CHAPTER EIGHT.
When people know that their lives may depend upon maintaining a blazingfire, they must be foolish indeed if they allow themselves to slumber attheir posts; but I confess that I had great difficulty, during my watch,in keeping my eyes open, after the exertions of the day and the hungerand thirst I had endured. I felt that my only chance was to get up andwalk about with my rifle in my hand. I did not, however, go far fromthe fire, as the smoke drove the mosquitoes and other insects away fromits immediate vicinity; and I knew also, that at any distance from theflames I was as likely to be seized by a savage animal as I should bedid no fire exist.
I could hear every now and then the mutterings and occasional roars oflions, with the cries of hyaenas and jackals, and the calls of variousnight-birds. Altogether the concert had a somewhat depressing effect,accustomed though I was by this time to the noises proceeding from anAfrican forest.
At last the time I had agreed to watch came to an end, and I roused upHarry, charging him to keep a bright look-out.
"Do not let yourself drop off for a moment, old fellow," I said; "aslong as any prowling animal sees you moving about around the fire he'llnot venture to make an attack; but should you slumber for a moment, itis impossible to say what he may do."
"I do feel awfully drowsy, I own," answered Harry, rubbing his eyes andyawning; "still I'll do my best. It is a shame that fellow Hans won'tstand watch as he ought to do. I only hope that another lion will comeroaring close up to the camp, for the sake of making him get on hislegs. He knows that neither you nor I would sleep on our posts, so herests in perfect security, throwing all the trouble on us."
Harry and I talked on for a little time, I hoping that he would thus bethoroughly aroused; then I lay down on the spot he had occupied, prettyclose to the fire, with my rifle by my side ready for instant use.
It appeared to me that I had not been asleep five minutes when I heardHarry exclaim--
"Fred, rouse Jan. Up with you, and get ready for battle."
I seized my rifle and sprang to my feet, as wide awake as ever I was inmy life, and there I saw, not six paces off, a creature with glaringeyes; not a lion, however, but looking unusually large as it emergedfrom the darkness into the light of the fire.
It crouched as if for a spring; at the same moment I heard Hans shriekout. For an instant I glanced round, and caught an indistinct sight ofanother big cat-like creature stealing towards the rear of the camp.
"You and Jan must look out after that brute, and we'll attend to thisone," I shouted.
As I spoke, the leopard, for such it was, notwithstanding our cries,--Harry, I should have said, had begun to bawl away as loudly as I wasdoing,--made a furious spring towards him; but though he was shoutinglustily, he remained as cool as a cucumber, holding his rifle ready.
We fired, and both our balls took effect, when the leopard literallyturned, with its feet uppermost, and fell right down into the centre ofthe fire, where it lay struggling convulsively, utterly unable to rise.Directly afterwards I heard the report of a pistol, and, while hastilyreloading, I saw that Hans had shot the other leopard through the head.
As we did not wish to lose the skin of the one we had shot, Harry againfiring gave it its quietus; we then seizing it by its hind legs draggedit out of the fire, and Jan's knife soon finished the other.
We thus gained two magnificent leopards' skins: the fire had butslightly injured the one we had killed.
"There is some use in keeping watch at night, Hans," observed Harry;"what would have become of us if I had not been awake? Those bruteswould have been in our midst before we were able to lift a hand in ourdefence. As it was, I caught sight of only one of them stealing towardsus, and had barely time to rouse up the rest of you, so that if Fredhadn't been very quick, the brute would have been down upon us."
"All right," answered Hans, "such a thing is not likely to happen asecond time in a night, so I suppose we may now go to sleep in quiet."
"I don't suppose anything of the sort," replied Harry; "there are no endof lions and leopards prowling about, and you would have heard them ifyou hadn't snored so loudly. It will be your turn to keep watch, and Iintend to rouse you up in half an hour."
"Yah, yah," answered Hans, placing his head on the ground, and going offto sleep again.
As I thought would probably be the case, the scent of the dead leopardsattracted packs of hyaenas and jackals, who serenaded us with theirhorrible yells and howls for the remainder of the night, though theblazing fire we kept up prevented them from approaching.
Notwithstanding Harry's threat, he did not wake up Hans, who wouldprobably again have composed himself for sleep, and we might have beenleft to the tender mercies of the hyaenas.
In the morning we took the skins off the two leopards; and cleaned andpacked them up so as to be easily transported. As Hans claimed the skinof the leopard he had shot, he had to carry it, while Jan carried ours.We then started off for the _vlei_. It would be too late in themorning, we calculated, by the time we could reach it, to shoot anyanimals; and we should have to wait till the evening, when they would belikely to come down to drink at the pool. We should not, therefore,have hastened our footsteps, had we not been anxious to obtain a freshsupply of water; for the small stock Hans and Jan had brought wasexhausted, and we were now almost as thirsty as we had been on theprevious day.
