ght render
us assistance.

Having flayed the animal and pegged down the skin, we returned to our
beds, hoping to finish the night without interruption. As soon as there
was light sufficient to enable us to see our way, we pushed forward,
earnestly praying that before the sun was high in the heavens, we might
fall in with water. Notwithstanding that Jan repeatedly exclaimed,
"Find water soon! Find water soon!" not a sign of it could we see. A
glare from a cloudy sky was shed over the whole scene; clumps of trees
and bushes looking so exactly alike, that after travelling several
miles, we might have fancied that we had made no progress. At length
even the trees and bushes became scarcer, and what looked like a
veritable desert appeared before us.

I had gone on a short distance ahead, when to my delight I saw in front
a large lake, in the centre of which the waves were dancing and
sparkling in the sunlight, the shadows of the trees being vividly
reflected on the mirror-like surface near the shores, while beyond I saw
what I took to be a herd of elephants flapping their ears and
intertwining their trunks.

"Water, water!" I shouted; "we shall soon quench our thirst. We must
take care to avoid those elephants, however," I added, pointing them out
to my uncle. "It would be a fearful thing to be charged by them."

The horses and ox lifted up their heads and pressed forward. Jan to my
surprise said nothing, though I knew he was suffering as well as my
uncle and I were. I was rushing eagerly forward, when suddenly a haze
which hung over the spot, broke and dispelled the illusion. A vast
salt-pan lay before us. It was covered with an effervescence of lime,
which had produced the deceptive appearance. Our spirits sank lower
than ever. To avoid the salt-pan, we turned to the right, so as to
skirt its eastern side. The seeming elephants proved to be zebras,
which scampered off out of reach. We now began to fear that our horses
would give in, and that we should have to push forward with our ox
alone, abandoning everything it could not carry. Still my uncle cried
"Forward!" Jan had evidently mistaken the road, and passed the spot
where he had expected to find water. Still he observed that we need
have no fear of pursuing our course. Evening was approaching and we
must again camp: without water we could scarcely expect to get through
the night.

Presently Jan looking out ahead, darted forward and stopped at w