The Young Colonists Part 15

"Very bad elephant that," Tony whispered to d.i.c.k; "he give heaps of trouble; you see him charge."

A minute or two later the elephant, catching sight of his enemies, quickened his pace, and with his little tail switching angrily, uplifted trunk, and widespread ears, he charged down upon them at a pace of which d.i.c.k had not supposed so c.u.mbersome a beast would be capable.

In a moment the distant natives were seen to rise from the gra.s.s and to run at full speed back towards the wood. The elephant pursued them until he reached the trees; here he halted, and gazed for some time into the wood. Then seeing no signs of the natives--for these knew better than to provoke so vicious a beast by firing at him--he trumpeted defiantly, and slowly retraced his steps towards the rest of the herd.

These, led by the two males, were already approaching the trees behind which d.i.c.k and his party were lying concealed. Before they had arrived there Mr Harvey and his party came up.

d.i.c.k and Tom were both carrying heavy smooth-bore guns, similar to those used by the Boers. These their fathers had purchased at Newcastle on the day of their start; they were old weapons, but very strong and serviceable; they carried a heavy charge of powder and a large ball, of a mixture of lead and tin, specially made for elephant-shooting.

"d.i.c.k fire first," Blacking whispered in his ear; "if he not kill him, then the rest of us fire."

d.i.c.k was lying down behind the trunk of a tree, his rifle steadied against it; when the elephant was within a distance of twenty yards he fired, taking steady aim at the vital point. The recoil of the piece was tremendous, and the roar of its report almost stunned him; he gave, however, a shout of delight, for the elephant stood for half a minute swaying from side to side, and then fell heavily upon the ground.

Mr Harvey had given Tom the first shot at the other elephant; but, just at the moment when the lad was about to fire, the elephant gave a sudden start at the report of d.i.c.k's rifle, and Tom's shot struck it at the side of the head and glancing off pa.s.sed through its ear. Throwing up its trunk, the elephant instantly charged. Mr Harvey fired, but the uplifted trunk prevented his getting an accurate aim at the vital spot.

The bullet pa.s.sed through the trunk, and then glanced off the forehead.

The elephant swerved and showed its side, at which a general volley was fired by all the guns still loaded. The great beast stood still for an instant, stumbled forward a few strides, and then its legs seemed to bend beneath it, and it sank down quietly to the ground.

Just at this moment, as the affrighted cows were turning to fly across the plain, there was a thundering rush, and the great elephant charged through them, and pa.s.sing between the dead males dashed into the wood.

Its rush was so sudden and headlong that it carried the elephant past the men standing behind the trees; but it speedily checked itself, and turning round made a rush upon them. There was an instant stampede.

Most of the natives at once threw away their guns; some climbed hastily up into the trees against which they were standing; others took to the bushes. The elephant charged in after these, but seeing no signs of them he speedily came out again and looked round for a fresh foe. His eye fell upon d.i.c.k, who had just recharged his rifle.

"Run, d.i.c.k! run!" shouted Mr Harvey.

But d.i.c.k saw that the elephant was upon him, while the tree near which he was standing was too thick to climb. The elephant was holding his head so high that d.i.c.k could not aim at the spot on the forehead, but, waiting until the animal was within ten yards of him, he fired into its open mouth, and then leapt behind the tree. With a scream of pain the elephant rushed on, but being unable to check himself he came full b.u.t.t with tremendous force against the tree, which quivered under the blow, and d.i.c.k, thinking that it was going to fall upon him, sprang back a pace. Three or four more shots were fired before the elephant could turn, and then wheeling round it charged upon its new a.s.sailants.

Tom was one of those nearest to him; the boy had just discharged his rifle and advanced a few feet from the tree behind which he had been standing. Before he could regain it he felt something pa.s.s round him, there was a tremendous squeeze, which stopped his breath and seemed to press his life out of him, then he felt himself flying high into the air, and became insensible.

Apparently satisfied with what he had done, the elephant continued his rapid pace into the open again, and followed the retreating herd across the plain.

d.i.c.k had given a cry of horror, as he saw the elephant seize his friend, and his heart seemed to stand still when he saw him whirled high in the air. Tom fell into a thick and bushy tree, and there, breaking through the light foliage at the top, remained suspended in the upper boughs.

