"He ought to be well flogged, and no mistake.

Well, I never!" The last words were uttered in disgust at the man's behaviour, for he burst into a hearty laugh as if thoroughly enjoying the discovery, professing at the same time to be utterly astonished.
"How come there ?" he cried.

"'Tick 'tween um toe--so." He illustrated "so" by stamping his foot down over and over again and raising it up, the last time cleverly picking an ordinary pebble from the ground with his toes, and holding it out as easily as if he had used his fingers and thumb.
But his action had no effect upon those around, who were well used to the Kaffirs' tricks, and received everything with the grimmest of looks as they passed their prisoner along for punishment, and finally ordered forward the last man.

This prisoner took West's attention from the first, for he was a well-built, keenly intelligent-looking fellow, who seemed quite awake to his position and behaved throughout with a calm air of conscious innocence.
It struck West, too, that the Kaffir kept on gazing very hard at Anson, as if attracted by his gently-smiling, innocent-looking face, and as if he were silently pleading to the most amiable-looking personage of the party to intercede for him and save him from punishment.
Anson, however, did not appear to notice the man's eager looks, being too much interested in the search for illicitly-acquired stones, and eagerly watching every phase of the proceedings, his eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed with pink at every fresh discovery, while he rubbed his hands and looked from one to the other with all the pleasure of some big, fat, stupid child.
"Now then," cried the chief searcher roughly; "come along." The Kaffir quietly submitted to the rough handling he experienced in being forced up to the stool, and, anticipating the order, he opened his mouth; but the under-searcher roughly told him to "shut up," and he closed his fine white teeth with an audible snap, while the search was commenced at his feet, the toes being carefully examined without result.
Then his closely-knotted hair, which looked as if it would have made, if he were scalped, good trimmings of astrachan wool for the collar and cuffs of an English gentleman's overcoat, was carefully searched by well-trained fingers; the ears were probed and inspected; nostrils searched and given a final wring between thumb and finger as if he were being insulted in old-fashioned style by pulling his nose; and lastly, his cheeks were felt outside and in, and the searchers, who looked puzzled, made the black kneel down and remain for some time in that position, with his mouth wide open and head thrown back so that the sun shone right into his great mouth.
"He's all right!" said Anson enthusiastically.

"You've got the wrong pig by the ear this time.