What does it mean, Glanton?" whispered Falkner. "What if this is
another trap and we are going to be the next to disappear? Well, we
sha'n't do it so quietly, that's one thing."

Then through the silence came Jan Boom's voice, and--it seemed to come
from right beneath our feet.

"Down here, _Amakosi_. Iqalaqala first."

"Down here?" Yes--but where? Then I saw what was a hole or cavity,
seeming to pierce the blackness of a dense wall of bush. Without a
moment's hesitation I obeyed, and finding Jan Boom's outstretched hand I
dropped into what was curiously like a sort of deep furrow. The others
followed, and lo--something closed behind us. We were in pitch
darkness, and a moist and earthy smell gave out a most uncomfortable
suggestion of being buried alive.

"Now walk," whispered the Xosa. "Let each keep hold of the one in front
of him. But--before all--silence!"

In this way we advanced, Jan Boom leading, I keeping a hand on his
shoulder, Kendrew doing ditto as to mine, while Falkner brought up the
rear. The place was not a cave, for every now and again we could see a
star or two glimmering high above. It seemed like a deep fiss