VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER ONE.
"IS IT PEACE OR WAR? BETTER WAR."
George Payne rode slowly away from the village of Komgha.
The air was warm and balmy, for the time of the southern winter waspast, and on this September day not even the lightest of feathery cloudsflecked the sky above the sunny plains of British Kaffraria. Now andagain on the brow of one of the rolling eminences, which, smooth grassy,and round, alternated with mimosa-dotted vales, the rider might feel apuff of fresh air from the bine Indian Ocean thirty miles away, andwhich he was leaving further and further behind him with every tread ofhis steed. On his left front rose the round tops of the Kabousie hills,while beyond them a ridge of wooded heights slept in the golden haze ofthe early afternoon.
But he had little thought to spare for beauties of scenery, had thisman, as he mechanically urged on his steed--a compact, well-steppingroadster--now at a long easy canter, now subsiding into a fast walk; forall his reflections were at that moment concentrated on the leadingquestion of the day, a question which for weeks past had been in themind of every dweller on that restless line of frontier, a questionwhich to them was fraught with weighty apprehension--Peace or War?
And this topic, which was in everybody's month, had it any foundation torest upon, or was it merely a recurrence of one of those periodicalscares which, with more or less reason, had of late years seriouslydisturbed the border districts? Ministers and legislators might, fromtheir places in the Assembly, deny all grounds for it; merchants andsnug citizens of the western capital might deride it; thepseudo-philanthropic party, likewise at safe distance, might decry it asa libel upon and a plot against the native population, to despoil themof their lands, and what not. Yet Cape Town was many hundred miles fromthe unprotected border, and it is so very easy at a safe distance toridicule the apprehensions of those to whom the fulfilment of theirfears would mean ruin and death. For ignore it as some would, the factremained that a cloud, at first no bigger than a man's hand, but alreadyof sufficiently alarming proportions, was gathering beyond the Kei, toroll on and on till it should overwhelm all within reach--unless stoppedin time, that is. And such check the country's rulers apparently deemedit their special mission not to facilitate.
This, then, was the topic whereon George Payne's thoughts were fixed ashe rode over those grassy Kaffrarian plains in the direction of hishome; and some additional rumours which he had heard that morning, hadgone far towards seriously disquieting him.
He was a broad-shouldered, strongly-built man, about five feet ten inhis shoes, though a slight stoop made him look shorter. He had a quiet,sensible face, and was sparing and deliberate of speech; this on firstacquaintance might lead one to pronounce him "slow," were it not for anoccasional satiric burst, accompanied by a twinkle in the keen greyeyes, which alone would suffice to show that he was very far from beinga fool. And, though quiet and reserved on first acquaintance, he had asunny geniality of manner which was very taking--in fact, was asgood-natured a fellow as ever lived. He was thirty-six years of age,and of colonial birth; and though he had made a couple of visits to themother country he seldom spoke of it. When he did, his audience, whohad settled in its own mind that he had never been out of the colony,would be mightily taken aback by his shrewd insight into men and things.
Around lay the broad, rolling country; here and there in the distancemight be seen the white walls of a homestead or two, glistening in thesun; or a clump of Kafir huts, smoky, squalid-looking, and tumble-down,lay about, whence a tribe of yelling mongrels rushed clamouring down tothe path to mouth at the equestrian and snap at his horse's heels, whiletheir owners stood, with kerries grasped in their dark, sinewy hands,scowling at the passer-by, and making no attempt to call off theirdetestable property. But the horseman cared little or nothing for this.If the four-footed pests came too near, he slashed them unmercifullywith his long raw-hide whip, sending them howling back to their savagemasters. At length he drew rein before a thatched, white-washeddwelling, a typical specimen of the rougher class of frontier farmhouse.A man came out--a tall man, clad in a grey flannel shirt and corduroytrousers; a slouch hat was stuck on one side of his head, a mighty redheard descended over his chest, and in his mouth was a short woodenpipe.
"Well, Marshall," cried Payne, dismounting. "How's the world been usingyou of late?"
"So so," replied the other, shaking hands. "Where are you from?"
"Komgha."
"Any news?"
"N-no. Nothing but `gas,' in fact. One gets so sick of all the yarnsthat have been flying about that really one doesn't know what tobelieve. I've got into the way of believing nothing."
"Ah. Well, now, I think there's something in them. And I'll tell youwhat it is, Payne. If I were a married man like you I'd send my familyaway to King [King Williamstown. The chief town of British Kaffraria,commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shallhave hot work here before long. They're not safe out there at yourplace, I tell you."
Payne laughed lightly. "Why, Marshall," he said, "if you're notbecoming as great an old scare-monger as the rest! Oh, by the way,there was some news. It's said that the new Governor's coming up to thefrontier."
"Worse and worse--if it's true. He wouldn't be coming if there wasn'tgood cause for it, I can tell you. What sort of a feller is he?"
"First-rate, from all accounts."
"H'm. Did you hear anything else?"
