At first he was disposed to attribute the babel of sound that reached his ears to the fact that the party were outspanned in close--almost too close--proximity to the only water that, so far as he knew, existed for many miles round, and which was consequently the regular drinking place for every living creature in the neighbourhood, as he and his chum had already ascertained. Indeed the incessant bellowing, snorting, trumpeting, roaring, splashing, and squealing that, slightly mellowed by distance, penetrated to the interior of the tent, was quite enough to justify such an idea. But he had scarcely settled himself in his chair beside Grosvenor's hammock, and closed his eyes in the hope of wooing sleep to them, than he became aware of other and nearer sounds, dominating the first, the sound of crackling flames, frequent low, muttered ejaculations, the occasional soft thud and swish of feet running through long grass, followed by a shout or two which was almost invariably responded to by a low, angry snarl, while the clashing of horns, the rattling of the trek chain, the almost continuous lowing and moaning of the oxen, the stamping of the horses tethered to the wagon, and the whining of the dogs, indicated the extreme restlessness and uneasiness of the animals. The disturbance was so much greater than usual that Dick finally felt called upon to investigate. So, rising from his chair, he cast a quick glance at his patient which assured him that all was well there, and then, raising the flap of the tent, stepped forth into the open air. The first sight that greeted him was that of about a dozen fires arranged in a circle round about the tiny camp, in the ruddy-yellow, flickering glare of which he saw Mafuta, Jantje, and 'Nkuku flitting hither and thither, tending the fires and feeding them from an enormous stack of thorns and branches piled up near the wagon, while Ramoo Samee, the Indian groom, stood with the horses, talking to them, caressing them, and soothing their excitement by every means in his power. Most of the oxen, instead of lying down, were on their feet, their tails swishing agitatedly from side to side, their heads turning quickly this way and that, their ears twitching, their nostrils distended, sniffing the air, their hoofs stamping the earth impatiently, while their eyes glowed and shone in the light of the fires, and ever and anon one or another of them would throw up his head and give vent to a low, moaning bellow, which told, as eloquently as words, their state of terror. As for the dogs, they were all huddled together beneath the wagon, shivering with fear, their tails between their legs, and their lips drawn back, revealing their fangs, in a sort of snarling grin. Leo was the only animal who did not seem very greatly perturbed, but even he was awake, and lay crouching at the extreme end of his tether, his eyes lambently aglow, and his tail softly beating the earth now and then.