Off to the Wilds Part 45

They were indeed like fish-hooks, and so sharp and strong, that once in amongst them no one could have escaped without having clothes and skin ploughed and torn in a terrible way.

Shoes stood perfectly still now. He snorted at times and twitched the skin of his withers, turning his great eyes appealingly to Jack, who plied his heavy sheath-knife so effectively that at last the ma.s.s of thorns was sufficiently hacked away to allow horse and rider to move.

Fortunately for d.i.c.k, he was a clever horseman. Had he ridden like some people, who hang a leg on each side of a horse and call that riding, he must have been thrown. For at the first touch to start him, Shoes was so eager to get out of the th.o.r.n.y torture to which he had been subjected, that he made a tremendous bound, and alighted clear, trembling and sweating profusely.

"Oh, I say, Jack, I am scratched," grumbled d.i.c.k, giving himself soft rubs all over. "Don't laugh. It does hurt so."

"But I feel as if I can't help it," cried Jack, who burst into a fresh roar.

"I don't think I should have laughed at poor old Dinny, if I had known how it hurts. Those thorns are nearly as sharp as needles."

"Well, there, I won't laugh any more; but you weren't tossed up on the thorns by a rhinoceros. Come along. Let's go after father;" and they set off, but very gently, for d.i.c.k's face was screwed into a fresh grimace at every motion of the horse, while the poor beast itself was marked with little tiny beads of blood all over its satin skin.

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT.

FATHER SHOOTS A GIRAFFE.

Meanwhile, believing that the boys were in full chase of a giraffe a-piece, Mr Rogers had galloped on after the great creature he had cut off from the herd, though for a time he could not gain upon it at all.

The beast's mode of progression was very ungainly, and its great stilted legs moved in an awkward manner, but it got over the ground very fast.

Still the plain was open and offered good galloping ground, and after a very long stern-chase Mr Rogers saw tokens of the great beast beginning to give way, and thereupon pushed forward, the bay responding to the calls he made upon it, so that he was soon alongside.

His rifle was ready, but he hesitated to use it, preferring to gallop on and watch the great creature which towered up to double the height he sat upon his horse. It kept panting on, whisking its tail, and once or twice it made an awkward side-wise kick at the horse, but it was ill-directed and of none effect; while at last feeling that he was torturing the great beast, he levelled his gun, but his sight was disarranged by another fierce kick, which made the horse bound aside.

Again they thundered on for some distance, when, steadying his horse so as to get a good aim, Mr Rogers levelled, fired, and the monster came down with a crash, shot through the head.

As the great giraffe lay motionless, Mr Rogers leaped down, after looking to see if his boys were coming; and then loosening his horse's girths he let it graze amongst the rich gra.s.s that grew in patches here and there, while, after refreshing himself a little, he drew his hunting-knife and proceeded dexterously to skin the great animal, which must have stood about nineteen feet from horn to hoof.

For the skin of the giraffe--if a fine one--is worth three or four pounds, and this was in magnificent condition.

It was a hard task that skinning, but the long legs acted as levers when he wanted to turn the creature over, and the busily employed time skipped away, quite three hours having elapsed before d.i.c.k and Jack rode up.

"Why, what a magnificent skin, father," cried d.i.c.k, as he stood admiring the creamy drab, splashed and spotted with great patches of a rich yellowish brown. "What a monster, and what a height!"

"Yes," said Mr Rogers. "But I've had enough of this, boys. The great gentle beast looked so piteous and appealing at me that I feel ashamed of having killed it. You must shoot one a-piece I suppose, but after that let's get to the savage animals again. One feels to have done a good deed in ridding the country of one of those brutes. Did you both kill yours?"

"No, father," they cried in chorus; and after helping to cut off the marrow-bones of the great beast to carry home, for a roast, the marrow being esteemed a delicacy; the heavy skin was mounted before Mr Rogers, and a couple of marrow-bones a-piece proving a load, they rode slowly for the camp, Mr Rogers listening to the account of his boys' mishaps, both showing traces of having been in the wars.

Evening was coming on fast, and their progress was necessarily slow; but it was not until it had turned quite dark, that the fact became evident that they had lost their way out there on that great wild.

They drew rein and looked around, but not a single familiar landmark was in sight. On the contrary, all loomed up strange and peculiar.

To have gone on meant only wearying themselves in vain, and perhaps an unpleasant encounter with lions; so they made straight for the nearest patch of wood, secured their horses, and rapidly hacked off and collected enough wood for a fire, to do duty in a threefold way--giving them warmth, safety from prowling beasts, and cooking the huge marrow-bones, which were soon set down to roast, and formed, with the biscuits they carried, no despicable meal.

Such nights pa.s.sed by a blazing fire on the edge of a wood sound very romantic, but they lose their attraction when tried. Hot as Africa is by day, icy winds often blow by night, and they will freeze the hunter inside the shelter of a tent; the coolness then of a night without shelter can be understood. The fire burnt one side, but, as Jack said, without you made the fire all round you, it was no good, and that they could not do.

