CHAPTER THREE.
IN WHICH GREAT DEEDS ARE DONE, AND TOM BROWN HAS A NARROW ESCAPE.
But Tom was wrong. Either the report had been false, or the lions had aspecial intimation that certain destruction approached them; for ourhunters waited two nights at the native kraal without seeing one,although the black king thereof stoutly affirmed that they had attackedthe cattle enclosures nearly every night for a week past, and committedgreat havoc.
One piece of good fortune, however, attended them, which was that theyunexpectedly met with the large party which the major had expressed hiswish to join. It consisted of about thirty men, four of whom weresportsmen, and the rest natives, with about twenty women and children,twelve horses, seventy oxen, five wagons, and a few dogs; all under theleadership of a trader named Hardy.
Numerous though the oxen were, there were not too many of them, as thereader may easily believe when we tell him that the wagons were verylarge, clumsy, and heavily laden,--one of them, besides other things,carrying a small boat--and that it occasionally required the powers oftwenty oxen to drag one wagon up some of the bad hills they encounteredon the journey to the Zulu country.
The four sportsmen, who were named respectively Pearson, Ogilvie, Anson,and Brand, were overjoyed at the addition to the party of Tom Brown andhis companions, the more so that Tom was a doctor, for the constitutionsof two of them, Ogilvie and Anson, had proved to be scarcely capable ofwithstanding the evil effects of the climate. Tom prescribed for themso successfully that they soon regained their strength; a result whichhe believed, however, was fully as much due to the cheering effects ofthe addition to their social circle as to medicine.
Having rested at the kraal a few days, partly to recruit the travellers,and partly to give the lions an opportunity of returning and being shot,the whole band set forth on their journey to the Umveloose river, havingpreviously rendered the king of the kraal and his subjects happy by aliberal present of beads, brass wire, blue calico, and blankets.
At the kraal they had procured a large quantity of provisions for thejourney--amobella meal for porridge, mealies, rice, beans, potatoes, andwater-melons; and, while there, they had enjoyed the luxury of as muchmilk as they could drink; so that all the party were in pretty goodcondition and excellent spirits when they left. But this did not lastvery long, for the weather suddenly changed, and rain fell in immensequantities. The long rank grass of those regions became so saturatedthat it was impossible to keep one's-self dry; and, to add to theirdiscomforts, mosquitoes increased in numbers to such an extent that someof the European travellers could scarcely obtain a wink of sleep.
"Oh dear!" groaned poor Wilkins, one night as he lay between the majorand Tom Brown on the wet grass under the shelter of a bullock-wagoncovered with a wet blanket; "how I wish that the first mosquito hadnever been born!"
"If the world could get on without rain," growled the major, "myfelicity would be complete. There is a particular stream which coursesdown the underside of the right shaft of the wagon, and meets with someobstruction just at the point which causes it to pour continuously downmy neck. I've shifted my position twice, but it appears to follow me,and I have had sensations for the last quarter of an hour which induceme to believe that a rivulet is bridged by the small of my back. Ha!have you killed him this time?"
The latter remark was addressed to Tom Brown, who had for some time pastbeen vigorously engaged slapping his own face in the vain hope ofslaying his tormentors--vain, not only because they were too quick to becaught in that way, but also, because, if slain by hundreds at everyblow, there would still have remained thousands more to come on!
"No," replied Tom, with a touch of bitterness in his tone; "he's notdead yet."
"He?" exclaimed Wilkins; "do you mean to say that you are troubled byonly _one_ of the vile creatures?"
"Oh no!" said Tom; "there are millions of 'em humming viciously round myhead at this moment, but one of them is so big and assiduous that I havecome to recognise his voice--there! d'you hear it?"
"Hear it!" cried Wilkins; "how can you expect me to hear one of yourswhen I am engaged with a host of my own? Ah! but I hear _that_," headded, laughing, as another tremendous crack resounded from Tom Brown'scheek; "what a tough skin you must have, to be sure, to stand suchtreatment?"
"I am lost in admiration of the amiableness of your temper, Tom,"remarked the major. "If I were to get such a slap in the face as that,even from myself, I could not help flying in a passion. Hope the enemyis defeated at last?"
