diff options
Diffstat (limited to '33304.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 33304.txt | 10577 |
1 files changed, 10577 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/33304.txt b/33304.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ff25156 --- /dev/null +++ b/33304.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10577 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hair-Breadth Escapes, by H.C. Adams + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hair-Breadth Escapes + The Adventures of Three Boys in South Africa + +Author: H.C. Adams + +Release Date: July 31, 2010 [EBook #33304] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Hair-Breadth Escapes, by Rev H.C. Adams. + +________________________________________________________________________ + +________________________________________________________________________ +HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES, BY REV H.C. ADAMS. + +DEDICATION. + +To the Rev G.G. Ross, D.C.L., Principal of St Andrew's College, +Grahamstown, Cape Colony. + +My dear Ross, + +I dedicate this Tale to you for two reasons: first, because it is, in +some sort, a souvenir of a very interesting visit to South Africa, +rendered pleasant by the kind hospitality shown us by so many in +Grahamstown, and by no one more than yourself. Secondly and chiefly, +because it gives me the opportunity of expressing publicly to you my +sympathy in the noble work you are carrying on, under the gravest +difficulties--difficulties which (I am persuaded) many would help to +lighten, who possess the means of doing so, were they but acquainted +with them. + +H.C. Adams. + +Dry Sandford, _August 1876_. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE HOOGHLY--OLD JENNINGS--SHORT-HANDED--THE THREE BOYS--FRANK--NICK-- +ERNEST--DR LAVIE--TENERIFFE. + +It was the afternoon of a day late in the November of the year 1805. +His Majesty's ship _Hooghly_, carrying Government despatches and stores, +as well as a few civil and military officers of the East India Company's +service, was running easily before the trade wind, which it had caught +within two days' sail of Madeira--and was nearing the region of the +tropics. The weather, which had been cold and stormy, when the +passengers left England some weeks before, had been gradually growing +bright and genial; until for the last three or four days all +recollections of fog and chill had vanished from their minds. The sky +was one vast dome of the richest blue, unbroken by a single cloud, only +growing somewhat paler of hue as it approached the horizon line. The +sea stretched out into the distance--to the east, an endless succession +of purple wavelets, tipped here and there with white; to the west, where +the sun was slowly sinking in all its tropical glory, one seething mass +of molten silver. + +It was indeed a glorious sight, and most of our readers will be of +opinion that those who had the opportunity of beholding it, would--for +the time at least--have bestowed little attention on anything else. But +if they had been at sea as long as Captain Wilmore, they might perhaps +have thought differently. Captain Wilmore had been forty years a +sailor; and whether given, or not given, to admire brilliant skies and +golden sunsets in his early youth, he had at all events long ceased to +trouble himself about them. He was at the outset of this story sitting +in his cabin--having just parted from his first lieutenant, Mr Grey-- +and was receiving with a very dubious face the report of an old +quartermaster. A fine mastiff was seated by the captain's chair, +apparently listening with much gravity to what passed. + +"Well, Jennings, Mr Grey tells me you have something to report, which +he thinks ought to be brought straight to me, in order that I may +question you myself about it. What is it? Is it something about these +gentlemen we have on board? Are they dissatisfied, or has Lion here +offended them?" + +"No, cap'en," said the old sailor; "I wish 'twas only something o' that +sort. That would be easy to be disposed of, that would." + +"What is it, then? Is it the men, who are grumbling--short rations, or +weak grog, or what?" + +"There's more rations and stronger grog than is like to be wanted, +cap'en," said Jennings, evasively, for he was evidently anxious to +escape communicating his intelligence, whatever it might be, as long as +possible. + +"What do you mean, Jennings?" exclaimed Captain Wilmore, roused by the +quartermaster's manner. "More rations and stronger grog than the men +want? I don't understand you." + +"Well, cap'en, I'm afraid some on 'em won't eat and drink aboard this +ship no more." + +"What, are any of them sick, or dead--or, by heaven, have any of them +deserted?" + +"I'm afeared they has, cap'en. You remember the Yankee trader, as sent +a boat to ask us to take some letters to Calcutta?" + +"Yes, to be sure; what of him?" + +"Well, I've heard since, as his crew was going about among our chaps all +the time he was aboard, offering of 'em a fist half full of guineas +apiece, if they'd sail with him, instead of you." + +"The scoundrel!" shouted Captain Wilmore. "If I'd caught him at it, I'd +have run him up to the mainyard, as sure as he's alive." + +"Ay, cap'en; and I'd have lent a hand with all my heart," said the old +seaman. "But you see he was too cunning to be caught. He went back to +his ship, which was lying a very little way off, for there wasn't a +breath of wind, if you remember. But he guessed the breeze would spring +up about midnight, so he doesn't hoist his boats up, but hides 'em under +his lee, until--" + +"I see it all plain enough, Jennings," broke in the captain. "How many +are gone?" + +"Well, we couldn't make sure for a long time, Captain Wilmore," said +Jennings, still afraid to reveal the whole of his evil tidings. "Some +of the hands had got drunk on the rum fetched aboard at Madeira, and +they might be lying about somewhere, you see--" + +"Well, but you've found out now, I suppose?" interjected his questioner +sharply. + +"I suppose we has, cap'en. There's Will Driver, and Joel Grigg, and +Lander, and Hawkins, and Job Watson--not that _he's_ any great loss--and +Dick Timmins, and--" + +"Confound you, Jennings! how many?" roared the captain, so fiercely, +that the dog sprang up, and began barking furiously. "Don't keep on +pottering in that way, but tell me the worst at once. How many are +gone? Keep quiet, you brute, do you hear? How many, I say?" + +"About fifteen, cap'en," blurted out the quartermaster, shaking in his +shoes. "Leastways there's fifteen, or it may be sixteen, as can't be +found, or--" + +"Fifteen or sixteen, or some other number," shouted the skipper. "Tell +me the exact number, you old idiot, or I'll disrate you! Confound that +dog! Turn him out." + +"Sixteen's the exact number we can't find," returned Jennings, "but some +of 'em may be aboard, and turn up sober by-and-by." + +"Small chance of that," muttered the captain. "Well, it's no use +fretting; the question is, What's to be done? We were short-handed +before--so you thought, didn't you, Jennings?" + +"Well, cap'en, we hadn't none too many, that's sartain; and we should +have been all the better for half a dozen more." + +"That comes to the same thing, doesn't it?" said the skipper, who, vexed +and embarrassed as he was, could not help being a little diverted at the +old man's invincible reluctance to speaking out. + +"Well, I suppose it does, sir," he answered, "only you see--" + +"I don't see anything, except that we are in a very awkward scrape," +interposed the other. "It will be madness to attempt to make the +passage with such a handful as we have at present. If there came a +gale, or we fall in with a French or Spanish cruiser--" He paused, +unwilling to put his thoughts into words. + +"'Twouldn't be pleasant, for sartain," observed Jennings. + +"But, then, if we put back to England--for I know no hands are to be had +at Madeira, we should be quite as likely to encounter a storm, or a +Frenchman." + +"A good deal more like," assented the quartermaster. + +"And there would be the loss and delay, and the blame would be safe to +be laid on me," continued the captain, following out his own thoughts +rather than replying to his companion's observations. "No, we must go +on. But then, where are we to pick up any fresh hands?" + +"We shall be off the Canaries this evening, cap'en," said Jennings. +"We've been running along at a spanking rate with this wind all night. +The peak's in sight even now." + +"The Canaries are no good, Jennings. The Dons are at war with us, you +know. And though there are no ships of war in the harbour at Santa +Cruz, they'd fire upon us from the batteries if we attempted to hold +communication with the shore." + +"They ain't always so particular, are they, sir?" asked the sailor. + +"Perhaps not, Jennings. But the Dons here have never forgiven the +attack made on them seven or eight years ago, by Nelson." + +"Well, sir, they might have forgiven that, seeing as they got the best +of it I was in that, sir--b'longed to the _Foxy_ and was one of Nelson's +boat's crew, and we got nothing out of the Dons but hard knocks and no +ha'pence that time." + +"That's true. But you see Nelson has done them so much harm since, that +the damage they did him then seems very little comfort to them. No, we +mustn't attempt anything at the Canaries." + +"Very good, sir. Then go on to the Cape Verdes. If this wind holds, we +shall soon be there, and the Cape Verdes don't belong to the Dons." + +"No; to the Portuguese. Well, I believe that will be best. I have +received information that the French and Spanish fleets are off Cape +Trafalgar; and our fellows are likely to have a brush with them soon, if +they haven't had it already." + +"Indeed, sir! Well, Admiral Nelson ain't likely to leave many of 'em to +follow us to the Cape. We're pretty safe from them, anyhow." + +"You're right there, I expect, Jennings," said the skipper, relaxing for +the first time into a grim smile. "Well, then, shape the ship's course +for the Cape Verdes, and, mind you, keep the matter of those scoundrels +deserting as quiet as possible. If some of the passengers get hold of +it, they'll be making a bother. Now you may go, Jennings. Stay, hand +me those letters about the boys that came on board at Plymouth. I've +been too busy to give any thought to them till now. But I must settle +something about them before we reach the Cape, and I may as well do so +now." + +The quartermaster obeyed. He handed his commanding officer the bundle +of papers he had indicated, and then left the cabin, willing enough to +be dismissed. The captain, throwing himself with an air of weariness +back on his sofa, broke the seal of the first letter, muttering to +himself discontentedly the while. + +"I wonder why I am to be plagued with other people's children? Because +I have been too wise to have any of my own, I suppose! Well, Frank is +my nephew, and blood is thicker than water, they say--and for once, and +for a wonder, say true. I suppose I _am_ expected to look after him. +And he's a fine lad too. I can't but own that. But what have I to do +with old Nat Gilbert's children, I wonder? He was my schoolfellow, and +pulled me out of a pond once, when I should have been drowned if he +hadn't I suppose _he_ thought that was reason enough for putting off his +boy upon me, as his guardian. Humph! I don't know about that. Let us +see, any way, what sort of a boy this young Gilbert is. This is from +old Dr Staines, the schoolmaster he has been with for the last four or +five years. I wonder what he says of the boy? At present I know +nothing whatever about him, except that he looks saucy enough for a +midshipman, and laughs all day like a hyena! + +"`Gymnasium House, Hollingsley, + +"`September 29th, 1805. + +"`Sir,--You are, no doubt, aware that I have had under my charge, for +the last five years, Master George Gilbert, the son of the late Mr +Nathaniel Gilbert, of Evertree, a most worthy and respectable man. I +was informed, at the time of the parent's decease, that you had been +appointed the guardian of the infant; but as Mr Nathaniel had, with his +customary circumspection, lodged a sum in the Hollingsley bank, +sufficient to cover the cost of his son's education for two years to +come, there was no need to trouble you. You were also absent from +England, and I did not know your direction. + +"`The whole of the money is not yet exhausted; but I regret to say I am +unable to retain Master George under my tuition any longer. I must beg +you to take notice that his name is _George_, as his companions are in +the habit of calling him "Nick," giving the idea that his name, or one +of his names, is Nicodemus. Such, however, is not the case, George +being his only Christian appellative. Why his schoolfellows should have +adopted so singular a nomenclature I am unable to say. The only +explanation of it, which has ever been suggested to me, is one so +extremely objectionable, that I am convinced it must be a mistake. + +"`But to proceed'--(`A long-winded fellow this!' muttered the captain as +he turned the page; `who cares what the young scamp's called?')--`But to +proceed. I cannot retain Master George any longer. His continually +repeated acts of mischief render it impossible for me any longer to +temper the justice due to myself and family with the mercy which it is +my ordinary habit to exercise. I will not detail to you his offences +against propriety'--(`thank goodness for that,' again interjected +Captain Wilmore, `though I dare say some of his offences would be +entertaining enough')--`I will not detail his offences--they would fill +a volume. I will only mention what has occurred to-day. If there is +any practice I consider more objectionable than another, it is that of +using the dangerous explosives known as fireworks. Master Gilbert is +aware that I strictly interdict their purchase; in consequence of which +they cannot be obtained at the only shop in Hollingsley where they are +sold, by any of my scholars. But what were my feelings--I ask you, +sir--when I ascertained that he had obtained a large number of +combustibles weeks ago, and had concealed them--actually concealed them +in a chest under Mrs Staines's bed! The chest holds a quantity of +linen, and under this he had hidden the explosives, thinking, I +conclude, that it was seldom looked into. Seldom looked into! Why, +merciful heaven, Mrs Staines is often in the habit of examining even by +candlelight'--(`I say, I can't read any more of this,' exclaimed the +captain; `anyhow, I'll skip a page or two.' He turned on a long way and +resumed.)--`When I found out this morning that he was missing, I felt no +doubt that my words had produced even a deeper effect than I had +designed. Mrs Staines and myself both feared that in his remorse he +had been guilty of some desperate act; and we made every effort, +immediately after breakfast, to discover the place of his retreat. +Being St Michael's day, it was a whole holiday, and we were thus enabled +to devote the entire day to the quest. It has been extremely rainy +throughout; but when we returned, two hours ago, exhausted and wet to +the skin, after a fruitless search, we found him, dry and warm, awaiting +us in the hall. This was some relief; but judge of our feelings when we +discovered that the shameless boy had put on my camlet-cloak and +overalls--they had been missing, and I had been obliged to go without +them! he had taken Mrs Staines's large umbrella, and had waited for us, +from breakfast time, round the corner, under the confident assurance +that we should go to look for him. Sir, it has been his amusement to +follow us about all day, gratifying his malevolent feelings with the +spectacle of our exposure to the elements, our weariness, our +ever-increasing anxiety! You will not wonder after this, sir--'" + +"There, that will do," once more exclaimed the skipper, throwing aside +the letter with a chuckle of amusement. "I must say I don't wonder at +the doctor's refusing to keep him any more after that! Well, his father +wanted him to be a sailor, and maybe he won't make a bad one. Only we +must have none of his tricks on board ship. I'll have a talk with him, +when I can spare the time. That's settled. And now I can see Dr Lavie +about this other lad, young Warley. Hallo there, Matthews, tell the +doctor I am at liberty now." + +In a few minutes the person named was ushered into Captain Wilmore's +presence. The new comer was a gentlemanly and well-looking young man, +and bore a good character, so far as he was known, in the ship. The +captain was pleased with his appearance, and felt at the moment more +than usually gracious--possibly in consequence of his recent mirth over +George Gilbert's exploits. He spoke with unusual kindness. + +"Well, doctor, what can I do for you? You have come to speak to me +about young Ernest Warley, I think?" + +"Yes, Captain Wilmore, I want to ask your advice. His father was the +best friend I ever had. He took me by the hand when I was left an +orphan without a sixpence, and put me to school, and took care of me. +When he was dying, he made me promise to do my best for his boy, as he +had for me. But I'm afraid I can't do that, glad as I should be to do +it, if I could--" + +"But I don't understand, doctor. Old Warley--I knew a little of him-- +was a wealthy man, partner in Vanderbyl and Warley's house, one of the +best in Cape Town. The lad can't want for money." + +"Ah, he does, though. His elder brother has all the money. He was the +son of the first wife, old Vanderbyl's daughter, and all the money +derived from the business went to him. The second wife's fortune was +settled on Ernest; but it was lost, every farthing of it, in the failure +of Steinberg's bank last year." + +"Won't the elder brother do anything?" + +"No more than very shame may oblige him to do. He hated his father's +second wife, and hates her son now." + +"How old is the lad?" + +"Past nineteen; very steady and quiet, but plenty of stuff in him. He +wouldn't take his brother's money, if he had the chance; says he means +to work for himself. He wanted to be a parson, and would have gone this +autumn to the University, but for the smash of the bank. He'll do +anything now that I advise him, but I don't know what to advise." + +"`Nineteen!'--too old for the navy. `Wanted to be a parson!'--wouldn't +do for the army. `Do anything you advise!' Are you sure of that? Few +young fellows now-a-days will do anything but what they themselves +like." + +"Yes, he'll do anything I advise, because he knows I really care for +him. Where he fancies he's put upon, he can be stiff-backed and defiant +enough. I've seen that once or twice. Ernest hasn't your nephew +Frank's temper, which is hot and hasty for the moment, but is right +again the next. He doesn't come to in a minute, as Frank does, but he's +a good fellow for all that." + +The captain's brow was overcast as he heard his nephew's name. "Frank's +spirit wants breaking, Mr Lavie," he said in an angry tone. "I shall +have to teach him that there's only one will allowed aboard ship, and +that's the captain's. Frank can ride and leap and shoot to a bead they +tell me, but he can't command my ship, and he shan't. I won't have him +asking for reasons for what I order, and if he does it again--he'll wish +he hadn't. But this is nothing to the purpose, Mr Lavie," he added, +recovering himself. "We were talking about young Warley. You had +better try to get him a clerkship in a house at Cape Town. You mean to +settle there yourself after the voyage, do you not?" + +"Well, no, sir, I think not I had meant it, but my inclination now +rather is to try for a medical appointment in Calcutta. You see it +would be uncomfortable for Ernest at the Cape with his brother--" + +"I see. Well, then, both of you had better go on to Calcutta with me. +I dare say--if I am pleased with the lad--I may be able to speak to one +of the merchants or bankers there. What does he know? what can he do?" + +"He is a tolerable classical scholar, sir, and a good arithmetician, Dr +Phelps told me--" + +"That's good," interposed the captain. + +"And he knows a little French, and is a fair shot with a gun, and can +ride his horse, though he can't do either like Frank--" + +"Never mind Frank," broke in Captain Wilmore hastily. "He'd behave +himself at all events, which is more than Frank does. Well, that will +do, then. You two go on with the _Hooghly_ to Calcutta, and then I'll +speak to you again." + +Mr Lavie rose and took his leave, feeling very grateful to his +commanding officer, who was not in general a popular captain. He was in +reality a kind-hearted man, but extremely passionate, as well as +tenacious of his authority, and apt to give offence by issuing unwelcome +orders in a peremptory manner, without vouchsafing explanations, which +would have smoothed away the irritation they occasioned. In particular +he and his nephew, Frank Wilmore, to whom reference more than once has +been made, were continually falling out Frank was a fine high-spirited +lad of eighteen, for whom his uncle had obtained a military cadetship +from a director, to whom he had rendered a service; and the lad was now +on his way to join his regiment. Frank had always desired to be a +soldier, and was greatly delighted when he heard of his good fortune. +But his uncle gave him no hint that it was through him it had been +obtained. Indeed, the news had been communicated in a manner so gruff +and seemingly grudging, that Frank conceived an aversion to his uncle, +which was not removed when they came into personal contact on board the +_Hooghly_. + +The three lads, however, soon fraternised, and before they had sighted +Cape Finisterre were fast friends. Many an hour had already been +beguiled by the recital of adventures on shore, and speculation as to +the future, that lay before them. Nor was there any point on which they +agreed more heartily than in denunciation of the skipper's tyranny, and +their resolve not to submit to it. When Mr Lavie came on deck, after +his interview in the captain's cabin, they were all three leaning over +the bulwarks, with lion crouching at Frank's side, but all three, for a +wonder, quite silent. Mr Lavie cast a look seaward, and saw at once +the explanation of their unusual demeanour. The ship had been making +good way for the last hour or two, and was now near enough to the +Canaries to allow the Peak of Teneriffe to be clearly seen, like a low +triangular cloud, and the rest of the island was coming gradually into +clearer sight Mr Lavie joined the party, and set himself to watch what +is perhaps the grandest spectacle which the bosom of the broad Atlantic +has to exhibit. At first the outline of the great mountain, twelve +thousand feet in height, presented a dull cloudy mass, formless and +indistinct. But as the afternoon wore on, the steep cliffs scored with +lava became visible, and the serrated crests of Anaga grew slowly upon +the eye. Then, headland after headland revealed itself, the heavy dark +grey masses separating themselves into hues of brown and red and +saffron. Now appeared the terraced gardens which clothe the cultivated +sides, and above them the picturesque outlines of the rocks intermingled +with the foliage of the euphorbia and the myrtle, and here and there +opening into wild mountain glens which the wing of the bird alone could +traverse. Lastly, the iron-bound coast became visible on which the surf +was breaking in foaming masses, and above the rocky shelf the long low +line of spires and houses which distinguish the town of Santa Cruz. For +a long time the red sunset light was strong enough to make clearly +distinguishable the dazzling white frontages, the flat roofs, and +unglazed windows, standing out against the perpendicular walls of +basaltic rock. Then a dark mist, rising upwards from the sea, like the +curtain in the ancient Greek theatre, began to hide the shipping in the +port, the quays, and the batteries, till the whole town was lost in the +darkness. Higher it spread, obscuring the masses of oleander, and +arbutus, and poinsettia in the gardens, and the sepia tints of the rocks +above. Then the white lava fissures were lost to the eye, and the Peak +alone stood against the darkening sky, its masses of snow bathed in the +rich rosy light of the expiring sun. A few minutes more and that too +was swallowed up in darkness, and the spell which had enchained the four +spectators of the scene was suddenly dissolved. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +THE CAPE VERDES--DIONYSIUS'S EAR--UNWELCOME NEWS--FRENCH LEAVE--THE +SKIPPER'S WRATH--A SCRAPE. + +Three or four days had passed, the weather appearing each day more +delicious than the last. The _Hooghly_ sped smoothly and rapidly before +the wind, and at daybreak on the fifth morning notice was given that the +Cape Verde Islands were in sight. The sky, however, grew thick and +misty as they neared land; and it was late in the forenoon before they +had approached near enough to obtain a clear view of it. + +"I wonder why they call these islands _Verdes_?" observed Gilbert, as +the vessel ran along the coast of one of the largest of the group, which +was low and sandy and apparently barren; "there doesn't seem to be much +_green_ about them, that I can see." + +"No, certainly," said Warley; "a green patch here and there is all there +is to be seen, so far as the sea-coast is concerned But the interior +seems a mass of mountains. There may be plenty of verdure among them, +for all we know." + +"No," said Mr Lavie, who was standing near them. "Their name has +nothing to do with forests or grass-fields. There is a mass of weed on +the other side of the group, extending for a long distance over the sea, +which is something like a green meadow to look at--that's the meaning of +the name. There are very few woods on any of the islands, and this one +in particular produces hardly anything but salt." + +"They belong to the Portuguese, don't they?" asked Frank. + +"Yes; the Portuguese discovered them three centuries and a half ago, and +have had possession of them ever since. Portuguese is the only language +spoken there, but there are very few whites there, nevertheless." + +"Why, there must be a lot of inhabitants," remarked Ernest, his eye +resting on the villages with which the shores were studded. + +"Yes, from forty to fifty thousand, I believe. But they are almost all +of them half-breeds between the negroes and the Portuguese." + +"Well, I suppose there's some fun to be had there, isn't there?" +inquired Frank. + +"And something to be seen?" added Warley. + +"And first-chop grub?" wound up Gilbert. "There's plenty to see at +Porto Prayo," returned Mr Lavie. "The town, Ribeira Grande they call +it, is curious, and there are some fine mountain passes and grand views +in the interior. As for grub, Master Nick" (for this sobriquet had +already become young Gilbert's usual appellative), "there are pretty +well all the fruits that took your fancy so much at Madeira--figs, +guavas, bananas, oranges, melons, grapes, pine-apples, and mangos--and +there's plenty of turtle too, though I'm not sure you'll find it made +into soup. But as to fun, Frank, it depends on what you call fun, I +expect--" + +"Let us go ashore," interrupted Nick, "and we shall be safe to find out +lots of fun for ourselves. It would be jolly fun, in itself, to be +walking on hard ground again, instead of these everlasting planks. I +suppose, as these islands belong to the Portuguese, and we've no quarrel +with them, the skipper will go ashore, and allow the passengers to do so +too?" + +"He'll go ashore, no doubt," said a voice close at hand; "but he won't +let you go, I'll answer for that." + +The boys turned quickly round, and were not particularly pleased to see +the first lieutenant, Mr Grey, who had come aft, to give some orders, +and had overheard the last part of their conversation. Mr Grey was no +favourite of theirs. He was not downright uncivil to the boys, but he +was fond of snubbing them whenever an occasion offered itself. It was +generally believed also that a good deal of the captain's harshness was +due to the first lieutenant's suggestions. + +"You'd better leave the captain to answer for himself," remarked Frank, +his cheek flushing with anger. "I don't see how you can know what he +means to do." + +"Perhaps you mayn't see it, and yet I may," returned Mr Grey calmly. + +"Why shouldn't he let us go ashore, as he did at Madeira?" asked Warley. +"Nothing went wrong there." + +"I beg your pardon," replied the lieutenant; "things did go wrong there, +and he was very much displeased." + +"Displeased," repeated Warley, "displeased with us? What do you mean, +Mr Grey?" + +"I mean that you are not to go ashore," returned the other curtly, and +walking forward as he spoke. + +Ernest's cheek grew almost as crimson as Frank's had done. The apparent +insinuation that he had misconducted himself while on his parole of good +behaviour, was one of the things he could least endure. Mr Lavie laid +his hand on the boy's arm. + +"Hush, Ernest!" he said, checking an angry exclamation to which he was +about to give vent. "Most likely Mr Grey is not serious. Anyway, if +the captain does forbid your going ashore, you may be assured he has +good reasons--" + +"What reasons can he have?" interposed Gilbert; "we are no more likely +to get into trouble here than at Madeira, and who has a right to say we +did anything wrong there?" + +"The first lieutenant _didn't_ say so," observed the surgeon. "I think +there is some mistake. I'll make inquiries about the matter before we +enter the harbour." + +He moved away, and the boys resolved to retreat to their den, where they +might hold an indignation meeting without molestation. This den, to +which its occupants had given the classical name of "Dionysius's ear," +or more briefly, "Dionysius," was an empty space on the lower deck, +about six foot square, where various stores had been stowed away. By +some oversight of the men a dozen chests or so had been left ashore, and +a vacant place in a corner was reserved for them. When, however, they +were brought aboard, they could not conveniently be lowered, and were +secured on deck. Master Nick, in the course of his restless wandering, +had lighted on this void space, and it occurred to him that it would +make a snug place of retreat, when he wished to be alone, as he not +unfrequently did, in order to escape the consequences of some piece of +mischief. When his friendship with his companions had been sufficiently +cemented, he had communicated the secret to them, and Frank at once +appreciated its value. Advantage had been already taken of it on one or +two occasions, to evade an unwelcome summons from the skipper, or smoke +a pipe at interdicted hours. + +To be sure it was not a very desirable retiring room, and most persons +would have considered a Russian or Neapolitan dungeon greatly preferable +to it. As the reader has heard, it was about six foot square. It was +lighted by a dead light in the deck above, which had fortunately been +inserted just in that spot. Whatever air there was, came through the +barrels, or along the ship's sides. But it is needless to say it was at +all times suffocatingly close, and nothing but a boy or a salamander +could have long continued to breathe such an atmosphere. Entrance was +obtained by pulling aside a small keg; the removal of which allowed just +enough room for any one to work his way in, like an earthworm, on his +stomach. Then the keg was drawn by the rope attached to it into its +place again, and firmly secured to a staple in the ship's side. +Whatever might be its other defects, it was certainly almost impossible +of detection. + +Arrived here, our three heroes lay down at their leisure on some sacks +with which they had garnished their domicile, and proceeded to discuss +the matter in hand, lowering their voices as much as possible, as they +had discovered that conversation might be heard through the barrels by +any one on the other side, which fact, indeed, was the explanation of +the name bestowed on their retreat. They were not at first agreed as to +the steps to be adopted. Nick was for going ashore under any +circumstances--the difficulty of accomplishing his purpose, and the fact +of his having been forbidden to essay it, being, in his eyes, only +additional incentives. Frank was not disposed to make the attempt, if +his uncle really had interdicted it; but he professed himself certain +that no such order had been given by anybody but the first lieutenant, +and he was not, he said, going to be under his orders. Warley for once +was inclined to go beyond Frank, and declared that though he would obey +the captain's order if any reasonable ground for it was assigned, he +would not be debarred from what he considered his right as a passenger, +by any man's mere caprice. He added, however, that he thought it would +be better to hear what Lavie had found out, before coming to any +resolution. + +"Well, it is time we should see the doctor, if we mean to do so," +remarked Frank, after an hour or so had passed in conversation. "We +must be entering Porto Prayo by this time, or be near it at all events; +and he must have had lots of time to find out everything." + +"Very good; one of us had better see Mr Lavie at once," said Ernest. +"I'll go, if you like, and come back to `Dionysius' here, as soon as I +have anything to tell." + +He departed accordingly, and returned in about half an hour, looking +very cool, but very much annoyed. + +"Hallo, Ernest, what's up now?" exclaimed Nick, as he caught sight of +his face. "What does the doctor say?" + +"I haven't seen the doctor," answered Warley. "One of the crew has been +taken dangerously ill, and the doctor has been with him ever since he +left us." + +"What have you learned, then?" asked Frank. "Are we in the harbour?" + +"We're in the harbour, and the skipper's gone ashore. I saw his boat +half-way to the beach. Captain Renton, Mr May, and Mr De Koech have +gone with him. They are the only passengers who wanted to go." + +"Well, but I suppose there are some shore boats that would take +passengers to and fro." + +"The captain has given orders that no shore boat is to be allowed +alongside. He won't even allow the fresh provisions, or the water, to +be brought aboard by any but the ship's boats. I saw the largest cutter +with the empty water-casks in her, lying ready to go ashore presently." + +"Who told you this?" inquired Wilmore, half incredulous. + +"Old Jennings, the quartermaster. He has charge of the boat. He said +the captain's resolved we shan't leave the ship." + +"It's an infamous shame," said Frank. "I declare I've half a mind to +swim ashore. It can't be very far." + +"No," said Nick, "but it wouldn't be pleasant to land soaking wet, to +say nothing of the chance of ground sharks. Even Lion had better not +try that dodge. But I'll tell you what--if the boat is lying off the +ship's side, with a lot of ankers in her, why shouldn't we creep in +among them, and go ashore unbeknown to the first lieutenant?" + +"We should be seen getting aboard," said Frank. + +"No, we shouldn't. The men are at dinner just now, and we can slip in +when the backs of the fellows on deck are turned." + +"I forgot that," said Frank; "but we should be certain to be seen when +we landed." + +"Ay, no doubt. But that will be too late, won't it? Once ashore, I +guess they must be pretty nimble to catch us; and besides, old Jennings +is too good-natured to do anything against us, which he isn't obliged to +do." + +"Well, that's true, certainly," returned Wilmore. "What do you say, +Warley? Are you game to make the trial?" + +"Yes, I am," returned Ernest. "I think it is regular tyranny to oblige +us to stay in the ship, when there is no reason for it, except the +captain's caprice. But if we mean to try this, we must make haste." + +The three lads hurried on deck; and a glance showed them they were just +in time. There were only two or three men to be seen, and they were at +the other end of the ship. They skimmed nimbly down the ladder, and +found no difficulty in concealing themselves at the bow end of the boat, +which was completely hidden from sight by the empty casks. They had not +been in their hiding-place very long, before the old quartermaster and +his men were heard coming down the side. The shore was soon reached, +and the keel had no sooner grated on the sand, than the boys sprang out +and ran up the beach, saluting old Jennings with a parting cheer as they +went. + +"Well, I never," muttered the old man. "The cap'en 'ull be in a nice +taking when he hears of this! And there ain't no chance but what he +_will_ hear of it. We've Andy Duncan in the boat, and he carries +everything to the first lieutenant, as sure as it happens. Well, I +ain't bound to peach, anyhow--that's one comfort!" + +Meanwhile the captain had gone on shore, his temper not improved by the +report of the doctor which had been brought to him as he was leaving the +vessel, that another of his best hands was rendered useless--for several +weeks to come at all events--by a bad attack of fever, which might very +possibly spread through the ship. He returned on board after nightfall, +still more provoked and vexed. He had met with the greatest difficulty +in his attempts to fill the places of his missing men. There were, as +the reader has been told, very few whites on the island, and none of +them were sailors. The blacks were very unwilling to engage, except +upon exorbitant terms, and hardly one of those with whom he spoke +appeared good for anything. He had at one time all but given up the +matter in despair. But late in the afternoon he was accosted by a +dark-complexioned man, lean and sinewy as a bloodhound, who informed him +that the vessel in which he traded between the South African ports and +the West Indian Islands, had been driven on the Cape Verdes and totally +wrecked. But the crew had escaped, he said, and were willing to engage +with Captain Wilmore for the voyage to Calcutta. + +The captain hesitated. He had little doubt that the lost vessel had +been a slaver, and he had an instinctive abhorrence of all engaged in +that horrible traffic. Still there seemed no other hope of successfully +prosecuting the voyage, and after all it would be a companionship of +only a few months. He resolved to make one effort more to obtain less +questionable help, and if that should fail, to accept the offer. +Desiring the stranger to bring his men to the quay in an hour's time, he +once more entered the town, and made inquiries at all the houses to +which sailors were likely to resort. His success was no better than it +had been before, and he was obliged to close with the proposal of the +foreign captain. He liked the looks of the crew even less than those of +their captain. There were eighteen of them, however, and all strong +serviceable fellows, if they chose to work. He must hope for the best; +but even the best did not appear very promising; and if the Yankee +captain, who had been the prime cause of the mischief, had been +delivered into his hands at that moment, it is to be feared he would +have met with small mercy. + +In this frame of mind he regained the _Hooghly_, and shortly after his +arrival was informed by the first lieutenant of the escapade of the +three boys, with the gratuitous addition that he had himself delivered +them the captain's message--that no one was to be permitted to leave the +ship, except those who had gone ashore with the captain. + +The skipper's wrath fairly boiled over. He vowed he would straightway +give his nephew a smart taste of the cat-o'-nine-tails, and put the +other two into irons, to teach them obedience. The boatswain +accordingly was summoned, and the delinquents ordered into custody, but +after a delay of half an hour, during which the captain's wrath seemed +to be every moment growing hotter, it was announced that the boys could +not be found, and the boat's crew sent ashore with the water-casks +positively declared that they did not return with them. As no other +boats but theirs and the captain's had held any communication with the +land, it appeared certain that the young gentlemen were still on shore, +intending probably to return by a shore boat later in the evening. + +"Do they?" exclaimed Captain Wilmore fiercely, when this likelihood was +suggested to him by Mr Grey. "They'll find themselves mistaken, then. +Up with the anchor, Crossman, and hoist the mainsail. Before their boat +has left the quay, we shall be twenty miles from land. Not a word, Mr +Lavie. A month or two's stay in these islands will be a lesson they'll +keep by them all their lives." + +No one ventured to remonstrate. The anchor was lifted, the great sails +were set, and in half an hour they were moving southward at a pace which +soon left the lights of Porto Prayo a mere speck in the distance. + +But the boys had not been left behind, though no one but themselves and +old Jennings was aware of the fact. He had kept the boat from putting +off on her return to the ship, on one pretext or another, as long as he +could venture to do so, in the hope that the lads would make their +appearance. But he was aware that Andy Duncan's eye was upon him, and +could not venture to delay longer. It happened, however, that soon +after his return, Mr Lavie had found it necessary to send on shore to +the hospital for some ice, of which they had none on board, and old +Jennings had volunteered to go. He took the smallest boat and no one +with him but his nephew, Joe Cobbes, who was completely under his +orders. He landed at a different place from that at which the boat had +been moored in the morning, and sent his nephew with the message to the +hospital. He then made search after the boys, whom he soon discovered +at the regular landing-place, waiting anxiously for some means of +regaining the _Hooghly_. + +"Hallo, Jennings," exclaimed Frank, as he caught sight of the old man's +figure through the fast gathering darkness; "that's all right, then. I +was afraid we were going to stay ashore all night?" + +"I hope it is all right, sir," answered Jennings, "but if the captain +finds out that you've been breaking his orders--" + +"I don't believe he has given any order--" interrupted Frank. "And it +would be monstrous if he had," exclaimed Ernest in the same breath. + +"I don't know what you believe, Mr Frank, but it's sartain he has +ordered that no one shall leave the ship; and I don't know as it's so +unreasonable, Mr Warley, after the desertion of the hands at Madeira." + +"We never heard of their deserting," cried Warley. + +"I dare say not, sir. It was kep' snug. But that's why the cap'en +would allow no boats to go ashore, except what couldn't be helped. You +see, sir, if more of the men were to make off, there mightn't be enough +left to work the ship, and if there came a gale--" + +"Yes, yes; I understand that," again broke in Frank, "but we didn't know +anything about their deserting." + +"Well, sir, it was giv' out this morning as that was the reason, and +every one, I thought, knew it. But anyways, sir, you'd best come and +get aboard my boat, and keep out of the skipper's way. He'll be sure to +find out about your doings. Andy 'ull tell the first lieutenant, and +he'll tell the skipper--" + +"I am sure I don't care if he does," exclaimed Warley. + +"Ah, you don't know him, sir. He's not a man as it's wise to defy. +Wait a bit; let him cool down and he's as pleasant a man as any one. +But when he's put up, old Nick himself can't match him. I don't mind a +gale of wind off the Cape, or boarding a Frenchman, or a tussle with a +pirate, but I durstn't face the cap'en, when he's in one of his takings. +Come along, and get into the boat." + +The lads obeyed, somewhat subdued by Jennings' representations, which +were evidently given in good faith. They allowed the old man to cover +them with a tarpaulin, which he had brought for the purpose, and in +accordance with his directions lay perfectly still. + +Presently Cobbes returned with the ice, and the boat was rowed back to +the ship. It was pitch dark before she came alongside, and her approach +was hardly noticed. Jennings made for the gangway, and having +ascertained that Captain Wilmore was still on shore, sent his nephew +with the ice to the doctor's cabin. He then suffered the boat to float +noiselessly to the stern, where he had purposely left one of the cabin +windows open; through this the boys contrived, with his help, to +scramble. + +"You'd better hide somewhere in the hold, Mr Frank," he whispered, as +young Wilmore, who was the last, prepared to follow his companions. + +"No, on the lower deck, Jennings; we've a hiding-place there, no one +will find out. When you think it's safe for us to show ourselves, come +down, and whistle a bar or two of one of your tunes, and I'll creep out +to you. But I hope we shan't be kept very long, or we shall run a risk +of being starved, though we have got some grub in our pockets. Good +night, Jennings, and thank you. You're a good fellow, any way, whatever +the captain may be." + +"Good night, Mr Frank; mind you keep close till I come to let you out. +I won't keep you waiting no longer than I can help, you may be sure of +that." + +Wilmore followed his friends; and the three boys, creeping cautiously +along in the darkness, gained the lower deck unperceived, and were soon +safely ensconced in "Dionysius." Tired out with their day's work, they +all three fell sound asleep. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +STRANGE TIDINGS--PIRATES ON BOARD--A REVEL--A NARROW ESCAPE--DEATH OF +JENNINGS. + +The boys were awakened next morning by the pitching and tossing of the +ship. A storm had come on during the night, which increased in violence +as the morning advanced. It was well for the _Hooghly_ that the fresh +hands had been taken on board, or she would have become wholly +unmanageable. Frank and his friends, in their place of retreat, could +hear the shouts and cries on deck, the rolling of the barrels which had +broken loose from their fastenings, and the washing of the heavy seas +which poured over the gunwales. They made their breakfasts on some of +the fruit and sausages with which they had filled their pockets on the +previous evening, and waited anxiously for old Jennings' arrival. It +was late in the afternoon before he came, and when he did appear, he +would not hear of their venturing to show themselves for the present. + +"The cap'en wasn't altogether in a pleasant state of mind yesterday," he +remarked, "but he's in a wuss to-day. He's found out that the most part +of his crew ain't worth a tobacco stopper. I must say the Yankee made a +good pick of it. He got away pretty nigh every smart hand we had +aboard. These new chaps is the best we has now." + +"New chaps?" asked Frank. "Has my uncle got any fresh hands?" + +"Picked up nineteen new 'uns at Port Prayo," replied Jennings. "Stout +nimble fellows they are, no doubt. But I don't greatly conceit them +neither. They keep together, and hardly speak to any one aboard, except +Andy Duncan and Joel White and Bob O'Hara and that lot. They're no good +either, to my mind. Well, young gents, you must stay here till the gale +breaks, as I guess it will to-morrow, or the next day, and then the +skipper will be in good-humour again. I've brought you a heap of +biscuits and some fruit and a keg of water. But I mustn't be coming +down here often, or we shall be found out I've tied the dog up in the +fo'castle, or he'd be sniffing about after Mr Frank here, and most +likely find him out." + +"Very well, Tom," said Frank, "then we'll wait here. But it's terribly +dull work. Nothing to do but to sleep and smoke." + +"I think the skipper would let us off, if he knew what we'd gone through +during the last twenty-four hours," observed Nick, yawning. "Well, I +suppose one must grin and bear it." So saying, he rolled himself into +his corner and endeavoured to lose the recollection of his +_desagrements_ in sleep. + +The evening wore on heavily enough. It was past midnight before the +gale began to lull, and the lads at length fell sound asleep. But they +were roused soon afterwards by a loud commotion on deck. Voices were +heard shouting and cursing; one or two shots were fired, and Frank +fancied he could once or twice distinguish the clash of cutlasses. But +presently the tumult died away, and the ship apparently resumed her +customary discipline. Daylight came at last, glimmering faintly through +the crevices of their prison, and the boys lay every minute expecting +the advent of the old quartermaster. But the morning passed, and the +afternoon began to slip away, and still there was no sign of Jennings's +approach. The matter was more than once debated whether they should +issue from their hiding-place, which was now becoming intolerable to +them, altogether disregarding his advice; or at any rate send out one of +the party to reconnoitre. But Ernest urged strongly the wisdom of +keeping to their original resolution, and Frank after awhile sided with +him. It was agreed, however, that if Jennings did not appear on the +following morning, Warley should betake himself to the doctor's cabin +and ask his advice. + +Accordingly they once more lay down to sleep, and were again awoke in +the middle of the night, but this time by a voice calling to them in a +subdued tone through the barrels. + +Wilmore, who was the lightest sleeper, started up. "Who is that?" he +asked. + +"It is I--Tom Jennings," was the answer. "Don't speak again, but push +out the barrel that stops the way into your crib there. I'll manage to +crawl in, I dare say, though I am a bit lame." + +Wilmore saw there was something wrong. He complied literally with Tom's +request, and pushed the keg out in silence. Presently he heard the old +man making his way, stopping every now and then as if in pain. At last +there came the whisper again: "Pull the barrel back into its place, I've +got a lantern under my coat which I'll bring out when you've made all +fast." + +Frank again obeyed his directions, having first enjoined silence on his +two companions, who were by this time wide awake. Then Jennings drew +out his lantern, and lighted it by the help of a flint and steel. As +the light fell on his face and figure, the boys could hardly suppress a +cry of alarm. His cheeks were as white as ashes, and in several places +streaked with clotted blood. His leg too was rudely bandaged from the +knee to the ankle, and it was only by a painful effort that he could +draw it after him. + +"What's the matter, Tom?" exclaimed Frank. "How have you hurt your leg +in that manner?" + +"Hush! Mr Frank. We mustn't speak above a whisper. There's pirates +on board. They've got possession of the ship." + +"Pirates!" repeated Wilmore. "What, have we been attacked, and my +uncle--" + +"He's safe, Mr Frank--at least I hope so. Look here. You remember +them foreign chaps as he brought aboard at Porto Prayo? It was all a +lie they told the cap'en, about their ship having been lost. They were +part of a crew of pirates--that's my belief, any way--as had heard +Captain Wilmore was short-handed, and wanted to get possession of his +ship. They was no sooner aboard than they made friends with some of the +worst of our hands--Andy and White and O'Hara and the rest on 'em--and I +make no doubt persuaded them to join 'em. About ten o'clock last night, +when the men were nearly all in their berths, worn out with their work +during the gale, these foreigners crept up on deck, cut down and pitched +overboard half a dozen of our chaps as were on deck, and then clapped +down the hatches." + +"That was what we heard, then," remarked Gilbert. "Were you on deck, +Tom?" + +"Yes, sir, I was, and got these two cuts over the head and leg. By good +luck I fell close to the companion-ladder and was able at once to crawl +to my berth, or I should have been pitched overboard. Well, as soon as +it was daylight, the captain and the officers laid their heads together +to contrive some means of regaining the ship; but, before they could +settle anything, a vessel came in sight, and the fellows on deck hove to +and let her come up--" + +"The pirate ship, I suppose, hey?" cried Frank. + +"Yes, sir, no other. She'd followed us beyond a doubt from Porto Prayo, +and would have come up before, if it hadn't been for the gale. There +wasn't nothing to be done, of course. The pirates threatened the +captain, if he didn't surrender at once, that they'd fire down the +hatchways and afterwards pitch every mother's son overboard. And they'd +have done it too." + +"Not a doubt," assented Frank. "So my uncle surrendered?" + +"Yes, sir, he did, but he didn't like it. I must say, from what I've +heard of these fellows, I judged that they'd have thrown us all in to +the sea without mercy. But it seems White and O'Hara and the rest +wouldn't allow that, and insisted on it that every one, who chose it, +should be allowed to leave the ship. I did 'em injustice, I must say." + +"What did they go in?" inquired Wilmore, a good deal surprised. + +"In the two biggest of the ship's boats, sir. You see we've been driven +a long way south by that gale, and are not more than a few hundred miles +from Ascension. They'll make for that, and with this wind they've a +good chance of getting there in three or four days." + +"Are all the officers and passengers gone?" asked Warley. + +"Well, no, sir. Mr Lavie ain't gone. The men stopped him as he was +stepping into the boat, and declared he shouldn't leave the ship. But +all the rest is gone--no one's left except those who've joined the +mutineers, unless it's poor old Lion, who's still tied up in the +fo'castle." + +"Why, _you_ haven't joined them, Jennings, to be sure?" + +"I! no, sir; but with my leg I couldn't have gone aboard the boats; and +to be sure, I hadn't the chance, for I fainted dead off as soon as I'd +reached my berth, and didn't come to till after they was gone. And +there's my nevvy too--he wouldn't go, but chose to stay behind and nurse +me. I hadn't the heart to scold the lad for it." + +"Scold him! I should think not," observed Warley. + +"Well, sir, it may get him into trouble if he's caught aboard this ship, +and I expect he'll get into troubles with these pirates too. But +there's no use fretting about what can't be helped. I'm thinking about +you young gents. You see if I'd been in my right senses when they went +away, I should have told the cap'en about you, and he'd have taken you +away with him. But I wasn't sensible like, and no one else then knew as +you was aboard." + +"No one knew it _then_?" repeated Warley. "No one knows it now, I +suppose." + +"Yes, sir, Mr Lavie knows it, and Joe too; I told them an hour ago, and +we had a long talk about it. The doctor's resolved he won't stay in the +ship, and I suppose you don't want to stay neither?" + +"We stay, Tom!" replied Frank. "No, I should think not indeed, if we +can help it. But how are we to get away?" + +"This way, sir. These pirates have been choosing their officers to-day, +and they've made O'Hara captain. They say he's the only man who's up to +navigating the ship. Anyhow, they've made him captain, and one of the +foreign chaps, first mate. They're to have a great supper to-morrow +night in honour of 'em, and most of the crew--pretty nigh all I should +say--will be drunk. Well, then, we claps a lot of things, that Mr +Lavie has got together, aboard one of the boats--there are enough of us +to lower her easy enough--and long before daylight you'll be out of +sight." + +"_You'll_ be out of sight. Don't you mean to go yourself, Jennings?" +asked Frank. + +"My leg won't let me, Mr Frank. I couldn't get down the ship's side; +and besides, I ain't in no danger. My old messmates won't let me be +hurt, nor Joe Cobbes neither. I'd best stay here till my leg's right. +Mr Lavie says it wants nothing but rest, and a little washing now and +then. No, sir; Joe and I would rather stay on board here and take the +first opportunity of leaving the ship that offers. Mr Lavie and you +all 'ull bear witness how it happened." + +"That we will, Tom," said Warley. "Well, then, if I understand you, +we've nothing to do but to remain quiet until to-morrow night, and you +and Mr Lavie will make all the preparations?" + +"Yes, sir, that's right. Stay quietly here till you've notice that +everything's ready." + +"But I don't like you having all the risk and trouble, Tom," said +Wilmore. + +"You'd do as much for me, sir, and more too, I dare say, if you had the +chance. Besides, I am anxious you should get away safe, because you're +my witnesses that I and Joe had no hand in this. I shall get well all +the sooner, when you're gone." + +"All right, Jennings," said Warley. "And now I suppose you want to get +out of this again?" + +"Yes, sir; you must help me. Getting out will be worse than getting in, +I am afraid." + +The lantern was extinguished, the keg removed, and with much pain and +difficulty the old man was helped out. The next twenty-four hours were +passed in the utmost anxiety by the three lads, who would hardly allow +themselves even to whisper to one another, for fear of being overheard +by the pirates. All the morning they could hear the preparations for +the feast going on. Some casks in the lower deck, which, as they knew, +contained some unusually fine wine, were broken open, and the bottles +carried on deck. Planks also were handed up to make tables and benches. +From the conversation of the men employed in the work, they learned +that the feast was to take place in the forecastle, none of the cabins +being large enough to hold the entire party. Once they caught a mention +of Mr Lavie's name, and learned that he had been all night in +attendance on Amos Wood, the sailor who had been attacked by fever at +Porto Prayo, and that the man had died that morning, and been thrown +overboard. The doctor, it was said, had now turned in for a long sleep. +The boys guessed that his day would be differently employed. About six +o'clock in the evening, everything seemed to be in readiness. The tramp +of feet above was heard as the men took their places at table, and was +followed by the rattling of plates and knives and forks, and the oaths +and noisy laughter of the revellers. These grew more vociferous as the +evening passed on, and after an hour or two the uproar was heightened by +the crash of glass, and the frequent outbreak of quarrels among the +guests, which were with difficulty suppressed by their more sober +comrades. Then benches were overturned, and the noise of bodies falling +on the deck was heard, as man after man became stupidly intoxicated. +The uproar gradually died out, until nothing was audible, but drunken +snores, or the unsteady steps of some few of the sailors, who were +supposed to be keeping watch. + +It was about two hours after midnight when the expected summons came. +Frank crept out first, followed by Nick and Ernest. They found Mr +Lavie and Joe Cobbes waiting for them. + +"Everything is ready, Ernest," whispered the doctor. "We've put as many +provisions and arms into the jolly-boat as we can safely carry; but you +had better take a brace of pistols apiece. There are some one or two of +the men who are the worse for drink, but still sober enough to know what +they are doing, and we may have a tussle. Put on these caps and +jackets, and come as quick as you can. The jolly-boat is on the +starboard side, near the stern. She's not in the water yet, but +everything is ready for lowering her. Quiet's the word." + +The boys obeyed. They crept cautiously on deck, pulling the caps over +their foreheads, and imitating as well as they could the movements of +drunken men. They soon reached the jolly-boat, where old Jennings was +waiting for them. The helm had been lashed, but every ten minutes or so +one of the watch came aft to see that all was right. Jennings had +unfastened the lashings and taken the rudder, telling the first man who +came up that he would see to it for the rest of the watch. The man +willingly enough accepted his services, and this skilful manoeuvre saved +them for the time from further interruption. + +"Lower quickly, Mr Lavie," he whispered in the doctor's ear. "Andy +Duncan has had liquor enough to make half a dozen men drunk, but he +knows what he's doing for all that. He's keeping an eye on the ship, +and may be down upon us any minute." + +He was obeyed promptly and in silence. The boat was lowered without +attracting notice. Warley was the first to slip down the rope, and was +safely followed by Nick. Frank was just climbing over the bulwark when +a man staggered up, and accused them with a volley of drunken oaths of +intending to desert. + +"No, no, Andy," said Jennings quickly, "no one means to desert. There's +a man overboard, and we're lowering a boat to pick him up. Make haste, +my lad," he continued, addressing Wilmore, "or he'll be too far astern +for us to help him." + +Frank promptly took the cue, and vanished over the side. For a moment +Duncan was staggered by the old quartermaster's readiness, but the next +he caught a momentary glimpse of Frank's features. + +"Hallo, that's young Wilmore, that's the captain's nevvy, as you said +had been left behind," he shouted. "There's some devilry here! Help, +my lads, there!" He drew a pistol as he spoke, and fired at Mr Lavie's +head, who was attempting to seize him. + +His nerves were unsteady from drink, and the bullet missed its mark; but +it struck Joe Cobbes on the temple, who fell on the instant stone dead. +Some of the men, startled by the pistol shot, came reeling up from the +forecastle. + +The doctor struck Andy a heavy blow with the butt end of his pistol, and +the man dropped insensible on the deck. He then turned to Jennings. +"You must go with us now, Tom," he said, "or they will certainly murder +you. Go, I tell you, or I'll stay behind myself." + +The old man made a great effort and rolled himself over the bulwarks, +reaching the boat by the help of the rope, and the hands of the boys +below, though he fainted from pain and exhaustion immediately +afterwards. + +Mr Lavie fired at the nearest man, who dropped with a broken leg. The +others hung back alarmed and stupefied. Lavie skimmed down the rope, +and disengaged her before they had recovered their senses. Just at this +moment there was a heavy splash close beside them. + +"Hallo!" cried Ernest, "one of the fellows has fallen overboard. We +must take him in. We can't leave him to drown." + +"It isn't any of the crew," said Frank. "It's old Lion. I can see his +head above water. He has broken his fastenings and followed us. Haul +him aboard, Nick." + +The dog was soon got in, and Lavie and Warley, seizing the oars, rowed +away from the ship. An attempt was made to lower a boat, and one or two +shots were fired. But the crew were in no condition for work of any +kind, and in a few minutes the _Hooghly_ was lost sight of in the +darkness. Lavie and Wilmore, who understood the management of a boat, +hoisted the sail and took the rudder. + +Meanwhile, Warley and Gilbert were endeavouring to restore the old +quartermaster from his swoon. They threw water in his face, and poured +some brandy from a flask down his throat, but for a long time without +any result. At last the boat was in proper trim, and Mr Lavie set at +liberty to attend to his patient. Alarmed at the low state of the +pulse, and the failure of the efforts to restore consciousness, he +lighted his lantern, and then discovered that the bottom of the boat was +deluged with blood. The bandages had been loosened in the struggle to +get on board, and the wound had broken out afresh. The surgeon saw that +there was now little hope of saving the old man's life. He succeeded, +however, in stanching the flow of blood, and again bound up the wound, +directing that Jennings should be laid in as comfortable a position as +possible on a heap of jackets in the bow. + +This had not been long effected, when morning appeared. Those who have +witnessed daybreak in the tropics, will be aware how strange and +brilliant a contrast it presents to that of northern climates. The day +does not slowly gather in the East, changing by imperceptible degrees +from the depth of gloom to the fulness of light, but springs as it were +with a single effort into brilliant splendour--an image of the great +Creator's power when He created the earth and skies--not toiling through +long ages of successive processes and formations, as some would have us +believe, but starting at one bound from shapeless chaos into life and +harmony. + +The doctor cast an anxious look at the horizon, and was relieved to find +that the _Hooghly_ was nowhere visible. "Well out of that," he +muttered. "If we could only bring poor Jennings round, I shouldn't so +much regret what has happened. But I am afraid that can't be." He +again felt the old man's pulse, and found that he was now conscious +again, though very feeble. + +"Is that Mr Lavie?" he said, opening his eyes. "I'm glad to see you've +come off safe, sir. I hope the young gentlemen are safe too." + +"All three of them, Jennings, thank you," was the answer; "not one of +them has so much as a scratch on him." + +"That's hearty, sir. I am afraid poor Joe--it's all over with him, +isn't it?" + +"I am afraid so, Tom. But he didn't suffer. The ball struck him right +on the temple, and he was gone in a moment." + +"Yes, sir, and he was killed doing his duty. Perhaps if he'd remained +among them villains, he'd have been led astray by them. It's best as it +is, sir. I only hope you may all get safe to land." + +"And you too, Tom," added Frank, who with his two companions had joined +them unperceived. + +"No, Mr Frank, I shall never see land--never see the sun set again, I +expect. But I don't know that I'm sorry for that I'm an old man, sir, +and my nevvy was the last of my family, and I couldn't have lived very +long any way." + +"No," said Mr Lavie, "and you too have met your death in the discharge +of your duty. When my time comes, I hope I may be able to say the +same." + +"Ah, doctor, it's little good any on us can do in this world. It's well +that there's some one better able to bear the load of our sins than we +are! But I want to say a word or two, sir, while I can. I advised you, +you'll remember, to run straight for the nearest point of the coast, +which I judge is about eight hundred miles off. But I didn't know then +where them pirates meant to take the _Hooghly_ to. Their officers only +let it out last night over their drink. They were to make the mouth of +the Congo river, where they've one of their settlements, or whatever +they call them. Now, that happens to be just the point you'd be running +for, and they'd be pretty sure to overhaul you before you reached it. +You'd better now try to reach the Cape, sir. It is a long way off--a +good fortnight's sail, I dare say, even with this wind. But there's +food and water enough to last more than that time; and besides, you may +fall in with an Indiaman." + +"We'll take your advice, you may be sure, Jennings." + +"I'm glad to hear that, sir. It makes my mind more easy. Make for the +coast, Dr Lavie, but don't try for it north of Cape Frio--that's my +advice, sir; and I know these latitudes pretty well by this time." + +"We'll take care, Jennings," said Warley. "And now, isn't there +anything we can do for you?" + +"You can say a prayer or two with me, Mr Ernest," replied the old man +feebly. "You can't do anything else, that I knows of." + +Warley complied, and all kneeling down, he repeated the Lord's Prayer, +and one or two simple petitions for pardon and support, in which old +Jennings feebly joined. Before the sun had risen high in the heavens +his spirit had passed away. His body was then reverently committed to +the deep, and the survivors, in silence and sorrow, sailed away from the +spot. