CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
A LESSON IN OSTRICH HUNTING.
That same afternoon Dick, who had taken the glass and mounted a tree fora look round, announced ostriches in sight, and the General smiled andsaid it was his turn now.
While the others had slept he had been very busy, skinning the ostrich,and stuffing its long neck, and, to the astonishment of Dinny, he placedfour or five little assegais ready, and then threw the skin of theostrich over his head and shoulders, holding up the head by means of astick run through the neck, and then, turning on one side, only his barelegs were visible.
Jack burst into a roar of laughter, and Chicory began to get rid of hissuperfluous excitement in his usual way--by dancing round and round andindulging in a few kicks and jumps.
It was a very clumsy imitation of an ostrich, but experience had oftenproved it to be sufficiently near to beguile the great birds, especiallywhen, after stalking along for a short distance, the head was lowered tothe ground, for there were the head, neck, and feathers, and that seemedenough for the birds.
Thus accoutred, then, the General moved out of camp, laughingly askingthat no one should follow and shoot him by mistake for one of the birds.
The three boys followed, Dick carrying a glass; and poor Coffeewistfully watched their departure.
They could not, however, go far, lest they should scare the birds, sothey kept in the cover of the wood for nearly a mile, and then stoodwatching the proceedings of Chicory's father.
The General went steadily on, with the ostrich's head held well erect;but every now and then he paused, lowered the long neck, and seemed tobe engaged in feeding; and at such times he walked side-wise and awayfrom the little group of three ostriches, which were feeding about amile away.
As the Zulu got to be more distant, his motions had a very naturalappearance; so much so that Dick and Jack began to feel that had theyseen him without being prepared, they would certainly have had a shot athim, believing him to be the real thing.
He took advantage of every bit of cover he could see, passing amongstthe trees and bushes, and whenever he was out of sight, hastening hissteps till he was nearly abreast of the ostriches, when he came intosight again.
As he did so the three birds paused in their feeding, ran together, andfor a moment it seemed as if all the labour was about to be lost. Itwas very plain that they were diligently scrutinising the new comer; andthis was the critical time. A moment's haste, the slightest false move,and the three birds would have gone off like the wind. But as they sawthe stranger turn a little away from them, lower its head, andapparently make a dart at some great beetle or locust amongst theherbage, and then hunt out another and another, their timidity passedaway, they troubled themselves no more about the new comer, and went onfeeding.
It was very interesting to watch the disguised Zulu, apparently feedingaway from the ostriches, but all the time softly edging himself nearerand nearer.
"Oh, I say! what stupids they are!" said Jack. "Look at his legs. Theyarn't a bit like ostrich legs, and yet they don't see."
"All 'toopids," said Chicory delightedly. "Wait a bit."
From where they stood the General now seemed to be touching the warybirds; but this could not be the case they knew; and they stood watchingattentively, taking the greatest of care not to show themselves, lestthey should alarm the ostriches, for experience had shown them that theywould dash off if they saw any one a mile away.
"Now look," cried Dick excitedly. "Look!"
For the biggest bird of the group had suddenly seemed to take umbrage atthe appearance of the stranger, and stalking straight up to it dartedits head sharply, evidently giving a vicious peck.
The next instant it was seen to make a bound forward, and fall over uponits side, apparently kicking feebly.
The other two raised their heads and seemed alarmed; but one beganfeeding again, and the other stalked gravely up to continue thepunishment the first had commenced.
This time, by the help of the glass, Dick saw the Zulu stoop down, anddeliver a thrust with an assegai, and this bird toppled forward andfell.
The third seemed alarmed, but it did not take flight, only stood stillwhile the General, imitating the gait of the other birds, ran upalongside it, and seemed to be staring like the other at the fallenbirds.
This time they saw no motion on the General's part, only that the thirdhe struck suddenly took to running at a tremendous rate, but droppedlike a stone before it had gone a quarter of a mile, and the General ridhimself of what must have been a very hot and uncomfortable disguise,and mounting an ant-hill signalled to them to come.
"Three ostriches," cried Dick delightedly; "their feathers ought to beworth a great deal. Run back and fetch my father, Chicory."
But there was no need, for Mr Rogers had seen the manoeuvres of hisfollower, and now came out of the camp, followed by Dinny.
"Ah," said the latter to the boys, "it was moighty well done, and I'vecome to help pick the big birds. They tell me that some of the payplehere kape the horse-stretches like chickens in Connaught, and that theylay beautiful foine new-laid eggs. Bedad, one of them ladies ought tolay a dacent-sized egg, and I wouldn't mind having one for breakfast byway of a change."
It was with no little delight then that Dick pointed out the fact toDinny that they were all cock-birds, when they got up and found each hadbeen pierced through the heart with an assegai.
Their plumage was splendid, and after a great deal of tough, hot workseveral bundles of the valuable feathers were made up and carried to thecamp, to spread out and dry and then store away, to help pay for theexpenses of the trip.
The party had hardly turned their backs upon the denuded birds beforethe vultures, which had been gathering for some time, suddenly began todrop down to act their part of scavengers; and before night fell, therewere only a few scattered bones to show where the ostriches had been.