Chapter XIX.HOMEWARD BOUND.The report of Engelbrecht's rifle shot had at once roused the attention of the gold-diggers at the head of the kloof; and although the final catastrophe had overtaken the Boer before they had extricated themselves from some bush behind which they were working, they were all three instantly aware that something was happening in the neighbourhood of the upper camp."Come, lads," said Mr. Blakeney, "we must be off. I don't know what's up, but there's some mischief brewing, I'm certain."At once they set off at a steady trot towards the rope-ladder. They had traversed some six hundred yards, and emerged from a small grove of thorn trees about three hundred yards from the ladder foot, when an exclamation from Guy suddenly brought them to a halt."Look!" he cried. "There's some one--Poeskop, I believe--at the top of the cliff; and, by Jove, the ladder's gone!"Mr. Blakeney and Tom stared hard at the cliff top, and saw at once that Guy's assertion was right. Poeskop it was, gesticulating at the summit of the precipice, and the ladder had vanished."There's something very wrong here," exclaimed Mr. Blakeney. "Come on!"They were not long in covering the last three hundred yards that separated them from the foot of the cliff, and there a strange and tragic scene awaited them.Standing alone, by the confused heap of the fallen ladder, which itself partly covered the dead body of Karl Engelbrecht, was the Hottentot Quasip, who was evidently much too terrified by the appalling tragedy that had taken place to attempt any hostilities. The man was trembling with terror, and, as Mr. Blakeney approached him, threw down his rifle and awaited the Englishman's speech."What does all this mean?" asked Mr. Blakeney sternly, holding his rifle in readiness.It was some moments before the Hottentot could pull himself sufficiently together to reply coherently. Then he spoke."My baas there," he said, pointing to the dead Boer, "was coming to attack you. He made me climb down first, and then started himself. Some one from your camp above must have seen him. The baas fired a shot as he hung on the ladder, and then the ladder was cut, and he fell to the bottom and was killed.""A pretty story, indeed," was Mr. Blakeney's comment, as he moved a pace or two forward and picked up the man's rifle. "So you two meant, I suppose, to stalk and murder us while we were at our work.--And but for Poeskop's fancy to climb out last night," he added, turning aside to Guy and Tom, "they might very well have accomplished their purpose. Poeskop's restlessness was providential indeed. The little man's instincts are wonderful.""Yes," said Guy, "he seems almost to smell danger when it's about.""Well," went on Mr. Blakeney, gazing at the awful remains of the dead Boer, lying a mere huddle of broken humanity beneath the tangle of the ladder, "we shall have no more trouble from that quarter, which is a blessing. But we're in a very pretty mess. I suppose Poeskop had no alternative in cutting the ladder and hurling Engelbrecht to the bottom, but he has left us in a very awkward predicament. What's to be done, I wonder?""Hadn't we better secure this miserable Hottentot?" said Tom, glancing at Quasip."Yes, you're right, Tom," replied his father. "I don't suppose he'll attempt anything again, now his precious baas is done for; and he looks as if all the stuffing were knocked out of him. But we may as well make sure."Tom went to their camping ground hard by, and brought back a couple of raw-hide riems. With these they fastened the wrists and ankles of the Hottentot, and placed him under the shade of an olive tree. The man submitted quietly enough. As they had surmised, all the fight had been frightened out of him."Now," said Mr. Blakeney, "we must see what we can do with Poeskop."Coming out from under the cliff, they looked up and saw Poeskop's yellow face far above them, peering anxiously over the precipice. The Bushman put his hands to his mouth and shouted shrilly. It was some minutes before they could make out his words, so great a distance was between them. Then Tom suddenly said,--"I have it. He asks: 'Is Engelbrecht dead?'"Making a speaking trumpet of his hands, Mr. Blakeney roared out very slowly, in deep, stentorian tones, "Ja, Engelbrecht is dood!"There was a fine echo up the cliff. It was quite clear that Poeskop comprehended the message. He rose to his feet, and clapped his hands with joy. Then, throwing himself down once more, he asked again in Dutch,--"What shall I do, baas?"They understood him, after several repetitions, and Mr. Blakeney again shouted up the cliff,--"Get riems. Make a rope, and let down."For some minutes it seemed that the Bushman could not comprehend this message. Then, after more repetitions, delivered very slowly, it dawned upon him, and he shouted down,--"Yes! In three days."After this message he sprang to his feet and disappeared."Well," said Mr. Blakeney, "we're in a curious position, and must look upon ourselves as prisoners for the present. With ordinary luck I think Poeskop and the other men will be able to relieve us. What Poeskop has bolted away for is quite clear. He knows he has somehow got to find three hundred and twenty feet of hide rope. Altogether I think they may have up there--the remnants of what we did not use for the ladder--eighty or a hundred feet. He and the other three men have got to find the rest. They'll, of course, go out, leaving one man in charge of the oxen and horses, and shoot game till they get enough raw hide for the purpose. Poeskop says three days; I believe it will be nearer a week before they can do the business. I don't think there will be any interruptions, but I'll ask the Hottentot what became of the other party of Boers."Five minutes' cross-questioning of Quasip elicited the fact that Engelbrecht and his allies had quarrelled, after the repulse of their attack on the camp, and