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +A FOG--WRECKED--A CONSULTATION--SURVEY OF THE SHORE--A STRANGE +SPECTACLE--THE FIRST NIGHT ON SHORE. + +It was early morning. Lavie and Warley were sitting at the helm +conversing anxiously, but in subdued tones, unwilling to break the +slumbers of their two companions, who were lying asleep at their feet, +with Lion curled up beside them. It was now sixteen days since they had +left the ship; and so far as they could ascertain, Table Bay was still +seven or eight hundred miles distant. They had been unfortunate in +their weather. For the first few days indeed the wind had been +favourable, and they had made rapid progress. But on the fifth morning +there had come a change. The wind lulled, and for eight and forty hours +there fell a dead calm. This was followed by a succession of light +baffling breezes, during the prevalence of which they could hardly make +any way. On the twelfth day the wind was again fair; but their +provisions, and especially their supply of water, had now run so low, +that there was little hope of its holding out, even if no further +_contretemps_ should occur. Under these circumstances, they had thought +it better to steer for the nearest point of the African coast. They +were now too far to the southward to run any great risk of falling in +with the pirates, and at whatever point they might make the land, there +would be a reasonable prospect of obtaining fresh supplies. The course +of the boat had accordingly been altered, and for the last three days +they had been sailing due east. + +According to the doctor's calculations they were not more than sixty or +seventy miles from shore, when the sun set on the previous evening; and +as they had been running steadily before the wind all night, he fully +expected to catch sight of it as soon as the morning dawned. But the +sky was thick and cloudy, and there was a mist over the sea, rendering +objects at the distance of a few hundred yards quite undistinguishable. + +"We cannot be far from shore," said the doctor. "My observations, I +dare say, are not very accurate; but I think I cannot be more than +twenty or thirty miles wrong, and according to me we ought to have +sighted land, or rather have been near enough to sight it, three or four +hours ago." + +"I think I can hear the noise of breakers," said Warley, "I have fancied +so for the last ten minutes. But there is such a fog, that it is +impossible to make out anything." + +"You are right," said Mr Lavie, setting himself to listen. "That is +the beating of surf; we must be close to the shore, but it will be +dangerous to approach until we can see it more clearly. We must go +about." + +Ernest obeyed; but the alarm had been taken too late. Almost at the +same moment that he turned the rudder, the boat struck upon a reef, +though not with any great force. Lavie sprang out and succeeded in +pushing her off into deep water again, but the blow had damaged her +bottom, and the water began to come in. + +"Bale her out," shouted Lavie to Frank and Nick as he sprang on board +again. "I can see the land now. It's not a quarter of a mile off, and +she'll keep afloat for that distance. Take the other oar, Ernest; while +they bale we must row for that point yonder." + +The fog had partially cleared away, and a low sandy shore became here +and there visible, running out into a long projecting spit on their left +hand. This was the spot which Lavie had resolved to make for. It was +not more than two or three hundred yards distant, and there was no +appearance of surf near it. They rowed with all their strength, the +other two baling with their hats, in lieu of any more suitable vessels. +But the water continued to gain on them, nevertheless, though slowly, +and they had approached within thirty yards of the beach, when she +struck a second time on a sunk rock, and began to fill rapidly. They +all simultaneously leaped out into four-foot water, and by their united +strength contrived to drag the boat on until her keel rested on the +sand. Lavie then seized the longest rope, and running up the low, +shelving shore, secured the end to a huge mass of drift-wood which lay +just above high-water mark. Fortunately the tide was now upon the turn, +so that in three-quarters of an hour or so she would be left high and +dry on the beach. + +The first impulse of all four was to fall on their knees and return +thanks for their deliverance, even the thoughtless Nick being, for the +time, deeply impressed by his narrow escape from death. Then they +looked about them. The fog had now almost disappeared, and a long +monotonous line of sand hills presented itself in the foreground. +Behind this appeared a dreary stretch of sand, unenlivened by tree, +grass, or shrub, for two or three miles at least, when it terminated in +a range of hills, covered apparently with scrub. Immediately beyond the +narrow strip of beach lay a lagoon, extending inland for about a mile. +This was evidently connected with the sea at high-water; for a great +many fish had been left stranded in the mud, where they were obliged to +remain, until the return of the tide again set them at liberty. +Presently a low growl from Lion startled them, and they noticed an +animal creeping up round a neighbouring sand hill, which on nearer +approach they perceived to be a hyena. It was followed by several +others of the same kind, which forthwith began devouring the stranded +fish, while the latter flapped their tails in vain attempts to escape +from the approach of their enemy. Availing themselves of the hint thus +offered them, the boys, who had not yet breakfasted, pulled off their +shoes and stockings, and followed by Lion, waded into the mud. The +hyenas skulked off as they approached, and they soon possessed +themselves of several large eels and barbel Mr Lavie, whose appetite +also reminded him that he had eaten nothing that morning, gathered a +heap of dry weed and drift-wood, and drawing out his burning-glass, soon +set them ablaze. Frank undertook to clean and broil the fish, which was +soon afterwards served up, and pronounced excellent. + +By the time they had finished their meal, all the water had run out of +the boat, and the sand was sufficiently dry to enable them to convey +their stores on shore. Having completed this, and covered them with +tarpaulin to prevent damage from the broiling sun, their next task was +to turn her over and examine her bottom. It took the united strength of +the four to accomplish this; but it had no sooner been done, than it +became evident that it would be useless to bestow further trouble upon +her. The first concussion had merely loosened her timbers, but the +second had broken a large hole in the bottom; which it was beyond their +powers of carpentry to repair, even had they possessed all the necessary +tools. + +"Thank God she didn't strike on that sharp rock the first time," +exclaimed Lavie, as he saw the fracture; "we should not be standing +here, if she had." + +"Why, we can all swim, Mr Lavie, and it was not more than a quarter of +a mile from land," observed Gilbert, surprised. + +The doctor made no reply, but he pointed out to sea where the black fins +of more than one shark were visible above the surface. + +Nick shuddered and turned pale, and all present again offered an inward +thanksgiving. + +"Well," resumed Frank, after a few moments' silence, "what is to be +done, then? I suppose it is pretty certain that she will never float +again." + +"Well, not certain, Frank," suggested Warley. "There may be some +fishermen--settlers, or natives--living about here, and they of course +would have boats, and would therefore be able to repair ours. The best +thing will be to make search in all directions, and see if we can +discover anywhere a fisherman's hut." + +"I am afraid there's not much chance of that, Ernest," said Wilmore. +"If there were any fishermen about here, we should see their boats, or +any way their nets, not to say their cottages; for they would be +tolerably sure to live somewhere near the beach." + +"The boats might be out to sea, and the nets on board them," suggested +Gilbert, "and the huts may be anywhere--hidden behind those hillocks of +sand, perhaps." + +"So they may, Nick," observed Mr Lavie, "though I fear there is no very +great chance of it. It is worth trying for, at all events. Look here, +one of us had better go along the shore to the right, and another to the +left, until they get to the end of the bay. From thence they will, in +all likelihood, be able to see a long way along the coast, and if no +villages or single dwellings are visible, it will be of no use making +further search for them. It will take several hours to reach the end to +the left there, and that to the right is probably about as far off; but +it is still so hidden by the fog that, at this distance, it can't be +made out." + +"And what are the other two to do?" asked Frank. + +"They had better stay here and make preparations for supper and passing +the night," said Mr Lavie. "It is still tolerably early, but whoever +goes out to explore won't be back till late in the afternoon, and will +be too tired, I guess, to be willing to set out on a fresh expedition +then. Besides, the night falls so rapidly in these latitudes that it +wouldn't be safe. Now, I have some skill in hut making, and I think you +had better leave that part of the job to me." + +"By all means, Charles," said Warley; "and Frank here showed himself +such a capital cook this morning, that I suppose he'll want to undertake +that office again. Well, I'm quite ready. I should like to take the +left side of the bay, Nick, if you've no objection." + +"It's all the same to me," said Nick; "anything for a quiet life--and it +seems quiet enough out there anyway. Well, then, I suppose we had +better be off at once, as I don't want to have to walk very fast. I +should like to have Lion, but I suppose he wouldn't follow me." + +"No, he's safe to stay with Frank, but you two had better take your guns +with you," said Mr Lavie. "I don't suppose you are likely to meet any +wild animals on these sand flats--nothing worse than a hyena, at any +rate." + +"Thank you kindly, Mr Lavie, I don't particularly want to meet even a +hyena," said Nick. + +"Pooh, Nick, he wouldn't attack you, if he did meet you. But you may +want our help for some reason or other, which we can't foresee, and we +shall be sure to hear you, if you fire. Here, Nick, you shall have my +rifle for the nonce. It is an old favourite of mine, and has seen many +a day's sport. And here's Captain Renton's rifle for you, Ernest. By +good luck he had asked me to take care of it, so it was safe in my cabin +the day we got away. I've never seen it perform; but if it is only one +half as good an article as he declares, you'll have no cause to complain +of it." + +"How was it that the captain didn't take it with him?" asked Gilbert. + +"Because they wouldn't let him," said the surgeon. "He asked to be +allowed to fetch it, and looked as savage as he dared to look, when they +swore they'd allow no firearms to be taken." + +"I don't wonder at their not permitting it," observed Wilmore. + +"Nor I, Frank. The wonder to me has always been that they let the +officers and passengers go at all. But it seems that such of our men as +agreed to join these Congo pirates would not do so, except on the +express condition that the lives of all on board were to be spared; and +the pirates daren't cross them. But we mustn't dawdle here talking. +There's plenty to be done by all of us, and more than we can do, too." + +Warley and Nick accordingly set off in opposite directions, and Lavie +and Frank began their work. They first took an axe from their stores, +and choosing from among the drift-wood three of the longest spars, +resolved to fix two of them in the ground, and lash the third to their +upper ends. They selected for this purpose a hollow between two high +sand hills, about a hundred yards above high-water mark. Then they were +to cut six more poles, and lay them on either side against the ridge +piece, burying the other ends in the sand. Over this frame-work the +tarpaulin was to be stretched, and kept in its place by laying some +heavy pieces of wood on the lower ends. Thus a small tent would be +formed, at the bottom of which the boat's sail was to be spread, forming +a convenient place on which to lay their stores, and make up their beds. + +Plainly it would occupy a considerable time to complete these +arrangements, but they had not advanced half-way, when Nick came +hurrying back in a state of the greatest excitement, declaring that he +had seen, at a short distance, the roofs of what was evidently a town of +considerable size; and on a flat piece of ground adjoining it, a number +of men--soldiers they seemed to be--in red and white uniforms, drawn out +in long lines, as if on parade. + +"A large town, Nick! soldiers in uniform!" repeated Wilmore in great +astonishment. "You must be dreaming." + +"I assure you I am not," replied Gilbert, whose demeanour showed that he +was thoroughly in earnest. "I could see, quite distinctly above the +fog, the towers of a church, apparently, and a long row of battlements, +evidently part of a line of fortifications; and, through openings in the +mist, the red caps and jackets of the soldiers were as plain as anything +I ever beheld in my life." + +"But it can't be, doctor, can it?" asked Frank. "I am sure I should be +glad enough to think we were near any inhabited spot, let alone a large +city. But you're pretty certain of our whereabouts, ain't you?" + +"Yes; I don't think I can be mistaken very much, and I must be out of +all reckoning wrong, if this is true. There is no town, that I know of, +on this coast, between the Portuguese settlements, which are something +like eight hundred miles to the north of where I suppose we now are, and +Cape Town, which is almost as far to the south." + +"Well, just come and look for yourself, doctor," said Nick. "It won't +take you long. The place is not above two or three miles off at the +outside." + +"Of course I will go--we'll all go, Nick--Lion and all I am sure I hope +with all my heart that you may be right. It will save us a very long +and dangerous journey if you are." + +He caught up a fowling-piece which had belonged to his friend the +purser, and handed Frank the fourth gun, an ordinary seaman's carbine. +"Now then, Nick, lead the way." + +Gilbert complied, and the whole party stepped out briskly, their +curiosity, as well as their interest, being strongly awakened. They +toiled through the heavy sand, which was only varied by heaps of +drift-wood flung up by the sea, and the rotten carcasses of mud fish, +which had been carried too far inland by the tide to be able to recover +their native element. The stench, under the burning sun, was almost +insupportable, and the three adventurers were greatly relieved, when, +after a walk of three-quarters of an hour, the desert of sand was +passed, and they ascended a rocky plateau, where some crags, twelve or +fifteen feet in height, afforded at least some shelter from the rapidly +increasing heat. "We are getting near the place now," observed Nick, as +they reached the last of a long chain of rocks, and came upon a wide and +apparently level plain, but so much enveloped in mist as to be very +imperfectly discerned. + +"There it is, I declare," exclaimed Frank, who was the first of the +party to turn the corner of the limestone shelf. "There it all is-- +houses, fortifications, and soldiers, just as Nick said!" + +There, indeed, it was. At the distance, as it seemed, of scarcely more +than three hundred feet, were seen distinctly the battlemented walls of +a city of great size and strength. There were the gateways, the +flanking towers, and the embrasures; while behind them rose domes and +cupolas, and the sharp-peaked roofs of numberless houses, intermingled +with lofty trees. Under the walls ran a broad river, the waters of +which rippled brightly in the sunshine, and upon its banks long lines of +infantry were drawn up, or what appeared to be infantry, all standing +silent and motionless as so many statues. + +The two boys gazed in the utmost bewilderment at this spectacle, while +Lion bounded forward, evidently meditating a plunge into the cool and +sparkling waters. The astonishment of the party was in no way +diminished, when the doctor, raising his gun to his shoulder, fired +directly at the nearest platoon of soldiers, one of whom was seen to +fall. The next moment the whole of his companions rose with loud +screams into the air, and dispersed themselves in all directions. +Almost at the same moment the walls and battlements of the fortress and +ridges of roof behind them wavered and shook, and finally vanished from +the scene, as the smoke of a wood fire is lost in the surrounding +atmosphere. In their place appeared a low serrated ridge of rock, on +which a few stunted shrubs were growing, while in front and behind alike +extended the interminable waste of sand. + +"Here is your soldier, Nick," said the doctor, as he picked up the +carcass of a large flamingo, which his shot had brought down. "Here's +his red cap and jacket--his beak and wings, that is to say--and here are +his white facings--his neck and chest. You are not the first by a good +many that has made that mistake!" + +"This is what is called a mirage, then?" said Frank. "I've often heard +of it, and longed to see it; and it is a more extraordinary delusion +than I could have supposed possible. Why that low line of rock there, +and those dwarf shrubs looked as if they were at least sixty feet high. +How in the world do you account for it, Mr Lavie? Why even Lion was +taken in!" + +"I am afraid I cannot give you an explanation, which you will understand +very clearly, Frank. It is caused by the inequality of the temperature +in the lower strata of the air; which again is the result of the +reflected heat of the sun's rays on the barren, sandy plain. While the +strata are unequally heated, these curious reflections, which are like +those seen in broken mirrors, continue to deceive the eye. Objects +appear to be raised high into the air, which in reality are to be found +on the surface of the earth, often too they are immensely magnified, as +indeed you saw just now; a single stone will seem the size of a house, +and an insignificant shrub look as big as a forest tree. But when the +sun gains sufficient power to raise all the strata to a uniform heat, +the mirage melts away." + +"But your shot seemed to disperse it just now." + +"So it did. But my shot only disturbed the strata; and if the mirage +had not been nearly on the point of vanishing, from the increasing solar +heat, I doubt whether the same effect would have followed. But it is +time for us to go back to our hut and finish our work. Nick, I suppose +you will join us? We may see pretty plainly for ourselves that there +are no fishermen's huts in this quarter." + +Nick assented, and the three, after a short rest under the shade of the +rocks, returned to the spot whence they had set out, and resumed their +work. By two o'clock the two uprights were fixed in the sand, and in +two hours afterwards the tent was complete. All the stores were then +carefully conveyed inside, the keg of gunpowder being buried in the sand +to prevent the possibility of accident. Then the two lads set about +preparations for supper, which was to consist, like that of the morning, +of fish broiled on the embers. + +"And a very good supper too," observed Nick; "I don't think I ever ate a +finer fish than this cod here." + +"It's first-rate, there's no doubt of that," returned Frank; "but I must +own I should like something besides. I suppose your flamingo there +wouldn't be very good eating?" + +"I expect not," replied Lavie. "The flamingo is too gross a feeder to +make very good food itself. One might eat it, I dare say, if there was +nothing else to be had. I have eaten lion steaks once in my life, but I +have no ambition to repeat the experiment. No, I don't propose to make +any further use of my flamingo than to cut off one of his beautiful red +wings to make a fan of, and hand the rest of the bird over to Lion. +What a splendid-looking bird he was; it really seems almost a shame to +kill him!" + +They all gathered round to admire him. The colours in which nature had +dressed him, showed that he was one of her favourite children. The long +thin legs--they were two feet and some inches in length--were of the +most delicate shade of pink, and shaped with wonderful grace. The short +thigh, chest, and neck were covered with down, the softest and whitest +that can be imagined. But the great beauty of the creature lay in its +wings, in which the brilliant scarlet and pure white hues were +intermingled with wonderful delicacy and grace, both colours being +bordered and thrown out by the deep black of the under feathers. + +"I wish I could stuff that specimen," said the doctor, as he +contemplated the dead bird. "It would be the making of a collection. +It can't stand less than four foot four, or perhaps four foot six high. +However, I'm afraid it's rather out of place to be thinking of +collections. It will be a good job," he muttered to himself, "if we are +not put into a collection ourselves by some Hottentot or Damara chief +But it won't do to hint that to the boys." + +He seated himself on one of the casks in the shelter of the tent, and +appeared to be watching the preparations for supper, lost, in reality, +in a reverie of mingled pain and pleasure. He was roused at last by the +information that Warley was returning; and presently the youth himself +appeared on the scene, throwing down, to Frank's great satisfaction, a +brace of wild ducks which he had been fortunate enough to shoot. His +report, however, was not encouraging. He had reached the extremity of +the bay, and had ascended an eminence, perhaps two or three hundred feet +high; but nothing was to be discerned from it but long wastes of mingled +rock and sand, varied here and there by thickets of euphorbia, or +monotonous scrub. In the distance indeed were lofty mountains; but it +was impossible to say, in that transparent atmosphere, how distant they +might be. As regards the more immediate object of his expedition--the +discovery of some trace of man--it had been an entire failure. + +While Warley was delivering his report to the doctor, the other two were +busied in plucking and roasting the ducks. Presently it was announced +that all was ready, and the four sat down to their repast with an +appetite sharpened by a long day of exertion. It was no sooner over +than fatigue began to assert itself in place of hunger. It was agreed +that the fire should be kept up all night, and that each should watch +for two hours by it. It was now nearly nine o'clock, and the last watch +would thus bring them to five in the morning, when it would be desirable +that all four should be awakened to the heavy day's work, which (as none +of them doubted) lay before them. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +PLANS--THE BOYS SET OUT--A DISAPPOINTMENT--THE FIRST BOK--WATER! +WATER!--A MIDNIGHT VISITOR. + +The whole party slept soundly, and by six o'clock were sitting under +their tent over the remains of their breakfast. Frank and Nick were on +the point of issuing forth to collect some more fish for the mid-day +meal, when the doctor called to them to stop. + +"It is time," he said, "that we hold a consultation, and come to some +resolution respecting our future movements. Sit down here in the shade, +and we'll talk the matter over." + +The boys obeyed, and took their places; Lion, as usual, seating himself +at Frank's side, and occasionally bestowing a broad lick of affection on +his face and hands. + +"I have made a fresh examination of the boat this morning," began Lavie, +"and am quite satisfied that it is impossible for us to repair her. She +is an old boat, and wouldn't anyway have lasted much longer, and now she +is so much hurt, that no one but a regular boat-builder could make her +float again. It is impossible therefore to carry out our original +intention of going on to Cape Town by sea. Well, then, we must hit on +some other plan." + +"Wouldn't it be the simplest way to travel along the line of coast the +whole way?" suggested Ernest. "As far as I remember my geography, there +are no bays running far inland, or very wide rivers to interfere with +us." + +"You're right, Ernest," rejoined Lavie. "There are nothing but small +bays all the way, and until we reached the mouth of the Gariep, there +would be no rivers to interfere with us." + +"And when we did reach the Gariep, said Frank, we should be pretty safe +to fall in with some settlers or, any way, natives, who, `for a +consideration,' would help us through the rest of our journey. I think +Ernest's advice very good." + +"I should think it so also, Frank," said the surgeon, "if I didn't +happen to know something of the line of country proposed. I have never +been along it myself, but I have met people who know it well. It is one +long sandy waste the entire way--no trees, no grass, scarcely even a +rock; and if there are any water-springs, they are so few and scanty, +that it is almost the same thing as if there were none at all. There +would be no food to be obtained, no shade from the sun, and no +resting-place at night, as it would be impossible to carry our tent with +us. And, to wind up, we should certainly not meet with a human being +from the beginning of our journey to its end." + +"Well, that is pretty nearly enough, I think," observed Nick, "I have no +fancy to be broiled like a fish on a gridiron, or have a leg of nothing +and no turnips for dinner, like the clown in a pantomime. Let us hear +what you propose." + +"I advise that we should travel towards the east, until we come to the +banks of one of the rivers which run southward into the Gariep. I know +there are several at no very great distance from the coast: we can +follow any one of these to its junction with the great river. When we +have once got there, I have no doubt what Frank suggested is true +enough. We shall come to the farmhouse of a Dutch boor, or a Hottentot +village, or fall in with a hunting party, and so find the means of +reaching Cape Town." + +"That sounds feasible," said Frank. "We shall be sure of water, at all +events, by going that way, and water's the first thing to be thought +of." + +"And there'll be plenty of game, most likely," added Lavie, "and, any +way, fish." + +"And shade from the heat of the sun, and resting-places at night," said +Warley. + +"But how about the wild beasts and the snakes?" struck in Nick. +"Wouldn't it be better to make a canoe, or a raft, and sail down the +river itself?" + +"That is not a bad idea, Nick," said Frank. "What do you say to that, +Charles?" + +"That it would be a very good idea on some rivers, but not on these," +answered Lavie. "Nick has never seen one of these South African rivers, +or he'd never suggest it. At times, the channels here are reduced to +mere threads, along which no boat that was ever made could pass; at +others, they are swollen to raging torrents, which would shatter them to +fragments. A boat journey to the Gariep is out of the question." + +"Very well, then, we must make the journey along the banks," said +Warley. "Of course we must follow your advice, Charles. You know a +good deal about the country between this and Table Bay, while we know +absolutely nothing. I suppose you would recommend that we should set +off, as soon as possible, for the nearest river that runs southward?" + +"Yes," said Lavie, "there is no kind of object in delaying here. There +is neither food nor shelter to be had here, neither shade nor water; and +the stench from the mud and the dead fish is very far from fragrant. I +counsel that we move off with as little delay as possible." + +"Hear, hear," said Frank; "I am quite of the same mind. Well, then, +Charles, the next thing is, what are we to take with us? The boat would +have held as much as we were likely to want; but our backs and pouches +are different things." + +"Quite so, Frank--that was the next thing I was going to speak about. +We must, of course, leave by far the greater part of our cargo behind. +In fact, we must cumber ourselves with as little baggage as possible. +But some things will be absolutely necessary. There are the guns and +powder-flasks and bullets. We cannot do without them." + +"That is voted, _nem. con._," said Warley; "and there is the flint and +steel and tinder-box. The doctor's burning-glass will be no good when +the sun doesn't shine." + +"And we shall want the gridiron, and the knife and spoon and cup, and +the iron pot for cooking and holding water," struck in Nick. + +"Each of us ought to carry a change of linen," said Mr Lavie, "and a +second pair of shoes; but no more, I think. I suppose one brush and +comb must serve all four." + +"I hope you'll take your lancets, Charles, and some physic, in case of +any of us being taken ill," suggested Warley. + +"I am not likely to forget that, Ernest," returned the surgeon. "Very +well, then, that will be all. We had better each provide ourselves with +the articles agreed on, make a hearty meal off some of the salt meat and +biscuit, and then set off at once, leaving everything else in the boat, +for the benefit of any one who may be thrown up, like ourselves, on +these barren flats." + +No one urging farther objection, this programme was forthwith carried +out. Belts and knapsacks were adjusted, the various articles required +for the general use were divided between the four, a hasty meal was +eaten, and then each man took his gun, and the party bade farewell to +the old boat and low sandy shore, and set forth on their travels. + +They soon surmounted the rocky shelf which they had visited on the +previous day, and, passing through an opening in the barren hills, +entered a valley, which seemed even more dreary than the scene they had +just quitted. On either side were rocks of a dull grey colour, broken +into all kinds of fantastic shapes, and full of holes and winding +caverns, which suggested the possible neighbourhood of venomous snakes. +Nick, in particular, cast many a suspicious glance at these orifices; +which seemed to his imagination the lurking-places, whence at any moment +the hideous head of a cobra or python might rear itself, preparatory to +a deadly spring on its victim. He was greatly relieved when, after an +hour or two of walking, the valley gradually opened into a wide plain, +and patches of vegetation began to show themselves. The euphorbia was +the first to appear, with its tall stiff bunches of foliage, each of +which bore a curious resemblance to a chandelier with its cluster of +candles. Then the kameel-doorn, the dwarf acacia, and the wild +pomegranate began to vary the landscape with their contrast of colours; +and presently there appeared the aloe and the mimosa, the bright yellow +of the last-named reminding Ernest of the gorse and broom among which +his walks had so often lain. + +But though there was a great improvement in respect of the scenery, its +most important accessory, water, was nowhere to be found. Lavie looked +anxiously on all sides for some indication of the vicinity of the river; +which, if his information was correct, lay only a few miles eastward of +the spot where they had landed. They could hardly have mistaken the +way, for no other opening in the rocks had been visible in any +direction, except that which they had pursued; and the gradual downward +slope of the glen could hardly end in anything but water. But they had +now been travelling since mid-day, only sitting down to rest for a few +minutes, at intervals of two hours or so; and now the sunset was near at +hand. He was greatly rejoiced when, on turning the corner of a dense +clump of euphorbias, they came in sight of what was evidently the course +of the river, though the dense bushes on either side hid the stream from +view. + +"Hurrah! my lads," shouted the doctor; "now for a good drink, and a cool +bath too, if the water is only deep enough." + +He broke into a run as he spoke, and was joined by the other three, who +forgot their weariness and anxiety in the excitement of the moment Lion +bounded along at Frank's side, as eager apparently as his master. They +were the first to reach the fringe of shrubs, into which they plunged +with headlong haste. But the next moment there came a loud cry of +disappointment; the others hurried up, but only to catch sight of Frank +and Lion standing over a dry bed of sand, which had evidently once been +the channel of the river. There was now not the slightest trace of +water to be seen. The sand was not even moist. Lavie now felt +extremely anxious. There were rivers he knew lying to the eastward, and +that at no very great distance, twenty or thirty miles at the outside, +and probably they were not so far off as even twenty miles: and if so, +the strength of the whole party might hold out until the nearest was +attained. But then the lads were not used to roughing it in the desert; +and they might miss the track and become too exhausted to travel +further. He had fully reckoned on finding water at the spot which they +had now reached, or he would have brought a supply with him from the +water-cask in the boat, which had still contained several gallons. But +it was too late now to think of returning that night to the seashore, +and besides, such a step would naturally alarm and depress his +companions. The best chance would be to proceed on their way as long as +daylight lasted, and take the chance of falling in with some of the +springs or pools, which are scattered about, though at rare intervals, +in this inhospitable land. + +"Well, that's a nuisance," he exclaimed aloud, as he gazed into the +blank faces, and marked the dry parched lips of the boys. "That's a +nuisance, but it can't be helped. Better luck next time. We had better +step out as fast as we can while daylight lasts. We are safe to come to +water, sooner or later, even in this country." + +"All right, Charles," said Frank; "the sooner we reach it the better. +We must step out, best pace." + +The other two made no remark, but they also quickened their walk. +Emerging from the bushes, Mr Lavie pursued his route due eastward, +though the path he followed did not seem very likely to fulfil his +hopes. It lay along a bare hillside, over which huge boulders of rock +were scattered; while the vegetation growing more and more scarce every +mile of the way, at last ended in a waste as barren as that which they +had traversed at the outset of their journey. It was, indeed, very much +the same character of scenery as before, only that they were no longer +shut in by a hollow defile in the hill. On either sides there rose high +shelves of stone pierced by what seemed to be caverns running far +inward. Between these masses of rock, long vistas of bare stony plains +presented themselves, seeming to the belated travellers the very picture +of desolation. + +The sun was now fast setting; there remained scarcely an hour of +daylight, and for all they could see, Lavie and his party would have to +continue their journey by starlight, or bivouac on the sand. Suddenly +at this moment, Lion, who had been tramping along for the last hour or +two, as much depressed apparently as any of the party, stood still, +sniffed the air for a moment or two, and then sprang forward with a +joyous bark, turning round, when he had proceeded a few yards, as if +inviting Frank to follow him. + +"Don't call him back, Frank," said Mr Lavie as Wilmore shouted after +him. "His instinct is much keener than ours. Either there is some +animal near at hand, which you may shoot for supper; or, as I earnestly +hope may be the case, he scents water. Cock your gun, and go after +him." + +"I am afraid there is but little chance of his finding water here," said +Ernest, as Wilmore hastened forward. "There is nothing to be seen +anywhere but hard crag-stone and dry sand. But he may put up some game +among the rocks there which he is scrambling up. Ha! and so he has," he +added the moment after, as a steinbok came bounding down the cliff. +"Now, then, to test Captain Renton's rifle." + +He drew the trigger as he spoke, and the animal dropped on its knees, +but rose the next minute and was making off, when a shot from Lavie +again brought it down. They ran up and found that the steinbok was +already dead. Ernest's bullet had struck it in the side, and inflicted +what would probably have proved a mortal wound, though it would, for the +time, have succeeded in effecting its escape. But Lavie had aimed +directly at the heart, and his shot having gone true, death was +instantaneous. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Frank, at this moment, waving his cap on the shelf of +rock above. "Three cheers for old Lion. It is all right now." + +"All right as regards the meat, Frank," said Nick, "but how about the +drink? A fellow in this wicked world requires to drink as well as to +eat--at all events, I do." + +"Meat," repeated Frank, peering over the edge of the precipice, which +might perhaps be a dozen feet in height. "Have you got any meat? Did +you kill anything when you fired just now?" + +"To be sure we did, Frank," said Warley. "We're not given to miss in +our part of the world. We've brought down as nice a young steinbok as +you'd wish to eat. If you'd only find us some water to match, we should +be quite set up." + +"Water! why, that is just what we _have_ found. Here has old Lion +lighted on a well of water, the most delicious that any fellow ever +drank of." + +"Water! what, up there? You don't say so. Hurrah! here goes." Laying +down their guns, the three thirsty travellers speedily climbed the stony +heights, and stood by their companion's side, when their eyes were +gratified by a very strange as well as a very welcome spectacle. + +In the very middle of the plateau of rock surmounting the precipitous +ascent appeared a circular hole, some three or four feet in diameter, +and so deep, that its bottom could not be discerned. The cavity was +evidently natural; nor indeed did either the Hottentots or the Bushmen-- +the only tribes by whom the spot was ever visited--possess either the +tools or the patience necessary for so laborious a work. It was +doubtless what is sometimes called, though most erroneously, a freak of +nature--one of those beneficent provisions, more than one of which we +shall have to notice in the course of this story, by which the +providence of God supplies the wants of His creatures in the desolate +wastes; without which help they must inevitably perish. The hole had +retained the rain, with which it had been filled a week or two +previously, and the water being sheltered by the surrounding rocks from +the burning rays of the sun, was sweet, clear, and deliciously cool to +the taste. The cup was passed round and round again, before the thirsty +travellers were satisfied, and even then they were half disposed to envy +Lion's simpler mode of satisfying his drought, viz., by plunging head +over ears into the well, and imbibing at every pore the refreshing +moisture. + +At length thirst was satisfied, and gave way to hunger. Descending from +the rocky platform, they set themselves to prepare their supper. Nick +collected the grey leafless shrubs, which grew in abundance among the +rocks; and which, though anything but picturesque in appearance, made +capital firewood. Frank cut up the carcass, broiling some parts of it +on the gridiron, and boiling as much more as the pot would hold. It was +dark long before their preparations were completed, and they had to eat +their dinner by the light of their fire, assisted by the stars, for the +moon had not yet risen. But the road to the mouth is very easy to find, +especially when men are hungry. They all four soon finished a most +excellent meal. Then the fragments of the repast were handed over to +Lion--Frank declared he ought to have been called to the chair, and his +health drunk with all the honours--and arrangements were made for the +night. Some of the shrubs which Nick had collected, and which had not +been used for the fire, made very comfortable beds. These were spread +inside one of the largest caverns, though not before Nick had carefully +examined its recesses by the help of a blazing log, to make sure that +they contained no venomous reptiles. Lion stretched himself out to +sleep at the entrance of the cave; and it was considered that his +instinct might be trusted to warn them against the approach of danger, +without additional precautions. In a few minutes they were all sound +asleep. + +They might have slept for perhaps three hours, when Frank, whose +slumbers were unusually light, was roused by a low growl close to him. +Looking round, he saw Lion standing in the entrance of the cave over the +remains of the steinbok, only a part of which had been eaten. Frank +remembered that the carcass had been left at some little distance from +their sleeping-place; and the dog, therefore, must have dragged it to +its present place. Something unusual must have occurred to make him do +this; and besides, the attitude of the animal, his hair bristling, his +chest advanced, his muscles stretched to their full tension, and the +fierce glare in his eye showed plainly enough that he beheld some +formidable enemy. + +"A hyena has scented the carcass, I have no doubt," thought Frank, "but +I can hardly afford to throw away a shot upon him. He must be driven +away, though, or we shall get no rest." + +He stepped noiselessly up to the entrance, but recoiled instantly at the +sight he beheld, and it was with difficulty that he stifled a cry of +alarm. At a distance of about four yards, the outline of its +magnificent figure clearly revealed in the bright moonlight, a lion of +the largest size was crouching, evidently preparing itself to spring! +Frank had never seen one of these animals, except in captivity. About a +twelvemonth before, during his stay in London, Captain Wilmore had taken +him to Exeter 'Change, where one or two lions were exhibited. But these +were small of their kind, and enfeebled by age and long captivity. They +bore no more resemblance to the glorious and terrible creature with +which Frank was now confronted, than the trickling stream which glides +lazily over the ledge of the rocks bears to the foaming cataract, +swollen by snows and rains. + +He perceived in a moment what had taken place. The lion had come to the +water to drink; and the dog, scenting the approach of some beast of +prey, had possessed itself of the remains of the steinbok, which would +otherwise fall a prey to the marauder. The lion in its turn had +discovered the vicinity of food, and had leaped down from the rock to +seize it. All this passed through Frank's mind in a moment. It could +hardly be called thinking, but was rather like a sudden revelation. He +felt, too, the necessity of killing the monster without a moment's loss +of time, or all their lives would be imperilled. He stooped +noiselessly, and picked up the nearest gun, which chanced by good +fortune to be Captain Renton's rifle. Frank was a steady shot, as the +reader has already been told; but he had never fired at a mark like +this. He recalled, on the instant, what he had heard Mr Lavie say that +the only spots in a wild animal's body in which a bullet could be lodged +with the certainty of causing instant death, were the ear, the eye, and +immediately behind the shoulder, where there was a direct passage to the +heart. It was impossible to aim at either ear or shoulder in the +present instance, as the animal was standing directly facing him. The +eye, therefore, which flashed large and yellow upon him in the broad +glare of the moonlight--the eye must be his mark. He raised the rifle +and brought it down to the level of his eye, drawing trigger the moment +he had done so. It was well for him that his aim was true, and his hand +steady. As the barrel dropped to its place, the metal flashed in the +moonbeam, and its glitter seemed to rouse the creature from its +momentary torpor. It rose into the air at the very moment at which the +bullet struck it, and if the latter had not been aimed with the most +perfect accuracy, there would have been an end of the mastiff, and +probably of his master also. But the shot passed directly through the +eyeball, and lodged in the brain, causing instantaneous death. The +muscular power communicated to the limbs failed even before the leap was +accomplished. A furious roar burst from the king of the forest as he +felt the wound, but it died off abruptly, and the vast carcass fell, a +lifeless mass, within two feet of the entrance of the cavern. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +A SECOND VISITOR--NICK'S CLUB--A HALT--A MYSTERIOUS CRY--A NEW MODE OF +IMPRISONMENT. + +The noise of the gun, and the dying roar of the lion, roused the whole +party from their slumbers; and in another minute they were standing +round the fallen monster, eagerly asking for information. + +"You did that well, Frank," said the surgeon, after carefully examining +the wound; "just in the right place, and at the right moment. Half an +inch either way, or ten seconds later, and there would have been a very +different story to tell. You'll be a mighty hunter one of these days, I +expect. It's very few who have made their _debut_ with a shot like +this. But we must make sure that there are no more of them about. It's +strange that I should have forgotten the likelihood of beasts coming +down at night to drink, or the risk there would be of an encounter +between them and Lion. Get in, you old rogue," he continued, giving the +dog a playful kick in the ribs, and driving him inside the cave, where +he secured him to a large fragment of rock. "You don't know what an +escape you've had. You are ready enough to fight, I don't doubt, but +`cave cui incurras,' as the Latin grammar says, Master Lion; a single +single blow of that brute's paw would have been enough to break a +horse's back, let alone a dog's. There, stand in the entrance with your +gun, Nick, and keep a sharp look out, while we go to examine the well." + +The lads took their guns, and the three making a considerable _detour_ +to the left, cautiously ascended the rocks, until they gained a higher +shelf than that in which the well was situated, and then looked over. +The moon had by this time begun to set, and the steep summit of the +crags behind them intercepted its light, throwing the shelf into deep +shadow. A dark mass was indistinctly visible, lying immediately on the +edge of the well, partly indeed protruding over it. "That's the lioness +drinking," whispered Frank. "She has most likely followed her lord to +the water, and has only just arrived here." + +"Most likely," answered the doctor in the same cautious tone, "but don't +fire. You can't see her plain enough to take a sure aim at her, and a +mere wound would only enrage her. Leave her to me. As soon as she has +done drinking, she'll get up, and then we shall have a clear sight of +her." + +They waited patiently for several minutes. It became evident that the +animal was not, as they had supposed, drinking, but was either asleep or +refreshing herself with the cool air, which the close proximity of the +water produced. In either case it was impossible to conjecture how long +she might retain her present attitude. "Let drop a stone upon her, +Ernest," whispered the doctor. "That will put her up. I have my rifle +all ready." + +Warley looked round him. There was no stone near at hand, but he +detached his shot-flask from his belt and threw it with a skilful aim, +striking the lioness on the flank. She instantly sprang to her feet; +but just as Ernest discharged his missile there came a dense cloud over +the moon, and the figure of the animal was lost to sight. Before the +cloud could quite pass away again, the lioness gave vent to a low savage +roar. She had caught sight, notwithstanding the darkness, of the +carcass below, and sprang down to examine it. "I wonder how Nick will +get on with her?" exclaimed Frank. "He's no great shot. I think we had +better go down to the rescue. Just hold my gun, Ernest, while I slip +down." + +Handing his rifle to his companion, he slid down the projecting face of +the precipice, feet first, and then called to Warley to lower his weapon +after him. Mr Lavie reached the shelf almost at the same moment, and +both pressed forward with some anxiety to see what was passing below. +The spectacle they beheld would have been extremely ludicrous, if it had +not been still more alarming. + +Forgetting or disregarding Lavie's directions, Gilbert had laid aside +his gun as soon as his companions left him, and had gone to make an +examination of the lion--an animal which he had never before seen. He +was greatly struck by the enormous size and vast strength of creature, +and stood for a few moments considering whether he might not be able to +carry away some souvenir of the adventure. A lock of his shaggy mane, +or one of his huge teeth, were the first mementos which suggested +themselves to him. It would be difficult, however, to obtain one of the +last-named articles--that is without the help of certain tools which +they had not in their possession. No, it must be a lock of the +gentleman's hair, which could be easily enough to procure, and equally +easy to preserve, though the keepsake would be somewhat cumbrous. He +picked up the knife, which Frank had left on a slab of stone near the +entrance of the cave, and proceeded to choose the place whence the +ringlet was to be cut. Suddenly it occurred to him that the tuft at the +extremity of the tail would be extremely suitable for the purpose; or +why, by the way, should he not retain the entire tail? Mr Lavie had +been telling them, only that evening, of the practice adopted by the +Bushmen of wearing a belt round the waist, by which the pangs of hunger +were considerably mitigated. To judge by what happened yesterday, such +a belt might be extremely serviceable, and the skin of the lion's tail +would make a famous belt. At all events there could be no harm in +cutting the tail off; and this he effected easily enough by the aid of +Mr Lavie's hatchet. He was still engaged in examining his treasure by +the imperfect light, when a whirling noise was heard over head, and a +large object of some kind dropped within a few feet of him. + +A good deal startled, Nick let fall the hatchet and grasping the upper +end of the tail with both hands, whirled it, like a flail round his +head. At the same moment the moon again broke out, and he perceived +that his new companion was a large lioness, whose fierce growls were +evidently the preliminary to a still fiercer assault. Nick gave himself +up for dead; and if the attention of the animal had in the first +instance been directed to him, there would indeed have been but small +hope of escape for him. But the lioness had scented the dead body, and +she proceeded to examine it all over, sniffing the tainted air, and +uttering every now and then a low howl, like a mourning cry. Nick would +have retreated to the cover of the cavern, but a feeling of fascination +held him to the spot; and he continued to swing the tail right and left, +apparently hardly conscious of what he was doing. Presently, the mood +of the lioness seemed to change, and the notion to occur to her of +taking vengeance for the ruthless slaughter of her mate. She glared +fiercely at Nick, and gave vent to a low roar. She would, in fact, have +instantly sprung upon him, but that the whirl of the tail immediately in +front of her nose, dazed and bewildered her for the moment, and kept her +at bay. This could not, however, have lasted, and Nick's career would +soon have been run, if rescue had not been at hand. But at this moment +the crack of the doctor's rifle was heard, and the brute, shot through +the heart, rolled over in the death struggle. + +"Bravo, Nick," exclaimed Lavie, as he leaped down from the rock. +"Hercules himself never wielded his club more valiantly, than you did +the lion's tail. I was sorry to keep you so long in suspense, but the +beast persistently kept her back towards me, till just the moment when I +fired. If I had only wounded her, she would have sprung on you all the +same." + +"All right, doctor," said Nick; "you couldn't do more than bring me off +with a whole skin. And it's more than I deserve, too, for I didn't obey +orders." + +"Well, now I suppose we may go back to bed?" suggested Frank. "It's not +much past midnight, and I feel as if I wanted plenty more sleep before +morning. I don't fancy we shall have many more visitors to-night." + +"No," said the doctor, "we may sleep soundly now. Animals don't often +go near a fountain where they have seen lions drinking. Indeed, the +shots which have been fired would probably be enough to keep them away. +Let us turn in again, by all means." + +His prognostications were fulfilled. There was no further disturbance +that night, and when the travellers awoke on the following morning, they +were in high health and spirits. + +"Do you intend to take the same track which we were following up +yesterday, Charles?" asked Warley, as they sat at breakfast, "or have +you altered your mind about it?" + +"I see no reason for changing it," replied the surgeon. "I am sure the +river, which Vangelt told me of, cannot be above fifteen miles off at +the outside, and when we are once there, it is all, comparatively +speaking, plain sailing. I don't know how far this kind of country may +last, but I feel sure it cannot be for any great distance. +Notwithstanding yesterday's experience, I don't advise our taking water +with us, or anything but a few slices of meat I am persuaded that we +shall not suffer a second time, as we did yesterday; and carrying water +always hampers travellers terribly." + +All readily gave their assent to his suggestions, and before six o'clock +the travellers were again in motion. They journeyed on for several +miles, the bare rocks and sand still continuing the main features of the +landscape: but about twelve o'clock their eyes were relieved by the +appearance of wooded slopes in the distance. Presently they came to a +small pool, surrounded by a grove of oomahaamas and acacias, among the +branches of which they noticed a quantity of grey-crested parrots, which +kept up an incessant screaming, from the moment the travellers came in +sight to that of their departure. + +"Here's a good place for a halt," suggested Ernest. "This shade is most +refreshing, and the water seems clear and cool." + +"I am quite of your mind, Ernest," said Nick, flinging himself at full +length on the grass at the edge of the pool. "Exhausted nature can't go +further without a respite. Now, if any one would be so good as to shoot +two or three of those parrots, that are actually crying out to be shot, +they would make a famous--What are you up to now, man?" he added +sharply, as he felt a sudden blow on his shin. "You would do well to +take care what you are doing." + +"_You_ would do well to take care," retorted Warley. "Do you see what +was crawling up your leg?" He held up, as he spoke, a dead snake about +eighteen inches long, with a curious-looking horn on either side of its +head. "If I hadn't hit him on the neck the moment I saw him, he'd have +bitten your hand to a certainty. He was making straight for it." + +"A snake!" cried Nick, starting up in horror. "So there is, I declare. +The nasty brute! I don't know whether it is venomous or not, but I'm +much obliged, even if it isn't. They are not nice things up a fellow's +leg!" + +"Hand him over here," said Charles Lavie. "Oh ay, I know this fellow. +He is called the cerastes, and is venomous, I believe, though not one of +the worst kinds of poisonous snakes. You are well out of it, Nick, I +can tell you, and must look more carefully about you in this country +before you sit down in a place like this. Some of the reptiles are so +nearly the colour of the ground, or the trees, that even an old stager +may be taken in." + +"Are there any large pythons in these parts?" asked Warley. "I've heard +two quite different accounts. One says that they are never found so far +south as this; the other, that they are to be met with thirty or forty +feet long, and as thick round as a stout man. What is the truth of the +matter?" + +"Well, the truth is something between the two, I believe, as is +generally the case," said the surgeon. "They are certainly not common +in Southern Africa, since people who have lived here all their lives +have never seen one. But now and then they are to be met with. I know +persons who have seen serpents' skins thirty feet long in the possession +of natives; and one case I heard of, in which a skin was exhibited fully +ten feet longer than that." + +"Are they difficult to kill?" asked Frank. + +"Not if you bide your time," said Lavie. "If you come upon them when +they are hungry, they--the larger ones, that is--are more than a match +for even the strongest men: and unless they are approached unawares, and +wounded, so as to destroy their muscular power, a struggle with them +would be most dangerous. But after they have gorged their prey, they +are killed as easily as so many sheep--more easily in fact, for they are +quite torpid." + +"What are the worst snakes found in these parts?" inquired Gilbert. +"The cobra and the puff adder, I should say," returned the surgeon. +"The first will spring at you as if it was discharged out of some +engine, and with such force, that if it fails to strike its mark it will +overshoot the spot by several feet. The natives call it the +hair-serpent, and are in great terror of it. If no sufficient remedy is +applied, its bite will cause death in less than an hour." + +"_Is_ there any sufficient remedy?" rejoined Nick. "I thought there was +no cure." + +"It's not so bad as that, Nick. There are remedies for most bites--the +cobra's for instance. There is a root which the mangoust always eats, +when it feels itself bitten by a cobra, and which is, so far as is +known, a complete cure. Eau de luce and sweet milk are generally given +in this country for a snake's bite, and the natives have beans and +serpent stones, which, it is said, effect a cure. But the best thing to +do--what I should have done in your case, Nick, if you had been bitten-- +is, first to fasten a ligature as tight as possible above the wounded +part, and then cauterise or cut away the injured flesh. Snakes' bites +are nasty things in these hot countries, and one can't be too careful. +But come, it is time we move on again. We ought to reach the river +banks early in the afternoon." + +They recommenced their march accordingly, and had proceeded half a mile +or so further, when Frank suddenly called upon them to stop. + +"What can that noise be?" he said. "I have heard it two or three times +in the course of the last few minutes. It doesn't sound like the cry of +a bird, or beast either. And yet I suppose it must be." + +"I didn't hear anything," said Gilbert. "Nor I," added Warley. "But my +hearing is not nearly as good as Frank's. I've often noticed that." + +"Let us stop and listen," suggested Charles. + +They all stood still, intently listening. Presently a faint sound was +wafted to them, apparently from a great distance--from the edge of the +sandy desert, they fancied, which was still visible beyond the wooded +tracts. + +"No," said Charles, when the sound had been twice repeated, "that is not +the cry of any animal, with which I am acquainted. It sounds more like +a human voice than anything else. If it was at all likely that there +was any other party of travellers in these parts, I should think they +were hailing us. But nothing can be more improbable than that." + +"Still it is possible," urged Warley, "and they may be in want of our +help. Ought we not to go and find out the truth?" + +"I think you are right, Ernest," said Frank. + +"Well, I don't know," urged Gilbert, nervously. "I've heard all sorts +of stories of voices being heard in the deserts, enticing people to +their destruction, and it may be some ruse of the savages about here, +who want to get us into their hands, to possess themselves of our guns. +What do you say, doctor?" + +"Why, as for the voices, Nick, I've heard the stories you speak of, +which have been told chiefly by persons who had lost their way and were +nearly dead from cold and hunger. Under such circumstances, when +people's nerves and senses begin to fail them, they fancy all sorts of +strange things. No doubt, too, there are all sorts of acoustic +deceptions in these wild regions, as there are optical delusions; but I +don't think we four--all of us in sound health--are likely to be so +deceived--" + +"But how about the savages, doctor?" interposed Nick, anxiously. + +"Well, if these were the backwoods of America, and we had the Red +Indians to deal with, there would be a good deal in your suggestion. +But neither the Hottentots nor the Bushmen are given to stratagems of +this kind. However, we'll move warily, and if any treachery is +designed, we shall be pretty sure to baffle it." + +They turned off in the direction whence the cry had come, keeping to the +open ground, and giving a wide berth to any clump of trees or underwood +which might harbour an enemy. Every now and then they paused to listen +for the sound, which was regularly repeated, at intervals apparently of +two or three minutes, and grew more distinct as they advanced. It was +now certain that the cry was human, and sounded like that of a +full-grown man. + +"We are getting a good deal nearer," observed Warley, as they passed the +last patch of trees, and entered once more the sandy wilderness. "I +should say we must be almost close, only I don't see any place where the +person who is crying out in this manner can be hidden." + +"It comes from that heap of stones there," exclaimed Frank, "that heap +to the left, I mean--about two hundred yards further on." + +"I see the stones, Frank, plain enough," said Mr Lavie, "but a man +couldn't be hidden among them. You call it a heap of stones, but there +is no heap. There is not so much as one lying upon another." + +"Nevertheless the cry comes from there," said Warley; "I heard it the +last time quite plainly. Let us go up and see." + +They cautiously approached the spot in question, where there were about +thirty or forty moderate-sized stones scattered on the plain. As they +advanced the mysterious call was again heard. + +"I see who it is that's making it," shouted Wilmore. "It's a fellow +whose head is just above ground. I took his head for a black stone, +with a lot of moss growing on it. But now I can see that it is a head, +though the features are turned away from us." + +They hurried up, and found that Frank was right. The stones were lying +round what seemed to have been a dry well. In this a man had been +buried up to his neck, the chin being just above the level of the +ground. It did not appear that he was conscious of their approach; for +at the interval of every two or three minutes he continued to give vent +to the shrill monotonous cry, which had attracted their attention. + +"What in the world can this mean!" exclaimed Nick. "The fellow can't +have tumbled into the well, and the stones have fallen in after him, I +suppose?" + +"Is it some penance, do you think, that he is undergoing?" suggested +Warley. + +"Or a punishment for a crime he has committed?" said Wilmore. + +"It may be a punishment for some offence," said Mr Lavie, "though I +never heard of the Hottentots punishing their people in that way, and +the man is plainly a Hottentot. As for anything else, of course it is +quite impossible that he can have got jammed up in this way by accident; +and the Hottentots know nothing of penances. Such a thing has never +been heard of among them. But the first thing is to get the poor fellow +out and give him something to restore him; for he is half dead with +thirst and exposure to the sun, and does not seem conscious of what is +passing." + +They fell to with a will, and had soon so far released the captive, that +he was able to draw his breath freely and swallow a little brandy, which +Mr Lavie poured on his tongue. He then opened his eyes for a moment, +gazing with the utmost bewilderment and wonder on the dress and +appearance of the figures round him; and then closed them again with a +low groan. + +"They meant this--the beggars that holed him in after this fashion," +observed Frank. "The stones are fitted round him as carefully as though +they had been building a wall. And, look! the poor wretch's arms are +fastened by a thong to his sides. What brutes! Hand us the knife, +Nick, and I'll cut them. How tough they are!" + +It needed a strong hand and a sharp blade to sever the stout thongs, +which on subsequent examination were found to consist of rhinoceros +hide. But when his arms were at length free, the man made no effort to +use them. It was evident that they were so benumbed by the forced +restraint in which they had so long been kept, that he had lost all +power over them. They were obliged to continue to remove the stones, +until his feet were completely released, before he could be extricated +from the hole; and when this was effected, it was only by the joint +strength of the four Englishmen, the Hottentot himself being unable to +render any assistance. + +He was now carried to the shade of the nearest trees; Nick ran back to +their recent resting-place, and returned with the iron pot full of +water, while Warley and Wilmore, under the surgeon's direction, chafed +his limbs. By the time of Gilbert's return their efforts had been +successful. The sufferer once more opened his eyes, and making signs +that the water should be handed to him, drank a long and refreshing +draught. "He'll do now," observed Nick, as he witnessed this feat. +"There's no more fear for his health after that. But I should like to +know who he is, and how he came there. I say, blacky, what may your +name happen to be, and how did you come to be boxed up after that +fashion, like a chimney-sweep stuck in a narrow flue?" + +To the astonishment of the whole party, Nick's question was answered. + +"Omatoko my name. Tank Englishman much for pull him out. Omatoko soon +die, if they not come. Bushmen bury Omatoko one, two day ago. Good +men, give Omatoko food, or he die now." + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +A GOOD ACTION REWARDED--A RAID ON THE PARROTS--OMATOKO'S STORY--PROPOSED +CHANGE OF ROUTE--BIVOUAC FOR THE NIGHT. + +Nick started back at the unexpected reply. "Who'd have thought that?" +he exclaimed. "I should just as soon have expected to have heard Lion +talk English." + +"Well, it wasn't very good English," remarked Warley, "but it was as +much to the purpose as if he had been Lindley Murray himself. I suppose +the first thing is to comply with his request. I have got a biscuit in +my pocket, which I brought away from the boat I dare say he can eat +that." + +"Not a doubt of it," said Nick; "and I guess he'll soon dispose of this +slice of steinbok too. The worst of it is, that I had meant it for my +own supper. But one can't let the poor wretch starve." + +"We'll all contribute something," said the doctor, "and make him out a +sufficient supper, I have no doubt. He mustn't eat very much at a time. +But the first thing is to carry him to some sheltered place, where we +can make him up a comfortable bed. He must have a long rest before he +will be good for anything." + +"Carry him, hey!" cried Nick doubtfully, as he contemplated the +prostrate figure of the Hottentot; who, for one of his race, was +unusually tall and large of frame. "How are we to do that, I wonder? +He weighs twelve stone, I'll go bail for it, if he weighs an ounce, and +we don't happen to have a horse and cart convenient." + +"We can manage it easily enough," was the answer; "our guns and these +thongs will make a very tolerable stretcher. Draw the charges first, +though. It wouldn't be safe to carry the guns loaded." + +Ernest complied, and then the doctor set about the construction of his +litter. He first fastened a rifle and a gun together, reversing the +direction of the barrels, so as to form a kind of staff out of them, +about six feet long, with the stocks at the two ends. The other rifle +and gun were then secured after the same manner, and thus the poles of +the stretcher were formed. They were then tied together, about two feet +apart from one another, by half a dozen thongs. The machine was now +placed on the ground, and the Hottentot laid on the thongs. Then the +stocks at one end were raised, and laid on the doctor's shoulders, who +bent on one knee and stooped as near to the ground as he could. The +other two ends were next placed in like fashion on the shoulders of +Ernest who had put himself into the like attitude. Frank and Nick now +took their stations in the middle of the litter, each placing one +shoulder under the pole. Then Lavie gave the word and they all rose +together. + +"Capitally managed!" exclaimed the doctor approvingly. "Now step all +together, and we'll have him under the shelter of the trees in less than +a quarter of an hour." + +They moved off, walking quickly and steadily, and in less than the time +named by Lavie, approached the friendly cover of the thicket. As they +came near, a steinbok which had been feeding apparently under a tree, +bounded out of the covert, passing within twenty yards of them. + +"Alas! alas!" exclaimed Nick, "there goes our supper that should have +been! That is the worst of doing a good action! One is sure to be +punished for it!" + +"Well, Nick, I don't know about that," said Warley. "If we hadn't gone +to look after the Hottentot, I don't think we should have seen anything +of the steinbok. He wouldn't have come anywhere near us, I expect." + +"No, you may be sure of that," observed the doctor, as they lowered +their burden to the ground, and laid him on some soft grass under the +shade of a large mimosa. "And what is more, I doubt whether our good +action will not be rewarded in this instance. Look here, the steinbok +was feeding on this melon, when we startled him. See the marks of his +teeth, and here are the stalks of one or two others which he has eaten. +I noticed these melons as I went by, but I was afraid to meddle with +them, as I had never seen any exactly like them, and some melons in this +country are more or less poisonous. But the steinbok wouldn't have +eaten them if they hadn't been wholesome food, and so we may venture on +them too. I have no doubt we shall find them very refreshing." + +Frank and Nick accordingly began pulling them up, while the surgeon +applied himself to the restoration of his patient, who was still lying +in a half-conscious state. But the cool air and soft bed, together with +the restoratives, which from time to time were applied, presently +brought him round, and he was able to eat as much food as was judged +good for him. After partaking of this and another draught of cold +water, he fell into a sound sleep, which seemed likely to last for +several hours. + +"It is still early in the afternoon," remarked the doctor, as they sat +down to their dinner of steinbok and melons, the latter of which proved +most delicious; "it is still quite early, and I don't suppose we can +have gone more than a dozen miles since breakfast. Nevertheless, I +think we must remain here. This poor fellow isn't well enough to be +left yet, though he may be to-morrow morning." + +"No, we can't leave the poor wretch," said Warley, "particularly after +what he told us about the Bushmen. They may be lurking about somewhere +in the neighbourhood, and may pounce upon him again, and he wouldn't be +able to escape them in his present weak state." + +"Eh, what!" exclaimed Gilbert, jumping up in great alarm at this +suggestion. "The Bushmen lurking about! The bloodthirsty savages! +They'll