"I--I--think so," said Tom, in that meditative tone which assures thelistener that the speaker is intensely on the _qui vive_; "yes, Ibelieve I _have_--eh--no--there he--oh!"
Another pistol-shot slap concluded the sentence, and poor Tom'scompanions in sorrow burst into a fit of laughter.
"Let 'im bite, sir," growled the deep bass voice of Hardy, who lay undera neighbouring wagon; "when he's got his beak well shoved into you, andbegins to suck, he can't get away so quick, 'cause of havin' to pull itout again! hit out hard and quick then, an' you're sure of him. But thebest way's to let 'em bite, an' go to sleep."
"Good advice; I'll try to take it," said Tom, turning round with a sigh,and burying his face in the blanket. His companions followed hisexample, and in spite of rain and mosquitoes were soon fast asleep.
This wet weather had a very depressing effect on their spirits, and madethe region so unhealthy that it began ere long to tell on the weakermembers of the sporting party; as for the natives, they, being inured toit, were proof against everything. Being all but naked, they did notsuffer from wet garments; and as they smeared their bodies over withgrease, the rain ran off them as it does off the ducks. However, it didnot last long at that time. In a few days the sky cleared, and thespirits of the party revived with their health.
The amount of animal life seen on the journey was amazing. Alltravellers in Africa have borne testimony to the fact that it teems withanimals. The descriptions which, not many years ago, were deemedfabulous, have been repeated to us as sober truth by men ofunquestionable veracity. Indeed, no description, however vivid, canconvey to those whose personal experience has been limited to the fieldsof Britain an adequate conception of the teeming millions of livingcreatures, great and small, four-footed and winged, which swarm in thedense forests and mighty plains of the African wilderness.
Of course the hunters of the party were constantly on the alert, andgreat was the slaughter done; but great also was the capacity of thenatives for devouring animal food, so that very little of the sportcould be looked upon in the light of life taken in vain.
Huge and curious, as well as beautiful, were the creatures "bagged."
On one occasion Tom Brown went out with the rest of the party onhorseback after some elephants, the tracks of which had been seen theday before. In the course of the day Tom was separated from hiscompanions, but being of an easy-going disposition, and having been bornwith a thorough belief in the impossibility of anything very serioushappening to him, he was not much alarmed, and continued to follow whathe thought were the tracks of elephants, expecting every moment to fallin with, or hear shots from his friends.
During the journey Tom had seen the major, who was an old sportsman,kill several elephants, so that he conceived himself to be quite ablefor that duty if it should devolve upon him. He was walking his horsequietly along a sort of path that skirted a piece of thicket when heheard a tremendous crashing of trees, and looking up saw a troop offifty or sixty elephants dashing away through a grove of mapani-trees.Tom at once put spurs to his horse, unslung his large-boredouble-barrelled gun, and coming close up to a cow-elephant, sent a ballinto her behind the shoulder. She did not drop, so he gave her anothershot, when she fell heavily to the ground.
At that moment he heard a shot not far off. Immediately afterwardsthere was a sound of trampling feet which rapidly increased, and in afew moments the whole band of elephants came rushing back towards him,having been turned by the major with a party
of natives. Not havingcompleted the loading of his gun, Tom hastily rode behind a dense bush,and concealed himself as well as he could. The herd turned aside justbefore reaching the bush, and passed him about a hundred yards off witha tremendous rush, their trunks and tails in the air, and the major andWilkins, with a lot of natives and dogs, in full pursuit. Tom wasbeginning to regret that he had not fired a long shot at them, when heheard a crash behind him, and looking back saw a monstrous bull-elephantmaking a terrific charge at him. It was a wounded animal, mad with rageand pain, which had caught sight of him in passing. Almost before hewas aware of its approach it went crashing through the thickettrumpeting furiously, and tearing down trees, bushes, and everythingbefore it.
