He obeyed, being a skilful whip enough who, as he informed me afterwards, had been accustomed to drive a four-in-hand at home.  Mounting my horse, which stood by, I guided the cart out of the wood and down the slope beyond, till at length we came to our old outspan where I proposed to turn on to the wagon track which ran to Pilgrim’s Rest.  I say proposed, for when I looked up it I perceived about five hundred yards away a number of armed Basutos running towards us, the red light of the sunset shining on their spears.  Evidently the scout or spy to whom Rodd whistled, had called them out of their ambush which they had set for us on the Pilgrim’s Rest road in order that they might catch us if we tried to escape that way.

Now there was only one thing to be done.  At this spot a native track ran across the little stream and up a steepish slope beyond.  On the first occasion of our outspanning here I had the curiosity to mount this slope, reflecting as I did so that although rough it would be quite practicable for a wagon.  At the top of it I found a wide flat plain, almost high-veld, for the bushes were very few, across which the track ran on.  On subsequent inquiry I discovered that it was one used by the Swazis and other natives when they made their raids upon the Basutos, or when bodies of them went to work in the mines.

“Follow me,” I shouted and crossed the stream which was shallow between the little pools, then led the way up the stony slope.  The four horses negotiated it very well and the Cape cart, being splendidly built, took no harm.  At the top I looked back and saw that the Basutos were following us.

“Flog the horses!” I cried to Anscombe, and off we went at a hand gallop along the native track, the cart swaying and bumping upon the rough veld.  The sun was setting now, in half an hour it would be quite dark.

Could we keep ahead of them for that half hour?

CHAPTER IX

FLIGHT

The sun sank in a blaze of glory.  Looking back by the light of its last rays I saw a single native silhouetted against the red sky.  He was standing on a mound that we had passed a mile or more behind us, doubtless waiting for his companions whom he had outrun.  So they had not given up the chase.  What was to be done?  Once it was completely dark we could not go on.  We should lose our way; the horses would get into ant-bear holes and break their legs.  Perhaps we might become bogged in some hollow, therefore we must wait till the moon rose, which would not be for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile those accursed Basutos would be following us even in the dark.  This would hamper them, no doubt, but they would keep the path, with which they were probably familiar, beneath their feet, and what is more, the ground being soft with recent rain, they could feel the wheel spoor with their fingers.  I looked about me.  Just here another track started off in a nor’-westerly direction from that which we were following.  Perhaps it ran to Lydenburg; I do not know.  To our left, not more than a hundred yards or so away, the higher veld came to an end and sloped in an easterly direction down to bush-land below.