next proceeding
was, therefore, to find the spoor, so as to discover in which direction
they were to pursue. This was a work of time, for the late heavy rain
had washed out nearly every trace from the previously hard soil; but the
skilled spoorers spread out in various directions, and some of them at
length found the traces of the horse that Bernhard had ridden away.

The Matabili at this were delighted; they believed that the three men
had started on foot and had placed one or both of the females on
horseback: thus they believed their journey could be accomplished only
slowly, so that there was every chance of the fleet-footed savages
overtaking their escaped captives, and shortly bringing them back to
their prison. The whole party soon assembled round the traces of the
horses and held a brief consultation. No time was to be lost in
following this spoor; and the most quick-sighted Matabili were at once
sent forward to trace it on before. The remainder followed, and looked
anxiously for the footprint of man. When, however, some very soft
ground had been passed, and no footprints were seen, the leader, an
experienced and cunning savage, called on his men to halt, and explained
to them that there should be some other footprints besides those which
they had seen.

"There were three men, and two women; one of these has been killed and
eaten by a lion," said the Matabili chief: for he knew not that the
skull belonged to one of his own people. "We can see the spoor of but
one horse; on that the women would probably ride;--but where are the
men's footprints? We must find these. They have not crossed this soft
ground: there is no spoor here. They may have crossed higher up, where
the ground is harder. Look, men, and find some spoor, or we may be
making a mistake."

Every search was made for several hundred yards on either side of the
soft ground on which was the spoor of Bernhard's horse, but with no
satisfactory results.

"The rain must have washed out the spoor," was at length the expressed
opinion of the majority of the Matabili, and the whole party would
immediately have followed the traces of the horse, had not another old
Matabili agreed with the chief man that it was not wise to go on without
some more spoor being seen.

The chief, being thus strengthened in his suspicions, decided to leave
ten men behind to examine every likely place near, especially the kloofs
on the hill-sides, and then to follow with