Hair-Breadth Escapes Part 13

Meanwhile I'll dress the old fellow's wounds."

Omatoko proved to be as skilful a basket-maker as Lavie had predicted; and the party were making preparations for a start, when the Hottentot, who had just returned from the osier bed with a last supply of twigs, announced that there was a herd of n.o.ble koodoos about half a mile off, feeding on a patch of sweet gra.s.s. They were rare in that part of the country, and the best of eating. "Suppose we kill two, three, four of them; my people like them much. They come fetch them."

"Two, three, or four," exclaimed Frank--"who is going to do that? Why, these koodoos, if I have been told rightly, are the shyest of all the boks, and won't let any one come near them. We might possibly get one shot, but certainly not more."

"Me do it," said the Hottentot; "no want help; white boy only sit still."

There seemed no reason for refusing his request, and the boys, laying aside the various articles with which they had loaded themselves, watched his proceedings with a good deal of interest. He first took the knife, and going to the spot where the body of the ostrich was lying, pa.s.sed it round the creature's throat and under the wings, severing these parts from the rest of the carca.s.s. He then slit open the long neck from top to bottom, removed the bones and flesh, and introduced in their place a strong stick, over which he neatly sewed up the skin again. He then cleared away in like manner the blood and the fat from the back and wings, and sewed another pad of skin under them. These preparations took a considerable time; but Omatoko a.s.sured the lookers-on that there was little fear of the koodoos leaving their present pasture for several hours to come at the least, unless they should be molested.

The Hottentot had now nearly done his work; his last act was to gather up in his hand some light-tinted earth, which was nearly of the same colour as an ostrich's legs, and dipping it in water, besmeared his own supporters with it. Then taking his bow and arrows in one hand, and the back and neck of the slain bird in the other, he crept down into the bush. Presently the boys saw the figure of an ostrich appear above the shrubs and stalk leisurely along, pecking at the herbage right and left, as it advanced.

"That can't be Omatoko, to be sure," cried Frank in amazement; "that's a real ostrich! Where can he be hiding?"

"He is waiting for the others," said Warley. "See yonder, the whole flock are returning. Omatoko will no doubt slip in among them. We shall distinguish him, if we watch narrowly."

It seemed as if Ernest was right. The ostriches came straggling back through the bush, and the one they had noticed first lingered about till they had overtaken him, when he accompanied them as they strayed on towards the koodoos.

"Do you see Omatoko?" asked Nick, as the ostriches and boks became mingled together.

"No, I don't," said Frank, "He can't have come out yet. He is biding his time, I expect."

At this moment there came a faint sound like the distant tw.a.n.ging of a bow, and one of the boks was seen to fall. The herd started and looked suspiciously round them; and the ostriches seemed to share their uneasiness. But there was no enemy in sight, and after a few minutes of anxious hesitation, they recommenced browsing. A second tw.a.n.g was succeeded by a second fall, and the boks again tossed their heads and snuffed the air, prepared for immediate flight. They still lingered, however, until the overthrow of a third of their number effectually roused them. They bounded off at their utmost speed, but not before a fourth shaft had laid one of the fugitives low. Then the lads, full of astonishment and admiration, came racing up, and Omatoko, throwing off his disguise, exclaimed exultingly--

"Two, three, four; Omatoko said 'four.' White boy believe Omatoko now!"

"He has you there, Frank," said Nick, laughing; "but I must own I could not have believed it possible, if I had not seen it."

"Live and learn," said Lavie. "I had seen it before, or I might have been of your mind. Well, Omatoko, what now? We have stayed so long that. We shan't be able to reach your village to-night, if we carry the dog."

"Omatoko go alone. He bring men to-morrow; carry koodoo, dog and all."

"Very good," said the doctor, "and we'll camp here. That will suit us all."

CHAPTER TEN.

A HOTTENTOT KRAAL--THE HOTTENTOT CHIEF--UMBOO'S MESSAGE--NEWS FROM CAPE TOWN--THE HOTTENTOT PROGRAMME--LEARNED SPECULATIONS.

