Hendricks the Hunter Part 2

He was unwilling indeed, till the poor boy had regained his strength, further to question him, and he hoped to learn more of his history from Mangaleesu and Kalinda, who he had no doubt would be able to afford it.

Having given the boy some of the broth which was now ready, and placed a blanket under his head to serve as a pillow, he left Umgolo to watch over him. He then went and sat down by the side of Mangaleesu, who still lay in the hammock under the waggon, not yet recovered from the exertions he had made on the previous night, and the loss of blood from his wounds.

"I have recovered one of your people, and have brought him to the camp,"

said the trader.

"Who is he?" asked Mangaleesu eagerly. "I thought that all had been killed."

"Although he has a white skin, he seems by his dress and language to be a Zulu," answered the trader.

"Then he must be little Unozingli," said the chief. "I am glad he has escaped, for he was a favourite with us, and will some day, if he lives, become a great warrior."

"By what chance did he happen to be living among you? Although he is dressed like a Zulu, and speaks the Kaffir tongue alone, he is evidently the child of white parents."

"He was brought to my kraal by a tribe from a distant part of the country, who afterwards joined my people," answered the chief. "They had taken him, they said, from a black woman who had been killed; but the child being white, they had been unwilling to destroy him, and had carried him off with them. He was at once adopted into the tribe, and has lived with us ever since, learning our customs and language, and we gave him the name of Unozingli."

From this answer it was evident that no further satisfactory information could be obtained from Mangaleesu respecting the boy. This was a disappointment to the trader. He had hoped, after rescuing the little fellow, to have had the satisfaction of discovering his parents or friends, and restoring him to them. He was satisfied that the child was either English or Dutch, and from his features he was inclined to think he was the former.

"I don't fancy calling him by his Kaffir name," he said to himself. "I must get one more suited to him." As he looked at the thick auburn hair which hung in curls over the boy's head, his freckled, though otherwise fair countenance, his large blue eyes, and broad, open countenance, he exclaimed, "I have it! I'll call him Lionel; for a young lion he looks, and will, I hope, some day bring down many of the brutes of the forest."

Unwilling to leave the camp himself, lest their enemies might come in search of the young chief and his bride, towards evening the trader sent out Umgolo and another man in search of game to supply his followers with meat, for in that climate what is killed one day is scarcely eatable the next.

He also despatched two others in different directions to ascertain if any of the Zulus were in the neighbourhood, apparently searching for Mangaleesu, as he intended in that case to keep the chief and his bride more carefully concealed until he had carried them safely across the border.

The hunters were the first to return, loaded with the flesh of a couple of antelopes. Soon afterwards, while they were busily employed in cutting up the animals and preparing them for supper, the scouts came in, bringing the information that they had seen a large party who seemed to them coming from the south-west, but who were too far off to enable them to ascertain who they were. As--the intermediate ground being uneven--it would have taken them a long time to get nearer, they deemed it wise to return at once with their report.

"Whether friends or foes, we are ready for them," said the trader. "In case they should be foes, we must keep our guests concealed; but from the direction they come, I think it more likely that they are friends, and we will have some food ready for them."

The cooks therefore spitted according to camp fashion an additional supply of meat to roast, while the trader walked on a short distance in the direction he expected the strangers to appear. He was not mistaken in his surmise. After some time he saw through his gla.s.s a waggon very similar to his own, accompanied by two persons on horseback and several on foot. On this, returning to the camp, he ordered his horse to be saddled, and went out to meet them. As he was seen approaching, the two mounted strangers rode forward.

"What, Hendricks the Hunter!" exclaimed the elder, a tall, gaunt man, with a weather-beaten countenance, whose grey twinkling eyes, the form of his features, and his rich brogue showed him to be an Irishman.

"Mighty glad to fall in with you, old friend!" and the gentlemen shook hands warmly.

"I'm equally well pleased to meet you, Maloney," answered Mr Hendricks.

"You can give me news of the civilised world, of which I have heard nothing for many a long month."

"Faith! as to that, it wags much as usual. Skins are fetching fair prices, which is good news for you; but the Kathlamba bushmen are again becoming troublesome, and have lately carried off several head of cattle and horses from the settlers in that direction, which is a bad matter for them, while the new arrivals are grumbling and complaining as usual because they do not find the colony the Eldorado they expected, before they have had time to dig a spade into the ground or run a plough over it. For my part, I'm mighty glad to get out of their company and find myself in the wilderness."

"So am I generally, after I have been a short time at home, I confess, though I have many friends in Maritzburg, with whom I am glad now and again to spend a few days," replied Hendricks. "Had you, however, waited a little longer, I intended to propose that we should join forces and travel together. I thought it possible indeed that I might fall in with you, although as I did not expect to do so for several days to come I was in hopes that you would be induced to wait for me till I was ready to make a fresh start."

"I would willingly have delayed my journey or waited for you, had we met closer to the Natal border," answered Mr Maloney; "but as you know, it would not be prudent to remain longer than possible in this part of the country, and even now, as I shall spend some time trading and hunting to the south of the Drakensberg, you will probably overtake me before I get over the mountains."

"It will be from no fault of mine if I do not," said Hendricks. "I shall not be long in transacting my business at Maritzburg. However, we'll talk of that presently; and now come along to my camp, for supper will be ready by the time we get there. By the bye, who is the lad with you? He looks somewhat tired from his journey."

"He is my son Denis, a chip of the old block," answered Mr Maloney.

