CHAPTER XVI.DESERTED.
“What’s the matter, Mack?” asked Walter. “Do the jackals disturb you?”
“’Sh!” whispered the latter, making a warning gesture. “There’s no need of arousing the camp, for I can make it all right myself.”
“Make what all right?” asked Walter, almost involuntarily sinking his voice to a low whisper.
“Why, one of the Kaffirs has slipped away from Bob, and I saw him sneaking off towards the woods with your uncle’s fine double-barrel in his hands,” replied Mack.
“You did!” exclaimed Walter. “Then I must—”
“Never mind. I’ll do all that’s to be done. Don’t make the least noise, because if you do theothers will run away too, and we might as well be at sea in an open boat without oars or sails, as out here in this wilderness if the Kaffirs leave us. I’ll bring him back if you will lend me your horse and gun.”
“Of course I will,” said Walter. “Don’t come back till you catch him, for I don’t know what Uncle Dick would do without that rifle. He would be sorry to lose it.”
“He shan’t lose it,” answered Mack, taking Walter’s saddle and bridle out of the wagon and placing them upon the horse. “Say nothing to nobody. I’ll have him back here in no time, and if I don’t use the wagon-whip on him! Whew! I wouldn’t be in his place for no money.”
The horse was saddled and bridled in a trice, and Mack springing upon his back took the rifle Walter handed to him, and rode away in the darkness. All this passed so rapidly that it was done and Mack was out of sight before Walter fairly realized it. Then it occurred to him that it was very strange that the driver should want a horse to pursuea man on foot who had but a few minutes the start of him, but when he came to think about it, it was not so very strange either. Walter knew that some of the Kaffirs could run like deer, and he knew, too, that Mack, having been accustomed to ride on horseback ever since he was large enough to sit alone in the saddle, was very much averse to walking, and very clumsy besides; so perhaps the best thing had been done after all. He was sorry to hear of his uncle’s loss, and wondered how the Kaffir could have succeeded in obtaining possession of the weapon and stealing away without being seen by Bob, who stood where he could observe every move that was made about the tent. He waited most impatiently for Mack’s return, but could hear nothing of him—it was so dark that he could not have seen him until he was close upon the camp—and at ten o’clock he mended the fire and called his relief. Archie presently came out with his Maynard on his shoulder, and Walter told him what had happened, adding that he had been looking for Mack every minute during the lasthour, and now began to fear that the Kaffir had succeeded in eluding him in the darkness. He lay down on his blanket, intending to speak to Bob about it; but the latter lingered to talk to his relief, and when he came into the tent Walter was fast asleep.
Mack did not return during Archie’s watch, and at twelve o’clock he called Eugene, to whom he repeated the substance of what Walter had told him. Of course Eugene was highly excited at once, and when Archie went into the tent, he walked toward the other end of the camp to take a look at the Kaffirs, and see who it was that was missing. There was one among them who had in some way incurred Eugene’s displeasure, and if this was the one who had stolen Uncle Dick’s rifle, he would not be at all sorry to see the wagon-whip used on him.
“Now just listen to me a minute, and I’ll tell you what’s a fact. What are you doing here?” demanded Perk, who stood sentry at that end of the camp.
“Do you know that one of your Kaffirs has run away?” asked Eugene.
“No; and one of them hasn’t run away, either,” replied Perk, almost indignantly. “I haven’t been asleep.”
“Oh, he went while Bob was on—stole Uncle Dick’s fine gun too, the rascal.”
“Then I must be blind, or else he put a dummy in his bed,” declared Perk. “I counted them when I came out, and they were all there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Am I sure that I can count as high as four?”
“I begin to think you can’t,” answered Eugene. “Let’s go and see.”
The two boys advanced on tip-toe toward the place where the native servants were curled up under the shelter of the thorn-bushes. They were all soundly asleep, and so closely covered with their skin cloaks that nothing but the tops of their woolly heads could be seen. Eugene counted them twice, and then to make assurance doubly sure, went closer and lifted the cloaks so that he could see theirfaces. Then he stepped back again and looked at Perk. “What do you think now?” asked the latter.
Eugene did not know what to think.
“Who first started the story that one of them had run away?” continued Perk.
“Mack started it. He told Walter so.”
