All eyes were fixed upon the beautiful animal as it approached the
river. With light majestic step it advanced to the bank, and without
pausing walked down the slope. It had no fear of the water, and stepped
into it without hesitation.
The boys were in hopes that it intended to cross the river. On the
opposite bank it was too distant for the a carry of their guns--even the
elephant roer could not have sent a bullet to that side with any chance
of hitting. Should the antelope cross, however, the case would be
different. It might then come within range of their pieces; and, to
make sure, Hendrik and Groot Willem had stolen under the cover of the
reeds, and advanced nearer the crossing-place.
They were doomed to disappointment, however. The waterbuck had no
intention of crossing. It had come to drink; and having waded in
knee-deep, it stopped, and dipped its muzzle into the water for that
purpose.
With disappointed looks the boys remained gazing upon it as it drank.
Now it chanced that close to the spot where the buck had entered the
water there was a black log. It lay along the water in a direction
parallel to the bank, and seemed to be floating--though only a small
portion of it appeared above the surface. Saturated with the water, as
it must have been, its weight perhaps had thus partially immersed it.
The boys had given no heed to this log. It was the half-decayed trunk
of some tree--perhaps the black-barked acacia--that had been carried
downstream during flood-time, and had made a lodgment in the little bay,
where the path entered the water. Of course to such an ordinary
circumstance the boys gave no heed. Neither did the waterbuck. Ah!
false security! Better for the antelope had it heeded that log! Better
for it had it "looked before leaping," and carefully scrutinised that
black-barked thing--for black though it was, it was not the log of any
acacia. _That log was alive_!
To the astonishment of all the boys, and no doubt to the far greater
astonishment of the waterbuck, the dark object suddenly became endowed
with motive power, and was seen to dart forward with the velocity of an
arrow towards the spot where the animal was drinking. It was no longer
a log, but a hideous reptile--a crocodile of gigantic dimensions!
The boys expected to see the waterbuck rear back, and attempt to escape.
No doubt so it would have done, had the crocodile missed its aim, but
the latter had not missed. On the contrary, it had seized the muzzle of
the antelope in its long gaunt jaws, and was proceeding to drag its
victim under the water.
There was a struggle not of long duration, but it was terrible while it
lasted. The buck pranced, and plunged and spread his legs, and
endeavoured to shake off his reptile assailant. Several times he was
brought to his knees; but being a powerful animal he recovered his legs
again, and once nearly succeeded in drawing the crocodile out upon the
bank. All the while, too, he kept striking forward with his sharp
fore-hoofs; but desperate as were the hits he made, they produced no
impression upon the harsh scaly coat of his amphibious antagonist. Had
the latter held him by any other part, he might have had some chance of
escape; but seized as he had been by the very tip of his snout, his head
was all the time kept close down to the water, and the awkward position
rendered it impossible for him to make use of his horns--his principal
weapons of defence.
The crocodile was by no means one of the largest of his kind--else the
struggle would have ended sooner. A very large one--that is, one of
sixteen to twenty feet in length--can drag a buffalo bull under water,
and a buffalo bull possesses four times the strength of a waterbuck.
The one now seen was not over ten feet long; and the strong waterbuck
might have been a full match for it, had it not been for the unfair hold
which it had taken. In that, however, lay the advantage of the reptile,
and it seemed to be aware of it, for from the first moment it never
relaxed the "clutch" it had taken, but held on with its terrible teeth
and strong jaws, closed like a clamp on the snout of its victim!
Now the crocodile was raised some feet out of the river, and the boys
could see its ugly breast, and spread hand-like claws; now using its
powerful tail as a fulcrum it would strike against the water, and then
the head of the buck would be plunged below the surface, and held down
for minutes at a time. Of course during all this while the water was
kept in commotion; and, what with the struggles of the quadruped and the
lashing of the reptile's tail, a constant spray of froth and bubbles
marked the scene of the strife.
The conflict at length came to an end. The water-tyrant triumphed. The
buck was dragged into the river beyond his depth; and although few
quadrupeds could swim as well as he, once off his legs he was no longer
a match for the amphibious saurian. His head and horns both disappeared
beneath the surface--now and then the tail of the crocodile flapped
upward, as it exerted itself to keep its victim under--and then both
reptile and quadruped sank to the bottom of the river, and were seen no
more!
For some time the hunters remained watching the surface of the water.
They saw the frothy bubbles floating over the spot--some of them reddish
with the blood of the waterbuck--but the current soon carried them away,
and the river glided past smooth and silent as if no such commotion had
occurred in its waters.
The hunters all returned to the wagons, and a conversation now occurred
about crocodiles, in which Congo took part.
