gain to be an arrant coward; and, coward-like,
he tried to tyrannise over the weaker.

He was afraid of the General; and when, upon one or two occasions, he
had quarrelled with Peter or Dirk, those gentlemen had displayed so much
pugnacity that Dinny had prudently resolved to quarrel with them no
more. He, however, made up for this by pouring out his virulence upon
Coffee and Chicory, the dogs having been too much for him; and the Zulu
boys bore it all in silence, but evidently meant to remember Dinny's
behaviour when the time came.

One day, soon after entering the game country, the General, who was on
ahead alternately scanning the horizon and the ground, while the oxen
slowly lumbered on behind, suddenly stopped, and began to examine some
footprints in a marshy piece of ground which he had just told Dick to
avoid.

"What is it?" said Dick, coming up.

"Look," said the General, pointing to the great footprints.

"Why, it looks as if a great cat had been here," said Dick.

"Yes; great cat; lion!" said the Zulu.

And when Mr Rogers and Jack had cantered up, and seen the spoor, as
such footprints were generally termed in South Africa, they knew that
there would be real danger now hovering about their nightly camps.

That afternoon, as they were passing through a woody portion of the
country, Chicory, who was well ahead, assegai in hand, eagerly looking
out for game, was heard suddenly to yell out as if in agony; and as all
ran to his help, he was found to be rolling on the ground, shrieking the
native word for "Snake! snake!"

Mr Rogers was the first to reach him, being mounted, and as he drew
rein by the prostrate boy, he saw a long thin snake gliding away.

He was just in time, and leaning forward he took rapid aim with his
fowling-piece; and as the smoke rose, a long thin ash-coloured snake was
seen writhing, mortally wounded, upon the ground.

The General caught the boy by the shoulder, and proceeded to divide his
jet-black hair, examining his scalp carefully, but without finding any
trace of a wound; though Chicory declared that he was killed, and that
the snake had seized him by the head as he was going under a tree.

He had felt it, and when he threw himself forward to avoid it, the
creature writhed and twisted about his neck, till in his horror he
rolled over and over, partly crushing the reptile, which was making its
escape when Mr Rogers's gun put an end to its power of doing mischief.

The Gene