Tall tree-trunks, straight standing or curved; a tangle of creepers and
undergrowth; long rank grass, and a general effluvium of decay and
stuffiness unpleasantly suggestive of fever--such were the general
features of the Lumisana forest.
Its depths were gloomy and desolate to the last degree, and seldom
penetrated. The natives carefully avoided the place, and if they did
enter it would never do so except in groups. It was the haunt of
dangerous snakes, of fierce and aggressive specimens of the mamba tribe,
and of abnormal size, they held; and these there was no avoiding among
the long grass and tangled undergrowth. Further, it was the especial
haunt of the _Inswelaboya_--a species of hairless monster, half ghost,
half human, given to strangling its victims on sight; and this was a
more weighty consideration even than the fear of venomous reptiles.
This feeling on the part of the natives had its advantages, for the
forest constituted part of one of the large tracts utilised as game
preserves. Here koodoo were plentiful, with a sprinkling of the
splendid sable antelope. Buffalo, too, haunted its gloomy depths, where
the reed-fringed pools in the clearing afforded them a wallowing-place--
and there was even a specimen or two of the rare white rhino. All
these, of course, were rigidly protected, so far as it was possible to
police so wild and difficult a tract of country at all. But the larger
kind of game flourished. The natives, as we have said, shunned this
gloomy wilderness, nor were the means of destruction at their disposal
adequate. White men seldom came here, for permits were rarely given,
and, failing such, the very act of getting the spoils away would have
led to certain detection. But with Ben Halse the case was altogether
different. He had exceptional advantages. He was resident on the spot,
and knew every corner of those remote fastnesses. Then, too, he was
hand in glove with the powerful chief of the district, and not a man of
that chief's following would have dreamed of giving him away.
Now he was making his way along a narrow game path. Verna walked
immediately behind him--they had left their horses at a kraal on the
high ground, for this stuffy, forest-covered valley bottom was not
altogether devoid of the tsetse fly. Behind her again walked
Undhlawafa, followed by several Zulus in single file.
"I'm going to have first shot, dear," whispered Verna, over her father's
shoulder.
"Don't know. What if you miss?" he returned. "Those horns'll be worth
a devil of a lot."
"But I shan't miss. No, you must let me have first shot. I so seldom
get a look in at anything big."
She carried a light, sporting .303, its magazine loaded with Dum-dum
cartridges. She knew how to use it, too, and hand and nerve were steady
as rock. She was arrayed in just the costume for an expedition of the
kind, a plain blouse and short bicycle skirt, and looked exceedingly
ready and sportsmanlike; and after some couple of hours' walk over
anything but easy ground, her step was as elastic as though she had just
sallied forth.
Night had fallen, and though a glorious moon was sailing in the clear
sky, so thick were the tall tree-tops that, meeting overhead, they
plunged the pathway into gloom, networked here and there by the
penetrating moonbeams. But here was none of the stillness of night.
Large owls hooted loud and spectrally, and the nursery-like squall of
the "bush-baby"--a species of lemur--was thrown forth, and echoed and
answered from near and far. Now and then a sudden scuffle and rumbling
retreat told that a buck had been disturbed and was making himself
hurriedly scarce; or, not so harmless, perchance, a stealthy rustle in
the grass would bring the party to a standstill.
"That's the worst of this walking in the dark," said Ben Halse. "You
never know when some infernal black mamba may jump up and hit you bang
in the face. Then--good-night! Or you may tread on his tail while he's
getting out of the way. Which amounts to the same thing."
There was always the risk of this, of course, but risks have to be
taken. Verna, for her part, was keenly enjoying this clandestine
night-poaching expedition. There was that about it which appealed
powerfully to her, and every fibre of her strong, healthy being thrilled
with the sheer joy of life. Then, suddenly, the moonlight burst in
through the trees in front. They had come to the edge of an open space.
Undhlawafa whispered caution. Then he ordered his followers to remain
where they were--if anything to retire a little way back. He did not
want to set up any more scent than was necessary. Then, cautiously,
they advanced to the edge and peered forth.
In front lay an open space. It was swampy ground, caused by the trickle
of a small stream which here expanded into reed-fringed pools. These
were barely a hundred yards from where the stalkers lay concealed. At
present there was no sign of life in the clearing, unless it were the
occasional croak of a frog. Then something moved, and a small shape
came stealing across the open to the water. It lapped a little, but was
evidently uneasy, for it kept lifting its head and listening. Then,
having hurriedly completed its drink, the jackal made for dark cover as
last as its legs could carry it.
"Wonder if it could have winded us," whispered Ben Halse. "Yet we are
on the right side for wind, too."
"I'm to have first shot, remember," returned Verna. Her father nodded.
A large owl floated across the open, hooting loudly and dismally. There
was a hot stuffiness in the still, yellow, moonlit air, which was
depressing. Then two hyenas came out to drink at the pool. They, at
any rate, were under no misgivings, for, having drunk, they sat on their
haunches and bayed the moon long and hideously. This performance
concluded they began chasing each other, to the accompaniment of much
snarling, till they, too, disappeared within the depths of the farther
forest.
Now came a period of tense waiting, during which nothing stirred.
Conversation, even in the faintest of whispers, was of course out of the
question. Then a sound, unmistakable to these, bred among the sounds of
the wilderness, was borne to their ears, the tramp of approaching hoofs.
"More than one," whispered Ben Halse.
He was right. Advancing from the upper end of the open space were three
large animals. Nearer--and lo! standing forth in the moonlight the
splendid koodoo bull paced slowly down to the water. He was leading the
way--half as large again as the two cows. A thrill of irrepressible
eagerness ran through the watchers, the younger of them especially.
At the edge of the water the noble animal paused a moment before
lowering his head to drink. His immense spiral horns reached far over
his broad back, and the white stripes upon his dark hide were visible in
the clear moonlight. Then Verna's rifle spoke.
The effect, crashing through the stillness of the night, was almost
appalling. The echoes roared through the silent forest from point to
point, and the rush and thunder of flying hoofs seemed to shake the
ground as the two cows sped for cover at lightning speed. But the
bull--the splendid "record" bull--he made one mighty, powerful plunge
into the air, then dropped over onto his side, and after one harsh
half-bellow, half-groan, lay still.
"Well done, little girl, well done!" cried Ben Halse enthusiastically.
"I never saw a cleaner shot. He's got it bang through the heart, by the
way he fell."
"That's where I aimed, dear," she answered, flushed with the feeling of
the thorough sportsman, that life could hardly contain better moments
than this.
"_Inkosikazi_!" ejaculated old Undhlawafa admiringly. "_Mame_! A
wonder!"
They went over to the fallen animal, which lay motionless and stone
dead. It was even as her father had said; Verna's bullet had drilled
clean through the heart of the mighty beast--a neat and sportsmanlike
shot as ever was delivered.
"_That_ pair of horns'll stand us in for close on a hundred pounds,"
pronounced Ben Halse. "Why, they must be the world's record! I never
saw any to come up to them in all my experience."
"So the world's record has been accounted for by only a girl," said
Verna merrily. "But you were a darling to let me have first shot."
"Oh, as to that I was afraid you'd miss--women are so nervy and
excitable."
"Especially this woman!"
"Well, it doesn't much matter who fired the shot, the point is we've got
the horns, and they'll be worth quite what I said, if not more."
"Father, I'm ashamed of you. That's a nice sportsmanlike way of
talking, isn't it?"
The other Zulus had now crowded up, and were firing off many
ejaculations of amazement and admiration. It is possible that some of
them remembered the occasion on which the bullet hole had been drilled
in the wall of Ben Halse's store. The butchery part of it devolved upon
them. But this was a form of amusement they thoroughly enjoyed, and,
moreover, they would have a big meat feast. The larger kind of buck,
with the exception, perhaps, of the eland, is apt to be coarse and
tasteless, and except for the more delicate part of this one, such as
the saddle, Ben Halse wanted none. He, however, waited to see that the
head, with its invaluable pair of horns, was properly taken care of. So
they went to work merrily, and in an incredibly short space of time the
carcase was duly quartered, and a big fire was lighted and a big roast
started, by way of a preliminary, for there was no chance of
interruption. There was nothing on earth to draw a patrol of that fine
corps the Natal Police into the depths of the Lumisana forest at that
ungodly hour of the night, short of very strong and very definite
"information received." Ben Halse and Verna, after their hours of
tramping and the tension of waiting, took their share of the roast with
keen and healthy appetites.
"Oh, I love this!" said the latter, cutting into a strip of the hissing
grill with a pocket-knife and a sharpened stick for a fork. "Why, it's
worth all the sitting-down meals in the world!"
"Isn't it?" rejoined her father. "Here, Undhlawafa. Here is something
to send it down with." And he produced a large flask of "square face"
gin, and poured a goodly measure into the cup. The old Zulu's face lit
up.
"_Nkose_! It is good, _impela_!" and he drained it at two gulps.
"The worst of it is," went on Verna, "the record pair of koodoo horns
can't be ticketed with my name. Because this is a poach, you know."
"Oh, but it can--and shall. Denham has undertaken to indemnify me in
any risks I run in procuring him specimens. This'll stand us in for a
hundred pounds at least. Why, the horns are a record! And I shall
stick out that he placards on them a notice, that they were shot by
you--shot fair and clean, by God! as I've never seen anything better
shot."
"All right, dear," answered the girl. "Then some fine day the record
leaks out that we have been shooting koodoo on a Government game
preserve without a permit. What then?"
"What then? Why, I'm fined--say a hundred pounds. Denham makes that
good, and--makes good the other hundred for the horns. But the chances
are a thousand to one against the news ever reaching the proper quarter
over here, for all purposes of prosecution, I mean. You see, it doesn't
specify _where_ the thing was shot."
"No; there's something in that," said Verna. "But I'd like to figure,
if only in a rich man's private museum, as having shot the record koodoo
in the world." And she laughed merrily.
The Zulus were busy cutting up the great antelope, which task they
accomplished in a surprisingly short space of time, chattering and
laughing among themselves as they devoured various portions of the
tid-bits raw. In process of the talk Undhlawafa contrived to say
something to Ben Halse--something "dark." That worthy nodded.
"Stay here, Verna. I shall be back directly," he said.
She looked at him for a moment full in the moonlight. Some instinct was
upon her. Once before, the same instinct had moved her to intervene in
a certain transaction of his, to intervene right at the critical moment,
with the result of saving him from a disastrous fate as the outcome of
what that transaction would have involved. The thing had hung in the
balance; but her instinct had rung true, her intervention had availed.
He had been saved. Now that same instinct was upon her again. She
could not for the life of her have defined its meaning, still--there it
was.
"I'll be back directly," he went on. Then he and Undhlawafa disappeared
within the black shades of the forest.
Verna, left there, set herself out to await her father's return with
that tranquil philosophy which was the result of her wild life and no
particular upbringing. She watched the butchery proceedings in the
clear, full moonlight, but with no interest. They were rather
disgusting, but she had seen enough of that sort of detail for it to
have little or no effect on her. She gazed forth upon the swampy,
miasmatic open space and the sombre forest line bounding it, and gave a
direction or two to the natives as to the head and horns of the trophy.
Then she began to wonder when her father was coming back.
The latter and Undhlawafa had reached a spot in the forest where the
trees were thin at the top, letting through a broad network of
moonlight. Bending down the induna drew forth from some place of
concealment a bag made of raw hide. It was heavy, and its contents
clinked.
"Count these, U' Ben," he said, untying the _reimpje_ that fastened it.
The trader's eyes kindled and his pulses quickened somewhat as he picked
up a handful out of the mass of golden sovereigns, letting it fall back
through his fingers in a stream which flashed in the moonlight. This he
did again and again--and the rich metallic clink of the falling coins
was music to his ears. All this could be his for the taking--his, now
and here, and in return an easy and not particularly risky service.
Undhlawafa, the while, was reading his face.
"Is it not enough?" he said, in a tone that implied that more might
conceivably be forthcoming in the event of a negative reply. "Yet--
count the pieces."
But Ben Halse did not do this. He continued to trickle the coins
through his fingers, without replying. Why should he let go this
opportunity of making a rich haul? If he did not take it somebody else
would, and the result would be the same. Besides, no Zulu, or any other
native for that matter, could hit a house with firearms unless he were
locked up inside it, and then his bullet would probably miss it and go
through the window. He was far more dangerous with his own native
assegai--in fact, the possession of firearms rendered him less efficient
with even that. These were the salves he applied to his conscience as
he looked upon the mass of sovereigns shining in the moonlight, and
played lovingly with them, and longed to possess them.
But the other side of the argument would obtrude itself. The mere
possession of arms breeds the desire to use them--and this holds good
especially of savages. He thought of the women and children scattered
about at different centres throughout the land, and realised, as he had
often done before, how any carefully planned, concealed and concerted
outbreak would simply spell massacre for the lot in a single night. He
thought of Verna--his Verna--and the land contained other people's
"Vernas." No, he could not do it. He knew, of course, that he could
send her out of the country at any time if things became too sultry--he
would receive ample warning. But that consideration struck home. He
could not do it.
"Where are you, father? Oh, there."
The sweet, clear, fluty voice came upon him like an omen, and then the
girl stepped to his side where he sat. One quick glance at the bag of
gold, another at her father's face, and instinct supplied the rest. She
knew his particular weakness, but she said nothing then.
"We were talking over a certain deal, dear, Undhlawafa and I. The terms
are good."
"Well, I've interrupted you. But to-morrow will do as well, won't it?"
she answered carelessly. "Let's go home."
The induna sat tranquilly taking snuff. He, for his part, felt pretty
sure that his offer would be closed with--if not to-night, why, then,
to-morrow. Verna, for her part, felt rather more sure that it would
not. But Ben Halse got up to leave, and the bag containing two hundred
golden sovereigns still remained in the possession of Undhlawafa.