No one felt disposed to sleep, so they sat and warmed themselves as best they could, drawing the great giraffe skin round them for warmth. Then they talked till they were weary, and afterwards got up to pat and comfort their horses.

It was very wearisome that night, but free from adventure; and the moment it was light they mounted and rode to the nearest eminence, from which they made out land-marks which enabled them to find their way back to camp, where the General and his two boys were missing, having gone out, as they said in their trouble, because Mr Rogers and the boys had not returned--"to look for Boss;" their joy knowing no bounds when they came back in a couple of hours, without finding those they had sought, and seeing them waiting there.

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.

HOW d.i.c.k CAPTURED FOUR YARDS OF ANIMAL.

Mr Rogers' description of the death of the gentle, harmless beast--its piteous looks, the great tears rolling from its expressive eyes, and its many struggles to get away, somewhat damped the ardour of d.i.c.k and Jack, who settled in council that it was too bad to shoot giraffe, and as they had a skin of the great creature, which was stretched out to dry, they would shoot no more.

As for that magnificent skin, Rough'un seemed to consider that it was placed there for his especial benefit; and to the great disgust of Pompey, Caesar, and Cra.s.sus, who were tied up and could not join, but had to be content at straining at their chains and looking-on, Rough'un amused himself by licking the skin, especially where there were little bits of fat, till he was tired, and then creeping under the hairy side to sleep.

This he kept up for a whole day. The second day he gave it up, for the skin was rapidly a.s.suming the character of a hard board; but the triumvirate were as impatient as ever, and barked incessantly.

This annoyed Dinny, who borrowed Peter's great whip to administer punishment; but at the first crack and howl, Rough'un, who was loyalty itself to his kind, left the hard skin that he had been smelling and scratching with his forepaw, and flew at Dinny, exclaiming in dog language,--

"Let them alone, you coward; you wouldn't dare to hurt them if they were free."

"Ah, get out, ye ugly murthering baste," roared Dinny, cracking the whip, but in no way intimidating Rough'un, who seemed to know that he was perfectly safe, the whip being only available for use at long distances, and Rough'un keeping close to, and baying and charging at Dinny's legs.

"Be off, or I'll be the death of you," said Dinny, cracking the whip again; but in nowise dismayed, Rough'un kept up the attack, till Dinny literally turned, and fled to obtain his rifle; when Rough'un gave a final bark, and growled at the triumvirate, and the triumvirate were so much obliged that they growled at Rough'un, who coiled himself up in the sun on the malodorous skin and went to sleep.

d.i.c.k and Jack were busy saddling their horses while this took place, and stood laughing and enjoying the scene. They were joined directly after by their father, who with the help of d.i.c.k had been doing a little amateur farriery work, and freshly nailing a couple of loose shoes on his horse's hoofs. Then, after providing themselves with some dried meat and biscuit, they rode off through the forest on to the plain, leaving the General, Coffee, and Chicory, to provide something for the larder.

This was to be their last day here, for Mr Rogers was anxious that they should get on, for the twofold object of seeing the great falls of the big river, and also getting amongst the elephant.

He could not help smiling with satisfaction, as he saw d.i.c.k raise one foot to the stirrup, and spring into the saddle; the boy seeming to have grown lithe and strong as the young leopard with his healthy life in the open air.

There was no need to coax his appet.i.te now with luxuries, for his father used to banter him laughingly about its wolfishness, and compare his food-a.s.similating powers to those of Coffee and Chicory--boys who could literally graze upon meat by the hour together, and then grin, and show their teeth with satisfaction.

With his returning health, d.i.c.k had grown daring to a degree that was almost rash, so that Jack felt at times quite thrown into the shade.

d.i.c.k winced a little upon this occasion, for the tremendous scratching he had had from the thorns had left him rather sore; but he soon forgot all this, and away the party rode, to have a sort of naturalists'

equestrian ramble, to see if they could pick up anything fresh before they went away.

They rode right off to the plain, noting the various birds among the bushes, and snakes and lizards wherever there was a dry sandy patch amongst rocks and stones. As they reached the part where the trees were scattered in park-like patches they encountered one of the bees'-honey-guides too; but as they had an ample supply at the waggon, and all the buckets being, to Dinny's great annoyance, still in use, the bees were left in peace.

Game seemed to be scarce upon the plain that morning; but after a time as they rode round the edge of a clump of trees, so beautiful in their disposition that they seemed to have been planted there for ornament, Mr Rogers saw, a couple of miles away upon the open plain, a herd of something different to any of the animals they had before encountered.

He took out his gla.s.s and carefully inspected them, but declared himself no wiser.

"Well, boys," he said, "whether we shoot one or no, we'll have a canter after them. Let's keep down in that hollow, and round the little hill there, so as to approach unseen. Look out for ant-bear holes. And now, one--two--three--forward!"

A touch from the heel made the beautiful animals they rode bound away, but with a cry of pain d.i.c.k reined in.

"My dear boy, what's the matter?" said Mr Rogers, pulling up, while Jack returned with a blank look of dismay upon his face.

"Thorns!" cried d.i.c.k viciously, as he gave a writhe in his saddle.