continued saying, keeping his eye
ranging about in every direction in search of the expected hole.

Trusting to Jan's assurances, thirst compelled us to consume the last
drop of our water. Still, hour after hour went by, and we reached no
place at which we could replenish it. Our sufferings became terrible.
My throat felt as if seared by a hot iron. Often I had talked of being
thirsty, but I had never before known what thirst really was. My uncle,
I had no doubt, was suffering as much as I was, but his endurance was
wonderful.

We had seen numbers of elands sporting round us in every direction, but
as soon as we approached them, off they bounded.

"Surely those deer do not live without water; it cannot be far away," I
observed.

"They are able to pass days and weeks without tasting any," said my
uncle. "They can besides quickly cover thirty or forty miles of ground
if they wish to reach it. We must try to shoot one of them for supper,
which may give us both meat and drink. See, in the wood yonder we can
leave our horses and the ox under Jan's care, and you and I will try to
stalk one of the animals."

On reaching the wood, my uncle and I, with our guns in our hands, took a
direction which would lead us to leeward of the herd, so that we might
not be scented as we approached.

By creeping along under the shelter of some low bushes as we neared
them, the elands did not see us. Hunger and thirst made us unusually
cautious and anxious to kill one. My uncle told me to reserve my fire,
in case he should fail to bring the eland down; but as he was a much
better shot than I was, I feared that should he miss, I also should
fail. Presently I saw him rise from among the grass. Lifting his rifle
to his shoulder he fired; the eland gave a bound, but alighting on its
feet was scampering off, when I eagerly raised my rifle and pulled the
trigger. As the smoke cleared off, to my infinite delight I saw the
eland struggling on the grass. We both rushed forward, and my uncle's
knife quickly deprived it of life. It was a magnificent animal, as big
as an ox, being the largest of the South African antelopes.

On opening its stomach we discovered water, which, on being allowed to
cool, was sufficiently pure to quench our burning thirst. We secured a
portion of it for Jan, and loading ourselves with as much meat as we
could carry, we returned to where we had left him. A fire was soon
lighted, and we lost no time in cook