Scarcely was he seated when the jackal startled him by its sudden appearance at his side.

He scratched its ears, and it sat close to him, staring fixedly down on the river.

Just below there was a stretch of sand in the bed gleaming white under the moonlight, and Venning watched this with the eye of a naturalist, in the hope of seeing some of the great forms of animal life.

And he had his hope, for several creatures crossed the white patch, and each time the jackal was the first to see them.

The round ears would suddenly prick forward, the sharp nose would twitch, and then Venning would dimly discover something down there in the uncertain light.