"Where are we?" he exclaimed. "Oh, I was dreaming, and so happy!"
"We have realities before us," I remarked. "Are you prepared for
starting?"
"Yes, yes," he whispered; "by all means. Probably the people, after
their debauch, will sleep soundly, and we may get some way before we are
overtaken."
We put on our jackets, which we had placed at our sides, having slept
covered up with mats provided for us. We then cautiously pushed open
the reed-formed door, and stood looking out up and down the street of
the village. The stars were still twinkling overhead, though gradually
growing dimmer as the grey light of morning advanced. I carefully
marked the course we were to take, and observing all the doors closed,
we now sallied forth, and crept cautiously along towards the end of the
street which opened out in the direction of our home. Every moment we
expected to be pursued. If we were, we agreed to put a bold face on the
matter, and to claim the right of departing. Fortunately the
inhabitants, from having sat up the greater part of the night eating,
were sound asleep, and we hoped that our night would not be discovered
till we were a considerable distance on the road. We stole on, treading
as lightly as possible in the centre of the street. We could hear loud
snores proceeding from some of the huts. The sound gave us confidence.
It also showed us how easily a native village might be surprised by
enemies. The careless, thoughtless people seemed to have forgotten that
they were at war with their neighbours. We reached the end of the
street. There was a gateway, but the gate was closed. On examining it
we found that it might be easily opened; but I feared that while we were
doing so the proper guards might pounce out on us. They too had left
their posts, and we were reassured by hearing loud snores coming forth
from a hut close at hand. I did not like to leave the gate open. Natty
whispered to me that he thought he could climb over it. There was no
great difficulty in doing that; the only fear was that on dropping on
the other side we might be heard. However, there was no time to be
lost. I helped Natty up, and he scrambled down without making any noise
on the opposite side. I followed, and reached the top. I might without
danger have dropped down, but, for the reason I have mentioned, I
thought it better to lower myself gradually. My foot, however, slipped
when halfway, and the wood-work creaked loudly, while the noise I made
in falling would, I feared, arouse the sleeping guard. We stopped for a
minute. Still the snoring sounds came loud as before. There was no
necessity for further delay. We therefore, walking as noiselessly as we
could, hurried on towards the north-west. We followed a well-beaten
path, which I had before noted as leading in the direction we wished to
go. As soon as we had got far enough from the village to make it
unlikely that our footsteps would be heard, we began running, I leading,
and Natty following close at my heels. I had been a good runner, but
was out of practice. Natty, however, was very active, and easily kept
up with me. We ran on for an hour or more without stopping, till we
were bathed in perspiration, and I felt that I could not go much further
without rest.
"Do stop," said Natty. "Even if the blacks discovered our escape
directly after we left the village, it must be some time before they can
overtake us."
"You are right," I answered; "a little rest will enable us to go faster
afterwards."
We sat down under a wide-spreading tree. The shade was pleasant; for
the sun, which had already shot up high into the heavens, sent down his
rays with great force. The air was full of life. Insects were buzzing
about, and gaily-decked parrots flew from bough to bough, while the
monkeys came out of their leafy covers and looked down upon us with
astonishment. We took the opportunity of eating some of the food we had
brought in our pockets. It was not very nice, but it satisfied our
hunger. I was soon ready to proceed. Natty, however, urged me to rest
a little longer, thinking that I should be over-fatigued by such unusual
exercise.
"Come along," I said; "the further we are off, the less likely our
friends at the village will be to insist on our returning with them."
We went on as before. Sometimes a snake glided across our path, but
quickly got out of our way, more frightened at us than we were at seeing
it. Now we heard a rustling in the underwood, and a panther or hyena
dashed away amid the foliage without thinking of attacking us. We had
gone on at a slower pace than at first, when, by the appearance of the
sun in the sky, I saw that it must be noon. I now once more called a
halt, for I felt tired myself, and was afraid that Natty must be equally
so. We had for some time been crossing the open prairie, steering, by
the sun and the distant line of mountain, as I hoped in the right
direction. Before us lay a thick wood. Natty proposed that we should
take shelter within it, as, even should the natives closely pursue us,
we might there have the prospect of remaining concealed while they
passed by.
"I am afraid that you have scarcely yet recovered your strength
sufficiently to march on all day without rest," said Natty; "and as I
could not find my way without you, I hope, for my sake as well as yours,
that you will stop for an hour or so here."
This argument prevailed with me; for I was so anxious to reach home, and
felt so strong, that I should have gone on till night would prevent us
from proceeding further. We accordingly entered the wood, and after
making our way a short distance into it, came to a small open spot, free
of trees or thick underwood.
"I propose that we build a hut of boughs here," said Natty. "We can
take our turns to go to sleep in it, and it will help to guard us
against the attacks of lions or other beasts."
