PREPARATIONS FOR A SIEGE--THE ROCK AND CAVES--WILD BEES AND ROCK
RABBITS--THE BABOONS--THE NIGHT WATCH.
When Bernhard's course had been watched for some time, Hans decided at
once to make his preparations for a week's residence in the wilderness.
He called Victor to his side, and explained to him the advantage of
selecting the range of hills which were distant about two miles. These
hills were rocky and steep, and thus an enemy could approach only from
one side. There was much underwood, and thus there seemed every
probability of a secure retreat being found. The difficulty, however,
seemed to be how to reach these hills without leaving a visible trail.
These advantages and drawbacks having been discussed between the two
hunters, it was decided to run the risk of leaving a trail rather than
wait where they then were; but scarcely had Hans come to this conclusion
than, upon looking westwards, from which direction the wind was blowing,
he eagerly exclaimed--
"God is good, and favours us. Look, Victor, a storm is coming."
"And what of that, Hans?" exclaimed Victor.
"Our spoor will be washed out, Victor: make haste, let us move on
rapidly and gain those hills, and if we do so before the rain, the
keenest-eyed Matabili will not be able to trace us; so come along. If
no eyes are now on us, we may live here for a week without being
discovered. Keep close together, Katie, and by my side, take advantage
of every bush or slope of ground, and we will yet live to join our
people again."
The two hunters and their charges walked rapidly towards the hills which
had been referred to, and entering on an old water-course, worked their
way up towards the summit of the kloof. Large blocks of rocks were
lying about in all directions, and the water during heavy rains had
worked its way among these, so that several hollows were scooped out so
as to form caves large enough to hold one or two human beings; these,
however, were not places which an experienced man like Hans would select
for a resting-place, for he knew that the same cause which had produced
these holes would render them unsuitable for habitations. He advanced,
therefore, until he found some overhanging rocks which offered an ample
protection against any rains which might fall, or winds that might blow,
and here putting down the saddles and other articles that he had carried
from the last outspan, he requested Victor to remain with Katrine and
her sister until he had examined the surrounding ground.
"You know the call of the grey monkey, Victor?" said Hans: "let three
distinct calls be a signal that one of us requires the presence of the
other. And now I will go and examine round us."
Hans ascended the kloof, and keeping along the edge of the bush, walked
onwards along what at first seemed an old game path; but at length, as
he examined this, he became convinced it had once been used and worn by
human beings, though now it had been long untrodden; he followed this
path until it led him to a small piece of table-land not much larger
than a good-sized English drawing-room, which was reached by a very
narrow path along a ridge of rocks; this table-land was formed by a
solid block of rock, which descended perpendicularly for fully sixty
feet on three sides, whilst on the fourth there was a wall of rock
rising 200 feet above him. To the eyes of Hans, this place was a fort
almost impregnable, and as he scanned the country round, he felt that
with twenty trusty men he could hold it against a nation of savages.
The face of the rock had been scooped out by artificial means, and two
caves about eight feet deep and six feet high had been formed evidently
with great labour. This Hans knew must be the work of Bushmen, who for
some reason had now apparently deserted the locality. From these caves
the surrounding country could be seen in all directions, and water being
within a few yards, Hans at once selected this place for the residence
of his companions.
Inside the cave were rough carvings of various creatures, scratched on
the stone of the rock, whilst just outside a valuable article lay
neglected; this was a large gourd, capable of containing about two
quarts of water. Hans at once placed this inside the cave, and then
commenced cutting some long, dry grass, that grew on the slope near;
having procured sufficient of this to make a soft bed in one of the
caves, he descended the ravine, and rejoined Victor and the two girls.
"A storm is coming," he said, "and that will wash out our spoor; so now
come with me, and I will show you a nice quiet retreat before the rain
falls."
Victor, aided by Hans and the two girls, ascended the ravine, and on
seeing the caves and the security of the retreat, which were evident at
once even to the inexperienced eyes of the girls, they were delighted.
