They soon regain it, however. In this terrible race for life--for two lives--John Ames becomes conscious that he is no match for these human bloodhounds. Thorns stretch forth hooked claws, and lacerate and delay him, but _they_ spring through unscathed, unchecked. They are almost upon him. The hissed forth "I--jji! I--jji!" is vibrating almost in his ears, and assegais hurtle by in the gathering gloom. His heart is bursting, and a starry mist is before his eyes. The cover ends. Here all is open again. They are upon him--in the open. Yet stay--what is this? Blank! Void! Space! In the flash of a moment he takes in the full horror of the plunge before him, for he cannot stop if he would, then a sickening whirr through empty air, and a starry crash. Blank-- void--unconsciousness! And a score of Matabele warriors, left upon the brink of the height, are firing off excited comments and ejaculations, while striving to peer into the dark and silent depths beneath. "_Au_! He has again escaped us," ejaculated Nanzicele. "He is _tagati_." CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. "ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN." Nidia stared at the savage, her eyes dilated with the wildest dismay. The savage, for his part, stared at her, with a countenance which expressed but little less astonishment than her own. Bringing his hand to his mouth, he ejaculated-- "_Whau! Umfanekiso_!" [The picture.] Her glance fell upon the naked sword-bayonet which lay on the ground between them. She made a movement to seize it, with a desperate idea of defending herself. The savage, however, was too quick for her. He promptly set his foot on the weapon, saying in English-- "No take it." By now Nidia's first fear had begun to calm down. She had been in the power of some of these people before, and they had not harmed her; wherefore she tried to put on a bold front towards this one. "Who are you?" she said, speaking slowly to facilitate the man understanding her. "You frightened me at first; not now." "_Ikonde_, [baboon] he flighten much more," was the answer made with a half laugh. Then Nidia noticed that this Matabele had by no means an unpleasant face; indeed, she could hardly believe that he belonged to the same race as the fiends who had slaughtered the Hollingworths. "No be flighten," he went on. "I see you before--one, two, tlee--much many time." "Seen me before?" echoed Nidia in astonishment. "Where?" "Kwa Jonemi." "Jonemi?" she repeated, with a start. "You know him?" The warrior laughed. "Oh, yes, missis. I know him. I Pukele. Jonemi his boy." "Ah; now I see. You were his servant? You are the man who saved his life, when the others were all murdered?" For Nidia had, of course, heard the whole story of the tragedy in Inglefield's quarters.