BAVIAN'S POOL--PLACE AUX ROI--GIANT BATHERS--AN ELEPHANT HUNT--THE
"NICK" OF TIME--NICK'S OVATION--DE WALDEN ARRESTED.
It took Kobo and the two lads a good hour to reach Bavian's Pool. It
lay in a different direction from any which they had yet pursued,
through dense bush, in which they would soon have lost themselves, if it
had not been for Kobo's attendance. Occasionally they came on the spoor
of the elephants, a large herd of which had evidently passed that way
not many hours previously. The gigantic footprints were traced sharp
and clear in the sandy soil; the young trees, that had been broken off
or trodden down by their bulky frames, exhibited fresh white fractures;
those which had only been bent by the weight of the animals in passing,
seemed hardly yet to have regained their former positions. Kobo, who
spoke under his breath in awe, as it seemed, of these forest kings, told
them that the herd, in all likelihood, were reposing at the distance of
not more than a quarter of a mile from the path they were now
traversing. This intelligence appearing to excite the lads a good deal.
He added, that they must not attempt to get a sight of them now, or
they would certainly spoil their pleasure that evening, and probably
prevent the elephant hunt, which was to take place the next day. The
whole tribe, he said, was going out in the morning, and it was hoped
that a good many animals would be killed; and as there were several very
fine males among them, a large prize in the way of ivory was
anticipated. But if the herd should be disturbed, and especially if it
should be fired upon, they would probably retreat northwards towards the
great lake, and the Bechuanas would see nothing of them but their spoor
and dung.
The boys yielded to his representations; and, turning in a different
direction from that followed by the elephants, they arrived in another
quarter of an hour at Bavian's Pool, which lay in the very heart of the
bush, with a clear space overgrown with grass and short rushes of about
twenty yards all round. On the west side appeared the rocks of which
Kobo had told them, and which presented a most picturesque appearance.
They rose abruptly from the bank of the tarn, to the height of perhaps
twenty feet, and sank down with a sharp descent to the level ground
everywhere, except in one place where a series of crags, piled one on
another, presented a kind of rude and very steep staircase, by which the
top might be attained. Up this the party climbed, and ensconced
themselves snugly under a shelf of rock from which they could see the
whole of the pool and the surrounding banks.
It was still broad daylight when they reached their place of ambush, and
the spot was as vacant and still as though the whole landscape had been
a part of the great Kalahari itself But they had not been there a
quarter of an hour, when the sun disappeared behind the belt of woodland
which bounded the sight, and the night of the tropics succeeded with its
startling rapidity. The green waste of thorns and shrubs grew first
dusky brown, and then deep black; the bright sparkling water a dull
gleamy mirror, faintly rendering back the pale opal of the sky. But
presently there came a further change. The moon rose higher in the
heavens, and the stars came forth in all the unimaginable glories of a
southern night--not mere specks of light as seen in the more cloudy
skies of the north, but hung like cressets in the glowing air, the moon
itself a bright globe of liquid fire. A clear soft radiancy diffused
itself over the whole scene, tipping every tree top and distant eminence
with silver, and causing the surface of the tarn, as it rippled lazily
under the evening breeze, to flash in circlets of light. Presently
there came a pattering of feet, as a crowd of small animals came down
from different points of the compass to quench their thirst--antelopes
with their slender legs and liquid eyes, glancing timidly round them;
elands and koodoos tossing their stately heads; gnus and buffaloes in
large herds consorting together for mutual protection; hyenas, jackals,
and zebras, plunging to the mid-leg in the cool dancing waters, and
bounding lightly away when their drought was satisfied. It was a
beautiful sight to watch them come and go, like the scenes in a
magic-lantern.