that the Boers had trekked for Benguela."That's all right," said Mr. Blakeney to the two lads. "Barring accidents, our men will perform their task, and put together a rope strong enough to haul up the ladder here. Now we'll have some food, and then settle to work again. We've got three or four days before us, and we may as well make the best of them, and add to our stock of gold. Luckily we've got a week's supply of flour, coffee, and other necessaries. We have plenty of meat, and can shoot more when we need it. We shall be all right, and must just go about our work quietly till the rope comes."They turned away from the dread spectacle of the dead Boer, and rekindled their fire. A kettle being boiled, they made some coffee. Mr. Blakeney ate some lunch, but the two lads, beyond drinking some coffee and eating a morsel of bread apiece, had little stomach for the meal. The horror of the tragedy of Karl Engelbrecht had upset them."Pater," said Tom, "I can eat no lunch, and I don't think Guy has much appetite either. That sight over yonder has fairly sickened me.""Well," said his father, "it is rather horrible, I grant. I became hardened to horrors of this kind in the Basuto War of 1879. At the storming of Morosi's Mountain in that year we witnessed many unpleasant incidents, which hardened one's stomach to scenes of this kind. This fall of Engelbrecht is, I admit, far worse than the state of affairs the morning after our fight the other day, when we had to look after the enemy's dead and wounded.""Yes, uncle, far worse," added Guy. "I, for one, shall never forget the ending of Karl Engelbrecht. It's horrible!"After lunch they went back to the scene of the tragedy. The Hottentot Quasip, on being questioned, volunteered to help them."Baas," he said, addressing Mr. Blakeney, "you think badly of me, and I daresay you have good cause. But I am not so bad as you think me. I was Engelbrecht's servant, and had to do his bidding. If I dared to disobey him I should have been flogged, and perhaps shot. Like your own man, Poeskop, I was afraid of him, and only wanted to get out of his service.""Well, that may or may not be," said Mr. Blakeney coolly. "Anyhow, I'll give you a chance. I'll untie you, and if you work for us quietly and well during the daytime you shall have your liberty. At night you'll have to be tied up, until we feel we can trust you.""Very well, baas," said the man. "That is good enough for me. I'll prove to you that I am willing to work for my skorf, and that I am not so bad as you may think me."Untying the Hottentot, therefore, they set him to work with pick and spade to dig a grave for his dead master. They themselves, meanwhile, proceeded to disentangle the ladder from the confusion in which it had fallen. This was a work of some little time. Then they removed the battered corpse of Karl Engelbrecht--a terrible spectacle--and laid it in the grave dug by Quasip. This done, they proceeded up the valley, and spent the remainder of the day in their gold-mining operations. They took the Hottentot with them; it was evident that he was sincere in his attempt to please them. He plied pick and shovel, and worked away steadily till dusk, when they relinquished their labours and returned to their camping ground.For the next three days they steadily pushed on with their mining work. On the whole they did much better than they had anticipated, coming upon a fresh and very rich find of gold, which lay a few feet below the surface in some alluvial ground at the head of the stream. Each night they added considerably to the big pile of treasure already accumulated near the ladder foot. That morning Poeskop had appeared at daybreak at the top of the cliff, and shouted down to them. It was difficult to gather clearly what he said, but they understood him to mean that in two more days he would be ready for them."That means five days' waiting instead of three," said Tom, as they returned to breakfast."Yes, it's a long wait," replied his father. "But I expect they may have had some trouble in shooting game and getting hide for the rope. However, a day or so extra down here won't hurt us.""Not a bit," said Guy, who took the whole matter very good humouredly. "We shall be all the richer.""Oh, that's all very well," retorted Tom, "but I want to get out of this place. I shan't feel happy till I'm on the top of the cliff yonder, and we've inspanned the oxen and are trekking for home. By the way, pater," he went on, "which route are we going home? By Mossamedes or Benguela?""Well, Tom," returned his father, "that's what I've been puzzling my head over for a long time past. If we go out by a Portuguese port we shall have to show our gold; there will be all sorts of inquiries; and very possibly the authorities may try and lay claim to the whole of our findings. Not only do I think this possible, but much more than probable. That would be a pretty ending to all our adventures, dangers, and hard work.""Uncle," exclaimed Guy, "we'll never yield a red cent of this gold to any Portuguese in the world! These filibusters of Boers have had a shot for us and our treasure. It isn't likely that we shall cart our nuggets to Mossamedes, and calmly allow these Portuguese, who, as you have shown us, have misgoverned their country so shamefully for three or four hundred years, to rob us in that way. Besides, it's much more than doubtful whether we are in Portuguese territory here at all.""Quite so, Guy," replied Mr. Blakeney. "I'm entirely with you. For several days past I have been turning the whole thing over in my mind. I am honestly certain, from Poeskop's information, that we have discovered and won this gold in neutral ground--in land belonging to no man. That being so, we're not going to allow the Portuguese authorities even a royalty on our find. To avoid any disturbance with them we shall have to make a long and troublesome trek right across