CHAPTER SEVEN.
THE "LOCATION."
In the midst of the confused heap of their property, Edwin Brook satdown on a large chest beside his wife and daughter, and gazed for sometime in silence on his new estate and home.
To say truth, it was in many respects a pleasant prospect. A brightblue sky overhead, a verdant earth around. Grassy hills and undulationsof rich pasture-land swept away from their feet like a green sea, untilstopped in the far distance by the great blue sea itself. These weredotted everywhere with copses of the yellow-flowered mimosa-bush,through openings in which the glitter of a stream could be seen, whileto the left and behind lay the dark masses of a dense jungle filled witharboreous and succulent plants, acacias and evergreens, wild-lookingaloes, tall euphorbias, quaint cactuses, and a great variety offlowering shrubs--filled also, as was very soon discovered, withantelopes, snakes, jackals, hyenas, leopards, and other wild creatures.The only familiar objects which broke the wild beauty of the scene werethe distant white specks which they knew to be the tents just put up bythose settlers who chanced to be their "next neighbours."
"May God protect and bless us in our new home!" said Edwin Brook,breaking the silence, and reverently taking off his cap.
A heartfelt "Amen" was murmured by Mrs Brook and Gertie, but a strange,though not unpleasant, feeling of loneliness had crept over theirspirits, inducing them to relapse into silence, for they could not avoidrealising strongly that at last they were fairly left alone to fight thegreat battle of life. Edwin Brook in particular, on seeing the longteam of the Dutch driver disappear over a distant ridge, was for thefirst time deeply impressed with, as it were, the forsaken condition ofhimself and his family. It was plain that he must take root there andgrow--or die. There was no neighbouring town or village from which helpcould be obtained in any case of emergency; no cart or other means ofconveyance to remove their goods from the spot on which they had beenleft; no doctor in case of sickness; no minister in cases either of joyor sorrow--except indeed (and it was a blessed exception) Him who cameto our world "not to be ministered unto, but to minister."
Strong in the comfort that this assurance gave, Edwin Brook shook offthe lethargy that had been stealing over him, and set about the dutiesof the present hour. The tent had to be pitched, the trunks and boxesconveyed into it, a fire kindled, the kettle boiled, the goods andchattels piled and secured from the weather, firewood cut to prepare forthe night-bivouac, etcetera.
Much of this work was already in progress, for George Dally,--with thatready resource and quiet capacity of adaptation to circumstances whichhe had displayed on the voyage out and on the journey to the location,--had already kindled a fire, sent Scholtz to cut firewood, and was busyerecting the tent when Brook joined him.
"That's right, George," he said, seizing a tent-peg and mallet; "we haveplenty to do here, and no time to waste."
"Very true, sir," replied George, touching his cap, for George was aninnately respectful man--respectful to _all_, though with a strongtendency to humorous impudence; "very true, sir; that's just what Ithought when I see you a-meditatin', so I went to work at once withoutwastin' any time."
"Is zat enough?" asked Scholtz, staggering up at the moment with a heavyload of firewood, which he threw on the ground.
The question was put to George, for whom the big German had a specialregard, and whose orders he consequently obeyed with unquestioningalacrity, although George had no special right to command.
"Enough!" exclaimed George, with a look of surprise, "why, _zat_ is notenough to scare a weasel with, much less a elephant or a--aplatzicumroggijoo."
George was ignorant of South African zoology, and possessed inventivepowers.
"Bring ten times as much," he added; "we shall have to keep a blazin'bonfire agoin' all night."
Scholtz re-shouldered his axe, and went off to the jungle with a broadgrin on his broader countenance.
He was a man who did not spare himself, yet of a temperament that kickedat useless labour, and of a size that forbade the idea of compulsion,but George Dally could have led him with a packthread to do anything.
Before he had reached the jungle, and while the smile was yet on hisvisage, his blood was curdled and his face elongated by a most appallingyell! It was not exactly a war-whoop, nor was it a cry of pain, thoughit partook of both, and filled the entire family with horror as theyrushed to the tent on the mound from which the cry had issued.
