By Veldt and Kopje Part 22

"'Bring him with you, and we will bury him beyond the river,' she said.

"I returned to the room and wrapped the body in a large kaross which lay upon the bed. Although much emaciated, the body seemed strangely light for its build. We laid it reverently upon the wagon-cartel, and I seized the whip. Alida took her place in front of the team as leader, and the heavy wagon rumbled down the stony track towards the river drift.

"We travelled about six hours before outspanning. It was then sundown, and we were on the southern verge of the great Kalihari waste, which is usually an arid desert, but was then like a rich meadow. In the darkness I set to work and dug a deep grave in the sand. Before we lowered the body into it, Alida drew the kaross back from the face and imprinted a long kiss upon the dead, smoothed-out brow of the man who had been for so long a father to her, and who had wearied so sorely for his death. Then she threw herself upon the ground at the grave-side and burst into pa.s.sionate weeping. I placed heavy stones over the grave and burnt loose gunpowder among them for the purpose of scaring off the jackals.

"At the first gleam of dawn we were again on our way. We knew we should be pursued, sooner or later, and I wanted to get beyond the range of pursuit so as to avoid, if possible, the necessity for shedding blood.

In this there was no element of fear, for I felt strong and confident of being able to overcome the two ruffians. But I knew it would be necessary to kill them if they overtook us, and I had always shrunk from taking the life of a fellow-creature--no matter how vile--even in self-defence.

"We had no fixed plans. Alida knew no more than I of the country before us. We were on no track, but just steered vaguely northward, taking our direction from the sun and the stars. Water was to be found almost everywhere; besides, the whole desert was strewn with 'tsamai' melons, on which we, as well as the cattle, could exist should the water fail.

Game was plentiful and tame, so we never lacked meat. Each night as we camped we collected fuel, and built two large fires for the purpose of keeping off the lions, one just behind the wagon and the other in front of the team. The front yoke we used to peg down firmly, to prevent the oxen, which were tied in pairs along the chain, from rushing back on the wagon, in the event of a panic being caused by wild beasts. We divided the night into two watches, of which I took the first. The oxen were well trained, so the services of a leader were not often required, and Alida was thus enabled to sleep for long periods as the wagon crawled slowly over the velvet-like sand.

"Thus pa.s.sed five days, and on the morning of the sixth old Danster turned up. He had waited for my return a day and a night, and then gone back to the homestead on my spoor, arriving on the evening of the second day after I had left him. He found the house just as we had left it, but feeling that something was wrong, had been afraid to enter, so he took cover close by and waited for daylight, when he traced the wheel-tracks of our wagon down to the river. Little Slinger, his grandson, he could not find, although he searched for him far and near.

In the afternoon Piet and Gerrit arrived. Danster stole up to a bush, from which he could observe all that went on near the house. He saw the brothers moving about excitedly and gesticulating wildly. Little Slinger soon afterwards appeared; he had evidently been hiding in the bush, and emerged, driven out by starvation. The boy was seized by Gerrit and dragged into the house. He was shortly afterwards dragged out again, and then Piet shot him dead before the door.

"Danster saw the brothers drive in the mob of horses, saddle up two, and place a small pack upon a third. Then they started on the track of our wagon. Danster followed on foot, and pa.s.sed the two when camped for the night. Since then he had travelled night and day to overtake us, and he only arrived just in time to give warning. I at once determined to await the approach of our pursuers, who were now so close that we could not hope to escape them. Personally, I had no doubt as to the result of the encounter. I did not want the woman I loved to stain her sinless hands in blood, be it ever so guilty, so I refused her offer of a.s.sistance in the conflict. But she took a solemn oath that if I were killed she would take her own life.

"I knew that I should inevitably have to destroy these men, but I, nevertheless, determined not to do so without having absolute proof that they meant to murder me. In the long silent watches of the recent nights, when earth lay speechless to the stars, I had thought out a plan in view of the probable contingency, and this plan I proceeded to put into execution. These men should have their chance, and if they meant anything less than absolute murder, my right hand might perish before I would slay them.