“Now I’ll just tell you what’s a fact. Where’s Mack?”
“He borrowed Walter’s horse and gun and went out to catch the Kaffir.”
“Yes, and in the morning we’ll have to send somebody out to catch Mack. I understand now why he didn’t want Archie to go out to look for his horse. He had the animal tied up out there in the woods.”
“No!” exclaimed Eugene.
“Didn’t he ask if there was a rope on him? The horse got away somehow, and Mack being afraid that he had brought the rope back with him, wanted to get hold of him, so that he could take it off before we saw it. He intended to leave theanimal out there in the bushes until after dark, when he would jump on him, and ride away; but that plan being knocked in the head, he made up that funny story he told Walter, and got off after all.”
Eugene waited to hear no more. Believing that Perk had made a very shrewd guess, as indeed he had, he rushed into the tent to arouse his uncle, and in doing so awoke all the boys, who, fearing that something dreadful had happened, started up in alarm, and reached hurriedly for their weapons. “Mack’s gone!” was all Eugene could say in reply to their questions.
“I thought so,” exclaimed Walter, who then went on to describe the interview that had taken place between him and the driver.
“It is all my fault,” said Frank. “I might have warned you.”
“Don’t worry over it,” returned Uncle Dick, quickly. “There’s no one to blame except myself. If I had told you to put the boys on their guard against Mack, you would have done so. You fellows,who are on watch, keep your eyes open, and see that we don’t lose any more horses and guns, and the rest of us will go to sleep again.”
Eugene thought this was taking matters very coolly, but after all he did not see that there was anything else to be done. Mack was mounted on a fleet horse and had a good long start; and besides he was so well acquainted with the country that he could have escaped if there had been an army in pursuit of him. He was gone, and there was an end of the matter.
The boys were gloomy enough the next morning, but Uncle Dick was as cheerful as usual. He aroused the Kaffirs at daylight and ordered them to drive the oxen out to graze, while the boys, having turned the horses loose, began the work of packing up. The Kaffirs obeyed very sullenly, and the old sailor saw plainly enough that the trouble with his hired help was only just beginning. They drove the oxen out, and contrary to his usual custom, the cook went with them. They passed pretty close to their employer, who saw theirspear-heads sticking out from under one side of their cloaks, while the other was bulged out as if the wearers were carrying something under their left arms. He suspected the truth at once, but said nothing, and smoked his morning pipe as serenely as though everything was working to his entire satisfaction.
“Where in the world is that cook?” exclaimed Eugene about an hour later, after the tent had been struck and all the camp equipage packed away in the wagon. “I don’t see any preparations for breakfast.”
“Neither do I,” said Uncle Dick. “Perk, you used to act as ship’s cook in the Banner once in a while; suppose you show us what you can do in that line now. Yes,” he added, in reply to the inquiring looks that were directed toward him, “we’re deserted.”
The boys dropped their work and gazed at one another in speechless astonishment. At first they could hardly realize what the words meant. They felt a good deal as shipwrecked mariners must feelwhen they find themselves tossing about in the waves in an open boat with not a point of land or a friendly sail in sight.
“From this time forward we must do the best we can by ourselves,” continued the old sailor, cheerfully. “The Griquas here will show us the way to their country, and when we have sold them everything there is in the wagon that they want, we’ll hire some of them to guide us back to the coast.”
“And when we get there, if we ever do, I for one shall be ready to start for home,” declared Walter.
“Oh, don’t get gloomy over it. Some of you have been in worse situations than this.”
“But are you sure the Kaffirs are gone?” asked Fred.
“As sure as I can be. When they went out with the oxen this morning they took all their property with them.”
“And you saw it and never tried to stop them?” inquired Eugene.
“I did. Why should I try to stop them? If a Kaffir will not work willingly you can’t force him to do it. They would have slipped away from us some time or other, and since they were bound to go, they might as well go to-day as to-morrow.”
The boys were stunned, bewildered by this unexpected calamity, and it was a long time before Uncle Dick’s cheering words had any effect on them.
They had depended wholly upon Mack to make this expedition successful, and to conduct them safely back to the coast, and now that he was gone it seemed as if their mainstay was gone, and that there was nothing left for them but to give up entirely. They had put such implicit faith in Mack, too! It was only during the last few hours that any one began to suspect that he was not altogether worthy of the confidence that had been reposed in him.