"No one can find us here, Hans," said Katrine; "and if they found us,
they could not get at us. However did you come to know of it?"
"I found it by chance," said Hans; "but now, Katie, you must cover your
dress with this grass, and don't let a sign of a ribbon be seen, for
there may be eyes in every bush, and our safety depends on escaping
being seen."
"Here comes the rain," exclaimed Victor, as the heavy drops of a
thunder-shower came pouring down, followed by a deluge of rain: "that
will wash out our footprints, and now we cannot be traced; so if we
avoid being seen we must be safe. But Hans, what food have we? I am
starving, and the girls must sadly want food."
"There is still some venison, but I am going out after the rain is over
to get something else. Now, Katie, you can be useful; use your bright
eyes, and you yours too, Meechy, and look all over those hills and
plains and see what passes or moves about there. Victor, get some dry
wood from out of that next cave, and some grass. We will have a fire
presently, and cook some more food, for I can get something, I believe,
without firing a shot, for the Kaffir's spears are not bad weapons."
Victor did as requested, and Hans, carrying his gun for his protection,
and in case of danger, left the caves and walked slowly along the old
path, looking in all directions for signs of game.
Many brilliant flowers grew on this hill-side, and thus added to the
beauty of the scene, whilst flowering acacias scented the air with their
fragrance. On one of the branches of an acacia that hung low, Hans
noticed several bees busily engaged gathering honey; from among these he
selected one whose legs were thickly covered with the spoil from the
flowers; this bee he struck roughly from the branch and carefully
watched. The creature, after buzzing angrily round Hans' head once or
twice, darted off up the ravine. Hans watched it as long as it was in
sight, and then followed the direction in which the creature had
retreated.
After walking about 200 yards Hans disturbed another bee that was busily
engaged gathering honey; this creature flew away also up the ravine, and
Hans quickly followed it. He knew that when a bee laden with honey is
alarmed it will fly to its hive, and he, being desirous of procuring
honey, adopted this means to discover the nest or hive. Hans was soon
guided by the bees to their hive, and the African bee, being by no means
so formidable a creature as its English brother, allows its honey to be
taken by those who understand how to do it. The method is, if the honey
be in a hollow tree, or in a cleft of the rock, or such a locality, to
pay no attention to the buzzing of the bees, or to attempt in any way to
knock them away, should they settle on you, but to slowly insert the
hand into the nest, and withdraw the honeycomb and carry it away. It
rarely happens that the bees attack any one, and should they do so their
sting is far less painful than is that of the English bee. [Having
taken many bees' nests in Africa, we were but once attacked by the bees.
This took place in consequence of accidentally squeezing a bee between
our hand and the tree in which was its honey; the little creature gave a
sharp, angry buzz, which seemed the signal for attack, as about twenty
bees flew on our head, and several on the face; they all stung, the
majority leaving their stings in, but in less than five minutes all the
smarting had gone away. One sting from an English red-hipped humble bee
is worse than twenty African bees' stings.]
Hans procured a large heap of honeycomb, with which he proceeded to the
caves. He knew that the time might come when they could not leave the
caves, and thus, to collect any thing that might serve for food was a
proceeding not to be neglected; and honey, though not very substantial,
was yet food which made a change from mere flesh. What Hans hoped to
get were some rock rabbits, the daas of the Dutch, and the coney of
Scripture. These little creatures, not much bigger than a common
rabbit, are usually found among rocks, and are very good eating; they
are, however, very watchful, and require an expert shot to be able to
hit them, for they rarely allow a hunter to approach nearer than one
hundred yards to them.
Hans found that the kloofs were full of game. There were guinea-fowl
and pheasants in abundance, whilst buck of various kinds had left so
many footmarks, that it was evident they abounded in the neighbourhood.
He soon discovered the traces of rock rabbits, and with the help of the
broad blade of the Kaffir's assagy he was able to dig out four of these
creatures.