country to Bechuanaland. This will take us several months. It's a nasty business. We shall have to go through feverish veldt, and the rains will be upon us. Still, it's the only thing to be done, and we shall have to do it. What do you lads say? Are you prepared for further difficulties?""Of course we are, pater," broke in Tom. "Anything is better than meekly handing over our hard-won gold to the Portuguese Government. Guy, what do you say?" he added, turning to his cousin."Why, I'm entirely with you, Tom," returned Guy. "I say trek south and east, by all means, for Bechuanaland.""Carriednem. con.," said Tom cheerfully. "Pater, we'll travel by the overland route. What do you make out our course to be? I confess I'm rather vague. I suppose we'll have to pass Lake Ngami, cross the Kalahari thirst-land, and go down through Khama's Country and the Protectorate.""That's just what we shall have to do, lads," said Mr. Blakeney. "Once at Lake Ngami, we shall manage very well, although the 'thirst' is a bad one after you leave the Lake River, before reaching Khama's chief town, Palachwe. But the main difficulties lie between here and Lake Ngami. We shall have to find our way down to the Okavango, cross that river somewhere--by no means a simple operation with a heavily-loaded wagon--and trek for the lake. I confess I don't like the look of the first part of the journey. It's almost unknown country, and bound to give us a lot of trouble."On the fourth morning of their enforced confinement in the kloof, Jan Kokerboom appeared at the top of the cliff, showed the end of a raw-hide rope, which he dangled over the precipice, and made them understand that all would be ready next day. On the fifth day, therefore, the three adventurers awoke betimes with cheerful anticipations. They had finished their gold-digging; their heap of treasure was completed; and they now only looked forward to a speedy escape from the valley in which they had delved so long and so successfully. Quasip was, as usual, unbound, and allowed to wait on them at breakfast. Poeskop's face had not yet appeared over the top of the precipice, but they confidently looked forward to setting eyes on his yellow visage very shortly. They made an excellent meal of stewed guinea-fowl, which Guy had shot the evening before; and a whole tin of marmalade--a piece of reckless extravagance, Mr. Blakeney called it--was, in celebration of their last meal in the Gold Kloof, sacrificed for the occasion.Half an hour after breakfast, cheers of applause greeted the appearance of Poeskop at the head of the cliff. It was quite clear he was in as high spirits as his masters beneath him. He waved his hand to them and shouted. The Bushman was joined by Jan Kokerboom, and then Mangwalaan and September peered over with grinning faces. Then all withdrew from the edge, and the tail end of the rope began to creep down the face of the precipice.To the watchers below it seemed an unconscionable time before it reached the bottom; but at last it was within reach of their fingers. Then a hearty cheer from the lads informed Poeskop at the top that all was well. Next, the end of the rope was made fast to the ladder, and the business of hoisting up the ladder itself began. It was a long, and by no means an easy, operation. There were several sticks and stoppages, requiring care and manipulation on the part of the hoisters; but at length, at the end of a couple of hours, the task was completed, the ladder hoisted, and the upper end securely fastened. Then, with all the nimbleness of an ape, down came Poeskop. His story was a simple one. They had shot game in order to obtain hide and make the fresh rope, and the beasts of chase had not been so plentiful, or so easy to come by, as on the former occasion. Moreover, the absence of the three best shots in the party, Mr. Blakeney, Tom, and Guy, had made a good deal of difference. However, the task was accomplished, and communication once more restored.That very afternoon began the work of carrying up the gold. This was a long and most tedious process. It was impossible, owing to the severity, and it may be added the risk, of the climb, to carry up more than a small load at a time. But all hands save one set willingly to work, and by degrees the business was done. Seleti, the humorist and butt of the camp, still raftered from his wound, and was not equal to the descent of the rope-ladder. He had never, in fact, attempted it; and the very real terror and distress which he once exhibited at the prospect of the downward climb, or indeed at any near approach to the edge of the cliff, had disarmed his master's anger, although it was not sufficient to deter the chaff and laughter of his fellow-servants.However, Seleti was kept well occupied in cooking for the party, doing odd jobs, and looking after the oxen and horses. In two days the long and severe labour of bringing up the gold was over. They had worked from earliest dawn till the fading of the last gleam of daylight, and all were tired out by their exertions. None of them, they declared, ever wanted to see the bottom of the kloof again, or to climb that awful ladder. They had brought up the last of the stores and implements, and all were stiff and sore from their great strain. Most of them had raw and blistered hands from much handling of the ropes. Quasip, although viewed at first with much disfavour by the rest of the natives, proved himself so cheerful and so willing that gradually he wore down the enmity of all his captors, and was taken into some degree of favour.Having transferred the heap of gold from the bottom to the top of the cliff, it was now put into strong new sacks, tied up, and sealed. The sacks and the rough sealing wax were the products of Tom's fertile imagination. He had insisted on their being bought at Cape Town. If, he urged, they were going to find gold, why not take appliances for