Two more lions fell to Dick's rifle that night, before the brutes were
finally scared out of their projected attack upon the camp; but it was
not until the first signs of dawn were paling the eastern sky, and all
the multitudinous sounds in the neighbourhood of the water-hole had long
subsided into complete silence, that the watchers felt at liberty to
cease their vigil and snatch an hour or two of much-needed rest.
Meanwhile, Grosvenor remained completely sunk in the lethargic sleep
which had resulted from the saturation of his system with alcohol.
Although the blacks had been up and working hard all night, they were
astir again very soon after sunrise; and the first thing they did was to
go out and bring into camp the carcasses of the three dead lions, in
order that Dick's eyes might be gladdened by the sight of them upon his
emergence from the tent. Then, while Jantje and 'Nkuku loosed the oxen
and drove them to the water-hole, Ramoo Samee prepared a couple of cups
of strong black coffee, which Mafuta carried into the tent; and as the
Kafir looped back the flaps of the entrance, giving admission to a flood
of brilliant sunlight and a brisk gush of cool, invigorating air, Dick
stirred uneasily in his hammock, sat up, rubbed his eyes, and exclaimed,
sleepily:
"Hillo, Mafuta, surely it is not yet time to turn out, is it? I don't
seem to have been asleep more than half a minute." Then his glance fell
upon Grosvenor's hammock, and memory instantly returned to him; he
sprang to his feet and laid his finger upon his patient's pulse, and as
he did so Grosvenor uttered a low groan and, opening his eyes, looked
dazedly up into the eyes of the friend who bent over him.
"Hullo, Dick," he murmured, "that you? I say, old chap," endeavouring
to rise, "what the dickens is the matter with me? I feel like a--a--
boiled owl; my head is aching as though it would split, and my mouth is
as dry as a limekiln. And--look here, old man, why are you holding me
down in my hammock like this? Am I not to get up to-day, eh, or--"
"Certainly not, at least not just yet," answered Dick firmly. "And
never mind about your head, or your mouth; what does your leg feel like?
Here, just let me have a look at it." And, gently lifting the limb and
pushing up the leg of the trousers, in which Grosvenor had lain all
night, he laid bare the injury. The swelling, although it had not quite
disappeared, had subsided so greatly that the limb had once more come to
bear some semblance to a human leg, and the livid purple tint had almost
faded out, while the cauterised wounds were perfectly dry and healthy in
appearance. But when Dick began to gently pinch and prod the injured
member, and to ask: "Does that hurt at all?" it became evident that
there was a distinct numbness in the limb, as far up as the knee. But
this did not very greatly distress Dick; all the signs were indicative
of the fact that the venom in the blood had been effectually
neutralised; and as for the numbness, that would probably pass off in
the course of the day.
"Well, Doctor," said Grosvenor whimsically, "what is your verdict--
favourable, or otherwise? I remember now that I was bitten by a beastly
snake, last night, and that you did several things to me that made me
feel horribly queer, but I don't quite remember how I got to the tent.
Was the brute venomous?"
"About as venomous as it could well be," answered Dick. "But you need
have no fear," he added, seeing a look of anxiety spring into his
patient's eyes; "the danger is quite over; now all that we have to think
about is how to cure that headache of yours. And here, just in the nick
of time, Mafuta has brought us our coffee. Take your cup and drink it
at once; and if in the course of the next half-hour you feel no better,
I will mix you a draught. Stop a moment; just look me straight in the
eye; yes, that is right; now drink your coffee; it will completely cure
your headache, and you will immediately fall asleep, waking again in
time for breakfast."
Grosvenor obediently took the cup, drained it, and lay back on his
pillow.
"Thanks, old chap," he murmured; "that's good; I--I--feel--" and was
asleep.
"That's all right," murmured Dick meditatively, as his eyes rested upon
the other's placid countenance. "Why did not I remember to try that
kind of thing last night! It might have helped matters a good deal. Ah
well! I'll not forget next time. Now, Mafuta," he continued, turning
to the Kafir; "what about the lions? How many did I kill last night?"