By and by, as the night deepened, the larger beasts of the forest made
their appearance. The tall graceful heads of giraffes were seen over
the tops of the bushes; tigers made their approach, singly or in pairs,
with their stealthy and noiseless step; lions stalked proudly down, as
though they felt that the sovereignty of the woods belonged by natural
right to them; occasionally the ponderous bulk of the rhinoceros might
be discerned, as he sucked in the refreshing water with his huge
misshapen snout, and retreated with a grunt of satisfaction when his
appetite had been appeased. Frank and Nick looked on with
ever-increasing interest, though it needed Kobo's oft-repeated
remonstrances to keep them from discharging their rifles at some of the
larger specimens, which came within tempting distance of their fire.
It was nearly midnight, and the shores of the pool were beset by a crowd
of animals, consisting mostly of the larger beasts of prey, when a
sudden sensation of alarm seemed to agitate the whole of the
miscellaneous group. The giraffes lifted their stately heads, snuffed
the air for a moment, and then bounded silently away; the panthers and
nylghaus moved more slowly off; the lions uttered low growls, apparently
of dissatisfaction, but nevertheless followed the retreat of the others.
Even the sullen black rhinoceros, after bending his head awhile to
listen, beat a leisurely retreat, viciously snorting as he retired. In
a few minutes the shores of the pool were as still and vacant as they
had been when the boys arrived, five or six hours before.
"What does this mean?" asked Nick in a whisper. "What have these brutes
seen or heard, to alarm them so? Are your countrymen on their way to
attack them?"
"No, it not that," answered Kobo, in the same subdued accents. "Beasts
hear elephant coming down to drink. All get out of elephant's way. He
king among them. Listen, you hear them."
"Do you really mean it, Kobo?" asked Nick, astonished at this
information. "The lions and rhinoceroses can't really be so much afraid
of the elephants as that comes to?"
"I believe it's true," said Frank; "I know I've been told so before. A
lion or a rhinoceros wouldn't mind a single elephant much, I dare say;
but it's the whole troop of 'em together that they're afraid of. They'd
run right over a lion, or a rhinoceros either, and trample the life out
of them, before they knew where they were. Yes, Kobo's right. Here
they come over that low bit of hill there. What a lot! and what
thundering big beasts!"
As he spoke, a dull heavy sound, like the roll of loaded waggons along a
hard road was heard; and the figure of an enormous elephant emerged from
the cover of the thicket, its broad flat head, huge misshapen ears, and
white tusks glistening in the broad moonlight. It was followed by
another, and another, each seeming to loom larger than the last, until
ten of the monsters had reached the banks of the tarn, all of them
males, and of the largest size.
"All bull," whispered Kobo; "bull drink first, females wait till they
done."
While he was speaking, the elephants had advanced up to their mid-legs
in the water, and dipping their trunks in, sucked up the cooling stream
with a loud gurgling noise. Frank's fingers insensibly stole to the
lock of his rifle. One of the largest of the giants was now scarcely
more than four or five yards from him, its figure as plainly visible in
the clear cold light, as though it had been noonday. Kobo had again to
lay his hand on the boy's shoulder, and whisper in his ear, "No shoot,
spoil hunt to-morrow," or he might not have been able to resist the
temptation.
Presently, however, the males had satisfied their thirst, and moving off
slowly in a different direction from that by which they had approached
the pond, re-entered the thicket. The cow elephants now took their
places, some twenty or thirty in number, many of them with calves of
various ages at their sides. There was scarcely room in the tarn for
the whole herd, and before they retired, the bright and sparkling waters
had become a turbid and discoloured flood. At length, however, they did
retire, and before the moon had set, the last of the bulky figures had
disappeared among the foliage.
"Now lie down and sleep;" said Kobo, "no more animals to-night."
The boys complied, and lying down among the bushes which grew here and
there between the masses of rocks, were soon buried in slumber. They
were awakened by Kobo at daybreak; and having eaten their breakfast, and
taken a dip in the tarn, which by this time had recovered its
translucent clearness, announced to Kobo that they were ready to take
the field.
They accompanied the Bechuana accordingly, as he proceeded cautiously to
follow the track left by the herd on the previous evening, for half a
mile or so through the bush. Then desiring them to climb two trees of
some size, which stood on either side of the path in the heart of the
woodland--an acacia and a motjeerie--he crept on alone through the
shrubs, making his way as secretly and noiselessly as a snake, and soon
vanished from their view.