be seizing us and burying us up to the chin perhaps, and then +making a cockshy of our heads! Are the guns loaded again, Frank?" + +"Long ago, Nick," was the answer. "Ernest loaded them, while you and I +were gathering melons. I saw him doing it, and I don't think the +Bushmen are very likely to trouble us. They have a most wholesome +terror of European weapons, and more particularly of firearms, if all +that I have heard is true. I think we had better try if we can't kill +one or two of these grey parrots, as you yourself, if I don't mistake, +were suggesting, just before the snake showed itself." + +"I have no objection, Frank," returned Nick, somewhat reassured. "To be +sure these Bushmen can't very well be as bad as the snakes; and if one +makes up one's mind not to trouble one's self about the one, one need +not trouble one's self about the other." + +"All right, Nick," said Wilmore. "Now then, about these parrots. +They're very shy chaps, and will keep out of shot, if they can; and we +mustn't throw away powder by firing, unless with a pretty safe prospect +of bringing one down. I think I'll creep round, and hide behind that +big trunk yonder. Then you shy a stone up into the tree in which they +are sitting, and they'll most probably fly out into the open, and give +me a good shot." + +Wilmore and Gilbert conducted their joint manoeuvres with so much skill, +that before supper-time, half a dozen good-sized parrots had been +bagged, and their flesh when boiled was pronounced by all to be +excellent. After supper the doctor informed the party that Omatoko, as +he called himself, had now quite recovered his senses, and had held a +long conversation with him; the particulars of which he was ready to +communicate, if they wished to hear it. "Hear it? to be sure we do," +said Nick. "I've been longing to learn all about it, and if I had had +any idea that he would have been able to talk, I shouldn't have gone out +parrot shooting." + +"You wouldn't have understood what he said," observed Lavie. "He told +his story in Dutch. His knowledge of English was very small when he +came to try it. He says he belonged to a tribe that formerly lived a +good way to the south of this--not far from the mouth of the Gariep, I +fancy, from his description. There were a good many farms belonging to +Dutch owners in the neighbourhood; but Omatoko's was a powerful tribe, +and they seem for a good many years to have lived unmolested by their +European neighbours. But about fourteen or fifteen years ago, some +Englishmen--traders probably sent by some commercial house--landed near +their village, and offered them more liberal terms for their skins and +ivory than the Dutch had allowed. Finding the trade profitable, the +English returned in the following year, and by-and-by ran up a few huts, +where they carried on what promised to be a very lucrative business. It +was from them that Omatoko picked up the few words of English which he +knows, and he appears to have contracted a great liking for them." + +"Of course he did," said Frank, "old England against the world!" + +"With all my heart, Frank," rejoined the doctor, "only the English are +not always remarkable for making themselves popular. Well, the trade +went on increasing, until it roused the jealousy of the Dutch. They +didn't fancy not being able to buy hides and tusks at the old prices, +and besides, were jealous of the English attempting to settle in the +country." + +"Ay, to be sure," said Warley, "the time you speak of must have been a +year or two before the conquest of the colony by our troops." + +"Just so, Ernest, and for some years previously to that there had been a +feeling of uneasiness in the colony, that the English were meditating +some attempt upon them. That is one of the things that induces me to +believe the Hottentot's story. Well, the Dutch in the fourth year after +the appearance of the strangers, got together what they call a commando +in these parts--" + +"I know what that is," interposed Wilmore. "I heard my uncle talking +about it with some of the passengers. They get all the Dutchmen in the +neighbourhood together, as well as some troops from the government, and +make a raid on some unlucky Hottentot village--kill all the men, make +slaves of the women and children, seize the cattle and goods of the +natives, and burn the houses." + +"That's what you call a clean sweep," observed Nick. + +"Yes, no doubt. But it's shockingly cruel and wicked," exclaimed +Warley. "I should think you must be overstating the matter, Frank." + +"I am afraid he is not," said Lavie. "That is very much what they were +wont to do at commandos, as I had good grounds for knowing while I was +living at Cape Town. They had a great deal of provocation, no doubt. +The boors' cattle was continually being stolen, and could very seldom be +recovered. And it was next to impossible to prove the theft against any +tribe in particular--" + +"But that would not justify them in burning and shooting right and left, +without any inquiry," rejoined Warley. "I could not have believed that +any Christian people--" + +"Well, Ernest, I am inclined to go a long way with you on this subject, +though I differ somewhat," said the doctor, "but we have no time to +discuss it now. Well, the Dutch commando attacked Omatoko's village by +night and burnt it, as Frank says, to the ground. Probably all the +other results of which he spoke would have ensued, if the English had +not heard the firing, and come up to the rescue." + +"I hope they peppered the Dutchmen properly," cried Nick. + +"Well, they seem to have made a good fight of it; but the Dutchmen were +ten to one, and the Hottentots very little good. The upshot was that a +large part of the tribe escaped, and the rest, together with the +survivors of the English, surrendered themselves at discretion. Omatoko +was one of those made prisoners, and he was for eight years in the +service of a boor. He was pretty well treated; for the colony was all +that time in the hands of the English, and they wouldn't allow any +cruelties to be exercised against the slaves. But two years ago the +Cape was given back to the Dutch, and they began the old system again as +soon as they were in possession. Omatoko and one or two others made +their escape some twelve months ago; and he went back to his tribe, who +are living, he says, at no great distance from this. The Dutch, he +declares, have been trying to seize or kill him ever since--" + +"Whew!" exclaimed Nick. "What, did those Dutch beggars bury him in the +well after that fashion, then? Well, I always thought the Dutch to be +brutes, but I never could have believed--" + +"Stop that, Nick," interposed Frank. "Have you forgotten that the +Hottentot himself told us that it was the Bushmen who buried him?" + +"Oh, ay, to be sure, I had forgotten that," said Gilbert. "Go on, +doctor. Did the Dutch send a commando after him?" + +"Omatoko says that the Dutch had given up their system of commandos for +several years, and could not easily organise them again, but they +employed the Bushmen to seize any of the fugitives, and paid a large +price for every one brought in." + +"But if that is true, what made the Bushmen bury Omatoko in that way, +instead of carrying him to the Dutch to claim the reward?" asked Warley. +"I must say, Charles, that sounds very suspicious." + +"So it did to me, Ernest," said Charles; "but the Hottentot answered me, +readily enough, that the Dutch would have paid the same sum for a +runaway's head, as they would if he had been brought to them alive. He +declared that the Bushmen hated him, for having repeatedly escaped them, +and for having several times requited their outrages in kind. He said +they meant to have left him in the well, to die of cold and hunger; +after which they would have cut off his head and carried it to the +nearest Dutch village." + +"Well, that might be true, I suppose," said Wilmore. + +"Yes, I think so. The story hung well together. I could detect no flaw +in it." + +"Did you ask him whether he would act as our guide to Cape Town?" +inquired Ernest. + +"Yes, and he said he would; but we could not go the way I had proposed, +along the course of the Great Fish or Koanquip rivers. He knew them +both perfectly, so he affirmed; but neither route would be safe. We +must go still further eastward--into the Kalahari in fact--he told me." + +"What is the Kalahari?" asked Frank. + +"A vast sea of sand," said Lavie, "extending for more than four hundred +miles, from the borders of Namaqua-land to the country of the Bechuanas. +There is not, so far as I know, a single river, lake, or even fountain, +to be found in the whole region." + +"What on earth are we to go there for?" cried Gilbert. "We should soon +die of hunger or thirst, or heat!" + +"Well no, not that," said the surgeon. "A great part of the sand is +covered with dense scrub, which affords something like shade, and though +there is neither river nor pool, yet if you dig down a few feet you will +generally find a supply of water. Life may be sustained there; indeed, +tribes of Bushmen and Bechuanas are to be found in most parts of it. +But I should think it was the most miserable dwelling-place to be found +on the face of the earth." + +"Well, then, why are we to go there?" repeated Nick, irritably. + +"Omatoko says it will not be safe, for the present at all events, to +journey southward. It seems that the Dutch are expecting a new attempt +of our countrymen to seize the colony, and their fear and anger are so +greatly roused, that they would certainly imprison, and probably kill, +any Englishman who at the present juncture fell into their hands. I +really think he is likely to be right in what he says. When I left +England two months ago, there was a good deal of talk about taking +possession of the Cape Colony again." + +"But granting that we must not venture south, why need we bury ourselves +in a sandy desert?" persisted Gilbert. "Omatoko proposes to take us +some distance into Kalahari, because his tribe is at present living +there. When they were driven by the Dutch from their own homes, they +retired some few miles into the desert and built a new village, where +they have been living ever since. He promises us a friendly welcome +from his tribe, and advises us to remain with them until we can learn +what is the precise state of things between the English and Dutch. If +no attack is made by our government, the hostile feeling will gradually +subside, and we may safely pursue our way as at first proposed. If an +attack _is_ made, and the colony again taken possession of by the +British arms, we can travel to Cape Town, though it would be wise to +follow a different route. That is the substance of what Omatoko +advises." + +"And you are inclined to trust him, Charles?" said Warley, +interrogatively. + +"I am in two minds about it," replied Charles. "Part of what he says I +know to be true, and everything is consistent with truth. Still his +anxiety to get back to his own tribe is suspicious. He has let fall, +unconsciously, some hints of his burning desire to be avenged forthwith +on the enemies who had so nearly put him to a cruel death; and if he +were to conduct us to Cape Town, he would have to put off the +gratification of his revenge for many months at the least; and perhaps +before his return, the tribe he longs to punish will have moved hundreds +of miles away." + +"And what do you advise that we should do?" + +"I am inclined to follow his suggestions. If his tale is true, we +should be running into the face of the most imminent peril by following +the route I had marked out. And even if it is false, we shall probably +not be delayed very long at the Hottentot village. His measures will be +taken, I doubt not, promptly enough, and then he will be at liberty to +attend to our affairs." + +"You think, in fact, that he really means friendly by us, though he may +care more for his revenge than our convenience." + +"Just so, Ernest. His gratitude is, I believe, quite sincere." + +"Then I agree with you that we had better do as you advise. What do you +two say?" + +"I am of your opinion," said Wilmore. + +"And I don't see what else is to be done," added Gilbert. + +"That's agreed, then," said Lavie. "And now, there is another thing. +He says it won't be safe for us to sleep under these trees, even though +we light a fire, and keep it up all night. It seems that the +neighbourhood abounds with beast of prey. Indeed, if Omatoko is to be +believed there would be a considerable risk of our being devoured by a +lion or tiger--" + +"Tiger!" repeated Warley. "There are no tigers in this country surely." + +"Not the animal strictly called the tiger," returned the surgeon; "that +is not found in South Africa at all, or indeed anywhere, I believe, +except in Bengal. The beast they name the tiger here, is the leopard; +but he is quite fierce and savage enough. I should observe that the +leopard is not the only animal miscalled in this country. They talk of +the wild horse, the camel, and the wolf, as abounding here. But none of +these are to be found. What they mean are properly the zebra, the +giraffe, and the hyena. But to go on, Omatoko says we must either keep +watch, all of us, with our guns all night--" + +"I say, bother that," broke in Nick; "a fellow can't do without sleep." + +"Or else," resumed Charles; "we must climb into trees and sleep there." + +"Well, we can do that," said Frank; "that is, we four can. But how +about this Hottentot? He is in no case to climb a tree, I judge, much +less to stick in one all night." + +"And how about Lion?" added Gilbert. "He is a worse climber still, I +expect." + +"Omatoko advised us to cut down a lot of young pines that are growing in +a thicket close by, and lay them across two of the lower branches of the +largest tree we can find. There are several acacias of immense size +about here. A sort of floor will thus be formed, where we can all sleep +safely. The branches would probably be not more than six feet from the +ground, so that both the Hottentot and Lion might easily be handed up." + +"But these leopards can climb, can't they?" suggested Frank. "We should +be safe from lions or rhinoceroses no doubt, but not from leopards, or +bears either, if there are any about here." + +"I don't think any bears are to be found hereabouts. No doubt panthers +and leopards can climb trees, but remember, they could only get at us by +walking along the bough on the end of which our platform rests, or by +dropping down from a higher limb. Lion would be sure to rouse us before +they could accomplish either feat, and they would be easy victims to our +rifles." + +"That's true," said Wilmore. "Well, then, do you three fall to work on +the job, while I roast some parrots for to-morrow's breakfast." + +They began the task accordingly. The doctor took his axe; and in half +an hour had cut down a great number of stout firs about twenty feet +long, and thicker round than his arm. These were brought up by Warley +and laid across two of the lower branches of one of the giants of the +forest, forming a tolerably flat stage some nine feet square. No +fastening was required for the firs, their own weight and the shape of +the branches, which bent slightly upwards at the ends, rendering them +quite secure. Next, armfuls of dry grass and moss were handed up to +form beds for the party; and then came the more difficult task of +hoisting Omatoko to his place. This engaged the united strength of the +doctor, Warley, and Wilmore below, while Nick, standing on the platform, +received him from their hands. But the strength of the Hottentot was in +some measure restored, and he was able to render some help himself, +which greatly facilitated the job. As soon as Omatoko had been +consigned to his bed, Lion was in like manner passed up; but he was by +no means so conformable as his predecessor had been, and if anybody but +Frank had had charge of his head and shoulders, they might have found +their undertaking an unpleasant one. + +However, in process of time he was got up, and secured by a thong to one +of the poles in the centre of the platform. The guns came next, and +lastly their owners. It was quite dark before their arrangements were +completed, and before ten minutes had elapsed, the whole of the party +were fast asleep. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +DANGEROUS NEIGHBOURS--FREE AND EASY VISITORS--PROPOSED DEPARTURE-- +JOURNEY RESUMED--AN AFRICAN STORM--A NECK AND NECK STRUGGLE. + +The sun was high in the heavens before any of the party were roused from +their slumbers. Then the doctor was the first to wake up, and his +thoughts were at once turned to his patient. He was pleased to find him +in a most satisfactory condition. His skin was cool, and his pulse, +though still low, was steadily recovering its tone. As for Frank and +Ernest--they had no sooner opened their eyes, than they hurried off to +the pool, which lay two or three hundred yards off, to enjoy a +refreshing bath. They were followed shortly afterwards by Lavie and +Omatoko, the latter having contrived to descend from his bedchamber by +the help of the doctor's arm, and to walk, though very slowly, as far as +the waterside. + +Having completed their ablutions, the lads set about preparing the +breakfast; which, it was agreed, was to be eaten under the shade of the +acacias. + +"I think Omatoko must be mistaken about the wild animals," observed +Frank. "I slept as sound as a top, and so did Lion; and if there had +been any of his namesakes about, or tigers either, he would have been +pretty sure to give us notice." + +"You forget how tired we were, Frank; Lion as well as ourselves," said +the doctor. "Unless they made a very great uproar we should probably +not hear them." + +"What does Omatoko say?" suggested Warley. "Does he think there were +wild beasts about?" + +The Hottentot nodded. "One, two lion," he said, pointing to some +footprints in the short grass round the pool. "One, two lion; many +tigers; one rhinoceros." + +"Is that the spoor of a lion?" asked Warley with much interest, as he +stooped down and examined the footprints. "How can you tell it from +that of a large tiger?" + +"You may always know the spoor of a lion by the marks of the toe-nails," +said Lavie; "they turn in, whereas those of other feline animals +project. Yes, that is a lion's spoor, sure enough, and those broad deep +prints are as plainly those of a rhinoceros, and a pretty large one too. +And there are plenty of others besides, which I am not sure of. +Omatoko was certainly right. It was quite as well that we did not +bivouac by this pool." + +Breakfast was now announced, and the party gathered round the eatables, +when it was for the first time noticed that Nick was not present. + +"I suppose he is still asleep," said the surgeon. "I called to him to +come and help me to get Omatoko down, but I got nothing but an +intelligible growl at first, and then a sleepy assurance that he would +be sure to be in time for breakfast." + +"No, he is not the fellow to miss that," remarked Frank. "He must be +very sleepy indeed, before he'll go without his victuals. Depend upon +it he will be here in a minute or two." + +Half an hour however passed away, and the meal was quite completed, and +still no Nick made his appearance. + +"Go, and look after him, Frank," said the doctor, "while I consult with +Omatoko as to what ought to be done next. We can't afford to lose time, +if it should be thought better for us to move." + +Wilmore took up his gun accordingly, and walked off towards the tree +where they had slept. The dense foliage almost entirely concealed the +staging from sight: but as he drew nearer he was sensible of loud +chattering and gibbering sounds, intermixed occasionally with shrill +screams, which seemed to come from a great number of throats. Wondering +what this could mean, he made his approach as noiselessly as possible, +and climbing up to the top of one of the roots, which projected a foot +or two upwards, he peered cautiously over the edge of the platform. A +most extraordinary sight greeted him, and it was with the greatest +difficulty that he restrained himself from bursting into a loud laugh. + +Nick was seated in the middle of the stage, bareheaded and without +shoes, and was gazing upward with a look of mingled alarm and annoyance, +which seemed to the spectator of the scene irresistibly ludicrous. On +the boughs immediately over his head, as far up as Frank could descry, a +great number of baboons were to be seen, leaping from one resting-place +to another, with hideous grimaces, and keeping up incessant and most +discordant screams. The grotesqueness of their appearance was much +increased by their having taken possession of such of Nick's property as +they had been able to lay their paws on. One wore the blue cloth cap, +with the leather peak and white edging, which was a souvenir of Dr +Staines's establishment. Two more had possessed themselves, each of one +of his shoes, which he had laid aside when he went to sleep; and were +turning them over with an air of grave curiosity, as if to discover what +their use might be. Another party had seized the knapsack, which had +been pulled from under Nick's head before he was fully awake. The +contents had been divided between several old baboons, who had turned +the various articles to all sort of strange uses. One was scratching +his ear with Gilbert's pipe; another had thrust its head into a +stocking, and appeared to have some difficulty in getting it out again; +a third was enveloped from head to foot in a cotton shirt, his head +showing itself just above the collar; while a fourth was examining the +contents of the flask, which it had contrived partially to open, and was +making hideous faces over the taste of the gunpowder, of which it had +swallowed a good spoonful. Nick had fortunately awoke in time to +prevent the baboons from seizing his knife or gun. He now held the +latter with a strong grip in both hands, and seemed disposed to +discharge its contents at one of his assailants, if he could only make +up his mind which to single out for attack. + +"Don't fire, Nick," exclaimed Wilmore, as he noticed Gilbert's +demeanour. "You'd enrage them greatly, if you were to wound or kill any +of them. They have been known to tear a fellow to pieces, who shot one +of their number. They're terribly fierce and strong, if they are +provoked." + +"What am I to do, then?" returned Gilbert. "They've not only carried +off my knapsack and pipe, but my hat and shoes too; and I can't venture +to walk a step in these parts without them." + +"The best way will be to scare them away," suggested Wilmore, "if we +could think of any way of doing it." + +"I'll tell you," cried Nick, catching a sudden inspiration. "Do you +climb up into the tree on the other side. The leaves are so thick that +these brutes won't see you, and the branches are easy enough to climb. +When you're well up over their heads, let fly with your gun. I'll do +the same the moment afterwards, and between the two reports they'll be +so scared, I expect, that they'll cut for it straightway." + +"Very well," said Frank, laughing, "I've no objection. We can but try, +any way." He carefully uncocked his gun, and began mounting the +branches as quietly as possible, while Nick distracted the attention of +the monkeys, by shaking his fist at them, and pelting them with +fragments of bark. Presently there came the double explosion, which +fully answered his expectations. Uttering a Babel of discordant +screams, they dropped their recently acquired treasures, and made off at +the top of their speed, bounding from tree to tree till they were lost +in the distance. Nick set himself to collect the various articles thus +restored, and had nearly repossessed himself of all of them, when Frank +descended from his elevation and joined him on the platform. + +"You get into scrapes, Nick, more than most," he said, "but you've a +wonderful knack of getting out of them again, that's certain. Well, +come along, if you've got everything. The doctor is anxious to start, +if this Hottentot chap will let us, and you've still your breakfast to +get." + +"The Hottentot let us start this morning!" repeated Gilbert. "Not if +he's to go with us himself, to be sure! To look at him last night, he +wouldn't be fit to walk again this side of Christmas. Perhaps he +expects us to carry him, as we did yesterday--do you really think that, +Frank?" continued Gilbert, stopping short, and eyeing his companion with +an expression of much dismay. + +"No, I don't," returned Wilmore, again bursting into a laugh; "and if he +did expect it, he'd find his expectations deceive him considerably. +That's what _I_ expect, at all events." + +"Well, here we are," said Nick, a minute or two afterwards, as they +reached the post. "Well, doctor, I'm sorry to be late, but Frank will +tell you that I have been in the hands of the swell mob, and have only +just contrived to escape them." + +The doctor looked puzzled, but he had no time for explanations. "Eat +your breakfast, Gilbert," he said, "while we settle what is to be done +to-day. I suppose we are all agreed that it won't do for us to stop +here longer than we can help. Now Omatoko is not able to travel very +far, but he could walk a few miles if he went very slowly and had a rest +every now and then. He thinks so himself, and wishes to start at once." + +"We could give him an arm by turns, if that was all; but the question +is, Charles, could we reach any good halting-place?" suggested Warley. + +"That's just it, Ernest," returned Charles. "Omatoko says that about +four or five miles from this there is a place where we could stay two or +three days, if necessary, and find plenty of food and water. It is a +ruined kraal--destroyed by the Dutch, he says, many years ago, but some +of the cottages are still in sufficient repair to shelter us." + +"Why shouldn't we stay here?" asked Nick, with his mouth full of parrot. +"This is a jolly place enough--fresh water, lots of melons and parrots, +and they're both of them capital eating. And a comfortable +sleeping-place. If we must make a halt anywhere, why not here? It's a +capital place, I think, except for the baboons," he muttered in a lower +tone, as the recollection of his recent adventure suddenly occurred to +him. + +"Why shouldn't we stay here?" repeated Lavie. "Well, I'll tell you, +Gilbert. It isn't so much the wild beasts--though a place which every +night is full of lions, rhinoceroses, and leopards doesn't exactly suit +anybody but a professed hunter--but there is the fear of the Bushmen +returning to cut off Omatoko's head, whom they will expect to find dead. +And if they find him alive, it is most probable that they will do both +him and us some deadly mischief. And they may be looked for to-day, or +to-morrow, certainly. Besides--" + +"There's no need to say any more, I am sure," broke in Gilbert. "I +didn't think of the Bushmen. Let us be off at once, I say. I'd rather +carry the Hottentot on my shoulders than stay here to be murdered, +probably, by those savages!" + +"Well, I own I think the return of the Bushmen quite enough by itself," +said the surgeon; "but I ought to add that Omatoko thinks the weather is +going to change, and there is likely before long to be a violent storm. +None of you have had much experience of what an African storm is like. +But I have had quite as much as I desire, and do not wish to encounter +it, without a roof of some kind over my head! Well, then, if we are all +ready, let us set out at once." + +The grove and pool were soon left behind. Omatoko stepped out +valiantly, sometimes leaning on Lavie's or Warley's shoulder, and +sitting down to rest, whenever a thicket of trees afforded a sufficient +close screen to hide the party from sight. They noticed that before +leaving any of these coverts, he anxiously scrutinised the horizon +towards the north, and once or twice requested the boys to climb the +highest tree they could find, and report whether anything was visible in +the distance. + +His strength and confidence alike seemed to improve as the day advanced. +About twelve o'clock they made what was to be their long halt, in a +patch of scrub which sprung apparently out of the barren sand, though +there was neither spring nor pond anywhere to be seen, nor even any +appearance of moisture. They had progressed about four miles in +something less than five hours, and were now, Omatoko told them, hardly +a mile from their destination. He pointed it out indeed in the +distance--a rocky eminence, with a patch of trees and grass lying close +to it. But the party had not been seated for ten minutes, and were +still engaged in devouring the melons they had brought with them, when +their guide again rose and advised their immediately resuming their +journey. + +"What, go on at once?" exclaimed Gilbert. "Why, what is that for? I am +just beginning to get cool--that is, as cool as ever I expect to be +again. If we have only a mile to go, we had surely better walk it in +the cool of the evening than under this broiling sun." + +"Must not wait," said Omatoko. "Storm come soon--not able go at all." + +"The storm! Do you see any signs of one, doctor? I don't." + +"Yes, I see signs; but I own I should not have thought it would break +out for some hours. But the changes of the atmosphere are wonderfully +rapid in this country, and I have no doubt the Hottentot is right. Will +it be on us in another hour, Omatoko?" + +"Perhaps half an hour, perhaps three-quarters," was the answer. + +"Half an hour! We must be off this minute, and move as fast as we can. +Here, Frank, Ernest--hoist Omatoko on to my shoulders; I can carry him +for a quarter of a mile, any way, and that will be ten minutes saved." + +"And I'll take him as far as I can, when you've done with him," added +Warley, "and so, I doubt not, will the others. Lift him up. There, +that's right. Now step out as fast as we can." + +By the time that the doctor's "quarter of a mile," as it was called-- +though it was in reality nearly twice that distance--was completed, the +signs of the approaching hurricane began to gather so fast, that even +the most unobservant must have perceived them. The clouds came rapidly +up, and gradually hid the rich blue of the sky. The light breeze which +had stirred the foliage of the few trees which rose above the level of +the scrub, gradually died away, and a dead, ominous calm succeeded. +Warley, to whose back the sick man had now been transferred, hurried on +with all the speed he could command, and rapid way was made. Every +minute they expected the rain to burst forth. The black clouds which +hid the horizon, every other minute seemed to be split open, and forked +flashes of fire issued from them. Presently there came a furious rush +of wind, almost icy cold--the immediate precursor of the outburst. + +"We close by now," exclaimed Omatoko, as he was transferred from +Ernest's shoulders to those of Frank. "Not hundred yards off. Turn +round tall rock by pool there. Kraal little further on." + +They all ran as fast as their exhausted limbs would allow. The corner +was attained, and there, sure enough, some forty or fifty yards further, +were the ruins of a number of mud cottages thatched with reed. They +were, for the most part, mere ruins. The walls had been broken down, +the thatch scattered to the four winds. Some one or two, which had +stood in the background, immediately under the shelter of a limestone +precipice, had retained their walls, and some portions of the thatch +unhurt. But one hut only, which stood in a corner under a sloping +shelf, presented the spectacle of a roof still firm and whole. Frank +hurried along the narrow defile leading to this cottage, putting out all +strength to reach it. He was only a few yards from it, when the tempest +at last broke forth in all its fury. The wind swept down with a force, +which on the open plain no man or horse would have been able to stand +against. The hail, or rather the large lumps of ice into which the rain +was frozen, rattled against the rocks like cannon balls against the +walls of a besieged fortress, and the sky grew so dark, that it was with +difficulty that the travellers could discern each other's features. But +they had reached the friendly shelter of the cottage, and that was +everything. For two hours the fury of the elements beggared all +description. The rain, which after a quarter of an hour or so had +succeeded the hail, seemed to descend in one great sheet of water, +converting the path along which they had travelled not half an hour +before, into a foaming torrent, bearing trees and stones before it. One +flash of lightning succeeded another so rapidly that the light inside +the cottage was almost continuous. Lavie looked several times anxiously +at the thatch overhead, which could not have resisted the deluge +incessantly poured upon it, if it had not been for the shelving rocks +which nearly formed a second roof above it. As it was, not a drop +penetrated, and when the raging of the wind and the deluge of rain at +last subsided, not one of the party had sustained any injury. + +The Hottentot had been laid on a heap of reeds which blocked up one +corner of the hut, having been driven in there apparently at one time or +another by the wind. He had been at first somewhat exhausted by the +speed at which he had been carried for the last half mile or so, but he +seemed quite restored before the storm had ceased. He now directed the +boys to go out and gather some wild medlars, which he had noticed +growing on a tree at no great distance from the rocky defile where they +had turned aside from the main path, declaring them to be excellent +eating. He also requested them to bring him a straight branch, about +three feet long, from a particular tree which he described, and a dozen +stout reeds from the edge of the pool. Out of these he intended, he +said, to make a bow and arrows, by means of which he would soon provide +the party with all the food they would require. + +"Three feet long?" repeated Gilbert. "You mean six, I suppose." + +"No, he doesn't," said the doctor, who had overheard the request. "The +bows of all these tribes are not more than three feet in length. I have +seen several of them. It is wonderful to see with what force and +accuracy they discharge their arrows, considering the material of which +they are made. I had better go with you, I think. I know exactly the +tree and the size of the bough required." + +Lavie, Wilmore, and Gilbert accordingly set out, leaving Warley to +attend to Omatoko, and make the hut as comfortable as he could for a two +days' halt there. Lion also remained behind. As soon as his companions +were gone Ernest set about his task. + +"There are no chairs or tables to be had in these parts," he thought. +"We must sit on the ground when we do sit, and take our meals off the +ground, when we take them. All that can be done is to strew the floor +with rushes and grass, which will do also for beds at night I suppose +everything outside is soaking wet, and won't be dry enough for our +purpose until it has had a good baking sun upon it for several hours. +But the stuff we found in here was quite dry, and perhaps there may be +some like it in the other huts. If not, I shall have to cut some from +the edge of the pool, I suppose, and lay it out to dry." + +He took Lavie's hatchet, and went into the nearest hut, the roof of +which had been broken in in one or two places, but was still tolerably +sound. He saw, as he stepped through the doorway, that he had not been +mistaken about the reeds. A large heap had been lodged in one corner by +the wind, and seemed to be quite dry. He stepped forward, and laying +down his hatchet, gathered up a large armful. In so doing, he trod upon +what appeared to be the end of a log: but his foot had no sooner touched +it, than it was drawn away from under him, and a sharp hiss warned him +that he had disturbed some enemy. At the same instant he felt a strong +pressure round his legs and waist, and perceived that he was enveloped +in the coils of a large serpent, which was rapidly winding itself round +his chest. A moment afterwards, the flat diamond-shaped head came in +sight, the eyes glaring fiercely at him, and the slaver dropping from +the open jaws. Ernest's arms were happily free, and he availed himself +of the circumstance with the cool promptitude of his character. He +glanced for a moment at the hatchet lying on the ground a few feet off; +but he felt that it would be impossible for him to stoop to pick it up. +It must be a struggle of muscle against muscle. Thrusting out his right +hand, he grasped the snake by the neck, at the same time shouting aloud +for help. The creature no sooner felt its antagonist's grasp, than it +turned its head, endeavouring to bite. Finding itself unable to seize +Ernest's hand, it drew in its folds, aiming at his face. The lad in an +instant found that his muscular power was not nearly equal to that of +his enemy. He seized hold of his right wrist with his other hand, +throwing the whole power of his frame into the effort, but in vain. +Slowly, inch by inch, his sinews were compelled to yield. Inch by inch +the horrid fangs came nearer and nearer to his face. With the strength +of despair he contrived to keep the reptile at bay for a few minutes +longer; but his powers were fast failing him, and he expected every +moment to feel the sharp teeth lacerating his flesh. Suddenly a shock +seemed to be communicated to the monster's frame. The terrible grip of +the folds relaxed, and the threatening head drooped lax and powerless. +Ernest cast his eyes downwards, and perceived that the mastiff had +seized the tail in his strong jaws, and had almost bitten it in two. +The muscular force of the serpent was paralysed by the wound, and Ernest +had no difficulty in disengaging himself from the folds, and flinging +them--a helpless and writhing mass--on the ground. Then, catching up +the hatchet, he struck off the head, just as Omatoko hobbled up, leaning +on a stick, from the adjoining hut. + +"Very big snake," was his comment, "bad poison too. Lucky him no bite +white boy, or him dead for certain. Lucky, too, big dog near at hand. +Never see bigger snake than that. Him seventeen--eighteen foot long! +Big dog just come in time, and that all!" + +Meanwhile Warley, who had partially recovered his senses, after bathing +his face and hands in the fresh water, was returning heartfelt thanks to +Heaven for his narrow and wonderful deliverance from the most dreadful +death which the imagination of man can picture. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +MEASURING THE ENEMY--POISONED ARROWS--SUBSTITUTES FOR WATER--OSTRICHES-- +A SAD CASUALTY--A NEW MODE OF DEERSTALKING--OMATOKO TRIUMPHANT. + +Warley was still resting, half sitting, half kneeling, on a large stone +by the side of the pool, when the sound of voices was heard, and Lavie +came up, accompanied by the two boys. They were all evidently in high +spirits. The doctor carried over his shoulder the carcass of a goat, +which was large and heavy enough to give him plenty of trouble; and +Wilmore and Nick each led a young kid by an extempore halter of rushes. +The pockets of all three were distended by a goodly heap of wild +medlars, which, in accordance with Omatoko's suggestion, they had +gathered, and which they had found extremely refreshing. + +"Hallo, Omatoko!" shouted Gilbert as they approached the pool. "Just +come here and take charge of this chap, will you? You are more used to +this kind of thing than I am. He has done nothing but attempt to bolt +the whole way home. I suppose we must eat up the old lady first, +otherwise I should suggest that this fellow should be roasted for +supper, if only to make sure that he won't run away again." + +The Hottentot came out from the hut as he spoke. "One, two, three +goat," he said, "dat good, plenty food, all time we stay here." + +"Ay, ay," said Nick, "they say it is an ill wind that blows no one good; +and the hurricane we had an hour or two ago, is, I suppose, a case in +point. Any way, it was obliging enough to blow down a big tree, which +fell upon the goat there, and finished her outright. She's a trifle old +and tough, I expect; but she'll make first-rate mulligatawney soup +nevertheless; and there will be her two kids, as tender as spring lamb, +into the bargain. It makes one's mouth water to think of them. And, +then, there's those medlars--but, hallo! I say, Ernest, what is the +matter? Why, you look as pale and weak as if you were just recovering +from a typhus fever. What's befallen you?" + +"I have had a very narrow escape from a most terrible death, Nick," +returned Warley, gravely, "and my nerves haven't got over it." + +"Hallo! what?" again exclaimed Gilbert. "Escape from death, do you say? +Why, what has happened?" + +"Just go in there--into that hut to the right, and you'll see," was the +answer. + +Lavie and Wilmore had by this time learned the main outline of what had +occurred, from the Hottentot, and they all went into the cottage to +examine the remains of the great snake. + +"A proper brute, that," observed Gilbert, as they stood by the side of +the reptile, which had by this time ceased to wriggle. "That is the +biggest snake I ever came across. There's his head gone, and a bit of +his tail; but I don't think what remains can be less than twenty feet. +Lion, old fellow," he continued, caressing the dog while Frank patted +his head, "you did that well, and shall have a first-chop supper." + +"We can ascertain its length exactly," said Lavie; "I have got a yard +measure here; and here too is the remainder of the tail. Stretch the +body straight out, Frank, and I'll soon tell you the measurement." + +The serpent was accordingly measured, and was found to be some inches +more than nineteen feet long. + +"What kind of snake is it?" asked Frank, when this point had been +determined. + +"A python, or boa-constrictor, no doubt," answered the surgeon; "they +give them other names in these parts, but that is the creature. No +other description of serpents that I ever heard of attempts to crush up +its prey by muscular pressure." + +"But serpents which do that are seldom or never venomous, are they?" +inquired Wilmore. + +"I believe not," answered Lavie, "but that point has been disputed. +Omatoko calls the reptile an `ondara,' and insists upon it that its bite +is not only poisonous, but causes certain death. It may be so. It is +evident that it would have bitten Ernest if it could; and serpents that +are devoid of venom do not often bite. Well, I suppose now that we have +done measuring the snake, we may throw him away. The Hottentots, I +believe, eat their flesh. But I conclude none of us have any great +inclination to make our dinner off him." + +"No, thank you, sir," said Frank, "not for me." + +"Nor for me either, doctor," cried Nick. "I think I'd rather go without +food for a week. Here, Ernest, old fellow--you had better go and lie +down a bit. You look as if you were having it out with the python +still." + +Warley was too unwell to rejoin the party all that day and the next. +The shock he had undergone was a very severe one; and would in all +likelihood have prostrated any one of his companions for a far longer +period. He lay under the shade of the trees on the soft grass the whole +day, neither speaking himself nor heeding the remarks of others. Always +inclined to be serious and thoughtful, this incident had had the effect +of turning his mind to subjects for which his light-hearted companions +had little relish, and which Lavie himself could hardly follow. Even +when he resumed the old round of occupations, as he did in the course of +the third day, Frank and Nick noticed a change in him, which they could +not understand. + +Meanwhile Omatoko's bow and arrows proceeded rapidly, and were completed +on the morning of the third day. Their construction was a great puzzle +to the English lads. The bow was a little less than three feet long, +and perhaps three-quarters of an inch thick--neatly enough shaped, and +rounded off, but looking little better than a child's toy. Omatoko had +strung it with some sinew from the carcass of the goat. He had looped +this over the upper end of the bow, and rolled it round the other in +such a fashion that by merely twisting the string like a tourniquet, it +might be strung to any degree of tension. The arrows too were wholly +different from any they had ever seen. The strong reeds brought from +the edge of the water had been cut off in lengths of about two feet. At +one end the notch was inserted; to the other a movable head, made of +bone, was attached, which stuck fast enough to the shaft during its +flight through the air, but which became detached from it as soon as it +was fixed in the body of any animal. These bone-heads, Omatoko told +them, were always dipped in some poison, which caused even a slight +puncture made by them to be fatal. The entrails of the kaa, or poison +grub, were considered the most efficient for this purpose; but this was +not to be met with at all times or in all places, and the juice of the +euphorbia or the venom of serpents was sometimes substituted. In the +present instance he meant to steep the bone-heads in the poison of the +ondara, which he had carefully preserved. Omatoko assured them that +when they set out for his village (as they probably would on the +following day), they would soon have an opportunity of testing the +efficiency of his weapons, and laughingly challenged them to a trial of +skill between his bow and arrows and their guns. + +On the following morning accordingly they resumed their route. Each of +them carried some of the flesh of the kids, a dozen medlars, and a +melon. It was found that the strength of the Hottentot was now so far +restored that he could keep up with the usual pace at which the others +walked, and only required a rest of half an hour or so, every two or +three miles. They accomplished about a dozen miles that day; and at +nightfall had reached a wide stony plain, covered here and there with +patches of grass, but entirely destitute of shrub or tree. Omatoko +pointed out a place where a deep projecting slab of rock, resting on two +enormous stones, and bearing a rude resemblance to a giant's +chimney-piece, afforded as convenient a shelter for the night as might +be desired. It would effectually protect the party from rain and wind, +nor was there the least fear of wild animals, as none were ever known to +come within two or three miles of the spot, there being neither +pasturage nor water. + +"No water," repeated Frank, "that's rather a doubtful advantage, isn't +it? What are we to drink, I wonder?" + +The Hottentot only grinned in reply; and disengaging the knife which +always hung at Nick's girdle, began grubbing in the ground among the +stones. In a few minutes he dug up several round, or rather spherical +roots, two or three feet in circumference. These he cut open with the +knife, displaying the inside, which had a white appearance, and was soft +and pulpy. The boys had no sooner applied this to their lips than they +broke out into exclamations of delight. "That's your sort," exclaimed +Nick; "it's like a delicious melon, only it's twice as refreshing." + +"Omatoko, you're a trump," cried Frank. "You'd make a fortune, if you +could only sell these in Covent Garden market. Nobody that could get +them would ever drink water again." + +"What are they called, Charles," asked Warley. "Are they to be met with +elsewhere in South Africa, or only here?" + +"The root is called the `markwhae,' I believe," answered the doctor, +"and it is to be found in almost every neighbourhood where there is a +want of water. It is another of those wonderful provisions of Divine +Wisdom for the wants of its creatures, with which this land abounds. In +some parts, such of the wild animals as are herbivorous, are continually +digging up and devouring these roots. Vangelt told me that he once came +upon a tribe of Hottentots which subsisted entirely without water, the +succulent plants supplying even the cattle with sufficient liquid." + +"Well, that is very wonderful," said Frank. "I declare I feel more +refreshed by that one root, than if I had drunk a pailful of water. Are +there any more of these roots on the way to your village, Omatoko?" + +"Omatoko's village, one, two days away. No roots, plenty water," +returned the Hottentot. "Well, that will do as well, I suppose. But +this is a thing worth knowing, if one should find one's self in a place +where there is no water." + +The next day at sunrise they resumed their way, and made their mid-day +halt on the skirts of a dense growth of mingled aloes and underwood, +which was scarcely anywhere more than five feet in height. Here they +sat down by the side of a spring, which gushed forth from a limestone +rock into a small natural basin, whence it spread itself in all +directions, sustaining a rich emerald carpet for a few feet round, but +soon disappearing in the sand. + +"Plenty of visitors here at night," remarked Warley, gazing curiously +round him on the numerous footmarks of all shapes and sizes, with which +the borders of the spring were indented. "It must be a curious sight to +witness such an _omnium gatherum_. Only I suppose the more timid +animals make sure that the lions and leopards are well out of the way, +before they venture here themselves." + +"Of what creature is that the spoor?" asked Frank, pointing to a broad, +deep mark, much larger than the rest. "That is the track of some beast +which I do not recognise." + +"It is not the track of a beast," said the surgeon. "Unless I am +mistaken, that is the spoor of the ostrich--is it not, Omatoko?" + +"Ya, ostrich--plenty 'bout here. See yonder." He pointed as he spoke +to a distant part of the bush, where the heads of a troop of ostriches +might be seen as they stalked easily along, browsing as they went. + +"Eh, ostriches! You don't mean it," exclaimed Frank, starting up in +great excitement. "I never saw an ostrich. I want to see one beyond +anything! Couldn't we shoot one, Charles? Are they quite out of shot?" + +"Much too far to make it worth while trying," said Lavie. "But we might +bring one or two down by a stratagem, perhaps. If you four spread +yourselves in all directions to the right yonder, and drive them this +way, I could hide behind the rock there and bring one down as they went +past. Couldn't that be managed, Omatoko?" + +"One, two, three, four drive ostrich this way. Omatoko kill one, two-- +with bow and arrow. Omatoko no miss." + +"What, do you think your bow and arrow better than Charles's rifle?" +exclaimed Nick; "well, that is coming it strong, anyhow." + +"I tell you what," said Warley, "this will be a famous opportunity for +you to have the match out for which you were so anxious the other day. +You and Charles shall both hide behind the rock there, and Frank, Nick, +and myself will fetch a compass and drive the ostriches past you. Then +we shall see which will take the longest and truest shot. What do you +say, Charles?" + +"I have no objection, I am sure," said Lavie, laughing; "only I hope the +trial won't go against me. It would be most ignominious to be beaten by +a bow and arrows. I should never hear the last of it, I expect!" + +"Don't be afraid, Charles, there's no fear of that," returned Warley, +reciprocating the laugh. "Well, now let us be off. If you'll take the +right side, Nick, and you, Frank, the left, I'll take the middle, and +we'll come upon them all together. Lion had better stay here." + +The three lads set out accordingly, creeping noiselessly through the +cover of the scrub, at a distance too far for even the quick-eared +ostriches to perceive them, until they had all attained their appointed +places. Then they advanced on the birds, shouting and hallooing, and +waving sticks over their heads. + +The ostriches instantly took to flight after their fashion, skimming +along with expanded wings, and covering twelve or fourteen feet at every +stride. They passed the rock behind which the two marksmen were +concealed, at a speed which would have far outstripped the swiftest +racehorse at Newmarket. But as they darted by, there came the crack of +the doctor's rifle, and at the same moment Omatoko's arrow leaped from +his bow. Both missiles hit their mark, but with a different result. +Charles's bullet struck the bird he aimed at just under the wing; the +shot was mortal, and the ostrich staggering forward a few paces fell +dead to the ground Omatoko's arrow pierced his quarry through the neck, +and the barbed point remained in the wound, rendering death equally +certain, but not so speedy. Perceiving that the ostrich did not fall, +Lion sprang after it, heedless of the doctor's order to him to return, +and a sharp chase began. The ostrich would speedily have distanced its +pursuer, if it had not been for the pain and exhaustion of the wound it +had received, and the effect of the poison, which had now begun to work. +The dog soon began to gain ground, and presently came up with the +fugitive; which turned to bay at last in the agony of its rage and fear. +Lion had never been trained for the chase of the ostrich, which can +only be approached with safety from behind. As he came bounding up, the +bird kicked at him, throwing its leg forward as a man does, and with +such tremendous force that the mastiff fell to the ground on the +instant, bleeding and stunned, if not dead. Then the wounded bird +staggered away into the scrub, its strength and courage giving way more +and more every moment. + +The boys had no time to congratulate their friend on his victory, or +even to examine the fallen ostrich. Their thoughts were wholly occupied +with the disaster which had befallen Lion. + +"Lion, Lion, dear old boy, how could you be so foolish?" exclaimed +Frank, as he picked up the bleeding and insensible body of his +favourite. "I am afraid he's killed. That kick would have finished a +horse, let alone a dog. What fearful strength those creatures must +have! Oh, Lion, Lion, my poor old fellow! I'd rather have broken my +leg any day than lost you." + +"Let me take a look at him," said Lavie, who had now come up. "All +depends on where the ostrich's foot struck him. No, I don't think he's +killed, Frank," he added presently, after feeling the animal all over. +"There are a couple of ribs broken, and a large bruise in the side, but +that seems to be the extent of the casualty. I'll set the ribs, and he +must keep quiet for some days, and then I expect he'll be right again." + +"Oh, I am so glad," said Wilmore. "Yes, you're right, Charles," he +continued, as the dog opened its eyes again and attempted to get up, but +fell back on the grass with a low moan of pain. "Never mind, Lion, +we'll nurse you through it, old chap, won't we?" + +"Relieve each other in alternate watches, change bandages, and apply +fresh lotion every three hours," suggested Nick. "But with all possible +respect for Lion, how are we to do that? Where are the bandages, and +where the lotion? Nay, where is the hospital bed to which the patient +is to be consigned?" + +"Omatoko must put up a hut, and we must stay here until Lion can go with +us," said Wilmore gruffly. "If we could wait three days for a pagan +Hottentot, we may wait as many, surely, for a Christian dog!" + +"I don't think you'll get Omatoko to stay here for all the dogs that +ever were whelped," said Nick. "He's in too much of a hurry to put salt +on the tails of those Bushmen." + +"He must stay, and he shall!" returned Wilmore angrily; "I won't have +the dog thrown over. We are four, and he is only one. Stay he shall, I +say." + +"Gently, Frank," said the doctor. "I'm against throwing Lion over as +much as you are, but I don't see how we can stay here. The dog won't be +fit to walk--no, not a hundred yards--for this fortnight, and it would +probably kill him, if he attempted it." + +"What's to be done, then?" rejoined Frank shortly. + +"Do as we did with Omatoko. Make a litter and carry him to the +Hottentot kraal. It is not more than seven or eight miles, and we can +relieve one another. Luckily he is not such a weight as Omatoko. I +suppose that will satisfy you, won't it?" + +"Yes, of course, Charles," said Wilmore. "It is very kind of you. I am +afraid I was rather cross, wasn't I? but you see--" + +"All right, old fellow, I know you're fond of Lion; so we all are, +though perhaps not _so_ fond. Do you go and cut some of the osiers +there, Omatoko will soon make them into a basket, large enough to hold +the dog, and we'll carry it on a pole slung across our shoulders. +Meanwhile I'll dress the old fellow's wounds." + +Omatoko proved to be as skilful a basket-maker as Lavie had predicted; +and the party were making preparations for a start, when the Hottentot, +who had just returned from the osier bed with a last supply of twigs, +announced that there was a herd of noble koodoos about half a mile off, +feeding on a patch of sweet grass. They were rare in that part of the +country, and the best of eating. "Suppose we kill two, three, four of +them; my people like them much. They come fetch them." + +"Two, three, or four," exclaimed Frank--"who is going to do that? Why, +these koodoos, if I have been told rightly, are the shyest of all the +boks, and won't let any one come near them. We might possibly get one +shot, but certainly not more." + +"Me do it," said the Hottentot; "no want help; white boy only sit +still." + +There seemed no reason for refusing his request, and the boys, laying +aside the various articles with which they had loaded themselves, +watched his proceedings with a good deal of interest. He first took the +knife, and going to the spot where the body of the ostrich was lying, +passed it round the creature's throat and under the wings, severing +these parts from the rest of the carcass. He then slit open the long +neck from top to bottom, removed the bones and flesh, and introduced in +their place a strong stick, over which he neatly sewed up the skin +again. He then cleared away in like manner the blood and the fat from +the back and wings, and sewed another pad of skin under them. These +preparations took a considerable time; but Omatoko assured the +lookers-on that there was little fear of the koodoos leaving their +present pasture for several hours to come at the least, unless they +should be molested. + +The Hottentot had now nearly done his work; his last act was to gather +up in his hand some light-tinted earth, which was nearly of the same +colour as an ostrich's legs, and dipping it in water, besmeared his own +supporters with it. Then taking his bow and arrows in one hand, and the +back and neck of the slain bird in the other, he crept down into the +bush. Presently the boys saw the figure of an ostrich appear above the +shrubs and stalk leisurely along, pecking at the herbage right and left, +as it advanced. + +"That can't be Omatoko, to be sure," cried Frank in amazement; "that's a +real ostrich! Where can he be hiding?" + +"He is waiting for the others," said Warley. "See yonder, the whole +flock are returning. Omatoko will no doubt slip in among them. We +shall distinguish him, if we watch narrowly." + +It seemed as if Ernest was right. The ostriches came straggling back +through the bush, and the one they had noticed first lingered about till +they had overtaken him, when he accompanied them as they strayed on +towards the koodoos. + +"Do you see Omatoko?" asked Nick, as the ostriches and boks became +mingled together. + +"No, I don't," said Frank, "He can't have come out yet. He is biding +his time, I expect." + +At this moment there came a faint sound like the distant twanging of a +bow, and one of the boks was seen to fall. The herd started and looked +suspiciously round them; and the ostriches seemed to share their +uneasiness. But there was no enemy in sight, and after a few minutes of +anxious hesitation, they recommenced browsing. A second twang was +succeeded by a second fall, and the boks again tossed their heads and +snuffed the air, prepared for immediate flight. They still lingered, +however, until the overthrow of a third of their number effectually +roused them. They bounded off at their utmost speed, but not before a +fourth shaft had laid one of the fugitives low. Then the lads, full of +astonishment and admiration, came racing up, and Omatoko, throwing off +his disguise, exclaimed exultingly-- + +"Two, three, four; Omatoko said `four.' White boy believe Omatoko now!" + +"He has you there, Frank," said Nick, laughing; "but I must own I could +not have believed it possible, if I had not seen it." + +"Live and learn," said Lavie. "I had seen it before, or I might have +been of your mind. Well, Omatoko, what now? We have stayed so long +that. We shan't be able to reach your village to-night, if we carry the +dog." + +"Omatoko go alone. He bring men to-morrow; carry koodoo, dog and all." + +"Very good," said the doctor, "and we'll camp here. That will suit us +all." + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +A HOTTENTOT KRAAL--THE HOTTENTOT CHIEF--UMBOO'S MESSAGE--NEWS FROM CAPE +TOWN--THE HOTTENTOT PROGRAMME--LEARNED SPECULATIONS. + +The sun had hardly risen on the following morning when the quarters +where they had bivouacked were surrounded by a bevy of dark skins, whose +curiosity to see the strangers was at least equal to that of the boys to +see them. The latter were bewildered by the multitude of small +copper-coloured men by whom they were environed, their thin faces, small +sunken eyes wide apart from one another, thick lips, and flat noses, +rendering them objects as hideous in European eyes as could well be +imagined. Their conversation too--for they talked rapidly and +incessantly among themselves--sounded the strangest Babel that ever was +poured into civilised ears. It resembled the continued chattering of +teeth, the tongue being continually struck against the jaws or palate; +and for a long time the lads almost believed that the men were simply +gibbering, like monkeys, at one another. Omatoko, however, who was +either a personage of real authority in his tribe, or felt himself +entitled to assume authority under the circumstances of the case, soon +convinced them that his countrymen understood the orders which he gave +them, and were, moreover, ready to obey him. At his command two of them +took on their shoulders the basket, in which Lion had been carefully +laid on a heap of dried grass, and trotted nimbly off with it; Frank, +who had witnessed the manoeuvre, running by the side, and steadying the +litter with his hand, whenever any piece of rough ground had to be +traversed. + +This part of the work despatched, Omatoko next went down to the place +where the carcasses of the koodoos had been carefully protected from +vultures and hyenas by a heap of logs laid over them. Committing each +koodoo to the care of three or four, whom he chose out of the throng for +the purpose, he sent them after the others. Then he himself, +accompanied by his nephew, whom he introduced by the name of "Toboo," +and the son of the chief, whom he addressed as "Kalambo," prepared to +set out on the journey, as a guard of honour to the Englishmen. + +In about two hours' time they arrived at the kraal, where the chief, +Umboo, was expecting them; and the three lads, who had been on the look +out for something entirely different to all that they had ever beheld +before, were, for once, not disappointed. + +The village was built in the shape of a perfect oval, each cottage +approaching its next neighbour so nearly as only to allow room for +passing to and fro; and on the outer side of the ellipse were enclosures +for the cattle. The boys were somewhat surprised at this arrangement, +having been prepared to find the oxen pastured in the space enclosed by +the huts, where they would have been safe from attack until the men had +been overpowered. But they learned afterwards that the Hottentots +rather desired that the cattle should protect them, than they the +cattle. In the event of an attack from an enemy, the latter would, it +was reckoned, be unwilling to destroy the sheep and oxen--the latter, +indeed, being in general the booty which had been the inciting cause of +the attack--and thus time was gained, and the enemy taken at a +disadvantage. + +The houses themselves were circular, composed of wicker-work overlaid +with matting; this latter being woven out of rushes, and further sewn +with the fibre of the mimosa. The mats supplied a twofold want. They +readily admitted the passage of air, and so secured good ventilation; +and they were of a texture so porous that rain only caused them to close +tighter, and so rendered them waterproof. Our travellers had already +had satisfactory evidence of their efficiency in this respect during +their three days' halt in the rocky defile. Like all other huts +belonging to savages in these regions, they had only one opening, which +served as door, window, and chimney. + +The boys had only time for a very cursory survey of these particulars, +when they were hurried into the dwelling of Umboo the chief of the +tribe, who, they were told, was impatiently expecting them. Without +waiting therefore to wash or cool themselves, or change any part of +their dress, they passed into the royal hut, as it might be termed; +though, on examination, it was not found to be materially different from +those around it. + +It was larger, certainly, and perhaps a foot higher, the ordinary huts +not being more than five feet in height. The floor was strewn with +karosses, on one of which the great Umboo was sitting when they entered. +In the background several of his wives--he was said to have nearly a +dozen--were sitting; mostly young, well-shaped women, though their +figures were almost concealed from sight by numberless necklaces, +girdles, armlets, and anklets, ornamented after a strange and bizarre +fashion with shells, tigers' teeth, polished stones, and metal spangles +of all shapes and sizes--obtained doubtless from tradings with the +whites. The chief himself was attired after a fashion so extraordinary, +that the boys, and particularly Nick, could with difficulty restrain a +shout of laughter as their eyes lighted upon him. + +He was a tall and very stout man, with features which, for one of his +race, might be accounted handsome; and his dress, however anomalous in +the estimation of Europeans, was doubtless regarded with respect and +even awe by his own subjects. It consisted of a full-bottomed wig, +which had probably once graced the head of some Dutch official, though +every vestige of powder had long disappeared. The lower folds of this +headdress fell over the collar of the red coat of an English grenadier-- +a souvenir probably of Muizenberg or Blauenberg--the rusty buttons and +tarnished embroidery testifying to the hard service which the garment in +question had seen. Below the coat, so far as the mid-calf, Umboo's +person remained in its natural state, always excepting the red ochre and +grease with which it was liberally besmeared, the odour from which, +under the broiling sun, was almost unendurable. The royal costume was +completed by a pair of top-boots with brass spurs attached--suggesting a +curious inquiry as to the number of owners through which the articles +must have passed, before they were transferred from the legs of an +English squire to those of a Namaqua chief. + +Umboo had noticed the demeanour of the younger portion of his visitors, +but he had happily no suspicion of its true explanation, being himself +rather inclined to attribute it to the awe which his presence inspired. +He was, however, unacquainted not only with the English language, but +with the Dutch also; and Omatoko was obliged to act as interpreter +between the two parties--an office, apparently, which was greatly to his +taste. + +After a long interview, in which the chief manifested the greatest +curiosity as to the previous history of his visitors, the circumstances +which had led to their presence in the country, and the course which +they now proposed to pursue, he was pleased to intimate to them that +their audience was ended, but that he had assigned a hut for their +special accommodation, and one of his people to attend on them and +provide them with food, as long as they remained in the kraal. + +Having expressed their thanks and taken leave, the four friends +withdrew, and were ushered to their house by Toboo, the latter being, as +they discovered, the attendant of whom the chief had spoken. Here they +found Lion, lying in one corner on a heap of reeds, apparently none the +worse for his journey. + +"Well," said Nick, as he threw himself on a bed of dried grass covered +with one or two karosses, "this is better than the desert, anyhow! I +suppose his Majesty, King Umboo, keeps a pretty good table, and a decent +cook. Are we to have the honour, by the bye, of dining at the royal +board, or is a separate cuisine to be kept up for us? In the first +instance, will it be necessary to dress for dinner; in the second, who +is to give orders to the cook?" + +"And if we are to be his Majesty's guests, will the Queen be present?" +asked Frank; "and if she is, which of us is to have the honour of +handing her in to dinner?" + +"You forget, Frank, there is more than one Mrs Umboo. I believe there +are as many as a dozen, if not more." + +"Well, then, they won't all dine, I suppose, at least not on the same +day. I dare say they'll take it in turns, so as to have the advantage +of improving their manners by European polish," said Wilmore. "By the +bye, were those his wives or his daughters that were sitting on the +skins at the back of the tent. There was one of them who was very +nearly being handsome. If it hadn't been for her hair, which strongly +resembled a black scrubbing brush, I think she would have been!" + +"Ay, I noticed her casting glances at you, Frank," said