"So I yoked the team to the wagon once more, and drew it onward for a few hundred yards to a spot where two dunes nearly met, and where the drift-sand lay loose and soft. Then I halted the wagon, letting it appear as though the oxen had been unable to draw it any farther. The oxen I unyoked and sent forward in charge of Danster, telling him, if he heard shooting, shortly followed by a shout from me, to bring them back at once.

"Then I gathered a quant.i.ty of fuel, carefully selecting a number of logs of heavy, close-grained wood, which might be depended upon to keep alight for hours. I felt so sure that no attack would be made before dark, that I proceeded with my preparations in a most leisurely manner.

We built the pile ready for kindling, but waited for sundown before setting it alight.

"In the meantime, Alida had--under my directions--taken a couple of yokes and some pillows, and of these made dummy figures, which she dressed in some of our garments. Then I scooped out a comfortable-looking couch in the soft dune-side, close to the pile of fuel, and in the bottom of it laid a kaross. Upon this we placed the two figures, side by side, and over them we spread another kaross.

Above the head of one figure was laid Alida's 'cappie,' with the hood drawn over the face as though to keep off the dew. Over the head of the other my coat was laid in the same manner, my hat being carelessly thrown down alongside. Within arm's-reach one of my spare guns lay propped upon forked sticks, so as to keep it clear of the sand.

"We finished our preparations just after the sun had sunk, but I afterwards added a slight touch here and there for the purpose of improving the general effect. I remember Alida clinging to my arm in terror, because, just as dusk was setting in, I returned and placed one of my pipes on top of the hat, where the metal top glinted brightly in the firelight. Then we climbed into the wagon, let the canvas flap fall, and sat silently awaiting developments.

"The sides of the canvas cover b.u.t.toned to the woodwork of the tilt, but we unb.u.t.toned sufficient of it to give us, when we lifted it slightly, a good view of the fire, the couch with the dummies lying in it, and a considerable s.p.a.ce surrounding these.

"I sat in the wagon grasping my double-barrelled gun. My pulse beat no faster than usual. The only emotion I was conscious of was extreme impatience. I was not even uneasy about Danster and the cattle, although I knew there were many lions about. I was quite certain that the two human jackals would fall into the trap I had so carefully set for them, but the waiting, which lasted until after midnight, seemed long and wearisome. It was Alida who first, with the sharp ear of the desert-bred, heard their approaching stealthy steps. She grasped my arm suddenly, and I knew quite well what she meant to convey, so I noiselessly c.o.c.ked both barrels of my gun. Then she lifted the edge of the canvas a few inches, and I looked cautiously out.

"Gerrit was the first to appear; he had an evil smile on his face, and his wicked black eyes glittered like sparks. Immediately following came Piet. He looked haggard, and his pale lips moved convulsively. Both men were barefoot, and without hats or boots. They had, Danster afterwards ascertained when he traced their spoors backwards for the purpose of getting their horses, watched our camp for some time from the top of a dune a few hundred yards away, and there discarded their boots and superfluous clothing before advancing to their cowardly attack.

"Gerrit leading, the two stole up to within two yards of my supposed figure, and then Piet stretched out his hand and took possession of my gun, which he placed out of reach. The two then pointed their guns, Gerrit at the head and Piet at the breast of the dummy. I noticed that both took some pains to avoid the possibility of wounding the other supposed sleeper with their shots, and for this a faint throb of something like pity woke in my mind. I saw the muzzles of the guns drop slightly in unison once, twice, and then, at the third drop, both weapons were discharged.

"I had covered Gerrit, and an instant after he fired he dropped with my bullet through his brain. Piet sprang wildly to one side, only, however, to meet my second shot, which pierced his chest from the left-hand side. He fell on his face with a gurgling groan, and died, clutching wildly at the gra.s.s.

_Four_.

"I sprang out of the wagon, ran to the top of the dune and shouted to old Danster, who, to my astonishment, emerged from under a bush a few yards off. He had stolen back after leaving the oxen, replete and happy, lying down about a quarter of a mile away. The old Hottentot was filled with savage delight at little Slinger's death having been so completely avenged. He had his gun ready to shoot Piet had I fallen.

Soon afterwards he brought up the oxen at a run, and we tied them to the yokes.

