should imagine, nearly two hours, in silence watching the ocean alight in the trough of every wave with brilliant flashing phosphorescence and silver moonlight, and thinking of our terrible position, when Mr Ferguson, who had remained so motionless that I had believed him to be asleep, and naturally after his two nights’ fatigue, spoke—

“Galbraith,” he said, “I have been reflecting that our wisest plan after all will be to make across the country, for, unarmed as we are, we are like to find the animals about here as dangerous as the natives, who possibly might be friendly and hospitable should we fall in with them.”

I hadn’t much trust in the latter hope, for I had heard many travellers’ tales respecting the Kaffirs, but I answered—

“You know best, Sir; and I think you are right.”

“At any rate, God will be with us anywhere as He is here,” he added. “We must trust in Him, who has already saved us from one terrible danger.”

“That is true, Sir; when shall we start?”

“Not till dawn,” he rejoined. “I have been looking at the stars, also at that headland, and recalling all I have read and seen respecting this coast, and fancy Natal cannot be far off. Who knows but while we are endangering our lives here, some English or Dutch settlement may be at the other side of that headland?”

“You are right, Sir,” said Jack, joining in; “I’m blessed if you ain’t; and if the Dutch only have their schnapps with ’em, I shall be uncommonly glad, for I feel as if I want something to stir me up.”

No doubt he did, for his wounds must have sorely troubled him, though he bore them so patiently.

“I vote,” he added, “that we start at once.”

“No, Jack,” said Mr Ferguson; “there are several reasons for our not doing so first, a few hours’ rest will do us good; secondly, you must have the handkerchiefs round your shoulder wetted again and again to keep down the inflammation; and thirdly, as we must pass through the bush, we had better do so when the beasts of prey have returned to their lairs, for I suspect the visit of one has been already quite enough for you.”

“Too much, Sir, and your third reason is stronger than all the rest put together, so for another wash of these kind remembrances left me by his majesty, the King of the Hanimals, though I could well have excused him paying the compliment, then to wait for dawn.”

Wait for dawn! yes truly; but with what laggard steps it appeared to come. As the hours advanced, the beautiful Southern constellations, the Columba noachi, or Noah’s-dove, the Crux Australis, or Southern Cross—the guiding star of the southern hemisphere, appeared rather to grow brighter than more faint; and it seemed an age before the first golden streaks of the sun shot up into the sky. No sooner had it done so, than I awoke Jack, who, by our earnest entreaties had taken a little sleep, then we started for the bush.

On our way we began really to believe that the place was uninhabited by man, for in the distance we saw nothing to resemble a human being, either black or white; while our own progress, remaining so uninterrupted, proved we had not attracted observation, which we could scarcely have failed to have done, had there been any of the natives near.

On entering the bush we managed to make a breakfast off some fruits which the minister, from his book-learning, knew not to be poisonous, while from the coiled-up leaves of the plantain, we procured sufficient water to slake our burning thirst. We had not gone far, before Mr Ferguson saved me by a quick jerk backwards from the grip of one of those thorns I have before referred to. He informed us that it was a plant very plentiful in the bush, known by the name of uncaria procumbens, from its manner of trailing along the ground; and also called the hook thorn, being armed, as I had noticed, with strong hooks. Besides those on the branches, when the seed vessels break, each of the sides is covered with hooked thorns, which possess such strength and sharpness, that their grasp is with difficulty avoided by the natives, while when the unfortunate European once is caught, all his efforts serve but to fasten him the tighter; for the action of unhooking one thorn only causes him to be seized by a dozen. Indeed, without aid it is almost impossible for him to get away. There is another kind called the Karra-dorn or white thorn, found generally on the banks of rivers, whose thorns are nearly seven inches long, and of such strength and sharpness that a lion has been known to have been impaled on them, and died of the wounds inflicted.

Hearing this account of them, I loudly rejoiced at my good fortune which had kept me from too close a proximity, when first seeing them in the bush.

Mr Ferguson’s anecdotes pleasantly whiled away the time; and to our relief we came across no more savage animals than monkeys, who, as we passed, jabbered and chattered in hundreds from the trees above, which were in general, all festooned with the before-mentioned Baboon ropes. Frequently, however, the Hook thorn presented impenetrable barriers across our path, compelling us to turn out of our course; and more than once, I know the thought occurred to all of the probability of our being lost in the bush. But Mr Ferguson kept a constant watch on the sun, and encouraged Jack with comforting words when, poor fellow, his heart began to fail, for his wounds had made him weak and hopeless.

We must, I am sure, have been over ten hours in the wood before we began to find the trees grow less thickly together, when we made more rapid progress. In another hour we had got to the outskirts of the forest when, laying my hand on Jack’s arm, I said, pointing with the other to a beautifully green plain some little distance off, and slightly below our level.

“Jack, look, we have got to the natives at last. Do you see them, Mr Ferguson?”

“I do,” responded Jack, “and a rum set of outlandish niggers they are. Lor, who can expect to be understood, much less receive hospitality from them. Far more likely to give us a warmer reception than we care for. But what on earth are they about?”

“They are evidently performing some native ceremony,” said Mr Ferguson.

But the description of the tribe of Kaffirs we had come upon, and the ceremony in which they were taking part, I shall leave for the commencement of the next chapter.