"To say the truth, however, he is just now somewhat sick, and I'd rather see him safe at Maritzburg than travelling with me into the wilderness.

I have a favour to ask--it is that you will take charge of him and let him accompany you back to the town. I shall be mighty thankful to you if you will."

"I will do as you wish," said Hendricks, "though the lad, I suspect, would rather be hunting with you than kicking his heels in town with nothing to do."

"He has been too well-trained to dispute my authority," observed Mr Maloney. "I took him from the office of his uncle, my worthy brother-in-law, and he must go back for a few months until I return and am ready to make my next trip. By that time he'll have more muscle and stamina, and be better able to stand the fatigue and hard life we hunters have to endure."

"I'll carry out your wishes with all my heart, and will look after the lad while I remain in the colony," said Hendricks.

This conversation took place while the two leaders were riding on towards the camp, the lad following a short distance behind them.

Mr Hendricks briefly related to his companion the attack on the kraal, and the way in which the Zulu chief, his bride and the little boy had been rescued. "I intend to take the child with me, to leave him in charge of my good sister, Susannah Jansen," he added. "We may some day discover to whom he belongs, but I will, in the meantime, act the part of a guardian to him."

"It is a kind act of yours, but faith! I suppose I should be after doing the same sort of thing myself, though I find one son as much as I can manage. To be sure, all boys are not like Denis here, who boasts that he shot a springboc before he was ten years old, and that he has since killed a lion and a wild boar, his great ambition being now to bring an elephant to the ground."

As his father was speaking, Denis, who had hitherto kept in the rear, hearing his name mentioned rode up.

"I have asked Mr Hendricks to take you back with him to Maritzburg, where you must wait with all the patience you can muster till my next trip," said Mr Maloney. "You are not strong enough for the work before us; and if you knock up, the object of my expedition will be defeated, for I shall have to nurse you instead of being able to hunt or carry on trade."

"I am much obliged to Mr Hendricks, but I don't intend to knock up,"

said Denis, not looking very well pleased at his father's proposal.

"I'm a little sick now, but I shall be all to rights in a day or two, and will be able to continue the journey."

His looks, however, belied his a.s.sertion, though he was evidently doing his utmost to appear at his ease.

"Well, well, we'll see about it, my boy; but for your own sake, as well as mine, I wish you to go back. I took you somewhat against my better judgment, in the hopes that the journey would strengthen you, instead of which you look worse than when we started."

Denis still begged to be allowed to go on, until his father, losing patience, told him to say no more about the matter; that he should decide what was best to be done, and should act accordingly.

Hearing his father say this, Denis, not venturing to make any further appeal, again dropped behind.

"You see the boy has a will of his own," observed Mr Maloney. "Though so tall and full of spirit, he is scarcely twelve years of age, and has in truth outgrown his strength. Since he lost his mother he has only had his uncle, Tom Lumly, to look after him when I have been away, and my good brother-in-law being much taken up with business has had little time to attend to him, so that he has been allowed to run rather wild.

However, as he is now well able to make himself useful, Tom will give him work to do, and that will help to keep him out of harm's way."

"You are right, my friend; there's nothing like plenty of work to help keep a person out of mischief; but, after all, he must have steadiness and good principles. They alone are to be depended on, and I hope your son has got those as ballast."

The two gentlemen, followed by Denis, soon arrived at the camp. They found the promised repast spread out under the shade cast by the waggon as the sun sank towards the western hills.

The two ciders did ample justice to the venison steaks and other African luxuries placed before them; but though Denis managed to eat a little, he had to acknowledge that he was somewhat off his feed.

Umgolo, who ranked as a chief amongst his followers, and shared his master's board, ate considerably more than the two white men together.

Mangaleesu and Kalinda, who had been invited, at first hung back, but overcoming their bashfulness at length came and joined the party, and did ample justice to the food offered them. At last, little Unozingli, the white boy, or Lionel, as his protector determined to call him, crept out from the corner of the waggon, and, tempted by the smell of the viands, came and placed himself by the side of the Zulu chief, of whom he showed no fear.

"The child has been well treated, or he would keep away from our dark-skinned friend there," observed Mr Maloney. "It's mighty curious that he's unable to utter a word of English; but he'll find his tongue soon, when he has stowed away a little food."

The little fellow, unlike the Zulus, ate moderately, and after taking a draught of cold water declared that he was satisfied. His wounded arm, which Hendricks had placed in a sling, did not appear to cause him much pain; at all events, he did not complain as most boys more delicately nurtured than he had been would have done.

The Zulu chief now addressed him in a kind tone. He at once answered, and was soon chattering away either with him or Kalinda, with whom he appeared to be a favourite. After this, as he had recovered his spirits, Hendricks called him to come and sit by his side, and speaking in the Zulu language, questioned him as to his early recollections, when his answers fully confirmed the account given by Mangaleesu.

"Do you wish to return to your white friends?" asked Hendricks.

The boy's countenance brightened. "I am fond of the chief and Kalinda, but I should greatly like to see the white lady who often used to talk to me, and whom I called mother, and a man with hair like mine, who sometimes carried me on his back or in his arms, and let me ride on his knee. Then there was the black woman, but I shall never see her, for I remember well how the Zulus pierced her with their a.s.segais. She fell into the river and was swept away, while one of the warriors carried me off."

"We will try and find your parents if they are still alive, and until they are found I will be a father to you," said Hendricks. "Will you trust me?"