But this gloomy state of feeling could not long continue while the old sailor was about. Hischeerfulness and good-nature were contagious, and in less than half an hour the boys were talking as merrily about what they had considered to be a misfortune as though it was the most agreeable thing that could have happened to them. Perk’s breakfast completely restored their spirits, and when they had done full justice to it, the inspanning began. This was the most annoying piece of work the boys had yet undertaken. They shouted and talked Dutch and threw stones as they had heard and seen the Kaffirs do, but the oxen were not acquainted with them, and ran away as fast as they were brought up to the yokes. Eugene said it was because the animals were disgusted with their efforts to talk in a foreign tongue, and advised his companions to scold them in English; but this had no better effect. However, after they had all shouted themselves hoarse, and thrown stones until their arms ached, the last ox was put into the yoke, and Walter, who volunteered to act as driver, picked up the whip.
“Whoa! Haw, there, Buck! Get up!” he shouted;and following the example of the absent driver, who always gave the signal for starting by making his whip crack like a pistol, he swung the heavy lash around, but with no other result than to hit himself a stinging blow across the ear. While his companions were laughing at him, and Walter was dancing about, holding one hand to the side of his head, and trying with the other to unwrap the lash that had wound itself around his body, Uncle Dick shouted: “Trek! trek!” The oxen, understanding this, settled into the yokes, and the wagon was quickly in motion.
We might relate many interesting and some amusing incidents that happened during the next few weeks, but as we have to do principally with the adventures that befell our heroes, we must hasten on to the last, and wind up the history of the Sportsman’s Club. Led by the Griquas, who acted as their guides, the travellers finally reached the principal village of the tribe (they saw nothing of the wild Bushmen during the journey, although they kept a constant lookout for them) and when theyhad taken a good view of it, they fervently hoped that their stay there would be a short one. They could see nothing attractive in the dirty savages who surrounded them, or in the still dirtier hovels that served them for shelter. Besides, they were growing heartily tired of staying ashore. They had seen quite enough of life in Africa, and began to talk more about home and friends than they had done at any time since leaving Bellville. But their departure from the village was delayed more than a month. In the first place, the natives proved to be hard people to deal with. It took them a long time to make up their minds how much ivory ought to be given for one of the guns Uncle Dick offered them, and when that point had been settled, the chief suddenly found out that there was no ivory in the village, and that he would have to send and bring it before any trading could be done. Upon hearing this, Uncle Dick inspanned at once and set out for the coast; but before he had gone many miles he was overtaken by a messenger from the chief, who told him that if he would return to thevillage he should have an elephant’s tooth for every gun he had to sell. The travellers turned back, and after that there was little delay in the trading. The elephants’ teeth came in rapidly, the last gun was finally disposed of, and when the ivory had been packed away in the wagon, and guides and servants engaged, the travellers were ready to turn their faces homeward.
The last night they were to pass among the Griquas was spent by the boys in doing a little trading on their own account. They were strolling about, taking a last look at everything, and exchanging a few beads, and some brass and copper wire, for spears and war-clubs, when their attention was attracted by a commotion which suddenly arose in the upper end of the town. The boys looked up, and were surprised to see that the natives were running about in the greatest alarm, catching up whatever articles of value they could lay their hands on, and then dodging into their hovels and barricading their doors after them. Some of the more timid ones, having collectedtheir property, took to their heels, and ran across the plain as if a pack of jackals were after them.
“What’s up now?” asked Archie. “I don’t see anything to frighten them.”
“Who are those coming there?” said Frank.
The others looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a long line of warriors rising over the nearest hill. While they were looking at them, wondering who they were and what had brought them there, they heard Uncle Dick calling to them. “Here’s more trouble, boys,” said the old sailor. “I don’t want to alarm you, but it is always well to be prepared for the worst.”
“Is the village going to be attacked?” asked Frank.
“Oh, no. These are Zulus, and they are probably a delegation sent by their king to take us to that country.”
“Across the desert where the wild Bushmen live?” exclaimed Eugene.
“Exactly,” replied Uncle Dick.
“But we have nothing they want,” said Walter. “We’ve sold all our guns, beads, and wire.”
“I know it.”
