A DESERTED LAND
That night the water was not spared, and the rest of the meat was
polished off in reckless fashion. After a three-hour rest, they took up
the march again in renewed spirits, the Masai singing and chanting
eagerly. But distances were deceptive in that country of clear vision
and high altitude. When they camped at dawn after a hard march, they
seemed no nearer the trees than before, and the Masai and Indians went
to bed hungry, Jack making what little flour they had left into
flapjacks.
By the time they camped at noon, however, the boys and Schoverling had
brought in an eland, which they had found solitary. This staved off
hunger, and without pausing to sleep the hunters set off again while the
cattle rested. The country was well timbered farther ahead, and they
rode toward this through scattered clumps of thorn-trees.
"There's a lion, right enough," said Jack, as one of the tawny beasts
bounded away from a knoll to their right. "That means there's game
around."
"We'll strike it in the trees," declared the General. "That seems like a
good rolling game country stretching out in front."
Knowing that the doctor would bring on the wagon, they struck straight
ahead for five miles. Gradually game became apparent, and after knocking
over a couple of gazelles and a fine oryx, they found a waterhole. Akram
Das was sent back to guide the wagon to it, and that night there was
high feasting in camp.
"I'm mighty glad our cattle pulled through safe," said Schoverling.
"We'll need them on the back trail."
"Yes," put in von Hofe, "they will have to draw the elephant skin and
the ivory."
"Don't count too far ahead," laughed Jack. "It's not going to be any
cinch! But I'd like to meet up with one of those buffalo."
"If poor Mowbray's account is true," said the General, "we'd better have
the gun-bearers stick close with the heavy guns. There's no telling
what we'll strike here. We'll have to keep pretty good guard, too, for
lions will be apt to make a try for the cattle or horses."
Now, with the worst of the march over, they relapsed into regular
day-marches again. But that night, sure enough, Charlie heard the low
mutterings of a lion, and by the light of the fires could see one of the
great beasts slinking past. He gave him two shots from his 30-30, and
the aroused camp found only a dead lion to exult over.
The first day's march brought them to a tiny trickle of water in the
center of a drift, where they outspanned. There were palms and wild figs
in abundance, and with cabbage-palm hearts as a substitute their meat
diet was abandoned. Game was increasing, and that night they located
another drinking-place half a mile up the drift, where the boys bagged
three gerenuk, a kind of gazelle, and two wildebeest.
As they went forward the next day they were all amazed at the remarkable
tameness of the herds which passed on every side. A drove of at least a
hundred zebra paused within fifty yards of them, gazing curiously, and
not until Bakari flourished a spear did they whirl and dash away. At
another time a group of slender-horned impalla bunched together not a
hundred yards away, watching fearlessly as the wagon passed.
"That looks mighty queer," declared Charlie. "Seems like they don't get
hunted much up here."
"Remember what that letter o' Mowbray's said?" interjected Jack quickly.
"How he never met any natives, I mean? Bet a cookie you were right,
General, about the slavers."
"What's worrying me," returned Schoverling, "is where that lake can be.
There seems to be hills ahead, and to the right, but I can see no sign
of a lake."
"I tell you," cried Charlie. "If we strike another drift, it's a good
guess that it comes from a lake, isn't it?"
"Yes," rumbled von Hofe, smiling. "That is right, my boy. We will follow
the next river to which we come."
Plainly enough, the country was a desert as far as human life was
concerned. But the animal life was far too abundant to suit them. That
day they passed a rhinoceros, standing to one side and watching them
from a distance of fifty yards. With his ears cocked forward he looked
like a gigantic pig, but the hunters kept their heavy rifles cocked, for
at any moment the beast might take it into his head to charge, and they
had had one experience with these huge beasts.
"He's two-horned!" exclaimed Jack, watching intently. It was their first
meeting with one of the two-horned variety, and they were relieved when
he turned and slowly trotted off, the tick-birds on his back settling
down again.
That night Schoverling issued orders that with each halt the Masai
should construct a thorn zareba for the oxen, while big fires should be
kept blazing all night. Lions were very plainly in abundance, and they
could afford to run no risk of losing the cattle, or horses either.
Toward dawn they were aroused by Guru, on guard, to find the horses
shivering with fear and the glowing eyes of lions shining from the
undergrowth around the camp. A shot seemed to have no effect, until with
a well-placed bullet Schoverling killed one of the beasts and the rest
disappeared with threatening rumbles.
"That shows what we can expect, in this no-man's country," he said.
"We'll have worse than that later on, I'm afraid."
And his words were to prove true, though not exactly as he had intended,
before two days more had passed.
Shortly before noon they came upon lower ground, with the high hills
rising some ten miles farther on. A stream trickled through beds of
reeds and swamp-grass, and it was decided that they should follow the
high ground upstream, in the hope of being thus led to their hard-sought
goal.
Schoverling and Charlie employed the shotgun in turn, shooting from
their horses, and stocking the whole camp with wildfowl. The Masai had
spread out in great glee, investigating this strange land like children,
when a sudden yell of horror went up from one of them.
Turning as the doctor echoed the shout, those ahead were horrified to
see a tremendous python curled about the struggling warrior, at the very
edge of the reeds twenty yards away. The huge head of the snake was
high--at least six feet above that of the warrior, about whom its coils
were tightening slowly. The Masai, with horrible yells, was slashing
away without effect, and even as they looked his arms were bound about
and fell useless.