Hans walked on ahead without speaking; but as he was never verytalkative, we were not surprised at this. At last he turned round, andtold Jan that he must carry his leopard-skin.
We thought this too much of a good thing. Jan appealed to us.
"Certainly not," answered Harry. "You claimed all the skin as yourproperty. You are bound to carry it, or leave it behind if you like,but Jan shall not be compelled to carry it."
Hans turned round and walked on sullenly, but presently I saw him drophis burden, and then present his rifle at Harry. Fearing that Hans wasabout to murder my friend, I dashed forward and struck up the weapon,which the next instant went off, the bullet almost grazing Harry's hat.
"We must overpower the man," I said, making a sign to Jan, and we allthree threw ourselves upon him, and prevented him drawing his knife,when he would, I suspect, have run amuck among us, as the Malaysfrequently do when exasperated.
How to treat the madman--for such he appeared to be--it was difficult tosay. He was immensely strong, and we had to exert ourselves to keep himdown. Jan proposed to kill him, and was drawing his knife for thepurpose when we interfered.
"We shall have to do it, I fear, if we cannot bind his hands behindhim," said Harry.
"No, no; we must deprive him of his rifle and ammunition, and he willthus be compelled to follow us."
"If he wanders away into the desert, his fate will be certain," observedHarry.
"He has brought it upon himself," I remarked; "here, Jan, take myrifle-strap; slip it round his arms and draw it tight,--be quick aboutit. Now, Harry, get another strap round his legs."
All this time Hans was struggling violently, without uttering a word.Having succeeded in doing as I proposed, we had him completely in ourpower. He grinned fearfully and foamed at the mouth; indeed, he almostseized poor Jan's bare arm in his teeth, and had not Harry given him asevere blow he would have succeeded.
"Now let's try to get him on his feet, and we will then slacken thestrap sufficiently to enable him to walk, though not to allow him to runaway," I said.
Hans was very unwilling at first to move, but at length we got him towalk along, though he appeared like a man in a dream,--not knowing whathe was doing. Jan assured us that he could find the way to thewater-hole, and we therefore proceeded in the direction he pointed out.It was a question, however, whether we should remain to shoot there, or,having supplied our bottles, return with our unfortunate companion tothe camp. As he seemed strong enough to carry the leopard-skin, wereplaced it on his shoulders. Every now and then he would attempt torun; but the strap round his legs quickly brought him up.
Our progresswas of course very slow, until at length the _vlei_ was reached. Wepassed on our way several trees of considerable size overturned byelephants; many of them being ten inches in diameter, it must haverequired great strength to uproot them. Others were broken short off, alittle distance from the ground, by the elephants. This showed us thatthe country was frequented by the animals, and that if we had patiencewe might be able to shoot a number. While lying in ambush, however, itwould be necessary to remain perfectly silent, as they would be alarmedby the slightest noise.
At length the water-hole came in sight, and eagerly hurrying forward wequenched our thirst and refilled our bottles. Hans did not refuse todrink, and appeared somewhat better afterwards; but there was a roll inhis eye which made us unwilling to set him at liberty. Not to alarm theelephants, we retired to a distance and lighted a fire, where we cookedthe venison we had brought with us, which, although somewhat high, wasstill eatable; we then lay down to rest under the shade of awide-spreading tree, making Hans sit by us.
Harry and I, wishing to obtain some sleep, told Jan to watch ourprisoner; and as he had had more rest than we had the previous night, wehoped he would keep awake.
At length I opened my eyes, and, on looking round, what was my dismay tosee Jan fast asleep, and to find that Hans was not there. I arousedHarry. We had placed our prisoner's rifle and knife close to us, andthey were safe. He could not be far off; so calling Jan--who lookedvery much surprised at finding what had happened--we started off, hopingto discover the poor wretch. The feeling of anger with which we hadbefore regarded him was now changed into compassion. Should he have hadany evil intentions, could he have got his arms free, he might havebrained us as we slept. However, it seemed doubtful whether he had beenable to get more than his legs at liberty. The strap which secured hiselbows was nowhere to be seen. We traced his spoor, but thisdisappeared along an elephant track--for even Jan failed to discover themarks of his footsteps. The night was approaching, and we lost all hopeof discovering him. We therefore took up our position in the thicket wehad selected, close to the path the elephants pursued when going down tothe pool. We here fully expected to shoot two or three animals. Wethen proposed returning next morning to the camp, in order to bring twoor three of the men with us to make further search for Hans.
