Rising somewhat chilled, for though the air was warm a heavy dew had
soaked their blankets, once more they ate and drank by starlight, while
the horses, which they had tied up close to them during the night,
filled themselves with grass. At the first break of day they saddled
them, and before the sun rose were on their road again. At length up
it came, and the sight and warmth of it put new heart into Benita. Her
fears seemed to depart with the night, and she said to her father that
this successful start was of good augury, to which he only answered that
he hoped so.
All that day they rode forward in beautiful weather, not pressing their
horses, for now they were sure that Jacob Meyer, who if he followed at
all must do so on foot, would never be able to overtake them. At noon
they halted, and having shot a small buck, Benita cooked some of it in
the one pot that they had brought with them, and they ate a good meal of
fresh meat.
Riding on again, towards sundown they came to another of their old
camping-places, also a bush-covered kopje. Here the spring of water
was more than halfway up the hill, so there they off-saddled in a green
bower of a place that because of its ferns and mosses looked like a rock
garden. Now, although they had enough cold meat for food, they thought
themselves quite safe in lighting a fire.
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