"Three, baas," answered Mafuta; "that is to say, two lions and one
lioness, all full-grown, but quite young, and in grand condition, their
teeth and claws quite perfect."
"Is that so?" queried Dick. "Then I suppose you have been out to have a
look at them?"
"Yes, baas," answered the black; "we went out and brought them in. They
are now just outside the tent."
"Very well," said Dick, draining his coffee. "I will have a look at
them. And--what about my bath? I suppose there is no chance of one
this morning, eh?"
"Ramoo Samee and I have each brought two buckets of water from the hole,
and the _Inkose's_ bath is ready for him when he will," answered Mafuta.
Grosvenor's sleep appeared to have been extraordinarily beneficial, for
when he awoke to the rattle of crockery as Mafuta busied himself in the
arrangement of the breakfast table, not only was he absolutely free from
headache, and all the other unpleasant symptoms of which he had
complained two hours earlier, but his general condition was also greatly
improved, the swelling of the injured limb had subsided, the flesh had
recovered its natural colour, the numb feeling had almost disappeared,
and now all that remained to remind him of his disagreeable and perilous
adventure of the previous night was the smarting and burning sensation
of the cauterised wound itself, which he endured with stoical composure,
and indeed laughed at as a trifle not worth wasting words about. But he
was fully alive to the frightful nature of the peril from which he had
so narrowly escaped, and was so earnest and profuse in his thanks to
Dick for having twice saved his life in the course of a few hours that
at length the young medico laughingly threatened to gag him if he did
not instantly change the topic of conversation. One of the best signs
of his progress towards complete recovery, perhaps, was the voracious
appetite which he developed when breakfast was placed upon the table.
But it was not until late in the afternoon that Dick allowed him to rise
from his hammock; then it was only permitted in order that the camp
might be moved somewhat farther from the water-hole, with the object of
avoiding a recurrence of the annoyances of the preceding night.
By the following morning Grosvenor was practically well again, and, with
his injured leg well protected by a bandage, was once more able to mount
a horse; the march was therefore resumed, and came to an unadventurous
end in a small valley, watered by a tiny brook, as the sun was sinking
beneath the western horizon. Thenceforward their progress was steady,
averaging about twenty miles a day, for six days a week, Sunday being
always observed as a rest day, whenever possible, primarily for the sake
of the cattle, it must be confessed, which it was found required at
least one day's rest in every seven upon such a prolonged journey as
that upon which they were now engaged. The journey was not altogether
devoid of adventure, by any means; for upon one occasion they killed no
less than five of their oxen through overwork during a hurried flight
from the neighbourhood of a devastating grass fire; they lost three more
at one fell swoop while crossing a flooded river; six succumbed to snake
bites; four fell a prey to lions; and seven died of sickness believed to
have been induced by the eating of some poisonous plant. But, after
all, these were merely the ordinary accidents incidental to travel in
the African wilderness, and would need too much space to be recorded in
detail. The natives whom they encountered from time to time during
their progress were by no means uniformly friendly, but tact and
firmness, coupled with an occasional demonstration of the terribly
destructive qualities of their firearms, and a judicious distribution of
presents among the chiefs, secured them from actual molestation, though
there were times when it seemed to be, figuratively speaking, a toss-up,
whether they would or would not have to choose between being turned back
or "wiped out."
