and began to undulate and
menace the party; and when the General took a step or two forward, as if
to strike it, the serpent made darts, as if measuring the distance
before trying to throw round him a coil of its muscular body.

So menacing did the creature grow at last that Mr Rogers gave the word,
and there was a rapid double shot, the reptile falling to Dick's gun,
and lying shot through the head, and writhing upon the sand.

This serpent measured just over twenty feet in length, and its girth was
enormous; so thick and heavy was it that the amount of muscular power in
its body must have been tremendous. So rapid and graceful was every
motion, and so full of strength was it even now, with its head
shattered, and when it might reasonably have been looked upon as dead,
that it was dangerous to approach within reach of its coils, Dick having
a very narrow escape.

They worked hard now collecting the lovely birds that abounded in the
forest, and the gloriously tinted beetles and butterflies, Coffee and
Chicory having by this time grown invaluable as collectors.

Then there was the regular hunting to do for supplying the needs of the
camps, and this generally fell to the lot of Dick and Jack, both of whom
were wondrous expert on horseback, as they had grown to be with a rifle.

"But mind," Mr Rogers had said, "no wanton slaughter. Kill as many
dangerous creatures as you meet, but only shoot the innocent game as we
need it for food."

The boys kept to their word, and many a tempting shot was given up,
because they felt that it was not necessary, the larder being stocked.

Game was abundant here, but though they could have shot eland, koodoo,
blesbok, gemsbok, quagga, hartebeeste, zebra, and gnu, they had not seen
elephant or giraffe, and these latter were in the boys' minds
continually.

"Well," said Mr Rogers, "I'll take the glass and have a ride out with
you to-day. Perhaps we may have better luck. We must have a skin or
two of the giraffe to take back."

"And we haven't seen a buffalo yet, father," cried Jack. "Isn't game
scarce?"

"Go and look at the footprints by the pool, my boy, and answer that
question for yourself," said Mr Rogers, smiling.

But Jack did not go. He knew that he had asked a foolish question, so
he passed it off.

The day was wonderfully hot, and quietly as they went, they felt
scorched, while Pompey and Caesar, who were taken as a treat, ran with
their tongues lolling out, and