“What is it? what creature?” demanded the boys.
“The fox!” replied Hans.
“What fox!”
“Why, the fennec—the same I saw last night—yonder it is, though you can’t see it with the naked eye. I can barely make it out with the glass. It is up close by the nest of the ostriches, and appears busy about something.”
“The eggs, I warrant,” suggested Groot Willem.
“A fox-chase! a fox-chase!” exclaimed Hendrik, partially recovering temper.
“A fox-chase!” echoed Klaas and Jan.
“A fox-chase be it then,” assented Hans; and all six set their horses in motion, whistling to the buck-dogs to follow.
They headed directly for the ostriches’ nest. They were not going to make a circuit for such an insignificant creature as the little fennec. They knew that it could only escape them by getting to a hole, as they had dogs that could trail and run it down go where it would. It was probable that its burrow was not very near. It had evidently strayed away from home, and “dogged” the ostriches to their nest, so as to get at their eggs. Swartboy alleged that such was its habit—that it was fonder of eggs than any other food—and that the eggs of the great bird were its particular favourites. That it was constantly roving about in search of ostrich-nests; and as these are very difficult, even for a fox to find, the fennec, when it suspects that the ostriches are laying, will follow them for miles to discover the nest—just as Hans had seen this one do.
Swartboy had given all this information on the preceding night, which, of course, explained the mystery of such a small creature running upon the trail of the great ostriches. It was not them, but their eggs, it wanted.