securing the safety of the treasure? Many times during the expedition had Tom been chaffed for his pains; but the laugh was now on his side, and he did not forget to remind Guy and Mr. Blakeney of the fact. The wagon was carefully reloaded, the gold being placed at the bottom, with the remaining stores, which had now very considerably diminished, at the top. There was just room for Mr. Blakeney's kartel and no more, and the after-part of the interior of the wagon carried as much as it could hold. All things now being in order, the oxen were inspanned, and the long trek for home began.They quitted the kloof and its neighbouring mountains with strangely mingled feelings. Joy and satisfaction were theirs, in that they had conquered all their obstacles, achieved their purpose, and gained a considerable fortune. The whole expedition had been full of romantic incident. They had passed through many adventures, and had escaped many perils. Upon the whole, fair as was the Gold Kloof and its vicinity, they were not sorry to set eyes upon it for the last time. Death and tragedy had had their part there; and somehow, as Guy said, and they all agreed, the kloof would, in the recollection of each one of them, always be associated with that last terrible episode in their Odyssey--the death of Karl Engelbrecht.Once more, then, as the wagon rolled away down the mountain, the three white men and Poeskop crept to the edge of the precipice, and looked for the last time on the fair and lovely valley, which for them had proved indeed an El Dorado. Then, mounting their horses, they slowly followed the wagon.It was a long trek before the wayfarers reached British Bechuanaland. Travelling south, and crossing various streams, they presently struck the Kuito River, and followed it down to its junction with the Okavango. Somewhat lower down they crossed the Okavango, after much difficulty, and travelled south-east until they reached Lake Ngami. During this part of their journey they underwent many adventures, and suffered at times much from fever. The rains fell, and they were delayed for weeks by the impassable state of the country. Crossing the Kalahari to Khama's Country, they recovered much of their health and spirits in the pure and dry air of this desert region. At Palachwe, where they arrived in rags, and with scarcely any remnant of their stores left to them, they were enabled to refit, and to procure all necessary provisions for their trek south through the Protectorate. Finally, five months after quitting the Gold Kloof, they reached Johannesburg, whither they had travelled direct, for the purpose of realizing their treasure. During all this long wandering, the Hottentot Quasip, who had begged to be allowed to travel with them, had served them well and faithfully, and proved himself a reliable man all round. Thenceforth, having purged himself of his unfortunate connection with the ruffian Engelbrecht, which he always declared had been his misfortune and not his fault, Mr. Blakeney took him into regular employment.At Johannesburg the gold was safely and quietly disposed of. Mr. Blakeney had roughly estimated the value of the treasure, after making due deductions, at about £58,000. The gold turned out to be singularly free from impurities, and the price realized for it amounted to £62,000. After setting apart, therefore, Poeskop's £1,000, paying each of their men their wages and the sum of £100 by way of bonus, and a further bonus of £50 to Quasip, there remained for division between Guy Hardcastle and Mr. Blakeney the sum of rather more than £60,000, which, as all parties agreed, furnished a sufficiently handsome return for the risks, labours, and hardships of less than a year's adventure. From Mr. Blakeney's share had to be deducted, according to agreement, Tom's portion of £5,000.At Bamborough Farm, whither they returned at once after disposing of their gold at Johannesburg, their reception was a memorable one. It was a joyful meeting, indeed, after their long absence--an absence accentuated by the fact that, during many months, Mrs. Blakeney and her children had had no communication of any kind from the trekkers. For this she had been to some extent prepared; yet, none the less, those long months of silence and of doubt had been very trying to her and her girls. Some happy weeks of reunion had passed before the wanderers had told the tale of their adventures in full, and completely satisfied the natural curiosity of their hearers.Guy Hardcastle and Tom Blakeney took part in the Boer War, fighting in the same colonial contingent, and each retiring at the close of the great struggle with the rank of captain. Their adventures in that stirring campaign cannot, for lack of space, be related here.Guy is now settled on a fine farm in British Bechuanaland, adjoining his uncle's ranch. Here he has built himself a roomy and most comfortable homestead, and, having induced his fair cousin, Ella Blakeney, to become his partner and his helpmate for life, has settled down to an existence for which he is admirably fitted. He and his wife mean, however, by no means to grow rusty in their Bechuanaland home. They pay an occasional visit to Cape Town or its marine suburbs, and during their honeymoon made a trip of some duration to the Old Country; this trip they intend to repeat at intervals.Tom, who looked after their place for them during their absence, is a near neighbour of theirs, living, thus far, as a bachelor on a farm of his own within a few miles of their own homestead and of Bamborough. For the present he vows that his adventures are by no means ended, and that he has no intention of settling down to married life. Of these declarations, however, his sisters, who know Tom and his idiosyncrasies fairly well, are profoundly sceptical.THE END.*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKTHE GOLD KLOOF***
Chapter XIX.
HOMEWARD BOUND.
