“Yes, and glad to do so; for I am covered with the sand of the desert.”
Chapter Twenty Four.
Our travellers remained very quiet that day and the next. The horses had suffered so much, that they required two days of rest, and they themselves were not sorry to be inactive after their fatiguing journey over the desert. The cattle enjoyed the luxuriant pasture, and although the tracks of lions were discovered very near to them, yet, as they had plenty of fuel and attended themselves to the fires, they had not any visits from them during the night. The Hottentots had been out to reconnoitre, and found a profusion of game, in a large plain, about two miles distant; and it was decided that they would rest where they were for a day or two, if the game were not frightened away. The river had been crossed by Swanevelt, who stated that there was a large herd of elephants on the other side, and the tracks of the rhinoceros were to be seen on both sides of the river.
On the third morning after their arrival at the Vaal, they set off; accompanied by the Hottentots, to the plain which they had spoken of; riding through magnificent groups of acacia or camel-thorn trees, many of which were covered with the enormous nests of the social grosbeaks. As they descended to the plain, they perceived large herds of brindled gnoos, quaggas, and antelopes, covering the whole face of the country as far as the eye could reach, moving about in masses to and fro, joining each other and separating, so that the whole plain appeared alive with them.
“Is not this splendid?” cried the Major “Such a sight is worth all the trouble and labour which we have undergone. What would they say in England, if they could but behold this scene?”
“There must be thousands and thousands,” said Alexander. “Tell me, Swinton, what beautiful animals are those of a purple colour?”
“They are called the purple sassabys,” replied Swinton; “one of the most elegant of the antelope tribe.”
“And those red and yellow out there?”