Presently he reappeared, with the information that the herd were
browsing at the distance of a few hundred yards only, and seemed to have
no apprehension of danger. Chuma, however, and the other hunters would
now soon make their appearance from the opposite side, and would
doubtless attack the bull elephants with their assegais, their tusks
being a valuable prize. Kobo told them that they could not do better
than remain where they were. The elephants would almost certainly be
driven past the tree in which they lodged, and so give them the
opportunity they desired of trying their skill as marksmen. There were
other trees, he said, at no great distance which were larger, and
therefore safer, but the elephants might never come near them at all;
whereas, in their present position, they were almost sure to see what
passed.
"All right, Kobo," said Frank, "we'll stay here and take our chance.
After all, it must be a jolly big elephant that would bowl this tree
over."
Kobo again vanished, and the boys sat on the tiptoe of expectation for
the next hour or so, but without hearing any sound at all except the
song of the birds and the buzzing of the insects. Suddenly, however,
there broke forth a Babel of discordant sounds. The yells of the
Kaffirs--as advancing at the same time from different quarters, they
assailed the elephants with their assegais and arrows--were overpowered
by the trumpeting of the huge brutes, and the crash of the thorn and
seringa bushes, which gave way on every side before them, offering no
more serious obstacle to their career, than long grass would to that of
a man. Presently the whole herd broke from the cover of the jungle,
hurrying on in a transport of mingled rage and terror--the solid earth
seeming to tremble under their tread. The Bechuanas followed, darting
their assegais from a distance, or thrusting them into the most
vulnerable parts of the animals, according as opportunities presented
themselves. They had broken up into two or three parties, each of which
chose out one of the largest of the male elephants as the point of
attack. Some of these were already so severely wounded, that it was
with difficulty that they could continue their flight. It was a strange
spectacle to witness. The great bulls, pierced with a perfect grove of
spears, and dripping with the blood which poured from innumerable
wounds, staggered along, screaming with pain and fury; while the Kaffirs
continued to overwhelm them with more darts--mingling their blows with
entreaties to the huge beasts not to gore or trample on them, but to
have mercy and spare their lives, at the very moment when they were
inflicting torture and death on the creatures, whose forbearance they
implored!
Several huge animals passed in this manner in front of the trees, where
the two lads were seated; but none of them offered the desired
opportunity of a fair shot. Sometimes a tree intervened; sometimes the
animal's head was hidden by a bush at the moment when they levelled
their rifles; sometimes the Bechuanas engaged in the attack approached
the line of their aim too nearly to render it safe for them to fire. At
length, however, the opportunity did come. One of the largest of the
males, fully twelve foot high, had escaped the notice of the assailants;
and forcing his way through the haak-doorns and young motjikaaras as
though they had been so much paper, bid fair to accomplish his escape
without a wound. Both lads fired as he passed. Nick, who had levelled
at the shoulder, missed his mark by several inches; and his bullet
striking the creature's side, inflicted only a slight wound, which the
elephant hardly heeded. But Frank's aim was more successful. The
bullet struck the eye, though not precisely at the spot where it would
have been instantly fatal; and the pain was so acute, as to arrest the
monster in his panic-stricken flight. He stopped short and glared round
him, seeking for the author of the outrage. Catching sight of the
barrel of Frank's rifle as it glanced in the morning sun, he charged
directly at the tree in which he was seated. It was an acacia of
tolerable size, and the branch which bore him was above the reach of the
animal's trunk. But so terrific was the force of his rush, that the
trunk snapped like a rotten bough, and Frank, gun and all, was hurled to
the ground. He sprang up, having been fortunately only bruised by the
fall, and leaving his rifle to take care of itself, took to his heels as
hard as he could.
"Come here, come here!" shouted Nick; "this tree will hold us both, and
it's too big for him to break. Besides, I'm ready for him again now."