The report of Engelbrecht's rifle shot had at once roused the attention of the gold-diggers at the head of the kloof; and although the final catastrophe had overtaken the Boer before they had extricated themselves from some bush behind which they were working, they were all three instantly aware that something was happening in the neighbourhood of the upper camp.
"Come, lads," said Mr. Blakeney, "we must be off. I don't know what's up, but there's some mischief brewing, I'm certain."
At once they set off at a steady trot towards the rope-ladder. They had traversed some six hundred yards, and emerged from a small grove of thorn trees about three hundred yards from the ladder foot, when an exclamation from Guy suddenly brought them to a halt.
"Look!" he cried. "There's some one--Poeskop, I believe--at the top of the cliff; and, by Jove, the ladder's gone!"
Mr. Blakeney and Tom stared hard at the cliff top, and saw at once that Guy's assertion was right. Poeskop it was, gesticulating at the summit of the precipice, and the ladder had vanished.
"There's something very wrong here," exclaimed Mr. Blakeney. "Come on!"
They were not long in covering the last three hundred yards that separated them from the foot of the cliff, and there a strange and tragic scene awaited them.
Standing alone, by the confused heap of the fallen ladder, which itself partly covered the dead body of Karl Engelbrecht, was the Hottentot Quasip, who was evidently much too terrified by the appalling tragedy that had taken place to attempt any hostilities. The man was trembling with terror, and, as Mr. Blakeney approached him, threw down his rifle and awaited the Englishman's speech.
"What does all this mean?" asked Mr. Blakeney sternly, holding his rifle in readiness.
It was some moments before the Hottentot could pull himself sufficiently together to reply coherently. Then he spoke.
"My baas there," he said, pointing to the dead Boer, "was coming to attack you. He made me climb down first, and then started himself. Some one from your camp above must have seen him. The baas fired a shot as he hung on the ladder, and then the ladder was cut, and he fell to the bottom and was killed."
"A pretty story, indeed," was Mr. Blakeney's comment, as he moved a pace or two forward and picked up the man's rifle. "So you two meant, I suppose, to stalk and murder us while we were at our work.--And but for Poeskop's fancy to climb out last night," he added, turning aside to Guy and Tom, "they might very well have accomplished their purpose. Poeskop's restlessness was providential indeed. The little man's instincts are wonderful."
"Yes," said Guy, "he seems almost to smell danger when it's about."
"Well," went on Mr. Blakeney, gazing at the awful remains of the dead Boer, lying a mere huddle of broken humanity beneath the tangle of the ladder, "we shall have no more trouble from that quarter, which is a blessing. But we're in a very pretty mess. I suppose Poeskop had no alternative in cutting the ladder and hurling Engelbrecht to the bottom, but he has left us in a very awkward predicament. What's to be done, I wonder?"
"Hadn't we better secure this miserable Hottentot?" said Tom, glancing at Quasip.
"Yes, you're right, Tom," replied his father. "I don't suppose he'll attempt anything again, now his precious baas is done for; and he looks as if all the stuffing were knocked out of him. But we may as well make sure."
Tom went to their camping ground hard by, and brought back a couple of raw-hide riems. With these they fastened the wrists and ankles of the Hottentot, and placed him under the shade of an olive tree. The man submitted quietly enough. As they had surmised, all the fight had been frightened out of him.
"Now," said Mr. Blakeney, "we must see what we can do with Poeskop."
Coming out from under the cliff, they looked up and saw Poeskop's yellow face far above them, peering anxiously over the precipice. The Bushman put his hands to his mouth and shouted shrilly. It was some minutes before they could make out his words, so great a distance was between them. Then Tom suddenly said,--
"I have it. He asks: 'Is Engelbrecht dead?'"
Making a speaking trumpet of his hands, Mr. Blakeney roared out very slowly, in deep, stentorian tones, "Ja, Engelbrecht is dood!"
There was a fine echo up the cliff. It was quite clear that Poeskop comprehended the message. He rose to his feet, and clapped his hands with joy. Then, throwing himself down once more, he asked again in Dutch,--
"What shall I do, baas?"
They understood him, after several repetitions, and Mr. Blakeney again shouted up the cliff,--
"Get riems. Make a rope, and let down."
For some minutes it seemed that the Bushman could not comprehend this message. Then, after more repetitions, delivered very slowly, it dawned upon him, and he shouted down,--
"Yes! In three days."
After this message he sprang to his feet and disappeared.
"Well," said Mr. Blakeney, "we're in a curious position, and must look upon ourselves as prisoners for the present. With ordinary luck I think Poeskop and the other men will be able to relieve us. What Poeskop has bolted away for is quite clear. He knows he has somehow got to find three hundred and twenty feet of hide rope. Altogether I think they may have up there--the remnants of what we did not use for the ladder--eighty or a hundred feet. He and the other three men have got to find the rest. They'll, of course, go out, leaving one man in charge of the oxen and horses, and shoot game till they get enough raw hide for the purpose. Poeskop says three days; I believe it will be nearer a week before they can do the business. I don't think there will be any interruptions, but I'll ask the Hottentot what became of the other party of Boers."
