They were still many miles from King Moseti's town, and the larder being
again low, consequent upon the impossibility of keeping meat, a
hunting-party was instituted, and Mr Rogers was about to go off with
the boys; but on second thoughts, as they had been seen by the people on
the river, no doubt the news of their coming was known all through the
country, and it was possible that some of the natives might come down.
This he felt would be unsatisfactory if he was away, so he decided to
stop; and then feeling that it would be better to have some trustworthy
man to help guard the waggon, and not feeling that either Dinny, Peter,
or Dirk, was that man, he decided to tell the General to stay.
So the hunting-party consisted of the four boys, who were warned not to
go too far, but to be sure and get something in the shape of meat as
soon as they could.
They went off in high glee, Coffee being delighted to be able to take
his place in the party; and nothing would do but he must perform all
sorts of feats, to show how strong he had grown once more.
Acting upon Mr Rogers' advice, they made straight for the high, open,
park-like land, about a couple of miles south of the river; and here
Coffee soon showed his talent as a tracker, by pointing out some
footprints in a patch of soft earth and mud close to a clear pool of
water.
"Lion!" he said, pointing to the great round impression: and he spat and
stamped, and then struck the ground fiercely with his kiri.
"Elfant!" cried Chicory just then; and his discovery so far transcended
his brother's, that there was a rush to see the huge round footprint,
that looked as if some one had been standing portmanteaus on end all
over the bog, and leaving their impressions there.
Then there were buffalo tracks, and the footprints of innumerable other
beasts that had been to drink, or else gone on, making a complete
roadway in the direction of the big river.
Just then Coffee pulled Jack's sleeve and pointed to quite a
freshly-made series of footprints.
"Why, that's some kind of antelope," cried Jack.
"Yes, big bok--eland," cried Coffee. "Come along."
This was as good as saying that the animal had lately been there to
drink: and in fact its tracks looked surprisingly fresh, so much so that
the boys, after glancing at their guns, followed Coffee as he trotted on
ahead with his eyes fixed upon the footprints, which were here and there
so clearly-marked in the soft earth that he followed them at a run.
Knowing what he did of the habits of animals, and that the great
antelope might be many miles away by this time, Dick was about to
protest against such an exercise of speed, feeling that a slow and sure
progress would be the safest: but Coffee proved to be right, for before
they had gone half-a-mile, he slopped short and made signs to the others
to close up.
They were in a wooded tract of land sprinkled with bushes and fine
timber trees; and as the boys came up, there, about a hundred yards in
front, was a magnificent eland, and so great was the surprise of both as
they saw the size of the animal, equal in bulk as it was to an ox, only
longer and more gracefully-shaped, that they forbore to fire; when the
great antelope, catching sight of them, went off at full speed, and they
had to renew the chase.
Quite an hour elapsed before a sign from Coffee announced that he could
once more see the game.
This time both Dick and Jack were more upon the alert; and creeping
cautiously up through the bushes, they caught sight of the eland
grazing, just at the edge of a patch of forest about a hundred and fifty
yards away.
This they felt was a long shot at so large an animal; but it was
impossible to get nearer on account of the intervening open ground; so
kneeling together they took careful aim at the shoulder, and fired
almost simultaneously.
"Hit," cried Jack, as he jumped up and ran forward beyond the reach of
the smoke; but there was no eland lying in its tracks; and as the Zulu
boys came up, they made out that it had dashed through a patch of dense
growth, and there its footprints were lost in a broad trail made by
thousands of animals on their way to and from the river.
Both Coffee and Chicory exerted themselves to the utmost; but their
efforts were in vain, and at last they turned to Dick shaking their
heads.
"No good gun," said Coffee. "Ought to shoot um dead."
"It's a bad job," said Jack; "but it's of no use to grumble. Come,
boys, we must hunt out something else."
"I wish we had brought the dogs, Jack," said Dick.
"Coffee find him soon--that way."
He pointed with an exultant look in his face at a great flap-winged
vulture flying directly over his head, and for a moment both Jack and
Dick were puzzled; but seeing the boys both set off at a run, they
followed, recalling as they went what they had seen and heard about the
vultures tracking the wounded or sickly game, and it was evident that
the bird they had seen was on the track of the wounded eland.
An hour's tramp decided the point, Coffee and Chicory coming up with the
wounded beast, defending itself with its horns against the attacks of
the vultures that were collecting round and making furious darts at its
eyes.
A merciful bullet ended the poor creature's miseries, and as the animal
was so fine it was decided to load up with as much as they could
conveniently carry, then place sticks about the carcase, and leave it to
be fetched in by Peter and Dirk with a yoke of oxen.
All this was done, and they were about half-way back when, to their
utter astonishment, a party of about half-a-dozen blacks, armed with
assegais and clubs, rushed out from behind some bushes, and began to
advance with fierce and threatening gestures.
"I say, Dick, what's to be done?" said Jack. "Shall we throw down the
meat and run away?"
"No," said Dick, who looked very pale.
"Shall we offer them our guns and ammunition if they will let us go?"
"No," replied Dick. "If we do that they will strip us to the skin."
"What shall we do then?"
"Show fight," said Dick. "I don't want to, but we must."
"But they are big fighting men, and we are only boys," said Jack.
"But we are English boys, and they are only savages," retorted Dick; "so
come along."
Meanwhile the Matabele warriors--for such it afterwards proved they
were--kept on advancing, shouting savagely, while Coffee and Chicory had
been watching their masters attentively, waiting to see what course they
would take.
They took their dues from the behaviour of the young Englishmen, and in
place of cowering behind, they ran to the front, flourishing their
kiris, striking the ground with them, and shouting in their own tongue
the while.
"Out of the way, black dogs!" cried Coffee. "Let my lords the big
lion-killers with their wonder-guns, come by."
Feeling that they must put on a bold front, the two boys advanced with
rifles ready; and, seeing this, and hearing the words of Coffee and
Chicory, which they understood, the black warriors stopped short, spoke
to one another for a few moments, and then, changing their tone, began
to beg for some of the meat.
"Say they're very hungry. Want meat," said Chicory.
Dick spoke to Jack, and then told Coffee to be the interpreter of their
wishes, explaining to him what to say.
Coffee jauntily flourished his kiri, and with a bold, defiant bearing,
marched close up to the warriors, and showing them the scars made by the
lion's claws, told them that they were made by the biggest lion in the
world, and his young masters went and killed it with their wonder-guns.
"And now the young kings say you may go and eat the big eland they shot,
and fill yourselves full."
The men set up a shout, flourished their weapons, and began to dance,
after which they threw themselves upon the ground, as if they wanted to
make themselves into black door-mats, Dick said; and ended by taking up
and turning back on the little hunting-party's trail till they found the
eland.
"Yes," said Mr Rogers, as they related their experience; "you were
quite right. These people seem to me more like children than men, and a
good bold front will generally make them respect the white man;
especially, my boys, if he is firm and, above all, perfectly just."