Frank cast a rapid glance round him, and saw that Nick was right. The
seringas and oomahaamas near him were thinly scattered, and afforded no
cover at all; and the brute which had now recovered itself from the
effect of the stunning blow it had received, was preparing to charge him
again. Frank flew, rather than ran, to the tree, and springing lightly
up, caught the lowest bough and swung himself on to it. From this he
mounted to those above it with the agility of a squirrel. But the
elephant was upon him, before he could reach the spot where his
companion was seated. On it came, with its trunk stretched to the full
length, and just caught Frank by the toe of the left foot, as he drew
the other out of its reach. Frank thought it was all over with him.
The tip of the trunk had caught firm hold of the shoe; and though it was
only the tip, so that the animal could not exert its full strength, he
felt himself drawn downwards with a force which he could not long
resist. He had thrown both his arms and the other leg round the branch,
so that the elephant had not merely the resistance of the boy's muscles
to encounter, but the solid and massive limb of the great motjeerie.
Nevertheless, all would speedily have given way, if Nick, leaning
forward and resting his rifle on the bough beneath him, had not fired
directly into the monster's eye, as it glared--not two feet below--upon
him. Frank felt the deadly grip relax, as the elephant sank downwards
and rolled over on its side, in its death agony, ploughing up the earth
with its tusks, and presenting to the eye a vast quivering mass of dull
grey hide, that gradually settled down into stillness.
Before Nick could fairly realise to himself his own success, the
Bechuanas had surrounded the carcass, and were greeting the two boys
with shouts of admiration and approval. They had not witnessed the
manner in which the elephant had come by his death, a belt of shrubs
having cut them off from the tree, in which Nick had been seated. They
concluded that the animal had simply been brought down, as it was
rushing by, by a successful shot from the lad's rifle; which must indeed
have been fired with extraordinary skill to be so instantaneously fatal.
The elephant slain was the great leader of the herd, fully twelve feet
in height, and with tusks that projected at least two feet beyond the
lip. It was by far the most valuable prize of the day, and its ivory
would fetch a considerable sum in the market. They overwhelmed the
successful sportsman with applause; and mounting Nick on their
shoulders, carried him back in triumph to the village, which lay at the
distance of not more than a couple of miles. Nick, who did not
particularly relish the honours bestowed upon him, nor the close
contiguity to the persons of the natives into which he was brought, did
his best to explain the occurrence to his bearers, and request them to
desist from rendering compliments which were altogether unmerited.
"I say, darky," he cried, "drop that, will you? I can walk home quite
well without your help, thank you all the same. I'm not much of a shot
with a rifle, and shouldn't have killed the chap, I expect, if he hadn't
come and obligingly put his eye within half a yard of me! Bother it
man, put me down. How their skins do stink--to be sure! Here, Kobo,
Kobo"--he had just caught sight of his attendant, as he spoke--"just
explain to these fellows, will you, that I prefer my own legs to their
arms, if they have no objection; and the flavour of grease and red ochre
isn't agreeable to everybody. I prefer a different style of perfume
myself!"
"Bechuanas carry white boy, 'cause he great hunter, kill big elephant,
pay him great honour," returned Kobo.
"I understand that plain enough," said Nick, "but I wish they'd honour
me according to my own notions, instead of theirs."
"Take it easy, Nick," said Frank, laughing. "We shall soon enter the
kraal now. I hope that brute, Maomo, will be in the way to see our
entry. It will do him good."
As they ran on in this way, they approached the Bechuana kraal, where
indeed, in accordance, as it seemed, with Wilmore's wish, nearly the
whole population, that had remained behind from the elephant hunt, were
assembled. Maomo was in the middle of them, apparently engaged in
making some address of a warning or threatening character to his
hearers, which had the effect of exciting and terrifying them. As the
lads approached nearer, they saw that the people were gathered round
some object stretched on the ground; to which the prophet continually
pointed during the pauses of his speech. Presently they perceived that
the object was an ox, dying in great suffering from some malady. The
poor brute's limbs were swollen to a huge size, froth was issuing from
its mouth and nostrils, the eyes rolled dim and bloodshot, and every now
and then its whole frame was shaken by violent convulsions. As the
chief, who was only a few paces behind the two boys, came on the scene,
Maomo burst forth into a torrent of declamation, having reserved his
energies, it appeared, for Chuma's more especial hearing.