"Two troops of police been ordered across the Kei."
"Fat lot of good they'll do," growled Marshall. "A lot o' greenhorns.Why, some of them can't stick on their horses, and hardly know the buttfrom the muzzle of their carbines. The police are not what they used tobe, since they've taken to getting out these raw chaps from England.Time was when the force was made up of good colonial men, who could rideand shoot, and follow spoor as easily as a waggon-road, and now--pooh!"And the speaker knocked the ashes out of his pipe with a contemptuousjerk.
"That's all very well," said Payne. "They may not be good for much atspoor, and there are a few greenhorns among them, as you say. But thereare some fine fellows, too--fellows with any amount of fight in them--and, after all, that's what we want now. You'll see, they'll do goodservice yet, if they get a fair chance."
The other shook his head. "Dunno. But--have a drop of grog?"
"No, thanks; I must be moving on."
"Won't you, really? Do."
"No, thanks. But I say, Marshall, when are you coming over our way? Wehaven't seen you for about ten years. Come on Sunday."
The other filled and lighted his pipe. "Well, the fact is, I've had alot to do of late," he replied at length, between sundry vigorous puffs."And then, you see, I'm a rough sort of feller and haven't got anycompany manners, and now you've got company. Perhaps, after all, I'mbest here."
"You surly old humbug," said Payne, with a laugh, "I never heard suchbosh. You come up on Sunday at latest, or we shall quarrel. Callyourself a neighbour, indeed! Now you'll come, won't you?"
"I'll try."
"All right, that's settled. Ta-ta;" and mounting his horse Payne rodeoff.
Gradually the long smooth slopes became steeper, falling off into abruptravines, affording a glimpse of the Great Kei, which glided along, fardown between its lofty banks--now winding round a smooth-headed knoll,now straightening as it washed the base of some huge wall of rock--adistant musical murmur being upborne upon the still air as it rushedover a stony shallow. From the far plains beyond, many a blue column ofsmoke rose into the sunshine, where dotted about lay the clusteringkraals of the savage Gcalekas, whose hordes, even then, were gatheringfor the long-expected and somewhat dreaded inroad upon the peace of thecolony. A bird sang in the thick thorn-protected brake adjoining thepath, a white vulture or two soared lazily from one of the huge krantzesoverhanging the river, insects hummed in the sunlight, and it seemed asif nothing but the savagery of man could avail to break the peacefulcalm of that glorious scene, amid which Payne pursued hi
s way wrapped inuneasy thought; for in spite of his sceptical tone when talking toMarshall he felt by no means the assurance that he would have had thatworthy believe.
His horse suddenly pricked up its ears as the sound of deep voicesimmediately in front became audible, and in a moment three tall,savage-looking Kafirs, their athletic bodies smeared from head to footwith red ochre, advanced down the path at a run, swinging their kerries.
Now the said path was, just there, only wide enough for a singlehorseman, being shut in on either side by high thorn-bushes, and Paynenaturally expected the pedestrians to make way for him. They, however,had no such intention, and his steed began to show signs of terror atthe sudden appearance of the brawny, ochre-smeared barbarians, withtheir gleaming necklaces of jackal's teeth rattling as they advanced.
"Out of the way, you vagabonds," shouted Payne, angrily. "Out of theroad; d'you hear?" and he raised his whip menacingly.
"Aow! Out of the way yourself, _umlungu_!" [white man] insolentlyreplied the foremost Kafir in his great deep tones, at the same timeseizing the bridle and trying to jerk the horse's head round. "We won'tget out of the way for you."
Payne's whip descended, the lash curling with an angry "swish" round thenaked body of the speaker.
"Take that, you hound!" he cried. "And now let go." And he clubbed hiswhip to strike with the heavy loaded end.
"Haoo-ow! Hah!" roared the savage, dropping the bridle and steppingback a pace or two, while the lurid lightnings of wild-beast wrath shotfrom his eyes. Then he sprang at Payne like a tiger-cat, aiming asledge-hammer blow at him with his heavy stick.
Fortunately for Payne he managed to throw up his arm in time to save hishead, or he would have fallen to the ground, brained by the terrificforce of the blow. Fortunately, too, for him, his adversaries carriedno assegais, or he would there and then have been stabbed through andthrough and his body flung over the adjacent cliff into the Kei, for heneed expect no mercy from such foes. The land was almost in a state ofwar, and brutal outrages of this kind were only too terribly common. Hemade a furious blow at his opponent with the butt of his whip, butineffectively, for at the moment of striking he felt himself seized by apowerful hand and dragged from his horse, which backed into the bushesterrified and snorting. Then nearly stunned by the fall he lay upon theground, and the sky and earth and foliage all went round in one giddy,sickening whirl, and still he could see the gigantic figure of thesavage, who, with glaring eyes and white gleaming teeth, was advancingupon him with kerrie upraised to strike, and he lay there, powerlesseven to avoid the blow. In a second it would fall, when--woof!something descended through the air, a large dark object darted betweenhim and the sky, and his enemy fell heavily to the earth. He heard theclash of kerries in strike and parry, a fierce imprecation, and the ringof a pistol-shot; then he knew no more till he awoke to consciousnesswith some one bending over him and fanning his brow.