Five minutes' cross-questioning of Quasip elicited the fact that Engelbrecht and his allies had quarrelled, after the repulse of their attack on the camp, and that the Boers had trekked for Benguela.
"That's all right," said Mr. Blakeney to the two lads. "Barring accidents, our men will perform their task, and put together a rope strong enough to haul up the ladder here. Now we'll have some food, and then settle to work again. We've got three or four days before us, and we may as well make the best of them, and add to our stock of gold. Luckily we've got a week's supply of flour, coffee, and other necessaries. We have plenty of meat, and can shoot more when we need it. We shall be all right, and must just go about our work quietly till the rope comes."
They turned away from the dread spectacle of the dead Boer, and rekindled their fire. A kettle being boiled, they made some coffee. Mr. Blakeney ate some lunch, but the two lads, beyond drinking some coffee and eating a morsel of bread apiece, had little stomach for the meal. The horror of the tragedy of Karl Engelbrecht had upset them.
"Pater," said Tom, "I can eat no lunch, and I don't think Guy has much appetite either. That sight over yonder has fairly sickened me."
"Well," said his father, "it is rather horrible, I grant. I became hardened to horrors of this kind in the Basuto War of 1879. At the storming of Morosi's Mountain in that year we witnessed many unpleasant incidents, which hardened one's stomach to scenes of this kind. This fall of Engelbrecht is, I admit, far worse than the state of affairs the morning after our fight the other day, when we had to look after the enemy's dead and wounded."
"Yes, uncle, far worse," added Guy. "I, for one, shall never forget the ending of Karl Engelbrecht. It's horrible!"
After lunch they went back to the scene of the tragedy. The Hottentot Quasip, on being questioned, volunteered to help them.
"Baas," he said, addressing Mr. Blakeney, "you think badly of me, and I daresay you have good cause. But I am not so bad as you think me. I was Engelbrecht's servant, and had to do his bidding. If I dared to disobey him I should have been flogged, and perhaps shot. Like your own man, Poeskop, I was afraid of him, and only wanted to get out of his service."
"Well, that may or may not be," said Mr. Blakeney coolly. "Anyhow, I'll give you a chance. I'll untie you, and if you work for us quietly and well during the daytime you shall have your liberty. At night you'll have to be tied up, until we feel we can trust you."
"Very well, baas," said the man. "That is good enough for me. I'll prove to you that I am willing to work for my skorf, and that I am not so bad as you may think me."
Untying the Hottentot, therefore, they set him to work with pick and spade to dig a grave for his dead master. They themselves, meanwhile, proceeded to disentangle the ladder from the confusion in which it had fallen. This was a work of some little time. Then they removed the battered corpse of Karl Engelbrecht--a terrible spectacle--and laid it in the grave dug by Quasip. This done, they proceeded up the valley, and spent the remainder of the day in their gold-mining operations. They took the Hottentot with them; it was evident that he was sincere in his attempt to please them. He plied pick and shovel, and worked away steadily till dusk, when they relinquished their labours and returned to their camping ground.
For the next three days they steadily pushed on with their mining work. On the whole they did much better than they had anticipated, coming upon a fresh and very rich find of gold, which lay a few feet below the surface in some alluvial ground at the head of the stream. Each night they added considerably to the big pile of treasure already accumulated near the ladder foot. That morning Poeskop had appeared at daybreak at the top of the cliff, and shouted down to them. It was difficult to gather clearly what he said, but they understood him to mean that in two more days he would be ready for them.
"That means five days' waiting instead of three," said Tom, as they returned to breakfast.
"Yes, it's a long wait," replied his father. "But I expect they may have had some trouble in shooting game and getting hide for the rope. However, a day or so extra down here won't hurt us."
"Not a bit," said Guy, who took the whole matter very good humouredly. "We shall be all the richer."
"Oh, that's all very well," retorted Tom, "but I want to get out of this place. I shan't feel happy till I'm on the top of the cliff yonder, and we've inspanned the oxen and are trekking for home. By the way, pater," he went on, "which route are we going home? By Mossamedes or Benguela?"
"Well, Tom," returned his father, "that's what I've been puzzling my head over for a long time past. If we go out by a Portuguese port we shall have to show our gold; there will be all sorts of inquiries; and very possibly the authorities may try and lay claim to the whole of our findings. Not only do I think this possible, but much more than probable. That would be a pretty ending to all our adventures, dangers, and hard work."
"Uncle," exclaimed Guy, "we'll never yield a red cent of this gold to any Portuguese in the world! These filibusters of Boers have had a shot for us and our treasure. It isn't likely that we shall cart our nuggets to Mossamedes, and calmly allow these Portuguese, who, as you have shown us, have misgoverned their country so shamefully for three or four hundred years, to rob us in that way. Besides, it's much more than doubtful whether we are in Portuguese territory here at all."