The yell had been given by Junkie, who had been bitten or stung bysomething, and who, under the combined influence of surprise, agony, andwrath, had out-Junkied himself in the fervour and ferocity of hisindignant protest.
The poor child was not only horrified, but inconsolable. He wriggledlike an eel, and delivered a prolonged howl with intermittent bursts forfull half an hour, while his distracted nurse and mother almost tore thegarments off his back in their haste to discover the bite or the brutethat had done it.
"It _must_ have bin a serpent!" cried the nurse, agonising over aknotted string.
"Perhaps a tarantula," suggested Gertie, who only clasped her hands andlooked horrified.
"Quick!" exclaimed Mrs Brook, breaking the unmanageable tape.
"Ze chile is growing black and vill bust!" murmured Scholtz in realalarm.
It did seem as if there were some likelihood of such a catastrophe, forJunkie's passion and struggles had rendered him blue in the face; but itwes found that the bite or sting, whichever it was, had done littleapparent damage, and as the child cried himself out and sobbed himselfto sleep in half an hour without either blackening or bursting, thevarious members of the family were relieved, and resumed their suspendedlabours.
The shades of evening had fallen, and, among other orbs of night, thestars of that much too highly complimented constellation, the "SouthernCross," had for some time illumined the sky before these labours werecompleted, and the wearied Brook family and household retired to rest,with weapons ready at hand and fires blazing. Wild beasts--to whosecries they were by that time accustomed--soon began their nightlyserenade and carried it on till morning, but they were not wild enoughto disturb the newcomers with anything more formidable than sound.
Next morning early, George Dally was the first to bestir himself. Ontaking a general view of surrounding nature he observed a thin column ofsmoke rising above the tree-tops in the direction of the stream or riverto which reference has already been made.
"Perhaps it's Kafirs," thought George.
Following up that thought he returned to what we may style his lair--theplace where he had spent the night--under a mimosa-bush, and theregirded himself with a belt containing a long knife. He further armedhimself with a fowling-piece. Thus accoutred he sallied forth with thenonchalant air of a sportsman taking his pleasure. Going down to thestream, and following its course upwards, he quickly came in sight ofthe camp-fire whose smoke had attracted his attention. A tall man indishabille was bending over it, coaxing the flame to kindle some rathergreen wood over which a large iron pot hung from a tripod. The fire wasin front of a large, but not deep, cavern, in the recesses of whichthree slumbering figures were visible.
Drawing cautiously nearer, George discovered that the man at the firewas John Skyd, and of course jumped to the conclusion that the threeslumbering figures were his brothers and friend. These enterprisingknights of the quill, having found what they deemed a suitable spot, hadselected a cave for their residence, as being at once ready andeconomical.
Now, George Dally, being gifted with a reckless as well as humorousdisposition, suddenly conceived the idea of perpetrating a practicaljoke. Perhaps Junkie's performances on the previous evening suggestedit. Flinging his cap on the ground, he ran his fingers through histhick hair until it stood up in wild confusion, and then, deliberatelyuttering a hideous and quite original war-whoop, he rushed furiouslytowards the cave.
The brothers Skyd and company proved themselves equal to the occasion,for they received him at the cavern mouth with the muz
zles of fourdouble-barrelled guns, and a stern order to halt!
Next moment the muzzles were thrown up as they exclaimed in surprise--
"Why, Dally, is it you?"
"Didn't you hear it?" gasped George, supporting himself on the side ofthe cavern.
"Hear what?"
"The war-whoop!"
"Of course we did--at least we heard a most unearthly yell. What wasit?"
"We'd best go out and see," cried George, cocking his gun; "if it wasKafirs the sooner we follow them up the better."
"Not so, friend George," said Frank Dobson, in a slightly sarcastictone. "If it was Kafirs they are far beyond our reach by this time, andif they mean us harm we are safer in our fortress here. My opinion isthat we should have our breakfast without delay, and then we shall be ina fit state to face our foes--whether they be men or beasts."