Nick. "If she +was one of Umboo's wives, it is a good job that the royal eyes couldn't +see through the back of the head to which they belonged, or his Majesty +might have ordered you both to be burned, or impaled, or disposed of +after some pleasant fashion of the like description. But we will hope +she was a princess, not a queen." + +"With all my heart," said Frank, laughing. "Perhaps she was the +Princess Royal and, in default of issue male, the heiress presumptive of +the crown. It would be great promotion to become Crown Prince of the +Namaquas. But here is Charles waiting to speak as soon as he can thrust +a word in edgewise. Well, Charles, what is it?" + +"Why, if you fellows have done chaffing, there is something of +importance which I have to tell you." + +"Ay, indeed, and what may that be?" inquired Gilbert. + +"Why, you know that I have had some conversations with Omatoko in +Dutch?" + +"Yes, we all know that." + +"But you, perhaps, did _not_ know that I understand something of the +Hottentot language also." + +"Certainly, none of us understood that," observed Frank. "Why, Charles, +how could you ever learn it? It seems to me nothing but a series of +chicks, as though they were rattling castanets with their tongues." + +"I was laid up once with an accident on a shooting expedition, and was +nursed by the Hottentots. I picked up enough of their lingo to +understand generally what they say, though I don't think I could talk +it," answered Charles. + +"Why didn't you tell Omatoko so? It would have saved some trouble?" +asked Warley. + +"Why, you see, Ernest, I have had my suspicions of Omatoko from the +first--that is, I have never been quite satisfied about his good faith, +though I thought it better to follow his counsel. But I knew when we +reached the village, that he would speak freely of his real intentions +to his countrymen, not having any suspicion that I understood a word of +what he was saying." + +"That was very well thought of," said Warley, "and it was very wise also +to keep your intention to yourself. I am glad I didn't know it, any +way. But what did you learn to-day?" + +"I learned, among other things, that the force which it was supposed the +English government would send to reconquer the Cape from the Dutch, has +actually sailed, if it has not landed; and, in my opinion, it is large +enough to render any resistance on the part of the Dutch hopeless--that +is, if its strength is correctly reported." + +"You don't mean that, Charles! How could these Hottentots know anything +about the matter?" + +"They are much keener, and take a stronger interest in these things than +you fancy. They have always bitterly regretted the restoration of the +colony to Holland, and the idea of the English again assuming the +government is very acceptable to them. It appears that an American +frigate brought the news on Christmas Day of the approach of an English +squadron with troops on board, and the news flew like wildfire through +the country. The Hottentots heard of it nearly a week ago; but I must +do Omatoko the justice to say, that he did not know it." + +"Well, go on. That, I suppose, is one of the circumstances which has +induced Umboo to treat us so civilly?" + +"Well, perhaps, in some degree that may be so. But Umboo is not at all +sure that the English will get the better of the Dutch, and he won't +commit himself to either side, until he sees which is likely to gain the +day." + +"Ah, I see. If the English win, he will make a merit of sending us safe +to Cape Town; and if the Dutch get the upper hand, he'll hand us over as +prisoners to the Governor." + +"That's very nearly it, I judge, Ernest. Well, as soon as Omatoko +learned about the English fleet, he suggested that we should remain in +the kraal, while a messenger was sent southward to ascertain the exact +position of things in the colony; and meanwhile a hut should be assigned +us, and he and his nephew would keep a careful eye on us." + +"How kind of them!" said Nick. + +"It's the way of the world, Nick," said Lavie; "in England, I am afraid, +as much as in Namaqua-land. Well, that being settled, the matter about +the Bushmen came up next. It appears Omatoko knows where they are to be +found. He overheard them talking of their plans. They took no trouble +indeed to disguise them, considering him to be as good as dead already." + +"What are they going to do?" asked Wilmore. + +"Going to attack and exterminate, if possible, the Bushmen. Spies are +to be sent to make sure of their whereabouts, and then a chosen party of +warriors will go against them." + +"They don't expect us to accompany them, I hope," said Warley. + +"Well, from what was said, I am afraid they do--that is, they mean to +urge it. You see, they know the immense advantage our rifles have over +their bows and arrows, and our presence would enable them to effect +their purpose with certainty." + +"Well, I suppose you will refuse, Charles, won't you? You don't want us +to become mercenary cutthroats for the benefit of these savages?" + +"That is putting it rather strong," observed Gilbert. "These fellows +have attempted murder--murder of the most cruel kind, and deserve +punishment--remember that." + +"They have done us no wrong, at all events," said Warley; "it cannot be +our business to punish them. Besides, shooting these unhappy savages +down is not the way to teach them better." + +"You are right, Ernest," said Lavie. "I, for one, will have nothing to +do with any attack upon them. They may oblige us to accompany them, to +prevent our escape, but I will take no part in the fighting." + +"Nor I," said Frank, "I am not going to kill these poor helpless +wretches to please any one." + +"Very good," added Nick; "I have no wish to do it, either." + +"Well, then," said Lavie, "we are agreed. We will stay quietly here +until the answer comes from the Cape. Five to one our fellows have +thrashed these Dutchmen as soundly as they did before, and the colony is +ours again by this time; in which case Umboo will be our humble servant. +If the messenger doesn't return before the party set out to attack the +Bushmen, we will go with them, if required, but only as spectators. Is +that agreed?" + +"Agreed, _nem. con._," said Frank. "And now, here, I suppose, comes +dinner. We are not to have the honour of seats at the royal table, +then!" + +"No, that will be reserved for us when Umboo has learned of the defeat +of the Dutchmen," said Gilbert. + +The food served up to them was better and more palatable than they had +expected. It consisted chiefly of the flesh of one of the koodoos, and +was partly broiled and partly sodden. + +"Not bad this," exclaimed Gilbert, as a third slice was handed to him, +which he disposed of after the same fashion which prevailed in the time +of Adam and Eve, viz., by the help of his fingers and teeth. "They +haven't so bad an idea of cooking after all." + +"And these figs and pomegranates are not to be despised either," +observed Frank. "They would go down well at a West End dinner!" + +"But whatever are these?" cried Nick, digging his hands into a basket of +what seemed to be burnt almonds, being a heap of oval substances, about +the size of a filbert, and partially roasted. "Hum! a strange sort of +taste, but rather nice, too. Have some, Charles, you'll find them +rather good eating." + +"Thank you, Nick," returned Lavie, gravely, "I am not fond of insects, +or I would have a few." + +"Insects!" repeated Gilbert, in a tone of mingled surprise and disgust. +"You can't mean that, to be sure!" He dropped the handful to which he +had just helped himself, and looked at the doctor with mouth and eyes +wide open. + +"They are locusts, if I don't mistake," said the latter. "Hand them up +here, Frank, and I'll take a closer look at them. Yes, they are +locusts. These Hottentots consider them a great dainty." + +"The nasty wretches!" cried Nick, starting up and throwing away the +viands he had been consuming. "To think I should live to sup on +beetles! Hand us the bowl of milk there, Ernest. I suppose _that's_ +all right, isn't it? That comes from a cow, and not a crocodile, or +something of the sort?" + +"Yes, that's all right, Nick," said Lavie, laughing; "and, after all, +there are many other people who eat locusts besides these Hottentots." + +"Every one to his taste," said Gilbert, setting down the bowl after a +long draught. "Mine doesn't incline to roasted insects. However, that +milk has pretty well taken the taste out. And now, I suppose the next +thing is to go to bed. I was up very early this morning, and have had a +hard day of it. What do you say, Frank?" + +"I say ditto to you," said Wilmore. "I shall just roll myself up in one +of these skins to keep off the flies, and shut up for the night. Good +night, Lion, old boy; I wish you a sound repose." + +The two boys accordingly wrapped themselves in the deer-hides which were +scattered on the floor, and lay down, each with a roll of matting for a +pillow. In two or three minutes their regular breathing announced that +they were fast asleep. But Ernest and Charles did not follow their +example. They sat near the entrance of the hut, smoking their pipes, +and conversing on subjects which had but little interest for their +companions. + +"These Hottentots are a strange race," observed Warley. "I suppose +nothing is really known of their origin and history." + +"Nothing, I believe, with any certainty," returned the doctor. "They +seem to have no traditions on the subject, which is a rare circumstance +in the history of any people. Their very name is uncertain. Europeans +call them Hottentots, or Namaquas, but they themselves do not +acknowledge either title. Neither word, in fact, exists in their +language. They call some of their tribes `Oerlams,' meaning new-comers +in the land, and others `Topnars,' or the ancient aboriginal +inhabitants. But the early history of these latter is quite unknown." + +"And what do you imagine to be their origin, Charles? They look very +much like Chinese or Tartars. They have been supposed to be of Chinese +origin, have they not?" + +"I believe so; but on no intelligible grounds that I ever heard. I have +a theory of my own about them; but I don't suppose many would share it." + +"What is your theory?" + +"Well, I connect them with that strange story in Herodotus, of the +circumnavigation of Africa, nearly 2500 years ago. You know the story, +I suppose?" + +"I remember reading it. I think Herodotus says that Necos, or Pharaoh +Necho, sent some Phoenicians to circumnavigate Africa. They set out +from the Red Sea, I suppose, and sailed through the Straits of +Babel-Mandeb. In the third year of their voyage, they returned through +the Pillars of Hercules, along the northern coast of Africa to Memphis." + +"Yes, that is right. They reported, if you remember as a circumstance +accounted by Herodotus as incredible, that when they had sailed some +distance along the eastern shore of Africa, they had the sun on their +right hand." + +"Just so. And I have always regarded that statement as an unanswerable +proof that they really did make the voyage as they asserted." + +"I quite agree with you. Well, their story was that in the autumn of +_their_ year, but the spring in South Africa, they went on shore, sowed +some land with corn, and waited till the crop was gathered in, when they +stored it on board, and resumed their voyage. They did this twice, but +in the third year reached home." + +"That was their report, exactly, I believe. But what then?" + +"Why, I think the Hottentots must be the descendants of some of the +Egyptians who went on that voyage; for though the ships were navigated +by Phoenicians, the crews were in all likelihood Egyptian. If you +divide the coast-line from the Red Sea to Gibraltar into three equal +parts, the spots which make one-third and two-thirds of the distance, +are the mouth of the Zambesi river, and the coast of great Namaqua-land. +Now, the Phoenicians and Egyptians, who made up the expedition, must +have remained several months at each place. What more likely that they +would intermarry with any native women they might find there; nay, is it +improbable that some one or two remained behind, and became the +progenitors of the Hottentots and Bushmen?" + +"It is what often happens in such expeditions, no doubt. But is there +any resemblance between the old Egyptians and these Hottentots?" + +"Yes, several very curious resemblances. Their personal appearance is +exactly like that of the ancient Copts, who still inhabit some parts of +Egypt; and there is one very remarkable peculiarity, which anatomists +say is to be found only in these two races. The Coptic nearly resembles +the Hottentot language, a good many roots and some words being the same +in both. They have several customs in common; as for instance, they +will not eat swine's flesh, and they worship a kind of beetle, which I +believe no other nations do. Lastly, the Bushmen, who are believed to +be a more degraded branch of the same race, ornament walls and flat +slabs of rock with mural paintings, in which travellers have recognised +a likeness to those of ancient Egypt." + +"Well, that is curious, certainly. I should like to see those +paintings. But, supposing your theory as to the Hottentots being of +Coptic descent to be true, they might have made their way southwards in +successive ages through Central Africa, might they not?" + +"Of course, and so might the Kaffirs, who also are like the old +Egyptians in many things. But if that were so, surely some traces of +them would be found somewhere in Central Africa. They would hardly have +passed through a vast tract of country in the slow succession of +generations, and left no mark of their residence behind." + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A CHALLENGE--A STRATAGEM DETECTED--ASSEGAI VERSUS RIFLE--THE FEAST--THE +DANCE--A FORAY--THE BOYS ESCAPE. + +Two or three weeks now passed during which nothing of any importance +occurred. Lion continued to mend, though very slowly, and was unable to +walk any distance. A messenger had been despatched southward, and his +return was impatiently looked for. Spies also had gone out to track the +Bushmen, but they too were still absent. Meanwhile the Englishmen were +treated with all civility; Toboo every day supplying their table with +Hottentot luxuries, and the chief, attended by Omatoko as interpreter, +paying them continual visits. It was very amusing to the boys to watch +the asides between their two visitors, which the latter supposed to be +quite unintelligible to their guests, but which were always explained to +them by the doctor, as soon as the Hottentots had departed. + +They learned in this way that Umboo was very anxious to possess one, at +least, of the guns which the travellers carried, and was disappointed +that an offer to that effect had not been made to him by one of the +party. They were, therefore, in no way surprised, when one day Toboo +made his appearance, ushering in Omatoko and two of the principal +personages of the village, who announced that they came with a message +from the chief. The latter had heard of their skill with the +"fire-tube," as they styled it, and was desirous of measuring his own +skill as a marksman against theirs. He proposed that a mark should be +set up at the distance of a hundred yards, which the doctor should +endeavour to hit with a bullet from his rifle, and Umboo with his +assegai. Whichever made the more successful shot was to be accounted +the victor, and the weapons employed in the contest were to become his +exclusive property. + +"The cunning old rogue," exclaimed Nick, _sotto voce_, to his neighbour, +Frank. "He is determined to get hold of Charles's rifle, if he can. +But I suppose Charles can hardly decline the contest." + +"No," said Frank, "and there is no reason why he should. He is +tolerably sure to beat this nigger hollow. But let us hear what he +says." + +As soon as Omatoko had delivered the challenge, the doctor replied that +he was quite ready for the trial proposed, and accepted the conditions. +A day was then named, and an invitation given to all the party to dine +with the chief after the settlement of the contest. All preliminaries +having been arranged, the ambassadors withdrew, followed by Omatoko,-- +all three apparently greatly pleased at the result of the interview. + +"What a flat that Umboo must be," exclaimed Nick, when they had +departed, "to believe that he could throw a spear with a better aim than +Charles can take with his rifle! Why, even Omatoko, with his bow and +arrow, was no match for Charles and his gun; and it is much easier to +hit with a bow and arrow than with a spear, or assegai, as they call +it." + +"Well, I don't know that Umboo is so very far wrong," said Lavie. "Some +of these Hottentots can throw the assegai with wonderful skill. If +Umboo is a good performer, as I suppose he is by his challenging me, +he'll surprise you with his skill, I expect, though I hardly think he +will outshoot me." + +"Outshoot you! Well, as a fellow is said to take a _shot_ with a spear, +I suppose it may be called shooting, though it is shooting after a very +funny sort," said Warley. "What is the day appointed for this match, +Charles?" + +"Wednesday--the day after to-morrow. I suppose two days are allowed for +preparing the banquet with which he means to celebrate the victory he +makes so sure of." + +"Probably. But it really is odd that he should feel so confident. +Omatoko must have told him of the affair of the ostriches, and that +would hardly encourage him." + +"They're up to some scheme," said Nick, "I have felt sure of that from +the first. They are going to give you something that will make your +hand unsteady, or play some trick with your rifle. If I were you, +doctor, I'd hide my rifle away in some safe place till Wednesday." + +"Well, I'll tell you what happened the night before last," said Warley. +"I thought little of it at the time, but it looks different now. You +were all asleep, and I was just going off too, when I fancied I saw +something moving near the door. It might be a snake, I thought--I'm +always fancying snakes are about now--so I lifted my head and looked. +Presently a black head came in at the door, and lay motionless for two +or three minutes. The eyes seemed to be taking stock of everything in +the hut, but particularly of Charles's figure, and his rifle, which was +lying by his side. After a little while the head disappeared as +cautiously as it had come. I thought it was one of the Hottentots, +whose curiosity had been roused by what he had been told, and wanted to +see everything with his own eyes. But it looks now as though there was +something more in it." + +"You're about right, Ernest," said Nick. "There's a good deal more in +it. Well, doctor, the first thing I advise is, that you and I change +guns till Wednesday. I don't imagine they know the difference between +one gun and another, and if your belt is fastened to my weapon, and you +carry it about, they'll think you've got your own, and any tricks they +may attempt will be tried on the wrong article. And in the second +place, we'd better take it in turns to keep watch at night till +Wednesday, and so find out what they're up to." + +"I think you're right, Nick," said Lavie. "You're such a dodger +yourself, that these fellows can't hold a candle to you. Well, here's +my rifle, and I'll take yours, and put it into my belt. We'd better +watch from about ten o'clock to six in the morning--the same time as +when we were on the journey. What time will you have, Nick?" + +"Oh, between twelve and two, if you like," said Nick, "that is the time +I prefer." + +The others making no objection, this was agreed to. No disturbance took +place that night or the night following it; but on the Wednesday +morning--the morning of the match--Nick announced to his companions that +the same fellow, no doubt, whom Ernest had watched a few days +previously, had entered the hut last night and carried off, as he +supposed, Lavie's rifle. + +"You didn't let him take it away, did you?" exclaimed Frank in surprise. + +"I did, though," said Nick, "and let him bring it back again half an +hour afterwards. We had better overhaul it, and see what he has done to +it." + +"Hand it here, and I'll examine it," said the doctor. + +The gun was passed to him, and he made a careful examination. At first +he could not perceive that there was anything amiss; but on thrusting +down the ramrod it was found that there was something about a half-crown +in thickness at the bottom of the barrel. Probably some thick glutinous +matter had been poured down the gun, and had hardened almost +immediately. This would of course prevent the spark from reaching the +powder, and so render the gun useless. + +"We must take this to pieces by-and-by, and clean it," said the surgeon. +"Meanwhile, let us change rifles again. How nicely they will be taken +in, to be sure!" + +About an hour afterwards notice was given them by Toboo, that all was +prepared for the match. They stepped out of their hut, and found the +whole kraal present, and in the greatest state of excitement. The large +oval space inside the ring of houses had been chosen as the most +suitable ground. At one end a square piece of dark-coloured wood had +been fastened to a post, and in the middle of the wood, secured by a +peg, was a round piece of white leather, some four inches in diameter. +At the other end was a smaller post, at which the marksmen were to stand +when discharging their weapons. Near this spot one or two lads were +holding bundles of assegais intended for the use of Umboo, who was +leaning against the wall of a cottage a short way off. He was now +divested of all his finery, and looked in consequence a far more +imposing figure. He was a tall and finely formed man, though somewhat +too stout; and the great muscles of his arms and legs might have served +a sculptor for a model. On a row of mats about ten yards distant from +the mark, were seated his wives, fully a dozen in number, all clad in +their most sumptuous apparel in honour of the triumph which their lord +and master was about to achieve. Each of them wore half a dozen heavy +necklaces round her throat, on which were strung beads and shells and +studs; fish bones and birds' eggs; teeth of fishes and wild beasts; +small bells and thimbles, and wooden reels on which thread had been +wound, purchased of European traders and converted to these strange +uses. It was not round their necks only that they wore these +encumbrances; wrists and ankles and waists were similarly loaded, until +it became almost impossible to distinguish any part of their persons, +and they were absolutely unable to stand upright under the heavy burden +of their garniture. The rest of the women and the men formed two long +lines on either side of the scene of the contest, and it was evident +from their looks, that they took the keenest interest in the issue of +the struggle. + +"Now you look here," began Omatoko as soon as the chief and the +Englishmen had saluted one another; "you each take weapon you mean to +use--no allowed to change it. Chief throw three assegais, white +medicine-man fire three shots; whoever hit nearest middle white leather, +he win. If white man win, he have three assegais. If chief win, he +have white man's fire-tube. Is it good?" + +"All right. I make no objection," said Lavie, with a nod of +intelligence to his companions; and the chief also signifying his +assent, the trial began. + +Umboo was the first to step forward. He motioned to one of the +attendants to bring him the bundle of assegais which he carried, and +made a careful examination of them. The lads had never before had a +good sight of this weapon. It was nearly seven feet in length, the iron +head being some eight inches long and two broad. As the spears in +question had been designed for the chief's own use, the best workmen had +been employed upon them, and Lavie was really astonished at the skill +and taste displayed in the manufacture, which could hardly have been +outdone by the best English workman. Having chosen his missiles, Umboo +now prepared to throw them. Brandishing the first of them in the air, +and moving his hand to and fro, until it was exactly poised, he bent +backwards and hurled it with all the force of his herculean frame. It +flew straight to the mark, and buried itself in the dark wood a few +inches from the white leather circle. Some applause was bestowed; but +it was plain, from the faces of the bystanders, that this was not +accounted one of his most skilful efforts. He hastened to mend his +fortune with the second spear, but with no better result than before, +the assegai being fixed in the board, nearly about the same distance +from the centre as the first. With an impatient exclamation he caught +up the third missile, resolved that this time he would not fail His +exertions were successful. A burst of admiration broke forth as the +weapon was seen sticking in the leather itself, though not within an +inch and a half of the actual centre. + +It was now Lavie's turn, and as he advanced to the spot which Umboo had +just quitted, he was regarded with the utmost curiosity by the +Hottentots, many of whom had never witnessed the discharge of firearms. +The doctor's rifle was already loaded. He raised it to his shoulder, +slowly lowering it again, until the bead exactly covered the centre of +the leather. Then, instantly drawing the trigger, the crack of the +report was heard, and the bullet passed so exactly through the middle of +the mark, that the wooden pin was driven out, and the leather dropped to +the ground. + +The three lads vociferously applauded, and the greater part of the +bystanders could not help lending their voices to swell the shout, +albeit aware that they might incur the wrath of the chief by such a +display of feeling. Umboo was, it was plain, equally astonished and +annoyed. He threw a fierce glance at a man of slight supple figure who +was standing near, and muttered something which the Englishmen did not +understand. For a minute he seemed inclined to resent Lavie's victory +as a personal injury; but he changed his purpose, and observing that, as +the medicine-man's first shot had beaten all three of his, there was no +need for him to shoot again, he withdrew to his hut, followed by the +Hottentot of whom mention has been made; nor did he reappear until the +feast was ready. + +This did not take place for some two hours afterwards, by which time his +equanimity appeared to be restored. He placed the four white visitors +on his right hand, each seated on a separate mat, while on his left were +two of his sons, Kalambo and Patoo, Omatoko, and the attendant of the +morning, whose name they had now discovered to be Leshoo. He was an old +favourite of the chief, it appeared, and was disliked and dreaded by his +countrymen generally. He did not seem to bear the Englishmen any +particular goodwill, frequently scowling at them as they sat at the +feast, and whispering remarks into Umboo's ear, which were evidently +disparaging, if not actually hostile. + +"I say, Frank," whispered Nick, "that chap there, on the chief's left, +is the one who tried to damage the rifle." + +"Is he?" answered Frank. "What makes you think so?" + +"I know him by that bald patch on the scalp. He has had a wound there, +I suppose; I noticed that as he crawled out of the door of the hut into +the moonlight. We'd better keep an eye on him." + +The feast lasted a long time, the quantity devoured by the Hottentots +being only equalled by the gross greediness with which they seized what +they considered the chief delicacies; and it was a great relief to the +English guests when it was announced that a dance was going to take +place outside the hut in their honour. + +"A dance?" repeated Nick; "does any one expect a fellow to dance after a +feed like this?" + +"They don't expect you to dance," said Lavie who overheard him. "You've +only to sit by and see them dance." + +"That's lucky, at all events," said Nick, "but I should think his +Majesty here and his wives were still less in dancing trim than +ourselves. Why, a boa-constrictor, after gorging an ox, would be as fit +to dance a hornpipe as he." + +"Hush, Nick," said Lavie, "somebody may understand you enough to report +your words, and I don't consider our position here over safe as it is. +If it hadn't been that we could not spare the rifle, I would have let +the chief beat me to-day. But there is no need to provoke them more +than can be helped." + +Nick promised compliance, and followed the doctor out of the hut into an +open space near the village, under the shade of some large acacias, +which had been selected as the fittest place for the dance. It seemed +that this was to be performed by the Hottentot girls, no men being +visible among them. They were gathered in a circle divested of all +ornaments, indeed of all attire, excepting a linen cincture round the +waist, and a headdress of the same material. Several of them held +melons in their hands, not the large water-melons, with which the party +had been regaled, but a smaller size, about as big as a large cocoa-nut. +The moon, which had risen about an hour before, and was nearly at the +full, poured down a bright light, which rendered every object clearly +distinguishable. + +When all had taken their places, Umboo gave the signal, and the dance +began. The spectators clapped their hands, keeping a kind of rude time, +and accompanying the performance with a low monotonous chant, which +swelled louder and louder, as the excitement grew greater. The girls, +whirling their arms and throwing out their legs right and left, flew +about, following each other in a circle, tossing the melons from one to +another, under their thighs, and catching them with wonderful dexterity. +As the dance went on, the rapidity of the movements increased. Their +light figures and animated faces, as they flashed out into the +moonlight, and back into the shade of the acacias, the dark forms seated +round, the wild and somewhat melancholy refrain of the voices, combined +to make up a scene, which was alike strange and striking. At length the +chief threw up his hand; the girls, panting and exhausted, threw +themselves on the ground to recover their breath; and soon afterwards +Umboo retired to his hut, and the others followed his example. + +On the following morning, our travellers were no sooner up and dressed, +than they became aware that a great commotion was going on in the +village. Assegais, bows, and quivers full of arrows had been brought +out of the cottages, and several men were employed in rubbing the barbs +with fresh poison. About ten of the stoutest men were smearing their +bodies with fat, over which they spread a yellowish red powder; the two +between them covering their persons as with a second skin. The stench +from this ointment was scarcely bearable; but the boys, on inquiry, were +told that its purpose was to render them supple and active, as well as +to guard them from the stings of insects. + +Lavie soon ascertained that the spies had returned, reporting that the +Bushmen were encamped at a distance of not more than twenty miles, and +that it was Umboo's purpose to set out almost immediately, before the +heat of the day came on, intending to attack the Bushmen an hour or so +before sunset. These tidings were soon afterwards confirmed by a +message from the chief, conveyed through Omatoko, desiring their company +in the course of another half-hour. The manner of their quondam guide, +who was now fully armed and equipped for the march, had undergone +considerable change. It was no longer deferential and submissive, but +imperious and threatening. He seemed to expect a refusal, and to be +prepared to take measures for punishing the contumacy of the Englishmen. +But Lavie was too wary to permit this. He returned a civil answer, +informing Umboo that they would be ready at the time named. Then, +calling to the others to follow him, he went into the hut to get ready. + +As soon as they were safe inside, and free from the jealous scrutiny of +the Hottentots, the doctor addressed his companions. + +"It won't do for us to stay any longer among these fellows," he said; +"our lives won't be safe if we do. I have learned that they mean to use +our help in picking off such of the Bushmen as may be able to escape +them at close quarters. But as soon as we have done their work, they +will strip us of our arms, and knock us on the head, if we resist I +heard that scoundrel Omatoko, and the fellow they call Leshoo, talking +over it. The chief is to have my rifle, and Omatoko Ernest's, while +Leshoo _is_ to have his choice of Frank's or Nick's." + +"I'll make him a present of a bullet out of mine," cried Frank, "if I +only have the chance." + +"Hush, Frank!" said Ernest, "they'll hear you. But, Charles, how comes +it that their manner towards us is so strangely altered all of a +sudden?" + +"Well, in the first place, it appears to be owing to Leshoo's secret +machinations. He is afraid, it seems, of our favour with Umboo. In the +next, the delay in the return, of the messenger sent southward is +interpreted unfavourably to the English, at least Leshoo represents it +so. He says the Dutch must have got the better, or the man would have +been back before this. Umboo has now quite taken up this notion." + +"Well, what do you advise, Charles?" + +"That we go with them without any apparent reluctance, and accept +whatever service they ask us to undertake. But as soon as the attack on +the Bushmen begins, we will, all of us, make off as fast as we can +southwards. There are not very many of the Hottentots going on the +expedition. They will, almost certainly, be scattered in various +directions, and be too busy to notice our movements; some will probably +be killed or wounded. But even if that be not so, and if at the end of +the fighting we have not got too far to be followed, still they will +hardly dare to attack us. They are notoriously afraid of Europeans, and +have seen what we can do with our guns." + +"And if they do attack us?" asked Nick. + +"Then their blood be on their own heads. It is our lives or theirs, and +they wantonly provoke the contest." + +"We can't do better than follow your advice," said Frank; "I'm your man, +at all events. Poor old Lion! we must leave him behind; but that can't +be helped." + +"No," said Warley, "men must be thought of before dogs, however much one +may like them. Well, I agree, Charles, and so I can see does Nick." + +"That's right, then," said Charles; "now we had better join them. Don't +let us give the notion that we are hanging back." + +They went out accordingly, and found the party just preparing to start. +They were greeted by Umboo with feigned civility, which they returned +with similar politeness, and were requested to take their places in the +march next to him--Lavie and Frank on his right hand, and Warley and +Nick on his left, with Omatoko walking next to Frank and Leshoo to Nick. +In this order they proceeded at a rapid pace for several hours, until +the heat of the sun became overpoweringly oppressive; then they halted +in a place shaded by some trees, and provisions were served out, the +Hottentots digging roots to supply the place of water. Umboo seated +himself on the grass, and motioned to the Englishmen to do the same, +their two attendants, or jailers, as they might more properly be called, +taking the same positions as in the march. + +They remained in their resting-place for three or four hours until the +great heat of the day was past, and then resumed their route. About +five o'clock a second halt was made, and Omatoko having spoken a few +words apart with the chief, addressed Lavie. He informed him that Umboo +intended to post them at various places of ambush, in the neighbourhood +of the Bushmen's camp, and their duty would be to pick off any fugitives +who might endeavour to make their escape--adding that Umboo would give a +large reward for every Bushman so killed. Lavie and the others accepted +the commission without the smallest hesitation--again apparently to the +surprise of Omatoko, and the evident disappointment of Leshoo. But +there was nothing more to be said on the subject. It only remained to +conduct the four whites to their several stations. They had now arrived +within a mile of their enemies; who it appeared had just succeeded in +killing two buffaloes, and were about to make a feast on the carcasses. + +Just as they were on the point of setting out, Lavie purposely dropped +the case which contained his rifle bullets, which were scattered in all +directions on the ground. His companions ran to pick them up, and as +their heads met, he said in a subdued but perfectly clear tone, "The +large motjeeri to the south, in a quarter of an hour from the present +time." + +The boys made no answer except a nod of intelligence, as each moved off +with the guide assigned him. Then the rest of the Hottentots began +creeping through the scrub, as stealthily as serpents, towards a large +rock, under shelter of which a number of the doomed Bushmen might be +seen, seated in a circle and engaged in devouring huge lumps of meat, +which they had roasted at a large fire still smouldering close by. + +Lavie watched their dusky figures as they disappeared among the foliage, +and remained motionless at his post for the prescribed number of +minutes. Then hurrying as fast as he could go towards the motjeeri, he +found all three of his companions awaiting him. + +"All right!" he exclaimed; "they are just on the point of making their +attack, and won't have eyes or ears for anything else. We must put on +best speed, and not stop till we are five or six miles away at the +least." + +A loud yell broke forth from the rock, as they commenced their flight, +and was followed by another and another in quick succession. But they +grew fainter as the boys hurried on, and soon ceased altogether. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +THE FLIGHT--THE BOYS RECAPTURED--A COUNCIL--THE SHADOW OF DEATH--A +STRANGE DELIVERANCE. + +"Not bad that," said Nick, as he threw himself on the ground, panting +and footsore, after a run of more than an hour. "We've not gone less +than eight miles, I'll take my 'davy, and this gun isn't the lightest +thing in the world to carry! Well, Charles, do you mean to make a halt +of it here to-night, or are we to hoof it again?" + +"We must rest here," said Lavie, "an hour or two to recover ourselves a +little, but no longer. I don't suppose the Hottentots have done much +more than discover our absence yet. They have had plenty to do for the +present without thinking where we are, and then they will have to make +out in which direction we have gone. They will find that out, no doubt, +notwithstanding all our precautions, but it will take them some time. +And my hope is, that we shall now baffle them altogether." + +"How do you mean?" asked Ernest. + +"I mean that we should all take off our shoes, and step into the brook +here. We can walk along it, treading only on the stones till we reach +that long patch of scrub there. Then I propose that we shall turn +eastward, and go for a day's journey in that direction before again +travelling south. I think that will throw these Hottentots completely +out, and they will give up the pursuit." + +"Well, I have no objection," said Nick, "and I don't suppose the others +have. Anything to get out of the hands of those dingy brutes. How sold +they will be! If they could only get hold of one of us, how they would +pay it off on him!" + +"I am afraid they will pay it off on my poor Lion," said Frank. +"Whatever will become of him, poor fellow!" + +"Oh, they'll use him kindly enough," said Lavie, soothingly. "He is too +valuable and useful an animal for them to hurt. As soon as we get to +Cape Town we'll send a fellow to ransom him. A dozen large beads or +brass buttons will soon induce them to give him up." + +"Well, at all events we'll hope so," said Warley. "Well, now, Charles, +I am rested if the others are--enough, that is, to go on." + +"All right," said the doctor. "Now, the first thing is to take off our +shoes and stockings." + +This was soon done, and the party stepping down into the bed of the +rivulet, walked in Indian file one after another, taking particular care +to leave no footprints in the soft earth. Presently they came to a +place where the short scrub, with which the slopes were covered, +descended to the water's edge. They stepped out upon this, and +proceeded eastward for a considerable distance, taking the greatest +pains to leave no trace behind. After half a mile or so of this +cautious walking, Lavie considered the danger to be at an end. Again +resuming the sharp trot at which they had previously proceeded, in +another hour they reached some caves in a high range of limestone +cliffs, where they resolved to rest for the night. They were too much +wearied to keep watch. In five minutes all four were sound asleep. + +The next morning they awoke tolerably refreshed, and resuming their +journey, proceeded still eastward for some seven or eight miles, when +they halted for their mid-day rest. There was no lack of food, for soon +after setting out, they had come upon a grove of bananas, of which each +of the party had gathered a large bunch. They could also perceive a +small streamlet making its way through the brushwood. Doubtless it +issued from a mass of limestone rock about a hundred yards distant. "We +had better go and drink there," said Lavie. "We have no drinking-cup +now, remember, and must use the hollows of our hands, I suppose, or a +large leaf. But we shall manage it more easily at the spring head." + +He moved off and the others followed, but they were still some yards +from the fountain, when they were startled by a low deep growl, which +came apparently from the other side of the rock. + +The boys instantly unslung their rifles. "That's the growl of a lion," +said Lavie. "He is couching by the spring, I expect. It won't do to +approach him from the front." + +"Hadn't one of us better go round to the clump of trees yonder?" said +Frank. "We can get there under cover, and there will be a good sight of +him from thence." + +"I was just going to suggest it," said Lavie. "And another can climb to +the top of the cliff here. It seems quite perpendicular by the spring, +and if so it will be fifteen or twenty feet over the lion's head. I'll +undertake that, if you like, and Frank can cross over to the clump. The +other two had better mount this tree. If the brute springs out, +there'll be a chance of a good shot at him from this place." + +Lavie and Frank accordingly proceeded to put their designs into +execution. Ernest and Nick watched them, until Wilmore was hidden in +the wood, and Lavie half up the rock, when suddenly there came a shout +of alarm and surprise. At the same moment their weapons were torn from +their grasp, and they found themselves in the clutches of Omatoko and +half a dozen others. + +They were unable to make any resistance; the suddenness of the surprise, +and the overwhelming numbers of the Hottentots rendering it impossible. +They were soon bound with leather thongs, and hurried off to the +fountain, where they encountered Lavie and Frank in the same plight as +themselves. + +"How like lion?" asked Omatoko, jeeringly. "Omatoko lion. He roar +well. White boys go catch lion, get caught themselves!" + +"I wish I had known it was you," muttered Nick. "I'd have put a leaden +bullet through your carcass as sure as my name's Gilbert! Well, +blackie, what next? Are you going to skin and eat us, now you've got +us, or what?" + +"White boy go back Umboo," said the Hottentot. "Umboo do as he please." + +"And what pleases him won't please us, I guess," muttered Gilbert. +"Well, there's no help for it. We must grin and bear it, as the saying +is. You may as well untie these thongs, any way. You may see for +yourself that we can't possibly escape." + +"Omatoko no untie till get back to kraal--then untie quick." + +He chuckled as he spoke. There was some sinister meaning in his words, +which the prisoners could not fathom, but which it was not pleasant to +hear. But they had little time for reflection. The thongs had no +sooner been securely fastened, and the guns distributed among the +leaders of the Hottentots, than they set out on their way home. It +appeared that the Englishmen must have followed a very circuitous path, +for less than four hours' journey brought them to the spot where the +encounter with the Bushmen had taken place; and there the party rested +for a couple of hours before proceeding further. + +It was a horrid and revolting spectacle which met the eyes of the +captives as the halt was made. The bodies of the Bushmen, as well as +those of their women and children, were scattered about in all +directions, the corpses having already begun to decompose in the +scorching sun. Most of the men had been shot down by arrows from a +distance, or pierced by assegais. But the weaker portion of the enemy +(if they could be so called), had been killed by blows from clubs, or +stabs delivered at close quarters; and the lads gazed with sickening +disgust at the helpless and mangled figures, with which the plain for a +long way round was overspread. But the slayers did not appear to feel +the smallest compunction, and Lavie gathered from their conversation, +that a considerable proportion of the men had effected their escape--a +circumstance which had greatly provoked Umboo's anger. + +Travelling early and late, the kraal was reached about nightfall on the +following day; when the prisoners were consigned to the custody of +Omatoko and Leshoo; who took effectual measures to prevent their escape. +Their arms and legs were secured by thongs, and a belt was passed round +the waist of each, to which was attached a chain riveted to a strong +post Omatoko could not be induced to answer any questions, not even the +eager inquiries made after Lion. But Toboo, who was of a gentler +disposition than his uncle, told them that the dog had greatly improved +during the two or three days of their absence, and could now walk about +tolerably well. + +On the following morning a debate was held in the chief's apartment, to +which Lavie and the boys were, of course, not admitted; but the +substance of which they learned afterwards. There was a considerable +difference of opinion among the counsellors. Kalambo and some others +were for requiring the white men to take an oath that they would make no +attempt to recover their property, or punish those who had deprived them +of it; and then to let them depart. Others, Omatoko among them, were +for keeping them in close custody, until their friends at the Cape +agreed to ransom them for a quantity of valuable goods, which were to be +specified; while one or two were for allowing them to go altogether +free, and take their guns with them; urging that the goodwill of the +English was of more value to them than any number of guns. + +This last argument was especially urged by Maroro, an old warrior, held +in much esteem in the village; and his opinion might have prevailed with +Umboo, if it had not been for Leshoo. The latter craftily urged that +the white men would never forgive the injury already done them; and +though they might take the oath proposed, they would disregard it, as +soon as they were in safety. There was nothing to be hoped, he said, +from the favour of the English, and nothing to be feared from their +enmity. Even if they were again to become the owners of the Cape +Colony, they would know nothing about these English travellers. As for +ransom, they would never get anything better, they might rest assured, +than the four guns, the watches, and clothes of the prisoners, which +might be regarded as already their own, and which they must be fools +indeed to give up. + +His speech was well calculated to work on the pride and the avarice of +Umboo, as well as on the fears of the others. It was resolved, by a +large majority, that the strangers should not be set at liberty, either +with, or without, conditions; but the danger that might arise from them +should be averted by their immediate death. This point having been +disposed of, the manner of their execution was the next considered, and +Leshoo's counsel was again adopted. He proposed that the white man's +presumption, in entering on a contest of skill with the chief, should be +properly punished by each one of them affording, in their several +persons, an evidence of the chiefs unrivalled skill in the use of arms. +One of the four, he suggested, should be shot to death by an arrow, a +second brained by a club, a third pierced by an assegai, while the +fourth--the white medicine-man himself--should die by his own weapon; +Umboo, in every instance, being the executioner. + +The suggestion was too nattering to the chief's vanity, and too well +adapted to efface the mortification of his recent defeat, to be +rejected. All concurred in it; and it was resolved that it should be +carried out that very day. The posts had not yet been removed from the +places where they had been fixed on the day of the trial of skill, and +it was agreed that no fitter scene could be chosen for the execution. +Omatoko, accompanied by Leshoo, was sent to announce to the prisoners +their approaching doom--an office which the latter, at least, undertook +_con amore_. + +It was a terrible shock, even to Lavie, whose forebodings had been of +the darkest ever since their capture. But he had not anticipated +anything so barbarous, or so sudden. The tidings were communicated to +him in Dutch by Omatoko, and it was his office to break it to his +younger friends. + +"Lads," he said, after a few moments of inward prayer for support and +counsel; "lads, I have something very grave and trying to announce to +you. We have all known that our peril, ever since we left the +_Hooghly_, has been imminent, and that we might be called upon at any +moment to yield up our lives--" + +"And we are called upon to yield them now, Charles?" said Ernest, as the +doctor paused. "That is what you want to tell us, is it not?" + +"I am sorry to say it is, Ernest. The Hottentots have resolved on +putting us all four to death this morning--in an hour from the present +time--" + +"Oh, not in an hour, surely," broke in Gilbert; "they will give us more +time than that. They cannot do it." + +"They are heathens, Nick, and have never been taught better. We ought +to forgive them on that account, even if our religion did not teach us +to forgive all who wrong us." + +"But can nothing be done?" urged Frank passionately. "Will they not +listen to our assurances that we are not their enemies; that we mean +them no harm; that we will ransom our lives by giving them a dozen +rifles, if they want them; that our friends will avenge our deaths; +that--oh! there's a hundred things that might be urged." He thrust +aside Lion's head, which was resting caressingly on his knee. "Oh, +Charles I let us at least try." + +"I would, Frank, if it would be of the least use. But I learn from +Omatoko, that the matter was most carefully considered, and everything +we could urge has already been advanced and rejected. It would but +waste the time still left us for preparation, and that is short enough. +Let us pray for strength and resignation; that is all now left us to +do." + +All complied, and knelt on the floor of the hut, while Lion sat silent +and motionless at their side, gazing from face to face with a wistful +look, as though he would fain comprehend what was amiss. Then Warley, +to whom all seemed instinctively to look, offered up a simple, but +fervent petition, that God would be pleased to succour them, if He saw +fit, in their present strait; but if it was His pleasure to take them +from the world, He would pardon the sins of their past lives, strengthen +them to meet their doom bravely, and receive them to Himself. He +concluded with the Lord's Prayer, in which they all joined fervently, +and then relapsed into silence; which was not broken until Leshoo +returned to warn them that all was in readiness. + +"You, boy," he said, turning to Frank, "you die first. Umboo shoot you +through the heart with arrow. Then you he kill with club," addressing +Warley. "You he throw assegai at," nodding to Nick. "Medicine-man, he +come last. Umboo shoot him dead with own gun! Medicine-man never shoot +better himself. Come now; chief ready." + +The prisoners obeyed in silence. A sharper thrill shot through Frank's +bosom as he heard he was to be the first to suffer, but the next instant +it was succeeded by a feeling of thankfulness that he would not witness +the murder of his friends. + +"Good-bye, dear old Lion," he said, stooping over the dog, and stroking +the smooth head which looked up with such sad wonder into his face; "I +hope they'll treat you kindly. Charles," he added, "let us say good-bye +to one another here. I shouldn't like to do it before all these +fellows." + +"Good-bye, Frank," said Lavie, throwing his arms round the lad's neck, +and kissing him on the forehead. "Good-bye, and God bless you. We will +pray for each other to the last." + +"I will follow you now," said Wilmore, when he had taken leave in like +fashion of the other two. "The sooner this is over the better." + +He passed out of the hut with a firm step, looking without flinching on +the cruel preparations without. Whatever sinkings of heart he might +have felt when his doom was first made known to him, they had all +vanished now. He was a noble English boy, reared in all manly ways, and +instructed by a thousand brave examples. His life, if not faultless, +had been pure; his conscience void of any deep offence; and for the rest +he trusted in the God who had bade him trust in Him. The same heroism +which the striplings of our race showed on the deck of the _Birkenhead_, +and in the wild scenes of the Indian mutiny, which upbore young Herbert, +the high-born and gently nurtured, in his dread ordeal among the Greek +brigands, was now burning in Frank's bosom. Let them do what they would +to him, he would endure it without flinching. + +Lavie and the other two lads followed closely after him, and were placed +by Omatoko on the right hand of the post, to which Wilmore was about to +be fastened, at a distance of some twelve feet from it. "Do not let us +see his death," said Gilbert in a low tone; "it will be too dreadful!" + +"No," said Lavie, "it will do none of us good, though I know he will +meet it bravely. We will kneel down here, and pray in silence till each +in his turn is summoned." + +He knelt as he spoke, and the others followed his example. + +"It is not good," exclaimed old Maroro, as he noticed the action. "The +white man is praying to the white man's God. He will be angry with us, +for the white man has done no wrong." + +He spoke loud enough to be heard even by the chief, who cast a wrathful +look at him in reply. If his reputation for wisdom and goodness had not +stood so high with his countrymen, his boldness might have entailed +serious consequences upon him. As it was, he was listened to in angry +and impatient silence. + +Frank had now been led to his station, and Omatoko and Leshoo were +busied in binding him. Three cinctures were passed round him, one +securing the neck, a second the waist, and the third the legs, to the +strong upright post. They had just completed their task, and were about +to retire--Umboo had already fitted the arrow to the string, and was on +the point of bending it--when a loud cry of mingled surprise and alarm +was raised by the spectators nearest to the prisoner, and was presently +echoed by nearly all present Lavie and the two boys started up, looking +hurriedly round them, half expecting to see a band of armed Englishmen, +who had come up at that critical moment to their rescue. But the eyes +of the Hottentots were not turned in the direction they had expected, +but into the air a few feet above them. A small beetle, of the size, +perhaps, of a child's little finger, was hovering over their heads, its +green back and speckled belly glittering bright in the beams of the sun. +All present held their breath, and watched its motions with anxiety and +awe. It gyrated awhile immediately above the post, as though seeking +for some spot on which to settle. Suddenly it folded its wings, and, +shooting downwards, alighted on Frank Wilmore's head. There was a +second and still louder cry, rising, in the instance of the women, into +a shriek of terror at this spectacle. "The god! the god!" they cried. +"The white boy is the favourite of the god. He has come to save him. +Cut the thongs, set him free! Pray him to forgive us, or we shall all +die. He will send drought and murrain! He will kill our flocks and +herds! He will strike us dead with his lightnings! Not one will +escape!" + +A dozen Hottentots rushed up with their knives, and severed the bonds +which held the prisoner. Then lifting him on to their shoulders they +bore him in triumph through the village, the women singing and dancing +round him, until the hut of the chief was reached. There Frank was +placed by his supporters in the seat of honour, while all present +prostrated themselves at his feet, entreating mercy. + +The lad was at first too much startled and bewildered to understand what +had happened. He had closed his eyes, expecting every moment to feel +the fatal point, and even when he heard the shouts of the bystanders, +believed it had been raised only because the arrow was on its way. But +Lavie, who knew enough of Hottentot superstitions to understand what had +occurred, hurried up to him, and informing him in a few words what was +the true explanation of this extraordinary change, desired him to take +the beetle from his forehead, where it was still resting, and retain it +in his grasp, but to be extremely careful not to hurt it. + +"It is the mantes, Frank," he said, "about which I was telling Ernest +the other day. They believe that it is a god, that it will do them the +most terrible injuries if they offend it, and whomsoever they imagine to +be its favourite, he may issue any commands he pleases, and is sure to +be obeyed. Of course this wonderful deliverance is of God's sending, +and we will thank Him heartily for it; but at present you must go with +them and take the mantes with you." + +"What shall I have to do, Charles?" said Frank, who, between +astonishment and joy, could hardly even now understand what was passing. +"What are they going to do with me?" + +"They'll want to make you chief very likely; perhaps offer sacrifices in +your honour, and all sorts of extravagances of that kind. Of course you +will refuse to allow any impiety of that description, and will decline +to be made chief; but you had better demand that all our property should +be at once restored to us, and that we should be suffered to depart +without molestation." + +"How am I to make them understand?" + +"Omatoko will make them understand you well enough. He is as much +frightened as the rest. You can also, if you like it, require that a +guide be sent with us for the first part of the journey. You may be +quite sure, that whatever you ask they will agree to." + +"Won't you stay with me?" + +"I think I had better not. Their feeling of awe and reverence is +personal to yourself. They don't regard us as favourites of the god; +and but for your protection of us, would be ready to put us to death +this minute. We are going back to our hut. I need not tell you to +offer up our thanks for this great mercy. We will wait there till you +join us." + +"Well, Charles, I will do as you advise. But I wish this was over. I +can hardly realise to myself what has happened. It is all like a dream! +I only feel as if I could think of nothing till I had joined with you +in your thanksgiving for this wonderful deliverance." + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +FRANK, LORD-PARAMOUNT--AN ANT VILLAGE--AMIABLE BEES--A HASTY DRAUGHT-- +SEARCH FOR WATER--A STRANGER. + +It was the second day after the narrow escape of our travellers as +related in the last chapter. The boys, attended by Lion, who seemed +quite strong again, were sitting under the shade of some gum trees, in +the immediate neighbourhood of what appeared to be a deserted village, +only that the houses were much larger and more solidly built than those +described in a previous chapter. They were awaiting the arrival of the +doctor, who had loitered behind to take leave of Omatoko, and make sure +that he had set off on his return to the Hottentot kraal. Frank had had +very great difficulty in parrying the importunity of the Hottentots, who +were fully convinced that the prosperity of the tribe would be secured +for ever, if he would but consent to take upon himself the chiefship, +from which they were prepared to eject Umboo without further ceremony. +When they found that his determination on the subject could not be +overcome, their chagrin was so great, that nothing but their +superstitious fears of Frank's influence with their deity restrained +them from using force to compel him to conform to their wishes. But he +had, by Lavie's advice, adopted a very curt and lofty demeanour with +them, refusing to listen to any argument, and peremptorily insisting +that all the arms belonging to the party should be restored, on pain of +his heavy displeasure. This demand was no sooner made known, through +Omatoko, than it was complied with. All the Hottentots who had +possessed themselves of the guns, shot-belts, powder-flasks, watches, +etc, bringing them back, and laying them at his feet with the humblest +expressions of contrition. Umboo was among the suppliants, his cowering +figure presenting a curious contrast to the haughty and merciless aspect +he had exhibited only a few hours previously. Frank raised him up, and +gravely assured him of his forgiveness; but added that all the strangers +would depart on the following day, with provisions for one day's +journey, and Omatoko, as their guide, for the same space of time. But +after that, he said, the tribe must make no further inquiry respecting +them, under penalty, once more, of his displeasure! Umboo (who in his +heart, perhaps, was not unwilling to be rid of Frank, notwithstanding +the overwhelming advantages that would have attended his rule), answered +submissively, that the pleasure of the "favoured one" should be fully +executed; and accordingly, on the next day, the travellers had all left +the village and journeyed northwards, towards the spot known as the +Elephant's Fountain. Omatoko, who had been as much terrified as his +countrymen, waited on them during the journey with abject servility. +His time was now up, and he had been despatched on his return +homewards--Lavie (as the reader has heard) accompanying him some way, to +make sure that, after all, he did not intend to follow them. + +"Well, Frank, you did it well, I must say," observed Nick, "and kept +your countenance a deal better than I should have done, when you talked +to them of the danger there was of your being displeased, if they failed +to perform any particular of your sovereign pleasure. I wonder what +they thought _would_ have happened, if you had been angry with them!" + +"Oh, they thought that there would come a murrain, and cut off the +cattle; and a blight, and destroy the fruit; and a pestilence, and kill +themselves. I had only to order, and I might pitch it into them any way +I liked! Omatoko told me so." + +"Did he, the rascal! Well, upon my honour, Frank, if I had been you, +I'd have ordered them to give him six dozen, and Umboo nine dozen, and +Leshoo twelve. It is not one bit more than they deserved, and it would +have been a sight to see! The Hottentots would have laid it on, and +with a will too!" + +"You don't mean what you are saying, Nick, I am sure," struck in Warley. +"I wonder you don't feel that this is not a thing to be made a joke +of." + +"You're right, Ernest," said Frank; "we ought not to take it in that +way. Indeed, I am sure I am thankful enough for the mercy shown us, and +should be sorry if you thought otherwise. And so does Nick, too, I'll +answer for it." + +"Of course I'm thankful," said Gilbert. "And I dare say I am too apt to +turn things into jest. Well, we'll drop the matter now, at all events. +And by the same token, here comes the doctor. Now, I suppose, we shall +hear whether this place will do for our halt for the night or not. +Well, doctor, is the rascal really gone?" + +"Yes, I am satisfied he is. I doubted, at first, whether Omatoko really +believed in the beetle. He has lived so long among the Dutch, that I +thought he might have learned better. But he hasn't, I am persuaded. +Yes, he has really gone back. He daren't follow us." + +"That is well, at all events. Well, what do you think of this as a +halting-place? It's an abandoned kraal, I suppose, only it must have +belonged to some tribe of savages, who took more pains with their +house-building than those Namaquas." + +"Kraal, Nick? Do you suppose these houses, for such they may certainly +be called; do you suppose these houses to be the handiwork of men?" + +"To be sure I do," returned Nick; "who but men could have built them?" + +"They are nests of white ants," said Lavie, "and if we were to stay here +all night, our clothes, our knapsacks, our belts, and everything that +could be devoured by them, would be gnawed to pieces!" + +"Ants, doctor! You are joking, surely. What--that hut there, or +whatever it is, is a good twenty feet high, and thirty, I'll go bail for +it, in diameter? Ants make that! It isn't possible." + +"It's true, anyhow," said Lavie. "I know they have been found more than +a hundred feet in circumference. It is the enormous number of the ants +that enables them to construct such huge dwellings. And, after all, +their work is nothing compared with that of the coral insect of the +Pacific." + +"Don't they sometimes build in the trunks of trees?" asked Warley. + +"Very frequently," answered the surgeon. "Their mode of going to work, +when they do, is very much like their house-building. In the latter +case, they heap together an immense mass of earth, which they form into +innumerable galleries, all leading, inwards, to the central chamber of +the structure. When they choose a tree, and they generally pitch upon +one of the largest trees they can find--a baobab, perhaps, or a giant +fig--they simply eat these galleries out of the wood, taking care never +to disturb the outer bark. In this manner they will sometimes destroy +the whole inside of a vast fruit tree so completely, that it crumbles to +dust as soon as touched." + +"Well, it is very wonderful," said Frank, "I wonder how it happens that +we have seen nothing of them during the two hours or so that we have +been here." + +"That is because they work only by night. It is supposed, I believe, +that they are torpid by day." + +"Well, then, I suppose we must shift our quarters," remarked Nick. "It +would not be pleasant to have the clothes eaten off one's back, +certainly. We had better start, hadn't we, or it will be late?" + +"Stop a moment," said Lavie, who had been carefully noting one +particular ant-hill for some minutes. "Ay, I thought so," he added +presently, "there is a bees' nest in yonder mound, and most likely a +large accumulation of honey. If you are fond of honey, you may sup off +it without difficulty." + +"I am very particularly fond of honey," answered Nick, "but I don't know +about there being no difficulty. The last time I assisted at the taking +of a hive, there was a very considerable `difficulty.' I was stung, in +fact, so badly, that I vowed never to go near bees again. However, if +_you_ don't mind--" + +"None of us need mind," said the surgeon; "these bees are different from +our English bees. They never sting people. There isn't even any +necessity to smoke them." + +"Really!" returned Nick. "Now that I call the height of amiability. +But are you sure, doctor? It seems too good to be possible." + +"You'll soon see," said Lavie, walking up to the mound he had marked. +"Ay, there is the hole where the bee went in. Just hand me the knife, +Ernest." He cleared away the earth, avoiding, as much as possible, any +injury to the work of the bees, and presently laid bare a great mass of +comb, full of honey and pollen; of this he cut off several large pieces, +as much as they could conveniently carry; the bees, in complete +justification of his assurances, offering no kind of interference--a +fact which drew forth a second eulogium from Nick, who only deplored, he +said, that they couldn't be conveyed to England, to instruct their +brethren there. + +They now resumed their journey, resolving to camp for the night at the +first spot where shade and water were to be found. But their quest was +not fortunate. The afternoon was unusually scorching and dry; and +though they came to several patches of trees and shrubs, they could find +neither fount nor pool. At length the sun had declined so low in the +horizon, that it was plain that scarcely more than an hour of daylight +remained; and they would have to pass the night without having quenched +their thirst, unless water should very speedily be discovered. + +Under these circumstances they were greatly rejoiced to see Lion, who +had been trotting along soberly by Frank's side ever since they left the +ant-hills, suddenly throw up his head and snuff the air, which were his +modes of indicating that there was a spring at no great distance. + +"Hurrah! old fellow," shouted Frank; "off then, and find it. We'll have +a race, Nick, which shall reach it first." + +They started off, the other two following at a somewhat slower pace. +Lion soon went ahead, directing the course of the boys towards a small +kloof, visible about a mile off, containing a grove of palms and date +trees, with a thick belt of underwood surrounding it. Heedless of the +heat, which by this time, however, was