With our axes we cut down a sufficient number of boughs to form a
shelter, and having planted them close together, a hut was formed which
would, I hoped, afford us ample protection. As the sun struck down into
the woodland glade with great force, we took our seats within the hut
for the sake of the shade, and discussed a further portion of our
provisions. I saw that Natty was very sleepy, though he was trying his
utmost to keep awake. I therefore told him to lie down, and that I
would watch. Finding a branch of a tree torn off, perhaps by lightning,
I chopped a piece of sufficient length to serve as a pillow, and having
examined it carefully to see that no scorpion or other stinging insect
lurked within, I placed it under his head, and sat down at the entrance
of our leafy bower to keep watch, with my gun by my side, ready for
action at a moment's notice. I felt somewhat drowsy, but made every
effort to arouse myself, feeling the importance of keeping awake.
Presently I heard a slight rustling, as if some animal was moving among
the bushes near me; but without shifting my position I could see
nothing. Then I heard a sound as if creatures were nibbling grass or
leaves. This made me sure that no savage beast caused the sounds, and I
sat quiet, expecting soon to discover what creatures they were.
Presently two beautiful fawns came in sight. They did not perceive me,
but went on quietly grazing, unconscious of the presence of one of their
many enemies. At length they came full before me. "Shall I fire?" I
asked myself. "One of them would afford us ample food till we could
reach home." I was afraid, however, that should I move to raise my
rifle, and get into a better position for taking aim, they would
instantly be off, and bound into the thicket before I could even fire.
While I was considering (though sportsmen may laugh at me, I own I was
unwilling to kill one of the beautiful creatures), another, of a very
different character, appeared on the scene. Suddenly I caught sight of
a pair of glaring eyes amid the thick gloom of the thicket on my left.
I saw a large tiger-looking animal of a fawn colour, the back variegated
with round black spots. I guessed at once that the creature was a
_cheetah_, or hunting leopard, and thought it was lying in wait for the
deer till they should approach within distance of its spring. I had no
idea, however, that it could make so prodigious a bound as it at that
moment did; for scarcely had I seen it, when it sprang out of its
ambush, and alighted on the unfortunate buck, which it struck down with
one tremendous blow. Seizing my rifle, and throwing myself on my knee,
I took a steady aim, and the ball entered the cheetah's head. It sprang
up, dragging its prey with it, but instantly sank down, and rolled over
dead. Natty sprang to his feet at the report. The cheetah had settled
the question whether the buck should die, for the poor creature was so
mangled, though not killed outright, that we saw it would be a mercy to
put it out of its sufferings. This we immediately did. Its more
fortunate companion had escaped into the open ground.
We lost no time in cutting up our prize, for the meat we had brought
with us was already scarcely fit to eat, and we both confessed to
feeling very hungry again.
"We may as well light a fire and cook it," I said. "We must take care,
however, not to set the wood in a blaze."
There was ample fuel about, and choosing a spot where the grass was
green, and did not readily burn, we piled up the sticks we collected. I
had a tinder-box and matches in my wallet, and thus we soon had a good
fire burning. In a short time we had some pieces of venison roasting in
woodland fashion on forked sticks before the fire.
Having selected the best parts of the venison, and wrapped them up in
leaves to carry with us, we recommenced our meal on the portion we had
cooked. The salt we had purchased a few days before was now
particularly acceptable, and we both had meat, we hoped, sufficient to
sustain us for many hours. Now greatly refreshed, we prepared to
proceed on our journey. We first put out the fire, however, that there
might be no risk of setting the forest in a blaze.
"We must leave the cheetah and the rest of the deer to the birds and
beasts of prey which are sure to visit it before long," I observed.
"And now, Natty, let us be off."
Scarcely had I uttered the words when he touched my arm. "Stay," he
said; "I am sure I heard voices in the distance."
We listened. There could be no doubt of it. The sounds drew nearer.
The tones were very similar to those we had heard during our stay at the
village.
"They must be our late friends come to look after us," I observed. "If
we are discovered, we will put a good face on the matter."
"Would it not be better to go and meet them at once, and present them
with the game we have killed?" said Natty.
I agreed with him; and peering out from our shelter, I recognised the
chief and his son, with a band of followers. Loading ourselves,
therefore, with as much venison as we could carry, we sallied boldly
forth, and were soon face to face with our late hosts. Their look of
astonishment when they saw us and the meat we carried was very great.
By the expression of their countenances, however, we saw that they were
not offended. As far as we could understand, the chief only reproached
us for going away without bidding him farewell. I felt myself somewhat
embarrassed, for I could not help seeing that he had intended to let us
go as he promised. We showed that we had enough meat for ourselves, and
presented him with the larger portion. Having done this, we led him and
his companions to the spot where the cheetah and the remainder of the
deer lay. His companions quickly cut up the cheetah as we had done the
deer, and divided the flesh among them. We then pointed in the
direction we wished to go, and the chief taking my hand, and his son
Natty's, we proceeded onwards in the most friendly way. At length my
conductor came to a full stop, and, looking me in the face, seemed again
to be reproaching me for having left his village by stealth. I tried,
as before, to explain that we were in a hurry to reach our friends; and
as he had detained us longer than we wished, we were afraid he might
still keep us prisoners. Whether I was right in my conjectures as to
his meaning, I am not quite certain. He, at all events, showed that he
was friendly disposed towards us.
