CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
HOW THE WAGGON WAS PUT STRAIGHT.
The remark made by Dick as he rode home with his father was much nearerfulfilment than he expected.
The morning broke dark and lowering, with great thunder clouds in thenorth; and as it was evident that it was raining hard, as it can rainsometimes in South Africa, and they might get caught, it was decided tospend the morning at home, and devote that day to a general clean up ofarms, and a repacking of the waggon, which needed doing sadly. Besideswhich there were cases of stores that they had not yet been able to getat; and these it was advisable to have, especially a whole barrel offine flour, which was right at the bottom.
Arms were cleaned, then, till Dinny announced breakfast, with three hotroast quails, that had been knocked down by Chicory that morning.
These were a delicious treat, being about three times the size of thelittle English quail; and the hearty breakfast having come to an end,Mr Rogers climbed into the waggon, followed by the boys, the Generaland his sons went off to collect wood for firing, while Peter and Dirk,with a yoke of bullocks, brought it to the camp and made a stack, uponwhich Dinny soon began to make inroads for culinary purposes, as he hadcakes to bake, and a large joint of eland to cook for an early dinner--for if it seemed likely to hold up, an expedition was determined on insearch of giraffes for the afternoon.
It was very busy and very warm work under the tilt of the waggon, butthe two boys toiled away with a will, and package after package offorgotten luxuries was unearthed, and placed where it could be used.
"Hurray, father!" cried Jack, "here's a box of cornflour."
"And here's another bag of rice," cried Dick.
"Better still," said Mr Rogers, laughing. "Here's something that willsuit you, Dick."
"What? More sugar, father?"
"No. You were grumbling about always drinking your coffee without milk;here's a case of Swiss condensed."
"If the sugar ran out," said Jack, "we could get honey."
"Yes," said his father. "You boys must be on the look out for thehoney-guide."
"Why, we saw one, father," cried Jack.
"Yes, and the rhinoceros drove it out of our head," said Dick, "and--"
"Why, what's the matter?" cried Mr Rogers. "Rifles, boys!"
They were just engaged in moving a big chest, and had the greater partof the waggon's contents piled up on one side, that nearest the kraal ofgrowing and piled up thorns, when there was a loud yelping of the dogs,a peculiar grunting snort, a tremendous crash, and the dissel-boom wasdriven on one side, and the fore part of the waggon itself actuallylifted and nearly overturned.
There was a tremendous crash, and splinters flew as it was struck; andanother crash as it came down upon the earth again, one wheel havingbeen lifted quite a couple of feet.
Then, as Jack held on by the great laths of the waggon cover, and lookedover the chests, he saw the shoulders of a great rhinoceros, as itwrenched its horn out of the woodwork that it had driven it through;then it whisked round, and charged straight at the fire, rushing throughit, trampling the embers, and tossing the burning sticks in alldirections.
"Murther! master, help! Here's a big thief of a--Murth--"
Dinny did not finish his sentence, for, seeing him standing thereshouting as his cooking-place was "torn all to smithereens," as heafterwards expressed it, the rhinoceros dashed at him, and with one liftof his horn sent poor Dinny flying into the thorny hedge of thecattle-kraal.
The rhinoceros now stood snorting and squeaking, in search of some otherobject upon which to vent its rage; and seeing this in some newly-washedclothes laid out to dry upon a bush, it charged at them, dashing throughthe bush, and carrying off a white garment upon its horn, with which ittore right away, never stopping once while it was in sight.
"Well, when you have done laughing, young gentlemen," said Mr Rogers,"perhaps you will let me pass and see what damages we have suffered."
"Laugh!" cried Jack. "Oh, father, I ache with laughing. Did you eversee such a comical beast?"
"It certainly has its comical side," said Mr Rogers; "but it isterribly mischievous and dangerous."
"But you should have seen it toss Dinny, father," said Dick, wiping hiseyes. "I hope he wasn't hurt."
