Chris still believed they were on a
track, but the heavy rains of the week before had sent the water rushing
down it in a torrent, which would have destroyed any marks there might
have been. When they could see the opening to the river in front of them
they climbed the side of the donga. All seemed quiet, and stopping and
taking advantage of the bushes, they crept forward to the edge of the
water. There was no sign of a break in the opposite bank.
"There is no drift here," Chris said. "If there had been there would be
a pass cut or worn down on the other side. Now let us push on, but don't
show yourself more than you can help, any Boer lurking on the other side
could hardly miss us. A hundred and fifty yards, I should say, is about
the width."
After walking some little distance along they suddenly came upon another
break in the bank.
"There is a break opposite, Sankey. Ten to one this is a drift. The
question is, how deep is it? You can see the river is not as high as it
was by four feet, and I dare say that it will be lower yet if we get
another week of fine weather. It's very important to find out. I will
try to ford it; it's hardly likely there are any Boers so far down, but
have your rifle ready, and keep a sharp look-out on the opposite side.
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