He now signified that he could go no further, and, pointing ahead,
intimated that we should find enemies in our path if we went direct. He
then, pointing to the left, advised us, as I understood him, to make a
circuit so as to avoid the danger. Having satisfied himself that we
clearly understood his advice, he and his son warmly shook our hands,
their followers imitating their example. Such a shaking of hands I had
never before gone through. I observed as I turned away that there was
an expression of sorrow in their countenances, which arose partly,
perhaps, from parting with us, and partly from the dangers which they
apprehended we should have to encounter.
We now took our way to the south-west, skirting the edge of the forest,
which appeared to extend towards the lake. We had not gone far, when,
turning round, I saw the young chief stopping and gazing at us. When he
found that he was observed, leaving his party, he darted after us, and
once more took our hands, pressing them warmly, intimating that if his
father would give him leave he would accompany us. His father's voice,
however, called him back, and, with a look of regret, he again left us.
"At all events," observed Natty, "we must acknowledge that gratitude can
exist in the breasts of these Africans."
"It does certainly in that of our friend," I said. "They generally have
a very different character bestowed on them."
As long as the blacks remained in sight, we could see the young chief
every now and then turning and casting lingering glances towards us.
We now pushed on, hoping to find some secure place where we might pass
the night. We were fortunate in finding a tree with wide-spreading
branches, radiating so closely from a common centre that they formed a
wide and secure platform on which we could rest without fear of falling
off. We climbed up as soon as we had supped, and passed the night in
perfect quiet.
I need not mention the incidents of the two following days. We were
cheered as we trudged on with the expectation of soon rejoining our
friends.
It struck me, on the third day of our journey, as we walked on, that
Natty was less inclined to speak than usual; and looking at his face, I
saw that he was deadly pale. He did not complain, however. I asked him
if anything was the matter. He said no; he only felt a little fatigued,
and thought that he should be revived by a night's rest. I proposed
that we should stop at once; but to this he would not consent, declaring
that he was well able to get on as long as daylight lasted.
The country though which we passed was similar to what I have already
described. We proceeded in as direct a line as we could steer, keeping
the distant hills on our right, instead of going towards them.
I proposed the following day to begin circling round more directly for
them, as I hoped that we had now gone far enough south to avoid the
village against which the chief and his son had warned us. I should not
have hesitated, however, to have gone amongst the people, had I not
feared that we might be detained by them as we had been by their
neighbours.
The forest as we advanced grew thinner, and we found the trees at length
standing so widely apart that we could see the plain beyond them. As
the wood might afford us more shelter than the open plain, and the sun
was already sinking towards the blue hills in the distance, we agreed to
halt. As I saw that Natty was not able to exert himself, I bade him sit
down while I cut branches to form a hut, and collected wood for a fire.
As I could not tell what wild animals might be roaming about around us,
I determined to make our hut sufficiently strong to resist an attack.
I selected a tree of a considerable diameter, which served as a back to
the hut. I stuck the uprights in the soft ground among the roots.
There were plenty of vines, with which I bound the cross-pieces to the
trunk and to the uprights. The intervening spaces I filled up with
light perpendicular poles. While I was gathering a further supply, I
found that Natty had interwoven them with branches and vines, thus
forming tolerably substantial walls. Some of the boughs thrown over the
top served for a roof, which, however, would not have kept out a
tropical shower; but there was no fear, we thought, of rain. Darkness
was now coming rapidly on, but I had not yet a sufficient supply of wood
to keep up our fire all the night; and I told Natty to make it up and
light it while I went to collect more broken branches, of which there
were numbers lying about, torn off probably by a hurricane. While I was
engaged, I saw the fire blaze up, and hoped that Natty would have some
venison roasted by the time I had finished my work. Having brought a
couple of loads and placed them down by the side of the hut, I went away
for a third. I had got as many branches as I could carry, and returned
with them towards our encampment, expecting to hear Natty hail me as I
drew near; but as I approached the fire I could not distinguish him. I
called, but no answer came. My heart sank within me. I was afraid that
some accident had happened. Again and again I called. Throwing down
the branches, I hurried on towards the hut, when what was my grief to
see him extended on the ground at the entrance, and some little way from
the fire! I knelt down by his side and put my hand to his heart. It
beat, though feebly. I examined him, but could find no wound. He had
swooned, apparently from exhaustion. Our waterbottles were full, as we
had replenished them at the last stream we passed, knowing that we might
afterwards have to go many miles without finding more. His whole dress
was so loose that there was no necessity to undo any part of it; but I
sprinkled his face with water, and then poured a few drops down his
throat. Still he lay without moving.
"Natty, my dear Natty, what has happened to you? Speak to me! Speak!"
I could not help exclaiming.
I had no stimulant, no medicine of any sort. I must trust, I knew,
alone to Nature, or rather, I should say, to the kind Being who directs
its laws. To Him I looked up and prayed that my young friend might
recover. Forgetting everything but Natty, I continued kneeling, holding
his head on my arm. At length, by the light of the fire, as night came
on, I saw his eyes opening.
"Push on, Andrew," he whispered; "we may still keep ahead of them! I
will run as fast as you do!"