"We then dragged the two bodies to the back of the dune, and there left them to such sepulture as the vultures and the jackals might give. A few spadefuls of clean white sand obliterated all superficial traces of the gruesome happenings in the vicinity of the wagon. Then Alida and I sat on the wagon-box, hand in hand, and watched until the night died and the gracious morning smiled upon the desert.

"I felt no remorse for what I had done, then or ever afterwards. My deed had been an execution, not a murder--an act of self-defence under the direst necessity. But I preferred to look upon it as a kind of judicial proceeding in which the culprits had been tried and sentenced at the bar of eternal justice, and handed over to me, unwilling, for execution.

"When the sweet, pure influences of dawn descended upon us after that night of blood, my heartstrings sang aloud and I thrilled with a sense of elation such as I had never previously experienced. I seemed to be king of a boundless realm, and my queen sat in beauty at my side. No word of love had pa.s.sed between us since our flight, but she was now mine by every law of heaven and earth. The face of love had hitherto been shaded by terror and tears, but now it shone upon us, unclouded and bright as the morning. We were alone in the wild, untracked and boundless desert, but we would not have exchanged our wagon for a palace. To us a world of men would have been unbearable; the convulsion we had pa.s.sed through had whirled us to some zone far from the ways of ordinary humanity. We were like two peerless eagles soaring in the heart of the infinite blue, forgetful of the inconspicuous earth.

"Northward and ever northward we travelled. Wayward Nature spread a carpet for our delighted feet, and laid the fruits of the earth ready for our banquet. I felt so happy that it gave me pain to slay the innocent desert creatures when meat was required. I knew not fear of anything. I have looked calmly into the eyes of a furious lion when he crouched ready to spring at me, and laid him quivering at my feet with a shot which seemed as though it could not err.

"We happened upon the bitter wells quite by accident. Alida took a fancy to this spot, so we here formed our camp. We never dreamt of having to depend upon the bitter water for our sustenance, for the well in the donga close at hand looked as though it could never run dry. The Bushmen soon became our fast friends. Alida spoke their language, and they used to bring their sick and hurt to her for treatment. In one or two serious cases I was called in, and, owing to the fact of fortunate recoveries resulting, I acquired the reputation of a great magician.

This reputation I have never lost.

"For a year no two human beings were ever happier than we. Alida could use a gun quite as well as I, so I felt no uneasiness about leaving her alone when hunting took me far afield. The desert, after rain, is full of wholesome vegetable food, and with this the Bushmen kept us well supplied. We had no want or desire which we could not satisfy. Yes, that year was enough to atone for an eternity of pain.

"One thing only I dreaded--the possibility of Alida's becoming a mother, and at length the day came when I knew that my dread would be realised.

This was just a year after our union.

"Soon afterwards the land began to dry up, and it was then I should have escaped to the Great Lake. But I was new to the climate, and I could make no guess as to what was coming. I hoped against hope for rain, but the sun scorched fiercer and fiercer. Now and then the clouds came up to mock our misery, but no drop fell from them. One by one the water-places failed, and the Bushmen began to flock in to the bitter wells from every direction. All had the same tale to tell. The desert, which had been awakened to beauty by the kiss of the fickle sky, was falling back into its ancient, deathlike sleep. Until this present season it has never since awakened.

"The well in the donga close at hand held out long after the others had dried up, but it, too, began to show signs of soon becoming exhausted.

The Bushmen still said that rain might come, and once, when the lightnings flickered on the north-eastern horizon, they held a dance to show their joy at the prospect of a deluge. But soon afterwards the air grew cooler, with a clear sky, and then the dwellers of the desert told us to bid good-bye to hope.

"The child was born--a strong, l.u.s.ty boy--and Alida stood the ordeal bravely. But the sides of our well began to crumble in, and the water to become horribly less. At length, after we had spent nearly a whole day in squeezing a single pannikin of moisture from the sand sc.r.a.ped up at the bottom of the pit, we sadly moved over to the bitter wells. The child was then two months old.

"Alida sickened from the water at once. Strangely enough, it had no effect upon me. Then the kind Bushmen searched all over the desert for the ostrich egg-sh.e.l.ls which they had filled with rain-water and buried here and there so that the hunters might not die of thirst when their pursuit of game had taken them far away from their camps. This stuff, horrible as it proved, Alida was able to exist upon, but the supply soon became exhausted, and then the bitter water made her more ill than ever.

