CHAPTER SIX.
A FALSE ALARM.
Mr Rogers had felt a little hesitation in giving the fierce-lookingZulu permission to make one of the party, but as they journeyed onacross the apparently interminable plains between the Vaal and the GreatCrocodile rivers, he awoke more and more to the fact that he had secureda valuable ally. For the old warrior entered into the spirit of theexpedition at once, helping with the oxen or to extricate the waggons indifficult places, showing himself quite at home in the management ofhorses, and being evidently an excellent guide, and above all a hunterof profound knowledge and experience.
As soon as he realised the intentions of Mr Rogers, he became mostearnest in his endeavours to get the party well on their way farther andfarther into the wilds, making the eyes of the boys dilate as he toldthem in fair English of the herds of antelope and other game he wouldsoon show them in the plains; the giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, and,above all, the lions, whose haunts he knew, and to which he promised totake them.
Whenever the father began to talk in this strain his two sons grewexcited, and started to perform hunting dances, in which the number ofimaginary lions and buffaloes they slew was something enormous. Everynow and then, too, the boys killed some imaginary elephant, out of whoseunwieldy head they made believe to hack the tusks, which they invariablybrought and laid at their young masters' feet, grunting the while withthe exertion.
Dick soon grew tired of it however.
"It's all very well," he said; "but if that is the way we are to loadthe waggons with ivory, we shall be a long time getting enough to paythe expenses of the journey."
Mr Rogers joined them one day as they were walking along in advance ofthe slow-moving waggon, and began to question the Zulu about the game inthe wilds north of where they were; and in his broken English he gave soglowing an account that his hearers began to doubt its truth.
He said that when he had had to flee from his own people for his life,he had at first gone right away into the hunting country, and stayedthere for a year, finding out, in his wanderings, places where huntingand shooting people had never been. Here, he declared, the wildcreatures had taken refuge as in a sanctuary; and he declared that heshould take the boss who had been so kind to his boys, and both theyoung bosses, to a wild place where they would find game in abundance,and where the forests held the great rhinoceros, plenty of elephants,and amongst whose open glades the tall giraffe browse the leafage of thehigh trees. There in the plains were herds of buffalo too numerous tocount, quagga, zebra, gnu, eland, and bok of all kinds. There was agreat river there, he said, full of fish, and with great crocodilesready to seize upon the unwary. The hippopotamus was there too, big andmassive, ready to upset boats or to attack all he could see.
Mr Rogers watched his sons attentively as the Zulu narrated hisexperience of the land, and he was delighted to see how much Dick wasalready leaving off his dull languid ways, and taking an interest inwhat was projected. One thing the father wished to arrive at, and thatwas whether Dick would be frightened through his weakness, and thehunting parties consequently do him more harm than good. But just thena question put by his son showed him that he was as eager as his brotherfor an encounter with the wild creatures of the forest and plains.
"And do you say there are lions?" said Dick.
"Yes, plenty lion," said the Zulu. "They come to camp at night, and tryto get the ox and horse."
"Oomph! oomph! oomph!" growled Coffee, in an admirable imitation of thelion's roar.
"Keep big fire," said the Zulu, "then no lion come."
"Well, Dick," said Mr Rogers, "how do you feel? Ready for the fray?"
"Yes, father, I am longing for the time when we shall get amongst thewild beasts. I want to try my gun; and I want to grow strong and manly,like Jack."
"All in good time, my boy," replied Mr Rogers, smiling. "We shall soonbe leaving civilisation almost entirely behind, and then you shall makeyour first attempts at becoming a mighty hunter."
Comparatively uninteresting as the journey was, they still had plenty totake their attention--grand views of distant mountains; wondroussunsets; great flights of birds; but the absence of game was remarkable;and twice over, in spite of their being so well armed and provided, MrRogers was glad to purchase a freshly-killed springbok of a Boer, at oneof the outlying farms that they passed.
On the seventh night out though, their fortune was better, for they hadout-spanned, or loosened their oxen from the waggon, just by a clump oftrees in a wide plain, and the Zulu went off the moment they stopped.
Both Peter and Dirk began to complain, for they expected help from theirblack companion; but upon this occasion they had their work to dowithout aid, Coffee and Chicory having also gone off with their kiris insearch of game.
Mr Rogers and his sons started off to see if they could provideanything palatable for supper; but though there was a swampy lagoonabout a mile away, they did not catch sight of a single duck, and werereturning tired and disappointed when they caught sight of the Zulusignalling to them to come.
"He has found something," cried Jack eagerly; and they hastened over therugged intervening space, to find that the father of Coffee and Chicorywas evidently a keen hunter, and ready enough in knowing where to lookfor creatures that would do for food.
With almost unerring instinct he had found out this clump of trees,evidently one where guinea-fowl came to roost; and full of hope thatthey would now obtain a good addition to the larder, or, in plainEnglish, a few birds to roast for supper, guns were supplied withcartridges, and the little party waited for the coming of the spottedbirds.
The pleasurable anticipations of the boys, who had a lively recollectionof the toothsome bird with a flavour half-way between roast fowl andpheasant, seemed likely to be damped, for they had been waiting quitehalf an hour without hearing or seeing anything, when suddenly the Zululaid his hand upon Jack's arm, and pointed in a direction opposite tothe waggon.