Thus provided with food he returned to the caves, and observing that the
wood which had been collected was all more or less damp, he at once
decided that cooking must be left till the night. "You see, Victor, if
we made a fire now, the smoke could be seen for miles, and would thus
guide an enemy to us. There is no possible means of preventing this
smoke from ascending, so we must not make a fire by day with damp wood.
By night we must not show the light of a fire; but that is more easily
avoided. We can cover the mouth of the cave, or we can make a fire
below here, and can thus cook our food safely, for the smoke cannot be
seen by night. We ought to cook enough to do without a fire for a week,
and then one risk only is run."
"In the water-course we came up the water has run under ground,"
remarked Victor; "there is room for a fire in that, and no light could
be seen from the distance."
"I remember," said Hans. "We will collect wood and grass, so as to be
ready for the night; then I will try to knock down some guinea-fowl or
pheasants."
Hans, having cut some stout sticks with a knob at the end, again made an
expedition into the kloof, and succeeded in knocking down several
guinea-fowl with these sticks, which he threw with the skill of a
Kaffir. The guinea-fowl, endeavouring to conceal themselves by hiding
or crouching amidst the long grass, would allow themselves almost to be
trodden on before they would fly away. In addition to the rabbits and
guinea-fowl, Hans collected a great many eggs, and thus was provided
with food enough to last a week, without incurring the necessity of
firing a shot. No sooner had this essential preparation been completed
than Hans cut several long, straight sticks, which he thrust into the
ground in front of the caves, and at about a foot apart: across these he
fastened several horizontal twigs; first by lacing them in and out, and
secondly by lashing the ends with the bark that he peeled off a tall,
soft-wooded greenish shrub. Having thus traced out a framework, he
thatched this with the long tambookie grass which grew in the kloof, and
thus before sundown he had formed a very complete room, perfectly
sheltered from the wind and rain. In front of this thatched doorway he
placed some branches of trees, and thus prevented any person at a
distance from being attracted by an artificial-looking construction.
Hans was much pleased with his work, and called to Katrine to examine it
from a short distance.
"You could not tell there was any thing there, Katie, except a few
bushes, unless you went much closer."
"No, Hans, it is cleverly done; but I fear there would be no escape for
us if any enemy once came on to this bit of ground."
"No, there would be none, Katie; so we will hope they will not come
here; some of them would leave their bones here, that is certain; so it
is better for them they should not come. I will now go down and see
about cooking our rabbits, for some hot food will be good for us."
Hans descended to the natural hole in the rocks where he intended
lighting his fire as soon as it was dark enough to prevent the smoke
from being seen, and having waited till he thought his attempt might be
safely made, he lighted his fire, and adding plenty of wood, soon had a
sufficient quantity of heat to cook all his game.
Upon leaving the fire and re-ascending the ravine he was startled by
seeing the outline of several figures on the summits of the rocks above
them. Darkness had now set in, but it would not have been too dark to
have enabled him to distinguish these objects, had he not been lately
dazzled by the fire-light; this, however, had damaged his keenness of
vision for a time, and as the objects disappeared as soon as he moved in
the bushes, he had no second chance of examining them. From what he
saw, however, he was certain that either Kaffirs or Bushmen were on the
rocks above him. In either case his condition would be unpleasant, for
with the Bushman, every man's hand was against him, and his against
every man's; and if the Matabili had traced him to his present retreat,
his career would be soon terminated. In either case not a moment was to
be lost; so he rapidly moved over the distance which separated him from
the caves, when whispering to Victor what he had seen, they cautioned
Katrine to keep quiet and concealed, and grasping their rifles, they
took up a position from which they could obtain a commanding view of the
ridge on which Hans had seen the men.
They had not long to wait before their enemy appeared, drawn out in
relief against the sky for a background. Objects on the ridge were
visible which could not have been seen had they not been thus situated.