Her illness poisoned the child; it wasted quickly and died in cruel pain.

"Alida never lifted her head after the child's death. By her wish I carried it over here for burial. At one time it seemed as though she might possibly become accustomed to the bitter water. Then, after unusually hot weather, its poison grew so virulent that even some of the Bushmen sickened. Alida became suddenly worse, and two days afterwards she died in my arms.

"All this happened twenty years ago. On these notched sticks I have kept a record of the slow time. Alida and the child lie buried beneath the spot where we are sitting now; I shall never leave the place. Every day the Bushmen bring me enough meat and water for my needs. Old Danster died of thirst when hunting in the desert, years ago.

"The wild animals seem to know me, for they never attempt to do me any hurt. I do not think I am unhappy, for I can sleep when I like, and in my dreams I go over the past again and again. They used to teach me that another life comes after death. I do not know... I know that if the soul lives when the body dies, our souls will be together... But now I dream... and dream..."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE HUNTER OF THE DIDIMA.

"You say, my Chief, that you wish me to relate a tale of the days of my youth, which are now so very far away. Well, I owe you homage for that you opened the door of the prison wherein my grandson lay, accused of a crime which another had committed. Last year I might have sent you a cow, which would have kept your children's calabash always full, but now that the Rinderpest has emptied my kraal I am a poor man--so poor that I cannot even offer you a drink of sour milk. There, behind that mat, lie the calabashes splitting from dryness. _Wau_, but it is hard for an old man who has owned cattle all his life to look every day into an empty kraal.

"Oh yes--about the tale. Well, I can tell you of an occasion when I was so near my death that for months afterwards I would start up in my sleep of nights and shriek aloud. The tale has often been told, but never the whole of it, for it is shameful for a man to relate how he wept like a woman and begged for his life. But now all the others are dead--and, for myself, why, I am only an old man of no account who will soon be dead too.

"In the days I speak of Makomo was Chief over all the country. I was a young man, and had only been married a few months. My father was one who stood near the Chief. He was rich in cattle and his racing oxen were the best in the land. I had only recently been made a man. I was too young, so many said, for the rite, but the Chief's 'Great Son' was to be made a man at the time, and my father wanted me to be one of his blood-brothers. Then my father said I should marry and get grandchildren for him. In those days I cared for nothing but hunting, but my father began paying dowry for a girl, so I made no objection.

She came to be the grandmother of Nathaniel, whom you know. He comes home twice every year from the Mission, and tells me that I am going, when I die, to a deep pit full of a very hot kind of fire. Well, perhaps I am, but I shall meet my Chief and my old friends there, but not Nathaniel, nor his grandmother.

"Makomo was a great Chief in those days, and no one ever dared to disobey him except the 'Abatwa,' the wild Bushmen who dwelt in the high mountains among the rocks and forests, and who shot people to death with shafts smeared with the poison of snakes. Brave as Makomo's men were when they fought the English, they dreaded the little men of the rocks, who could kill from afar without being seen or heard.

"From my earliest boyhood I loved nothing so well as hunting, and my favourite ground was the forest at the back of the Didima Mountain, which was full of buffalo, koodoo, bushbuck, and other game. On the top of the big mountain beyond it, which you call the Katberg, herds of eland used often to browse. Other young men who loved the chase would accompany me, but I was always the leader.

"At a spot in the valley at the back of the Didima, far away from any other dwellings, lived a man called Bangeni, a great doctor. This man did not fear the Bushmen. For some reason or another they never interfered with him, even when they raided in the valleys far past his dwelling. He spoke their language, which sounded like the spitting of a nest of wild cats I once dug out of a hole. Men used to say that through his medicines Bangeni had the power of moving unseen from place to place, and that the Bushmen knew this and feared him accordingly. I do not know if this was the case, but it is certain that although the Bushmen were often seen in the rocks on the ridge above his kraal, and although they sometimes killed the herd-boys in the valley below, and drove off cattle, nothing of Bangeni's was ever taken.