midday
I looked in the direction toward which the lad pointed . The moon was high in the heavens , almost overhead in fact , and the entire scene was flooded with her white rays . Before us the ground rose slightly to a ridge about one hundred yards distant ; past this lay a depression through which a small stream ran , while beyond the stream the ground rose again in a long , bush-clad slope , which swept away into the extreme distance , grey and mysterious , forming the background of the scene . The foreground and nearer distances were brilliantly illuminated by the cold rays of the moon , rendering objects within a quarter of a mile almost as distinct as though it were midday ; and , clearly defined against the ghostly grey of the grass-clad ridge , I could see the head and shoulders of a savage , the white moonlight gleaming upon his ebony skin as he waved his arm , signalling to us . `` This way , ` Nkos ' , this way ! '' whispered my guide excitedly , leading the way toward the lower edge of the depression ; and , walking fast , I followed him , with Jan bringing up the rear . Five minutes of quick wading through the long , dew-saturated grass carried us over the ridge , but much lower down than where the watcher was stationed ; and the depression -- which was scarcely deep enough to be termed a ravine -- lay before us .