We had not long taken up our position, when we caught sight of the hugeforms of several elephants coming through the forest, along the pathwhich we had discovered. We saw them sweeping their trunks backwardsand forwards over the ground, evidently suspecting something wrong.
Thirst impelled them forward, however. They approached close to wherewe lay hidden, and I was just about to fire at the leader, who hadmagnificent tusks--Harry having agreed to take the next in order--when aloud shout rent the air, and a figure started up directly in front ofthe animal. It was Hans. His arms were still bound, but he keptleaping about, utterly fearless of the elephants before him. Ihesitated for a moment, when the thought struck me,--should I kill theelephant, I might save the life of the unhappy being who seemed to becourting his fate. I pulled the trigger. I could hear the ball strike,but what was my horror to see the animal rush forward, and the nextmoment trample Hans Scarff beneath his feet. A single shriek escapedthe miserable man, and then all was silent. Excited as I was, I did notnotice that Harry fired at the second elephant at the same moment. Hisbullet must have entered the animal's brain, for it sank a helpless masson the ground. The rest of the herd, alarmed by the fate of theirleaders, turned round, and with loud trumpeting rushed away into theforest.
The first elephant, in the meantime, lifted up the body of his victim,whom he dashed violently to the ground; and then, staggering a fewpaces, came down with a crash and lay motionless.
We hurried out of our ambush to render assistance to Hans; but he wasdead, every bone in his body being broken; even his features could notbe recognised. We could not blame ourselves for the occurrence, thoughgrieved at his sad fate.
We now purposed returning to our last camp, where we had left our fireburning. Jan begged leave to cut off some pieces of the elephant'sflesh to cook for supper. This he did forthwith, in a more rapid waythan we could have accomplished the task.
Covering up the body of Hans with some thick bushes, we left it where itlay, in order to prevent the hyaenas and jackals from getting at it, andreturned to our fire.
We had not long been seated round it, talking over the events of theday, when Jan, starting up, declared that he saw the light of a fire inthe distance.
Harry and I looked in the same direction. There was no doubt about thematter.
"Who can they be?" exclaimed Harry.
"Perhaps they are natives," I answered. "If so, we must be careful howwe approach them."
"I think it is more likely that they are our friends coming to searchfor us," said Harry. "They will be surprised at our not appearingyesterday, and may have pushed forward a party who, if on horseback,would soon be up with us."
I at length agreed that such was probably the case, and we accordinglysettled at once to go towards the fire. We should probably, even at adistance, be able to discover whether or not it was made by our friends.Jan was of our opinion.
Having hastily finished our meal, we made our way in the direction weproposed. On getting near the fire, Jan offered to go forward and tobring word while we lay hid, so that we might retreat if necessarybefore we were discovered.
When I was in the forests of Africa, I always remembered that while Iwas stalking an animal, a lion or leopard might be stalking me; and wetherefore, while we waited for the return of Jan, kept our eyes aboutus, and our ears open to detect the slightest sound.
We had longer to wait than we expected. At length we heard a rustlingof leaves near us, and Jan's voice exclaiming--
"Dey de Capt'n's party, and Toko, and two, three, Makololoes; dey allgot horses!"
This was good news. As we went along he told me that he had notinformed them that we were near, as he wished to give us the pleasure ofannouncing ourselves.
In a few minutes we were in the midst of our friends, and our appearanceafforded my uncle great relief. They had come across our camp, andfound the bodies of the lions, and had some misapprehensions that afterall we might have been carried off by others.
He was, of course, much shocked at the fate of Hans, though, heobserved, that it was better he should have died thus, than havecommitted murder or some other mischief, as from his uncertain temper itwas very likely he would have done.
The Makololoes, on hearing that we had killed two elephants, were eagerto go at once and obtain some of the flesh; but my uncle persuaded themto remain until the next morning, promising that they should then havean abundance of meat.
Although expeditions on foot have their advantages, Harry and I came tothe conclusion, when we again found ourselves mounted, that we shouldprefer in future going out on horseback. My uncle told us that heexpected the waggons would camp where we then were, so that we mightload them with the tusks and skins we might obtain.
Directly breakfast was over we rode to the scene of our encounter withthe two elephants, neither of which had been disturbed. The tusks weresoon removed, and the Makololoes cut away enough flesh for a whole army.A grave was then dug, and the body of poor Hans buried. This done, wefollowed the spoor of the elephants, intending to kill them whilefeeding in the day-time, and afterwards attack them as they came down todrink.