Indeed now, when they had been continuously journeying for nearly three
months since they had turned their backs upon the friendly Makolo
nation, and were daily receiving fresh evidence that they were drawing
very near to the goal of their long pilgrimage, it was by the merest
chance, the most extraordinary caprice of the king into whose country
they had penetrated, that they were permitted to live and accorded
freedom to pursue their journey unmolested. For the savages among whom
they now found themselves seemed to be possessed of an extraordinarily
virulent animus, or prejudice--call it which you will--against
whiteskins, due, as the travellers eventually discovered, to the fact
that a nation of whites inhabited the adjacent territory, between whom
and the blacks, who surrounded them on all sides, an implacable enmity
had existed as far back as history or even legend extended. From whence
those white people had come, or how long they had inhabited the land of
which they held such stubborn possession, there was no record to tell;
but the grievance of the blacks seemed to consist in the fact that the
interlopers--as they chose to regard them--occupied the whole of a
peculiarly rich and fertile tract of country from which, though they
were relatively few in number, they resolutely refused to be dislodged;
while the surrounding territory, occupied by the blacks, was
comparatively poor, sterile, and ill-watered, affording an ever more
scanty subsistence to the steadily growing population. Also there was a
widespread belief, amounting to conviction among the blacks, that their
white neighbours were wont to punish such attempts as were made from
time to time to drive them out, by putting all prisoners to death in a
variety of peculiarly hideous forms--although it was by no means clear
how this belief arose, since no prisoners ever returned to throw any
light upon the subject.
It is not, perhaps, greatly to be wondered at if, under such
circumstances, the blacks had gradually come to regard the possessor of
a white skin as the incarnation of everything that was superlatively
detestable, and a person to be destroyed promptly with as little
hesitation or compunction as one would destroy a particularly venomous
snake; and such was the feeling which Grosvenor and Dick inspired in the
breasts of those natives in whose hands they found themselves upon a
certain memorable day. It was at first proposed to put them to the
torture _sans ceremonie_; but a certain petty chief, anxious to curry
favour with the king, intervened in the nick of time, and, having made
prisoners of the entire party, sent the whole of them, including the
wagon, oxen, horses, and animals generally, to the king's village, in
order that His Majesty might have his full share of such sport as the
torture of the white men might furnish. This journey, however, occupied
five days, during the progress of which the two white men proved to be
so different in every respect from the only other white men whom the
blacks had ever encountered, to be possessed of such strange powers, and
to be, generally, such "kittle cattle" to deal with, that the king,
learning that these strangers were bent upon entering the territory of
his white neighbours, ultimately came to the somewhat cynical conclusion
that he could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by allowing
the formidable strangers to go their way and inflict the maximum amount
of annoyance and damage upon his especial enemies before those enemies
in their turn destroyed the unwelcome visitors.
Thus it came to pass that, after spending close upon a fortnight in
momentary expectation of a hideously protracted death by torture, Dick
Maitland and Philip Grosvenor one day found themselves most unexpectedly
released, their belongings returned to them, and permission accorded
them to proceed upon their journey as soon as they would. They
instantly availed themselves of this permission, lest peradventure it
should be retracted; the result being that for five days they travelled
under the protection of an armed escort until they arrived at the
frontier, where the escort hurriedly left them, after jeeringly warning
them of the many evil things that awaited them in the immediate future.
Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed after the departure of the guard before
the travellers perceived a man intently watching them from the summit of
a low kopje about a quarter of a mile ahead of them. For perhaps a
minute he stood, motionless as a statue, gazing steadfastly at them
under the shade of his hand, then he turned suddenly and disappeared.