"See you here," he exclaimed; "the pestilence has smitten the oxen, this
poor beast will die, and no one can heal it; what has happened to one
will happen to all. There will not be an ox left alive in the village
in two or three days more. And who has caused it? The White Prophet.
He prays to the wicked Spirits, and they hear him and send the
pestilence! Every day, for many weeks past, he and the young prophet
have been praying to the Spirits to punish the Bechuanas, because they
will not worship his bad gods. Why does not Chuma forbid him? Why does
he not punish him? Does not Chuma care that our cattle die? Chuma's
own cattle will die also."
The Bechuana chief had halted, as he reached the spot where the ox was
lying, and was now standing over it with a face of evident perplexity
and dismay. There was no mistaking the symptoms of the malady, which,
some years previously, had nearly caused a famine in the village, by the
number of horned cattle which it had swept off. Nor was there any known
remedy for the disease. Its appearance in the village might well cause
the utmost alarm. It was almost impossible to account for the
visitation. It had been generally attributed in former years to drought
and deficient pasturage; but those causes could not be assigned now, as
there had been abundance both of water and sweet grass for many weeks
past. He did not suspect the truth--that Maomo had paid a secret visit
to a distant tribe where the disease was raging, and brought back with
him some of the virus, with which he had inoculated some two or three
isolated cows. All Chuma's former suspicions of De Walden rushed back
upon the chief with accumulated force.
"How do you know that the White Prophet has caused this?" he asked,
taking advantage of the first pause in Maomo's oration.
"My Spirits have told me so," replied Maomo. "They have sent good rains
and healthy seasons to the Bechuanas, and now the White Falsehood-man
has come among them and taught them to worship false and wicked Spirits,
and many of the Bechuanas are beginning to pray to them, and the wicked
Spirits hear them, and answer their evil prayers."
"This is not true," exclaimed Chuma, angrily. "I have forbidden the
White Prophet to offer prayers to his Spirits. I have forbidden any of
my people to hearken to his words. Who is there that would dare to
disobey me."
"The White Prophet treats your words as if they had been the idle
winds," returned the rainmaker, "and he has persuaded many of the people
to disregard them too. He thinks his Spirits are strong enough to
protect him against your anger; and so they would be if it were not that
my Spirits are stronger still; but he does not know that, and presumes
to set you at open defiance."
"Is this true?" cried the chief, whose passion was now strongly excited.
"Does this white man pray, as the rainmaker says? Do any presume to
join in his prayers, if he so offers them?"
His eye was fixed sternly upon Kobo, whom he regarded in a general way
as answerable for De Walden's movements.
Frank and Nick glanced anxiously at their friend, hoping that he would
say something which might allay Chuma's anger; but to their surprise and
dismay Kobo answered--
"It is true, chief I have not ventured to speak for fear that the White
Prophet should do me some hurt; but Maomo will protect me. It is true.
He prays every day in the big hut to his Spirits, and many of the
Bechuanas pray with him, but not Kobo. It is not their fault. The
White Prophet has bewitched them."
"Let some one fetch him hither," said Chuma. "If his prayers have done
this harm, his prayers shall undo it, and that without delay, or it
shall be the worse for him."
"I will go to fetch him," said Kobo. "I know where he is to be met
with, and how to take him when he is off his guard. Let the rainmaker
come with me, and we will bind and bring him hither."
With a smile of gratified malice the wizard accepted the invitation, and
hurried off to De Walden's hut, accompanied by half a dozen stout
Bechuanas. The chief stood in gloomy silence awaiting his return, while
Frank and Nick looked on in an agony of doubt and apprehension.