Acting on this suggestion, with a laugh, the brothers leaned their gunsagainst the wall of the cavern and set about the preparation ofbreakfast in good earnest.
Meanwhile George gravely assented to the wisdom of their decision, andsat down to his morning pipe, while he questioned the brothers as totheir intentions.
They pointed out to him the spot where they thought of commencingagricultural operations and the site of their future dwelling--close,they said, to the cave, because that would be conveniently near theriver, which would be handy for both washing, drinking, and boilingpurposes.
"That's true--wery true," said George, "but it seems to me you run arisk of bein' washed away, house and all, if you fix the site so lowdown, for I've heard say there are floods in these parts now and again."
"Oh, no fear of that!" said Robert Skyd, who was the quietest of thethree brothers; "don't you see the foundation of our future house is atleast ten feet above the highest point to which the river seems to haverisen in times past?"
"Ah, just so," responded George, with the air of a man not convinced.
"Besides," added John Skyd, lifting the iron pot off the fire andsetting it down, "I suppose that floods are not frequent, so we don'tneed to trouble ourselves about 'em.--Come, Dally, you'll join us?"
"No, thank 'ee. Much obleeged all the same, but I've got to preparebreakfast for our own party.--Goin' to begin plantin' soon?"
"As soon as ever we can get the soil broken up," replied Dobson.
"Studied farmin'?" inquired George.
"Not much, but we flatter ourselves that what we do know will be of someservice to us," said John.
Dally made no reply, but he greatly doubted in his own mind the capacityof the brothers for the line of life they had chosen.
His judgment in this respect was proved correct a week later, when heand Edwin Brook had occasion to visit the brothers, whom they found hardat work ploughing and sowing.
"Come, this looks business-like!" exclaimed Brook heartily, as he shookhands with the brothers; "you've evidently not been idle. I have justcome to ask a favour of you, gentlemen."
"We shall grant it with pleasure, if within our powers," said RobertSkyd, who leaned on a spade with which he had been filling in a trenchof about two feet deep.
"It is, that you will do me and Mrs Brook the pleasure of coming overto our location this afternoon to dinner. It is our Gertie's birthday.She is thirteen to-day. In a rash moment we promised her a treat orsurprise of some sort, but really the only surprise I can think of insuch an out-of-the-way place is to have a dinner-party in her honour.Will you come?"
The brothers at once agreed to do so, remarking, however, that they mustcomplete the sowing of their carrot-seed before dinner if possible.
"What did you say you were sowing?" asked Brook, with a peculiar smile.
"Carrot-seed," answered Robert Skyd.
"If your carrot-seed is sown _there_," said George Dally, pointing witha broad grin to the trench, "it's very likely to come up in Englandabout the time it does here,--by sendin' its roots right through theworld!"
"How? what do you mean?"
"The truth is, my dear sir," said Brook good-humouredly, "that you'vemade a slight mistake in this matter. Carrot-seed is usually sown intrenches less than an inch deep. You'd better leave off work just nowand come over to my place at once. I'll give you some useful hints aswe walk along."
The knights of the quill laughed at their mistake, and at once threwdown their implements of husbandry. But on going over their farm, Brookfound it necessary to correct a few more mistakes, for he discoveredthat the active brothers had already planted a large quantity of Indiancorn, or "mealies," entire, without knocking it off the cobs, and, inanother spot of ground, a lot of young onions were planted with theroots upwards!
"You see, Miss Gertie," said John Skyd, when commenting modestly onthese mistakes at dinnertime, "my brothers and I have all our lives hadmore to do with the planting of `houses' and the growth of commercialenterprise than with agricultural products, but we are sanguine that,with experience and perseverance, we shall overcome all ourdifficulties. Have _you_ found many difficulties to overcome!"
Gertie was not sure; she thought she had found a few, but none worthmentioning. Being somewhat put out by the question, she picked up apebble--for the dinner was a species of picnic, served on the turf infront of Mr Brook's tent--and examined it with almost geological care.
"My daughter does not like to admit the existence of difficulties," saidMrs Brook, coming to the rescue, "and to say truth is seldom overcomeby anything."