But during that minute Dick and Grosvenor had brought their powerful
field glasses to bear upon him, and had distinctly seen that his skin
was white, excepting in so far as it had become browned by the sun, that
his hair was thick, black, and arranged in long, straight curls that
reached to his shoulders, that he was naked save for a breech clout
about his loins and a pair of sandals upon his feet, and that he was
armed with a long, slender spear and a circular shield or target about
two and a half feet in diameter. Three minutes later they saw him
running with incredible speed toward another low elevation, distant
about a mile from his starting-point, and which, as the travellers
discovered, when they brought their glasses to bear upon it, was crowned
by a low structure, so roughly constructed that it might easily have
passed for a mere heap of stones and turf, but which, later on, proved
to be a sort of blockhouse accommodating an outpost consisting of an
officer and ten men. Two minutes later the man whom they had first
seen, or another so exceedingly like him that it was impossible to
distinguish any difference at a distance of two or three hundred yards,
left the blockhouse--which they now perceived was only one of many in
sight arranged in a somewhat irregularly curved line which probably
conformed to the line of the frontier--and set off, at the same
astonishing speed that the first had displayed, heading inward from the
frontier line. They watched him for about five minutes, and then lost
sight of him over the brow of a slight undulation. Beyond the roughly
constructed blockhouses there was not a sign of inhabitants in any
direction; the land was rough and uncultivated, there were neither
cattle nor sheep to be seen; and if, as they strongly suspected, the
blockhouses in sight accommodated a few men, none of their occupants
revealed their presence nor made the slightest attempt to interfere with
the uninvited visitors. It was a moot point between Dick and Grosvenor
whether they should not take the bull by the horns, as it were, by
riding up to the nearest blockhouse and attempting to get into
communication with its occupants at once; but Grosvenor was very
strongly opposed to any such step, upon the ground that, if they did so,
they might be summarily turned back and ordered to quit the country
forthwith, which, as Phil pointed out with some emphasis, would be an
exceedingly tame and ignominious ending of their long and arduous
journey. His policy was to let well enough alone, to get as far into
the country as possible before attempting to open up communication with
its inhabitants, and, meanwhile, to show in every possible manner by
their sober behaviour that their mission was a peaceable one.
But if the borderland of this mysterious country presented a somewhat
wild and uninviting appearance, it was not long before the travellers
perceived that this state of things prevailed only over a very narrow
belt of territory. For as they pressed on toward the interior they
first sighted another line of blockhouses, considerably larger and more
substantially constructed than the first, each perched upon a commanding
knoll and completely surrounded by a stout, lofty, and practically
unclimbable stockade; then they saw a few cattle dotted about, grazing,
under the protection of quite a strong force of armed men, similar in
all respects to the individual whom they had first sighted. These
people took no notice of the strangers beyond removing themselves and
their charges well out of the route which was being pursued by the
wagon; it was evident that they had no desire to come into touch in any
way whatever with their uninvited visitors. Then, a mile or so farther
on, the herds became larger and their attendants more numerous; and,
next, the intruders reached what seemed to be a belt of farms, each
containing its own fortified farmhouse, a lofty and, apparently,
immensely strong and solid structure of hewn stone, surrounded in many
cases by a moat, either wet or dry, with a single narrow entrance high
up in the wall and only accessible by means of a ladder; the unglazed
window openings few in number and too narrow to permit the passage of a
human being through them; the roof flat, and protected by a breast-high
parapet; the structure, as a whole, constituting a very efficient
miniature stronghold. The crops appeared to be of the most varied
character, starting with sugar cane on the outside margin of what may be
called the agricultural belt, and then gradually changing to various
kinds of grain, which in its turn was succeeded by fruit orchards and
vineyards. These last, however, were not met with until the detached
farms had been left far behind, and had been succeeded in turn, first by
tiny hamlets of half a dozen houses huddled together as if for mutual
protection, and then by villages of ever-increasing importance, each
dominated by a castle-like structure that looked as though it might
serve the purpose of a keep or refuge for the inhabitants to retire to
in times of stress or danger. These, however, were not reached by the
travellers until quite late in the following day, and are only referred
to now, in order that some idea may be conveyed of the manner in which
the mysterious white race who inhabited the country met the problem of
carrying on their agricultural pursuits, and at the same time affording
protection to the farmers against sudden raids by their savage
neighbours.
The region or belt of small hamlets still lay some two miles ahead of
the travellers when, about half an hour before sunset, the word was
given to outspan in the midst of a patch of rich pasture watered by a
small, shallow stream of crystal-clear water. By the time that the sun
was sinking behind a range of hills that rose gradually from the plain,
and the summits of which were apparently about twenty miles distant, the
oxen and other animals had been watered, the tent pitched, and the two
leaders of the little expedition, having found a passable bathing place
a short distance up the stream and taken their evening dip, were
impatiently awaiting the last meal of the day, which by courtesy they
named dinner, although it very inadequately represented the usual
conception of what that meal ought to be.
