I told him that I meant to sleep the night here, and go back in the morning to Blaauwildebeestefontein, and then to Pietersdorp for stores.

By-and-by I could see that he had ceased to pay any attention to what I said.

I was clearly set down in his mind as a fool.

Instead he kept looking at Colin, who was lying blinking in the doorway, one wary eye cocked on the stranger.
'You have a fine dog,' he observed.
'Yes,' I agreed, with one final effort of mendacity, 'he's fine to look at, but he has no grit in him.

Any mongrel from a kraal can make him turn tail.