CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
NIGHT ON THE VELDT.
The Kaffir grunted, and began what Ingleborough afterwards called"chuntering," but he obeyed at once, leading the ponies at a quick walkin and out amongst several ostrich enclosures, till they were quite aquarter of a mile from the farm, from which there came the buzz ofvoices and the occasional stamp of a horse on the still night air.
"No more wire fence!" said their guide, and indicating that they shouldurge the ponies forward he took his shield and spears from Ingleborough,caught hold of the mane of West's pony, and then as they broke into acanter, ran lightly by the animal's side, talking softly, and now andthen breaking out into a merry laugh.
"Ought burn Tant' Ann!" he said. "Wicked old witch! Very fat! Makeher good vrouw!"
"I'm afraid Jack's morals are sadly in need of improvement, lad," saidIngleborough at last.
"What a horrible idea!" replied West, with a shudder; "and the worst ofit is that the fellow seems to consider that it would have been a goodpiece of fun."
"Yes, it is his nature to, as we are told of the bears and lions in thepoems of Dr Watts. I dare say the old woman had been a horrible tyrantto the poor fellow!"
"But the hideous revenge!"
"Which hasn't come off, my lad! But the black scoundrel's ideas areshocking in the extreme, and I would not associate with him much in thefuture. Here! Hi! Olebo, stop!"
The young man drew rein, and the black looked up enquiringly.
"Lie down and listen for the Boers!"
The Kaffir nodded, and trotted a dozen yards away from the side of theponies, threw himself down, listened, jumped up, and repeated theperformance three times at greater distances before returning.
"No hear!" he said. "Gone other way."
"It would be safe then to strike a match and look at the compass,"suggested West, and, taking out his box, he struck a light, shaded it inhis slouch hat, and then held the little pocket compass to it.
"Well, which way are we going?"
"Due east."
"Then we'll turn due north, and travel that way till to-morrow night,and see what that brings forth."
Starting off again, they journeyed on, sometimes at a walk, sometimes atan easy canter, so as to save the horses as much as possible, while theKaffir kept up, seeming not in the slightest degree distressed, butready to enter into conversation at any time, after changing from oneside to the other so as to hold on by a different hand.
"Soon be daylight now," said West; "but I hope this fellow does notexpect to keep on with us, does he?"
"Oh no, I don't think so for a moment. We'll pull up before sunrise atsome sheltered place and have a good look-out for danger before lettingthe ponies graze and having breakfast. Let's see what happens then!"
But the sun was well up before a suitable kopje came in sight, one sosmall that it did not appear likely to contain enemies, but sufficientlyelevated to give an observer a good view for miles through the clearveldt air.
"Looks safe!" said Ingleborough; "but burnt English children fear theBoer fire. Let's have a good circle round."
This was begun, and the black instantly grasped what was intended, andhanging well down from West's stirrup-leather, he began to search theground carefully for tracks, looking up from time to time and pointingout those of antelopes, lions, and ostriches, but never the hoof ofhorse or the footprint of man.
"No Boer there!" he said. "No one come. Good water," he continued,pointing to the slight tracts of grass which had sprung up where astream rising among the rocks was losing itself in the dry soil, butwhich looked brighter and greener as it was nearer to the kopje, whichwas fairly furnished with thorn-bush and decent-sized trees.
"Any Boers hiding there?" said West sharply.
"Boers ride there on ponies!" replied the Kaffir decisively, as hepointed down at the drab dust. "No ponies make marks."
"That's enough," said Ingleborough. "Come along."
Without hesitation now they put their mounts to a canter, rode up to thepleasant refreshing-looking place, and after leaving the ponies with theKaffir and climbing to one of the highest points, took a good lookround. This proved that there was not a mounted man in sight, and theydescended to select a spot where there was plenty of herbage and waterfor their steeds, when they sat down and began to breakfast.
"Nothing like a fine appetite," said West, after they had been eatingfor some little time; "but this biltong is rather like eating a leg ofmahogany dining-table into which a good deal of salt gravy and furnitureoil has been allowed to soak."