Tom lay forward on the neck of his steed and drove the spurs into him.Away they went like the wind with the elephant close behind. In hisanxiety Tom cast his eyes too often behind him. Before he could avoidit he was close on the top of a very steep slope, or stony hill, whichwent down about fifty yards to the plain below. To rein up wasimpossible, to go down would have been almost certain death to horse andman. With death before and behind, our hero had no alternative but toswerve, for the trunk of the huge creature was already almost over thehaunch of his terrified horse. He did swerve. Pulling the horse on hishaunches, and swinging him round at the same moment as if on a pivot, hemade a bound to the left. The elephant passed him with a shriek likethat of a railway engine, stuck out its feet before it, and went slidingwildly down the slope--as little boys are sometimes wont to do--sendingdust, atones, and rubbish in a stupendous cloud before him. At the foothe lost his balance, and the last that Tom saw of him was a flourish ofhis stumpy tail as he went heels over head to the bottom of the hill.But he could not stop to see more; his horse was away with him, and fledover the plain on the wings of terror for a mile in the oppositedirection before he consented to be pulled up.
Tom's companions, meanwhile, had shot two elephants--one a cow, theother a pretty old calf, and on their way back to camp they killed abuffalo. The other hunters had been also successful, so that the campresounded with noisy demonstrations of joy, and the atmosphere ere longbecame redolent of the fumes of roasting meat, while the black bodies ofthe natives absolutely glittered with grease.
On summing up the result of the day's work, it was found that they hadbagged six elephants, three elands, two buffaloes, and a variety ofsmaller game.
"A good bag," observed the major as he sipped his tea; "but I have seenbetter. However, we must rest content. By the way, Pearson, they tellme you had a narrow escape from a buffalo-bull."
"So I had," replied Pearson, pausing in the midst of a hearty meal thathe was making off a baked elephant's foot; "but for Anson there Ibelieve it would have been my last hunt."
"How did he help you?" asked Tom Brown.
"Come, tell them, Anson, you know best," said Pearson; "I am too busyyet to talk."
"Oh, it was simple enough," said Anson with a laugh. "He and I had goneoff together after a small herd of buffaloes; Ogilvie and Brand wereaway following up the spoor of an elephant. We came upon the buffaloesunexpectedly, and at the first shot Pearson dropped one dead--shotthrough the heart. We were both on foot, having left our horses behind,because the ground was too stony for them. After a hard chase of twohours we came up with the herd. Pearson fired at a young bull and brokeits leg, nevertheless it went off briskly on the remaining three, so Ifired and shot off its tail. This appeared to tickle his fancy, for heturned at once and charged Pearson, who dropped his gun, sprang into athorn-tree and clambered out of reach only just in time to escape thebrute, which grazed his heel in passing. Poor fellow, he got such afright--"
"False!" cried Pearson, with his mouth full of meat.
"That he fell off the tree," continued Anson, "and the bull turned tocharge again, so, out of pity for my friend, I stopped him with a bulletin the chest."
"It was well done, Anson, I'm your debtor for life," said Pearson,holding out his plate; "just give me a little more of that splendid footand you'll increase the debt immeasurably; you see the adventure has nottaken away my appetite."
As he said this a savage growl was heard close to the wagon beside whichthey were seated. It was followed by a howl from one of the dogs. Theyall sprang up and ran towards the spot whence the sound came, just intime to see a panther bounding away with one of the dogs. A terrificyell of rage burst from every one, and each hastily threw something orother at the bold intruder. Pearson flung his knife and fork at it,having forgotten to drop those light weapons when he leaped up. Themajor hurled after it a heavy mass of firewood. Hardy and Hicks flungthe huge marrow bones with which they happened to be engaged at thetime. Tom Brown swung a large axe after it, and Wilkins, indesperation, shied his cap at it! But all missed their mark, and thepanther would certainly have carried off his prize had not a very talland powerfully-built Caffre, named Mafuta, darted at it an assegai, orlong native spear, which, wounding it slightly, caused it to drop itsprey.
The poor dog was severely hurt about the neck; it recovered, however,soon afterwards. The same night on which this occurred, one of the oxenwas killed by a lion, but although all the people were more or less onthe alert, the monarch of the woods escaped unpunished.
At an early hour next morning the train of wagons got into motion, andthe hunters went out to their usual occupation.