Off to the Wilds Part 48

It was rather a dangerous haunt here on account of the crocodiles, but Jack was so pa.s.sionately fond of fishing that he was humoured at times, and some transparent nook was chosen where the others could keep a look out for crocodiles; and as Jack fished, d.i.c.k would lie down upon the bank, with his face at times close to the water, and gazing through its limpid depths he tried to trace the long stalks of the water-lilies which rose from the depths to expand their broad leaves and cap-like flowers on the surface. The great reeds, too, rising joint by joint till their arrowy heads and green streamer-like leaves were in the broad sunshine, seemed to be moving and to quiver in the clear water.

This sub-fluvial growth was so beautiful that d.i.c.k never grew weary of watching it; while the coming and going of the many brightly-tinted fish, darting about among the water-plants or hanging poised in the sunlit depths, with their burnished scales flashing silvery and steel-blue rays, added greatly to the interest of the scene.

"Let us know when you see one coming," Jack would say; and now and then d.i.c.k would whisper that a large perch-like fish, or perhaps one of the huge eely siluri, was approaching; though just as often Coffee or Chicory would utter a word of warning, when a rifle-bullet would be sent to startle some great crocodile, floating in fancied security down the calm waters, its hideous eyes turned from side to side in search of prey.

Once only did they succeed in getting the monster ash.o.r.e, the others, when hit, sinking sullenly to the bottom, or descending with a rush that made the water foam.

The want of a boat prevented them from having far more sport upon the river; but, as Mr Rogers said, they had come upon a land expedition, and their horses were getting fresh for want of work. So Jack had to bring his fishing to an end; though, truth to tell, it was not much of a loss, for his additions to the larder in the way of fish were not particularly large, nor so toothsome as they might have been.

The good old round-hand copy slip, "Familiarity breeds contempt," is thoroughly exemplified in South Africa; and it is fortunate that this is the case, or it would be hard work travelling across a country where every stone may conceal a poisonous serpent, every clump of rocks hold the lurking-place of a boa-constrictor, and every patch of gra.s.s its prowling lion or fierce rhinoceros--where a walk along a river's bank may invite a charge from the fierce hippopotamus, and no man can bathe without running the risk of being pulled under water and devoured by that loathsome saurian lizard the crocodile.

But familiarity breeds contempt, and after the first nervousness has worn off people go about in South Africa in a calm matter-of-fact way, without troubling themselves about their hidden enemies, otherwise than by taking ordinary precautions, and keeping what a sailor would call a sharp look out for squalls.

If this were not so life would be almost intolerable, and every one would exist in a state of nervous trepidation as hard as that of the cla.s.sical gentleman who pa.s.sed his time with a keen sword suspended over his head by a single hair--no doubt of a kind such as would make an admirable roach-line for a fisherman.

The members of Mr Rogers' hunting expedition thus pa.s.sed their time happily enough in the continuous round of excitement, taking the pleasure and the pain turn and turn as they came; not grumbling at thorns, or weariness, or mosquito bites; resting when they grew weary, and putting up with hard couches, hunger, and thirst, as they came, without a murmur. They looked out for danger in a sharp matter-of-fact way, and by consequence rarely had a mishap; while Dinny, who was a perfect slave to his fears, and never stirred without taking the most wonderful precautions, generally managed to come in for the worst of the misfortunes that affected the camp.

It was he who would manage to run his head in the dark amidst the p.r.i.c.kly euphorbias. If there was a cloud of vicious gnats, Dinny generally got bitten. If there was a poisonous snake anywhere near the camp, Dinny tried to put his foot upon it; and over and over again when near the crocodile-haunted streams he sauntered regularly into the ferocious creature's way.

The General and his boys saved him from several perils, over and over again. But Dinny never seemed to realise that his own want of care got him into trouble, always declaring that it was "a baste of a place," and no more to be compared to Ould Oireland than a beggar was to a king.

Dinny's grumblings would soon have proved to be a nuisance, but for a certain quaintness of humour in the man, which supplied matter for mirth when he was most disagreeable; and in spite of his defects, he was very useful in his way.

While camp was kept up near the great falls, Jack and Chicory had some splendid nesting expeditions, the pendulous weaver, birds' nests coming in largely for their attention. They disturbed very few though, for, as Jack said, it was hard upon the poor birds, seeing what a lot of enemies they had--artful monkeys slipping down the long thin branches, till they could hang by one hand, and thrust the other little thin brown extremity up the bottle-neck shaped opening, to forage for eggs or young birds, as the case might be.

Then there were the snakes--long, thin, twining creatures, a yard or a yard and a half long, but no thicker than the finger. These showed no little cleverness in ascending trees, and proceeding along the branches till they found their way to a nest, where, in spite of the frantic cries and flutterings of the birds, the little serpent would glide in, and the parents might go and start afresh, for their labours would prove to have been only to find the little snake a pleasant larder, where it could coil up and glut itself with food.

Many of these twining little creatures fell victims to Jack's shot-gun, as well as to that of his brother, the guns being constantly in use as well to bring down the brilliantly plumaged birds that abounded in the rich forest growth of this well-watered land.

The glorious scenery of wood, rock, and water had to be left, though, at last; and at the General's suggestion, and by way of change, the more rugged part of the country was now sought; though even here there was plenty of wood, and they pa.s.sed along the banks of a pleasant stream that had its rise somewhere in the mountainous region ahead.

And now Mr Rogers began to look out anxiously for a danger that, though small, was terribly insidious, and one which, if not avoided, would bring a misfortune upon them that they would have given anything to avoid.

This danger was the notorious tsetse fly, whose bite was generally fatal to horses, the poisonous nature of the little creature so infusing itself in the blood of the unfortunate horses bitten that they gradually died off without their owners being able to do anything to save them.