"Yes, it is rather wooden," said Ingleborough coolly. "Must wear out aman's teeth a good deal."
"Eland," said the Kaffir, tapping his stick of the dried meat on seeinghis companions examining and smelling the food. "Old baas shoot eland,Olebo cut him up and dry him in the sun. Good."
"Well, it isn't bad, O child of nature! But I say, how far do you meanto come with us?"
"No go any more," replied the man. "Go Olebo kraal, see wife. Give herbig shilling and little yellow shilling.--Good?"
He brought out the sovereign from where it had been placed, and held itup.
"Good? Yes," said West, and he set to work to try and explain by makingthe black bring out a florin and then holding up his outspread tenfingers, when the man seemed to have some idea of his meaning.
"Look here, I'll get it into his benighted intellect; but I should havethought that he would have known what a sovereign was worth."
Just then the Kaffir nodded sharply, after examining the coin.
"Gold?" he said, in Dutch.
"Of course," said Ingleborough, taking out a sovereign and ten moreflorins, which he placed in a heap and at a short distance from thelittle pile he laid down the sovereign. "Look here, Olebo," he said,taking up the ten florins. "Buy four blankets!"
The Kaffir nodded, and his instructor replaced the heavy coins in hispocket to take up the sovereign.
"Now, see here," said Ingleborough, holding it out. "Buy fourblankets."
"Ah!" cried the delighted black, snatching out his own treasured coins,the gold in one hand, the silver in the other. "Buy four blankets forOlebo wife," he cried, holding forward the silver. Then putting itbehind him he held out the sovereign: "Buy four blankets for Olebo."
"Now we've got it," cried West, laughing, and watching the way in whichthe black hid his cash away. "I say," he continued, to his companion,speaking in English, "where does he put that money to keep it safe?"
"I dunno," said Ingleborough. "It seems to come natural to theseKaffirs to hide away their treasures cunningly. See how artful they areover the diamonds! He doesn't put the cash in his trousers pockets, noryet in his waistcoat, nor yet his coat, because he has neither one northe other. I expect he has a little snake-skin bag somewhere inside hisleather-loincloth. But here, I'm thirsty; let's have some water!"
As he spoke Ingleborough sprang up and walked towards the head of thespruit, followed by his companions, and they passed the two ponies,which were hard at work on the rich green herbage along the border ofthe stream. Then, getting well ahead of them, all lay down andthoroughly quenched their thirst.
"Now," said West, "what next? We ought to go on at once," and heunconsciously laid his hand upon the spot where the despatch was hidden.
"No," replied Ingleborough, "that won't do. We seem safe here, and wemust hasten slowly. We're ready enough to go on, but the ponies must beproperly nursed. They want more grass and a rest."
"The sun is getting hot too," said West, in acknowledgment of hiscomrade's words of wisdom.
"We'll stop till evening, lad," continued Ingleborough, "and take it inturn to sleep in the shade of those bushes if we can find a soft spot.We had no rest last night."
"I suppose that must be it," replied West, and he joined in a sigh onfinding a satisfactory spot beneath a mass of granite from whichoverhung a quantity of thorn-bush and creeper which formed animpenetrable shade.
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sp; The black followed them, noting keenly every movement and trying hard togather the meaning of the English words.
"Two baas lie down long time, go to sleep," he said at last, in brokenDutch. "Olebo sit and look, see if Boer come. See Boer, make baas wakeup."
"No," said West; "you two lie down and sleep. I'll take the firstwatch."
Ingleborough made no opposition, and after West had climbed up to a spotbeneath a tree from which he could get a good stretch of the veldt inview, the others lay down at once and did not stir a limb till Weststepped down to them, when the Kaffir sprang up without awakeningIngleborough.
"Olebo look for Boers now," he said.
West hesitated, and the Kaffir grasped the meaning of his silence.
"Olebo come and tell baas when big old baas go to fetch Boers," he said.
"So you did," cried the young Englishman warmly, "and I'll trust younow. Mind the ponies don't stray away."
The black showed his beautiful, white teeth in a happy satisfied laugh.
"Too much grass, too much nice water," he said. "Basuto pony don't goaway from baas only to find grass."
