"
"What a providential escape!" said Mrs. Seagrave.
"Yes, it was, ma'am; the animal was a hyena. Fortunately they are a
very cowardly sort of beast; still, had it not been for the lighted
stick, it would have carried me off, for I was very small then, and it
lifted me up as if I was a feather in its mouth. The shout I gave woke
Hastings, who seized his musket and fired. I was very much frightened,
as you may suppose. As for Romer, he never woke till we pushed him
hard, he was so completely knocked up. This affair, of course, made us
more cautious, and afterwards we lighted two fires, and slept between
them, one always remaining on the watch. For a week we travelled on,
and as soon as we were over the mountains, we turned our heads to the
northward. Our provisions were all gone, and we were one day without
any; but we killed an antelope called a spring-bock, which gave us
provisions for three or four days: there was no want of game after we
had descended into the plain. I forgot to mention, however, a narrow
escape we had, just before we had left an extensive forest on the side
of the mountain. We had walked till past noon, and were very much
tired; we decided upon taking our dinner under a large tree, and we
threw ourselves down in the shade.
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