a little tempered by the cool +breeze that had sprung up at sunset, they bounded gaily along, and +presently reached the kloof. It appeared to Frank--who, closely +following Lion, was the first of the four to enter it--quite a little +Paradise. Under the shade of the palms, surrounded by delicious +verdure, was a large spring bubbling up from the ground, and stealing +away in a brook, which ran babbling through the thicket, until lost to +sight. + +"Hurrah!" he shouted. "Now for a jolly drink! What is the matter, old +boy?" he added a moment afterwards, as Lion instead of plunging into the +cool water, as was his ordinary habit, stood still on the brink, looking +up into Frank's face, with a perplexed and wistful look. "What's the +matter, Lion, why don't you drink? I suppose, poor beast," he added, +"he hasn't quite recovered even yet. Get out of the way, Lion; what are +you about? If you are not thirsty, at all events I am!" + +He pushed the mastiff out of the way as he spoke, and throwing himself +on his hands and knees, took a long and delicious draught. "You don't +know what is good, Lion," he said. "It's a rum colour, and there is an +odd sort of taste about the water; but it is beautifully cool and +refreshing. Come, drink, old chap; it will do you a heap of good." + +The dog, however, persistently refused to touch the water; and Nick, who +by this time had reached the grove, was so struck by the animal's +demeanour, that he paused before stooping to the waterside, and eyed it +with mingled doubt and curiosity. The next minute Lavie's voice was +heard-- + +"Don't any of you touch the water till I come." + +"I am afraid that warning comes rather late in the day for me," said +Frank, laughing, though he felt, nevertheless, a little uneasy. "I've +had a delicious draught already. Why isn't one to touch it, Charles?" +he continued, as the doctor approached. + +"I came upon a gnu, a minute or two ago, lying dead in the thicket. It +had no wound, and I suspected it had been poisoned. I know it is very +often the practice of the Bushmen to mix poisons of one kind or another +with the wells, and so kill the animals that drink at them. But very +likely the water is all right; only I had better examine it before-- +stay, what is this? Won't Lion drink it?" + +"No, he won't," said Frank; "and, Charles, I am sorry to say, I have +drunk a good deal of it before you called out I am afraid there is +something wrong. I feel very queer, anyhow." + +"How do you feel?" asked Lavie, taking his pulse. + +"I feel a giddiness in my head, and a singing in the ears, and am very +shaky on my legs. I had better lie down. I dare say it will go off +presently." He sank, as he spoke, rather than lay down, on the bank. + +"Put your fingers down your throat, and try if you can't bring the water +off again," said the doctor. "Unluckily, I have no emetic in my +knapsacks. The Hottentots emptied out all the drugs, while they had +possession of our things." + +Frank obeyed his directions, but with very little effect. He became +presently very drowsy, and Lavie, making a bed for him under a mimosa, +covered him up with all the spare garments of the rest of the party, and +some heaps of long dry grass. In a few minutes Frank seemed to be +asleep. + +"Do you think he is very bad?" inquired Warley earnestly. + +"I don't like the look of things, I must say," was the answer; "we don't +know what the poison is which the Bushmen have mixed with the water, and +therefore it would be difficult to apply the antidote, even if it could +be found here. Generally these poisons work very slow in the instance +of men, whatever they may do in animals. The best chance, I think, +would be to give him large draughts of fresh wholesome water, if we +could find it. It would probably dilute the poison and carry it off, +and it would anyway be good for him, as his pulse shows him to be very +feverish." + +"We'll go and hunt for water," said Warley, "Nick and I; you stay with +Frank." + +They took their guns, and went off in different directions. Warley +directed his steps towards another kloof, about two miles off, between +two high and stony hills. Trees and grass seemed to be growing in it +almost as abundantly as in that which he had just left, and if so, there +was probably either a brook, or water underground, which might be +obtained by digging. He hurried on as fast as he could, for the +darkness was fast coming on, and was within a hundred yards of the +kloof, when a fine gemsbok, with its tall upright horns, came bounding +down the narrow path at its utmost speed. The creature checked itself +the moment it saw Ernest. The hills on either side were too steep to be +mounted, unless at a foot-pace, and the gemsbok's instinct taught it +that this would place it at the mercy of an enemy. As soon therefore as +it could stop itself, it turned short round and galloped back into the +kloof. Warley fired after it, but his nerves were discomposed, and the +light was so bad that he could hardly have hoped to hit. He could hear +the bok rushing along with unabated speed, the sound of its feet dying +off in the gorge of the mountain; but two minutes afterwards there came +another sound, which seemed like the crack of a ride, though at a +considerable distance. + +If this was so, there must be some person, beside their own party, +somewhere about; for the shot could not have been fired by either Lavie +or Nick. At another time, Warley would have hesitated before going in +search of a stranger in so wild a region as that of the Kalahari. The +shot might have come from a party of Bushmen or Bechuanas; some few of +whom, he knew, had possessed themselves of European firearms. In that +case, himself and his whole party would run a very imminent risk of +being seized and murdered for the sake of their rifles. And even if the +person should prove to be a European, it was as likely as not, that he +was an escaped convict from the Cape prisons, who might be even more +dangerous to encounter than the savages of the desert. But Frank's +situation forbade any considerations of this kind. To secure even the +chance of obtaining help for him, was enough to overpower all other +calculations. + +He hurried on accordingly in the direction whence the sound had come as +fast as possible, and after half an hour's exertion, was rewarded by +seeing a long way off the figure of a man carrying a gun over his +shoulder. Even at that distance, and in spite of the uncertain light, +Ernest could perceive that he was a European. Somewhat assured by this, +he shouted at the top of his voice, and presently saw the stranger stop, +and look behind him. The sight of Ernest seemed to surprise him, for +after looking fixedly at him for a few moments, he walked rapidly down +the glen to meet him. As they approached nearer, Warley could +distinguish that the new comer was a man advanced in life, but of a +hardy frame, and his features showed traces of long exposure to the +extremes of cold and heat His dress was peculiar. It consisted of a +hunting-coat of some dark woollen material, with breeches and gaiters to +match, and a broad leather belt, in which were stuck a variety of +articles, which might be needed in crossing the desert:--a drinking-cup +of horn, a flint and steel, a case containing apparently small articles +of value, together with a powder-flask and shot-case. His long gun he +carried slung over his shoulder; and a large broad brimmed hat, the roof +of which was thick enough to resist the fiery rays of even an African +sun, completed his attire. He was not a hunter, that was plain. He +could hardly be a farmer or an itinerant trader, and tourists in those +days were persons very rarely to be met with. Moreover, his first +address showed him to be a man of superior education to any of these. + +"I wish you good day, sir," he said in correct English, though with +something of a foreign accent. "I did not know that there was any other +traveller in this neighbourhood, or I should have sought his society. +May I ask your name, and whether you are alone, or one of a party?" + +"There are four of us," answered Warley, "we are Englishmen, who have +been wrecked on the western coast, and are now trying to make our way to +Cape Town." + +"Indeed," returned the stranger, "but you are aware, I presume, that +this is not the nearest way from the west coast to the town you name. +You have come a long distance out of your way and chosen a very +undesirable route." + +"No doubt," said Ernest, "but we could not help ourselves. We fell in +with a Hottentot tribe, and have had a narrow escape from their hands. +But we are in a great strait now. One of our party has incautiously +drunk a quantity of water at a fountain near here, which we have since +discovered to be poisoned; and none of us--" + +"What the spring in the kloof, about two miles back, I suppose," +interrupted the stranger. "I passed it two or three hours ago. I +noticed that it had been poisoned--poisoned by euphorbia juice. Your +friend cannot have had much experience of the Kalahari, or he would have +detected it at once. You may always know water poisoned in that manner +by its clay-like appearance. How much did he drink?" + +"A long draught, I am afraid," said Ernest. "I was not present, but he +said so." + +"How long ago?" + +"I should think two hours." + +"There is no time to be lost, if his life is to be saved," observed the +unknown. "Happily, the antidote is easily found in these parts. When, +indeed, are God's mercies ever wanting in the hour of need!" + +He spoke the last sentence to himself, rather than to his companion. +Drawing forth his flint and steel, he struck a light, by which he +kindled a small lantern, which was one of the articles appended to his +belt. By the help of these, he began searching among the herbage which +grew thickly on either side of the path. Presently he lighted on the +plant of which he was in quest. It was shaped something like an egg, +which it also nearly resembled in size. He pulled up two or three +specimens of this, and shook the dirt from the roots. Then he again +addressed Warley. + +"Where is your friend?" he said. "At the kloof, where he drank the +water, I suppose? You had better take me to him as quickly as +possible." + +Warley complied in silence. Lost in wonder at the strangeness of the +adventure, he led the way down the glen, up which he had mounted an hour +or so before. + +The elder man seemed as little inclined for conversation as himself. +They proceeded in almost unbroken silence until they had arrived within +a quarter of a mile of their destination. Warley stepped on a little in +advance as they approached the kloof, and Charles came out to meet him. + +"How is Frank?" asked Warley in a low tone. + +Lavie shook his head. "Nick has found water, but we cannot get any +quantity down his throat I have tried everything I can think of, but in +vain." + +"I have fallen in with a man who seems to understand the matter, and +thinks he can save him." + +"A man--what, here in the Kalahari? What do you mean?" + +Warley hurriedly related what had occurred. "Of course, Charles," he +said, "I can't answer for his knowledge and skill But hadn't we better +let him try what he can do?" + +"Yes, I suppose we had," said Lavie, after a pause. "I can do nothing +for him; and though it is true that the poison is slow in its action, +yet it is fatal unless its effects are checked. I'll go and speak to +the man." + +He stepped up to the stranger, and in a few hurried words described the +condition of his patient. The newcomer nodded his head. + +"Euphorbia poison," he said; "but I trust we shall be in time. Have you +any means of heating water?" + +"I have some water nearly boiling in the iron pot here." + +"That is well. Be so good as to put some into this cup; rather more +than half full, if you please." + +He took one of the egg-shaped fruits, and pounded it in the hot water. +When it had been reduced to a fluid state, he signed to Lavie to lift +Frank's head, and then poured the mixture down the lad's throat. Then +covering him up as warmly as he could, he sat down by his side, and took +his hand. + +He sat there, without speaking, for nearly three-quarters of an hour; +then he looked up and said-- + +"Let us give thanks to God. The boy's life will be spared. He is +beginning to sweat profusely. We have now only to keep him warmly +covered up, and the effects of the poison will pass off." + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +THE STRANGER'S STORY--GEORGE SCHMIDT--IMPORTANT NEWS--THE COMMANDO +SYSTEM--THE ROOT OF THE MATTER--A BAND OF MARAUDERS. + +"Have you practised your profession in this country for very long?" +asked Nick of their visitor, as they sat over their supper an hour or +two later in the evening. + +The latter smiled. "Yes," he answered, "for nearly fifteen years. But +are you sure you know what my profession is?" + +"Are you not a doctor?" rejoined his questioner. + +"Well, I suppose I may call myself a doctor," was the reply, "but a +physician of the soul, not of the body--though, as you have seen, I have +picked up a little knowledge of body-curing too, in the course of my +travels." + +"A missionary!" exclaimed Warley. "I am so glad. I have been so hoping +that we might fall in with one. But we were told that there had never +been more than a very few in Southern Africa, and even they had now left +it." + +"I am sorry to say you heard no more than the truth," said the stranger. +"But I trust there is a better prospect now." + +"I am glad to hear it," observed Lavie. "I guessed what your employment +was, and was afraid you might be in trouble, if not in danger. When I +left Cape Town two years ago--" + +"Ah, you have resided in Cape Town. Then you will know something of +what our trials and discouragements have been. But no one but the +missionaries themselves can really enter into them." + +"I wish you would give us your experiences," said Lavie. "As you say, +in the colony there is a very confused and imperfect knowledge of your +proceedings: and there is, besides, so large an amount of prejudice on +the subject, that even those most favourably inclined towards you, have +heard, I doubt not, a most unfair version of it." + +Warley eagerly seconded this proposal, and the stranger, who seemed +willing enough to comply with their wishes, began his recital. + +"I should tell you first," he said, "what perhaps you have guessed--that +I am, by descent, half English and half Dutch. Our family name was +Blandford, and we were owners of large property in one of the southern +counties; but it was forfeited in consequence of our determined +adherence to the house of Stuart. After the unfortunate issue of the +attempt in 1745, we were obliged to leave England, and took up our +residence in Holland; where my father married the daughter of a Dutch +merchant, named De Walden, whose name he thenceforth adopted. + +"As the hopes of the restoration of the exiled family grew ever less and +less, my father entered with more interest into his father-in-law's +business. The latter carried on a brisk trade with the Cape of Good +Hope, and thither I was sent, when barely twenty-one, as one of the +junior partners in the house. I resided for many years at Stellenbosch, +occasionally passing months together at Klyberg, a large farm in the +north of the colony, not far from the Gariep, or the Orange river, as it +has since been named." + +"Not very far from where we are now, in fact," observed Lavie. + +"It was nearer to the west coast than this," said De Walden, "by some +hundreds of miles, and the country was very fertile. Both at +Stellenbosch and Klyberg we employed a great number of Hottentots as +slaves. Our treatment of them I shall remember with shame and grief to +the last day of my life!" He paused from emotion. And Lavie said-- + +"You were not different, I suppose, in your treatment of them from your +neighbours?" + +"Unhappily, no. But that is small comfort. It seems wonderful to me +now, with my present feelings, how I could have accepted without +questioning, as I did, the opinions of those about me on the subject. +We entertained the notion that the natives were an inferior race to +ourselves, intended by Providence to be kept in a condition of +servitude, as the sheep and oxen were; to be kindly treated if they were +docile and industrious; to be subdued and punished if refractory." + +"That is, of course, a perverted view," said the doctor, "but still no +one, who has seen much of these races, can doubt their inferiority, or +the necessity of their being instructed and kept in control by the +whites." + +"Granted," said the missionary. "The whites had, in fact, a mission of +love and mercy entrusted to them. They ought to have taught the +natives, and raised them gradually to a level with themselves. But we +never taught or raised them. On the contrary, our persistent +determination was to keep them down. We dreaded their acquiring +knowledge; and looked with jealousy and dislike upon some earnest and +devoted men, who had come from Europe for the purpose of enlightening +them." + +"Did you come across George Schmidt, sir?" inquired Warley, with an +eagerness of manner which attracted De Walden's attention. "I have read +about him, and have been anxious to meet some one who knew him." + +"Yes," said De Walden, "to my shame, I did. One of the first things I +remember, after my arrival at Klyberg, was an outburst of anger because +the good and holy man you name had baptised one of his converts. You +may well look surprised, but so it was. By the law of the Cape, no +baptised person could be a slave; so that the baptism of a Hottentot had +the effect of manumitting him. Of course the law was a mistake, and +ought to have been altered. A slave, as Saint Paul has emphatically +taught us, may be as true a Christian as his master. But the Dutch had +no thought of altering the law, and were resolved rather to keep their +slaves in heathen darkness than lose their services." + +"That is much what I read," said Warley; "and Schmidt was obliged to +leave the colony, was he not?" + +"He was, and never returned to it, though he earnestly longed and prayed +that he might. His prayer was heard after his death, and his spirit +returned in the faithful band of servants, who were raised up to carry +on his work. I never saw _George_ Schmidt while in Africa. I had no +wish to do so. His name was a by-word of reproach on my lips. But +afterwards, while I was in Holland, during a three years' absence from +the colony, I did encounter him." + +The speaker paused for a few minutes, and then resumed. "I shall never +forget our meeting. I was passing through one of the towns on the +Rhine, when I saw a notice that George Schmidt would deliver a discourse +about South African Missions, and endeavour to raise funds for carrying +them on. I determined to go to the meeting, expose the falsehood and +calumnies which I should be sure to hear, and raise such a tumult as +would put a stop to him and his doings. I went and I heard him. What +we read in the Bible of men forsaking all and following Christ--which +had always seemed so difficult to be believed--came home to me in all +its vividness. I was carried away by his simple eloquence. I was +humbled, conscience-stricken, filled suddenly and for ever with a new +purpose in life. I went to him as soon as the meeting was over, told +him who I was, and asked his forgiveness for what I and mine had done to +thwart and grieve him." + +"And he welcomed you kindly, doubtless?" said Lavie. + +"Yes, like himself I remained in Holland, and used every means in my +power to obtain the leave to renew his mission, which he was seeking +from the Government. My family remonstrated against the course I was +pursuing, and finding that I was not to be moved, renounced all +connection with me. I cared little for that; but the failure of my +applications to the authorities distressed me much more than it did +Schmidt; who closed his eyes, in extreme old age, fully assured that the +prayer of his life would soon be granted." + +"And it was, was it not?" asked Warley. + +"Yes. In 1792 we obtained the long-desired permission. I was one of +those who accompanied Marsveld and his colleagues to South Africa. I +well remember the day when we visited Bavian's kloof, which had been the +scene of George Schmidt's labours, broken off nearly fifty years before. +There were the remains of the school he had built, and the cottage in +which he had dwelt--all in ruins, but sacred in our eyes as the homes in +which we had been born. There was the pear tree which he had planted, +now a strong and lofty tree. Above all, there were the remains of the +flock he brought into the Redeemer's fold--one or two aged servants of +Christ whom he had instructed in the faith, and who had retained the +memory of his lessons through fifty years of darkness!" + +"The Dutch did not interfere with you any further, did they, sir?" asked +Ernest. + +"Not as they had done before, but they discouraged us indirectly in +every possible way. They would never suffer us to build a church, in +which to carry on our worship; and it was not until the English took +possession of the Cape that we were able to do so." + +"You were not interfered with during the time of the English occupation, +I believe," said Lavie. + +"No, if anything, helped and encouraged. When the colony was restored +to the Dutch three years ago, another attempt was made to turn us out of +the colony. But English rule had produced its effect on public opinion, +and nothing open was attempted. The system pursued by the Dutch farmers +was, nevertheless, so obstructive, that I thought it better to give up +my mission to the Hottentots, and betake myself to a different part of +the colony, where I have been living for the last two years." + +"And where are you going now?" asked Warley. + +"Back to the Hottentots. The English Government will protect me, +doubtless, as it did before, and I shall have every reasonable hope of +succeeding." + +"The English Government!" repeated Nick, hastily. "Have the English +retaken the colony!" + +De Walden looked at him with surprise. "Do you not know," he said, +"that on the 10th of January last, Cape Town was surrendered to the +English? By this time, I should imagine, the whole of the Dutch troops +have left the colony." + +"No," said Lavie, "we did not know it, though we are not much surprised +to hear it. When we left England, there was some talk of sending out an +expedition to recover the Cape. But the Government kept their +intentions very secret. The Hottentots, among whom we have been living +for several weeks, had heard of the approach of a British fleet, but +knew nothing as to the issue of the expedition. So the Dutch have lost +the colony again, have they?" + +"Yes," said the missionary; "and they will never regain it. The trust +has been reposed in their hands for many generations, and they have +betrayed it, and the colony is handed over to another people. For their +own sakes, may they fulfil it better!" + +"You are right," said Lavie; "as the New World was given to Spain, and +when Spain abused the gift, it was taken from her; so have the Dutch +received, and so have they forfeited, their South African dominions." + +"You speak well," said De Walden. "The parallel you suggest is very +much to the purpose. One's blood boils when one reads of the +barbarities practised on the defenceless Indians by Cortez and his +fellows; on the monstrous violations of justice, mercy, and good faith +which Pizarro displayed in his dealings with the simple-hearted +Peruvians. But neither Cortez nor Pizarro ever perpetrated more unjust +or inhuman deeds, than have the Dutch boors during the century and a +half of their possession." + +The doctor shook his head as he heard this assertion. "That is strong +language, Mr De Walden," he said. "I go along with you in nearly all +that you have said, but not that. You refer, I suppose, to the commando +system?" + +"Mainly to that, but not entirely." + +"Very well. I speak under correction, but I understand the commando +system to be this. When property is continually and persistently stolen +by the Hottentots and Bushmen, and no peaceable measures can secure its +restoration, the whites in the neighbourhood are summoned to assist at +an armed attempt at its recovery. They march into the domains of the +robbers, seize the cattle or other property which has been plundered, or +an equivalent, punish the robbers, according to the amount of the +offence, and then return home. Is that a correct statement?" + +"Theoretically, very fairly correct." + +"Well, where is the injustice? Those who will recognise no law but +force, must take their first lesson under that law. A savage has to +learn that he must respect the rights and feelings of others. That is +the foundation of all social order. Until he has learned it, you cannot +civilise him." + +"Granted. But the means you take are not the right ones. In the first +place, who gave the Dutch settlers the right to the land or the cattle? +They found the Hottentot and Bushman in possession. What equivalent did +they give them for their land? They were savages, you will say, and +could not appreciate its value. True, but the Dutchmen could. Did they +not take advantage of the ignorance of the aboriginals to gain +possession, on ridiculously cheap terms, of their property. If so, the +rights of which you speak are founded on fraud and extortion, and are, +in fact, no rights at all, but simply wrongs." + +"Do you mean that there can be no dealings at all between civilised +races and savages?" + +"By no means. If the civilised trader is an honest man, he will +appraise the land at its true value, and hold it in trust for the +vendor." + +"How hold it in trust?" + +"He will remember that he cannot pay the fair purchase-money down, and +therefore hold it for the seller, till he can pay it. He will remember, +that the seller was supported off the land previously to its sale, and +ought to be supported still by it, or its proceeds, or the bargain +cannot have been a fair one. He will therefore supply the natives with +food, if in need; will help them to live; will feel bound to furnish the +means of instructing them; will show infinite forbearance, until they +are instructed. He will be sensible that he cannot wash his hands clear +of them as he might, in a civilised country, of men, who had sold him +land at market price." + +"And what, if such forbearance produced no other result than increased +lawlessness and treachery?" + +"You have, first, to show that it would produce it. And you would have +some difficulty in doing that. When that mode of dealing with +aboriginals has been fairly tried and has failed, then you may ask your +question. But when has it ever been tried? I have striven to impress +the truths of the Gospel on the Hottentots and the Bushmen, and I have +failed; but why? Not because they could not understand the Gospel, or +because they hated it; but because those who professed it did not +themselves act up to it--did not, in fact, themselves really believe it. +Look you here. A tribe of Bushmen have been in the habit of ranging +over a large tract of country, and killing game, wherever they could, +for their support. They regarded that as their natural right; and who +shall say it was not? Well, some persons, of whom they have never +heard, make some bargain with some of their neighbours or +fellow-countrymen, and they find themselves suddenly deprived of the +rights which they and their fathers have enjoyed from immemorial time. +They traverse their old hunting-grounds and kill the first cattle they +fall in with, as they have been ever wont to do; and for so doing, their +villages are attacked by night, their huts burnt, their property +destroyed, themselves, their wives and children, enslaved or murdered! +Whatever sense of natural justice they may possess, must be outraged by +such acts." + +"I think I see. The natives have a right to be taught and cared for, in +return for their possessions." + +"Yes. And if this is not done, the settlers have no justification for +possessing themselves of their land at all. By settling in the country, +they make themselves the fellow-citizens of the aboriginals, and are +bound to treat them as such. If they cannot fulfil the duties of +citizens towards them, rather let them give up their lands and quit the +country, than provoke God by high-handed violence and injustice. The +policy of continually driving the heathen further and further away, is +only one degree less detestable than exterminating them at once." + +"And you think the natives could be converted to Christianity, if your +programme were followed? I have heard men doubt it, whose reputation +for wisdom stands high." + +"I dare say. But what is man's opinion worth in such a matter? Has not +God made mankind all of one blood? Did not Christ die for all? Are we +to believe that He did not understand His own work? We must do so, if +we believe that there is any nation on the face of the earth, which +could not accept the Gospel But it is growing late. I will visit my +patient once more before lying down to rest. He may want another dose, +but I hardly think it." + +They repaired accordingly to Wilmore's bed, and were glad to find him in +a calm deep sleep, which they did not disturb. The fire was then +replenished, and Warley having undertaken to keep watch during the first +part of the night, the others lay down under the shadow of the palm +trees and were soon sound asleep. + +Ernest sat over the fire, with his rifle in his hand, buried in deep +thought. Always of a grave turn of mind, the events of the last few +weeks had made him a man before his time. His life during that time had +been one of continual peril, and three times at least he had had the +narrowest possible escape from a dreadful death. He felt--as all men of +any strength of character always do feel under such circumstances--that +his life had been preserved for some high and worthy purpose, and the +conversation of the stranger missionary had impressed the same truth +more forcibly upon him. He had always had an inclination for the life +of a clergyman; its only objection in his eyes being the dull routine of +commonplace duties; which, however worthy in themselves, did not satisfy +his longing for enterprise and action But in Mr De Walden's career, all +that he thirsted after seemed to be realised. He felt that if the +latter would consent to take him as a helper in the work he had now in +hand, he should prefer it to any other lot that life could offer him. +But then there was the difficulty about money. He must have some means +of living, and the life of a missionary in Africa would not supply any, +not even the barest necessaries. Mr De Walden, it was evident, did +possess some private income; but it might not be enough to support two; +and even if it should be, he could hardly ask him, a total stranger, to +bestow it on him. There was his brother, who might allow him just +enough to start him in business. So at least he had intimated. But it +was unlikely that he would give him a farthing if he turned missionary-- +a calling especially odious in the eyes of the residents at Cape Town at +that time. Besides, Ernest had always felt the greatest repugnance to +taking Hubert's money. No, he feared he must give it up--for the +present at all events. He must take the Indian clerkship, which Lavie +had told him he thought he could get for him. He might save money, and +then later in life perhaps-- + +As he sat brooding over these thoughts with his arm resting on some pine +boughs which he had gathered, he was startled by seeing a dark object +crawling out of a bush at no great distance. It passed across the +pathway, and was hidden in the scrub on the other side before he had +time to look fixedly at it. It occurred to him at once, that it might +be one of the large black snakes which infest that country, and whose +bite was said to be extremely dangerous. He paused a moment in doubt. +He could still distinguish the black mass in the shrub though very +imperfectly. Should he fire at it and take the chance of killing or +crippling it. Well, he might miss, and if so, there would be a shot +thrown away; Frank would certainly be woke up, and it was most important +for him to get a sound night's rest. At all events he would see the +object, whatever it might be, by a clearer light before firing. He +cocked his gun and rested it against his knee. Then taking a handful of +dry fir leaves, he threw them on the fire which had sunk somewhat low. +A bright blaze sprung up, and showed in strong relief the stems of the +palms and the thickets of scrub around them. But the black mass on +which his eye was fixed was hidden by the shadow of a large tree, and he +could not determine with any certainty its outline, before the blaze had +sank again. Presently he felt something creep stealthily past him, and +Lion stirred uneasily in his sleep. He seized another and a larger heap +of pine leaves; but before he could throw it on the fire, he felt his +gun seized in a gentle, but firm, grasp by the muzzle, and gradually +drawn away from him. Before he could recover from his surprise, the +lock caught against a tuft of weed and exploded. The report was +followed by a yell of rage and pain, and at the same moment Lion sprang +forward. All the party, except Frank, were instantly on their legs, and +De Walden, with ready presence of mind, caught up a pine bough and +thrust it among the embers. It soon burst out into a flame and showed a +dark-skinned savage extended on the ground, a second struggling in the +grip of Lion, while several more were hurrying away in all directions. + +"Those Kaffirs have tracked me, after all," he muttered. "I thought I +had got rid of them, but it is next to impossible to do so. Well, let +us see whether they are much hurt." + +Lavie and Warley had by this time obliged Lion to relax his hold, and it +was found that the man he had seized had only sustained a few slight +injuries from the dog's teeth. The other was bleeding from a gun-shot +wound, but that too was not dangerous. + +"They are neither of them really hurt," said Lavie; "but we must +question them to-morrow, and meanwhile take care they don't escape." He +took some strong leathern thongs, which De Walden handed him from his +wallet, and with these dexterously tied their hands and legs. Then +desiring Lion to watch them, he lay down again and was soon fast asleep. +Warley followed his example, but the other two kept watch till sunrise. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +KAFFIR INCREDULITY--THE GREAT KALAHARI--A PRIZE--AN EXCITING CHASE--THE +KAFFIR GAME-TRAP--A NATURAL BRIDGE--AN AFRICAN FLOOD. + +Daylight broke at last, and the two watchers were rejoiced to perceive +that their prisoners, though evidently recovered from any injuries which +they might have sustained, still remained in the same place, indeed in +the same attitude as on the previous night. This, however, appeared to +be mainly due to Lion's vigilance, the latter still keeping the most +jealous watch over them, breaking out into an angry growl, and showing a +formidable broadside of teeth, whenever either of them moved hand or +foot. As soon as the morning meal was over, De Walden untied the thongs +by which they had been secured, and taking them apart, addressed a long +and seemingly an angry remonstrance to them. They replied submissively, +and appeared to be entreating pardon, which he was reluctant to grant. +At length the conference came to an end. With a low inflection of their +bodies, they turned away, and pursued the path up the kloof, never +turning their heads to look back, till they had vanished from sight. + +Mr De Walden now rejoined his companions. "In what direction is it +your purpose to proceed?" he inquired. + +"We were about to ask your advice," said Lavie. "We have turned out of +our direct way to avoid being followed by the Hottentots among whom we +have been living for several weeks, and now want to make our way as +quickly as we can to Cape Town." + +"I will accompany you there," said the missionary, "if it be agreeable +to you. Until last night it was my intention to travel into the country +you have just quitted, and resume my old mission work, which I left +three years ago. But, singularly enough, I am now in the same strait as +yourself. I have been living for the last year or two in the Bechuana +country; and the idea has latterly taken possession of one of the Kaffir +chiefs, named Chuma, that I have the power of controlling the elements, +and driving away disease at pleasure." + +"It is not an uncommon one, is it?" asked Lavie. + +"It is common enough for impostors among the Kaffirs themselves, to +pretend to such power, and they gain a certain amount of credence from +their countrymen," answered De Walden; "but they do not often fancy that +Europeans are so gifted. The fame of a very simple cure of a Bechuana +child, which was suffering from croup, and the circumstance that a +seasonable rain, after long drought fell, while I was residing in the +Bechuana village, are, I believe, the only grounds for the notion. But +Chuma was so possessed with it, that he has repeatedly made me the most +splendid offers, if I will take up my abode in his kraal." + +"I wonder you did not accept it," remarked Lavie. + +"You think it would have been an opening for teaching them better +things, I suppose. But that would not have been so. I could only have +gone as a professed wizard or prophet--under false colours, in fact. +And the moment I threw any doubt on the reality of my pretensions, they +would have turned on me as an impostor, and justly too. No, I told +Chuma that I would come to him as the servant of the God who sent the +rain and the sunshine, if he would have me. But that He alone could +command these, and I had no power over them, any more than Chuma himself +had." + +"And he?" pursued Lavie. + +"He did not believe me, and once or twice tried to seize me, and compel +me to comply with his wishes. I was very glad when the news of the +reoccupation of the Cape by the British, offered an opening for my +return to Namaqua-land. I thought I had managed my departure so well, +that they would not discover it for many days. But I was mistaken. +Chuma sent those men yesterday with peremptory orders to seize and +convey me to his village." + +"And you are going to change your route, in consequence?" said Lavie. + +"Yes; I do not believe Chuma will abandon his purpose even now. I shall +proceed to Cape Town and thence obtain a passage to Walfisch Bay. In +that way I shall baffle the chief, but probably in no other. If you +think Frank--that is his name, I believe--if you think him fit to +travel, we had better set off for the Gariep as soon as possible. Chuma +will be sure to send out a fresh company, as soon as these have returned +to him." + +"Frank is nearly well in my opinion," said Lavie. "The poison seems to +have been driven out by the profuse perspiration. He is a little weak; +but with an occasional rest, and an arm to lean on, he can go a +tolerable day's journey, I have no doubt." + +"Let us set off, then, as soon as possible. We have a long and very +dreary tract to traverse before we reach the Gariep--three hundred miles +and more, I should think. It will probably take us at least three weeks +to accomplish it, even if your young friend quite recovers his +strength." + +"But you are well acquainted with the way?" + +"Yes, indeed. I have traversed it often enough." + +"We are fortunate to have fallen in with you. I will go and arrange +everything for starting." + +They were soon on their way, Frank stepping bravely along, and declaring +that the motion and the morning air had driven out whatever megrims the +euphorbia water might have left behind. They soon came into a different +character of country from that which they had recently been traversing. +Hitherto they had been moving to and fro on the skirts of the great +Kalahari; they were now about to pass through its central solitudes. As +they advanced, the groups of trees and shrubs grew scantier, and at +length almost wholly disappeared. Interminable flats of sand, varied +only by heaps of stone scattered about in the wildest disorder, +succeeded each other as far as the eye could reach. For miles together +there was no sign of animal or vegetable life--not the cry of an insect, +not the track of a beast, not the pinion of a bird. The red light of +daybreak, the hot and loaded vapours of noontide, the gorgeous hues of +sunset, the moon and stars hanging like globes of fire in the dark +purple of the sky, succeeded each other with wearying monotony. There +was no difference between day and day. They depended for their +subsistence almost entirely on the roots, which De Walden knew where to +search for, and which relieved the parched lips and burning throat as +nothing else could have done. Their resting-place at mid-day, and at +night alike, was either the shadow cast by some huge stone, or a natural +hollow in its side, or more rarely a patch of scrub and grass, growing +round some spring, either visible or underground. The cool sunset +breeze every evening restored something of vigour to their exhausted +frames, and enabled them to toil onward for another, and yet another, +day. + +After nearly three weeks of this travel, they found the landscape begin +once more to change. The kameel-doorn and the euphorbia again made +their appearance, at first in a few comparatively shaded spots; then the +aloe and the mimosa began to mingle with them; and in the course of a +day's journey afterwards, birds chirped among the boughs, the secretary +was seen stalking over the plain, and the frequent spoor of wild animals +showed that they had again reached the world of living beings. + +Their guide now told them that they were within two days' journey or so +of the Gariep; which he proposed to pass at some point immediately below +one of the great cataracts. The river at this spot ran always, he said, +with a rapidity which rendered it almost impossible to ford; but at the +times when it was at the lowest, after long drought, as was the case +now, it might be crossed by climbing along trunks of trees which had +been lodged among the rocks and left there by the subsiding waters of a +flood. This required nothing of the traveller beyond a steady foot and +a cool head. Where there were several to help one another, the risk was +reduced almost to zero. + +The party woke up gladly enough on the morning of the last day of their +desert travel. The country was now thickly covered with wood. +Immediately before them was a plain very curiously dotted with patches +of thorns, growing at regular intervals about fifty paces apart from one +another, enclosing a large tract of ground with a kind of rude fence. +Nick was so struck with its singular appearance, that he stopped behind +his companions to examine it more closely. While thus engaged, his +attention was attracted by a grunting noise in the bush near him, and +peering cautiously through the bushes, saw what he supposed to be a +large black hog, unwieldy from its fat, lying in a bed of thick grass. +Here was a discovery! The party had not tasted the flesh of animals for +weeks past, and had not tasted pork since they left the _Hooghly_. He +shouted as loud as he could, to attract the attention of Lavie and the +others. Failing to do this, he discharged his gun at the hog, intending +at once to kill the animal and induce his fellow-travellers to return. +He waited for some minutes, but without hearing anything but a distant +halloo. Resolving not to lose so valuable a booty, he took the +creature, heavy as it was, on his shoulders and set out, as fast as he +could walk, under the burden, in the direction which they had gone. + +He staggered along until he had cleared the thicket, and was moving on +towards the thorn patches, when he heard a voice at some distance +shouting to him. He looked up and saw Lavie running towards him at his +utmost speed. Presently the voice came again. + +"Drop that, and run for your life. There's a rhinoceros chasing you." + +Nick did drop his load, as if it had been red hot iron, and glanced +instinctively round. On the edge of the thicket which he had quitted, a +large black rhinoceros was just breaking cover, snorting with fury, and +evidently making straight for him. Nick's gun was empty, and even if it +had been loaded, he would hardly have ventured to risk his life on the +accuracy of his aim. He threw the gun away, and took to his heels, as +he had never done since he left Dr Staines's school. He was swift of +foot, and had perhaps a hundred yards start. But the rhinoceros is one +of the fleetest quadrupeds in existence. Notwithstanding the lad's most +desperate exertions, it continued to gain rapidly on him. Nick felt +that his only chance was to get within gun-shot of his companions, when +a fortunate bullet might arrest the course of his enemy. He tore +blindly along, until he found himself within twenty yards of the thorn +bushes, which had so excited his curiosity shortly before. The next +minute he felt himself passing between two of the bushes, the rhinoceros +scarcely thrice its own length behind him, its head bent down, and its +long horn ready to impale him. + +He gave himself over for lost, and only continued to dash along from the +instinct of deadly terror. As he rushed between the bushes, he suddenly +felt the earth shake and give way under him. Staggering forward a few +paces, he fell flat on his face, tearing up the ground from the force of +the fall. At the same moment a tremendous crash was heard behind him, +followed a minute afterwards by a dull heavy shock. Nick sprung up +again, notwithstanding the cuts and bruises he had received, and glanced +hastily round him, expecting to see his terrible antagonist close on his +flank. But, to his amazement, the creature had disappeared! There was +the open space between the thorn bushes, through which he had just +passed, and there was the long grass through which he had rushed, but +where was the fierce pursuer, who was scarcely four yards behind him? + +While he was gazing round him in a maze of alarm and wonder, he heard +Lavie's voice close to him. "You may be thankful for the narrowest +escape I ever remember to have witnessed!" he said. + +"Where, where is the rhinoceros?" stammered Nick. + +"Down at the bottom of that pit, into which you would have tumbled +yourself, if you hadn't been running like a lamplighter. I'll just see +if the poor brute is alive or not, and if he is, put a charge through +his brain." + +He peered cautiously down the hole, but all was still there. The animal +had been impaled on the strong stake always placed at the bottoms of +such traps, and it had probably penetrated the vitals. Satisfied on +this point, he returned to Gilbert, who had now somewhat recovered his +self-possession. + +"Why didn't you run when we first called to you?" + +"I didn't know you were calling to me. What made the brute attack me?" + +"I don't know. The black rhinoceroses very often attack men without any +apparent reason, though the white seldom do so. But what were you +carrying on your back?" + +"A black hog, which I had shot--famous eating, you know. We had better +go and fetch it now. It will last us--" + +"A hog!" exclaimed De Walden, who with Warley and Wilmore had now joined +them. "I don't fancy there are any wild hogs about here; I never heard +of any. Is this what you call a hog?" he continued, a minute or two +afterwards, when they had reached the place where Nick had thrown his +load down. "Why this is a young rhinoceros--about a week old, I should +say! There is very little mystery now in the mother having charged +after you. Well, you may indeed thank God for your escape! I would not +have given a penny for your life under such circumstances. However, as +we have the animal, we had better take as much of its flesh as we can +carry. It is very excellent eating." + +"I should like to examine the pitfall, sir, if you have no objection," +said Warley. "I have never seen one, though I have often heard of +them." + +"I'll cut up the carcass, Mr De Walden," said Lavie, "if you like to go +with the lads." + +The missionary consented, and taking the three boys with him, pointed +out to them the ingenious construction of the trap, which had been the +means of preserving Nick's life. He showed them, that the whole +enclosure which had excited Gilbert's wonder, was one network of pits. +The thorn bushes were everywhere trained to grow so thick and close, +that it was impossible to penetrate them; and in the centre of each of +the open spaces between them a deep excavation was made, the top of +which was skilfully concealed by slight boughs laid over it, and covered +with tufts of long grass and reeds. At times, he said, the hunters +would assemble in a large body, and drive the game in from every side, +towards the enclosure. The frightened animals made for the entrances, +and great numbers were thus captured in the pits. Even those which had +passed safely through the openings, became easy victims to the arrows +and assegais of the pursuers, being, in fact, too much alarmed to +attempt to escape from their prison. + +Before they had completed their examination of the ground, Lavie was +ready to accompany them. Setting out without further delay, they +reached an hour before sunset the banks of the Gariep. Wearied as they +were with one of the longest day's journeys which they had accomplished, +neither Lavie nor Warley could rest till they had taken a full view of +the magnificent scene which broke upon them, when, after threading the +dense thickets and tortuous watercourses which border the great river, +they came at last on the main stream itself. The vast mass of water-- +which had been narrowed in, for a considerable distance by lofty cliffs +on either side, to a channel hardly more than thirty yards in width-- +shot downwards over a rocky shelf in an abrupt descent of fully four +hundred feet in height. On either side, the crags, partly bare and +rugged, partly clothed with overhanging woods of the richest green; +above, the tall mountains rising into broken peaks; and below, the +boiling abyss--formed a frame, which was worthy of this splendid +picture. The beams of the setting sun pouring full on the cascade, and +producing a brilliant rainbow which spanned the entire width from side +to side, together with the ceaseless thunder of the falling waters, +seemed alike to entrance and overpower the senses of the beholder. It +was not until they had stood for more than an hour gazing at this +glorious spectacle, that either of the travellers could tear themselves +from the spot, to seek the rest which overwearied nature demanded. + +On the following morning they were awakened by De Walden at an earlier +hour than usual. "We must lose no time," he said, "in crossing the +river. It is not so high as I expected to find it, and at the point for +which we must make, we can get over without much difficulty. But it is +on one of the channels which just now are almost dry, that I fear we may +encounter difficulty. The sky looked threatening last night, and if it +had not been too late I should have attempted the passage. It looks +worse this morning. I am half afraid there must be rain further up the +country; and if such be the case, the river may suddenly rise so +rapidly, that it will be next to impossible to escape it. We have not a +moment to lose." + +They hurried on under his directions, Lion following, and in an hour's +time had reached a narrow part of the stream, which was there further +diminished by an island in mid-channel. The latter was steep and +narrow, having evidently been worn away by the action of successive +ages, until scarcely more than ten feet of it remained. Against the +craggy peaks into which it rose, several massive trees had lodged during +some former flood, and had been left by the subsiding waters at a height +of eight or ten feet above their present level. They formed a kind of +rude bridge, which might be safely traversed by any one whose nerves +were firm enough to attempt the feat. + +Calling to Lavie to follow him, De Walden laid down his rifle and +climbed up the mossy roots of one of the largest of these wrecks of the +forest, till he had reached the first fork of the branches. Here he +stopped, and waited till Lavie was within six feet or so of him, when he +signed him to stop also. Warley followed, and then Frank, and lastly +Nick; each taking up his station a few feet off from his nearest +companion. Nick then passed along the various articles from hand to +hand, until they reached De Walden, who secured them by thongs to the +upper branch of the fork, and then climbed on till he had reached the +island, when the same process was repeated. + +In this manner, in about an hour's time, they passed safely over the +central stream, and began descending the bank on the other side, passing +without difficulty two or three of the narrower channels. But their +progress through the tangled underwood, which in some places had to be +cut with the axe before it would yield a passage, was necessarily slow, +and it was past noon before they came to the edge of the last and +broadest of the tributary channels--a stream too wide and deep to be +forded, even if there had not been fear that the overhanging banks +contained holes in which crocodiles might lurk. "We must fell a tree," +said the missionary. "We shan't get across in any other way. One of +the longest of these pines will answer our purpose, if it is dropped in +the right place; but we must go to work without delay, for I fear before +nightfall there will be rain. It seldom gives long notice of its coming +in this country, and when it does fall, it falls in a perfect deluge. +It is lucky we have the axe, or we must have gone back to the other bank +again. Hand it to me, Ernest. I think I can contrive to drop this fir +exactly into the fork of that large projecting yellow-wood there." + +He took the axe as he spoke, and went to work with a will, the others +relieving him at intervals, and labouring under his directions. But the +edge of the instrument had unfortunately become blunt from use, and made +its way but slowly into the tough wood. It was nearly three hours +before the task was accomplished, and the long trunk dropped skilfully +into the hollow of the tree opposite. + +"Now then, we must not lose a minute," said De Walden. "We are +fortunate that the rain has held off so long, but it must come soon." +He mounted the trunk as he spoke and crawled along it, observing the +same precautions as before. They had just reached the further end, when +suddenly there came--from a considerable distance it seemed--a dull +hollow roar, accompanied by a rush of chilling wind. + +"Quick, quick," he cried; "the flood is close at hand. If it catches us +here, we are lost. Climb the tree. It is our only hope." He sprang on +the nearest branch as he spoke, and mounted up from bough to bough, +until he had reached an elevation of twenty or thirty feet above the +surface of the stream. The others followed his example, as well as they +were able, catching at the limbs of the great yellow-wood tree which +chanced to be nearest to them, and scrambling from point to point with +the agility which deadly peril inspires. Nick, who was the hindmost of +the party, had not mounted more than fifteen or twenty feet, before they +all beheld, not a hundred yards off, a vast cataract of water rolling +down the river gorge, sweeping from side to side, as it advanced, and +converting the whole valley into a roaring torrent. Their temporary +bridge was swept away and snapped in pieces like a reed, and for a +moment De Walden feared that even the great yellow-wood in which they +had found refuge, might experience a like fate. It stood firm, however, +and the missionary was able to assure his companions that, as the flood +was not likely to rise higher, they were in comparative safety. But +they would have to pass the night, and possibly the next day, in their +present position, as it would be madness to attempt breasting the flood, +until its fury had spent itself. They had fortunately taken their +morning meal on the further bank, and each had some remains of it in his +wallet But it was a dreary prospect at best, and if the rain should +again fall there would be the greatest danger lest the cold and +weariness should so benumb their limbs, that they would be unable to +retain their hold on the branches. + +"What has become of Lion?" Nick managed to ask of Wilmore, who was +niched near him, in a hollow formed by the junction of three boughs in +one of the largest limbs of the yellow-wood. "I haven't seen him since +we got on the tree." + +"Poor old boy," returned Frank, "he was swept down the stream, when the +fir was carried away. I tried to catch him by the collar, but couldn't. +The last thing I saw of him was his black head in the midst of the +boiling waters. I think I would sooner have been drowned myself!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +STRANGE COMPANY--CAPTURED AGAIN--THE KAFFIR VILLAGE--CHUMA OBDURATE-- +LAVIE'S MISSION--THE WIZARD--A BOND OF FELLOWSHIP. + +It was a long and terrible night. The heaven was covered with vast +masses of inky clouds, which the gale drove rapidly before it; and +occasionally there were sharp bursts of rain, from which even the dense +foliage of the tree in which they were lodged but imperfectly screened +them. The howling of the wind round them, and the roaring of the +torrent below, rendered all attempts to converse with one another +impossible. They could only cling to their place of refuge, and count +the weary minutes as they passed, gazing anxiously on the eastern sky in +the hope of seeing there the first faint streaks of dawn. + +A little after midnight the fury of the elements seemed to have reached +its height, and now a new danger threatened them. The huge tree rocked +to and fro under the gusts of wind, as though it had been a bulrush, and +every now and then a loud crack from below, intimated that one of the +strong roots had yielded to its violence. At length, after one blast, +more fierce than any which had preceded it, the last fibre gave way. De +Walden felt the great trunk bend slowly forward, and settle down in the +water; and almost immediately afterwards it was carried down the +current, whirling and crashing against other trees as it went, with a +force which nearly shook its occupants from their hold. Fortunately +they had taken their stations on a branch which still remained above the +water when the tree was uprooted; but it was nevertheless only by the +most desperate exertion of the little strength which still remained to +them, that they could save themselves from dropping, exhausted and +benumbed, into the watery abyss beneath. + +At length the dawn began to glimmer, and showed that the tree, which had +become entangled with a number of others, had reached a point in the +river where it could proceed no further. The vast floating _debris_ had +lodged against lofty rocks, which projected some distance into the +stream, and thus an insuperable obstacle was offered to its farther +progress. As the light grew stronger, it revealed a spectacle so +extraordinary, and at the same time so frightful, that De Walden, with +all his long and varied experience, could not recall the like of it. +Numberless animals had taken refuge, as he and his party had done, in +the boughs of trees, or had been carried against them by the torrent. +The confused mass of trunks and branches was now crowded with the most +strangely assorted occupants that had ever been brought together since +the day of the great deluge; their natural instincts being, for the +time, completely overpowered by terror. The lion and the eland crouched +close beside one another; the steinbok and the ocelot clung to the same +limb; the hyena and the sheep, the tiger and zebra, jostled each other, +all alike apparently unaware of the presence of their neighbours. More +deadly enemies still were close at hand unheeded. Huge pythons, puff +adders, cobras, ondaras, black snakes, were twisted round every +projecting bough, darting their heads to and fro, and protruding their +tongues in the extremity of alarm. Even the huge bulk of the rhinoceros +might be discerned here and there, lodged on the bole of some giant +acacia or baobab; while above, the smaller boughs were tenanted by +multitudes of monkeys, for once omitting their customary scream and +chatter in the presence of mortal peril. + +De Walden perceived that it would be possible for the party now to make +their way from tree to tree, until the right hand bank should be +reached. That to the left, which was the one along which their journey +now lay, being cut off from them by impassable obstacles. But they must +get on shore first, and again attempt the passage of the river +afterwards. He shouted to the others, and at length succeeded in +rousing them from the torpor, which for some time had been creeping over +them. Guided by him, they crawled stiffly and wearily from their +resting-places, along one trunk after another, often almost pushing +aside beasts of prey, which it would have been death to approach at +other times, but which now shrank away from them in deadly fear--until +at last the river's bank was attained. Here they struggled on for a +short distance, through the dense underwood of thorn and reed, until +they had reached a patch of long grass; when all, with one consent as it +were, threw themselves on the soft couch, and were soon locked in the +profoundest sleep. + +How long they might have slept it is impossible to say. They were +awakened about the middle of the day by finding themselves in the hands +of a number of black men, who had already despoiled them of their +accoutrements, and were engaged in tying their arms behind their backs +with rheims of rhinoceros hide. They sat up and stared about them, +hardly realising at first what had happened. + +"Hallo, blacky," exclaimed Nick, when he had at length taken in the +situation, "what may you happen to be about? Do you know, these legs +and arms, that you are handling after that free-and-easy fashion, belong +to me? Why, I declare," he continued, as he caught a clearer view of +the man who was employed in tying him, "I declare that is one of the +fellows whom you let off one fine morning about three weeks ago, Mr De +Walden! One blacky is generally as like another as an egg is to an egg, +but I think I could swear to that fellow's nose and eyebrows. Ain't I +right, sir?" + +"Quite right, I am sorry to say, Nick," replied De Walden. "I am more +vexed than surprised at this. I knew these fellows would not return to +Chuma without us if they could help it, and half feared they might be +following us. But if we had got safe across the Gariep, they would have +come no further. It can't be helped, Lavie," addressing the surgeon, +who seemed inclined to remonstrate. "I would ask them to let you go, +and take me only with them, and it is possible, though not likely, that +they would consent But they would certainly seize your guns and +ammunition, and without these, and without a guide, you would hardly +reach Cape Town. No, we must go to Chuma's kraal now, and try what may +be done with him. I don't think he will venture to hurt us--anyhow, he +won't hurt you. There is the annoyance of the detention, but that will +be all." + +"I have no doubt you are right," said Lavie. "They have taken us by +surprise; and without arms we could do nothing against their superior +numbers. The less we say or do the better, until we reach their +village. Is it far off, do you suppose?" + +"I can't quite tell where we are. But I should think five or six days' +journey. Well, since you agree with me in the matter, I will tell them +we are ready to start." + +The Kaffir, who seemed the chief of the party, received this intimation +with evident satisfaction. It was plain that, although he was +determined, if he could, to take the missionary with him, and considered +that the presence of the rest of the party would be acceptable to the +chief, he was more than half afraid of the Englishmen, and would have +been very unwilling to employ force. He gave orders to his companions +to set out without loss of time, and in another quarter of an hour they +were on their way. Kamo, as the leader was called, walked first, and +carried De Walden's rifle, the prisoners, all five together, following, +and the rest of the blacks, seven in number, occupying their flank and +rear. + +De Walden's calculations proved to be very nearly correct. On the +evening of the sixth day, the travellers could perceive from the +demeanour of their conductors, that they were approaching their +destination. A halt was made about an hour before sunset, and two of +the Kaffirs set forward, carrying the rifles and other articles taken +from the English. In rather more than half an hour afterwards they +returned, accompanied by a considerable number of their countrymen, +carrying clubs, bows, and assegais, and evidently designed as a guard of +honour. They formed themselves into a sort of procession, five Kaffirs +in front with clubs and shields; then the whites in Indian file, with +two blacks on either side of each one of them, and the remainder of the +savages bringing up the rear. + +In this order, about a quarter of an hour subsequently, they entered the +Kaffir kraal; which was in some respects very like, but in others +different from, that of the Hottentots. The huts were not built in the +same regular order, as in the instance of the latter, and they were +entirely composed of wicker-work besmeared with clay. Small too as had +been the amount of cleanliness and order observable among the +Hottentots, there was even less here. On the other hand, there were +tokens of superior civilisation to be discerned on every side. There +were large fields of Indian corn (or mealies as they were called), which +were carefully fenced in, and now nearly ripe for harvest. There were +gardens, too, in which pumpkins and sugar-canes grew. Before almost +every door stood wicker baskets, earthenware pans, and iron or copper +bowls and pails--all evidently of domestic manufacture. One of the +largest huts seemed to be that of the village smith, and he and his +assistant were at work, engaged in hammering an axe head. + +The men were much darker, as well as of a taller and more powerful +build, than the Namaquas. The weather being warm, they wore scarcely +any clothing, and the stalwart muscular frames and well-formed features +of many among them, might have served a sculptor as models of the Lybian +Hercules. The women were not equal, either in symmetry of form or +regularity of feature, to the males--the consequence, probably, of the +severe and incessant toil required of them. They wore, for the most +part, a skin petticoat descending half-way down the thigh, to which in +colder weather they added a mantle of hide, secured by a collar round +the throat. It was growing dusk when the party entered the kraal; but +the chief, Chuma, came forth to greet De Walden, for whom it was plain +that he entertained a strange mixture of fear, admiration, and dislike. +He began by reproaching the missionary for his thanklessness in +rejecting his repeated invitations. Anxious as he was to bestow all +manner of honours and good gifts on the prophet of the white men, it was +ungrateful of him to withhold his good offices in return. "See," he +said, "the best house the kraal contains is yours, if you choose to +occupy it; or if that suits you not, we will build you a house after +your own fancy. As many cows and sheep as you may desire, as many +fields of corn, as many fruit trees as you name, shall be given you. We +will be your servants, and you may choose what wives you will. They +will be sent to your house without payment. Only, in return, do not +suffer our cattle to die of murrain, or our crops wither up for lack of +rain. What injury have we done you, that you refuse us your aid in our +necessity?" + +"It is in vain that I tell you I cannot do what you ask of me," returned +De Walden. "Again and again I have assured you, that I am as unable to +prevent the visitations of disease and drought as you yourselves are. +The God, of whom I have spoken to you, and about whom you will not hear, +He, and He only, can accomplish the things you ask. If you wish to +obtain the blessings of which you speak, bow down before Him, and ask +Him for them." + +"If I so bow down, will the prophet of the white men assure me, that I +shall receive what I entreat for?" + +"No," replied the missionary, "I can give you no such assurance. God +hears prayer always, and is well pleased with those who offer it with a +true heart; but He does not always grant what men ask for. It may not +be good for them to receive it." + +"What good, then, to pray, if there be no favourable answer?" rejoined +the chief, a cloud gathering on his brow. "You ask me to commit folly. +You trifle with me. You have brought down rain for others, and driven +away the disease that slew the cattle for others. Look, you shall live +here in the village, and we will kill you, if you attempt to escape. If +the rain does not come in its season, you shall bring it. If the cattle +die of pestilence you shall cause it to depart, or you shall yourself +suffer pain and hunger and death. As for these others, are they +prophets and wizards too?" + +"They are simply English travellers, on their way to Cape Town," said De +Walden, "and their friends are persons of importance there. You have +heard of the English?" + +"The English," said Chuma. "Ah, the English. Yes, I have heard of +them. They came over the great salt water, years ago, and fought with +the Dutch--did they