“It seems to me as if they have all been shot,” said Jack.
But the General shook his head.
“Plenty of elephants,” he said; “only wait.”
Pieces of stone had to be used in addition to thorns to make the cattle-kraal where they now halted, for the land was comparatively sterile after the lush vegetation of the plains; but a little valley supplied ample pasturage for the cattle, and abundant water, and the rocky defiles around promised sport of a different kind to any they had before enjoyed.
Hardly had they pulled up at the spot chosen for the temporary camp, before Dick called his brother’s attention to a couple of huge birds, sailing round and round upon extended motionless wings over and about the rocky crags and points far above their resting-place.
“Eagles!” cried Jack excitedly.
And as he spoke the boys saw one of the great birds swoop down behind a peak and disappear, rising almost directly after with something dark in its talons, and flying straight off to a shelf of rock far away.
This was new game indeed, and the boys were eager to go off after the great birds; but they had to help settle camp-matters first, the rule being that at every halt the first thing attempted was to put the place in a state of defence.
When this was done there were the pets to see to—the leopard and giraffe, both of which had grown perfectly tame, the leopard being as playful as a kitten, and the giraffe calmly bringing its head down low enough to have its nose rubbed, while it munched at the handful of fresh tender shoots offered as a token of good will.
Then there were the horses to watch and tend, wood to cut, and fire to make; so that there was plenty of work for all. But “willing hands make light work,” as the saying goes, and they were just congratulating themselves upon the successful nature of their arrangements, the little camp presenting all they required as a centre from which to start upon hunting expeditions—to wit, good pasturage, abundant water, and security against the attack of lions who might mistake their cattle for the wild creatures of the plains.