So it came about that Hans and I started alone, I not at all enjoying the job.  I suppose that there lurks in my nature some of that primeval terror of the dark, which must continually have haunted our remote forefathers of a hundred or a thousand generations gone and still lingers in the blood of most of us.  At any rate even if I am named the Watcher-by-Night, greatly do I prefer to fight or to face peril in the sunlight, though it is true that I would rather avoid both at any time.

In fact, I wished heartily that the Amahagger were at the other side of Africa, or in heaven, and that I, completely ignorant of the person called Inez Robertson, were seated smoking the pipe of peace on my own stoep in Durban.  I think that Hans guessed my state of mind, since he suggested that he should go alone, adding with his usual unveiled rudeness, that he was quite certain that he would do much better without me, since white men always made a noise.

“Yes,” I replied, determined to give him a Roland for his Oliver, “I have no doubt you would—­under the first bush you came across, where you would sleep till dawn, and then return and say that you could not find the Amahagger.”

Hans chuckled, quite appreciating the joke, and having thus mutually affronted each other, we started on our quest.

CHAPTER IX

THE SWAMP

Neither Hans nor I carried rifles that we knew would be in the way on our business, which was just to scout.  Moreover, one is always tempted to shoot if a gun is at hand, and this I did not want to do at present.  So, although I had my revolver in case of urgent necessity, my only other weapon was a Zulu axe, that formerly had belonged to one of those two men who died defending Inez on the veranda at Strathmuir, while Hans had nothing but his long knife.  Thus armed, or unarmed, we crept forward towards that spot whence, as we conjectured, we had seen the line of smoke rising some hours before.

For about a quarter of a mile we went on thus without seeing or hearing anything, and a difficult job it was in that gloom among the scattered trees with no light save such as the stars gave us.  Indeed, I was about to suggest that we had better abandon the enterprise until daybreak when Hans nudged me, whispering,

“Look to the right between those twin thorns.”

I obeyed and following the line of sight which he had indicated, perceived, at a distance of about two hundred yards a faint glow, so faint indeed that I think only Hans would have noticed it.  Really it might have been nothing more than the phosphorescence rising from a heap of fungus, or even from a decaying animal.

“The fire of which we saw the smoke that has burnt to ashes,” whispered Hans again.  “I think that they have gone, but let us look.”

So we crawled forward very cautiously to avoid making the slightest noise; so cautiously, indeed, that it must have taken us nearly half an hour to cover those two hundred yards.