About half an hour after the departure of Nathan and Koos Bester from
Namies Max was surprised to see Gert Gemsbok's dog running back from the
veld with every appearance of terror. It rushed straight to the scherm,
and there stood panting and with air erect along its back. Its ears
were cocked and its tail tucked under, as it gazed back in the direction
whence it came, sniffing the time with wide, dilated nostrils. This
struck Max as extremely strange and eerie. He knew the habits of this
dog; never since Gemsbok had rescued it had the animal left the side of
its master.
Oom Schulpad happened to come to the shop shortly afterwards, and Max
mentioned the circumstance to him. Together they walked up the side of
the kopje to the scherm. The dog was so preoccupied by whatever was the
cause of its agitation that it appeared unaware of their approach until
they got quite close to it. Then the animal crept in under the fence of
bushes and lay there whining.
"That dog has had a fright," said Oom Schulpad. "I have sometimes seen
dogs like that, and it was always after they had seen something bad
happen. See, now, if something has not happened to the old Bushman."
Max returned to the shop. After dinner, as no customers were about, he
started out to search for Gert Gemsbok. He went up to the scherm and
caught the dog. At first the animal snapped and snarled when he
approached it. Max had, however, taken some pieces of meat with him,
and these he held out in propitiation. Thus mollified, the dog allowed
itself to be caught and a reim tied around its neck.
The Desert was a whirling hell of blinding and scorching sand-clouds.
Max staggered on along the course which he had seen Gemsbok take that
morning with his flock. The dog at first showed the most violent
disinclination to follow, and had to be dragged along struggling and
biting at the reim.
During a lull in the wind Max saw that the sheep were scattered about in
groups far distant from each other; some were sheltering themselves
among the stones on the side of the kopje and others were far out on the
plain. He took his course towards the farthest group of sheep that he
could distinguish. The dog now became very much excited; every now and
then it would tug at the reim and try to bound forward in a certain
direction. Then it would recoil in terror and endeavour to bolt back.
Max worked his way onward across the gullies in the direction indicated
by the dog's alarmed gaze. At length he reached the edge of a gully, on
the opposite side of which was an overhanging bank. Huddled under this,
as though to get shelter from the wind, he recognised the motionless
form of Gert Gemsbok.
Lying about in the sand, and partly covered by its drift, was the
ramkee, shattered into fragments. Gemsbok was lying half on his face,
with his head leaning forward on his arm. Max bent over, and as soon as
he ascertained that his old friend was faintly breathing, spoke his
name. Gemsbok tried to lift his head, but failed in the attempt. Then
Max gently passed his arm around the bruised body, and drew it back
until the head rested on his shoulder.
The poor old man opened his eyes. They were dull and glazed. Then he
moaned heavily and went off into a faint. Max noticed that the head was
swollen on one side, and that a small trickle of blood came from the
mouth. The wind had almost ceased, so Max drew Gert's limp body
tenderly down the loose sandbank and laid him on his back. After a few
seconds he returned to consciousness, and the eyelids again lifted--very
slowly this time.