We then separately made sweeps round, returning to the horses on the opposite side, without success.

We then went again in company, and again on opposite sides singly, but neither tracks nor horses could be found.

Five hours had now elapsed since I first heard of their absence.

I determined to make one more circuit beyond any we had already taken, so as to include the spot we had camped at; this occupied a couple of hours.

When I returned I was surprised to hear that Robinson had found the horses in a small but extra dense bunch of scrub not twenty yards from the spot where he had tied his horses up.
While I was away he had gone on top of the little stony eminence close by, and from its summit had obtained a bird's-eye view of the ground below, and thus perceived the two animals, which had never been absent at all.