and conversation, even though carried on in a moderately low voice, could be heard from hut to hut.

After the three prisoners had remained silent a short period, Hans said,—

'Friends, I am very sorry that I have brought you into this state. We have tried our best, but we have failed: men can do no more than try.'

'We have been unlucky,' said Bernhard; 'and most likely shall not see another sun rise, for the old chief must be furious at his losses lately, and may gratify his vengeance by seeing us assagied.'

'Don't let us look at the worst,' said Victor; 'we must think of escape; it is no use lying here like sheep to be taken, to the slaughter. I too believe we shall die tomorrow, but let us at least try to escape.'

'Rather difficult to escape, with our hands tied, and surrounded by enemies,' remarked Bernhard.

'Nothing is impossible to men with wits and nerve,' replied Hans; ' and now I feel once more a man. Thank you, Victor, for giving me fresh strength by your remark, we will try to escape, and here is my plan: as soon as it is quite dark, we will free each other's arms; this can be done by biting the withes and hide rope of one of us, then he who is free can liberate the others. See, in the roof there is an assagy, with this we can cut the fastenings as soon as one pair of hands are free. Next, one of us can go to the door and by some means attract the attention of the boys on watch, and bring them round to the front of the door; the other two can then work a

A Friend in Need.

71

way through this thin thatch and escape to the horses. The alarm need not be given at once; but if it should be, a run for life is better than nothing.'

'It would never succeed, Hans,' replied Victor: 'the noise of breaking through the thatch would be too great; perhaps a better plan may occur to us if we think for awhile.'

The three men sat silently turning over every possible means of escape for nearly a quarter of an hour; but no idea seemed to be likely to be practically useful. As they were thus meditating, they heard a young Kaffir woman speaking to the boys who were on watch. She was laughing with them, and, from what the three prisoners could hear, she seemed to be rejoicing at their capture. At length she said, 'I should like to throw some dirt at them, to let them know how little a Matabili maiden thinks of them.' And suiting the action to the words, she pushed aside the door, and, with a taunting laugh, threw a handful of earth at the prisoners. After a few words with the boys, she then withdrew, and all were again silent.

A single term of abuse burst from the lips of Bernhard as a lump of clay struck him; and then, with a look of contempt at the door near which the Kaffir maiden had stood, he again racked his brain for some ideas which should aid him to escape.

Hans, who had been working his arms quietly but forcibly backwards and forwards for some time, suddenly withdrew one of his hands from the fastenings, exclaim

ing,-'So much for the tying of a Matabili! You can free yourselves in five minutes, if you strain your knots. Try what you can do.'

The two men thus addressed commenced straining their knots; which proceeding, however, was not as successful as had been that of Hans. The latter, however, by one or two cuts of the assagy soon liberated the arms of his companions, and, to their surprise, addressed them in a whisper as follows:

'Soon after sunset we shall be free, so stretch your limbs, and be ready for a battle for life and freedom.' 'What is your plan, Hans?' said Victor; 'let us hear.'

'It is not my plan; it is Katrine's information. That ball of clay that the girl threw contained a roll of paper from Katrine. This is what she says:—

""An hour after sundown, there will not be a man in the kraal, only six boys to watch you and two old women to watch us. Free your arms and make your escape; then your guns are in the chief's hut, the one with the large ox-horns over the doorway, the horses are in the kraal next the cow's kraal: we will be ready. The girl who takes this I have won by presents. I leave to you, Hans, the plan: you may depend I tell you truth; I have learned all this from the girl."'

'And that was in the clay ball,' exclaimed Victor. Ah, Bernhard, we are but stupid hands on the spoor. Hans, after all, is the born leader. What made you think there was any thing in the ball, Hans?'

'I did not think the girl looked cruel,' replied Hans, ' and she seemed acting a part as I looked at her.'

'Let us make our plans now. What do you propose, Hans?? inquired Victor.

'We will try my plan first, if that fail we will just rush out and drive off the boys, and so escape. I must find out where the men are all going to, for it depends on that where we ride to. Our horses may not be very fit for a journey, however, and as we shall certainly be followed, and our spoor will be as plain as a waggon-track, we must take care; for once again captured, we shall never have another chance. Ah, here comes the girl again.'

The Matabili girl again came to the door, and with a loud laugh threw in a handful of dirt which she had appeared to pick up from the cattle kraal near. Amidst this heap was another lump of clay, from which Hans drew a piece of paper, and read, 'I can give you no other weapons than three assagies, these will be pushed through your hut soon after sunset; look out for them and draw them in rapidly, so as not to be seen. We must first ride north. God help us!'

'Katrine is better than gold,' exclaimed Victor, and I for one am glad to be running this risk for her, and will readily die without complaint, if need be. She will be a fit wife for you, Hans.'

A gratified smile passed over Hans' face as he heard. Katrine thus spoken of; but being more disposed to discuss with his companions any other subject than the merits of his beloved Katrine, he said, 'To get our guns

will be the great thing, then we can fight well. Why they give us this chance of escape, I don't know.'

'They trapped us so easily before, they fancy they can venture to leave us with boys, I suppose,' was Victor's explanation.

'Ah,' replied Hans, 'they don't know that a real man often does not thoroughly act till his case seems desperate and he completely defeated, then he rises to victory.'

The sun appeared to move very slowly to the prisoners in the hut, who anxiously watched the lengthening shadows, and waited impatiently till it began to get dusk. The accuracy of Katrine's information was soon evident, for between the slight openings of the door Hans saw several Matabili warriors, completely armed, silently move away across the plain outside the kraal. It appeared as if there were to be some general meeting, or gathering of the forces of the Matabili chief, which required all the men to be present; and the prisoners being supposed securely bound, might well be entrusted to the boys, who, on the slightest alarm, might summon the men to their assistance. As nearly as the prisoners could guess, an hour had scarcely elapsed when the girl who had previously brought the notes of Katrine and her sister, passed by the hut in which Hans and his companions were confined, and singing a wild song, seemed intent on some occupation. The three Dutchmen, watching eagerly for some signal, heard the word 'loop' uttered several times, as though in the chorus of a song.

'That,' said Hans, must mean we are to go' (loop