For this reason both Hans and Victor soon saw above twenty figures
slowly ascend the ridge, and there stand and examine the surrounding
country. As he saw the number of the enemy Hans raised his arm and
touched Victor, whilst in a whisper he said, "They must be Bushmen." It
seemed impossible that the whisper of Hans could be audible at the
distance at which the supposed Bushmen were examining the kloofs, and
still more improbable that the movement of Hans could have been seen
even by a Bushman's eyes, yet, on the instant, each figure disappeared
as though by magic, whilst no sound met the ears of the hunters.
"Victor," exclaimed Hans, "those are not mortal enemies. I have killed
in my day more than twenty Kaffirs, principally Amakosa: can these be
the men's ghosts, sent here now to torment me? I shot them in fair
fight and for the defence of my life or cattle,--yet no mortal could
have seen me move or heard me speak, but when I did both, they sank into
the rocks to a man."
"Wait, Hans, let us see what happens; our cause is a good one, and in
such a case though the devil may be powerful, God must be more than a
match for him. God would not allow the dead Kaffirs to worry us."
"There! there! Hans, see there are more; they stand up on the rocks,
and are carrying something to hurl at us. A bullet could not touch a
being belonging to the dead, or I would fire."
"I wish I had consulted the Missionary about such a case," earnestly
exclaimed Hans; "too many Mensch laugh at the Kaffirs who believe their
fathers come and talk to them; but whatever may be this enemy, I, for
one, would never laugh at a nation's belief, when I knew nothing about
it. Victor, we might as well have been bred in the towns; we are weak
and ill, or we should have seen before that these are baboons, some of
the females carry their young, and that is what we fancied they were
going to throw at us. That is good: if baboons come here, and stay
here, it shows that neither Bushmen or other men have been much here
lately, and so we may not be disturbed. We must watch, though; shall I
or will you take the first watch? whoever does, he can keep guard till
those three bright stars set, and then can call the other. I _can_
sleep to-night, for I feel in this retreat that I have the best chance
of success now. If two days pass without the Matabili finding us, we
shall escape, provided Bernhard can procure horses; but I would as soon
stand up at fifty yards to be shot at with a Bushman's arrows, as go on
foot with Katie towards our lager, for we should then be captured and
slain in less than twelve hours. Here, if we keep close, we may be
secure for a long time, but moving we should be exposed to all dangers;
so now all depends on Bernhard. Will you watch first, Victor, and place
yourself near this wall of rock? then every sound from the plain will be
heard clearer and more distinctly, for sound comes against this rock
like a wave, and is not lost. Call me if you feel too sleepy to watch,
for that is possible; and a little sleep when we want it, is better than
much--when we court it. I will sleep at once, so call me when you want
me."
Hans listened at the door of Katrine's cave, but hearing only the
slightest breathing, he concluded that she and her sister slept; and so
retiring to his own cave, he, with that necessary capacity of the hunter
or soldier, was in five minutes fast asleep, and untroubled by dreams or
anxieties.
"Half the night is past, Hans," said Victor, as he entered the cave and
gently touched Hans.
"I am ready," said Hans; "is all quiet?"
"No, not quiet: there are more lions here than in any part of the
country I have ever been in; they have been fighting about our horses;
the roars and growls have been tremendous ever since you left. The
baboons too have been barking occasionally; but there seems no other
creatures about except jackalls and hyenas. It would not do to walk
down on those plains alone by night, we should be lions' food in a very
few minutes. Now, I am for sleep, so you watch, Hans."
It was now Victor's turn to sleep whilst Hans kept watch, and sat with
his back to the rocks, a couple of assagies within reach of his hand,
and his trusty roer resting on his arm. He listened attentively to
every sound that broke the stillness of the night, and pictured to
himself the scene that was going on near his poor horses. The
occasional deep growl of the lion, or its angry roar, caused him
considerable anxiety, not on his own account, but for that of Bernhard.
"If Bernhard's horse is killed or falls sick," he thought, "we may never
leave this place; and poor Katie! what will become of her?"