not?" + +"They did. They fought with the Dutch and conquered them. You know +well that the Dutch are dangerous enemies to meet in battle. None of +the races whose skins are dark--the Bechuanas, the Basutos, the Zulus, +the Namaquas--none of them can stand before the Dutch--" + +"They have the fire-tubes," interposed the chief angrily,--"the +fire-tubes which strike men dead from a great distance like the +lightning, and no one can avoid it. They wear iron coats, and caps, +which turn aside the arrows and the assegais. They ride on horses too, +which are taught to fight like themselves. It is not equal. Let them +lay aside their coats and their tubes, and fight on foot like our +warriors, with clubs and assegais, and see who will conquer then." + +"You know they are not likely to do that," returned the missionary; "but +that is nothing to the present matter. I wish to show you that if you +cannot stand before the Dutch, much less would you be able to face the +English, who are braver warriors, and better acquainted with war, than +even the Dutch." + +"Ah, but the English have gone away," rejoined Chuma. "You try to +deceive me, but you cannot. The Dutch rule over the country again now. +The White Queen, who is a great magician, sent messengers to the English +chief not many months ago. But they came back and told her he was gone. +I know that, for Kama was in the Basuto kraal when they returned, and +heard their tale. She, I say, was a great magician, and they could not +have deceived her, even if they dared speak falsely." + +"They did not speak falsely," said De Walden. "The English went away +three or four years ago, and have stayed in their own land until now. +But not many weeks ago they came back over the salt water, and have +again conquered the Dutch, and are masters of the land." + +"Ah, the English again masters! We will not quarrel with the English. +We have seen them fight. But how do I know that they have come back? +How do I know that these persons are English, or that they have great +friends there?" + +"You have my word," returned the other. + +"Ah, but you deceive me in some matters, and may in others. I must have +proof of what you tell me before I let them go. But see here. Will +they give me their fire-tubes and their black powder as their ransom? +Then they may depart." + +"They cannot do so," said the missionary. "If you deprive them of their +guide and their weapons, how can they find their way so many hundred +miles, and how provide themselves with food by the way? You must let +them take their guns; and, if you are resolved on compelling me to +remain here, you must furnish them with a guide. By him they will send +you back any ransom you may agree on." + +"And when they get near the dwelling of their friends, they will send +their guide away empty-handed, or it may be they will kill him, and I +shall hear no more of him or them either. It is not good. No, I will +not quarrel with the English. But they live far off. They will know +nothing of these men where they are, or what may have become of them. +If I keep them prisoners, or if I put them to death"--the eyes of the +savage emitted a fierce light as he spoke--"if I put them to death," he +repeated slowly, "who will tell the English of it?" + +"It will certainly be discovered," said De Walden. "It is known that +they have landed on the sea-coast at no great distance from here, and +that they are wandering about in these regions. One of them is the son +of a great sea warrior; the others are his friends and companions. The +great Chief of the English will send out soldiers to search for them. +He will learn from many whither they have been taken; and if harm has +been done them, he will exact heavy punishment." + +Chuma shook his head, but he evidently was much moved by the +missionary's words. He conferred apart with some of his counsellors, +and an animated debate, to all appearance, ensued. At length he turned +away from them, and again addressed De Walden. + +"See," he said, "this is the way of it. One of the whites, whomsoever +they may choose, goes alone to the great village of the whites, and Kama +goes with him as guide; but the white man leaves the fire-tube here +behind him, which he will not need, for Kama finds food on the way. The +others--they too stay behind here in the village till Kama returns, and +tells me what he has seen and heard--does this please you?" + +"I will report to them what you have said," returned De Walden, "and +bring you their answer." + +He stepped up to the place where the four travellers were resting +themselves on a heap of skins, and reported to them Chuma's proposal. +"On the whole," he added, "I should advise you to accept it. I know how +suspicious these Bechuanas are. Never practising anything like truthful +and fair dealing themselves, they are incapable of believing that any +one else can do so. If you refuse, your refusal will be imputed to some +sinister designs which you are secretly cherishing; and Chuma is fully +capable of relieving himself from all immediate anxiety by putting the +whole party to death." + +"I quite see that," said Lavie. "The only alternative is attempting to +escape, and the chances are greatly against our succeeding in that. In +any case," he mentally added, "such a step would bring ruin and death on +you. No," he resumed, "we must certainly close with Chuma's offer. The +only question is, which of us is to be the one to go." + +"You must not choose me," said Gilbert. "I should only make a mess of +it." + +"I would go," said Frank, "but I do not think I am strong enough yet to +attempt such a journey." + +"And I would rather not leave Mr De Walden," added Warley. "You had +better go yourself, Charles. You are in every way better fitted to +manage the business." + +"I should not object," said Lavie, "but I do not like to leave you in +the hands of these treacherous savages." + +"You leave us under Mr De Walden's care," rejoined Warley, "and I, for +one, can fully trust to that." + +After some further discussion, it was so arranged. Chuma was informed +that his terms were accepted; and on the following day the doctor, +having taken an affectionate farewell of his young companions, set out +for Cape Town with Kama and another Bechuana for his guides; while the +others prepared themselves to endure, as patiently as they could, the +long weeks of waiting which must inevitably ensue. + +"Are these Kaffirs utterly without the idea of God, as people say they +are?" asked Ernest one day of Mr De Walden, about a week after their +friends, departure. "I was talking one day to a gentleman on board the +_Hooghly_, who seemed to be well acquainted with them, and he declared +that they had positively no religion at all. But another gentleman +differed from him, and was going on, I believe, to produce some proofs +to the contrary, but the conversation was broken off. I should like to +know what you would say on the subject." + +"They have no _religion_ in the proper sense of the word," answered the +elder man. "No sense of connection, that is to say, with a Being +infinitely powerful and good, who made and sustains them, and to whom +they are accountable. It is this that constitutes a religion, and of +this they know nothing. But they are extremely _superstitious_. They +believe in the existence of Evil Spirits, who have alike the power and +the will to afflict and torment them. To these they attribute every +disaster or suffering which may befall them." + +"A creed of fear, in fact, without love," suggested Ernest. + +"Precisely. They have no idea of pleasing the Unseen Powers by duty and +affection, but are keenly alive to the necessity of propitiating them by +continual sacrifices. They believe also, that it is possible to obtain +from their Evil Spirits the power of benefiting or afflicting others; +and those who are presumed to be in possession of these powers are held +in as great--practically in greater--reverence than the Spirits +themselves." + +"These persons are, of course, impostors." + +"In the main, yes. But there are some who are half impostors and half +fanatics--really thinking they possess some of the gifts attributed to +them, though how much, they themselves hardly know. This is the common +case with false prophets. Their heaviest punishment ever is, that they +partially credit their own lie." + +"And this chief, Chuma, supposes you to be one of these prophets?" + +"He does, and nothing I can say will disabuse his mind of the idea. It +is not uncommon with these pretenders, to appear to deny the possession +of supernatural powers, until they have obtained their price from the +chiefs! Chuma will not be persuaded that my disclaimers have no deeper +meaning than this. And I have given up the point in despair." + +"Are there any of these pretended prophets among the tribe?" + +"There is one--a man named Maomo. He was once in great favour with +Chuma; but a long drought, some two years ago, which he failed to +relieve, forfeited his prestige in the chief's eyes. He has been +labouring for a long time past to regain his power; and he regards me, I +know, with especial dislike, because he views me as the chief obstacle +to the attainment of his wishes." + +"He is not likely, I suppose, to succeed in his design. The chief seems +to regard you with the deepest awe, if not affection." + +"Ernest," said the missionary, "that is all delusive. His awe of me is +founded on an unreal basis, which _will_ some day, and _may_ any day, +crumble into nothing. And the moment Chuma ceases to fear me, his hate +will burst out in all its deadly fury. Maomo has already (as I know +quite well) so far worked upon the chief's prejudices, that he views me +as an enemy, though one whom it is not safe to attack. He has persuaded +him that the Spirits are angry at my attempts to draw away his people +from their ancient belief, and the consequence, he has assured him, will +be some heavy visitation of disease, or famine, or drought. Chuma has, +in consequence, positively forbidden me to attempt to make any converts, +or even offer prayers to our God, under penalty of his heaviest +displeasure. This very day he has told me so." + +"And you, sir?" asked Ernest, anxiously. + +"I, Ernest," answered the missionary, somewhat reproachfully, "I told +him, of course, that I should obey God rather than him, and strive to +bring any soul among his people to the knowledge of Christ. I left him +somewhat subdued, as determined language always subdues him; but the +moment any trouble befalls him, I know well what what will follow." + +"Let me help you," said Ernest, deeply moved. + +"Give me some of your work to do. I will do it to the best of my +power." + +"Notwithstanding the consequences?" asked De Walden. + +"Notwithstanding the consequences," answered Warley resolutely. And the +two shook hands with a warmth neither had before felt towards the other. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +MISSION TALK--IMPENDING DANGERS--AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND--KOBO'S STORY-- +MAOMO'S DESIGNS--DE WALDEN'S RESOLVE--A NIGHT EXPEDITION. + +Time passed on: the summer heats gradually gave way to the cooler +temperature of autumn, and that too began to pass into winter, and +nothing had been heard of Lavie or his guide. It had been calculated +that it would take them fully two months to reach Cape Town; but there +they would be able to obtain horses, which would so greatly shorten the +return journey, that ten or eleven weeks might be regarded as the +probable period of their entire absence. But March was exchanged for +April, April for May; June succeeded May, and July, June; and still +there came no tidings of the travellers. The boys grew anxious, and +might have become seriously alarmed, if it had not been that they found +so much to interest and employ them, that they had no time for indulging +morbid fancies. + +All the four whites occupied one large hut, some five and twenty feet in +circumference, and provided with mats, karosses, and all the other +furniture of a Kaffir dwelling-house, so as to render it a very +comfortable residence. They also took all their meals together, which +were provided at the cost of the whole tribe, and prepared for them by +Kobo and Gaike, the two attendants chosen for them by Chuma. But before +many weeks had passed, they had separated, by common consent, into two +pairs; De Walden and Ernest being almost continually together, and Frank +and Nick Gilbert taking up with one another, as a matter of necessity. + +Warley was deeply impressed by the character of the new friend he had +found. De Walden's devoted self-surrender, his resolute and +uncomplaining spirit under the most trying hardships, his cheerfulness, +and even joyousness, while enduring what would have broken most men's +spirits altogether, were the very ideal of which Ernest had dreamed, but +never expected to realise. + +"Did you make many converts among the Hottentots?" he asked one day. "I +remember hearing you say your mission, as a whole, had not succeeded; +but I suppose you made converts here and there?" + +"I cannot say I ever made one." + +"Not one! And yet you were going back to them again!" + +"Certainly. Why not?" + +"Rather, `Why?' I should have been inclined to ask." + +"Why? because God has commanded that the Gospel should be preached to +all nations, and that command stands good, whether they will hear, or +whether they forbear. It is our business to do His work, and His to +look after the result." + +"And you would not consider that a man's life was wasted, if he passed +his whole life as a missionary, without making one convert?" + +"No more wasted than if he had made ten thousand. Look here, Ernest. +You have never seen a coral island, I suppose?" + +"No," said Warley; "I have read about them, but I have never seen one." + +"You have read about them? Then you know that the coral insects labour +on, generation after generation, under the water, raising the reef +always higher and higher, till it reaches the high-tide level at last." + +"Yes, that is what I have read, certainly." + +"For generations, then, upon generations, the work of the insect was +wholly out of human sight. Ernest, was their work in vain? Did not +they help to build up the island as much as those whose labours could be +clearly discerned?" + +"You are right," said Warley. "One soweth, and another reapeth." + +"Yes, and both will rejoice hereafter together; claiming, under God, the +work between them. The work of the missionary--of the early +missionary--may seem to man's eyes as nothing, but it is merely out of +man's sight. He is building up Christ's kingdom, as the coral insect, +far down below, builds up the reef; and will, unknown though he be now, +have equal honour hereafter with those whom the world now accounts its +greatest benefactors." + +Many such conversations as these were held between the two friends--as, +notwithstanding the disparity of their years, De Walden and Ernest might +be called--and every day the bond between them grew stronger. Together +they visited the Kaffir huts, and held long talks with the occupants; +who were never unwilling to discourse on the subject nearest to De +Walden's heart, little as they might be inclined to hearken to his +teaching. He was, however, not without hope that he had succeeded in +making some impression. More than one man resorted secretly to him to +ask explanations of difficulties, which, it was plain, had been weighing +on their minds; more than one woman attended the prayers, which were +daily offered to the God of the Christians in the white man's hut, in +spite of Chuma's interdict Maomo heard of it, and it roused still more +fiercely his jealousy and alarm. He was, as has already been intimated, +partly a deceiver, and partly a dupe. He knew that many of his +pretensions were simply impostures; but he did believe in the existence +of Evil Spirits, and their power to injure men. Such doctrines as those +propounded by De Walden, must needs, he thought, be in the highest +degree distasteful to them; and they would visit the land with the most +terrible plagues, if the people fell away from the faith of their +fathers. + +He continually beset Chuma, therefore, with entreaties to put down the +evil, before it reached any greater height. He reminded the chief that +he had already forbidden De Walden, or the "White Lie-maker," as he was +wont to call him, to teach the people his new and dangerous creed. His +commands had been openly disobeyed, and he must now enforce severe +penalties against him, or suffer the most terrible consequences himself. +Chuma listened, but made evasive replies. His own mind was in a state +of doubt on the subject. He was incensed by the Englishman's obstinate +refusals to comply with his orders, and had begun to doubt whether he +really did possess the presumed supernatural powers. If that should +indeed be the case, he would make short work with him. At present, +however, he was not convinced that this was the case, and he had +resolved to defer any action until his mind was made up. + +Meanwhile Frank and Nick went out almost every day with their guns, +under the tutelage of Kobo, a middle-aged, strongly built Bechuana, into +whose charge Chuma had consigned them. The missionary was jealously +watched, not only by the chief's servants, but by those of Maomo also. +He was never allowed to leave his hut, unless accompanied by at least +one man, and never to leave the village at all, except by the chief's +express permission, and under the escort of three armed men. But the +boys were not so carefully looked after. Chuma contented himself with +warning Kobo, that if at any time they were not forthcoming, he would +have to pay the penalty with his own life. The boys knew this as well +as Kobo, and promised him that they would make no attempt at escape, +even if a favourable opportunity should offer; and the Bechuana, strange +to say, seemed quite contented with their assurance. He went out with +them into the bush, sometimes to a considerable distance, allowing them +to take their firearms, and carrying no weapon himself, but a light +hatchet, which would have been of no service to him at all, in event of +any hostile movement on their part, nor did he ever seem to entertain a +suspicion that could mean treachery towards him. + +"He's a good fellow, this blacky," remarked Nick one day, as they halted +under the shade of a large oomahaama, to rest an hour or two before +returning home from one of their shooting excursions. "He's a good +fellow, not suspicious of every word one says, or of the meaning of +every act one does. He really has some notion of honesty. More's the +wonder!" + +"Yes," answered Frank; "I should like to ask him where he got it from, +only I suppose he wouldn't understand one." + +"Oh yes, Kobo would--understand very well," said Kobo, joining in the +lads' conversation, in broken, but very intelligible English. + +"Hallo, hey, what!" exclaimed both the boys, half starting up with +surprise. "What! you understand English, Kobo?" added Frank. "How in +the world did you learn it?" + +"And why in the world didn't you tell us long ago that you understood +it?" subjoined Gilbert. + +"Kobo keep it secret--chief not know--prophet not know," answered Kobo. +"Kobo tell white boys, not black man." + +"Do tell us, then, Kobo," said Nick, whose interest had been keenly +awakened. "You may trust us to keep whatever we may hear to ourselves, +if you desire it." + +Kobo assented readily enough. It was plain that he was anxious, for +some reason of his own, that they should learn his history, and had been +awaiting his opportunity of telling it. We shall not follow the broken +English of his narrative, but relate it in our own words. + +Kobo had been born and reared in the Bechuana village where he was still +living; but when a lad of twelve or thirteen years old, had incurred the +chief's displeasure for some boyish offence, and to escape the +punishment incurred by it, fled from the kraal and took refuge in a +village lying at a considerable distance from his own people. He had +not been there many months, when the village in which he was living was +attacked by a commando, and with the usual consequences. All the males +who had reached puberty and the elder women, were shot or cut down; the +girls and children carried off into bondage. + +Kobo's fate had at first been very doubtful. He was just on the very +verge of what was considered manhood, and the sword of more than one +Dutchman was raised to cut him down. But he was, luckily for himself, +rather short of stature, and it was ultimately resolved that he should +be spared. He was taken to the southern part of the colony, and became +the slave of a Dutch farmer residing near Oudtshoorn. Here he remained +for several years, until he had quite grown to manhood. According to +his own statement, which it would be reasonable to receive with some +degree of caution, he was treated with the utmost injustice and cruelty +by his masters--ill-fed, overworked, and kicked and cuffed without any +reason, whenever his employers chanced to be out of temper. + +But there was no remedy for his wrongs. It was in vain to appeal to the +law, which would hardly entertain his complaint at all, and would have +done nothing to protect him, even if he could have made out his case. +To have offered resistance would have been the extremity of folly, as it +would only have brought down increased suffering upon him; and to have +attempted escape, would have been almost certain death. It was a long +distance to the border of the Bechuana country; and the fierce +bloodhounds kept by the whites would have overtaken and torn him to +pieces, before he could have gone the twentieth part of the way. There +was nothing for it but to bear it patiently. + +It chanced that there was a man residing in Oudtshoorn, who was of +European, but not Dutch, descent. He was believed to be an Englishman, +who for some unknown reason had chosen to leave his own country. He +took some notice of Kobo, whose appearance and manner pleased him; and +gradually the Bechuana confided to him his history, the cruel hardships +he endured, and the anxious longing which possessed him to regain his +freedom. Andrews, as the Englishman was called, listened attentively to +his story, and then advised him to wait patiently for a few weeks more, +when an opportunity he desired might present itself. Andrews was a +secret agent of the English Government, and knew that an army and fleet +were soon going to be sent out to attempt the seizure of the Dutch +colony. If this should prove successful, he would be able to help Kobo +effectually. The Bechuana followed his advice; and one evening, towards +the end of December, received an unexpected visit from his English +friend, who was mounted on a strong Cape horse, and led another by the +bridle. + +"Mount, Kobo," he said, "and ride with me. Your master is too much +frightened by the news he has just received to think about you; and even +if he did try to catch you, he couldn't." + +Kobo obeyed willingly enough. They rode through the whole of that +night, and next morning arrived at a place where fresh horses had been +provided. Continuing their ride with hardly an hour's delay, they +reached Simon's Bay, where an English fleet had just come to anchor. +Andrew's first step was to have Kobo regularly rated as his servant. +When the campaign was ended by the cession of the colony, they returned +to Oudtshoorn; where Kobo's former master was still residing, but he +stood too much in awe of Andrews to claim his fugitive slave again. +Kobo, who had become greatly attached to his English master, continued +for several years in his service, until in 1803 the colony was handed +back to the Dutch. When it became certain that the English Government +would take this step, Andrews advised Kobo to leave Oudtshoorn before +the departure of the English troops. Van Ryk, his former master, had +always looked upon him as his lawful property, of which he had been +violently despoiled, and would inevitably claim him as soon as the Dutch +power was again established. Kobo's affection for Andrews would have +induced him to remain and brave the hazard of this; but the Englishman +pointed out that he would not have the power of protecting him against +Van Ryk's claim, or against any cruel usage to which he would probably +subject him, and this would be worse pain to both than their separation. +Kobo accordingly was conveyed by Andrews as far as the Gariep, where +they took leave of one another, the Englishman returning to Oudtshoorn, +and Kobo rejoining his tribe. + +The latter, however, had kept the true history of his past life a +profound secret from his countrymen, passing off a plausible tale of +life among the Bushmen in its place. He was afraid that Van Ryk would +offer the Bechuana chief a large sum for his tradition, and he knew +Chuma's avaricious spirit too well to believe that he would refuse it. +When he heard from De Walden of the reoccupation of the Cape by the +English, he was instantly seized with an anxious desire to return to +Oudtshoorn, and would have offered himself to Lavie as his guide, if it +had not been that he dared not betray his knowledge of the English +language. He would, however, in all likelihood, soon have left the +Bechuana village alone, if he had not conceived a liking for the English +prisoners, and a desire to serve them in the danger which, as he could +plainly see, was threatening them. He was well acquainted with Maomo's +cruel and vindictive nature. Several persons, towards whom the wizard +had conceived a hatred, had suffered the most terrible tortures and +death through his machinations, and towards no one had he ever felt such +bitter enmity as towards De Walden. + +This feeling had been increased by the failure of his schemes, thus far, +to work the missionary's ruin. He had been hoping that the drought, +which often visited the country during the summer months, would give him +the desired opportunity of either obliging De Walden to comply with +Chuma's entreaties to bring down rain by his incantations, or of +provoking the chief's wrath to the uttermost by his refusal. But the +summer, to his infinite vexation, had been extraordinarily cool and +genial, showers falling at short intervals of one another; and causing +abundance of grass and water. What was worse, he could see that Chuma +attributed this exceptional season to De Walden's residence in the +village. He was farther than ever therefore from accomplishing his +object. + +But he was not a man to be balked of his purpose; and Kobo, who had +watched him narrowly, felt certain that he had some scheme on foot which +would achieve the object on which his heart was set. He had been absent +for two or three days in the previous week, and when he returned there +was a look of triumphant malice in his face, which he tried in vain to +hide. The only well-grounded hope they could have of escaping his +malicious designs lay in immediate flight. Chuma, as yet, was +favourably disposed, and had taken no steps which would render flight +impossible. But this would not last long; and De Walden must take time +by the forelock, or it would certainly be too late. + +Such was the substance of what Kobo imparted to the boys, and which they +made a point of laying before Mr De Walden immediately after his return +to their village. + +The missionary listened attentively, and asked several questions as to +Kobo's sources of information, and the details of the plan of escape he +had suggested; but when these had been answered he refused to avail +himself of the offer. + +"I have little doubt," he said, "that Kobo in the main is right, if not +in every particular, but it is my duty to remain here, and remain I +must, whatever may ensue. For the first time since my arrival in +Africa, I have a real, well-grounded hope of gaining a considerable body +of converts to our faith. What will these think of me? What hope can I +have of their remaining true to the creed they have half adopted, if I +myself am wanting to it? I am in God's hands, and I trust all to Him. +But you, my dear lads--it is not _your_ duty to stay here, and encounter +this danger. You, indeed, Ernest--" + +"Do you think _I_ could leave you?" interposed Warley reproachfully. + +"I will not ask you to do so," answered the missionary, clasping +Ernest's hands as he spoke; "but you two--" + +"We too will not leave you," broke in Frank. "I know I speak for Nick +as well as myself. We will all stay and endure whatever may chance +together. I will tell Kobo so forthwith." + +He sought out the Bechuana accordingly, and acquainted him with the +resolution to which all the party had come, adding however, that they +would all keep Kobo's secret most inviolably, and if any occasion should +arrive when his services might be required for an attempt of the kind +suggested by him, they would at once apply to him to help them. + +"Meanwhile," he said, "Kobo, let us have plenty to employ our time and +thoughts. It will never do for us to sit down and brood over our +troubles; we should go mad, I expect. Look here, didn't you tell us +that the spoor of some elephants had been seen yesterday or this +morning, at a short distance from this?" + +"Great many elephant in bush," said Kobo; "six, seven, big bulls, twenty +cows, not three miles away. Not go away to-day, perhaps not to-morrow." + +"Do you hear that, Nick?" said Wilmore. "We had better set out the +first thing in the morning, hadn't we, and try to get a shot at one?" + +"White boys see them to-night, if they like," said Kobo. "See here. +Kobo love white boys because they English. He wait here till they ready +to run away. Then he run with them. Meanwhile they shoot, hunt, fish. +Chuma not suspect they mean to run." + +"All right, Kobo," said Nick. "You're a brick, if you know what that +means, though you have been baked pretty black in the kiln. Well, let +us set off at once. Where do you propose that we should pass the +night?" + +"Bavian's Pool, Master Nick; three miles from here--beautiful pool, +sweet water, steep rock overhang it, too steep for beasts to climb, not +too steep for us. There we sleep among bushes; animals come down to +drink by moonlight; buffalo, gnu, zebra, giraffe, lion, rhinoceros, all +sorts of beasts--elephant come too--" + +"And we can shoot at them from the rock, hey?" interposed Nick. + +"No, not shoot from rock. Elephant not come near enough, and light bad; +but we track them when they leave waterside, and get good shot in +morning." + +"All right, Kobo. How soon ought we to set out?" + +"Three hours past noon, now. Get to pool at five. We start in an hour, +say." + +"In an hour; very good. Let us go and say good-bye to Mr De Walden and +Ernest, Frank, and get the guns." + +"Done with you," said Frank. "Shall we ask Ernest to come with us? We +have had very little of his company for a long time past, and I think he +would enjoy this. You know how anxious he always was to come upon a +herd of elephants, all the time when we were travelling through the +country where they are said sometimes to be found. He is a good fellow, +and I don't like to lose sight of him so entirely." + +"I agree with you, that he is a good fellow," said Nick,--"a deal better +fellow, for the matter of that, than I am. But I am afraid there is not +much chance of his making one of our party. There has been a change in +him ever since that escape of his from the big snake; and since he has +fallen in with Mr De Walden, he has been so taken up with him that he +can think of nothing else. But we can ask him, certainly." + +But on reaching the hut they perceived at once that it would be no use +to make any such suggestion--for the present, at all events. The two +friends were on the point of repairing to the house of one of their +converts, who had sent to them a message, entreating their immediate +presence. One of the calamities, which the Bechuanas dreaded beyond all +others, had just befallen him. It had been known for some time past, +that a disease, nearly resembling that which has visited European +countries of late years, was raging among the herds belonging to +neighbouring tribes, and more particularly the Basutos. It was regarded +with the utmost terror by all the races inhabiting Southern Africa, whom +it deprived not only of all their wealth, but of their very means of +subsistence. They were wholly unacquainted with any means of dealing +effectually with it; indeed, for the most part, they attributed it +entirely to the agency of malignant Spirits; and its appearance +generally threw them entirely into the hands of the pretended prophets. +In the present instance they had felt tolerably secure that it would not +visit the Bechuana village, the summer having been exceptionally +healthy. But that morning, two oxen had suddenly been seized with the +symptoms which were only too well-known. The owner, who had unbounded +faith in the missionary's powers, had sent at once to him entreating his +help; and he and Warley were just setting out to render what assistance +it might be possible to give. + +"Poor beggars!" exclaimed Nick. "It will be a bad job for them if they +do lose their cattle, seeing that is pretty well all they have. Shall +you be able to do anything for them, sir?" + +"I am afraid very little," said the elder man. "I have fallen in with +the disease more than once during my residence in this country, and have +hardly ever known a case of cure, when it has once fairly taken hold of +an animal But we will do our best. Good night, lads I hope you may have +a pleasant day's sport. If it hadn't been for this, I should have liked +Ernest to have gone with you. As it is, I shall want his help." + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +BAVIAN'S POOL--PLACE AUX ROI--GIANT BATHERS--AN ELEPHANT HUNT--THE +"NICK" OF TIME--NICK'S OVATION--DE WALDEN ARRESTED. + +It took Kobo and the two lads a good hour to reach Bavian's Pool. It +lay in a different direction from any which they had yet pursued, +through dense bush, in which they would soon have lost themselves, if it +had not been for Kobo's attendance. Occasionally they came on the spoor +of the elephants, a large herd of which had evidently passed that way +not many hours previously. The gigantic footprints were traced sharp +and clear in the sandy soil; the young trees, that had been broken off +or trodden down by their bulky frames, exhibited fresh white fractures; +those which had only been bent by the weight of the animals in passing, +seemed hardly yet to have regained their former positions. Kobo, who +spoke under his breath in awe, as it seemed, of these forest kings, told +them that the herd, in all likelihood, were reposing at the distance of +not more than a quarter of a mile from the path they were now +traversing. This intelligence appearing to excite the lads a good deal. +He added, that they must not attempt to get a sight of them now, or +they would certainly spoil their pleasure that evening, and probably +prevent the elephant hunt, which was to take place the next day. The +whole tribe, he said, was going out in the morning, and it was hoped +that a good many animals would be killed; and as there were several very +fine males among them, a large prize in the way of ivory was +anticipated. But if the herd should be disturbed, and especially if it +should be fired upon, they would probably retreat northwards towards the +great lake, and the Bechuanas would see nothing of them but their spoor +and dung. + +The boys yielded to his representations; and, turning in a different +direction from that followed by the elephants, they arrived in another +quarter of an hour at Bavian's Pool, which lay in the very heart of the +bush, with a clear space overgrown with grass and short rushes of about +twenty yards all round. On the west side appeared the rocks of which +Kobo had told them, and which presented a most picturesque appearance. +They rose abruptly from the bank of the tarn, to the height of perhaps +twenty feet, and sank down with a sharp descent to the level ground +everywhere, except in one place where a series of crags, piled one on +another, presented a kind of rude and very steep staircase, by which the +top might be attained. Up this the party climbed, and ensconced +themselves snugly under a shelf of rock from which they could see the +whole of the pool and the surrounding banks. + +It was still broad daylight when they reached their place of ambush, and +the spot was as vacant and still as though the whole landscape had been +a part of the great Kalahari itself But they had not been there a +quarter of an hour, when the sun disappeared behind the belt of woodland +which bounded the sight, and the night of the tropics succeeded with its +startling rapidity. The green waste of thorns and shrubs grew first +dusky brown, and then deep black; the bright sparkling water a dull +gleamy mirror, faintly rendering back the pale opal of the sky. But +presently there came a further change. The moon rose higher in the +heavens, and the stars came forth in all the unimaginable glories of a +southern night--not mere specks of light as seen in the more cloudy +skies of the north, but hung like cressets in the glowing air, the moon +itself a bright globe of liquid fire. A clear soft radiancy diffused +itself over the whole scene, tipping every tree top and distant eminence +with silver, and causing the surface of the tarn, as it rippled lazily +under the evening breeze, to flash in circlets of light. Presently +there came a pattering of feet, as a crowd of small animals came down +from different points of the compass to quench their thirst--antelopes +with their slender legs and liquid eyes, glancing timidly round them; +elands and koodoos tossing their stately heads; gnus and buffaloes in +large herds consorting together for mutual protection; hyenas, jackals, +and zebras, plunging to the mid-leg in the cool dancing waters, and +bounding lightly away when their drought was satisfied. It was a +beautiful sight to watch them come and go, like the scenes in a +magic-lantern. + +By and by, as the night deepened, the larger beasts of the forest made +their appearance. The tall graceful heads of giraffes were seen over +the tops of the bushes; tigers made their approach, singly or in pairs, +with their stealthy and noiseless step; lions stalked proudly down, as +though they felt that the sovereignty of the woods belonged by natural +right to them; occasionally the ponderous bulk of the rhinoceros might +be discerned, as he sucked in the refreshing water with his huge +misshapen snout, and retreated with a grunt of satisfaction when his +appetite had been appeased. Frank and Nick looked on with +ever-increasing interest, though it needed Kobo's oft-repeated +remonstrances to keep them from discharging their rifles at some of the +larger specimens, which came within tempting distance of their fire. + +It was nearly midnight, and the shores of the pool were beset by a crowd +of animals, consisting mostly of the larger beasts of prey, when a +sudden sensation of alarm seemed to agitate the whole of the +miscellaneous group. The giraffes lifted their stately heads, snuffed +the air for a moment, and then bounded silently away; the panthers and +nylghaus moved more slowly off; the lions uttered low growls, apparently +of dissatisfaction, but nevertheless followed the retreat of the others. +Even the sullen black rhinoceros, after bending his head awhile to +listen, beat a leisurely retreat, viciously snorting as he retired. In +a few minutes the shores of the pool were as still and vacant as they +had been when the boys arrived, five or six hours before. + +"What does this mean?" asked Nick in a whisper. "What have these brutes +seen or heard, to alarm them so? Are your countrymen on their way to +attack them?" + +"No, it not that," answered Kobo, in the same subdued accents. "Beasts +hear elephant coming down to drink. All get out of elephant's way. He +king among them. Listen, you hear them." + +"Do you really mean it, Kobo?" asked Nick, astonished at this +information. "The lions and rhinoceroses can't really be so much afraid +of the elephants as that comes to?" + +"I believe it's true," said Frank; "I know I've been told so before. A +lion or a rhinoceros wouldn't mind a single elephant much, I dare say; +but it's the whole troop of 'em together that they're afraid of. They'd +run right over a lion, or a rhinoceros either, and trample the life out +of them, before they knew where they were. Yes, Kobo's right. Here +they come over that low bit of hill there. What a lot! and what +thundering big beasts!" + +As he spoke, a dull heavy sound, like the roll of loaded waggons along a +hard road was heard; and the figure of an enormous elephant emerged from +the cover of the thicket, its broad flat head, huge misshapen ears, and +white tusks glistening in the broad moonlight. It was followed by +another, and another, each seeming to loom larger than the last, until +ten of the monsters had reached the banks of the tarn, all of them +males, and of the largest size. + +"All bull," whispered Kobo; "bull drink first, females wait till they +done." + +While he was speaking, the elephants had advanced up to their mid-legs +in the water, and dipping their trunks in, sucked up the cooling stream +with a loud gurgling noise. Frank's fingers insensibly stole to the +lock of his rifle. One of the largest of the giants was now scarcely +more than four or five yards from him, its figure as plainly visible in +the clear cold light, as though it had been noonday. Kobo had again to +lay his hand on the boy's shoulder, and whisper in his ear, "No shoot, +spoil hunt to-morrow," or he might not have been able to resist the +temptation. + +Presently, however, the males had satisfied their thirst, and moving off +slowly in a different direction from that by which they had approached +the pond, re-entered the thicket. The cow elephants now took their +places, some twenty or thirty in number, many of them with calves of +various ages at their sides. There was scarcely room in the tarn for +the whole herd, and before they retired, the bright and sparkling waters +had become a turbid and discoloured flood. At length, however, they did +retire, and before the moon had set, the last of the bulky figures had +disappeared among the foliage. + +"Now lie down and sleep;" said Kobo, "no more animals to-night." + +The boys complied, and lying down among the bushes which grew here and +there between the masses of rocks, were soon buried in slumber. They +were awakened by Kobo at daybreak; and having eaten their breakfast, and +taken a dip in the tarn, which by this time had recovered its +translucent clearness, announced to Kobo that they were ready to take +the field. + +They accompanied the Bechuana accordingly, as he proceeded cautiously to +follow the track left by the herd on the previous evening, for half a +mile or so through the bush. Then desiring them to climb two trees of +some size, which stood on either side of the path in the heart of the +woodland--an acacia and a motjeerie--he crept on alone through the +shrubs, making his way as secretly and noiselessly as a snake, and soon +vanished from their view. + +Presently he reappeared, with the information that the herd were +browsing at the distance of a few hundred yards only, and seemed to have +no apprehension of danger. Chuma, however, and the other hunters would +now soon make their appearance from the opposite side, and would +doubtless attack the bull elephants with their assegais, their tusks +being a valuable prize. Kobo told them that they could not do better +than remain where they were. The elephants would almost certainly be +driven past the tree in which they lodged, and so give them the +opportunity they desired of trying their skill as marksmen. There were +other trees, he said, at no great distance which were larger, and +therefore safer, but the elephants might never come near them at all; +whereas, in their present position, they were almost sure to see what +passed. + +"All right, Kobo," said Frank, "we'll stay here and take our chance. +After all, it must be a jolly big elephant that would bowl this tree +over." + +Kobo again vanished, and the boys sat on the tiptoe of expectation for +the next hour or so, but without hearing any sound at all except the +song of the birds and the buzzing of the insects. Suddenly, however, +there broke forth a Babel of discordant sounds. The yells of the +Kaffirs--as advancing at the same time from different quarters, they +assailed the elephants with their assegais and arrows--were overpowered +by the trumpeting of the huge brutes, and the crash of the thorn and +seringa bushes, which gave way on every side before them, offering no +more serious obstacle to their career, than long grass would to that of +a man. Presently the whole herd broke from the cover of the jungle, +hurrying on in a transport of mingled rage and terror--the solid earth +seeming to tremble under their tread. The Bechuanas followed, darting +their assegais from a distance, or thrusting them into the most +vulnerable parts of the animals, according as opportunities presented +themselves. They had broken up into two or three parties, each of which +chose out one of the largest of the male elephants as the point of +attack. Some of these were already so severely wounded, that it was +with difficulty that they could continue their flight. It was a strange +spectacle to witness. The great bulls, pierced with a perfect grove of +spears, and dripping with the blood which poured from innumerable +wounds, staggered along, screaming with pain and fury; while the Kaffirs +continued to overwhelm them with more darts--mingling their blows with +entreaties to the huge beasts not to gore or trample on them, but to +have mercy and spare their lives, at the very moment when they were +inflicting torture and death on the creatures, whose forbearance they +implored! + +Several huge animals passed in this manner in front of the trees, where +the two lads were seated; but none of them offered the desired +opportunity of a fair shot. Sometimes a tree intervened; sometimes the +animal's head was hidden by a bush at the moment when they levelled +their rifles; sometimes the Bechuanas engaged in the attack approached +the line of their aim too nearly to render it safe for them to fire. At +length, however, the opportunity did come. One of the largest of the +males, fully twelve foot high, had escaped the notice of the assailants; +and forcing his way through the haak-doorns and young motjikaaras as +though they had been so much paper, bid fair to accomplish his escape +without a wound. Both lads fired as he passed. Nick, who had levelled +at the shoulder, missed his mark by several inches; and his bullet +striking the creature's side, inflicted only a slight wound, which the +elephant hardly heeded. But Frank's aim was more successful. The +bullet struck the eye, though not precisely at the spot where it would +have been instantly fatal; and the pain was so acute, as to arrest the +monster in his panic-stricken flight. He stopped short and glared round +him, seeking for the author of the outrage. Catching sight of the +barrel of Frank's rifle as it glanced in the morning sun, he charged +directly at the tree in which he was seated. It was an acacia of +tolerable size, and the branch which bore him was above the reach of the +animal's trunk. But so terrific was the force of his rush, that the +trunk snapped like a rotten bough, and Frank, gun and all, was hurled to +the ground. He sprang up, having been fortunately only bruised by the +fall, and leaving his rifle to take care of itself, took to his heels as +hard as he could. + +"Come here, come here!" shouted Nick; "this tree will hold us both, and +it's too big for him to break. Besides, I'm ready for him again now." +Frank cast a rapid glance round him, and saw that Nick was right. The +seringas and oomahaamas near him were thinly scattered, and afforded no +cover at all; and the brute which had now recovered itself from the +effect of the stunning blow it had received, was preparing to charge him +again. Frank flew, rather than ran, to the tree, and springing lightly +up, caught the lowest bough and swung himself on to it. From this he +mounted to those above it with the agility of a squirrel. But the +elephant was upon him, before he could reach the spot where his +companion was seated. On it came, with its trunk stretched to the full +length, and just caught Frank by the toe of the left foot, as he drew +the other out of its reach. Frank thought it was all over with him. +The tip of the trunk had caught firm hold of the shoe; and though it was +only the tip, so that the animal could not exert its full strength, he +felt himself drawn downwards with a force which he could not long +resist. He had thrown both his arms and the other leg round the branch, +so that the elephant had not merely the resistance of the boy's muscles +to encounter, but the solid and massive limb of the great motjeerie. +Nevertheless, all would speedily have given way, if Nick, leaning +forward and resting his rifle on the bough beneath him, had not fired +directly into the monster's eye, as it glared--not two feet below--upon +him. Frank felt the deadly grip relax, as the elephant sank downwards +and rolled over on its side, in its death agony, ploughing up the earth +with its tusks, and presenting to the eye a vast quivering mass of dull +grey hide, that gradually settled down into stillness. + +Before Nick could fairly realise to himself his own success, the +Bechuanas had surrounded the carcass, and were greeting the two boys +with shouts of admiration and approval. They had not witnessed the +manner in which the elephant had come by his death, a belt of shrubs +having cut them off from the tree, in which Nick had been seated. They +concluded that the animal had simply been brought down, as it was +rushing by, by a successful shot from the lad's rifle; which must indeed +have been fired with extraordinary skill to be so instantaneously fatal. +The elephant slain was the great leader of the herd, fully twelve feet +in height, and with tusks that projected at least two feet beyond the +lip. It was by far the most valuable prize of the day, and its ivory +would fetch a considerable sum in the market. They overwhelmed the +successful sportsman with applause; and mounting Nick on their +shoulders, carried him back in triumph to the village, which lay at the +distance of not more than a couple of miles. Nick, who did not +particularly relish the honours bestowed upon him, nor the close +contiguity to the persons of the natives into which he was brought, did +his best to explain the occurrence to his bearers, and request them to +desist from rendering compliments which were altogether unmerited. + +"I say, darky," he cried, "drop that, will you? I can walk home quite +well without your help, thank you all the same. I'm not much of a shot +with a rifle, and shouldn't have killed the chap, I expect, if he hadn't +come and obligingly put his eye within half a yard of me! Bother it +man, put me down. How their skins do stink--to be sure! Here, Kobo, +Kobo"--he had just caught sight of his attendant, as he spoke--"just +explain to these fellows, will you, that I prefer my own legs to their +arms, if they have no objection; and the flavour of grease and red ochre +isn't agreeable to everybody. I prefer a different style of perfume +myself!" + +"Bechuanas carry white boy, 'cause he great hunter, kill big elephant, +pay him great honour," returned Kobo. + +"I understand that plain enough," said Nick, "but I wish they'd honour +me according to my own notions, instead of theirs." + +"Take it easy, Nick," said Frank, laughing. "We shall soon enter the +kraal now. I hope that brute, Maomo, will be in the way to see our +entry. It will do him good." + +As they ran on in this way, they approached the Bechuana kraal, where +indeed, in accordance, as it seemed, with Wilmore's wish, nearly the +whole population, that had remained behind from the elephant hunt, were +assembled. Maomo was in the middle of them, apparently engaged in +making some address of a warning or threatening character to his +hearers, which had the effect of exciting and terrifying them. As the +lads approached nearer, they saw that the people were gathered round +some object stretched on the ground; to which the prophet continually +pointed during the pauses of his speech. Presently they perceived that +the object was an ox, dying in great suffering from some malady. The +poor brute's limbs were swollen to a huge size, froth was issuing from +its mouth and nostrils, the eyes rolled dim and bloodshot, and every now +and then its whole frame was shaken by violent convulsions. As the +chief, who was only a few paces behind the two boys, came on the scene, +Maomo burst forth into a torrent of declamation, having reserved his +energies, it appeared, for Chuma's more especial hearing. + +"See you here," he exclaimed; "the pestilence has smitten the oxen, this +poor beast will die, and no one can heal it; what has happened to one +will happen to all. There will not be an ox left alive in the village +in two or three days more. And who has caused it? The White Prophet. +He prays to the wicked Spirits, and they hear him and send the +pestilence! Every day, for many weeks past, he and the young prophet +have been praying to the Spirits to punish the Bechuanas, because they +will not worship his bad gods. Why does not Chuma forbid him? Why does +he not punish him? Does not Chuma care that our cattle die? Chuma's +own cattle will die also." + +The Bechuana chief had halted, as he reached the spot where the ox was +lying, and was now standing over it with a face of evident perplexity +and dismay. There was no mistaking the symptoms of the malady, which, +some years previously, had nearly caused a famine in the village, by the +number of horned cattle which it had swept off. Nor was there any known +remedy for the disease. Its appearance in the village might well cause +the utmost alarm. It was almost impossible to account for the +visitation. It had been generally attributed in former years to drought +and deficient pasturage; but those causes could not be assigned now, as +there had been abundance both of water and sweet grass for many weeks +past. He did not suspect the truth--that Maomo had paid a secret visit +to a distant tribe where the disease was raging, and brought back with +him some of the virus, with which he had inoculated some two or three +isolated cows. All Chuma's former suspicions of De Walden rushed back +upon the chief with accumulated force. + +"How do you know that the White Prophet has caused this?" he asked, +taking advantage of the first pause in Maomo's oration. + +"My Spirits have told me so," replied Maomo. "They have sent good rains +and healthy seasons to the Bechuanas, and now the White Falsehood-man +has come among them and taught them to worship false and wicked Spirits, +and many of the Bechuanas are beginning to pray to them, and the wicked +Spirits hear them, and answer their evil prayers." + +"This is not true," exclaimed Chuma, angrily. "I have forbidden the +White Prophet to offer prayers to his Spirits. I have forbidden any of +my people to hearken to his words. Who is there that would dare to +disobey me." + +"The White Prophet treats your words as if they had been the idle +winds," returned the rainmaker, "and he has persuaded many of the people +to disregard them too. He thinks his Spirits are strong enough to +protect him against your anger; and so they would be if it were not that +my Spirits are stronger still; but he does not know that, and presumes +to set you at open defiance." + +"Is this true?" cried the chief, whose passion was now strongly excited. +"Does this white man pray, as the rainmaker says? Do any presume to +join in his prayers, if he so offers them?" + +His eye was fixed sternly upon Kobo, whom he regarded in a general way +as answerable for De Walden's movements. + +Frank and Nick glanced anxiously at their friend, hoping that he would +say something which might allay Chuma's anger; but to their surprise and +dismay Kobo answered-- + +"It is true, chief I have not ventured to speak for fear that the White +Prophet should do me some hurt; but Maomo will protect me. It is true. +He prays every day in the big hut to his Spirits, and many of the +Bechuanas pray with him, but not Kobo. It is not their fault. The +White Prophet has bewitched them." + +"Let some one fetch him hither," said Chuma. "If his prayers have done +this harm, his prayers shall undo it, and that without delay, or it +shall be the worse for him." + +"I will go to fetch him," said Kobo. "I know where he is to be met +with, and how to take him when he is off his guard. Let the rainmaker +come with me, and we will bind and bring him hither." + +With a smile of gratified malice the wizard accepted the invitation, and +hurried off to De Walden's hut, accompanied by half a dozen stout +Bechuanas. The chief stood in gloomy silence awaiting his return, while +Frank and Nick looked on in an agony of doubt and apprehension. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +DE WALDEN BROUGHT TO TRIAL--HIS DEFENCE--IMMINENT DANGER--DE WALDEN'S +DOOM--THE ESCAPE--A RAPID JOURNEY--KOODOO'S KLOOF. + +Maomo and his myrmidons were not long in accomplishing their errand. De +Walden and Warley had returned, about an hour previously, from their +visit to the hut of old Dalili, whose oxen had been stricken with the +pestilence early that morning. The missionary had from the first +entertained little hope of saving any of the animals. He had several +times encountered the disease during his residence in various parts of +Kaffir land, and had very rarely known any treatment of it to have any +effect. It was too late to try inoculation with the cattie already +attacked, but he had helped the old man to apply the remedy in question, +or rather the preventive in such of his oxen as were still healthy. In +the others, though he had done all that was possible for their relief, +he had warned him that he must not expect them to recover, and several +of them had died before he left the village. + +He was a good deal disturbed at the old Bechuana's demeanour. He was +one of the most satisfactory of his converts, and De Walden had resolved +that in a few weeks more he might be admitted to baptism. But Dalili's +whole nature seemed changed. He did not, indeed, say anything to imply +that a change in his religious opinions had taken place, but he seemed +overwhelmed with terror, and to expect some terrible punishment to fall +upon himself. The missionary and Ernest had done their best to quiet +him, and had returned home to take some necessary food and rest before +again seeking Dalili's hut, when Chuma's emissaries, headed by Maomo and +Kobo, broke in upon them. + +De Walden received them with the calmness of a man who had long carried +his life in his hand, and knew that at any moment he might be required +to surrender it. He quietly rose, and telling his captors there was no +need to bind him, or use violence of any kind, as he was quite ready to +go with them, took his hat and walked out of the hut. The others +however insisted on tying his hands with strong leathern thongs, +apprehensive that he might work some spell if they were left at liberty. + +Escorted by Maomo on one side, and Kobo on the other, he advanced to the +spot where Chuma was still standing with a large crowd of Bechuanas +round him; the whole population of the village having by this time +gathered together. It was a strange and striking scene. The chief, +attired for the chase, carrying his weapons, occupied the central +place--a large and martial figure. He was surrounded by a crowd of +warriors armed and arrayed like himself, many of the party bearing in +their dress and persons marks of the recent encounter with the +elephants, which gave them a ghastly and bizarre appearance. The women +and children filled up the background, looking with awful anticipation +on what would probably ensue. + +The missionary stepped calmly forward into the centre of the ring, +meeting the stern glance of the Kaffir chief with a firm look, under +which Chuma's eye at length was compelled to falter. This, perhaps, +rendered his first words more bitter than they might otherwise have +been. + +"Disease hath smitten the cattle of the Bechuanas," he said; "whence +comes this, and who has caused it?" + +"It comes, like all visitations, from the hand of God; and the reason +why He sends them is sometimes to teach mankind His power, and sometimes +to punish their sins." + +"What is the reason why He has sent this?" + +"It is impossible for any man to say. He only knows Himself His own +purposes." + +"But you have yourself told me you have power with God. You have said +that He always hears His servants?" + +"I have, and I repeat it." + +"Then ask Him to take away this disease, and if He complies, then we +will be His servants. Will you do this?" + +"I will pray to God that He will be pleased to remove it. Whether He +will do so or not, rests with Him." + +Chuma hesitated. His belief in De Walden was shaken by what had +happened, but not wholly overthrown. Maomo saw his embarrassment, and +hastened to interfere. + +"Chief," he said, "it is not by prayers, which are but words, that the +White Falsehood--man has prevailed on the Evil Spirits to send this +curse upon our people. Nor will it be by prayers that he can prevail on +them to take it off again. There are sacrifices that he offers to his +gods. I know that he was seen to pour water on Gaike's forehead, and +utter some charm while he did so. I know that there are sacrifices +which he renders, when he will suffer no one but his white companions to +be present. Ask him, and he cannot deny this?" + +"How is this?" said Chuma, turning again to De Walden; "you hear what +the rainmaker says. Is it true?" + +"It is true that we have rites at which none but believers are allowed +to be present," returned De Walden. + +"Will you offer these to your gods, that the plague may be removed from +the cattle of the Bechuanas?" + +"It is not enough that you make him promise that," interposed Maomo +again, dreading that De Walden would comply with this request, and so +avert, for the time at all events, the chief's anger. "He must do so in +public, so that you and all our people may be sure that he really +sacrifices to his god." + +"You hear, white man," said Chuma, sternly; "do you consent?" + +"I cannot profane holy mysteries in such a manner," was the answer. "I +will pray, and offer what you call sacrifices in secret, but not before +you." + +"You hear him, chief," exclaimed the wizard. "He seeks to put you off +with empty words. Now hear me; I will take away this woe. The cattle +of the Bechuanas shall not die. But I cannot do this until the White +Lie-man has been put to silence. The Spirits will not hearken to me +while he lives. Choose, therefore, whether this impostor shall live to +work his evil pleasure, and your cattle perish, or whether he shall +receive his due punishment, and your cattle shall be saved." + +His words were drowned in a cry which burst simultaneously from a +hundred lips, "Slay the White Wizard; preserve our cattie." + +"Once more, you hear," exclaimed Chuma; "offer sacrifice or you die; +which do you choose? Will you sacrifice?" + +"My honoured friend and father," said Ernest, addressing De Walden in a +low voice apart, as he saw that he was about to offer a final refusal, +"need this be? Wherefore not comply with their demand? Did not Elijah +so challenge the priests of Baal, and God upheld him in the trial. And +are you not as truly God's servant as he was; and God is the same +yesterday, to-day, and for ever? Why should he not answer you, by +healing their diseased oxen, even as he answered Elijah, by consuming +the sacrifice?" + +"It had been revealed to Elijah that he was to act as he did," returned +the missionary in the same tone. "I have received no such intimations, +and must not so take upon myself. Our God is indeed the same, and it +may please Him to interpose and save me, or leave me to glorify Him by +my death; but I must leave that in His hands." He proceeded aloud, "No, +chief, I will not offer the sacrifice you require. I cannot explain my +reasons now, but I refuse." + +"Then you shall die, and that speedily. Take him to his hut, until the +preparations are made; and be careful that he does not escape, or your +own lives shall be the penalty. Take the other whites, and keep them in +safe custody also. We will determine in the council what is to be done +with them presently." + +The four Englishmen were dragged off under Kobo's charge, the latter +heaping every possible insult upon them during their conveyance to the +hut, and ordering the men under his charge to bind them with rhinoceros +thongs, which cut them so severely, that even the attendants seemed +inclined to remonstrate at such needless severity. But Kobo silenced +them by threatening to report their lukewarmness to the chief. Then +desiring that the guns and everything belonging to them should be +removed, and placed for security in his hut, he withdrew with a parting +menace, to take his place at the council about to be held in the chief's +residence. + +The lads were too deeply moved at the approaching execution of their +friend, and the danger impending over themselves, to feel the disgust +and indignation at Kobo's double-faced treachery, which at another time +it would have provoked. They listened reverently to the words addressed +to them by De Walden; who warned them that their position was one of the +greatest peril, and though he earnestly hoped that their lives might be +spared, they would do wisely to be prepared for the worst. "God's +providential care for you," he said, "has been shown so often and so +signally of late, that I need not bid you to trust wholly in Him. But +it would be no kindness in me not to warn you that your present peril is +very great--as great perhaps as it was in the Hottentot village, though +at first sight it might not seem to be so." + +"Not all of us are in imminent danger, I hope," said Warley. "I know +they are angry with me, almost as much as they are with you, but they +have no grounds of quarrel with Frank or Gilbert." + +"I thought you might suppose so," returned the missionary, "and that was +the reason why I spoke. It is plain that they mean to put me to a +speedy death--" + +"Surely they dare not," interposed Frank. "They know that Charles will +be returning, before long, with messengers from the English governor at +Cape Town. He is not likely to endure the murder of a British subject +without a shadow of justice or reason. And when he hears--" + +"Ay, Frank, that is just it," said De Walden. "They will take care that +he shall never hear it. They will probably say that I have died of some +disease, or have taken my departure from their kraal of my own accord. +But your evidence would disprove their story, and they will have no +scruples in securing your silence by the surest of all methods--that is, +by putting you to death." + +"Then they would have to account for all four of us," observed Gilbert, +"and some one in the kraal--Dalili or Gaike, or Mololo perhaps--might +tell Charles the truth, and then very signal punishment would probably +be exacted." + +"You do not know these people," said De Walden. "The influence of this +pretended prophet would be greater than ever after his supposed victory +over me. They will be too much terrified to venture even on a word. If +Kobo had remained faithful to us indeed--" + +"The treacherous wretch!" exclaimed Frank, passionately. "I feel more +indignant with him than with Chuma, or even Maomo himself." + +"This is no time for anger, Frank," said the elder man, gravely. "I +should not speak of him at all, if it had not been necessary to explain +to you your true position. If Kobo had remained faithful, I say, +something might have been done. We might have sent him off from the +village, and Chuma would have been afraid that he had gone to report +what had happened to the English. But that hope does not exist, and +there is nothing for it but for us all to prepare ourselves for the +worst." + +"They may do what they will," said Warley. "If they take your life, I +have no wish to keep mine." + +"You must not say that, Ernest. God may have a great work for you to +do; and if your life is preserved, I shall feel assured it is for that +purpose. But we have probably but a short time to pass together; let us +make the best use of that." + +They all knelt down while the missionary offered up a fervent prayer in +behalf of each one of them, in which all heartily joined; and they were +still engaged in their prayers, when Kobo re-entered, accompanied by his +satellites, to announce to them their sentence, or rather that of De +Walden. + +This, he gave them to understand, with diabolical exultation, was to be +the most painful form of death that imagination could conceive--one +which was resorted to only in the instance of enemies captured in war, +upon whom they wished to inflict the worst possible sufferings. De +Walden was to be eaten alive by ants! He was to be pegged down on his +back over one of the large ant-hills, some three feet in height--great +numbers of which were to be found at the distance of a mile or two from +the village--his neck, wrists, and ankles firmly secured by thongs of +rhinoceros hide, so that it would be impossible to move even an inch to +the right or left. He was to be left in this position half an hour or +so after nightfall, about which time the ants, which had remained in a +state of torpor all day, were wont to come out of their nests in such +multitudes as to blacken the whole of the ground round one of their +hills. They would be sure to fasten at once on any animal substance +near them, and so great was their voracity, that in the course of three +or four hours, the largest carcasses would be stripped of every particle +of skin or flesh, and be left a bare and whitened skeleton. + +This, Kobo informed them, was to be the form of death chosen for the +missionary. Some of the councillors had suggested death by poison, or a +blow from a heavy club; but Maomo, he gave them to understand--Maomo, +supported by himself--had insisted that the Bad Spirits would not be +appeased, unless the White Enemy died by a death of the greatest agony. +As for the others, they would probably be pricked with a lance-head, +steeped in the juice of the euphorbia, or the venom of the poison grub. +But that would not be finally decided until the following day; only, +anyhow, they were quite sure to undergo death in some painful and +lingering shape. + +The only drawback to these tidings, he further apprised them, was, that +the execution of the missionary's sentence would necessarily be deferred +to the following day. A great feast was to take place at sundown on the +flesh of the elephants killed that morning, and the chief could not be +induced to put that off, even to gratify the anger he had conceived +against the White Prophet. Maomo had made the attempt, but in vain. +Nor would he leave the execution of the sentence to the rainmaker, so +that the missionary's death was to be put off till sunset on the +following day: but, then, Kobo added, most probably the fate of the +others would be determined, and all four would be executed together. + +Having delivered himself of this outpouring of malice, and once more +carefully examined the rhinoceros thongs, to make assurance doubly sure, +Kobo relieved them of his presence; and soon afterwards the whole party, +overcome by the intense weariness which anxiety and suffering of mind +occasion, sank into a heavy and dreamless sleep. + +It might have been four or five hours afterwards, when Frank was roused +by a pricking feeling as though some one had stabbed him slightly with a +knife. He started up. The hut was quite dark, though the stars outside +were faintly glimmering. He was about to cry out when a hand was placed +on his mouth, and a voice whispered in his ear. + +"It me--Kobo. No make noise. I come help you get away." At the same +instant he again felt the prick of the knife, and the leather thong drop +from his arm. In a moment the explanation of Kobo's altered demeanour +occurred to him. The man had affected the bitter hatred he had +expressed, in order that they might be handed over to his custody +instead of that of Maomo, as they would have been, had he been suspected +of being their friend. + +"All right, Kobo," he said softly; "shall I strike a light?" + +"No, no. That spoil all. If you have knife, cut the fastenings of your +legs. I set prophet free." + +The others were roused with the same caution which Frank had received, +and in a few minutes they were all at liberty. Then Kobo addressed +them, still speaking under his breath. + +"Chief and all much drunk. Only rainmaker sober. He suspect me. He +watch me while feast go on. I see him, though he not guess it. I seem +to drink twice as much as any, but throw it all away on ground. When +feast half over, I tumble flat Rainmaker think Kobo drunk, but I creep +away in dark. Now all follow me; creep like snake among hedge and bush; +lucky no moon to-night." + +Following his direction, the whole party emerged one after another from +the hut, and crawled on their hands and knees among the dwarf shrubs +which lay scattered over the ground, until they had reached Kobo's +cottage, which was on the outskirts of the village. Here they found +their guns, belts, and flasks, carefully hidden away under a heap of +weeds. Having possessed themselves of these, they again hurried on, +keeping within the cover of the wood, until they were at least half a +mile from the Bechuana village; when the wooded covert gave place to an +open plain overspread with large stones, and now and then patches of +thorn. + +"Get on as fast as we can," was Kobo's direction now. "Too far from +kraal for Bechuanas to follow to-night." + +"And to-morrow they will none of them be in a condition to undertake any +long journey, I expect," observed Nick. + +"Rainmaker not drunk. He keep sober," said Kobo. "Very likely he gone +to hut to see all safe, and find all gone!" added the savage with a +chuckle. "But he no know which way to follow in dark. Not follow till +to-morrow." + +"You have managed very cleverly, Kobo," said Wilmore; "but I must say I +wonder this wizard, or rainmaker, or whatever you call him, consented to +leave us in your charge." + +"He not do that," answered Kobo, "only he could not help it. I know how +plague broke out among Dalili's cows. I see rainmaker putting bad stuff +into their sides with a little knife. He know that I saw him, and he +'fraid to speak against Kobo, for fear Kobo speak against him. +Rainmaker bad man. Look, you see that big ant-hill there close by?" + +"Yes, we see it plain enough," answered Warley, with a shudder. + +"That where rainmaker fasten Patoto 'bout six months ago. Patoto strong +brave man, favourite with Chuma. Maomo jealous. He pretend Patoto +bewitch people. Nyzee, Chuma's young wife, very sick, Maomo say Patoto +bewitched her, and Nyzee believe it and persuade Chuma. Patoto say it +no true, but no one believe him. He sentenced to same death as White +Prophet. Kobo saw him fastened to ant-hill. Six strong posts driven +into ground. Patoto's feet tied with rheims to two; his hands to two +more; broad rhinoceros straps fastened to other two over Patoto's belly. +They strip him naked first, for why--no good to leave clothes on him, +ants eat--" + +"I understand, Kobo," exclaimed Warley, interrupting the horrible +narrative, which he could not endure to hear. "But why did not you set +him at liberty, as you have set us?" + +"Eh! Patoto only black man--not like White Prophet," answered Kobo, +coolly; "besides, chief set men to watch, for fear Patoto himself get +away when ant begin to eat--" + +"Be silent, for Heaven's sake," exclaimed De Walden, who had hitherto +repressed his emotion, but could now bear no more. "Blessed be His holy +name, who has delivered His servant from torments, which are unendurable +even in thought. Let us speak no further of them. How far, and in what +direction, do you propose that we should proceed to-night?" + +"We fly towards Basuto country. Basutos and Bechuanas not friends, or +Chuma send message for White Prophet to be given back to him." + +"The Basutos! Very good. I can speak their language, and they will +very likely shelter us until we are rested sufficiently to travel to +Cape Town. But the Basuto country lies at some distance, does it not?" + +"Yes, several days' journey. But when we have passed Koodoo's kloof, +all safe." + +"Koodoo's kloof? What, on the Vaal river? The river is not passable +there." + +"Ah, you not know. We pass all safe, so they not catch us." + +The missionary said no more. Kobo evidently knew what he was about, and +there was very little chance of their escaping from their pursuers +except through his help. By his skilful management they had probably +secured several hours' start, but that was all. The Bechuanas would be +sure to be on their track on the following day, and their swiftness of +foot was proverbial even among the Kaffir tribes. He resolved to attend +implicitly to Kobo's instructions, and a few words from him prevailed on +the lads to do the same. + +They hurried on till the forenoon of the next day, and then rested only +a few hours during the meridian heat, resuming their journey with a +speed which taxed the boys' powers to the utmost, and against which they +would have rebelled, if they had not been plainly told by their guide +that their lives depended on the speed with which that and the following +day's travel could be accomplished. Kobo allowed another halt shortly +before midnight, and the lads were further refreshed by a bathe in a +deep cavity in the rock where the rain water had collected, before +setting out on the following morning. The character of the country they +were traversing now became more pleasing, and seemed to promise abundant +shade and plenty as they advanced. The landscape was varied by groves +of palms and sycamores; and not unfrequently date trees and figs offered +to the travellers their ripe and tempting fruit. The dark-foliaged +moshoma was relieved by the yellow of the mimosa, and the lilac of the +plumbago. Herds of antelopes, and occasionally graceful koodoos and +elands, bounded by them, and little rivulets, evidently on their way to +mingle with some large river, covered the ground with a carpet of +verdure. + +"Vaal river near now," remarked Kobo, when they paused a little before +moonrise on the evening of the second day. "White boys travel fast-- +travel like men. Bechuanas not catch them." + +"That is good hearing at all events," remarked Nick. "A fellow never +knows what he can do till he's tried. I didn't believe I could have +gone such a distance in three days, as I really have gone in less than +two--no, not to save my life." + +"Well, it has been to save your life," remarked Warley; "you forget +that." + +"No, I don't," retorted the other. "It's about the only thing I'm safe +not to forget! Well, Kobo, when shall we get to this kloof of yours-- +to-night, or to-morrow morning?" + +"To-morrow," said the Bechuana, "'bout ten o'clock, if all well." + +They resumed their journey before daybreak, in no way abating their +speed, though the stamina of the three younger travellers seemed now on +the point of giving way. They struggled on, however, hour after hour, +until the sun began to mount high in the heavens, and the heat to grow +every moment more intolerable. Then, suddenly, Kobo pointed with his +finger to a narrow ravine, richly wooded with trees of every variety of +leaf, running between two lofty mountain ridges, and exclaimed-- + +"That Koodoo's kloof. We safe now!" + +Another quarter of an hour brought them within the shelter of the noble +trees, which extended their network of delicious shade overhead. Kobo +led them on by a path, which gradually sloped downwards for nearly half +a mile, till the sound of running water broke upon their ears, and they +found themselves on the margin of a broad and rapid river. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +A RAFT--FATE OF MAOMO--THE ISLAND--A STRANGE APPARITION--A HIPPOPOTAMUS +HUNT--THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER--NICK AGAIN--THE HIPPOPOTAMUS TRAP. + +"Well, we are here," said Frank, an hour or so afterwards as they still +lay on the grassy bank of the stream, enjoying alike the rest to their +limbs, and the delicious coolness of the river breeze. "We are here, +thanks to you, Kobo, for the same. But how we are to get across beats +me altogether. This is not a narrow channel over which you could drop a +tree; and if it had been, the cliffs opposite are two or three hundred +feet high, and go down straight into the water. It is too deep to ford, +and too rapid to swim, even if there was a landing-place on the other +side, which there is not." + +"No want to cross river," answered the Bechuana, briefly. + +"Not want to cross it, Kobo?" asked Warley, "why I thought you said this +was the point to which Chuma might pursue us, but he dare not go beyond +it." + +"So I did. See now; give me the axe." + +He got up as he spoke, and began lopping off the boughs of a large +willow, which grew at no great distance from the spot where they had +been resting, choosing those which were about six inches in diameter. +When he had collected a sufficient number of them, he reduced them all +to an uniform length of some ten feet, and laid them on the ground side +by side. He then tore down a number of parasitical creepers, which were +almost as tough and pliant as so many cords, and began binding the logs +together by their means. + +"What are you making, Kobo?" inquired Nick, after contemplating his +proceeding for some minutes with much interest. "Make raft, cover it +with reeds, and launch it on river. It carry us to island yonder." He +pointed as he spoke to a group of trees, growing apparently in the +middle of the river's channel, at the distance of perhaps a mile. +"There we rest, find plenty of food, fruit, and fish too. Then I go to +look for Basuto people, and tell them 'bout white men." + +"Cover the raft with reeds? Hadn't we better go and cut some, then?" +suggested Warley; "or, rather, hadn't. Nick and Frank better go and +gather them, while I help you to tie the logs." + +"Very good. They two take axe, one cut reeds, other bring them in +armfuls." + +Mr De Walden did not awake from the sleep into which he had fallen +immediately on reaching the bank, until the raft was nearly completed. +He understood at once the purpose for which it was constructed. "It +will bear us safely enough, no doubt," he said, "and we shall find +abundance of food on the island; but will not the Bechuanas suspect the +place of our retreat, and follow us?" + +"Bechuanas not venture on Yellow River," said Kobo; "besides, if they +make raft, we shoot them from island, as easy as so many sheep. Kobo +kill them all with bow and arrow--say nothing of guns." + +"That is true," said De Walden; "and besides we could use our own raft +to escape to the opposite shore before they came up. Well, we had +better push the raft into the stream, hadn't we? It seems to be +finished; and there is no wisdom in staying here longer than can be +helped." + +Kobo assented, and Frank coming up at that moment with his last heap of +reeds, the four, by their united exertions, launched their handiwork, +which was found to float very well. The guns, with the rest of the +baggage, were then put on board; some long poles selected to serve as +paddles, or puntpoles, as occasion might require; and the adventurers +prepared to commence their voyage as soon as Nick joined them. + +This he did almost immediately afterwards, but in breathless haste and +alarm. + +"Get on to the raft and push off," he cried, as soon as he was able to +command his voice. "The Bechuanas are after us, with that scoundrel +Maomo at their head." + +He was obeyed with the utmost promptitude. In two minutes they had +pushed from the shore and were beginning to catch the current, when the +truth of Gilbert's words was proved by a headlong rush of Bechuanas to +the riverside, made in the hope of arresting the progress of the raft. +They darted their assegais after the travellers, and cast long lassoes +of leather; some of them even rushed into the water, trying to seize the +logs with their hands. + +"Stoop down!" shouted Kobo; "they shoot arrows." All five threw +themselves on their faces among the reeds, just in time to allow a +flight of arrows to pass over them and bespatter the surface of the +river beyond. + +"Ah, you catch that," cried Kobo, as he drew his bowstring in answer, +and saw his arrow quivering in the neck of the rainmaker. "You no cure +that, Maomo--you clever doctor, but no cure that! Him dead," he +continued, complacently addressing his companions, "him dead in half an +hour. Poison quite fresh and good!" + +"Unhappy wretch!" exclaimed the missionary, as he watched the Bechuanas +gather in dismay round their fallen prophet. "I have no doubt you speak +the truth, Kobo; and the impostor drew his fate upon himself. But it is +a fearful ending! When will the light of God's truth shine in this +benighted land?" + +"Yes, Kobo speak truth," said the guide, answering the only part of De +Walden's speech which he understood. "Kobo speak truth--Maomo dead for +certain--he suffer bad pain too. Ah, they carry him away. No trouble +us more." + +The raft was by this time in the central channel of the river, sweeping +rapidly down towards the island. In about half an hour this was +reached; and Kobo steering it towards a spot where several willows +stretched out into the stream, contrived to lodge it securely between +two of them. The party then landed, and carried all their goods on +shore; after which Kobo directed them to haul the raft also on to the +bank, and hide it carefully among the long grass and rushes. + +"People no come that way," he said, pointing down the river; "large deep +falls, and no come from that bank--rocks too steep and high. But may +come from other bank, or same way as we, from further down. Sometimes +Basutos hunt `'potmus,' as white man call him." + +"Hippopotamuses!" exclaimed Frank. "Are there any of them hereabouts?" + +"Plenty 'potmus. All along that bank--wonder we not see them. All +among canes there--feed at night mostly--come out by and by." + +The raft was by this time hidden away, and the boys, under Kobo's +guidance, proceeded to explore the island, which was perhaps two hundred +feet in length, by thirty in width. It was covered with a rich growth +of mossy grass, interspersed with flowers of every variety of colour, +and of the rarest fragrance. Wild geraniums, jessamines, arums, lilies +scarlet and blue and purple, spread like a gorgeous carpet underfoot. +Overhead pear trees, pomegranates, and wild plums, figs, quinces, and +bananas, were intermingled with the foliage of the cypress, the gum, the +willow, and a hundred others. Kobo might well say there was plenty of +food to be obtained in the island, which seemed to them to be like an +enchanted garden. They were delighted with the prospect of remaining +there some days to rest and refresh themselves, while Kobo went on his +errand. They soon chose the spot where they meant to fix their +headquarters. Just about the middle of the islet, three large fig trees +and a date grew so near to one another, that their interlacing boughs +formed a roof impenetrable alike to sun or storm. The undergrowth of +shrubs between the boles was soon cleared away by the help of the axe, +and left a sort of bower about twelve feet square, open only on one +side, and tapestried, as it were, with the loveliest flowers. Here they +piled together the heaps of reed from the raft, which the sun had +already dried, to make their beds, and here they sat down, an hour or +two after their arrival, to enjoy the luxury of an abundant repast, and +a long night of unbroken rest after it. + +On the following morning, Kobo, having constructed for himself a much +smaller raft, consisting simply of bundles of reed laid crosswise over +one another, took himself off to the opposite bank, which, as he had +told them, belonged to the Basutos. Here, having drawn the reeds +ashore, he waved his hand to the English travellers, and then vanished +among the shrubs. Left to their own devices, De Walden and Ernest +withdrew to their arbour, to continue a conversation deeply interesting +to them both, which they had begun on the previous evening; while Frank +and Nick, having contrived to manufacture some extempore fishing-lines, +betook themselves to a point where a shelf of stone, immediately on the +water's edge, offered them a pleasant seat, and began fishing. + +They had better success than they had expected, considering the rudeness +of their tackle, and their utter ignorance as to the proper bait to be +used. Half a dozen tolerable-sized fish, mostly eels and barbel, soon +lay lifeless on the turf at their side, and they were still pursuing +their sport with unabated eagerness, when they were startled by a loud +splashing and snorting at no great distance from them. They leaped up, +for a moment apprehending that the Bechuanas were in pursuit of them, +notwithstanding Kobo's assurances that there was no fear of such a +_contretemps_, and hurried to the southern extremity of the islet, where +the noise was audible. Several dark shapeless objects, ten or twelve +feet long, were to be seen floating apparently on the water; but whether +they were fragments of wood, or the carcasses of drowned oxen, or living +animals, it was impossible at first to determine. Presently, however, +one of the floating masses disappeared beneath the waters, and anon rose +again, with a loud grunting noise which could not be mistaken. + +"They are the hippopotamuses Kobo told us of," said Nick. "It is very +odd, but I had forgotten all about them." + +"Hush!" answered Frank, "they are coming this way, I think; and if so, +we shall get a clear view of them. I want to see one above all things. +I've seen a picture of one, but that gives no real idea." + +"Yes, they are coming this way, certainly," remarked Gilbert, a few +minutes afterwards; "but how slowly and leisurely they move. I should +think we might get a shot at one presently, if we keep quite quiet. +Luckily, it is plain that they have not seen us, or they wouldn't come +this way." + +As he spoke, Frank laid his hand on his arm, and pointed silently +towards a projecting point of the river bank, about two hundred yards +off. The head of a canoe, formed out of the trunk of a tree apparently, +and holding two persons, had just come in sight. It was followed +closely by another of the same description, a good deal larger, and at +some distance by several reed rafts, nearly as big as that which had +conveyed them to the island on the previous day. The boys drew +instantly back into the leafy covert, again fancying that the Bechuanas +were on their track. A very short examination of the new-comers, +however, satisfied them that this was not the case. Not only was their +dress different in several particulars from that of the Kaffirs, but the +weapons with which they were armed showed plainly that they had not come +out for the purpose of apprehending runaways, but of hunting some +animals--no doubt, indeed, the hippopotamus; for the weapons they +carried were not used in the chase of any other animal But what rendered +it absolutely certain that they could not belong to their late pursuers, +was the presence, in the stern of the largest canoe, of a woman-- +evidently a personage of rank and importance. The boys looked at her, +as the boats slowly approached the islet, with great surprise and +curiosity. Her costume showed that she belonged to the same nation as +the others, and her whole bearing and demeanour was that of a person +familiarised by long habit with the scene and employment in which she +was engaged But if it had not been for these circumstances, the boys +would certainly have supposed that she was not a native of South Africa +at all. Her complexion, though somewhat darker than that of an +Englishwoman, was many shades lighter than that of her companions; her +hair and eyes were totally unlike theirs. Her movements, easy and +graceful as those of savages generally are, nevertheless exhibited an +indefinable refinement, which was most perplexing to the spectators. + +Their attention, however, was soon directed to other matters. All +unconscious of the vicinity of strangers, the occupants of the boats and +rafts glided noiselessly by the island, until they had reached the +hippopotamuses, which were still lazily floating in the yellow waters; +for the river, it may be observed in passing, well deserved its name. +The huge animals scarcely seemed to notice the presence of the voyagers, +whom they allowed to come close to them, without manifesting any +symptoms of alarm. + +By and by the canoe, in which the female already described was seated, +had reached the spot where the largest of the bulky herd--fully twelve +feet in length, and the same in girth--was reclining! She rose from her +seat, lifting her figure to its full height, and then dexterously darted +the barbed lance she carried into the body of the monster. The instant +she had done so, she resumed her seat, and the rowers nimbly plying +their oars, shot off from the vortex caused by the writhings of the +wounded beast, and made for the shore. The girl bounded lightly on to +the bank as the canoe approached it, holding in her hand the line, which +was attached to the handle of the harpoon. She was followed instantly +by the rest of the crew, who, seizing the cord, held it fast with their +united strength to prevent the escape of the hippopotamus. + +The latter had no sooner felt the wound than he dived, and commenced +swimming under water, in the hope of ridding himself in that manner of +his pursuers. But the barbed point held fast, and his struggles only +increased the acuteness of his sufferings. He was soon obliged to rise +again to the surface for air, and his reappearance was the signal of a +recommencement of the attack. Fresh harpoons were continually lodged in +the quivering flesh; the yellow waters grew every moment redder with the +blood, which poured from countless wounds; until, at last, even his huge +strength was exhausted, and the hunters were able to draw the lifeless +carcass to the shore. + +All this time the remainder of the herd had continued to paddle about, +or lie basking in the sun within a short distance of the spot where the +chase had been going on, wholly unconcerned, to all appearance, at what +was passing. The rowers now resumed their places, and the woman her +seat in the stern, and the same scene was enacted again; but this time +not with the same success. The harpoon was thrown with equal skill, and +firmly fixed in the animal's side; but before the boat could reach the +shore, which at this point of the river lay at a considerable distance, +it was attacked by the infuriated beast, which seemed more inclined to +revenge the wound he had received, than make his escape from further +injury. He swam straight towards the canoe, which he overtook before it +had gone many yards, and with a single blow from his formidable tusk, +completely shattered its bottom. It sank instantly, leaving its five +occupants to escape to the land as they best might. The monster glared +round him as if seeking for the easiest victim, and perceiving that the +female, who had been stationed in the bow, was the nearest to him, he +made straight at her with his huge jaws expanded to their full width, +and his deadly rows of teeth displayed. Observing his approach, she +dived, reappearing at the distance of a few yards, and swam swiftly for +the island, which was the nearest point of land. But the animal had +been on the look out for her, and made a second rush, as soon as her +head emerged from the water. She dived a second time, and rose nearer +to the islet; but her strength was evidently failing her, and the weight +of her clothes dragged her down. She struggled bravely, but could not +get away from her pursuer. In another minute the horrid jaws would, in +all likelihood, have cut her in twain, if a shot, fired opportunely at +this moment from the central clump of the eyot, had not pierced the +unwieldy brute behind the shoulder, and passed directly into the vitals. +With a loud snort of agony he turned over on his side, vomiting a +torrent of blood, which stained the dull yellow stream a still duller +crimson, and then floated helplessly down the current. + +Warley, from whose rifle this unexpected deliverance had come, now +hurried down the bank to complete her rescue. His attention, and that +of De Walden, had been attracted to the noise on the river some time +previously, and, catching his rifle, which he had taken the precaution +of loading, Ernest hurried out to learn what was passing. When he first +caught sight of the scene, he was indisposed to interfere, thinking the +hunters able to effect their own escape, and unwilling to betray the +place where he and his friends had taken refuge; but as soon as the +peril of the female voyager became evident to him, he hesitated no +longer. The other two lads now came hastening up, and between them they +raised the woman, who was almost exhausted, from the water, and laid her +on the bank. The natives, who were astonished beyond measure at the +apparition of the white men, stood motionless on the further bank, or on +their rafts, not knowing what was about to happen next. + +The Englishmen on their sides were scarcely less astonished. The reader +has already heard the surprise with which Frank and Gilbert had noticed +their female visitor; but they had only beheld her from a distance, and +had had a very cursory view of her face and figure. Now, however, they +had leisure to take a closer survey. She was apparently about eighteen +years old, tall and beautifully formed, and with a natural dignity of +demeanour which would have become a princess. Her skin was somewhat +darker than that of English ladies in ordinary, but, nevertheless, a +very becoming colour mantled in her cheeks. Her features were formed +after the finest type of Greek beauty--the shape of the face oval, the +nose straight and slightly _retrousse_, the forehead broad and low, the +eyebrows beautifully arched over orbs of the darkest hazel. Her hair, +to complete the picture, bore no likeness at all to that of her +attendants, but was glossy, long, and of a rich brown. + +Her dress was almost as great an enigma as her face. It consisted of a +kind of petticoat, or rather short gown, made of antelope skin, and +edged with white fur, descending from her neck almost to her knees, and +covering the arms about half-way to the wrist. Her feet were protected +by sandals, the thongs of which were wound crosswise up her legs, and +secured by a leathern garter at the knees. Round her waist she wore a +girdle set with crimson beads and glittering stones. Her head had no +ornament, with the exception of some eagle's feathers fixed in the +coronet of dark brown hair which surmounted her forehead. Her +appearance, in fact, was neither that belonging to civilised nor to +savage life, but rather that of some high-born European lady, who had +assumed, for some masquerading purpose, the costume of the desert. + +After resting for a few minutes on the sloping patch of turf where her +rescuers had placed her, she appeared to recover her strength and +self-possession, and to be anxious to bestow her thanks on the strangers +who had come so opportunely to her rescue, but was at a loss how to +express herself. Warley and the others felt equally embarrassed. At +last, after a long pause, the former called to the missionary, who had +remained behind in the arbour, too much occupied with the anxieties +which were pressing on him to take heed of what was passing outside. + +"Will you be so good as to come here, Mr De Walden?" he cried. "Here +are some natives whom we cannot make understand us, but very likely they +may understand you." + +A flash of intelligence passed over the girl's face as he spoke. + +"I understand you myself," she said. "You are speaking English. Are +you Englishmen?" + +Her accent and words were those of an English lady. Still more +bewildered, Warley answered-- + +"We are Englishmen, madam; and I need not say rejoiced to recognise a +countrywoman, as we cannot doubt you are. By what strange chance you +have been conveyed hither--" + +"No," she interposed, "I am not an Englishwoman. I was born in this +land; but I am deeply interested in everything English. If it pleases +you to accompany me to our village, which is not very far distant from +this, my mother will be greatly pleased to welcome you as her guests." + +The boys glanced at De Walden, who was standing by, regarding her +attentively. He now addressed her with much respect. "You are the +daughter, I presume," he said, "of the famous White Queen of the +Basutos, of whom I have heard so much. But I thought her dwelling was +considerably further to the east." + +"Yes, I am the daughter of Queen Laura, or Lau-au, as our people call +her. My own name is Ella. You are right as to our ordinary place of +residence; but the cattle disease, which is raging in the east, has +obliged us for awhile to shift our dwelling. You, I conclude, are one +of the white teachers whom my mother ever holds in honour. She would +gladly have received you, even if I had not owed my life to your friend. +We will set out at once, if you please, as the evening is now +advancing." + +She summoned her attendants, who had been watching this interview with +looks of much curiosity, and the party were soon conveyed to the +opposite shore. Then desiring them to cut off as much of the flesh of +the two slain hippopotamuses as could be conveniently carried with them, +she set off, with two of her visitors walking on either hand, at a brisk +pace, which an English lady would have found it difficult to maintain, +but which did not appear at all to inconvenience their fair conductress. + +But the day's adventures were not yet concluded. After walking for a +mile or two, still along the banks of the river, Nick's restless spirit +seemed to grow weary of the monotony of the journey. He began to linger +by the wayside; now to pick a flower that attracted his fancy; now to +gather some of the fruit, of which there was plenty to be seen--figs and +bananas, and ripe dates--now to examine some brilliant insect, or to +chase some gorgeous butterfly. On these occasions he allowed the party +to get further and further in advance of him, until once or twice he was +in danger of being left alone in the bush, to find, as best he might, +the track pursued by his companions. + +On one of these occasions, after he had succeeded with considerable +difficulty in plucking a delicious watermelon, which grew in a deep +hollow, surrounded on all sides by thorn bushes, he discovered to his +chagrin and alarm, that the rest of the party were by this time fairly +out of sight and hearing; and the dense mass of tangled shrubs and +creepers in front of him rendered it impossible to distinguish anything +at the distance of a hundred yards. He hurried on as fast as he could, +in the direction which he supposed them to have taken, looking carefully +round him for the marks of footsteps. But these were nowhere to be +distinguished. Indeed all trace of a path seemed to have disappeared. +A good deal alarmed, he stood still and shouted. Presently he heard a +halloo in answer, but in a direction different from that which he had +been pursuing. It evidently came from a considerable distance. Nick +felt there was no time to be lost, and hurried along with all the speed +he could command, though the long grass much impeded his progress. As +he turned the corner of a thick mass of shrubs, he saw a figure which he +recognised as that of De Walden advancing towards him, and holding up +his hand, urging him, as he supposed, to rejoin the party as quickly as +he could. He started accordingly at a run, but had not advanced many +yards when his foot caught against some obstacle which threw him forward +on his face. At the same moment there was a whirring noise, followed by +a loud crash, and some heavy object struck the ground within a yard of +him. Almost immediately afterwards he heard De Walden's voice. + +"Another escape, Master Nick. I wonder how many more you mean to have +before you rejoin your friends. If you had as many lives as a cat, you +would lose them all at this rate." + +Nick got up, rubbing the green mud from his elbows and knees, and +staring in wonder at the object the fall of which had so astonished him. +An examination of it did not tend to remove his perplexity. It was a +large heavy piece of wood, shaped evidently by the axe, so as to +resemble a rude arrow, but as thick as the mast of a large cutter. To +the end of this was attached an iron head of a corresponding size. It +had penetrated deep into the ground, and would have been sufficient to +shatter Nick's skull like an icicle if it had come in contact with it. +"Whatever can that be?" he exclaimed; "and how came it up there?" + +"A hippopotamus trap," said the missionary; "and it is a good job that +it has not proved a man trap too. You must not leave your companions in +this wild country, Nick, or even your good luck won't keep you out of +trouble. I noticed the trap as we passed, and then perceived a minute +or two afterwards that you were not with us. It is fortunate I turned +back and called you. If you hadn't been running fast it might have +caught your head, or at all events your leg." + +By this time they were rejoined by the rest of the party, and De Walden +proceeded to explain to the boys the curious construction of the machine +from which Nick had had so narrow an escape. It was common enough, he +told them, in the neighbourhood of the haunts of the hippopotamus. The +stem of a young tree, a foot or so in diameter, was cut off at the +length of about four feet. A strong and sharp iron head was fixed at +one end, and at the other an eye, to which a string was attached. This +rude shaft was then hung up to the branch of a large tree immediately +over the path by which the hippopotamuses were wont to go down to the +river. The string was passed over the branch, round a projecting root +at the bottom of the tree, and straight across the path, being +ultimately secured to a peg driven into the earth. This string came +into contact with the feet of the hippopotamus, which, in walking, +shambles along, scarcely raising its legs from the ground. The string +being in this manner broken, the heavy beam instantly falls, usually +striking the hippopotamus in the back, and penetrating the vitals. The +blow is almost always mortal. Even if the animal is not killed on the +spot, it is so badly wounded that it dies shortly afterwards. +Sometimes, to make assurance doubly sure, Mr De Walden told them, the +iron is steeped in poison. + +"There didn't need that," said Nick, as he contemplated the barbed +point, as big as the fluke of an anchor, and sharp as an arrow. "The +iron head would have finished me off very handsomely, without troubling +the poison-makers. Well, I'll take care another time, as the children +say, and I can't do more. Let's be off now. I want to get to our +quarters for the night." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +THE BASUTO KRAAL--QUEEN LAURA--THE QUEEN'S NARRATIVE--THE WRECK OF THE +GROSVENOR--SUFFERINGS OF THE SURVIVORS--THE BASUTO CHIEF--DE WALDEN'S +JOY. + +Nightfall was near at hand, when the party approached the Basuto kraal; +and the boys looked eagerly round them to see if they could discover any +marked differences between it and the other native villages which they +had visited. Ella, as she had called herself, had hardly spoken a word +during the whole journey. A sudden shyness apparently having seized +her, which was a curious contrast to the self-possession of her +demeanour when she first encountered them. To the questions addressed +to her by Frank and Nick, she made very brief and seemingly reluctant +replies, and they soon discontinued their inquiries. But their +curiosity was only heightened by the lady's unwillingness to satisfy it. +It appeared that De Walden had heard something of a white Basuto Queen; +but whence she came, or how she had attained to her kingdom, was a +sealed mystery. Perhaps she might be one of an English colony, which +had established itself in these parts, and assumed a sovereignty over +all the inhabitants round about But if so, it was strange that none of +them should have heard from the Bechuanas, and especially from Kobo, +anything about such a colony. Well, at all events, a very short stay in +the village would suffice to explain the mystery; probably, indeed, the +first sight of it would be sufficient. + +But this did not prove to be the case. The kraal was not very unlike +those of the Bechuanas, and other neighbouring tribes. The houses were +constructed of wicker-work plaited with reed, and had the usual arched +entrance, which served as door, window, and chimney. There were the +baskets and pails, the assegais, and bows and arrows, which usually +stood in front of a Kaffir hut, or were hung against the central pole. +The population, too, which had assembled, one and all, to witness the +entry of the strangers, did not materially differ from the other +inhabitants of the district. The whole kraal, to be sure, had the +appearance of having been constructed in haste, and only partially +finished; but otherwise, our adventurers would hardly have known that +they had entered the country of a new people. As soon as they had +entered the enclosure, Ella called up one of the natives, to whom she +gave some orders in a tone that was not audible, and then, turning to +her companions with a graceful bend of the head, she vanished into one +of the neighbouring houses. The Basuto to whom she had spoken, now +stepped up to the Englishmen and invited them, by a gesture of the hand, +to follow him. They obeyed, and presently found themselves in a room +which showed, for the first time, a real contrast to ordinary savage +life. It was a _room_, not the inside of a hut--a room perhaps fourteen +feet square, hastily constructed of trees squared by the axe, and planks +nailed horizontally to them, but a room, nevertheless, with ceiling, +unglazed windows and doors, and carpeted with Kaffir matting. There +were even some rude chairs and a table in the centre. Their guide +pointed to these first, and then to a door opening into another +apartment of about the same size, where some skins were spread on the +floor. "Eat here," he said; "sleep there." + +The first part of his speech was presently made good by the arrival of +two Basutos, carrying some baskets, which contained rice, Indian corn, +and several varieties of fruit. These were placed in the middle of the +table, and a wooden platter was assigned to each guest, who sat down to +something like a regular meal for the first day for many months past. +"I don't understand about this Queen," said Frank, as he pushed away his +wooden plate. "I remember my uncle told me that, beyond the limits of +the Cape Colony, there were nothing but savages for hundreds and +thousands of miles; and that it wasn't safe for white people to venture +among them. Who in the world can she be?" + +"You seemed to know something about her, sir," remarked Warley, turning +to De Walden. "Perhaps you can explain the mystery." + +"I know nothing more," said the missionary, "than that I sometimes +heard, whilst living to the north of the Basuto country, that some +hundreds of miles southwards, there was a tribe under the rule of a +woman, whose race and colour was different from theirs, and who was +generally believed to be an enchantress. That, of course, was mere +barbarous superstition, but the true facts of the case I never learned. +We shall doubtless, however, soon hear them, as we were to be summoned +to her presence as soon as we had partaken of food. Ay, here, I +suppose, comes the messenger to give us notice that she is ready to +receive us." + +This conjecture proved to be correct, and in a few minutes they were +ushered into the apartment, where the Queen of the Basutos sat in state +to receive them. It was similar in construction to the one they had +just quitted, but larger, and with more attempt at ornament. The +ceiling was coloured white, relieved with green, and the walls a dark +yellow; the latter exhibiting something like an attempt at panelling. +At the further end was a kind of dais rising three steps, on the topmost +of which stood a massive chair of ebony wood, and one smaller but of the +same material by its side. The floor was spread with Kaffir mats of gay +patterns, while several articles belonging only to European +civilisation--books, an inkstand, a writing-desk, and the like--were +arranged on a large heavy table of the same material as the chair. From +the ceiling there hung a lamp, like those ordinarily used on board +ships, and fed with oil, which diffused a very sufficient light +throughout the apartment. Behind the royal chair, and on either side +down the room, were several Basutos, wearing dresses made of the skin of +the koodoo, or the leche, and carrying light assegais in their hands. + +The Queen herself was a woman apparently between forty and fifty; +bearing a strong resemblance to her daughter, but of a fairer +complexion, her hair and eyes being also of a lighter brown. She was +picturesquely, even richly, dressed, in a kind of long tunic of scarlet +cloth trimmed with swan's-down, over which she wore a robe of leopard +skin; slippers and buskins of the same material as her gown, but thickly +set with coloured beads and spangles. A tiara, similarly ornamented and +surmounted by ostrich feathers, completed her attire. + +She greeted her visitors as they moved up to her chair with graceful +courtesy. + +"You are English, I am told?" she said, interrogatively; "if so, my +countrymen, and the first I have beheld for six and twenty years. But I +have not forgotten the dear old language, in which, indeed, I and my +daughter always converse, and it will delight us both to hear it from +other lips beside our own." + +"Yes, madam," answered De Walden, "we are English--my three younger +companions entirely so; while I am of English descent and English +parentage on the father's side. We thank you for your kind reception of +us, which, it is needless to say, is most welcome after the toils and +dangers we have undergone." + +"Your appearance is that of a missionary," rejoined the Queen. "May I +ask if that is the case, and if so, what is your name, and where have +you of late been residing?" + +"I am a preacher of the Gospel," said De Walden, "and my name is +Theodore De Walden. I have been for many years in different parts of +South Africa, both to the north and west of this land." + +"I have heard of you," said the Queen, "and have long been desirous of +meeting with you, or some other of your calling. I myself am by birth a +member of the English Church, and still account myself one, though so +long cut off from its ministrations." + +"The English Church--indeed!" exclaimed Warley. "May we presume to ask +how--how--" + +"How it comes that an English Churchwoman should be living in this wild +country, so far from her native land, and the ruler of a barbarian +tribe--that is what you would ask," said the Queen, smiling. "Well, of +course I knew you would wish to learn the particulars of my strange +history, and it is perhaps as agreeable to me to relate, as it is to you +to hear it. Seat yourselves"--she beckoned to the attendants to bring +forward chairs, as she spoke--"and I will tell you the whole tale." + +"I was born in one of the midland counties of England, and am the +daughter of a man of good family, though at the time of my birth reduced +in means. He was a surgeon in a small country town, skilful and +unwearied in his profession, but unable to realise any considerable +income. My mother died when I was about twelve years old, and as my +father could not afford to keep any assistant, he was obliged to rely a +good deal on my help, as I grew up, in making up his medicines, and +occasionally attending cases of slight illness under his directions. +When I was about seventeen, my father unexpectedly obtained a valuable +appointment in India, in the Company's service, and thither we +accordingly proceeded in the spring of the year 1778. + +"But the climate never agreed with him; and after persisting for two or +three years in the vain hope of becoming habituated to it, his health +altogether broke down, and he died, leaving me with a very slender +provision. I resolved at once to return to England, and solicit the +help of my relatives there. Some of them may still be living, and +doubtless believe that I have long been dead. It would only distress +them if they were to learn the real facts, and I therefore shall not +disclose my true name, or those indeed of any of the party. + +"I took my passage homeward by the _Grosvenor_, a fine vessel belonging +to the East India Company's service. It carried a great many +passengers, mostly officers returning home, and a few civilians. There +were also several ladies, though none about my own age. I remember, +particularly, Colonel Harrison--so I will name him--an old friend of my +father's, Major Piers, Captains Gilby and Andrewes, Mr Hickson, Mr +Morgan, and Mr Gregg, as well as his sister, Mrs Gilby, Mrs +Wilkinson, and Miss Hordern. It is strange how well I can recall all +their faces and persons at this interval of time. + +"The voyage was unusually quick and agreeable until we arrived off the +coast of South Africa. But there we encountered a gale so violent, that +the ship soon became wholly unmanageable. Everybody concurred in +saying, that it was through no fault either of the captain or of the +crew that the vessel was lost. The wind drove her directly ashore, the +anchors that were thrown out parted during the height of the storm, and +there are no harbours anywhere along that coast for which vessels can +run. The end was that she was thrown upon a reef at no great distance +from shore, and entirely broken up. + +"By the good management of the officers in command, the whole of the +passengers, and nearly all the crew, were got into the boats and safely +landed on the shore. We were at first very thankful for our escape; but +if we had known the fate that awaited nearly all of us, I think we +should have preferred being swallowed up by the raging sea to undergoing +it. The sea-coast at that point consists of long stretches of sandy +beach, overgrown at a short distance from the sea by thick scrub and +underwood, while further inland are dense and almost impassable forests. +Our first step was to provide ourselves with some shelter against the +wind and rain which continued unabated for several days. By the help of +the carpenter's chest, and the various articles which were thrown ashore +from the wreck, we soon established ourselves comfortably enough. Huts +were run up in which the whole of the party were lodged, hunting parties +organised, and then a general meeting was summoned to determine what +steps were to be taken to deliver ourselves from the embarrassing +position in which we were placed. + +"I remember there was great difference of opinion. Some proposed to +build a barque out of the remains of the _Grosvenor_, sufficiently large +to convey the whole party round to Table Bay. The distance, it was +reckoned, was six or seven hundred miles. We might easily row or sail +on an average forty or fifty miles a day. And even if Cape Town should +be too far to be so reached, we should be safe to come to some of the +villages scattered here and there along the coast, which kept up some +kind of communication with the interior. Others urged our continuing in +our present quarters until we succeeded in attracting the attention of +some passing vessel. Others, again, proposed a plan compounded of +these. One of the small boats was to be repaired sufficiently to allow +two or three of the most experienced sailors to go in search of help for +the whole party. + +"On the whole, I believe the last-named suggestion would have had the +best chance of success. Any one of the three would certainly have been +preferable to the one adopted, and which had in the first instance been +proposed by the Captain himself, viz., that the whole of the party +should make their way overland to the nearest inhabited district. This +was strongly opposed by Colonel Harrison and old Mr Hickson; the former +of whom warned us, that the attempt would probably result in the +destruction of all. But there were among the passengers, as well as +among the junior officers of the ship, a number of hot-headed +adventurous spirits, to whom such a journey, as that designed, had an +irresistible charm. We all set out; but after a few days of suffering, +all the women and most of the men returned to the coast, while the +others went on. + +"I have been told that some at least of this party succeeded after a +long and hazardous journey in reaching the Dutch settlements at Cape +Town. I suppose that must be so, because I learned, some years +afterwards, that all the particulars of the loss of the _Grosvenor_ were +known to the Dutch authorities, and I do not know how they could have +learned anything on the subject except from my fellow-passengers. I +have also been told that a party was sent out to search for any +survivors of the ill-fated ship. If that was so, they never came near +the spot where I was living. + +"We saw our companions depart with very mingled feelings. The +confidence of their leaders had inspired some of us with hope, while +others were very despondent. This despondency was increased when, a few +days after their departure, Captain Gilby and Mr Gregg, returning from +a shooting expedition, reported that they had seen armed savages in the +neighbourhood of the huts, prowling about, evidently with no friendly +intentions towards us. It was immediately resolved to protect the +building with a palisade; beyond which the ladies were never to venture +without an armed escort, and to keep two of the men always on guard +inside the stockade with loaded muskets. But these precautions were of +little avail. Several of our small party were, from time to time, +captured or wounded by the natives; and all who were thus injured +expired soon afterwards in great agonies from the poison, in which the +weapons of the savages had been steeped. Two or three of the women also +died, partly of insufficient food, and partly of anxiety and alarm. At +last the whole party was reduced to four men and five women; and we then +held a consultation to decide what was to be done. + +"It was impossible to defend the stockade, with our reduced numbers. It +was idle to hope for rescue. It would be still more useless to +surrender to the savages, who would observe no terms, even should they +be induced to agree to any. The only possible hope lay in flight. If +we stole out of the palisades by night, and took ourselves off in +different directions through the depths of the forest, it was just +possible that some of us might escape the notice of our enemies. We +divided into three parties, Captain Gilby, his wife, and Mrs Wilkinson +chose the path by the seashore; Captain Piers, Mr and Miss Gregg, +endeavoured to follow the route taken by the party several weeks before; +while Colonel Harrison took Miss Hordern and myself under his charge. +The Colonel had some knowledge of the colony, and knew that the best +hope of escape lay towards the north, where there were but few tribes +located, and an almost endless screen of forest. + +"We took leave of one another only an hour after we had come to this +resolution, as the danger was growing every moment more imminent. I +never heard with any certainty what became of the rest of the party; but +a report once reached me that Miss Gregg (so I call her, though, as I +have said before, I give none of the real names), after the murder of +her brother and Captain Piers, had to submit to something of the same +fate as myself. But this was only a rumour. Of the fate of Captain +Gilby and his wife, I never heard anything. + +"As regards ourselves, we were fortunate enough entirely to escape +pursuit, and after three days of intense anxiety and fatigue, had +reached a part of the forest which lay beyond the haunts of the tribes, +by which we had been attacked. We were now compelled to rest awhile, +and recover our strength. But though Miss Hordern and myself, who were +both of us of a hardy constitution, soon rallied from the fatigues we +had undergone, the old Colonel could not. He grew daily weaker in spite +of all our care of him, and at last died, to our inexpressible grief. +We laid his remains in an empty pit which we had found, and filled it in +as well as we could, with clods and stones. We then set off--two poor +desolate women--to find our way as well as we could to some place of +shelter. + +"The toil we underwent, and the perils, which by a miracle we contrived +to avoid, would fill a volume, if I were to relate them. But it will be +enough to say that, after endless wanderings, we found ourselves at last +somewhere about fifty or sixty miles from the banks of the Gariep--at no +very great distance, in fact, from this present spot. We had subsisted +chiefly on the fruits that grow in abundance throughout the whole of the +country, and were beginning to hope that, after all, we might reach the +outlying Dutch farms of which Colonel Harrison had spoken, when another +calamity befell us. Miss Hordern and myself were one day suddenly +surprised by a party of Basutos, who had gone out on a shooting +expedition to the valley of the Vaal. We instantly took to flight, but +before we had gone fifty yards, Miss Hordern was struck by an arrow, and +the wound proved almost instantly fatal. I stopped as soon as I saw her +fall, and took her in my arms, too much distressed by this last +misfortune to heed my own danger. + +"What the pursuers would have done to me, I do not know. But when I +recovered from the swoon of grief into which I had fallen over the body +of my dead friend, I saw a tall and noble-looking warrior bending over +me, his fine eyes and manly features expressing a sympathy for my +affliction, which I should have supposed a savage to be incapable of +feeling. He gave some orders to his men, in a language which I did not +comprehend, and I was immediately carried into a hut, and carefully +waited on by several women. I was ill a long time, but every day my +warrior came to visit me, and gradually I picked up enough of the Basuto +language to exchange a few sentences with him. I soon perceived the +light in which he viewed me, and it was not unwelcome--strange as such +an idea would have appeared to me a few weeks before. But I was worn +out by harsh usage, he alone having shown me kindness; and my utter +helplessness made me inclined to lean on any friendly arm. He was, too, +one of the noblest and most generous characters I have ever met with, +and his instinctive delicacy of feeling rendered him all the more +attractive in my eyes. I consented to be his wife, conditionally on his +taking no others, and to this he readily agreed, for, I believe, no +woman but myself ever had any charm for him. + +"We were married according to the Basuto forms; but at my desire we also +recited the vow of husband and wife, according to the marriage service +of the English Church, and for ten years lived happily together. I +should mention that I found the medical knowledge I had acquired in my +girlhood of the greatest benefit to my newly adopted countrymen. +Several times, when epidemic fevers, common to this country, broke out, +I was successful in treating them, and my husband's authority enabled me +to enforce regulations, which otherwise I could not have induced the +people to observe. When my husband was killed, some fifteen years ago, +by the sudden fall of a tree, the tribe insisted on making me their +Queen; and nothing has ever seriously disturbed the prosperity of my +reign. Ella, who was born a few years after our marriage, is our only +surviving child. + +"Such is my history--a strange one, no doubt. Probably most persons +would regard me as an object of pity, to say the least. But I do not +share the opinion. I have had, in my way, much happiness; and, if I +have been deprived of privileges and blessings, which fall ordinarily to +the lot of Englishwomen, have also escaped many sorrows and trials, to +which in my own country I should have been exposed. + +"But there are two points on which I should like to say something before +I conclude. I dare say you have thought it strange that I did not +communicate with my countrymen at Cape Town, when the colony fell into +their hands. But news travels so slowly in these wild and distant +regions, that I did not know with any certainty what had taken place +till long after the occurrence. Then, my husband's death for the time +drove all other thoughts from my mind; and when I had regained my +composure enough to attend once more to the affairs of my kingdom, and I +sent an embassy to the English Governor, I found that the colony had +been given back to the Dutch. + +"The other matter is a more important one. I should be sorry for you, +Mr De Walden, to think that I made no effort to induce my husband to +adopt Christianity as his creed. It was a subject on which we often +talked, and though he was slow to accept ideas so wholly new, yet they +gradually grew upon him, and before his death he was a convert to +Christ. + +"No Christian minister ever came into our neighbourhood during the whole +of our married life, or he would doubtless have gladly welcomed him, and +received baptism at his hands. As it was, I myself administered the +rite to him, when I saw that he was dying. + +"I have done my best to bring up Ella in our faith, and to teach what I +could to others round me; but I hail your coming--the first preacher of +the Gospel I have encountered in this land--with the utmost +thankfulness, and trust you will remain among us as our teacher and +guide, assured that all the help and countenance that I can give shall +be most willingly and gladly bestowed." + +She ceased, and De Walden, who had listened to her story with profound +interest, hastened to make answer. + +"Be assured, gracious lady, that I will most cheerfully obey your +wishes. The hand of God is too plainly seen in what has occurred for me +to venture to refuse, even were I so inclined; but earnestly as I have, +for years past, been seeking for an opening like this, and always +hitherto having failed to obtain it, I cannot be thankful enough to the +merciful Providence, which has at last been pleased to hearken to my +prayers." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +LIFE IN THE BASUTO KRAAL--A GIRAFFE HUNT--AN UNEXPECTED INTERFERENCE-- +ERNEST AND ELLA--ERNEST'S EMBARRASSMENT. + +De Walden soon discovered that Queen Laura had not overstated her +friendly feelings towards him and his companions. Not only was every +provision made for their comfort, but a large building was set apart for +the special purposes of a missionary school and chapel. Here such of +the Basuto children as were allowed by their parents to receive +instruction from the English teachers were instructed for two or three +hours every day; while morning and evening prayers were regularly +offered up by the missionary, which all were invited to attend. The +Queen did not directly order the people to send their children to the +school thus opened, but it was known that she approved of it, and her +popularity with the tribe was so great that very few held back. + +The afternoons were usually given up to the more especial education of +Ella; who, though she had been taught by her mother to read and write, +and had studied the few English books which had been saved from the +wreck of the _Grosvenor_, was of course greatly behind English girls of +her age in respect of knowledge. De Walden undertook her religious +instruction, and gave her besides some general lessons in history and +grammar, but was obliged, by lack of time, to hand over arithmetic and +geography to Warley, who, fresh from a good English school, was well +acquainted with both. Such an arrangement would have been a somewhat +questionable one in an English family; but here, in the heart of the +African wilderness, its awkwardness was not felt, and Ella's extreme +simplicity of mind prevented any embarrassments which might otherwise +have arisen. + +So passed several weeks, with scarcely anything to distinguish one day +from another. In the morning De Walden and Warley, assisted generally +by Ella, taught the village children to read, write, and cipher; then +came the mid-day meal, when the whole party dined at the Queen's table; +after that there were Ella's lessons, lasting two or three hours; then +some excursion on horseback (for the Queen owned a large stud of +horses), or on the river, when the lads took their rifles with them, and +seldom returned without a goodly supply of game of one kind or another. +During these expeditions, Ella would continually ply her companions with +questions respecting English life, and especially the habits of English +ladies, in which she took a deep and ever-increasing interest; and +Warley, at least, was never tired of satisfying her curiosity. In the +evenings there was the second meal, and after that De Walden or Warley +read aloud; or the Queen and the missionary would talk over the Europe, +and especially the England, of their young days, of which both +entertained so vivid a remembrance. It was strange to think that a life +so nearly resembling that of an English home, could be carried out at a +distance of more than seven thousand miles from it, and amid the depths +of an uncultivated wilderness! + +Meanwhile nothing could be learned respecting Kobo's movements. A +messenger had been despatched to the village, in which Queen Laura +usually resided, it being supposed that Kobo had repaired thither in +search of her. But the Basuto had returned in four or five days, with +the information that nothing had been seen or heard of the missing man. +A party of white men, it was however reported, had been seen travelling +somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Vaal, and it was thought that Kobo +might have joined them. Further inquiries were set on foot, as soon as +this information was received, as to who these white men were, and +whence they had come; but it was found impossible to obtain any +trustworthy tidings respecting them. If there ever had been any such +persons in the vicinity of the Gariep, at all events they had long since +departed, and no one knew whither. + +It was now again the season of early summer, and the shrubs and flowers +were in their full freshness and beauty. It was resolved to gratify +Nick and Frank (who were beginning to find life in the Basuto kraal +exceedingly dull and wearisome) with some sport, which they had not yet +witnessed. In particular, they were anxious to see the giraffe hunted; +and it having been reported that a large herd of these animals had been +seen browsing in a kloof at no great distance, a party was formed for +going in chase of them on the ensuing day. The Queen had desisted from +the sports of the field for two or three years past, and De Walden could +not afford, at the present juncture, to lose even a day with his +scholars. But all the others joined the expedition, accompanied by the +Princess Ella, who in the use of the bow and arrow was as skilful as any +warrior of the tribe. They were all mounted on fleet steeds, especially +trained to the pursuit of the giraffe; for to horses not so broken in, +the scent of the camelopard is so offensive that they cannot be induced +to approach it. + +It was a fine fresh morning. The horsemen, eight in number, were +attended by a much larger company of Basutos on foot, whose business it +was to spread themselves in all directions over the woodland, and drive +the gigantic animals towards the spot where the horsemen were lying in +ambush. These accordingly dispersed, north, east, and west; while the +riders, in groups of two or three, repaired to their appointed station. + +"Were you fond of riding when in your own country, Ernest?" asked the +princess, as they cantered lightly side by side over the mossy turf. + +"I seldom had the opportunity," answered Warley. "Horses are costly, +both to buy and to keep, in England, and I was not rich, you know." + +"Not rich! How strange it seems to me, to hear you say that! It seems +to me that the very poorest in England must be far richer than my mother +or myself. All the things that appear to me to be really valuable are +within the reach of every one there, so at least I gather from what you +have told me; while we can obtain none of them, even though we gave all +we had for their possession." + +"Viewing things in that light, what you say is true, Ella. But you have +advantages which few in England possess. You have influence and power +over others--" + +"Ah, I understand, and you will teach us how to use these rightly. I +rejoice every day more and more that you have come among us." + +"And I am not less glad, Ella, believe me." + +"You!