For the next few days, after the completion of the elephant hunt, they trekked through beautiful forest country, much of it adorned with wide and open grass glades, reminding the boys very much of an English deer park. They saw an immense quantity of elephant spoor, and several troops of the beasts themselves, but they were now anxious to press on; they had no room in the wagon for more ivory, and it was therefore decided to hunt the great pachyderms no more for the present. If they could not carry the ivory, it would be criminal waste of life to shoot the beasts that bore that precious commodity. And so they moved forward steadily on their way, determined, if by chance they returned by that route, to have at least one more good day of hunting. They had cleared the forest region, and had now entered upon a piece of thirst-land, which, as Poeskop informed them, would take three long days and three nights of travel to negotiate. Not a drop of surface water lay along this stretch of desert, and it would be tough work to get the oxen through without loss of life. On the second morning of the long thirst, after trekking great part of the night through heavy sand, the two boys and Mr. Blakeney were sitting at breakfast. Seleti and Mangwalaan, who had been herding the oxen while they fed, presently came in with their charges, and the order was given to inspan. Seleti brought news that a big troop of eland had been feeding close to the camp during the night. They had not gone by very long. Would the baases not like to hunt? Eland meat--here the Bechuana’s eyes sparkled--was very good; better than elephant, better even than giraffe. The two lads were at once on their feet. "Pater, we haven’t shot eland, either of us," cried Tom eagerly. "May we go? We shall probably be gone no more than an hour, and we can soon pick up the wagon." "Very well," said Mr. Blakeney. "Be off, and shoot a couple of eland if you like. Shoot cows for preference. We want some good meat, so bring in as much flesh as your ponies can carry. You had better take Poeskop with you, Guy; you’re not yet a practised veldt man like Tom, and I wouldn’t like you to get lost in this thirst-land. Tom can pick out spoor and knows his whereabouts, and can always hit off the wagon-trail and find his way, if you get separated." "All right, uncle," said Guy. "We shall be back soon. Good-bye." The lads took their rifles and bandoliers, saddled their ponies quickly, and were in such a hurry to be gone, believing the eland to be quite close, that they took with them neither coats nor water-bottles, but just rode gaily off, calling to Poeskop, who was still saddling his pony, to follow them. Seleti had given them the direction in which the elands had been grazing, and it was not very long before they had found traces of the animals they sought.