"Oh! why did you not throw a stone on to the first heap ?" I gave Hans a look that must have frightened him; at any rate, he spoke no more.

From the Boers went up a low groan.

Then they began to pray harder than ever, while the Zulus clustered round the king and whispered to him.

I learned afterwards that he was giving heavy odds against me, ten to one in cattle, which they were obliged to take, unwillingly enough.
Hans finished loading, capped and cocked the rifle, and handed it to me.
By now other vultures were appearing.

Being desperately anxious to get the thing over one way or another, at the proper moment I took the first of them.