"Quite so, Guy," replied Mr. Blakeney. "I'm entirely with you. For several days past I have been turning the whole thing over in my mind. I am honestly certain, from Poeskop's information, that we have discovered and won this gold in neutral ground--in land belonging to no man. That being so, we're not going to allow the Portuguese authorities even a royalty on our find. To avoid any disturbance with them we shall have to make a long and troublesome trek right across country to Bechuanaland. This will take us several months. It's a nasty business. We shall have to go through feverish veldt, and the rains will be upon us. Still, it's the only thing to be done, and we shall have to do it. What do you lads say? Are you prepared for further difficulties?"
"Of course we are, pater," broke in Tom. "Anything is better than meekly handing over our hard-won gold to the Portuguese Government. Guy, what do you say?" he added, turning to his cousin.
"Why, I'm entirely with you, Tom," returned Guy. "I say trek south and east, by all means, for Bechuanaland."
"Carriednem. con.," said Tom cheerfully. "Pater, we'll travel by the overland route. What do you make out our course to be? I confess I'm rather vague. I suppose we'll have to pass Lake Ngami, cross the Kalahari thirst-land, and go down through Khama's Country and the Protectorate."
"That's just what we shall have to do, lads," said Mr. Blakeney. "Once at Lake Ngami, we shall manage very well, although the 'thirst' is a bad one after you leave the Lake River, before reaching Khama's chief town, Palachwe. But the main difficulties lie between here and Lake Ngami. We shall have to find our way down to the Okavango, cross that river somewhere--by no means a simple operation with a heavily-loaded wagon--and trek for the lake. I confess I don't like the look of the first part of the journey. It's almost unknown country, and bound to give us a lot of trouble."
On the fourth morning of their enforced confinement in the kloof, Jan Kokerboom appeared at the top of the cliff, showed the end of a raw-hide rope, which he dangled over the precipice, and made them understand that all would be ready next day. On the fifth day, therefore, the three adventurers awoke betimes with cheerful anticipations. They had finished their gold-digging; their heap of treasure was completed; and they now only looked forward to a speedy escape from the valley in which they had delved so long and so successfully. Quasip was, as usual, unbound, and allowed to wait on them at breakfast. Poeskop's face had not yet appeared over the top of the precipice, but they confidently looked forward to setting eyes on his yellow visage very shortly. They made an excellent meal of stewed guinea-fowl, which Guy had shot the evening before; and a whole tin of marmalade--a piece of reckless extravagance, Mr. Blakeney called it--was, in celebration of their last meal in the Gold Kloof, sacrificed for the occasion.
Half an hour after breakfast, cheers of applause greeted the appearance of Poeskop at the head of the cliff. It was quite clear he was in as high spirits as his masters beneath him. He waved his hand to them and shouted. The Bushman was joined by Jan Kokerboom, and then Mangwalaan and September peered over with grinning faces. Then all withdrew from the edge, and the tail end of the rope began to creep down the face of the precipice.
To the watchers below it seemed an unconscionable time before it reached the bottom; but at last it was within reach of their fingers. Then a hearty cheer from the lads informed Poeskop at the top that all was well. Next, the end of the rope was made fast to the ladder, and the business of hoisting up the ladder itself began. It was a long, and by no means an easy, operation. There were several sticks and stoppages, requiring care and manipulation on the part of the hoisters; but at length, at the end of a couple of hours, the task was completed, the ladder hoisted, and the upper end securely fastened. Then, with all the nimbleness of an ape, down came Poeskop. His story was a simple one. They had shot game in order to obtain hide and make the fresh rope, and the beasts of chase had not been so plentiful, or so easy to come by, as on the former occasion. Moreover, the absence of the three best shots in the party, Mr. Blakeney, Tom, and Guy, had made a good deal of difference. However, the task was accomplished, and communication once more restored.
That very afternoon began the work of carrying up the gold. This was a long and most tedious process. It was impossible, owing to the severity, and it may be added the risk, of the climb, to carry up more than a small load at a time. But all hands save one set willingly to work, and by degrees the business was done. Seleti, the humorist and butt of the camp, still raftered from his wound, and was not equal to the descent of the rope-ladder. He had never, in fact, attempted it; and the very real terror and distress which he once exhibited at the prospect of the downward climb, or indeed at any near approach to the edge of the cliff, had disarmed his master's anger, although it was not sufficient to deter the chaff and laughter of his fellow-servants.
However, Seleti was kept well occupied in cooking for the party, doing odd jobs, and looking after the oxen and horses. In two days the long and severe labour of bringing up the gold was over. They had worked from earliest dawn till the fading of the last gleam of daylight, and all were tired out by their exertions. None of them, they declared, ever wanted to see the bottom of the kloof again, or to climb that awful ladder. They had brought up the last of the stores and implements, and all were stiff and sore from their great strain. Most of them had raw and blistered hands from much handling of the ropes. Quasip, although viewed at first with much disfavour by the rest of the natives, proved himself so cheerful and so willing that gradually he wore down the enmity of all his captors, and was taken into some degree of favour.