Presently the viands made their appearance--a haunch of venison, cut
from a buck that Grosvenor had shot early that morning, served sparingly
with red currant jelly, the last pot of which had been opened for the
occasion, sweet potatoes, purchased from the savages a few days earlier,
"flap-jacks"--so called because they could find no other name for them--
made by Ramoo Samee of flour, mealie meal, and water, and baked over the
embers of the cooking fire, a few wild guavas, and as much water from
the stream as they cared to drink, followed by a very small cup of
coffee each, for both coffee and sugar were now becoming exceedingly
scarce commodities with them.
As they ate they talked, the burden of Dick's conversation being the
remarkable behaviour of the inhabitants of this mysterious country in
leaving them so severely alone, a course of action which was in direct
opposition to all their past experiences of the African peoples, and
which Dick regarded as sinister in the extreme. His settled policy in
dealing with the savages had always been to approach them promptly, as
soon as met with, and lose no time in making friendly overtures, his
leading idea being that if one can but succeed in convincing a savage
that no harm of any kind is intended him, he is just as likely to be
amiable as the reverse. Up to now Grosvenor had held a similar opinion,
and had always most ably seconded Dick's endeavours to create a friendly
impression upon the natives encountered; but in the present case he was
utterly opposed to their usual methods, the fact being that the idea of
penetrating to the heart of the country inhabited by the mysterious
white race had gradually come to be an obsession with him, and he would
hear of nothing being done that might by any chance interfere with this
project; his conviction being that if they adopted their usual methods
they would inevitably be stopped and sent to the rightabout. Had he but
known what was impending, his anxiety would probably have taken quite a
different direction.
The two friends were seated in their tent, partaking of breakfast, on
the following morning, when Mafuta hurriedly appeared, in a state of
considerable perturbation, with the information that a strong body of
armed men were approaching the camp; and upon turning out to
investigate, they saw that this was indeed the case, the new arrivals
being in number about a hundred, and apparently a party of soldiery, all
being attired alike in a sort of uniform consisting of a sleeveless
white tunic girt about the waist with a belt, and buskins reaching
halfway to the knee; their heads were bare, save for a thick mop of
black hair, arranged in curls which reached to the shoulders; and each
man was armed with a long lance, or spear, and a shield, or target,
similar to those seen on the previous day. They advanced in single file
and close order, and appeared to be under the command of a man who wore
a feather head-dress, whose tunic was adorned with a pattern round the
hem and armholes, worked in what looked like crimson braid, upon which
were sewn close together a large number of small circular disks of
polished yellow metal which had the appearance of being made of brass,
or, maybe, gold.
"Ah," ejaculated Grosvenor, as he stood watching their approach, "my
fears have materialised, you see, Dick! Those fellows have undoubtedly
been dispatched to conduct us back to the frontier and see us safely out
of the country; and here ends my longcherished hope of making the
acquaintance of this mysterious white race. It is horribly
exasperating, especially after we have actually reached their country,
and seen for ourselves that such a people really exists."
"Um!" retorted Dick. "Yes, it is undoubtedly provoking, as you say.
But I hope nothing worse is going to happen than what you anticipate. I
must confess that I do not altogether like the appearance of things in
general, and the expression upon the countenances of those fellows in
particular. I seem to detect indications of a cold-blooded, relentless
ferocity that would cause them to convert our bodies into pincushions
for those spears of theirs with as little compunction as you would
impale a rare moth upon a cork with a pin. But whatever may be their
intentions with regard to us, we must rigidly adhere to our usual
principle of showing no fear and offering no resistance. Probably if we
follow this plan they will not kill us on the spot; and while there is
life there is hope and the possibility that chance may turn in our
favour. Anyway, whatever may happen to us, I hope that they will spare
the blacks. Possibly they may make slaves of us all. Well, we shall
soon know the worst, for here they come--confound those dogs!--call them
off, Phil; if they fly at any of those chaps and hurt them, there will
be trouble at once! Here, Pincher, Juno, Pat, Kafoula, 'Mfan, come in,
you silly duffers! Come in, I say! D'you hear me? Come in and lie
down! And you too, Leo; how dare you, sir!"
Dick and Grosvenor rushed out, and with the aid of sjamboks soon quelled
the disturbance and brought their motley pack into subjection, the
animals having made a general dash at the intruders, when the latter
arrived within some fifty yards of the wagon, while Leo, the lion cub,
excited by the disturbance, had broken the rein which usually confined
him to the wagon at nighttime, and had participated in the general
onslaught.
At the charge of the snapping, snarling dogs the approaching body of
soldiery had promptly levelled their spears, and the interference of
Dick and Grosvenor had only just been in the nick of time to save the
animals' lives. The little episode left the troops and their commander
absolutely expressionless, save that the latter seemed just a trifle
astonished when he saw Dick coolly seize the snarling lion cub by his
incipient mane and rate him roundly for his insubordinate behaviour,
before he ordered the brute to retire with the dogs to the wagon. The
next moment, in obedience to a sign from the officer, six couples
detached themselves from the main body of the soldiery; and in a trice
the two young Englishmen and their four dark-skinned followers, Mafuta,
Ramoo Samee, Jantje, and 'Nkuku--the latter absolutely shivering with
fear--found themselves prisoners, with their arms tightly bound behind
them with stout raw-hide thongs.
"Ah," ejaculated Dick, "this is just what I feared might happen! Still,
it is perhaps better than being killed outright, and--"
"Hush!" interrupted Grosvenor, sharply. "Listen to that fellow giving
orders to his men: I'll be shot if he isn't speaking Hebrew--or
something that sounds uncommonly like it!"
"Hebrew?" echoed Dick. "Nonsense! Surely you don't mean it?"
"Indeed I do, then," retorted Grosvenor; "never was more serious in my
life. Listen! Yes, I feel sure I was not mistaken; it is a sort of
Hebrew patois that he is speaking, Hebrew, mixed up, it is true, with a
number of words that I can make nothing of. Still, I can understand
enough of what he is saying to make out that he is giving his fellows
orders to drive in our oxen and yoke them to the wagon. You know I went
in rather strongly for Hebrew when I was at Oxford, and did pretty well
at it. And I don't know what you think about it, Dick, but when I come
to look at those men's faces it seems to me that they are all of quite a
distinct Jewish type--eh, what?"
"Well--yes--they certainly are," admitted Dick. "But--Hebrews! Where
the dickens can they have come from?"
"Goodness knows!" returned Grosvenor; "unless--and by Jove there may be
something in the idea--who is to say that they are not one or more of
the lost tribes--eh, what?"
"Well, of course they may be," agreed Dick. "That is rather a brilliant
idea of yours, old chap, and may be worth following up--if they give us
the chance. But not just now; there are more pressing matters claiming
our attention at this moment--these bonds of ours, for instance. I
don't know how yours are, but mine have been drawn quite unnecessarily
tight; my fingers already feel as though they are about to burst. Do
you think you could make that fellow understand that there is no need at
all to bind us, and that if he will release us we ask nothing better
than to accompany him whithersoever he may be pleased to take us?"
"Yes, I think I can," replied Grosvenor. "At all events I'll try; my
lashings are quite as uncomfortable as yours can be, I fancy."
And forthwith he shouted to the officer a lengthy if somewhat halting
communication in the best Hebrew at his command, the result being that,
after a long colloquy, the amazed officer, after considerable
hesitation, somewhat reluctantly gave the order for the prisoners' bonds
to be loosed, after cautioning them that the slightest sign of any
attempt at escape would result in the instant death of the entire party.
Then, having scored one success, Grosvenor attempted another by
suggesting that Jantje and 'Nkuku should be entrusted with the
inspanning and driving of the wagon, which could be accomplished with
much greater facility if the oxen were handled by those to whom they
were accustomed. This also the officer eventually conceded, after
carefully considering the matter for about a quarter of an hour,
meanwhile the oxen were driven very nearly mad by the vain efforts of
the soldiers to round them up and drive them towards the wagon.