The Kaffir had hunted upon the great river Limpopo, which lay to the
northeast of their present camp. He alleged that there crocodiles were
very numerous, and some were seen of enormous dimensions, attaining to
thirty feet in length, with bodies as thick as a rhinoceros; that such
scenes, as that they had just witnessed, were of no uncommon occurrence
there. He said that the larger crocodiles frequently attacked
buffaloes, precisely as this one had done the waterbuck--that they lie
in wait by the watering-places of these animals, and seizing them by the
muzzle when they are drinking, drag them under water, and thus suffocate
them.
But Congo related a still more curious habit of the crocodiles. He
asserted that they never devour their prey until it becomes quite
decomposed--that is, until it attains the condition of carrion. He
stated that when a crocodile has killed a buffalo or any large animal,
it always drags the carcass back to the shore, and, leaving it exposed
to the action of the sun's rays, watches near it until the flesh has
become _tainted to its taste_! The young yagers had heard of this
before; but were not inclined to believe it, though Congo now assured
them of its truth--alleging that this habit of the crocodile was well
known among the native hunters of the Limpopo.
Notwithstanding the sneers of many naturalists, the simple savage was
right, as the young yagers themselves were soon enabled to prove.
I have said that when the crocodile and his victim disappeared below the
surface, they were seen no more. That, however, was not strictly true.
Both of them were seen again, and in a very short while after--more than
seen, indeed; for the crocodile was killed by a bullet from Groot
Willem's roer; and upon venison steaks, cut from the buttocks of the
waterbuck, both Congo and Swartboy--as well as the buck-dogs--made them
a hearty supper.
It was thus the thing came about. Hans had entered into a dissertation
about crocodiles in general. He was informing his companions of the
number of new species of these creatures that had been lately
discovered, and pointing out the great progress of natural science
during the present half century; how the crocodiles were divided by
modern naturalists into many genera, and that, including the caimans and
alligators of America, and the gavials of Asia, the whole crocodile
family could not number less than two dozen living species, although but
a few years ago it was supposed there were but three kinds in existence;
how America possessed true crocodiles as well as alligators; how the
number of species in America was greater than that of Africa and Asia
taken together; how there were none of these great reptiles found either
in Europe or Australasia; and, among other things, Hans was pointing out
the difficulty which existed in determining both the genera and species
of all the _Crocodilidae_.
While the yagers were listening to these details, the Kaffir, who had
been squatted with his eyes bent upon the river, suddenly started from
his crouching attitude, and pointed down to the bank, toward a small
brake of reeds that grew out of the water.
All eyes were turned in that direction, and it was perceived that some
of the reeds were shaking about, as if a large creature was moving among
them. The reeds were nodding about and bending downward in bunches, and
breaking as if under some heavy pressure, and crackling as they broke.
What could be causing such a commotion amongst them? It did not appear
like the natural motion of any wild animal, for these glide about, even
in their undisturbed haunts, in a stealthy and easy manner. There was
something unusual going on among the reeds. What could it be?
The young yagers were determined to find out; and for this purpose they
drew near the margin of the reeds. They did not approach them openly,
but crawled forward under cover of the grass and bushes, observing
perfect silence, so as not to fright away whatever creature was causing
the movement.
Fortunately the reed-culms did not grow so thickly as to obscure the
view; and when near, it was possible to see a large object moving in
their midst. And a large object _was_ seen--a large dark creature which
was at once recognised as a crocodile.
It might have been another crocodile, and not that which had just
drowned the waterbuck; but the hunters were not left to conjecture on
this point, for, while watching its movements, they now perceived the
carcass of the waterbuck itself, which the huge reptile was dragging up
among the reeds, evidently with the intention of raising it out of the
water! For this purpose it was using its powerful jaws, as well as its
snout, and strong forearms--now pulling the body along a bit, then
pushing and rolling it over towards the bank.
The boys watched these strange manoeuvres for some moments in silence;
but Groot Willem had brought his gun with him, and choosing a moment
when the huge saurian was resting a little, he aimed for the socket of
its eyeball, and sent the big bullet of his roer crashing through its
skull.
The reptile plunged back into the river, and went to the bottom leaving
the wave tinged with blood. Presently it rose to the surface,
struggling violently, and evidently in great agony. Now it raised the
fore-part of its hideous body quite out of the water; then its head went
under, and its long tail was flouted into the air; then up came its head
again, and so on, till at length its struggles ceased, and it sank to
the bottom like a stone. No doubt it sank to rise no more.
Congo and Swartboy rushed in among the reeds, and drawing out the
waterbuck--somewhat lacerated by the teeth of its destroyer--dragged it
in triumph to the camp.