"Well, what are you pointing at?" said Jack. "I can't see anything.Yes, I can; there they are, father. Look out!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Half-a-dozen rapid shots, and then, amidst the whizzing of wings andcries of the birds, some of which flew off, while others ran through theshort grass at an astounding rate, Coffee, Chicory, and their father ranout beneath the trees; and the result of the firing was brought in--tenfine plump birds for their supper.
This was the first night that they had passed in the open, the previoushalts having been made at some farm; so after the supper the blacks wereset to gather in more wood, the fire was well made up, and the oxensecured, it being decided to begin at once upon the regular plan thatthey would have to adopt in the enemy's country, the enemy being formedof the various wild creatures against whom they were having theircampaign.
Years back the spot where they were encamped had been famous for lions,but from what Mr Rogers had heard, none had been seen here now for aconsiderable time. Still he thought it better to take precautions, theparty being divided into three watches, the first of which he tookhimself, with Chicory for a companion; Jack was to take the second, withthe Zulu; and Dick, Coffee, and Dinny were to form the third.
The oxen and horses having been all secured, the fire was piled up, andthose who were to rest gladly availed themselves of the opportunity, andin a very short time nothing was to be heard but the fluttering noisemade by the burning fire, and the snorting sigh of one or the other ofthe horses.
In due time Jack was aroused, to sit up and stare at his father.
"What's matter?" he said sleepily.
"Nothing, only that it is your turn to watch," said his father.
"Why, I've only just lain down," replied Jack. "It can't be time yet."
But a good rub at his eyes seemed to bring a little thoughtfulness aswell, and he climbed put of the waggon and descended to the ground.
"I don't think you will have anything to alarm you, my boy," said hisfather. "Wake me up though if there
is the slightest sign of danger."
Jack promised, and, shivering and uncomfortable, he crept up to thefire, which the Zulu renewed; but though he roasted his face and knees,his back felt horribly cold, and he heartily wished himself at home, andin his snug bed. But the Zulu began to look round at the cattle, tosatisfy himself that all were safe; and then seating himself with hisassegai across his knees close to the fire, he began to tell the youngEnglishman about the dangers that would have surrounded them if they hadencamped here a few years earlier; and, then he lapsed into such vividaccounts of his own hunting adventures and escapes, that the four hours'watch seemed to have passed like magic, and Jack was ready to finish thenext; but recalling the last injunctions he had received from hisfather, he went to the waggon, roused up Dick, and from under it Dinnyand Coffee, and soon after left them to finish the morning watch.
Jack felt as if it would be of no use to try and sleep again; butknowing that their next day's journey would be very fatiguing, he laydown in his brother's place, found the blankets very warm and cosy, andthen, with the sound of Dinny yawning loudly, he fell fast asleep. Heseemed hardly to have closed his eyes, when a shout aroused him, just ashe heard his father seize his double rifle, and go to the front of thewaggon.
Jack did likewise, with as much speed as his sleepy confusion wouldallow; and on reaching the opening he found that it was still dark, sothat he could not have been long asleep, the fire was burningbrilliantly, and every one was on the alert.
"Yes, I seemed to hear it myself in my sleep," said Mr Rogers, inanswer to some words spoken by Dick. "Did it sound near?"
"Sure, sor, it was close by, and I thought the bastes had got one of thebullocks."
The Zulu was with them now, having sprung from his place beneath thewaggon, asking eagerly what was wrong.
"They heard a lion prowling round," replied Mr Rogers.
"No, no," said the Zulu. "No lion here."
"But I heard it quite plainly," said Dick, who felt angry at beingdoubted.
"Sure and I did too, so close to me shoulder that I could feel thebaste's breath blow over on to me chake."
"No, no," said the Zulu. "Look! see!"
He pointed towards the oxen and horses in turn.
"But it would be impossible to see it in this darkness," said MrRogers.
"Yes, but the oxen," said the Zulu. "They would not lie quiet if therewas a lion."
"Of course not," said Mr Rogers, envying the savage his knowledge."Then what caused the alarm?"
There was no reply; and after satisfying themselves that all was safe,and piling up the rest of the wood upon the fire--for the streaks of thecoming dawn could be seen--the tired watchers returned to the waggon,and slept until roused for breakfast, when the secret of the alarm cameout, Coffee having been afraid to confess at the time that he knew itwas his brother imitating the lion's cry in his sleep, his proximity toDick and Dinny making it seem the more real. Feeling sure that he wouldbe punished if he spoke, Coffee had remained silent, and so the matterended, Dick laughing heartily at the false alarm, though Dinny would notbelieve that the cry emanated from the boy.
"Jist as if I was such a biby as to belave that story, Masther Jack," hesaid. "I tell ye it was the lion himself attacking the bastes, andyou'll see he'll be about the camp now every night, as regular asclockwork. It's very good of the masther to try and put one at his aiseabout the wild bastes; but that there was a lion--I know it was; and if,Masther Jack, dear, I'm missing some night, ye may know that there's alion aiting of me; and I hope ye'll take me bones back and give me adacent burying somewhere among Christians, and not lave them kickingabout out here in a foreign land."
"But how can you be so stupid, Dinny? Father says it was Chicory, andyou know how he imitates the wild beasts."
"Ah, do ye take me for a baby, Masther Jack?" said the man,reproachfully. "There, let it go. I'm your father's servant, and hemust have his own way; but it's cruel work this coming out into suchsavage lands; and there's one man as will niver see home parts again."
When once Dinny had got an idea in his, head, to use his own words, "ashillelagh would not knock it out;" so he remained perfectly certainthat the camp had been attacked by a lion; and he went about prophesyingthat the coming night would produce two.