Peter Halket that the form grew larger and larger: and as it descended the
further side of the kopje it seemed that for one instant he still saw the
head with a pale, white light upon it: then it vanished.

And Trooper Peter Halket sat alone upon the kopje.


Chapter II.

It was a hot day. The sun poured down its rays over the scattered trees,
and stunted bush, and long grass, and over the dried up river beds. Far in
the blue, so high the eye could scarcely mark them, vultures were flying
southward, where forty miles off kraals had been destroyed and two hundred
black carcasses were lying in the sun.

Under a group of tall straggling trees among the grass and low scrub, on
the banks of an almost dried up river bed, a small camp had been pitched.

The party had lost their mules, and pending their recovery had already been
there seven days. The three cart loads of provisions they were conveying
to the large camp were drawn up under the trees and had a sail thrown
across them to form a shelter for some of the men; while on the other side
of the cleared and open space that formed the camp, a smaller sail was
thrown across two poles forming a rough tent; and away to the left, a
little cut off from the rest of the camp by some low bushes, was the bell-
shaped tent of the captain, under a tall tree. Before the bell-shaped tent
stood a short stunted tree; its thick white stem gnarled and knotted; while
two stunted misshapen branches, like arms, stretched out on either side.

Before this tree, up and down, with his gun upon his arm, his head bent and