"Oh, ma, how can you?" said Gertie, blushing deeply.
"That's not true," cried Mr Brook; "excuse me, my dear, for so flat acontradiction, but I have seen Gertie frequently overcome by things,--byJunkie's obstinacy for instance, which I verily believe to be aninsurmountable difficulty, and I've seen her thoroughly overcome, nightafter night, by sleep.--Isn't that true, lass?"
"I suppose it is, father, since you say so, but of course I cannottell."
"Sleep!" continued Brook, with a laugh, "why, would you believe it, MrSkyd, I went into what we call the nursery-tent one morning last week,to try to stop the howling of my little boy, and I found him lying withhis open mouth close to Gertie's cheek, pouring the flood of his wrathstraight into her ear, and she sound asleep all the time! My nurse,Mrs Scholtz, told me she had been as sound as that all night, despiteseveral heavy squalls, and notwithstanding a chorus of hyenas andjackals outside that might almost have awakened the dead.--By the way,that reminds me: just as I was talking with nurse that morning we hearda most unearthly shriek at some distance off. It was not the least likethe cry of any wild animal I have yet heard, and for the first timesince our arrival the idea of Kafirs flashed into my mind. Did any ofyou gentlemen happen to hear it?"
The brothers looked at each other, and at their friend Dobson, and thenunitedly turned their eyes on George Dally, who--performing the combinedduties of cook and waiter, at a fire on the ground, not fifteen feet toleeward of the dinner-party--could hear every word of the conversation.
"Why, yes," said John Skyd, "we did hear it, and so did your man Dally.We had thought--"
"The truth is, sir," said George, advancing with a miniature pitchforkor "tormentor" in his hand; "pardon my interrupting you, sir,--I didhear the screech, but as I couldn't say exactly for certain, you know,that it was a Kafir, not havin' seen one, I thought it best not to alarmyou, sir, an' so said nothing about it."
"You looked as if you had seen one," observed Frank Dobson, drawing downthe corners of his mouth with his peculiar smile.
"Did I, sir!" said George, with a simple look; "very likely I did, forI'm timersome by nature an' easily frightened."
"You did not act with your wonted wisdom, George, in concealing this,"said Edwin Brook gravely.
"I'm afraid I didn't sir," returned George meekly.
"In future, be sure to let me know every symptom of danger you maydiscover, no matter how trifling," said Brook.
"Yes, sir."
"It was a very tremendous yell, wasn't it, Dally?" asked John Skydslily, as
the waiter-cook was turning to resume his duties at the fire.
"Wery, sir."
"And alarmed us all dreadfully, didn't it?"
"Oh! dreadfully, sir--'specially me; though I must in dooty say that youfour gentleman was as bold as brass. It quite relieved me when I sawyour tall figurs standin' at the mouth o' your cavern, an' the muzzleso' your four double-guns--that's eight shots--with your glaring eyes an'pale cheeks behind them!"
"Ha!" exclaimed John Skyd, with a grim smile--"but after all it mightonly have been the shriek of a baboon."
"I think not, sir," replied George, with a smile of intelligence.
"Perhaps then it was the cry of a zebra or quagga," returned John Skyd,"or a South African ass of some sort."
"Wery likely, sir," retorted George. "I shouldn't wonder if it was--which is wery consolin' to my feelin's, for I'd sooner be terrified outo' my wits by asses of any kind than fall in with these long-leggedsavages that dwell in caves."
With an appearance of great humility George returned to his work at thefire.
It was either owing to a sort of righteous retribution, or a touch ofthat fortune which favours the brave, that George Dally was in realitythe first, of this particular party of settlers, to encounter the blackand naked inhabitant of South Africa in his native jungle. It was onthis wise.
George was fond of sport, when not detained at home by the claims ofduty. But these claims were so constant that he found it impossible toindulge his taste, save, as he was wont to say, "in the early morn andlate at eve."
One morning about daybreak, shouldering his gun and buckling on hishunting-knife, he marched into the jungle in quest of an antelope.Experience had taught him that the best plan was to seat himself at acertain opening or pass which lay on the route to a pool of water, andthere bide his time.