They leaped out of the waggon rifle in hand, just as a piteous groancame from the top of the kraal fence.
"Ah, masther, and that was the only dacent shirt I had left. Oh,masther, dear, help me down. I'm kilt and murthered here wid the greatthorns in my back."
The boys could hardly help for laughing, poor Dinny's aspect was soludicrous; but by dint of placing the broken dissel-boom up to where hewas sitting, and crawling up to him, Dinny was aided to drag himselfout.
"Aisy then, Masther Jack, aisy," he cried; "don't ye see the nastycrukked thorns have got howlt of me? Ye'd be pulling me out of myclothes, instead of my clothes out of the thorns. Arrah, sor, d'yethink that great pig baste wid a horn on his nose will ever bring meclane shirt back?"
"Very doubtful, Dinny; but are you much hurt?" said Mr Rogers.
"An' am I much hurt?" cried Dinny, "whin there isn't a bit of me as bigas saxpence that hasn't got a thorn shtuck in it?"
"Oh, never mind the thorns," said Mr Rogers, laughing.
"Shure, I don't, sor; they moight all be burnt for the bit I'd care.But shure, sor, it isn't at all funny when you've got the thorns in ye."
"No, no, of course not, Dinny," said his master, "and it is unfeeling tolaugh. But are you hurt anywhere?"
"Shure, sor, I'm telling ye that I'm hurt all over me, ivery-where."
"But the rhinoceros--"
"The which, sor? Sure, I didn't know that any part of me was called arhinoceros."
"No, no, I mean the animal that charged you."
"An' that's a rhinoceros is it, sor? Shure, I thought it was a bigAfrican pig wid a horn in his nose."
"Yes, that's a rhinoceros, Dinny. Come, did it hurt you when it chargedyou?"
"Shure, I'd like to charge it the price of me best shirt, I would,"grumbled Dinny, rubbing himself softly. "No, he didn't hurt me much; helifted me up too tinderly wid his shnout; but that was his artfulness,the baste; he knew what the crukked thorns would do."
"Then you have no bones broken, Dinny?" said Dick.
"An is it a pig I'd let break me bones?" cried Dinny, indignantly. "Agreat ugly baste! I'd like to have the killing of him any day in theweek. Just look at me fire flying all over the place. Shure, I'll bevery glad when we get home again;" and he went grumbling away.
The damage to the waggon was not serious. The horn of the great beasthad gone right through the plank of the forepart, where the chestgenerally stood on which the driver sat, and that could easily berepaired; while they were carpenters enough to splice the brokendissel-boom, or if needs be, cut down a suitable tree and make another;so that altogether there was nothing much to bemoan. A good deal oflaughter followed, Dick and Jack being unable to contain their mirth, asthey thought of Dinny's discomfiture.
"Oh, yis; it's all very foine, Masther Jack; but if you'd been sentflying like I was then, it isn't much ye'd have laughed."
"No, I suppose not, Dinny," said the lad frankly; "but never mind aboutthe thorns."
"Shure, it isn't the holes in me shkin," said Dinny; "they'll growagain. I was thinking about me shirt."
"I'll ask father to give you one of his, Dinny," said Dick.
"One o' thim flannel ones wid blue sthripes?" said Dinny eagerly.
"Yes, one of those if you like, Dinny."
"Whoop! good luck to the big pig and his horn on his nose," cried Dinny."He's welkim to me owld shirt; for it was that tindher that I had toput on me kid gloves to wash it, for fear it should come to pieces,Masther Dick. But, Masther Dick, asthore, d'ye think the big baste willcome back and thread on me fire again?"
"I think we shall have to be on the look out for him to stop him," saidDick. "But his skin's so thick there's no getting a bullet
through."
"An' is it a pig wid a shkin as thick as that!" said Dinny,contemptuously. "Arrah, I'll be after shooting the baste meself. Iwouldn't go afther the lines, but a big pig! Shure, if the masther willlet me have a gun and powther, I'll go and shute the baste before heknows where he is."