"You're right!" said West. "Wait till the sun is there!" he continued,pointing to where it would be about two hours after mid-day, "and thenwake the other baas."
The Kaffir nodded, and West lay down to rest, as he put it to himself,for he was convinced that he would be unable to sleep; but he had notlain back five minutes, gazing at the sunlit rivulet and the poniesgrazing, before his lids closed and all was nothingness till he wasroused by a touch from Ingleborough.
The sun was just dipping like a huge orange ball in the vermilion andgolden west.
"Had a good nap, old fellow?"
"Oh, it's wonderful!" said the young man, springing up. "I don't seemto have been asleep five minutes."
"I suppose not. Well, all's right, and Blackjack is waiting to saygood-bye. He wants to start off home."
The Kaffir came up from where he had been patting and caressing theponies, and stood looking at them as motionless in the ruddy eveninglight as a great bronze image.
"Olebo go now," he said, turning his shield to show that the remains ofhis share of the provisions were secured to the handle by a rough net offreshly-plaited grassy rush. "Olebo see baas, both baas, some day." Heaccompanied the words with a wistful look at each, and before they couldthink of what to say in reply he turned himself sharply and ran off at arapid rate, getting out of sight as quickly as he could by keeping closeto the bushes, before striking out into the veldt.
"Humph! I suppose they are treacherous savages, some of them," saidIngleborough thoughtfully; "but there doesn't seem to be much harm inthat fellow if he were used well."
"I believe he'd make a very faithful servant," said West sadly. "I'mbeginning to be sorry we let him go."
"So am I. We shall feel quite lonely without him. But the despatch."
"Ah, yes, the despatch!" said West, pulling himself together. "Nowthen, boot and saddle, and a long night's ride!"
"And a good day's rest afterwards! That's the way we must get on."
A quarter of an hour after, they had taken their bearings by compass andmounted, when the well-refreshed ponies started off at once in a briskcanter, necessitating the drawing of the rein from time to time; andthen it was on, on, on at different rates beneath the wonderfully brightstars of a glorious night, during which they passed several farms andone good-sized village, which were carefully avoided, for they hadenough provisions to last them for another day, and naturally if a haltwas to be made to purchase more it would have to be at a seasonabletime.
"Yes," said Ingleborough laughingly, "it would be a sure way of gettingcartridges if we wanted them and roused up a Boer farmer in the night.He would soon give us some, the wrong way on."
"Yes," said West, "and there would be the dogs to deal with as well.Hark at that deep-mouthed brute!"
For just then the cantering of their ponies had been heard by thewatch-dog at one of the farms, and it went on baying at them till thesounds grew faint.
Then it was on and on again till a strange feeling of weariness began tooppress them, and they had to fight with the desire which made them bendforward and nod over their ponies' necks, rising up again with adislocating start.
At the second time of this performance West made a great effort andbegan watching his companion, to see that he was just as bad. Then theintense desire to sleep began to master the watcher again.
"Hi, Ingle!" he cried. "Rouse up, and let's walk for a mile or two."
"Yes, yes.--What's that?" cried Ingleborough, springing off his pony andcocking his rifle.
For there was a sudden rushing noise as of a great crowd of animals, ofwhat kind it was still too dark to see; but it was evident that they hadcome suddenly upon a migratory herd of the graceful-limbed antelopesthat had probably been grazing and had been startled into flight.
"Pity it was not light!" said Ingleborough, with a sigh. "We could havegot some fresh meat, and then at the first patch of wood and pool ofwater we could have had a fire and frizzled antelope-steaks."
But a couple of hours later, when they halted for their rest andrefreshment, it was stale cake, hard biltong, and cool fresh water.
"Never mind, we're miles nearer Mafeking!" said West. "How many morenights will it take?"
The answer to that question had not been arrived at when they droppedasleep, lulled by the sound of rippling water and the _crop, crop, crop_made by the grazing ponies, and this time their weariness was so greatthat sleep overcame them both. Ingleborough was to have watched, butnature was too strong, and both slept till sundown, to rise up full of afeeling of self-reproach.