"Baas," replied Poeskop, "I have followed Minho many a time in the soft, sandy streets of Mossamedes. There is no mistaking his spoor. Once I have seen a man's footprints, or an ox's, or a horse's, I can tell it anywhere. To you it may seem difficult; to a Bushman, no!"
"Well," rejoined Mr. Blakeney, "anything else?"
"Ja, baas," pursued the Bushman. "There are, as you see, two others. They are natives--Karl Engelbrecht's servants."
"This is bad news, Tom," said Mr. Blakeney, with a troubled brow. "Wherever Karl Engelbrecht is there is mischief. Minho is a scoundrel, and we know that he had some inkling of what we were after. The Boer has a grudge against us, which he would like to pay off. I don't half like the look of things." Then, turning to Poeskop, he went on: "Well, what else?"
"You see, my baases," replied Poeskop, "there has been a bit of a scuffle here. These men have caught Baas Guy, tied him up, I think, and put him on his horse, and gone off with him. Now let us follow their spoor."
They followed the tracks up the valley for half a mile, and then came on plain evidences of the Boer camp.
"Here's a pretty how-d'ye-do!" said Mr. Blakeney seriously. "What on earth are these villains doing in this part of the world, Poeskop? We must follow them up."
The Bushman took up the spoor, and they followed the Boer wagon tracks without any difficulty. By afternoon they had cleared the forest region, and were now halted in a small grove of giraffe-acacia trees by a pan of water, about twelve miles distant from the mountain range in which Engelbrecht and his party had ensconced themselves.
"Baas," said Poeskop, "you and Baas Tom must wait here. Karl Engelbrecht has trekked for the berg yonder. He cannot be far in; his oxen could not have travelled much beyond the poort [pass] which you see there"--he pointed to a dark ravine giving entrance to the hills--"in the time. So soon as evening comes, I will ride on, tie up my horse near the poort yonder, and creep about till I find what has been done, and where Baas Guy is. What say you? Is not that the best plan?"
"Yes, Poeskop," said Mr. Blakeney, "I think that is the best thing that can be done. You will have an hour or two's good moon to-night; and if you can't creep about and find out things, I don't know who can."