Between Snow and Fire — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

"TWEEN SNOW AND FIRE. ame “Why, what’s become of the Bomvana?” suddenly inquired someone. | They looked around. There was no sign of their guide. - Could he have been playing them false and slipped away in the confusion? Even now the enemy might be lying in wait somewhere in overwhelming force, ready to cut off their retreat. “By Jove! There he is!” cried another man presently. ‘* And—the beggar’s dead !” He was. In the confusion of the attack they had forgot- ten their guide, who must have fallen into the hands of the enemy, and have been sacrificed to the vengeance of the latter. The body of the unfortunate Bomvana, propped up in a sitting posture against a tree by his slayers in savage mockery, presented a hideous sight. The throat was cut from ear to ear, and the trunk was nearly divided by a ter- rible gash right across it just below the ribs, while from a assegai stabs the dark arterial blood was still oozing orth. “Faugh !” exclaimed Hoste with a grimace of disgust, while two or three of the younger men of the party turned rather pale as they shudderingly gazed upon the sickening sight. ‘ Poor devil! They’ve made short work of him, anyhow.” “H’m! I don’t wonder at it,’”’ said Shelton. ‘“ It must be deuced rough to be sold by one of your own men. Still, if that chap’s story was true he was the aggrieved party. However, let’s get on. We've got our work all be- fore us still.” They had. It was no easy matter to drive such an enormous herd through the thick bush. Many of the animals were very wild, besides being thoroughly scared with all the hustling to and fro they had had—and began to branch off from the main body, drawing a goodly num- ber after them. These had to be out-manceuvered, yet it would never do for the men to straggle, for the Kafirs would hardly let such a prize go without straining every effort to retain it. Certain it was that the savages were following them in the thick bush as near as they dared, keenly watching an opportunity to retrieve—or partially retrieve—the disaster of the day, Cautiously, then, the party retreated with their spoil, seeking a favourable outlet by which they could drive their Eomilecbooks. com