We had not ridden far when Toko, who was ahead, came back with theintelligence that he had discovered four or five in an open glade,plucking off the branches and leaves of their favourite trees; and thatby keeping along through the wood we might come upon them without muchrisk of being discovered. Almost a minute afterwards we came in sightof the animals, when we at once dismounted to watch them and arrange ourplan of proceeding. While some Makololoes held our horses, my uncle,Harry, and I crept along not far from the edge of the forest, so as toget in front of the elephants we saw feeding, whi
le Mr Welbourn, Toko,and one of his followers made a wider circuit, with the intention oftaking them on the other side should they move in that direction. Wehurried on, eager to get in front of the animals before they should moveaway. They now offered unusually good marks to our rifles. My fear wasthat their sharp eyes might detect us before we could get near enough tofire. My uncle advised each of us to select a tree up which we couldclimb, or whose trunk was of sufficient thickness to afford usprotection should the elephants, discovering us, make a charge.
As the forest was tolerably thick, they could not move as rapidly as inthe open ground. We hoped, therefore, to have time to escape should ourbullets fail to kill them at the first shot. There were threemagnificent fellows feeding close together, and several others beyondthem. The latter had fallen to the share of Mr Welbourn and his party,and we agreed to devote our attention to the three nearest. Weproceeded with the greatest care, in Indian file. The slightest sound,even at a distance, caused by a stumble or the breaking of a twig, wouldattract the attention of our expected prey.
We at length could see their trunks lifted above their heads to reachthe higher branches, the rest of their bodies being invisible, and ofcourse they could not see us.
Having taken up our positions, one in front of each elephant, we creptforward, bending down as low as we could so as to escape detection aslong as possible. At the same time we looked out for trees to serve asplaces of refuge. Activity and presence of mind are necessary when aperson is hunting wild beasts, but especially when elephant shooting.
I lost sight of my uncle, who was on my left, but I could just seeHarry, who was on the opposite side, his head appearing above the grassand shrubs. I had made up my mind not to fire until I heard the reportof my uncle's rifle. At last I could see the huge ears of an elephant,just in front of me, flapping up and down.
I knew that the moment would soon arrive when I must fire or bediscovered by the elephant. I crept on a few paces further, then roseon my knees. At the moment that I heard the crack of my uncle's rifle,I lifted my own weapon and fired, aiming full at the creature's broadchest as high up as I could, so as to clear the head. Before thesmoke--which was kept from rising by the branches--had cleared away, aloud trumpeting was heard. The moment it began Harry fired, but I couldnot see the result. I sprang to my feet, so as to escape behind a treeI had marked, fully expecting to have the elephant I had shot chargefuriously at me; but it did not, and though I retreated some paces Icould still see its head. It seemed to be looking about to discover theenemy who had wounded it. No long time passed before it caught sight ofme, and then on it came. I could also hear a loud crashing among theboughs to the right, produced, I had no doubt, by the elephant at whichHarry had aimed. On reaching the tree I instantly began to reload,hoping to have time to give the elephant another shot as he passed me;for, though he had seen me for a moment, I knew that he would gostraight on without looking behind the tree. But, even before he hadgot up to the spot, down he fell on his knees, crushing several youngtrees. At the same moment I heard Harry cry out, and leaving my ownprize I dashed forward to his assistance. I was just in time to see theelephant, with his trunk uplifted, close to Harry, who had not had timeto reload or take shelter behind a tree. I fired, aiming behind the earof the elephant, when down it came, as mine had done, prostrate on theground. If my uncle had been equally successful, we should have made agrand haul. Without stopping to finish off our elephants, we hurried inthe direction we supposed him to be, reloading as we went. We uttered aloud shout to attract his attention. It was replied to by a tremendousroar; and, instead of an elephant, what was our surprise to see anenormous lion lashing its tail and looking up at the branches of a tree,among which we discovered my uncle; and he must have had a narrowescape, for he was only just beyond reach of the brute, who might, itseemed to us, by making a desperate spring, have struck him down. Wehad now to look out for ourselves, for should the lion discover us,unless we could kill him at once, he might tear us to pieces.Fortunately another tree of considerable girth, and in the position wedesired, was close at hand. We retreated behind it. As the lion turnedhis head and we thought might be looking for us, we both fired. To ourgreat delight we rolled him over where he stood.
"Bravo! Well done!" cried my uncle, descending the tree. "We'll now goafter my elephant."
Leading the way, without exchanging further words, he dashed out of theforest.