Having transferred the heap of gold from the bottom to the top of the cliff, it was now put into strong new sacks, tied up, and sealed. The sacks and the rough sealing wax were the products of Tom's fertile imagination. He had insisted on their being bought at Cape Town. If, he urged, they were going to find gold, why not take appliances for securing the safety of the treasure? Many times during the expedition had Tom been chaffed for his pains; but the laugh was now on his side, and he did not forget to remind Guy and Mr. Blakeney of the fact. The wagon was carefully reloaded, the gold being placed at the bottom, with the remaining stores, which had now very considerably diminished, at the top. There was just room for Mr. Blakeney's kartel and no more, and the after-part of the interior of the wagon carried as much as it could hold. All things now being in order, the oxen were inspanned, and the long trek for home began.
They quitted the kloof and its neighbouring mountains with strangely mingled feelings. Joy and satisfaction were theirs, in that they had conquered all their obstacles, achieved their purpose, and gained a considerable fortune. The whole expedition had been full of romantic incident. They had passed through many adventures, and had escaped many perils. Upon the whole, fair as was the Gold Kloof and its vicinity, they were not sorry to set eyes upon it for the last time. Death and tragedy had had their part there; and somehow, as Guy said, and they all agreed, the kloof would, in the recollection of each one of them, always be associated with that last terrible episode in their Odyssey--the death of Karl Engelbrecht.
Once more, then, as the wagon rolled away down the mountain, the three white men and Poeskop crept to the edge of the precipice, and looked for the last time on the fair and lovely valley, which for them had proved indeed an El Dorado. Then, mounting their horses, they slowly followed the wagon.
It was a long trek before the wayfarers reached British Bechuanaland. Travelling south, and crossing various streams, they presently struck the Kuito River, and followed it down to its junction with the Okavango. Somewhat lower down they crossed the Okavango, after much difficulty, and travelled south-east until they reached Lake Ngami. During this part of their journey they underwent many adventures, and suffered at times much from fever. The rains fell, and they were delayed for weeks by the impassable state of the country. Crossing the Kalahari to Khama's Country, they recovered much of their health and spirits in the pure and dry air of this desert region. At Palachwe, where they arrived in rags, and with scarcely any remnant of their stores left to them, they were enabled to refit, and to procure all necessary provisions for their trek south through the Protectorate. Finally, five months after quitting the Gold Kloof, they reached Johannesburg, whither they had travelled direct, for the purpose of realizing their treasure. During all this long wandering, the Hottentot Quasip, who had begged to be allowed to travel with them, had served them well and faithfully, and proved himself a reliable man all round. Thenceforth, having purged himself of his unfortunate connection with the ruffian Engelbrecht, which he always declared had been his misfortune and not his fault, Mr. Blakeney took him into regular employment.
At Johannesburg the gold was safely and quietly disposed of. Mr. Blakeney had roughly estimated the value of the treasure, after making due deductions, at about £58,000. The gold turned out to be singularly free from impurities, and the price realized for it amounted to £62,000. After setting apart, therefore, Poeskop's £1,000, paying each of their men their wages and the sum of £100 by way of bonus, and a further bonus of £50 to Quasip, there remained for division between Guy Hardcastle and Mr. Blakeney the sum of rather more than £60,000, which, as all parties agreed, furnished a sufficiently handsome return for the risks, labours, and hardships of less than a year's adventure. From Mr. Blakeney's share had to be deducted, according to agreement, Tom's portion of £5,000.
At Bamborough Farm, whither they returned at once after disposing of their gold at Johannesburg, their reception was a memorable one. It was a joyful meeting, indeed, after their long absence--an absence accentuated by the fact that, during many months, Mrs. Blakeney and her children had had no communication of any kind from the trekkers. For this she had been to some extent prepared; yet, none the less, those long months of silence and of doubt had been very trying to her and her girls. Some happy weeks of reunion had passed before the wanderers had told the tale of their adventures in full, and completely satisfied the natural curiosity of their hearers.
Guy Hardcastle and Tom Blakeney took part in the Boer War, fighting in the same colonial contingent, and each retiring at the close of the great struggle with the rank of captain. Their adventures in that stirring campaign cannot, for lack of space, be related here.
Guy is now settled on a fine farm in British Bechuanaland, adjoining his uncle's ranch. Here he has built himself a roomy and most comfortable homestead, and, having induced his fair cousin, Ella Blakeney, to become his partner and his helpmate for life, has settled down to an existence for which he is admirably fitted. He and his wife mean, however, by no means to grow rusty in their Bechuanaland home. They pay an occasional visit to Cape Town or its marine suburbs, and during their honeymoon made a trip of some duration to the Old Country; this trip they intend to repeat at intervals.
Tom, who looked after their place for them during their absence, is a near neighbour of theirs, living, thus far, as a bachelor on a farm of his own within a few miles of their own homestead and of Bamborough. For the present he vows that his adventures are by no means ended, and that he has no intention of settling down to married life. Of these declarations, however, his sisters, who know Tom and his idiosyncrasies fairly well, are profoundly sceptical.
THE END.
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKTHE GOLD KLOOF***