The sun had hardly risen on the following morning when the quarters where they had bivouacked were surrounded by a bevy of dark skins, whose curiosity to see the strangers was at least equal to that of the boys to see them. The latter were bewildered by the mult.i.tude of small copper-coloured men by whom they were environed, their thin faces, small sunken eyes wide apart from one another, thick lips, and flat noses, rendering them objects as hideous in European eyes as could well be imagined. Their conversation too--for they talked rapidly and incessantly among themselves--sounded the strangest Babel that ever was poured into civilised ears. It resembled the continued chattering of teeth, the tongue being continually struck against the jaws or palate; and for a long time the lads almost believed that the men were simply gibbering, like monkeys, at one another. Omatoko, however, who was either a personage of real authority in his tribe, or felt himself ent.i.tled to a.s.sume authority under the circ.u.mstances of the case, soon convinced them that his countrymen understood the orders which he gave them, and were, moreover, ready to obey him. At his command two of them took on their shoulders the basket, in which Lion had been carefully laid on a heap of dried gra.s.s, and trotted nimbly off with it; Frank, who had witnessed the manoeuvre, running by the side, and steadying the litter with his hand, whenever any piece of rough ground had to be traversed.

This part of the work despatched, Omatoko next went down to the place where the carca.s.ses of the koodoos had been carefully protected from vultures and hyenas by a heap of logs laid over them. Committing each koodoo to the care of three or four, whom he chose out of the throng for the purpose, he sent them after the others. Then he himself, accompanied by his nephew, whom he introduced by the name of "Toboo,"

and the son of the chief, whom he addressed as "Kalambo," prepared to set out on the journey, as a guard of honour to the Englishmen.

In about two hours' time they arrived at the kraal, where the chief, Umboo, was expecting them; and the three lads, who had been on the look out for something entirely different to all that they had ever beheld before, were, for once, not disappointed.

The village was built in the shape of a perfect oval, each cottage approaching its next neighbour so nearly as only to allow room for pa.s.sing to and fro; and on the outer side of the ellipse were enclosures for the cattle. The boys were somewhat surprised at this arrangement, having been prepared to find the oxen pastured in the s.p.a.ce enclosed by the huts, where they would have been safe from attack until the men had been overpowered. But they learned afterwards that the Hottentots rather desired that the cattle should protect them, than they the cattle. In the event of an attack from an enemy, the latter would, it was reckoned, be unwilling to destroy the sheep and oxen--the latter, indeed, being in general the booty which had been the inciting cause of the attack--and thus time was gained, and the enemy taken at a disadvantage.

The houses themselves were circular, composed of wicker-work overlaid with matting; this latter being woven out of rushes, and further sewn with the fibre of the mimosa. The mats supplied a twofold want. They readily admitted the pa.s.sage of air, and so secured good ventilation; and they were of a texture so porous that rain only caused them to close tighter, and so rendered them waterproof. Our travellers had already had satisfactory evidence of their efficiency in this respect during their three days' halt in the rocky defile. Like all other huts belonging to savages in these regions, they had only one opening, which served as door, window, and chimney.

The boys had only time for a very cursory survey of these particulars, when they were hurried into the dwelling of Umboo the chief of the tribe, who, they were told, was impatiently expecting them. Without waiting therefore to wash or cool themselves, or change any part of their dress, they pa.s.sed into the royal hut, as it might be termed; though, on examination, it was not found to be materially different from those around it.

It was larger, certainly, and perhaps a foot higher, the ordinary huts not being more than five feet in height. The floor was strewn with karosses, on one of which the great Umboo was sitting when they entered.

In the background several of his wives--he was said to have nearly a dozen--were sitting; mostly young, well-shaped women, though their figures were almost concealed from sight by numberless necklaces, girdles, armlets, and anklets, ornamented after a strange and bizarre fashion with sh.e.l.ls, tigers' teeth, polished stones, and metal spangles of all shapes and sizes--obtained doubtless from tradings with the whites. The chief himself was attired after a fashion so extraordinary, that the boys, and particularly Nick, could with difficulty restrain a shout of laughter as their eyes lighted upon him.

He was a tall and very stout man, with features which, for one of his race, might be accounted handsome; and his dress, however anomalous in the estimation of Europeans, was doubtless regarded with respect and even awe by his own subjects. It consisted of a full-bottomed wig, which had probably once graced the head of some Dutch official, though every vestige of powder had long disappeared. The lower folds of this headdress fell over the collar of the red coat of an English grenadier-- a souvenir probably of Muizenberg or Blauenberg--the rusty b.u.t.tons and tarnished embroidery testifying to the hard service which the garment in question had seen. Below the coat, so far as the mid-calf, Umboo's person remained in its natural state, always excepting the red ochre and grease with which it was liberally besmeared, the odour from which, under the broiling sun, was almost unendurable. The royal costume was completed by a pair of top-boots with bra.s.s spurs attached--suggesting a curious inquiry as to the number of owners through which the articles must have pa.s.sed, before they were transferred from the legs of an English squire to those of a Namaqua chief.