--you glad to be here, Ernest? What! far away from your home and +friends, in a wild and strange land like this? You are jesting, +surely." + +"Indeed I am not, Ella. I would not be back in England, if a wish could +place me there." + +Ella would have replied, but they had now reached the spot where they +had agreed to assemble, and the rest of the party joined them. It was +an open glade, of perhaps an acre in extent, in the heart of a thickly +wooded country. For the most part, the trees were not more than ten or +twelve feet high, though here and there oomahaamas and baobabs were to +be seen, the former towering to a great height against the sky--the +latter of enormous girth, sixty or eighty feet at the least--their +trunks resembling large columns of granite, in the grey colour and rough +surface they presented. It was in the midst of a group of these that +the party now assembled; the massy stems and dense foliage effectually +screening them from view, though they could themselves see the whole +country round them. Presently a distant sound was heard, like that of +trampling hoofs, which grew louder and louder, until the elegant +tapering necks of a dozen giraffes came into sight, as they raced along +with the gallop which appears so graceful until the legs come into +sight, and then so clumsy and confused. On they sped, balancing their +lengthy bodies anew, as it appeared, every time they laid leg to the +ground, and whisking their tufted tails from side to side, as though to +stimulate themselves to fresh exertions. + +As soon as the herd had entered the open glade, the horsemen broke +cover, and galloped after them, hoping to approach them sufficiently +near to be able to strike them with their spears or arrows. But the +animals caught the flash of the first assegai that issued from under the +baobabs, and wheeling instantly round, continued their career at more +headlong speed than before. The only chance now lay in riding them +down; and this might be accomplished with the trained horses ridden by +the party, though only after a furious gallop of many miles. As if +aware of this possibility, and anxious to avoid it as much as possible, +the giraffes now no longer kept together in a single herd, but fled in +different directions, only two or three remaining in company, and +several galloping singly off through the forest paths. As the natural +consequence of this, the pursuers also broke up in smaller bands; and by +and by, Warley and Ella found themselves separated from the rest, and +riding at full speed in pursuit of one of the largest giraffes, which +was making for a long stretch of open down, lying beyond the woodland. +They were both mounted on strong and spirited horses, and being light +weights, were enabled to keep the animal in sight for the first mile, in +which it usually succeeds in distancing its pursuers. + +"Keep on, Ernest," said Ella, encouragingly, "we shall soon begin to +gain upon him. Can you fire from the saddle? If so, you will get a +shot before me. My bow will not carry nearly the distance of your +rifle." + +"Yes, I can fire pretty steadily from a horse's back now," returned +Warley, "especially when I am on Sultan, as I call him. I have had a +good deal of practice lately." + +"That is well," said Ella. "The country will change in a few minutes +now, and we shall be out of the bush. The giraffe is already abating +his speed. We shall gain on him every minute now." + +Ella's words were soon made good. As they emerged from the woody cover, +the animal's strength began perceptibly to fail. They were soon within +two hundred yards of him, and drawing closer with every stride of their +horses. Ella now bent her bow, and took an arrow from the quiver slung +behind her, while Warley disengaged his rifle and cocked it. When they +had approached within fifty yards, he thought he might venture to fire. +Even should he fail in mortally wounding the camelopard, he was pretty +sure of hitting it somewhere, and the loss of blood would gradually +diminish the creature's strength. He levelled accordingly, and drew the +trigger, just as they were nearing a pile of rocks on which a quantity +of bushes were growing. The moment after the report of his piece had +been heard, the animal suddenly recoiled, and seemed to be on the point +of falling. Ernest pushed on to finish it with a second shot, but as he +rode up abreast of it, a fierce roar burst from behind an angle of rock, +and a lion of the largest size sprang on the back of the giraffe. +Almost immediately afterwards a second appeared, and seized the +unfortunate animal in the neck and chest. Under the pressure of their +weight it was unable to continue its flight. It plunged violently, +making desperate, but wholly ineffectual, efforts to shake off its +tormentors, and tearing up the earth with its hoofs. But in less time +than it takes to tell it, the giraffe was borne to the ground, feebly +gasping out its life under the merciless claws and teeth of its +assailants. + +Meanwhile the horses had been almost as much terrified by the sudden +apparition of the monarchs of the forest, as the camelopard itself. +That which carried Ella rushed frantically off at a speed, which she was +at first unable to check. Warley's steed sprang on one side, with an +abruptness which dislodged its rider, who had dropped the rein, +preparing for a second shot. Warley was thrown to the ground, his rifle +falling several yards in advance of him; and the frightened animal +galloped off at its utmost speed. Ernest was left in a most dangerous +position. The lions having torn their prey down, did not proceed +immediately to devour it, but glared round them, as though anticipating +the approach of another enemy. Warley lay at the distance of only a few +yards, his figure fully exposed to the view of the angry monsters, which +stood over the carcass of the giraffe, lashing their flanks with their +tails, and sending up roar after roar, each seeming more savage than the +last. Ernest dared not move hand or foot; his instinct, rather than his +reason, told him that his only hope lay in the lions believing him to be +really dead, in which case they would not probably trouble themselves +about him. + +He lay thus for nearly a quarter of an hour, the sun beating fiercely +down on his unprotected head, for his cap had been dislodged in the +fall, contemplating the huge brutes through his half-shut eyes. At the +end of that time his ear caught the twang of a bow from the adjoining +thicket, and the nearest lion leapt into the air with an arrow sticking +in his breast, while the second lion bounded off and disappeared behind +the rocks. Before Ella could discharge a second missile, the wounded +beast had charged her; and her horse, which was snorting with terror, +and had with the greatest difficulty been forced back to the scene of +the encounter, stumbled in its blind haste over the root of a tree, +rolling over its rider. + +Ella was in even greater danger than Ernest had been. She lay at the +distance of a few yards from her fallen steed, bruised and breathless. +The lion paused for a minute, seeming uncertain as to which of his +fallen enemies he meant to spring upon. That moment of indecision saved +the princess's life. Ernest recovered his rifle the moment the lion's +attention was withdrawn from him, and now fired his second barrel at the +distance of only a few yards, into the shoulder of the monster, just a +few inches from the place where Ella's arrow was sticking. It was +levelled at exactly the right spot. The limbs, which were just +crouching for the spring, suddenly collapsed, and the terrible enemy +fell lifeless in the dust. + +Warley now ran up and took the lifeless form of Ella into his arms, +endeavouring, by every means he could think of, to restore its +animation. He chafed her cold hands, he loosened the clasp which had +confined her dress at the neck; and finding these efforts vain, carried +her in his arms to a small spring, which rose hard by, and threw water +into her face. This last remedy presently took effect. The princess +opened her eyes with a long sigh, and looked confusedly round her. + +"Where am I?" she exclaimed feebly. Then, as her glance lighted on the +face of Ernest bending anxiously over her, and the figure of the dead +lion, lying at the distance of a few yards, the whole occurrence seemed +to come back to her memory. + +"Oh, Ernest," she exclaimed, "the lion! You saved me, then. Are you +not hurt yourself?" + +"I have escaped with only a bruise or so," said Warley; "and it is you +who have saved me, not I you. Are you sure the fall from the horse has +not injured you?" + +"No, that was nothing," returned Ella, colouring under the earnestness +of his gaze. "I threw myself from his back as he fell, and he did not +touch me. I don't think he is hurt either. If we can catch the horses, +we had better rejoin the party. The skins of the giraffe and lion will +be a valuable prize." + +Warley soon caught Ella's horse, and then went in search of his own, +which he found grazing quietly at the distance of two or three hundred +yards. They mounted and galloped off in quest of Wilmore and Gilbert, +encountering them and the Basutos in attendance in about half an hour, +and finding them greatly vexed at their ill success. The giraffes had +galloped up the side of a long slope of hill, which gave them so great +an advantage, that when the horsemen reached the summit of the range, +the herd were quite out of sight, and after several ineffectual attempts +to regain the scent, they were obliged to abandon the pursuit. They +heard of Ella's and Ernest's success with equal surprise and +satisfaction, and hurrying off in the direction indicated, were soon +engaged in flaying the hides off both animals, as well as in selecting +the choicest morsels of the camelopard's flesh to supply the Queen's +table. + +Late in the evening the party returned to the kraal, where they were +welcomed by the Queen and De Walden, who questioned them as to what had +taken place during the hunt. But neither Ella nor Warley seemed +inclined to say more than they could help on the subject. The truth +was, that a feeling of mutual liking had been growing up between the two +since the first day of their meeting; when the princess had owed her +life to Warley's promptitude. The attachment was little to be wondered +at under the circumstances. Warley was now in his one-and-twentieth +year--a fine well-grown young man, with a face of rare intelligence. He +was the first Englishman who had come under Ella's notice; and when +contrasted with the dark-skinned and coarse-visaged Basutos, he seemed +like a being from some higher sphere. On the other hand, Ella's rare +grace and beauty, her exquisite simplicity and frankness, were the +qualities most likely to captivate a youth of Ernest's imaginative +temperament; and the wild freedom of the life, by which they were +surrounded, only added to the charm. But though he was conscious of the +fascination, which was daily growing stronger, Warley felt perplexed and +uncomfortable. He could not turn hunter, and live all his life in these +remote solitudes. But to take Ella with him, to England or elsewhere, +as his wife, was wholly impracticable, so far as he could see. How +could he maintain her? How induce others to receive her? What would +his friends say to such an alliance? or indeed to his forming any +alliance at all? The life which had been arranged for him--that of a +clerk in a house at Calcutta--it seemed impossible that Ella could share +that. The idea of marrying Ella was, in fact, little better than a wild +dream. + +On the other hand, if Ella was not to be his wife, he ought not to +remain in the Basuto village. There could be no doubt that they were +getting to like one another--to speak the plain truth, they were both +already deeply in love Ella did not think it necessary to disguise her +feelings, as an English girl would have done; and though she was modest +and maidenly, showed her preference plainly enough. Every day of their +mutual intercourse did but deepen the feeling. If it was to end in +nothing, he ought to go away at once. + +But how was he to go away? It was true that Frank and Nick had long +been anxious to set out on a journey to Cape Town, and he might go with +them. De Walden, of course, would remain with Queen Laura, and +prosecute his missionary work. He would be sorry to lose Warley no +doubt, and so probably would Queen Laura; but neither would in all +likelihood interpose any serious obstacle. There were, however, what +seemed insuperable objections. + +In the first place, they were bound to await Lavie's return. Queen +Laura had despatched a messenger to Chuma, with a friendly message soon +after their arrival in her dominions, and had entreated him to send to +her any tidings that might be received from the white men. A favourable +answer had been brought back from the Bechuana chief. The rainmaker had +been killed, and as soon as he was dead, the truth as to the origin of +the cattle disease had been disclosed by the natives, who had been aware +of the facts from the first, but afraid to tell them. Chuma saw how he +had been deceived as to the white man's truth and honesty, and was +sincerely grieved at having so misused him. He promised that as soon as +Lavie, or any emissary from him should appear, the tidings should be at +once forwarded to the Basutos. These might now be looked for every day. +It was strange that they had not arrived long before. If, then, Warley +and the others were to set out for Cape Town now, they would inevitable +miss the expected messengers, and might not see their friends for +months, instead of for a few days only. Then there was Kobo. It was +not at all certain that he was not still on the search for them. It +would be a breach of faith if they were to leave him in the lurch; and +after all his exertions in their behalf, this was not to be thought of. +And, lastly, if Mr Lavie should not be at Cape Town when they arrived-- +and the chances were very greatly against his being there--there was no +one to whom he could appeal for help or maintenance, excepting his +brother. And the idea of applying to him was so repulsive, that he felt +he would rather do anything than resort to it. No. Departure from the +Basuto village was impossible at the present crisis. He must wait +patiently, for a few weeks more, at all events. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +FRANK AND NICK REBEL--A HAZARDOUS DETERMINATION--A SUDDEN DEPARTURE--A +WOUNDED BUFFALO--OMINOUS SOUNDS--RESCUE AT THE LAST MOMENT. + +Of all the party, De Walden was now the only one who was contented to +remain in his present position. He was, indeed, in a more contented +frame of mind than any he had enjoyed since he first entered the Cape +Colony. It seemed as if his wishes, so long frustrated, had on a sudden +received their full accomplishment--as though the seed he had been +vainly sowing for so many years, had sprung up to ripeness in an hour. +Not only had he his band of regular worshippers, who every Sunday +publicly attended his ministrations; not only had he his school filled +with boys and girls, learning, with an intelligence which would hardly +have been found among European children of the same age, the rudiments +of Christianity--but there were several adult converts, who were so far +advanced that they were almost ready to receive baptism; and many more, +though they had not openly given in their adhesion to the new doctrines, +were gravely and seriously considering the matter. If things should +continue to go on as favourably as at present, such an impression would +be made in the course of a few months on the whole tribe, as could +hardly fail to end in their open profession of Christianity. De Walden +had seen much of life--much in particular of missionary life; and felt +inwardly assured that he would not be permitted to accomplish so great a +work, without strong and determined opposition. He marvelled at his +success from day to day; but meanwhile it was his duty to go on in +faith, thankful for the mercy shown so far, and prepared to face the +reverse, as soon as it should appear. + +Ernest Warley, we have seen, felt perplexed and embarrassed by his +position as regarded Ella; but the Basuto village had, nevertheless, an +attraction for him, which would have made it full of delightful and +absorbing interest, if his conscience had not every day pricked him more +keenly as to the mischief he was unwillingly doing. But Wilmore and +Gilbert, who had not the same sources of interest as either De Walden or +Warley, began at last find their sojourn so intolerably wearisome, that +they to could no longer endure it. "I tell you what it is, Frank," said +Gilbert one day, when they had lain down to rest, under the shade of a +large oomahaama overshadowing their hut, after an hour's practice at +throwing the assegai, with which sport they had endeavoured to relieve +the tedium of an idle morning--"I tell you what it is; if I stay here +much longer, I shall go downright melancholy mad. They can't put me +into an asylum, because, I suppose, there are no articles of that kind +to be met with hereabouts. But they'll have to appoint keepers, and +extemporise a straight waistcoat of rhinoceros hide, and shave my head, +and all the rest of it." + +"I am pretty nearly as bad as you are, Nick," returned Wilmore. +"There's De Walden for ever teaching those niggers, and there's Ernest +for ever dangling about Ella; and very pleasant I dare say, they find +it. But you and I don't particularly fancy young darkies, and haven't +any girls to talk to, seeing Miss Ella has no ears for any one but +Ernest. I am tired of trying to learn Basuto, or to throw an assegai, +or shoot with one of their bows and arrows, which are about big enough +for a child of ten years old. If we could only go out with our guns +every day--" + +"We are not to go out again," interrupted Nick. "The powder's running +so very short, that there are not above a dozen charges left. So we +must learn assegai throwing and archery, if we mean to have any sport in +future." + +"I shall never make a hand at either," said Frank. "A fellow must be +born to it, to knock things over as these Basutos do. Well, I agree +with you, I don't think I can stand this much longer, without going +stark crazy." + +"Suppose we _don't_ stand it, Frank," suggested Gilbert. "It quite +rests with ourselves. No one can compel us." + +"I don't quite understand you," said Wilmore. "How can we help +ourselves?" + +"By taking ourselves off," answered the other. + +"Look here. They say we ought to remain until the messengers return +that were sent to Cape Town, and that it would be hard upon Lavie, if he +were to come here and find us gone. Very good. But De Walden and +Warley both mean to remain with Queen Laura; so that whenever he may +come (if he _does_ come) he will find them, and that will answer every +purpose. But you and I may go our way, and leave them to go theirs." + +"What! you propose that we two should set off for Cape Town alone, hey? +Could we find our way, think you?" + +"I don't see why we shouldn't. We know the exact position of Cape Town, +and the pocket compass, which Lavie gave me, will enable us to go at all +events in the right direction. It will take a long time, no doubt--" + +"Three or four months, at least," said Wilmore. + +"About that, I judge," rejoined Gilbert. "But then we shall be +tolerably sure to fall in with some Dutch village or farm before we have +got half-way; and the Dutch are hospitable, though not civil to the +English. They couldn't turn us out into the wilderness, anyhow." + +"No, I suppose not," said Frank, "particularly as we have got money to +pay for what we want. But then, Nick, how are we to subsist till we +reach one of these villages or farms. The nearest, I believe, are fully +two hundred miles off, if we went ever so straight. With only six +charges in our guns--" + +"We must reserve our fire for great emergencies," interrupted Nick. "I +have my knife, any way, and we have learned something by this time, +remember, and know where to find the roots and fruits these fellows eat. +Besides, it's the season for birds' eggs now, and there'll be heaps of +them." + +"Yes, and we can take a lot of mealeys with us," added Wilmore. "They +will go into a small compass and last a long time. Well, Nick, I don't +mind, if I go in for this with you. So far as I can see, we may wait +here, day after day, for the next twelvemonth; and I'd rather take my +chance of being devoured alive by the wild beasts, or knocked on the +head by the savages, than have to go through that. When do you propose +that we should make a start?" + +"Well, we must first of all lay in a store of mealeys--I always meant to +take them: and I should like to get out of De Walden the nearest way to +the banks of the Gariep. I've an idea that if we could reach that, we +might make another raft like that on which we made our voyage to the +island, and float on it till we came to the place where we were carried +away by the flood. We should both know that again." + +"That's not a bad idea, Nick. We should find plenty to eat as we went +along. We could store up a lot of figs, or dates or bananas on the +raft--enough to last us a week, I dare say; and the current runs pretty +swift, I expect. Only how about the falls at different parts of the +river? I've heard there are several places where there are rapids, or +actual cascades." + +"I don't think there are between this and the place I was speaking of. +Anyhow we must be on the look out, and if we see any reason to think we +are getting near one, we must run ashore. Of course there must be some +risk, you know." + +"Of course. Well, I am game to go, and I think we had better make a +start as soon as possible. Suppose we look up the mealeys to-morrow and +the next day--Tuesday, that is, and Wednesday, and set out on Thursday." + +"We had better set out on Wednesday night. There is a full moon then, +which will light us as well as broad day would. And it would give us a +start of ten hours or so before we were missed." + +"Very good. I have no objection. It is the pleasantest time for +travelling during the warm weather." + +On the Wednesday evening, accordingly, the two boys set out on their +expedition. Nick had managed skilfully to extract the information he +desired from the missionary, without exciting his suspicions; and they +had had no difficulty in gathering a heap of ripe mealeys, as large as +they could carry in their knapsacks, unobserved by any one. They were +careful to take no more than the exact amount of powder, which they +considered to be their share of the remaining stock. Frank also wrote a +few lines, addressed to Warley, in which he told him, that they had +found their life of late so unendurable that they had resolved to brave +every toil and danger, rather than continue to undergo it. He begged +that no attempt might be made at pursuit; because in event of their +being overtaken, they were resolved positively to refuse to return to +the Basuto village. Lastly, he assured Ernest, that if they succeeded +in reaching Cape Town, they would take care that steps were immediately +taken for securing his safe journey thither. + +Having left this letter on the table, where it would be sure to be found +on the following morning, the two lads set forth under the bright +moonlight, and travelled in safety some fifteen or sixteen miles through +the night and into the next day, when the burning heat warned them that +it was time to rest. They started again an hour or two after sunset, +and again pursued their way through almost unbroken solitude, tracking +their way partly by the aid of Gilbert's compass, partly by their +recollection of Mr De Walden's information. So many days passed on, +until the whole of their store of provisions was exhausted, and they +were fain to supply themselves with anything eatable, which the desert +or forest could furnish. + +But here they found, for the first time, their calculations fail them. +The plains they traversed were either wastes of arid sand, or ranges of +forest producing haak-doorns and kamel doorns and mimosas in abundance, +and occasionally sycamores and acacias, but none of the fruit trees they +had reckoned on finding. At the end of the second day, they were +obliged to expend some of their dearly cherished ammunition in firing at +a gemsbok, which came full upon them in one of the turnings of the +forest, and which they were fortunate enough to wound with the first +shot they fired, and kill with a second. + +Collecting a heap of dry grass and wood, they succeeded, by the help of +Lavie's burning-glass, which had been the doctor's parting gift to +Frank, in lighting a fire, at which they roasted a considerable part of +the gemsbok's flesh, and having made a hearty meal upon it, stored the +remains in their knapsacks. A considerable supply of meat was thus +obtained, and for two or three days they fared well enough, especially +as there was a fall of rain, which gave them plenty of water. + +But the line of country through which they passed continued as barren of +the means of supporting existence as ever, and they were presently +reduced to the same straits as before. They began, indeed, now to be +somewhat alarmed at their situation. They had reckoned that it would be +a fortnight's journey to the banks of the Gariep; but they had been ten +days on their route, and had not, so far as they could calculate, +accomplished half the distance. Each of them had only two charges of +powder left, and it was evident that their guns alone could be reckoned +on, as furnishing them with food in the country where they were now +travelling. Their condition was rendered worse by two unsuccessful +attempts which they made to shoot a buffalo on the day after the last +batch of gemsbok meat had been consumed. They had come on the track of +a herd of buffaloes, which they had resolved to follow, and after many +hours of careful stalking, they had got so near to the herd at sunset as +to venture a shot. But, just as in the former instance, though the +animal was hit, and it might be severely wounded, it did not fall, but +was able to make off with the rest of the herd. + +"Oh, Frank, what will become of us?" exclaimed Nick, as he witnessed +this mishap. "If we don't get food somewhere to-night, I feel as if I +should perish of hunger." + +"Never say die, Nick," said Frank, cheerily. "Look here! This brute is +hit hard, I'm sure of that; and I'm pretty sure, too, that he won't hold +out very long. Just look what lots of blood he has left behind him. +They'll be quite enough to enable us to track him, even by this light. +We'll follow up the blood-marks until we find him. Even if another shot +should be necessary, we shall still have a charge apiece left, if we +should be attacked. If we kill the buffalo it will supply us with food +for a long time to come, and it is very unlikely that the country will +continue as bare of all fruit, as it has been since we left the +village." + +"All right, Frank," returned Nick; "that is the best way of viewing it +at all events. I'll just take a hole up in my belt to stop the +importunities of my stomach, and then we'll be off after the buffalo. +We may as well go that way as any other, at all events." + +They set out accordingly, following without difficulty, by the help of +the moon, the course taken by the herd across the open plain and the +intervening patches of scrub for two or three hours. The marks of blood +were plainly enough visible all the way, sometimes in large patches, as +though the wounded animal had stopped behind the rest through momentary +weakness; and then again only a drop here and there, as if it had again +exerted its remaining strength to overtake the herd. At last they came +to a spot where a larger puddle than any before stained the adjacent +grass and sand, and then the marks no longer followed the general track, +but turned aside into a deep thicket, through which the two boys had +considerable difficulty in following its course. + +They had advanced some distance, when Nick suddenly laid his hand on his +companion's arm. + +"Did you hear that?" he said. + +"Hear what?" returned Wilmore. + +"I fancied I heard a shot fired," said Gilbert, "but I suppose I must +have been mistaken." + +"A shot! Who could there be in these parts to fire one? It was the +fall of a large stone from the cliffs, most likely. They are often +dislodged by the wind, and make a noise like the report of a gun. Come +along, we shall not have much further to go, I expect." + +"Hist!" exclaimed Nick, again stopping. "I am quite sure I hear +something now, though in a different quarter from that in which I +fancied the gun was fired." + +"What do you hear?" asked Wilmore, stopping and listening with all his +ears. + +"A kind of low growling, or groaning," answered Nick; "or perhaps +grinding of teeth. It is very indistinct; but I am certain that I hear +it." + +"It is the poor brute in his dying agony," said Frank. "Push on. We +must be close to him now." + +By this time the dawn had begun to break, and the daylight diffused +itself rapidly over the scene. The beams of the rising sun showed that +they were, as Frank said, close on the buffalo's trail. The grass was +trampled down, as if by heavy footsteps, and blood, evidently only +recently shed, stained the bushes and long grass in profusion. And now +the sound heard by Nick became plainly audible to Frank also. + +"Cock your gun, Nick!" he said. "He may have life enough left in him to +give us some trouble yet." + +As he spoke he turned the corner of a large mass of prickly pear, which +had been partly forced aside and partly torn away by the passage of some +heavy body, and came upon a sight which was as alarming as it was +unexpected. + +The carcass of the buffalo lay on the ground, already partially +devoured. Standing over it were a male and female panther (or tiger, as +the natives of South Africa are wont to call them), engaged in tearing +the flesh from the ribs with their long white shining teeth. The +animals were as big as an ordinary English mastiff, and the glare of +their large yellow eyes showed that the ferocity of their nature was +fully awakened. Frank fell back, as soon as his eye lighted on them, +conscious that his best hope of escape lay in instantly withdrawing from +the spot; but Nick, who had already raised his gun before he had come in +sight of the enemy he was about to encounter, drew his trigger, scarcely +aware of what he was doing, wounding the male panther severely, but not +mortally, in the chest. With a fierce howl of agony and rage combined, +the tiger sprang straight upon him; and if he had not been +extraordinarily light of limb and quick of eye, the next moment would +have been his last. But the moment the charge left the barrel, he +perceived the imminence of the danger threatening him, and, dropping his +gun, he sprang lightly on one side. The brute's claws and teeth just +missed their aim, but the body, in passing, struck him with sufficient +force to prostrate him insensible on the ground. The wounded panther +had no sooner recovered from its spring, than it turned back to fasten +on its fallen enemy; but Frank, stepping instantly up, with ready +presence of mind, applied the muzzle of his rifle to its ear, as it was +on the very point of bending its neck, and it fell lifeless on the +ground. + +But the boys were now left quite helpless. The last charge had been +fired, and the remaining panther, which had stood motionless since the +discharge of the gun, watching as it were the issue of the struggle, now +gave evident signs that it was about to avenge its mate. Erecting its +tail, it uttered a low growl, which swelled gradually into a savage +roar. Another minute and his teeth would have been fastened in the +lad's throat; but before the animal could make its leap, the sound of +pattering feet was heard, and a large dog, bounding through the bushes, +sprang on the tiger and caught it by the throat. The brute turned +savagely on its new assailant, and a furious combat commenced; the tiger +tearing the ribs of the mastiff with its claws, but unable to shake off +the hold it had fastened on its throat Frank gazed with blank amazement +at the appearance of this unexpected champion, which seemed to have +fallen from the skies for his deliverance; and his astonishment was +increased when he perceived, as he presently did, that the dog was no +other than his long-lost, faithful Lion! How he could be still living, +and still more, what could have brought him there, he could not +conceive. But it was no moment for speculation. His favourite was +matched against an antagonist which, if it did not prove victor in the +struggle, might at all events inflict the most deadly wounds before it +could be overcome. Frank stooped, and drew the strong clasped knife +which Nick always carried in his belt. Opening this, he stepped forward +to the spot, where the two animals, now covered with dust and blood, +were savagely rending one another; he waited for the moment when the +panther's breast became exposed, and plunged the knife into it up to the +hilt. The stab was mortal. Unfastening the grip of its teeth on Lion's +side, the brute endeavoured to seize this new enemy; but it could not +disengage itself from Lion's hold. Its jaws collapsed, its savage eyes +grew filmy and dim, and in another minute the mastiff was tearing and +shaking the inanimate carcass of its adversary. + +"Lion! Lion! dear old boy!--are you much hurt," exclaimed Frank, +running up, and throwing his arms round his favourite's neck; "however +did you come here? and where have you been all these weeks and months? +I can hardly believe, even now, that it is really you." + +"Yes, it really him--it Lion for sure. Kobo and he make friends--know +each other ever so long," said a tall Bechuana, who had now joined the +party, and stood with a grin on his black face. "But, Master Nick--he +not hurt, is he?" + +"What, Kobo, you too here!" exclaimed Frank. "But we'll talk about that +presently. We must see to Nick here. I declare I almost forgot him in +the surprise and joy at seeing old Lion again. But men before dogs. I +am pretty sure, though, Gilbert isn't hurt. He's only stunned by the +weight of the leopard's body, when he sprang on him." + +They raised the lad between them, and soon had the satisfaction of +seeing him open his eyes, and draw in a long breath; and then, after +once or twice stretching himself, and feeling his chest and ribs, +declare that he wasn't a pin the worse, and would be ready for his +dinner, as soon as ever Kobo could supply him with any! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +THE LONG-EXPECTED ARRIVAL--CAPTAIN WILMORE'S NARRATIVE--THE TUTELARY +SPIRIT--LION TO THE RESCUE--PLANS FOR THE FUTURE--THE FUTURE CHURCH. + +It was not until quite late on the morning after the departure of the +boys, that the fact became known to De Walden and Ernest. It chanced to +be the day appointed by the missionary for the baptism of two of his +adult converts, for whom Ernest and Ella were to act as sponsors. In +the interest of the occasion, the absence of the two boys was not +noticed; and it was not until after the conclusion of the rite, that +Ernest, happening to enter Frank's sleeping room, to ask some casual +question of him, saw the note left on the table. As soon as he had read +it, he repaired to his friend's apartment, and the two held an anxious +consultation as to the course which, under the circumstances, it would +be most expedient for them to pursue. De Walden knew--what none of the +three lads could surmise--how great was the danger incurred by the +truants, and how slender the hope of their succeeding in carrying out +their projected scheme. They must be pursued, and overtaken, and warned +of their peril, whatever might be the risk or fatigue incurred by so +doing. If, after such warning, they persisted in their rash enterprise, +they could not, of course, be prevented from pursuing it; but the blame +would then rest wholly with themselves. + +They were still engaged in arranging their plans for immediate pursuit, +when Ella entered the room where they were seated, with tidings which +were even more unexpected than those they had that morning received. + +"My father," she said--so she always addressed De Walden--"the visitors +you and Ernest have been so long expecting, have arrived, and are now +with my mother. Will you come and see them?" + +"The visitors, Ella!" exclaimed Warley, starting up. "Whom can you +mean?--not Lavie surely--" + +"Yes, he is one," returned Ella, "and there is a captain, an English +captain. He is Frank's father or uncle--" + +"Captain Wilmore!" cried Warley. "Has he fallen in with Frank?" + +"No, we have told him that he and Gilbert have gone off by themselves, +and that they cannot be very far off, and he means to go in search of +them, I believe. But he wants to see you first." + +De Walden and Ernest hastened to the Queen's apartment, and were soon +exchanging a cordial grasp of the hand with the new-comers. + +"God be praised for this!" said the missionary. "You cannot think how +anxious I have been about you, Charles, though I did not tell the lads +so. Unwilling as I was to leave this place, I had fully resolved that +if the present month should pass without tidings of you, I would set off +with them for Cape Town. I wish now I had told them of my intention; it +would no doubt have prevented this foolish escapade of theirs. I knew I +could trust Ernest to remain quiet, and I thought I could trust the +others." + +"You must not blame them, sir," said Warley. "I have no doubt they had +the same idea which I have entertained myself, though I thought it best +to say nothing about it, that treacherous orders had been given to your +guide to prevent your ever reaching Cape Town." + +"I cannot wonder that either you or they thought that," said De Walden, +"after Chuma's treatment of us." + +"But," resumed Warley, "if I was doubtful about Charles's safety, I was +much more despondent about Captain Wilmore. I had little hope, I +confess, of ever seeing him again." + +"And you would have had less hope still, my lad," said Captain Wilmore, +"if you had known what befell us when we left the _Hooghly_." + +"You must hear the whole history from his own lips," said Lavie; "but +not just now. We have a good deal to do this morning that must be +attended to." + +"I dare say the captain will relate it after supper," said De Walden. +"Now come and hear the report of the scouts." + +That evening, accordingly, when the repast in the Queen's apartments was +concluded, Captain Wilmore was called upon for the particulars of his +adventures, which he was no way unwilling to relate. + +"You two will remember," he began, "the gale soon after we left the Cape +de Verdes. The foreigners I had taken on board showed themselves much +smarter hands than I had expected, and worked double tides all the +afternoon. I didn't suspect their motive for showing so much zeal, +which was no doubt to remove any suspicions I might have entertained, +and make me relax my watch over them. It quite succeeded. I turned in +about sundown thoroughly knocked up, but well satisfied with the +behaviour of the ship's company, and intending to have a long sleep. A +very long sleep it was nearly being--" + +"Did they intend to murder you, sir, do you think?" asked Warley. + +"I do not think about it," returned the captain. "I am sure of it. +Half a dozen of them, with their knives drawn, and accompanied by those +villains Duncan and O'Hara, were stealing down the companion to my cabin +when they were challenged by old Jennings, who gave the alarm, and the +pirates were obliged to make the attack openly. They cut the poor old +man down, but he saved all our lives nevertheless. I have heard what +became of him from Lavie, and it grieves me much to think that I shall +never have an opportunity in this world of thanking the good old man for +his bravery and self-devotion; but he will not miss his reward." + +The captain's voice was husky, and no one spoke for a minute or two; +then Warley broke the silence. + +"Well, I should quite have believed that they intended to do it from all +I heard from Jennings and others about Duncan and O'Hara, as well as +from the well-known character of these pirates. But then, if that was +their intention, why did they allow you to leave the ship unhurt?" + +"Ah, why indeed," repeated the captain. "I can't blame you for +entertaining that notion, my lad; for I, old hand as I am, did not +suspect their infernal treachery and cunning. You see, when the pirate +ship came up, we were just preparing to blow up the hatches and rush on +deck. No doubt they would have got the better of us, and killed us to a +man; but before they had managed that they would have suffered +considerably themselves. That wily villain, Andy Duncan--I have been +told since it was he, and I have no doubt it was--devised a scheme by +which they would be enabled to get rid of us quite as easily as if they +had blown out all our brains, but without incurring any risks +themselves. We discovered, when we had been an hour or two on board the +boats, that some trick had been played with them, and they were very +slowly but surely filling." + +"The merciless wretches!" exclaimed Ernest; "and you were some hundreds +of miles from shore?" + +"Yes, quite five hundred from Ascension, which was the nearest land." + +"How did you escape, sir?" exclaimed De Walden. + +"Only by God's mercy. The discovery was first made in the launch which +Grey commanded. The night, you will remember, was very dark, or it +probably would have been made before; but they did not find it out till +it was too late to keep it afloat even for a time. They shouted to us +for help, but she had sunk before we could reach them, and there was a +strong current just where she went down, which swept them all away-- +except one of the mates, who managed to keep afloat until we picked him +up. On hearing his story, we contrived to strike a light, and examined +our own boat. There was a leak in her too, but providentially only just +below the waterline. I suppose whoever did the job, thought the boat +floated deeper than she did; but by lightening her as much as possible, +and throwing all the weight that remained on the other side, we raised +the damaged part out of water, and then baled her out. When day broke +we were enabled to examine her more carefully. The injury was beyond +our power to repair effectually. All we could do was just to keep her +afloat, and if the sea had not been exceptionally calm we could not have +done even that. Moreover, we had been obliged to throw overboard nearly +all our provisions and water. In short, we should not only have never +reached Ascension, but must have perished of hunger and thirst very +speedily, if on the morning of the third day, shortly after dawn, a +vessel had not appeared on our lee beam, apparently running before the +light breeze which rippled the sea. + +"We tried to attract her attention, but without effect. She was so near +to us that we thought she must have seen us; but she did not alter her +course, or in any way acknowledge our signals. Finding that she took no +heed, we resolved, as a last chance, to reach her by rowing, though this +obliged us to right our boat, and the water poured in so fast that +incessant baling would not keep it down. At last, when we had got quite +close to the ship, the boat was so water-logged that she could not have +been kept afloat ten minutes more. We hailed again and again, but there +was no answer, nor was any one to be seen on deck. We came to the +conclusion that she had been deserted by her crew for some reason, or +that they had all died on board, and that she was drifting aimlessly +over the deep. Fortunately there was a rope hanging over her bows, up +which one of the sailors climbed, and was followed by the others in +succession. The last of us was hardly out of the cutter when she went +down." + +"Had she been deserted?" inquired Ernest. "Well, yes, by the survivors +of her crew, that is. She was evidently a Portuguese trader running, I +apprehend, between the West India Islands and Lisbon, and had probably +twenty or twenty-five men on board. She must have been attacked by one +of the terrible fevers prevalent in the hot climates, the action of +which is sometimes so rapid that all attempts to stay it are useless. +Several, I suppose, must have died, and the rest were so terrified by +the fear of infection, that they had left her. Any way, there were no +human remains on board, and all the ship's boats were gone." + +"I should think the danger into which you ran was worse than the one +from which you had escaped," observed Queen Laura. + +"We were of the same opinion, madam," observed Captain Wilmore. "If we +could have repaired our own boat, or if a single one of the ship's boats +had been left, we should have preferred continuing our own voyage in it. +But as that was impossible, we were obliged to remain in the vessel. +But after consulting with Captain Renton, I resolved to run, not for +Ascension, but for the Cape de Verdes, though they were considerably +further off. I don't know whether any of you have ever been at +Ascension?" + +"We sighted it once, sir," said Lavie; "but I never went ashore there." + +"There is not much to see if you do land," said the sailor. "It is +little better than a great heap of cinders, except just in the interior, +where there is some land capable of cultivation. It was for a long time +believed that there wasn't a drop of fresh water to be found on it. +That is a mistake. There are a few springs--enough to support life, and +there are some goats, and plenty of turtle. But there are no +inhabitants, and I reckoned that if the fever should break out on board +we should find no doctors there, or any means of nursing the sick. We +shaped our course for the Cape de Verdes, therefore. We took all +possible precautions, sleeping on deck throughout the voyage, and never +going below unless it was absolutely necessary to bring up food and +water. Whether it was that these precautions were successful, or +whether it was that I was mistaken in my conjecture as to the reason why +the barque had been deserted, I cannot say. But we certainly escaped +without any sickness, and reached the Cape de Verdes without the loss of +a man. + +"I need not tell you how welcome was the sight of Porto Prayo to us all. +But I had an especial reason for rejoicing at it. You will remember, +Ernest, the circumstances under which we left Porto Prayo?" + +"Yes, sir," said Warley, colouring, "I remember we had behaved very ill. +I have often wished to ask your pardon for it." + +"Well, my lad, it was six of one and half a dozen of the other, I +expect," said the captain. "We may share the blame between us. I had +often reproached myself for the haste with which I acted; though, at the +same time, I could not help being glad that you were safe, as I +imagined, at Porto Prayo, instead of being exposed to the sufferings and +dangers which had befallen us. I had no sooner landed than I made +inquiries concerning you; but to my surprise and disappointment I could +learn nothing. I instituted a most careful search, and offered a large +reward. But it was all in vain. Nobody knew anything about you, except +that three foreign-looking lads had been seen about the streets of the +town one day several weeks before. But no one had fallen in with them, +or had heard anything about them since that date. I was still +prosecuting my inquiries, when the British fleet, under Sir Home Popham, +on its way, as I learned, to make an attack on the Dutch at the Cape of +Good Hope, sailed into the harbour. + +"Fortunately for me, I was an old messmate of the Admiral's, and he was +interested in my story. Moreover, I knew the Cape well, as was the +case, I found, with very few of the officers of the squadron. Sir Home +offered me the command of the _Celaeno_, a fine frigate, the captain of +which had died suddenly. I, of course, gladly accepted it, and was +enabled to render some service." + +"Ah, you were present at the taking of the Cape," said Mr De Walden. +"Did the Dutch offer a determined resistance?" + +"No," said Captain Wilmore. "I suppose the experience of the last +campaign disheartened them. But certainly it was a very hollow affair. +Governor Jansens seemed to me to have given it up as a bad job from the +first. There was hardly enough resistance to make it any fight at all. +But something did happen to me, nevertheless, in Simon's Bay which was +exciting enough." + +"What was that, sir?" asked Ernest. "You did not encounter the +_Hooghly_, I suppose?" + +"Ah, but I did though," said Captain Wilmore, "the _Hooghly_ herself, as +large as life. The scoundrels had knocked away her figure-head, and +painted her, name and all, anew; but I knew her in a moment, as well as +I know my own face. We hailed her, and the moment they saw me on the +quarter-deck, they cut their cable, and tried to run for it. But we +were just entering the harbour, prepared for action, and sent such a +broadside into her as knocked all the mischief out of her in a jiffey. +O'Hara was killed, and White mortally wounded, and as for Andy Duncan, +he was run up to the yardarm and hanged the next morning. The others +were put into irons, and received various sentences. Some had seven +dozen. Others were simply dismissed and sent home." + +"Did you learn on board the _Hooghly_ what had befallen us?" asked +Warley. + +"Yes, my lad, to my great satisfaction I did. One of the sailors came +to me on the morning of Duncan's execution, and told me all that had +happened, so far that is, as he knew it. But he could tell me nothing, +of course, as to what had become of you after your escape from the ship. +All he knew was that you had appeared suddenly on deck two days after +we had left, and it was conjectured by the crew that you had been +concealed somewhere by old Jennings. Mr Lavie, it also appeared, had +gone off with you, and none of the party appeared to have been hurt. +That comforted me a little, but still I was very anxious and uneasy--the +more so because all inquiries at the Cape for a long time were wholly +fruitless." + +"Ah, I was afraid you would be at fault there," said Warley. "I suppose +you simply heard nothing at all?" + +"Very nearly that," said the captain. "Some of the messengers whom I +sent out did come back with a story that some white men with guns had +been seen in the neighbourhood of Elephant's kloof; but the Hottentots +living near about there denied, one and all, the truth of the rumour." + +"The rascals!" exclaimed Ernest. "When you heard the truth of the +matter, sir, you must have been amused at their denial." + +"Yes, afterwards," said Captain Wilmore; "but not at the time. I was, +in fact, almost in despair when Lavie here arrived all of a moment one +day, looking like a ghost returned from the grave." + +"Ay, I am afraid you must have had a trying time of it, Charles," said +De Walden. "I have sometimes reproached myself for allowing you to go, +considering what the danger and exhaustion must needs be." + +"You have no need to do so," said Lavie. "Whatever I may have undergone +has been more than compensated by our meeting to-day, not to speak of +the appointment which my kind friend has obtained for me. In fact, if I +had not undertaken the journey, we must have remained in hopeless +captivity." + +"Did your Bechuana guide play false?" asked the missionary. + +"No, I have no right to say so. Whether he would have been as faithful +as he was, had matters fallen out differently, may be a matter of doubt. +I half fancy he had received some private instructions from Chuma, +which he did not carry out, for what may seem a very strange reason. He +was frightened out of his senses by our dog, Lion!" + +"Lion!" exclaimed Warley. "Why, he has been dead for weeks and months, +hasn't he?" + +"Not he! He is as much alive as you or I. He is at one of the huts +along with Kama and Kobo at this moment." + +"I thought I saw him swept away by the flood during that night on the +Gariep." + +"So you did, I dare say; but he must have contrived to swim ashore. +Anyhow, we met him two days' journey from the Bechuana village, tracking +us, I fancy, by his instinct, and he would have joined us there before +long, if I had not fallen in with him; but he would not leave me, when +we had once met, and I thought the best thing under the circumstances +would be to take him with me to Cape Town. But Kama, who had never seen +an animal like him, and who had heard of his having been swept away by +the torrent, believed, I am convinced, that he was a sort of tutelary +spirit, who would be sure to detect any knavery and avenge any false +dealing on his part. It amused me, I must say, a good deal; but any +way, from the day Lion joined our company to that on which we reached +Cape Town, he never attempted any tricks." + +"And then you and Captain Wilmore resolved to go in quest of us," said +De Walden. "I understand that But how did you find out where we were? +Did you go to the Bechuanas, and hear it from Chuma?" + +"No; we were making our way to the village, when we fell in with a man +who was known to Kama, and who, it seemed, knew me too, though I had +quite forgotten him." + +"What! Kobo, I suppose?" exclaimed Warley. + +"Yes, that, I believe, is his name. He told us that you all had escaped +in his company from Chuma, who had quarrelled with you, or with Mr De +Walden. He said he had left you on an island on the Yellow River +awaiting his return, and we had better accompany him to the place. So +we did, but there was no trace of you to be found." + +"No," said Warley. "We didn't stay twenty-four hours on the island +after Kobo's departure. We have been playing at cross purposes with +him. How did you find out at last where we were?" + +"We met your messenger returning from his errand to the Bechuanas, and +learned that the quarrel had been made up. Nevertheless, all things +considered, it is quite as well that we didn't go there." + +"All's well that ends well," said the Queen, who had sat listening to +the discourse of her English guests with the deepest interest, +recalling, as it did, so many varied associations. + +"I trust it will end well, madam," observed Captain Wilmore. "But until +I find my nephew, and young Gilbert, and bring them back safely, I +cannot consider that there is an end to my anxieties." + +"We will set off in quest of them to-morrow morning, as soon as you have +had a good rest," said De Walden. "I have already set some of the best +hunters to follow their track, so as to save us time to-morrow. I feel +sure that in two or three days, at furthest, we shall come up with +them." + +So they probably would have done, had it not been for the length of the +journeys made by the lads on the first two days, and the rains which had +fallen on the third and fourth, which had almost entirely obliterated +all traces of them. If De Walden had not remembered the questions put +to him by Nick, as to the direction in which the Gariep lay, they would +have been more than once completely at fault. But this served as a +clue, when everything else failed, and every now and then they came upon +the white embers of a fire, or heaps of dry grass, which had evidently +served for beds, showing that, however slowly they might be progressing, +it was in the right direction. + +It was on the afternoon of the ninth day, when Kobo, who, it should be +mentioned, had formed a warm friendship with Lion since leaving the +Basuto village--it was just in the late afternoon, when Kobo, who had +been a little in advance of the rest of the party, came hurrying back +with the news, that there were both hoof marks and large stains of blood +to be seen in the grass and bushes about a hundred yards ahead, as +though some large animal--a gnu, or an eland, or perhaps a buffalo--had +been severely wounded. If such was the case, most probably they were in +the neighbourhood of the English lads, as there were neither Bechuanas +or Basutos to be found thereabouts. He added, that it was with the +greatest difficulty that he could restrain Lion, who wanted to rush off, +at the top of his speed, in the direction of the footmarks. + +"You had better let him go, Kobo," said De Walden, "and follow him up as +closely as you can. He'll find Frank, if he is to be found, I'll answer +for it." + +"And we'll all come after you," added Lavie. "Meanwhile, I'll fire my +gun. They'll hear it if they are anywhere hereabouts." + +Lion was accordingly let loose, and immediately galloped off, arriving, +as the reader has heard, just in time to rescue Frank and Nick from +their imminent peril. + +It was a joyful meeting, when the whole party assembled on the spot +where the carcasses of the two leopards, and an ugly rent in Lion's +side, bore evidence to how narrow had been the escape of the two boys +from death. The tears stood in Captain Wilmore's eyes, as he grasped +his nephew warmly by the hand, noticing, even at that moment, how his +figure had improved in strength and manly bearing, and the thoughtful +expression which had taken the place of mere boyish recklessness, on +Gilbert's face. + +"My lads," he said, "I was hasty with you. But for me, you would not +have had to undergo this wandering and danger. But I have paid the +penalty--" + +"Oh, uncle," broke in Frank, "you mustn't say that. It was all our +fault, mine particularly. And it hasn't been such bad fun, after all. +I am sure we have most need to ask your forgiveness." + +"You mustn't regret what has happened, captain," said De Walden. "Under +God's good providence, it has been the making of them both. But now, I +suppose, we must be setting out on our return to the Basuto village." + +"I am afraid I cannot go there," said Captain Wilmore. "I have been +away a good deal longer than I had expected, as it is: and I know my +presence is urgently needed at Cape Town. I and my guides must set out +homewards without loss of time--as soon, that is, as the lads are +prepared to accompany me." + +"I am ready to go this moment," said Frank. + +"And so am I," added Gilbert. "That's well," said the captain. "Frank, +I haven't told you that I have got a commission for you in a line +regiment now at the Cape. Sir David Baird signed it the day I came +away. That's good news, isn't it?" + +"The best there could be, thank you, uncle," returned Frank, joyously. + +"And you, Nick, what do you say? Will you be put on the quarter-deck of +the _Atlantic_--that's my new ship;--and rated as a midshipman?" + +"I should like nothing better, sir," answered Gilbert, almost as much +pleased as Frank. "Thank you very much for your kindness!" + +"That's well," again said the captain. "And you too," he continued, +turning to Lavie and Warley. "Do you mean to return with me to Cape +Town, or with Mr De Walden to the Basutos? You will not be wanted, you +know, Lavie, for two months yet; so you can stay behind awhile, if you +choose." + +"Thank you, captain, I should like to have a good talk with Warley about +his prospects; he does not, as yet, know the change that has taken place +in them. And besides, I haven't stood the journey as well as you have. +I think I shall remain a week or two with Mr De Walden before following +you." + +They shook hands accordingly, and went their several ways. De Walden, +accompanied by Lavie and Warley, returned to the village; where, after a +few days of rest, they were enabled to arrange their plans for the +future. + +"Ernest," said Lavie one morning, after they had just returned in +company with De Walden from an inspection of the native school, "I am +glad I delayed telling you what has happened at Cape Town. I think the +effect it will have on you may be different from what I had expected." + +"What has happened?" asked Warley with interest. "You have lost your +brother," answered Lavie. "I know he was never really a brother to you, +but you will be sorry for his sudden death, nevertheless. When the +rumour of the approach of the British fleet was circulated in Cape Town, +some of the English tried to organise a British force to help their +countrymen. The Dutch governor heard of it, and sent soldiers to arrest +the ringleaders. Your brother offered an armed resistance, and was +killed on the spot. The Dutch authorities declared all your brother's +property to be forfeited by his rebellion; but the new governor, Sir +David Baird, at once rescinded that. As your brother had made no will, +all his money has become yours." + +Warley turned very white, and leaned forward on the table, covering his +face with his hands. + +"I have told you, perhaps, too abruptly," said Lavie, "but you must +remember that you have nothing to reproach yourself with, so far as your +brother is concerned. Is it not so, Mr De Walden?" + +"So far as I know," said the missionary affectionately, "nothing at +all." + +"I hope not," said Ernest, in a low tone; "but this is very awful." + +"Sudden deaths are always awful. But you have now to consider what you +will do. I thought, when I first heard it, that you would return to +England and go to one of the Universities. But I perceive that there is +an attraction that may keep you here." + +"Yes, Charles, I cannot but view this strange and unexpected event as a +solution of the difficulty that has been burdening my mind for many +weeks past. But I should like to have Mr De Walden's advice. He must +have seen, I think, the attachment between myself and Ella--" + +"Yes, Ernest, and I have seen in it the working of God's merciful +providence for the enlightenment of the heathen in this land of darkness +and superstition." + +"You think, then, that I ought to stay here and take up your work when +you leave for Namaqua-land, as I know you mean to do some day?" + +"Even so. I mean that you should remain here, and become the husband of +this dear girl, who is worthy to be the bride of a king. The wilderness +has indeed blossomed as the rose for you. But I do not advise that your +marriage should take place at once. Return to England, and prepare +yourself for your office by two or three years of study, such as you can +pursue only there. Meanwhile, I will remain here till your return, and +complete the education of your future wife. Then, seek ordination, +which also, unhappily, you cannot obtain in Southern Africa. Some day, +God will set up His Church in this land, and it will grow like the +mustard seed, and the people will rest under its shadow. But that time +is still far off. Let it be your work, as it has been mine, to prepare +the furrows for the seed that will then be cast in. Will you do this?" + +"God being my helper," answered Ernest, "I will." + + + +APPENDIX. + +THE HOTTENTOT GOD. + +The worship of the beetle by the Hottentots has been disputed. No doubt +it has not been their practice during the last fifty years. But that it +existed in more ancient times, is (I think) abundantly proved by the +evidence of trustworthy writers. Kolben, for example, has the following +explicit statement, made from his own experience. + +"The Hottentots adore as a benignant Deity, a certain insect, peculiar +(it is said) to the Hottentot countries. This animal is of the +dimensions of a child's little finger; the back green, the belly +speckled white and red. It is provided with two wings and two horns. +To this little winged Deity, whenever they set eyes on it, they render +the highest tokens of veneration. If it honours their kraal with a +visit, the inhabitants assemble round it with transports of devotion, as +if the Lord of the Universe was come among them. If the insect happens +to alight on a Hottentot, he is looked upon as a man without guilt, and +distinguished and reverenced as a saint and the delight of the Deity +ever after. They declared that if this deified insect had been killed, +all their cattle would certainly have been destroyed by wild beasts, and +they themselves, every man, woman, and child of them, brought to a +miserable end."--_Kolben_, vol 1, page 99. + +KAFFIR PROPHETS. + +The scriptural curse of the "false prophet" has never been more +strikingly fulfilled, than in the instance of the Kaffir nation in the +year 1656. A false prophet, named Umhlahaza, professed to have received +a revelation from heaven through the visions of a girl, commanding the +Kaffirs to kill the whole of their cattle, and promising that, in the +event of their obedience, all their forefathers, together with their +cattle, should rise to life again, that they should regain their +ascendancy in the land, and live in plenty and prosperity for evermore. +The object of this audacious imposture was to reduce the whole nation on +a sudden to such a state of suffering that, in their desperation, they +would burst in upon the settlements of the white men, and everywhere +exterminate them. It is strange that in a country where the flocks and +herds constitute the sole wealth of the people, such an attempt should +have succeeded. But it did so to a considerable extent, at all events. +Those who had contrived it, however, had made one fatal omission. They +ought to have concentrated the whole people on the English border, and +they forgot that men enfeebled by famine would be unfitted for warfare, +or indeed for any lengthened travel. An attempt was made to remedy the +blunder by postponing the day of the resurrection of the chiefs and +cattle, but it failed. The people had discovered the imposture, though +not until they were reduced to the most frightful condition of +starvation. The English colonists did all that lay in their power to +relieve them, but they were wholly unable to remedy the mischief. Vast +numbers died everywhere by the most terrible of all deaths, and the +strength of the nation was so completely broken by the disaster, that +they were rendered wholly incapable of continuing the warfare, for which +in former days they had been so renowned. + +WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR. + +All the particulars of the wreck of this ill-fated vessel have been +given in the narrative. The whole of the crew and passengers, except +seventeen, escaped safe to land, to the number of one hundred and fifty. +In accordance with the proposal of the captain, they endeavoured to +make their way overland to Cape Town; but after a few days' travel, +during which they were harassed by the Kaffirs with repeated attacks, a +fresh consultation took place. Forty-three able-bodied men persevered +in the attempt. Of these, some three or four, after terrible perils and +hardships, succeeded in reaching Cape Town. What became of those who +were left has never been certainly known. Rumours, which are mentioned +by Le Vaillant and others, declare that some women at all events +survived, and were compelled to become the wives of native chiefs. An +expedition was even sent out to search for these, but failed, more +apparently from want of capacity in those conducting it than from +anything else. Under these circumstances the fate of those who remained +behind may, not unfairly, be made the subject of fiction. + + + +APPENDIX. + +THE HOTTENTOT GOD. + +The worship of the beetle by the Hottentots has been disputed. No doubt +it has not been their practice during the last fifty years. But that it +existed in more ancient times, is (I think) abundantly proved by the +evidence of trustworthy writers. Kolben, for example, has the following +explicit statement, made from his own experience. + +"The Hottentots adore as a benignant Deity, a certain insect, peculiar +(it is said) to the Hottentot countries. This animal is of the +dimensions of a child's little finger; the back green, the belly +speckled white and red. It is provided with two wings and two horns. +To this little winged Deity, whenever they set eyes on it, they render +the highest tokens of veneration. If it honours their kraal with a +visit, the inhabitants assemble round it with transports of devotion, as +if the Lord of the Universe was come among them. If the insect happens +to alight on a Hottentot, he is looked upon as a man without guilt, and +distinguished and reverenced as a saint and the delight of the Deity +ever after. They declared to me that if this deified insect had been +killed, all their cattle would certainly have been destroyed by wild +beasts, and they themselves, every man, woman, and child of them, +brought to a miserable end."--_Kolben_, volume one, page 99. + +KAFFIR PROPHETS. + +The scriptural curse of the "false prophet" has never been more +strikingly fulfilled, than in the instance of the Kaffir nation in the +year 1856. A false prophet, named Umhlahara, professed to have received +a revelation from heaven through the visions of a girl, commanding the +Kaffirs to kill the whole of their cattle, and promising that, in the +event of their obedience, all their forefathers, together with their +cattle, should rise to life again, that they should regain their +ascendancy in the land, and live in plenty and prosperity for evermore. +The object of this audacious imposture was to reduce the whole nation on +a sudden to such a state of suffering that, in their desperation, they +would burst in upon the settlements of the white men, and everywhere +exterminate them. It is strange that in a country where the flocks and +herds constitute the sole wealth of the people, such an attempt should +have succeeded. But it did so to a considerable extent, at all events. +Those who had contrived it, however, had made one fatal omission. They +ought to have concentrated the whole people on the English border, and +they forgot that men enfeebled by famine would be unfitted for warfare, +or indeed for any lengthened travel. An attempt was made to remedy the +blunder by postponing the day of the resurrection of the chiefs and +cattle, but it failed. The people had discovered the imposture, though +not until they were reduced to the most frightful condition of +starvation. The English colonists did all that lay in their power to +relieve them, but they were wholly unable to remedy the mischief. Vast +numbers died everywhere by the most terrible of all deaths, and the +strength of the nation was so completely broken by the disaster, that +they were rendered wholly incapable of continuing the warfare, for which +in former days they had been so renowned. + +WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR. + +All the particulars of the wreck of this ill-fated vessel have been +given in the narrative. The whole of the crew and passengers, except +seventeen, escaped safe to land, to the number of one hundred and fifty. +In accordance with the proposal of the captain, they endeavoured to +make their way overland to Cape Town; but after a few days' travel, +during which they were harassed by the Kaffirs with repeated attacks, a +fresh consultation took place. Forty-three able-bodied men persevered +in the attempt. Of these, some three or four, after terrible perils and +hardships, succeeded in reaching Cape Town. What became of those who +were left has never been certainly known. Rumours, which are mentioned +by Le Vaillant and others, declare that some women at all events +survived, and were compelled to become the wives of native chiefs. An +expedition was even sent out to search for these, but failed, more +apparently from want of capacity in those conducting it than from +anything else. Under these circumstances the fate of those who remained +behind may, not unfairly, be made the subject of fiction. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hair-Breadth Escapes, by H.C. Adams + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES *** + +***** This file should be named 33304.txt or 33304.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/3/0/33304/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |