"I should like to ask you, sir," said Margetts after a pause, "the
rights about the presence of the larger animals--wild animals, I mean--
in these parts. In Zululand, which is very nearly on the same parallel
as this, they were certainly to be found. Some of the horses were
attacked by lions while we were actually in the country. We had been
informed that it was very much the same state of things in the
Transvaal. But here we have been journeying several days, and we have
not come upon the slightest trace of elephant, or lion, or giraffe, or
rhinoceros. We did hear a roaring one day, which we thought was that of
a lion, but it turned out to be only an ostrich,--so Matamo said, at all
events."
"If you heard the roaring by day, Mr Margetts," said Prestcott, "it was
pretty sure to be that of an ostrich. As a rule, the lion only roars by
night. The two roars are certainly very much alike, though a practised
hunter could distinguish between them easily enough. As for the great
game of which you speak, it has certainly left the lower parts of the
Transvaal. If a solitary specimen here and there is to be met with, the
animal in question has been driven southward by some accident. It is a
different thing in Zululand from what it is here. The natives do not
hunt the lion or the rhinoceros, as the European settlers do. After
they have once begun to people a land, the big game soon disappears. We
have, however, still herds of antelopes of all kinds, springboks,
gemsboks, elands, koodoos, hartebeests, and gnus. The lion preys upon
all these, and where they are to be found in great numbers he might be
looked for also. But the white hunter is too much for him, I expect."
"They are old acquaintances of yours, I perceive, sir," suggested
George. "Have you ever had any perilous encounters with them?"
"Well, sir, I have had one or two brushes--narrow escapes they may be
called. I had one in Namaqualand some years ago--no one ever had a
narrower, I may say."
"Please let us hear it, sir," said Redgy. "If one can't see the lions
themselves, as I had hoped, at all events one may hear about them."
"Well, I'll tell you my adventure, sir, if you like it," said Mr
Prestcott, who had evidently no disinclination to relate his personal
experience. "I had gone to Walfisch Bay, where some English traders had
settled, with whom I wished to establish business relations. I had to
pass through the Hottentot country. At that time there were a good many
villages scattered about, and there I could procure food and lodging.
There were few or no white men at that time in the country, and the
lions had never been disturbed in their occupation. One evening I
reached a kraal on the Fish river, and there I found all the Hottentots
in a terrible state of alarm about a very big lion, which was lurking
somewhere in their neighbourhood and had taken to man-eating. I daresay
you may have heard that when a lion once does that, the only chance is
to kill him at once. He gets so fond of human flesh that he won't eat
any other, and he will lie in wait near one of the villages for days and
weeks together, hiding himself in one place or another, and springing
suddenly out on some unwary traveller."
"Isn't that fact disputed, Mr Prestcott?" asked Hardy. "I have met
with old hunters who say that the man-eating lion is merely an old
animal, who has become too stiff in the joints to run his victims down,
and that he only preys on men in the way you have described, because
they can't run away from him in the way that an antelope or a gnu
would."
"Yes, I have heard that," assented Mr Prestcott, "and think it may very
possibly be true. Certainly such man-eating lions as I have seen killed
were very wretched, mangy-looking creatures. That was attributed to the
fact of their living on human flesh, but I don't know why that should
cause such a result. Their appearance is certainly consistent with
their being old, worn-out animals. Any way, the Hottentots were in a
state of great disquietude about this lion. No less than five victims--
two men and three children--had been killed and carried off into the
long jungle grass, where he principally took up his abode, within the
last week or two. Several times the whole of the men had gone out to
spear him. But though they had seen him at a distance, they could not
get near enough to wound him with their shots or arrows. They implored
me so earnestly to deliver them from this terrible pest, that I agreed
to remain for a day or two and see what I could do for them. Well, I
stayed with them a week, and made several excursions, but could see
nothing of him. At last it was supposed that he had been killed or had
left the neighbourhood. I had delayed there longer than I liked, so I
took my leave one morning, and, having loaded both barrels of my gun, I
set off on my way for Walfisch Bay. About a mile from the Hottentot
village there was a clear spring of water. As the day was very hot, I
resolved to bathe my hands and feet and take a good draught before going
farther. I took off my coat and shoes and stockings and laid them at
the foot of a large mootjeeri that almost overhung the pool, but I
retained my gun in my hand. I was just stooping to take a draught of
water, when I heard a stealthy movement in the long tambookie grass,
like that of a large animal creeping towards me, and at the same moment
my horse, which I had fastened to the bough of a small tree, broke away
and rushed off at full speed I sprang up and swung myself round the
mootjeeri, only just in time to escape the spring of a large lion, which
struck against the tree and was thrown by the shock on its side. Before
it could regain its legs I had dropped my gun and skimmed up into the
tree, the lower limbs of which were only six feet or so from the ground.
I seated myself on a branch, and took a good look at my assailant, who
was now standing only a few feet below me, eyeing me with a hungry look,
and every now and then giving vent to his impatience at being kept from
his supper in short, angry roars. There could be no doubt that it was
the man-eater, and that he had tracked me, waiting his opportunity. It
was a good job for me that the mootjeeri was so close at hand, and that
lions cannot climb, or he would have made short work with me. But
though I thanked Heaven for my escape so far, I was by no means out of
the scrape. If I had been able to take my gun up into the tree with me,
I could soon have rid myself of him, but it was lying on the brink of
the spring. Nor could I even recover my coat and shoes, which I had
placed at the foot of the tree, a couple of yards below the branch. I
could only reach them by hooking them up with a long stick. I did try
this. I cut a long wand with a crook at the end, and let this down.
But the lion instantly seized my coat in its teeth and tore it away. It
was the same with my shoes, and I was presently obliged to give up the
attempt. He instantly clutched anything which I attempted to move.
"I was obliged to remain quite passive, but my condition was getting
very uncomfortable. My arms and feet were bare, and the leaves of the
mootjeeri afforded me a very insufficient shade from the blazing heat of
the sun overhead. I also became very hungry as the evening came on.
What food I had had with me was all in the bags attached to my saddle.
My only chance, I felt, was that the lion might get tired of waiting for
me and go off to seek food elsewhere. But I was sensible that this was
not worth much. It was clear that he wanted me, or he would have sprung
on my horse when he first made his attack; and I knew how eager the
craving of the man-eater is for human flesh. He would wait as long as
nature would allow him to hold out, in the hope of making his meal on
me, and he would probably be able to last out much longer than I could.
"Presently he left the foot of the tree and went back to the spring,
where he took a long draught, and then lay down on the grass under the
shrubs, keeping his red and angry eye still fixed on me, and every now
and then displaying his terrible teeth. The whole afternoon passed
thus. I was in hopes that some of the Hottentots might pass that way,
and repeatedly shouted at the top of my voice for help.
"By and by it grew dark, and some of the smaller animals which were
accustomed to resort to the fountain to drink made their appearance in
the distance, and again I hoped that he would pursue and make his supper
on one of them. But no, it was quite plain that he had made up his mind
to have me and nothing else. At last it grew quite dark, only a few
stars being visible in the sky, and the lion, so far as I could make
out, was sound asleep. I attempted to creep stealthily down from the
branch, but the moment I moved he started up with a short roar, and
rushed up to the tree so quickly that I had only just time to regain my
former position.
"Daybreak came at last. I was worn out for want of sleep and ravenous
with hunger. I foresaw that I should soon get weak and dizzy and drop
from my perch into the jaws of my enemy. Suddenly it occurred to me,
that although my supply of tobacco, was in my saddle-bags, I might have
a small quantity in my belt, which would for the moment relieve my
hunger. I felt accordingly, and drew out--not, alas! any tobacco, but
my match-box. I usually carried this in my coat pocket, but by good
luck I had thrust it into my belt at starting. The matches were of an
unusually good kind, and when once ignited would burn for two or three
minutes quite to the very end. The moment I saw them, I felt I had
found a mode of deliverance if I could only accomplish it. I took my
powder-flask, which was fortunately quite full, and dropped some loose
powder on the ground. I then took one of the matches and fastened it to
the end of the long stick by which I had endeavoured to hook up my coat
and shoes. Having firmly secured it, I lighted it, and then dropped the
flask on the heap of powder which I had scattered below. The lion, as
before, rushed instantly up and put his head down to lay hold of the
flask. Quick as lightning I thrust the stick down and applied it to the
powder. The flask exploded directly in the lion's face, setting his
mane and whiskers on fire and severely scorching his mouth and nose.
With a yell of terror and pain, he galloped off at the top of his speed,
while I crawled down so exhausted that a long draught from the fountain
and a feast of some wild medlars, which I fortunately found growing by
the fountain, only restored me so far as to enable me with a great
effort to get back to the Hottentot village, where I had to rest several
days before I was fit to resume my journey."
"What became of the lion?" asked Redgy.
"Nothing more was, I believe, ever heard of him. I inquired about him
on my way back, but the Hottentots said he had entirely disappeared from
the neighbourhood. They fancied that the fright he had had prevented
his returning to his old haunts. But my opinion is that his eyesight
had been completely destroyed by the explosion, and that, being rendered
unable to provide himself with food, he had soon died of hunger."
"Well, sir, that was a near touch, certainly," said Hardy. "But I think
what happened to my old comrade Robson may match it. He and I were in
the same regiment in the war with the Ashantees. He told me the story,
I remember, one night on our march to Coomassie, when the mosquitoes and
the heat made it impossible to sleep. Robson had been servant to an
officer who was very fond of field sports. He and two or three others
who had got a short leave were resolved to pass it in some genuine
African hunting, as they called it, going quite beyond the usual resorts
of white men. They started from Graham's Town, and travelled northwards
across what is now the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, till they
came within a short distance of the Limpopo. The country was wild
enough even for them. They fell in with a number of savage tribes, and
here and there a Dutch settler. But there had been nothing to scare
away the wild beasts. When they encamped for the night, Robson said
they could hear the lions roaring about them to their heart's content.
They were obliged at night to light two large fires, one on each side of
the space enclosed by their waggons. The oxen were all placed in the
middle, so that they couldn't get out, or the lions get in, otherwise
they would certainly have been seized and devoured. Sometimes the lions
were so bold, that they were obliged to cut long stout poles and lash
them to the spokes of the wheels to prevent the animals creeping in
under the waggons. One or two always kept watch, and the others slept
with their loaded rifles by their sides. Robson said that if any of the
oxen had contrived to slip out, they would have been seized and devoured
in no time. By the light of the moon, he had sometimes seen three or
four lions stalking about, trying to find some way in. Till he got used
to it, their roaring was the most terrible sound to him that could be
imagined, and he used to lie quaking with terror. It seemed to fill the
whole air in all directions, he said."
"Ay," remarked Prestcott; "that is because the lion when he roars puts
his head close to the earth, so that his voice rolls along the ground
and echoes among the rocks. Go on with your story."
"Well," resumed Hardy, "what the party wanted above all things was to
fall in with a herd of elephants. They had been told how they went
about everywhere in that country in large herds, breaking their way
through the thick forests like a fleet of men-of-war through the waves.
They were a good deal disappointed that several weeks passed without
their meeting so much as a single elephant. Robson said that he was as
much disappointed as the rest. But one day he had his wish, and
something over, as the saying is. There had been a great hunt among the
Matabeles to the north, and a large herd had been driven some way south
of the Limpopo. One evening the scouts came hurrying in with the
information that the whole forest a few miles to the north of them was
full of elephants. They were resting for the night, the blackies said,
but in the morning they would be pretty sure to make for a piece of
water which lay about a mile to the south of us. They would pass
through the very glade where we now were, in which there were some very
large trees. If we climbed up into these, we should get some capital
shots as they passed. But not a moment was to be lost in placing the
waggons and oxen in some secure spot. The elephants would pass down the
middle of the glade, trampling everything to powder that came in their
way.
"The oxen were inspanned accordingly, there being just daylight enough
for the purpose. Fortunately one of the party had seen some high steep
cliffs about half a mile off, which the elephants could not get down if
they tried. Thither the waggons and oxen were conveyed, and were placed
in a shady nook immediately under the precipice, leaving some of the men
in charge of them. The rest returned to the glade, and, after taking
their supper, climbed up into the largest trees they could find, taking
care to be fully eighteen or twenty feet from the ground. Robson made
himself as comfortable as he could, but he could not sleep. The air was
full of insects of one kind or another, and their bite was very
annoying. Besides this, he kept continually fancying that he heard
noises of one kind or another in the distance. Now it was a low
rumbling, which he presently discovered to be the wind, now a shrill cry
for help, which, after intense listening, he recognised to be the call
of some bird. Repeatedly, too, he imagined he was falling out of the
tree, in a fork of which he had fixed himself. At last he resolved to
descend and lie down to rest on a heap of long grass which lay near the
foot of the tree. He was convinced that his slumbers would be but
light. Anyhow the crash of the advancing herd would be enough, he
argued, to wake the dead. Two minutes would be enough to enable him to
regain his station on the branch.
"He descended accordingly, and having made a careful examination of the
grass, to make sure there were no snakes in it, he lay down with his
rifle in his hand, and almost instantly dropped asleep. He did not know
how long he slept, but it was probably several hours, for it was broad
day when he awoke. The crash and din he had anticipated were fully
realised. Babel itself seemed to have broken loose, but it was not the
herd of elephants that created it. They were no doubt in motion. He
could see, indeed, from the excited gestures of his companions in the
great nowana above him, that the leaders were already in sight. But it
was a crowd of frightened animals of all descriptions that had awakened
him. They had been driven from their lairs by the approach of the
monsters, and were flying in confusion from them. There were herds of
buffaloes crowded so close together that it was with difficulty they
could advance, whole legions of boks of every variety, a few jackals,
hyenas, wild pigs, even here and there a lion or a rhinoceros, hurrying
through the forest paths, in terror of being trampled under the feet of
the elephants, which would have crushed them into atoms, scarcely aware
of their presence. Among the runaways were crowds of monkeys, which did
not join the crowd below, but sprang from branch to branch, along the
lower parts of the trees immediately over his head, making it impossible
for him to climb to his former perch. He would have been knocked off,
gun and all, before he had mounted a dozen feet.
"It was evident to Robson that he must find some other place of refuge,
and that without loss of time, for even he could now see, about a
hundred yards off, the heads of the great bull-elephants which always
marched in advance of the others, tearing and forcing their way through
the dense forest as a man would through a field of standing corn. In a
few minutes more they would be close upon him, and the crowd of animals
still prevented him from escaping. The only chance that presented
itself to him was creeping into the hollow of a huge nowana, close to
which he was standing. The roots of this were above ground, and there
was a huge cleft in them which was at all events large enough to hide
him from sight. He forced his way through the opening in the bark
accordingly, though with great difficulty, and found the hole inside
larger than he had expected, though he could not distinguish how far it
extended, for the climbing plants outside almost covered the entrance.
But he had not been in his hiding-place five minutes before the leading
elephants came up. On strode the giants, some of them appearing to
Robson to be fully fourteen feet high, the large trees giving way before
them and the very ground trembling under their feet. Just as the
leaders came in front of the hole in which he was lying, a shot from
above struck one of the largest behind the ear and passed into his
brain. It was instantly fatal. With a loud roar the huge beast fell
dead, and his head blocked up the lower part of the opening through
which Robson had entered. It was impossible for him now to make his way
out; but then, on the other hand, he was now safe from intrusion--so, at
least, he fancied.
"He resolved to wait until the herd had passed, and then to shout to his
companions for help. The tremendous noise for the present prevented the
possibility of being heard, if he had shouted ever so loudly. There was
nothing for it but to remain quiet. By and by the light became better,
or rather, I should say, Robson's eyes became used to the darkness, and
he perceived that he was not the only occupant of the cave. There was
something indistinct and shapeless in the farthest corner, a slight
quivering motion showing that it was alive. It was probably some wild
animal which in its terror had taken refuge in the hollow of the tree,
as he had done. It might be something quite harmless, a stray goat,
perhaps, from a herd,--there were plenty kept in the neighbourhood, and
underground caves and hollow trees were favourite places of retreat for
them. It was as well, however, for him to be on his guard. He took up
his rifle and brought it to his shoulder. As he did so, there came a
rustling sound from the dark corner, and two fiery eyes were visible
against the light. Instinctively, rather than with any settled purpose,
he drew the trigger, there was a loud hissing noise, the light from the
eyes disappeared, a writhing motion which lasted for several minutes
followed, and then the dark mass, whatever it was, lay motionless.
Robson told me that a sickening sensation came over him, and he supposed
that he must have fainted. When he came to, some time afterwards, he
was in the hands of his friends. They had been engaged in cutting out
the tusks of the great bull elephant, and had heard a shot fired inside
the tree. In great surprise they searched the hollow, and dragged
Robson out, to all appearance more dead than alive."
"And did they pull out his companion too?" inquired Redgy eagerly.
"Yes, sir, they had pulled it out, and it was the first thing he saw
lying on the ground near him when he came to his senses, and it didn't
improve his spirits."
"What was it?" exclaimed several of the party together.
"A cobra, seven feet long, sir," answered Hardy. "It had crept in there
out of the noise, I suppose, and had been as much frightened as the
other creatures were; that was no doubt the reason why it did not fly at
Robson the first moment he entered. When he levelled his gun, the
creature's instinct probably warned it of its danger, and it had spread
its hood and raised itself for a spring, when the bullet struck it
between the eyes and killed it on the spot. If the shot had gone
anywhere else, Robson would never have told me the story."
"That was enough to shake a fellow's nerves, certainly," said George.
"Yes, sir; Robson could never endure the sight of even harmless snakes,
and used to shake all over when he saw one, like a man with the ague. I
used to joke him about it, and I think he told me his adventure to
prevent me from doing so any more. Well, I suppose it is time that we
go and lie down, isn't it? We are to set off, I believe, as early, or
rather earlier than usual to-morrow."
"Are you going on to Standerton the first thing in the morning?"
inquired Mr Prestcott; "and does the Dutch gentleman intend to accept
my escort? He didn't say positively."
"I have no doubt he will," replied George with some hesitation. "And
you must accept," he added more confidently, "our thanks for your kind
and hospitable reception of us. Mr Vander Heyden is, as you have
noticed, a Boer, and, like some of his countrymen, does not love the
English."
Mr Prestcott smiled. "We English settlers here," he said, "understand
all about that. This annexation of the Transvaal, though they were glad
enough of it at the time, when their country was in the greatest danger
of invasion, to which they could have offered no resistance, is not at
all to their mind now. I hear they are trying to induce the new
governor to get it rescinded; and if they are rebuffed, as probably they
will be, they will get more and more discontented. But it has occurred
to me, since speaking to Mr Vander Heyden, that there is an opportunity
for him to travel in safety as far as Heidelberg, at all events. There
are a number of waggons containing Government stores on their way to the
town which are resting for the night a few miles from this. I have no
doubt he might obtain leave to travel in their company. There is a
military escort, which of course would make the journey quite secure. I
have some acquaintance with Lieutenant Evetts, and would give Mr Vander
Heyden an introduction to him, if he would condescend to make the
acquaintance of a British officer."
"Lieutenant Evetts," repeated Rivers. "What, of the Mounted Volunteers,
do you mean, who was present at the attack at Rorke's Drift?"
"Yes, the same, only he now holds a commission in the Natal Mounted
Police."
"There is no need of any introduction to him," said George,--"not for
me, at all events. We knew one another for some weeks, before the
advance into Zululand. And even if we had had no previous introduction,
that night at Rorke's Drift would have been introduction enough."
"Were you there, Mr Rivers?" asked Prestcott eagerly. "And do I
understand you that Mr Vander Heyden was there too?"
"Yes, he and I and Evetts were all three there, and saved each other's
lives at least half a dozen times during those nine or ten hours of
fighting."
"I am glad to have had you under my roof, Mr Rivers, and I must forgive
Mr Vander Heyden his dislike to the English. No, sir, no introduction
to Lieutenant Evetts can be required. I should as soon think of
introducing one twin brother to another."
"I say, Hardy," said George, as they went off to bed, "that was a pretty
good one about the cobra in the hollow tree, wasn't it?"
"I wasn't going to be beaten by him," answered Hardy; "though his wasn't
a bad one about the lion, I must admit that."