Umboo had noticed the demeanour of the younger portion of his visitors, but he had happily no suspicion of its true explanation, being himself rather inclined to attribute it to the awe which his presence inspired.

He was, however, unacquainted not only with the English language, but with the Dutch also; and Omatoko was obliged to act as interpreter between the two parties--an office, apparently, which was greatly to his taste.

After a long interview, in which the chief manifested the greatest curiosity as to the previous history of his visitors, the circ.u.mstances which had led to their presence in the country, and the course which they now proposed to pursue, he was pleased to intimate to them that their audience was ended, but that he had a.s.signed a hut for their special accommodation, and one of his people to attend on them and provide them with food, as long as they remained in the kraal.

Having expressed their thanks and taken leave, the four friends withdrew, and were ushered to their house by Toboo, the latter being, as they discovered, the attendant of whom the chief had spoken. Here they found Lion, lying in one corner on a heap of reeds, apparently none the worse for his journey.

"Well," said Nick, as he threw himself on a bed of dried gra.s.s covered with one or two karosses, "this is better than the desert, anyhow! I suppose his Majesty, King Umboo, keeps a pretty good table, and a decent cook. Are we to have the honour, by the bye, of dining at the royal board, or is a separate cuisine to be kept up for us? In the first instance, will it be necessary to dress for dinner; in the second, who is to give orders to the cook?"

"And if we are to be his Majesty's guests, will the Queen be present?"

asked Frank; "and if she is, which of us is to have the honour of handing her in to dinner?"

"You forget, Frank, there is more than one Mrs Umboo. I believe there are as many as a dozen, if not more."

"Well, then, they won't all dine, I suppose, at least not on the same day. I dare say they'll take it in turns, so as to have the advantage of improving their manners by European polish," said Wilmore. "By the bye, were those his wives or his daughters that were sitting on the skins at the back of the tent. There was one of them who was very nearly being handsome. If it hadn't been for her hair, which strongly resembled a black scrubbing brush, I think she would have been!"

"Ay, I noticed her casting glances at you, Frank," said Nick. "If she was one of Umboo's wives, it is a good job that the royal eyes couldn't see through the back of the head to which they belonged, or his Majesty might have ordered you both to be burned, or impaled, or disposed of after some pleasant fashion of the like description. But we will hope she was a princess, not a queen."

"With all my heart," said Frank, laughing. "Perhaps she was the Princess Royal and, in default of issue male, the heiress presumptive of the crown. It would be great promotion to become Crown Prince of the Namaquas. But here is Charles waiting to speak as soon as he can thrust a word in edgewise. Well, Charles, what is it?"

"Why, if you fellows have done chaffing, there is something of importance which I have to tell you."

"Ay, indeed, and what may that be?" inquired Gilbert.

"Why, you know that I have had some conversations with Omatoko in Dutch?"

"Yes, we all know that."

"But you, perhaps, did _not_ know that I understand something of the Hottentot language also."

"Certainly, none of us understood that," observed Frank. "Why, Charles, how could you ever learn it? It seems to me nothing but a series of chicks, as though they were rattling castanets with their tongues."

"I was laid up once with an accident on a shooting expedition, and was nursed by the Hottentots. I picked up enough of their lingo to understand generally what they say, though I don't think I could talk it," answered Charles.

"Why didn't you tell Omatoko so? It would have saved some trouble?"

asked Warley.

"Why, you see, Ernest, I have had my suspicions of Omatoko from the first--that is, I have never been quite satisfied about his good faith, though I thought it better to follow his counsel. But I knew when we reached the village, that he would speak freely of his real intentions to his countrymen, not having any suspicion that I understood a word of what he was saying."

"That was very well thought of," said Warley, "and it was very wise also to keep your intention to yourself. I am glad I didn't know it, any way. But what did you learn to-day?"

"I learned, among other things, that the force which it was supposed the English government would send to reconquer the Cape from the Dutch, has actually sailed, if it has not landed; and, in my opinion, it is large enough to render any resistance on the part of the Dutch hopeless--that is, if its strength is correctly reported."