"Good heavens!" groaned Schoverling, who had left his rifle in the
wagon. The Indians spurred forward with outstretched guns, but in that
moment von Hofe proved himself cooler than any. The boys had been afraid
to fire, but even as Charlie and Jack threw up their guns the little
rifle of the doctor spoke out once and then again.
Struck in the neck by both balls, the python's head drooped and his
coils broke away. In a flash the Masai wriggled loose and turned, sword
in hand, while his comrades dashed fearlessly to his rescue. For a
moment there was a wild turmoil of bodies; one of the warriors was flung
a dozen feet away by the slashing tail, then the python fell, cut into a
score of pieces.
The exciting combat was begun and over in a moment. Charlie dashed to
the side of the men, but it proved that neither of the Masai had been
seriously hurt. The first had suffered merely from a vigorous squeeze,
the second had the breath knocked out of him, so no attention was paid
to the injuries. Measured carefully, the python proved to be thirty feet
in length.
"Things look pretty grave," said Schoverling soberly that evening when
they were in camp farther up the stream, but well away from the reeds.
"Mowbray's forty-foot python was no dream, my friends. We must keep our
rifles in the holsters and at our hands night and day in this country."
"The Masai behaved splendidly," exclaimed Charlie admiringly. "Where are
you going?" he asked as the General arose.
"Show you in a minute. Guru!"
The explorer had joined the Sikh at the wagon. There was a rattle of
chains, and with the steel traps in their hands the two returned to the
fire.
"Now, Guru, we are going to set out these traps around the camp. After
this you and Akram and Amir Ali will have to do it, so observe us
closely."
"Oh, that's what you wanted them for, eh?" cried Jack. Schoverling
smiled.
"Not exactly, but they're going to be a whole lot of help. My idea is,
Doctor, that if we set these out around the camp they will keep us from
being surprised to some extent. They won't stop a lion or buffalo, of
course, but they will serve to check them or any other big game."
"It is good," nodded von Hofe gravely. "I think it will be of much use.
I will go too."
The boys cut heavy stakes with their hand-axes, and all six of the traps
were fastened securely. Then, accompanied by the Indians, they placed
the traps in a wide circle on each side of the zareba, the most
threatened point of attack. When the stakes were driven, the jaws of the
traps were opened and light creepers flung over them.
"By golly, that'll make me sleep a whole lot sounder!" admitted Charlie
when they returned. Jack was disposed to turn up his nose at the
unbaited traps.
"Any fool jackal would smell 'em," he declared emphatically. "Why, you
can see them glint in the moonlight!"
"No matter," smiled the explorer. "We don't want to catch anything in
them--they're only there to keep us from being surprised."
That very night the traps proved their value, for while Jack was on
guard he was roused by the click of steel, a tremendous snarling growl,
and the sound of a furious struggle. The whole camp was up instantly,
and by the light of the natives torches they could see a lioness rolling
over, tearing furiously at a trap which clenched her two forepaws.
A moment later she tore free, but Jack's elephant-gun crashed out and
she lay still. The trap was promptly restaked and reset, while the Masai
dragged the body away. And after that, Jack said nothing more on the
question of unbaited traps.
They were now in a veritable hunter's paradise. It was unnecessary for
Schoverling and the boys to shoot game, for the Masai could spear all
that was needed without trouble, two or three of them going up-wind and
driving the game past the hiding-place of the rest. The next morning
they were off with the dawn, in high hopes of reaching the lake, for the
water in the stream seemed warmer than usual, though the explorer laid
this to imagination.
The country was open enough for the wagon to proceed without hindrance
at a little way from the vegetation of the river. In the course of the
morning Charlie descried what looked like grass huts ahead, but as they
did not dare leave the wagon it was nearly noon before they came up to
the little village.
"Deserted, of course," exclaimed the General when they drew near.
"Old and broken down, too," added Jack. "They're pretty well covered
with vines and creepers, and that hut over on the left is a--why, all
those mounds are old huts, General!"
Sure enough, at close quarters they saw that scores of little mounds
scattered around had once been huts, fallen to pieces under the attacks
of animals and the weather. The few that were standing had been somewhat
preserved by the shelter of spreading juniper trees overhead, and young
bamboos had sprouted around and inside, thus serving to keep them in
shape.
"Pretty rotten," said Charlie, poking one with his rifle. The grass and
twigs fell at the touch. "They've been deserted for years. But look over
there--that used to be a yam patch, and I'll bet a dollar--"
Without finishing he flung himself from the saddle and ran to an
overgrown stretch of ground, where his quick eye had detected a few yams
growing wild, with a variety of squash. Most of them were trampled or
eaten by animals, but they managed to collect a dozen of each, which
would give a welcome variety of food.
"General!" called out Jack, fifty yards away.
"Come over here, all of you."
He was standing over something on the ground, at the edge of the forest.
When the others arrived, he pointed to an immense buffalo track in the
soft ground.
"There's your giant bull," he said triumphantly. "This is no place for
us, I guess."
"I should say not!" cried Schoverling. "What a brute that fellow must
be! Ever see as big a track, Doctor?"
"Never," and the German wagged his great beard, with a dubious glance
around. "Come, let us go on. Ach, what a country is this!"
An hour later they outspanned for the noon halt. By some subtle warning,
Schoverling led them away from the river to a little bare mound crowned
by a single spreading mimosa, around which the oxen were grouped. Below
on one side, stretched the jungle. On the other, tall grass, reeds and
undergrowth led away to the river. And on that little eminence the
expedition all but came to grievous wreck.