“Then tell them so when they come up.”
“What good will it do? Haven’t you seen enough of these natives to know that you can’t reason with them any more than you can reason with a stone?”
“What made the Griquas run so,” asked Bob.
“Oh, these Zulus are a fierce and warlike race, and the Griquas are afraid of them. But they are after us now. If their leader has orders to take us back with him, he’ll have to do it or lose his head when he gets home.”
This was a most alarming piece of news. The driver had said so much about the wild Bushmen and their poisoned arrows, and had given so graphic a description of the desert they lived in, where there was no game to be found, and no grass or water for the stock, that the boys were frightened whenever they thought of the dangers that must attend every step of the journey to the Zulu country.While they were turning the matter over in their minds, the warriors marched through the principal street of the village, which was by this time entirely deserted, and stopped in front of Uncle Dick’s tent. There were probably a hundred and fifty of them in the band. They were fine-looking men physically, and all except two were armed with spears and war-clubs, and carried shields of elephant’s hide. Those who were not armed followed close behind the leader, and carried two elephants’ tusks upon their shoulders.
The leader of the warriors stopped in front of Uncle Dick, and after laying down his shield and weapons began a speech, which would no doubt have proved very entertaining to the travellers if they could have understood it; but as the chief spoke in his native tongue his words did not make much of an impression upon them. The speech occupied the best part of ten minutes, and when it was concluded the men with the elephants’ tusks stepped up and laid them on the ground in front of Uncle Dick, and when they straightened up againone of them began to interpret the speech in Dutch. Then the boys listened with some interest. They had learned enough of this language during their intercourse with Mack and the Griquas, to carry on quite a lengthy conversation with any one who spoke slowly and distinctly. The native did neither, but still the Club caught enough of his speech to satisfy them that Uncle Dick had not been mistaken in regard to the object the Zulus had in view in visiting his camp. The speaker said that his king, who lived on the other side of the desert, was a very powerful monarch, and having heard that there was an English trader in the neighborhood (the natives seemed to think that every white man who came into their country to hunt and trade must of necessity be an Englishman), he had sent him and his companions to conduct him to their principal town, where there was ivory enough to fill a dozen wagons. To prove it the king had sent the trader two elephants’ teeth, in exchange for which he expected to receive the best double-barrel there was in the party. The faithful warriors who broughtthese teeth were hungry and thirsty, for they had travelled far and rapidly, and the Englishman must furnish them with meat to eat and tea to drink.
Uncle Dick’s reply to this insolent demand was short and to the point. There was not meat enough in his wagon to feed so large a party, he said, and he could not spend time to hunt for it, for having sold all his guns he had made ready to start for Grahamstown early the next morning; so the warriors might take their elephant’s teeth and go back as they came. The interpreter seemed to be greatly shocked at this reply, and tried to remonstrate with Uncle Dick, telling him that he was running a great risk in defying his king in that way. But the old sailor repeated what he had said, adding that as he was a licensed trader, he was free to go and come when he pleased, and he intended to exercise the privilege.
The chief listened impatiently while this conversation was going on, and when it was ended turned to the interpreter to hear Uncle Dick’s reply. It threw him into an awful rage at once. He stampedhis feet on the ground, caught up handfuls of dust and threw them into the air above his head, swung his arms wildly about, and shouted at the top of his voice. The longer he talked the angrier he seemed to grow; and what he might have been led to do had he been allowed to go on until his rage boiled over, it is hard to tell; but just as he was working himself up to the fighting-point, he was interrupted most unexpectedly. A series of terrific Indian yells, so loud and piercing that they completely drowned the chief’s voice, suddenly arose on the air, causing the warrior to drop his arms and stand motionless with amazement. Of course the yells came from Dick Lewis. He thought from the looks of things that a fight would soon be in progress, and began preparing for it in a manner peculiar to himself. He dashed his hat upon the ground, pulled off his hunting shirt and sent it after the hat, and began to loosen his joints by making the most extraordinary leaps and contortions, yelling the while with all the power of his lungs. The chief looked at him fora few seconds, and then hastily gathering up his weapons, made off, followed by his men, who fled in such haste that they never thought to take the elephants’ teeth with them. In two minutes from the time Dick began his leaping and shouting there was not one of them in sight.