Seating himself on a moss-covered stone, he put his gun in position onhis knee, with the forefinger on the trigger, and remained for some timeso motionless that a North American Indian might have envied his powersof self-restraint. Suddenly a twig was heard to snap in the thicketbefore him. Next moment the striped black and yellow skin of a leopard,or Cape tiger, appeared in the opening where he had expected to behold adeer. Dally's gun flew to his shoulder. At the same instant theleopard skin was thrown back, and the right arm of a tall athletic Kafirwas bared. The hand grasped a light assagai, or darting spear. Bothmen were taken by surprise, and for one instant they glared at eachother. The instance between them was so short that death to each seemedimminent, for the white man's weapon was a deadly one, and the cast ofthe lithe savage would doubtless have been swift and sure.
In that instant of uncertainty the white man's innate spirit offorbearance acted almost involuntarily. Dally had hitherto been a manof peace. The thought of shedding human blood was intensely repulsiveto him. He lowered the butt of his gun, and held up his right hand intoken of amity.
The savage possessed apparently some of the good qualities of the whiteman, for he also at once let the butt of his assegai drop to the ground,although he knew, what Dally was not aware of, that considering thenature of their weapons, he placed himself at a tremendous disadvantagein doing so--the act of throwing forward and discharging the deadlyfire-arm being much quicker than that of poising and hurling an assagai.
Without a moment's hesitation George Dally advanced and held out hisright hand with a bland smile.
Although unfamiliar with Kafir customs, he had heard enough from theDutch farmers who drove the ox-teams to know that only chiefs wereentitled to wear the leopard skin as a robe. The tall form anddignified bearing of the savage also convinced him that he hadencountered no ordinary savage. He also knew that the exhibition of atrustful spirit goes a long way to create good-will. That his judgmentwas correct appeared from the fact of the Kafir holding out his hand andallowing George to grasp and shake it.
But what to do next was a question that puzzled the white man sorely,although he maintained on his good-natured countenance an expression ofeasy nonchalance.
Of course he made a vain attempt at conversation in English, to whichthe Kafir chief replied, with dignified condescension, by a briefsentence in his own tongue.
As George Dally looked in his black face, thoughts flashed through hisbrain with the speed of light. Should he kill him outright? That wouldbe simple murder, in the circumstances, and George objected to murder,on principle. Should he suddenly seize and throw him down? He feltquite strong enough to do so, but after such a display of friendship itwould be mean. Should he quietly bid him good morning and walk away?This, he felt, would be ridiculous. At that moment tobacco occurred tohis mind. He quietly rested his gun against a tree, and drew forth asmall roll of tobacco, from which he cut at least a foot and handed itto the chief. The dignity of the savage at once gave way before thebeloved weed. He smiled--that is, he grinned in a ghastly way, for hisface, besides being black, was streaked with lines of red ochre--andgraciously accepted the gift. Then George made an elaborate speech indumb-show with hands, fingers, arms, and eyes, to the effect that hedesired the Kafir to accompany him to his location, but the chiefgravely shook his head, pointed in another direction and to the sun, asthough to say that time was on the wing; then, throwing his leopard-skinrobe over his right shoulder with the air of a Spanish grandee, heturned aside and strode into the jungle.
George, glad to be thus easily rid of him, also turned and hurried home.
This time he was not slow to let his employer know that he had met witha native.
"It behoves us to keep a sharp look-out, George," said Brook. "I heardyesterday from young Merton that some of the settlers not far from hisplace have had a visit from the black fellows, who came in the night,and while they slept carried off some of the sheep they had recentlypurchased from an up-country county Dutchman. We will watch for a fewnights while rumours of this kind are afloat. When all seems quiet wecan take it easy. Let Scholtz take the first watch. You will succeedhim, and I will mount guard from the small hours onward."
For some days this precaution was continued, but as nothing more washeard of black marauders the Brook family gradually ceased to feelanxious, and the nightly watch was given up.