CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
MARKED DOWN BY VULTURES.
They were still many miles from King Moseti's town, and the larder beingagain low, consequent upon the impossibility of keeping meat, ahunting-party was instituted, and Mr Rogers was about to go off withthe boys; but on second thoughts, as they had been seen by the people onthe river, no doubt the news of their coming was known all through thecountry, and it was possible that some of the natives might come down.
This he felt would be unsatisfactory if he was away, so he decided tostop; and then feeling that it would be better to have some trustworthyman to help guard the waggon, and not feeling that either Dinny, Peter,or Dirk, was that man, he decided to tell the General to stay.
So the hunting-party consisted of the four boys, who were warned not togo too far, but to be sure and get something in the shape of meat assoon as they could.
They went off in high glee, Coffee being delighted to be able to takehis place in the party; and nothing would do but he must perform allsorts of feats, to show how strong he had grown once more.
Acting upon Mr Rogers' advice, they made straight for the high, open,park-like land, about a couple of miles south of the river; and hereCoffee soon showed his talent as a tracker, by pointing out somefootprints in a patch of soft earth and mud close to a clear pool ofwater.
"Lion!" he said, pointing to the great round impression: and he spat andstamped, and then struck the ground fiercely with his kiri.
"Elfant!" cried Chicory just then; and his discovery so far transcendedhis brother's, that there was a rush to see the huge round footprint,that looked as if some one had been standing portmanteaus on end allover the bog, and leaving their impressions there.
Then there were buffalo tracks, and the footprints of innumerable otherbeasts that had been to drink, or else gone on, making a completeroadway in the direction of the big river.
Just then Coffee pulled Jack's sleeve and pointed to quite afreshly-made series of footprints.
"Why, that's some kind of antelope," cried Jack.
"Yes, big bok--eland," cried Coffee. "Come along."
This was as good as saying that the animal had lately been there todrink: and in fact its tracks looked surprisingly fresh, so much so thatthe boys, after glancing at their guns, followed Coffee as he trotted onahead with his eyes fixed upon the footprints, which were here and thereso clearly-marked in the soft earth that he followed them at a run.
Knowing what he did of the habits of animals, and that the greatantelope might be many miles away by this time, Dick was about toprotest against such an exercise of speed, feeling that a slow and sureprogress would be the safest: but Coffee proved to be right, for beforethey had gone half-a-mile, he slopped short and made signs to the othersto close up.
They were in a wooded tract of land sprinkled with bushes and finetimber trees; and as the boys came up, there, about a hundred yards infront, was a magnificent eland, and so great was the surprise of both asthey saw the size of the animal, equal in bulk as it was to an ox, onlylonger and more gracefully-shaped, that they forbore to fire; when thegreat antelope, catching sight of them, went off at full speed, and theyhad to renew the chase.
Quite an hour elapsed before a sign from Coffee announced that he couldonce more see the game.
This time both Dick and Jack were more upon the alert; and creepingcautiously up through the bushes, they caught sight of the elandgrazing, just at the edge of a patch of forest about a hundred and fiftyyards away.
This they felt was a long shot at so large an animal; but it wasimpossible to get nearer on account of the intervening open ground; sokneeling together they took careful aim at the shoulder, and firedalmost simultaneously.
"Hit," cried Jack, as he jumped up and ran forward beyond the reach ofthe smoke; but there was no eland lying in its tracks; and as the Zuluboys came up, they made out that it had dashed through a patch of densegrowth, and there its footprints were lost in a broad trail made bythousands of animals on their way to and from the river.
Both Coffee and Chicory exerted themselves to the utmost; but theirefforts were in vain, and at last they turned to Dick shaking theirheads.
"No good gun," said Coffee. "Ought to shoot um dead."
"It's a bad job," said Jack; "but it's of no use to grumble. Come,boys, we must hunt out something else."
"I wish we had brought the dogs, Jack," said Dick.
"Coffee find him soon--that way."
He pointed with an exultant look in his face at a great flap-wingedvulture flying directly over his head, and for a moment both Jack andDick were puzzled; but seeing the boys both set off at a run, theyfollowed, recalling as they went what they had seen and heard about thevultures tracking the wounded or sickly game, and it was evident thatthe bird they had seen was on the track of the wounded eland.
An hour's tramp decided the point, Coffee and Chicory coming up with thewounded beast, defending itself with its horns against the attacks ofthe vultures that were collecting round and making furious darts at itseyes.
A merciful bullet ended the poor creature's miseries, and as the animalwas so fine it was decided to load up with as much as they couldconveniently carry, then place sticks about the carcase, and leave it tobe fetched in by Peter and Dirk with a yoke of oxen.
All this was done, and they were about half-way back when, to theirutter astonishment, a party of about half-a-dozen blacks, armed withassegais and clubs, rushed out from behind some bushes, and began toadvance with fierce and threatening gestures.
"I say, Dick, what's to be done?" said Jack. "Shall we throw down themeat and run away?"
"No," said Dick, who looked very pale.
"Shall we offer them our guns and ammunition if they will let us go?"
"No," replied Dick. "If we do that they will strip us to the skin."
"What shall we do then?"
"Show fight," said Dick. "I don't want to, but we must."
"But they are big fighting men, and we are only boys," said Jack.
"But we are English boys, and they are only savages," retorted Dick; "socome along."
Meanwhile the Matabele warriors--for such it afterwards proved theywere--kept on advancing, shouting savagely, while Coffee and Chicory hadbeen watching their masters attentively, waiting to see what course theywould take.
They took their dues from the behaviour of the young Englishmen, and inplace of cowering behind, they ran to the front, flourishing theirkiris, striking the ground with them, and shouting in their own tonguethe while.
"Out of the way, black dogs!" cried Coffee. "Let my lords the biglion-killers with their wonder-guns, come by."
Feeling that they must put on a bold front, the two boys advanced withrifles ready; and, seeing this, and hearing the words of Coffee andChicory, which they understood, the black warriors stopped short, spoketo one another for a few moments, and then, changing their tone, beganto beg for some of the meat.
"Say they're very hungry. Want meat," said Chicory.
Dick spoke to Jack, and then told Coffee to be the interpreter of theirwishes, explaining to him what to say.
Coffee jauntily flourished his kiri, and with a bold, defiant bearing,marched close up to the warriors, and showing them the scars made by thelion's claws, told them that they were made by the biggest lion in theworld, and his young masters went and killed it with their wonder-guns.
"And now the young kings say you may go and eat the big eland they shot,and fill yourselves full."
The men set up a shout, flourished their weapons, and began to dance,after which they threw themselves upon the ground, as if they wanted tomake themselves into black door-mats, Dick said; and ended by taking upand turning back on the little hunting-party's trail till they found theeland.
"Yes," said Mr Rogers, as they related their experience; "you werequite right. These people seem to me more like children than men, and agood bold front will generally make them respect the white man;especially, my boys, if he is fir
m and, above all, perfectly just."