"Don't move," said the stranger. "Take it easy a little longer, andthen you'll feel better."
Payne looked wonderingly at the dark sun-browned face bent over him,with the calm, resolute, blue-grey eyes and clear-cut features, and itseemed to him that he had seen the owner of it before.
"Oh, I feel all right now," he said, raising himself upon one elbow andthen sitting up. "A little muddled, you know, that's all."
"I venture to say that our friend here, feels `a little muddled,'"remarked the other, pushing with his foot the form of a prostrate Kafir.
Payne stood up, rather giddily, and recognised his assailant in theinert, motionless mass.
"I say, though, but the brute isn't dead?" he said, with just a tinge ofconcern, bending over the fallen savage.
"He isn't dead. A stirrup-iron properly handled is a grand weapon; butKafir skulls are notoriously thick. The chances are a hundred to one,though, that yours would have been split at this moment, had thatindividual carried out his amiable little programme just then."
"Of course--I was forgetting. You saved my life. Why, what anungracious dog you must think me!"
"And I could have dropped the other two so nicely in their tracks,"continued the stranger, as if he had not heard Payne's remark. "Theyboth came at me with their kerries; but directly they saw this,"--producing a revolver--"off they went. I wanted to fell another chap, soI didn't trot out the barker at first, till they began to think they hadit all their own way, and pressed me so hard that I was obliged to.Lord, how they streaked it off!"
"But you did let drive, didn't you? At least, I thought I heard ashot."
"Yes, I did. Couldn't resist the temptation; but just at the moment itflashed across me how infernally near civilisation we were, and it's aticklish moment just now. The authorities would think nothing ofrunning us in and making scapegoats of us, swearing we had brought onthe war, you know, or something of that sort. So I just blazed over thefellow's head, to give him a bit of a scare, otherwise I could havedropped the pair of them--oh, so sweetly! But how did it all happen?"
Payne told him.
"H'm," said the other, reflectively. "We could run this fellow over tothe gaol if that would be any satisfaction to you, and if you cared togo through the bother. But then, unfortunately, you struck the firstblow, as you couldn't have helped doing--and the result would have beenthe same in any case--and the chances are some pettifogging attorney, ormeddling missionary, would take up the scoundrel's case and turn thetables on you. So that's out of the question."
"Shall we bring him to?" asked Payne.
"A few slashes of your whip would do it if you're anxious on hisaccount; if not, let him lie."
"Poor devil, he seems to be in bad order," said Payne, inspecting hislate foe, who lay with the crown of his head cut and bleeding, exactlyas he had fallen beneath the blow of the stirrup-iron, and breathingheavily. "I'll take his kerries as a trophy, anyhow." Moved by asudden impulse, he glanced narrowly at the stranger, a man of apparentlyabout his own age, or not far from it; and it still seemed to him thatthe dark, handsome face, and determined eyes, no less than the rathermournful ring in the quiet voice, were familiar to him.
"Well, then, we'll be moving," continued Payne. "My place isn't farfrom here, and of course you are going with me. Don't say no, for Iinsist upon it."
There came an amused gleam into the other's eyes, and he stroked hislong, brown moustache once or twice to conceal a smile. "There's noneed to insist," he said, "because it so happens that that was myoriginal intention. The first thing I meant to ask you, when you cameround, was the way to George Payne's; but it would be rather superfluousto ask it of George Payne himself, wouldn't it?"
"What! Why, good heavens! Who the deuce are you? We've met beforesomewhere, I'll swear!" said Payne, looking at him in a puzzled manner.
The other broke into one of his long, quiet laughs, as if hugelyenjoying the situation, as he steadily returned the puzzled, inquiringgaze. "Don't you remember that refreshing row close to De Klerk--thattime you were coming from the gold fields? Hang it, it wasn't much morethan two years ago!" Payne burst forth into a mighty expletive--a thinghe very rarely did. "My dear fellow, this is a piece of luck! And Inever recognised you! But you were bearded like the pard then, youknow; and, another thing--my head must have been spinning round, for Ifelt an awful whack. Of course. So it is! Why, I ought to haverecognised you by the neat-handed way in which you dropped that nigger,if by nothing else! That's the second time you saved my hide," and heseized the hand extended to him, in a mighty grip.
"Well, these niggers were tougher customers than those four swaggeringDutchmen, when all's said and done. I haven't been in a good honest rowfor a long while. It does one good."
Mounting their horses they moved off, taking a farewell glance at theplace where the fallen savage still lay at full length, though he beganto show signs of returning consciousness. And the still sunshine glowedin all its former calmness, as though no fierce and deadly struggle hadjust occurred to mar its peace.