Fortunately the limits of the land occupied by these dangerous little creatures is pretty well-known, and those who venture upon it with horses do so at their own risk.

Game had been rather scarce for some days, when, mounting their horses, d.i.c.k and Jack left their father with the waggon, and went in search of something suitable for present use.

Partly for the sake of their help, but more particularly to give them a change, Pompey and Caesar were let loose, the latter following d.i.c.k down to the low land at the side of the stream.

It was a tolerably open place, dotted with willow-like trees rising from amongst the thick gra.s.s; and they had not gone far before, after a good deal of rustling about among the reeds and gra.s.s, Caesar started something, which, however, refused to come into sight, but kept running from cover to cover, till at last, as Caesar was diligently hunting it by scent, d.i.c.k caught sight of a dark back, and a head bearing a pair of stout, fully-ringed horns, curved back in a remarkable way, and ending in very sharp points.

It was but a moment's glance, and he had no time to fire before the creature was out of sight again; and he rode on right to the very edge of the stream, where he arrived just in time to see the antelope leaving the water, across which it had swum, and Caesar puffing and panting as he swam on in the creature's wake.

The antelope looked so playful and full of life as it shook its head to get rid of the water that streamed from it, with the drops flashing in the sun, that d.i.c.k sat like a statue upon his cob; and though he held his rifle ready, he forgot to fire, but let the buck bound out of the shallow water on to the bank and disappear amongst the trees, where it went off at a tremendous rate, while Caesar, as he reached the bank in turn, paused to get rid of some water by a good shake, and then stood and gazed at his master, and howled with disappointment that he should not have attempted to shoot.

The consequence was that d.i.c.k, after a long ride returned empty to camp, where Jack, however, had preceded him, having been less scrupulous, and bearing before him a good-sized springbok, which he had brought down with the longest shot he had ever made.

CHAPTER FORTY TWO.

A QUARREL BETWEEN TWO ENEMIES.

They struck off next day into a wilder portion of the country still, the oxen trekking up close to the foot of the mountains, the intention being to leave the plains for the present, their attractions beginning to fail, especially as the party had no desire to keep on slaughtering the many varieties of antelope that offered themselves as easy victims to their rifles.

"Let's have something more exciting and manly, father," exclaimed d.i.c.k.

"Of course we must keep on shooting for the pot, just as a sheep has to be killed now and then at home. But we don't want to turn butchers."

The General nodded approval, and said that they would now be amongst the lions again, while on the other side of the stretch of rocky country in which they were, he was sure that they would find elephant and buffalo.

The elephants had kept so long out of their sight that the boys began to despair of ever coming in sight of one of the monsters; but when they said so to the old Zulu warrior, he only laughed, and said, "Wait."

"It seems to me as if they have all been shot," said Jack.

But the General shook his head.

"Plenty of elephants," he said; "only wait."

Pieces of stone had to be used in addition to thorns to make the cattle-kraal where they now halted, for the land was comparatively sterile after the lush vegetation of the plains; but a little valley supplied ample pasturage for the cattle, and abundant water, and the rocky defiles around promised sport of a different kind to any they had before enjoyed.

Hardly had they pulled up at the spot chosen for the temporary camp, before d.i.c.k called his brother's attention to a couple of huge birds, sailing round and round upon extended motionless wings over and about the rocky crags and points far above their resting-place.

"Eagles!" cried Jack excitedly.

And as he spoke the boys saw one of the great birds swoop down behind a peak and disappear, rising almost directly after with something dark in its talons, and flying straight off to a shelf of rock far away.

This was new game indeed, and the boys were eager to go off after the great birds; but they had to help settle camp-matters first, the rule being that at every halt the first thing attempted was to put the place in a state of defence.

When this was done there were the pets to see to--the leopard and giraffe, both of which had grown perfectly tame, the leopard being as playful as a kitten, and the giraffe calmly bringing its head down low enough to have its nose rubbed, while it munched at the handful of fresh tender shoots offered as a token of good will.

Then there were the horses to watch and tend, wood to cut, and fire to make; so that there was plenty of work for all. But "willing hands make light work," as the saying goes, and they were just congratulating themselves upon the successful nature of their arrangements, the little camp presenting all they required as a centre from which to start upon hunting expeditions--to wit, good pasturage, abundant water, and security against the attack of lions who might mistake their cattle for the wild creatures of the plains.

"This place ought to do for a week, boys," said Mr Rogers; "and now we'll take our rifles and have a look round to see what game we are likely to find, and also keep a sharp look out for danger."

"Danger?" said Jack. "What sort?"

"Well, I should say there would be plenty of serpents in amongst those sun-baked crags up above, probably a lion or two, plenty of eagles, and--ah, it is impossible to say what we may meet with in a place like this."

"I shall tell Dinny that crocodiles very likely swarm up here, that they come up out of the river at this season of the year, and lie in wait amongst the rocks."

"I think I would confine myself to the truth, Jack," said his father drily. "Now, are you both loaded? Then come along."

It was a steep climb upwards, far more so than it looked from below, and they were toiling up over the sunburnt gra.s.s towards where the rocks rose up precipitously on either side of the narrow gully, when a word of warning from the General arrested them, and the rifles of all were held ready.

For all at once, from behind a ma.s.s of rock a couple of hundred yards in front and above them, a large black rhinoceros trotted into view, holding up its head, and displaying its two horns against the grey rock behind him; and then seeing the hunting-party, it snorted and squealed in a most peculiar pig-like fashion, and began to trot towards them.

"Don't fire unless you have a good chance," cried Mr Rogers; "and mind, everybody must make for the rocks, and climb up for safety."