In an instant Jumbo climbed the tree, and making his way to the lad lifted him from the fork in which he was wedged, placed him on his shoulder as easily as if he had been a child, and descending the tree laid him on the ground by the side of Mr Harvey. The latter at once knelt beside him.

"Thank G.o.d, he is breathing!" he exclaimed at once. "Lift his head, d.i.c.k; open his shirt, Blacking; and give me some water out of your gourd. I trust he is only stunned; that brute was in such a hurry that he had not time to squeeze him fairly, and the tree has broken his fall.

If he had come down to the ground from that height, it must have killed him."

He sprinkled some water upon the lad's face and chest, and to his and d.i.c.k's delight Tom presently opened his eyes. He looked round in a surprised and half-stupid way, and then made an effort to rise, but a cry broke from him as he did so.

"Lie still, Tom," Mr Harvey said; "you are hurt, but, I hope, not severely. Cut his shirt off, d.i.c.k; I expect some of his ribs are broken."

Upon Mr Harvey carefully feeling Tom's ribs, he found, as he had expected, that five of them were broken--three on one side and two on the other.

"Some of your ribs are damaged, Tom," he said cheerfully; "but that is of no great consequence; they all seem pretty fairly in their places.

Now I will bandage you tightly, so as to keep them there, and then we will carry you back to the waggons and nurse you until they grow together again; young bones soon heal, and in a week or ten days you will, I hope, be able to travel again; you had a close shave of it I never met a more savage beast than that bull-elephant in all my experience."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

AN ATTACK BY ELEPHANTS.

A litter was speedily constructed from some boughs of trees, and Tom being placed in it was at once carried back to the camp, escorted by his friend. The hunters remained behind to cut out the tusks of the two elephants that had fallen. A portion of the trunks and feet, which are considered the most delicate portions of the elephant, was laid aside for the use of the white men, and a large quant.i.ty of meat was brought back to camp for the natives.

The sound of firing had brought up some people from a small village two or three miles away, and these to their immense joy were allowed to carry off enough meat to enable them to feast to the utmost extent of their ability for a week to come.

Mr Harvey had in the course of his wanderings frequently had occasion to dress wounds and bandage broken bones; he was therefore able to apply the necessary bandages to Tom, and the lad was soon lying in comparative ease on a bed formed of rags. Generally the boys slept in hammocks, but Mr Harvey insisted that Tom must lie perfectly straight on his back until the bones had begun to set again.

"We made a sad mess with that old bull to-day, d.i.c.k," he said. "It is humiliating to think that he should have charged us all, injured Tom, and got away almost unscathed."

"You see, sir," d.i.c.k said, "he attacked us unexpectedly; our guns were all discharged, and he came on with such a rush that there was no getting a steady shot at him. The whole affair lasted little more than a minute, I should say."

"I shall go out to-morrow morning," Mr Harvey said, "and take up the track again, and see if I cannot get even with the beast. There is time enough to-day, for it is still early, but the herd will be so restless and suspicious that there will be no getting near them, and I should not care to face that old bull unless I had a fair chance of killing him at the first shot. He has a magnificent pair of tusks, and ivory sells so high that they would be worth a good deal of trouble and some risk to get."

"Shall I go with you, sir?"

"No, d.i.c.k, I would rather you did not. The business will be more dangerous than usual, and I should not like the responsibility of having you with me. Tom had as narrow a shave yesterday as ever I saw, and I certainly do not want two of you on my hands."

d.i.c.k was not sorry at Mr Harvey's decision, for after the charge of the bull-elephant he felt just at present he should not care about encountering another. The next morning Mr Harvey, accompanied by the three native hunters and the greater portion of the others, started in pursuit of the elephants.

d.i.c.k, after sitting for some time with Tom, took his gun and wandered round near the camp, shooting birds. As the sun got high, and the heat became fiercer and fiercer, he returned to camp, and had just taken off his coat and sat down by the side of Tom when he heard shouts of terror outside the tent.

Running out to see what was the matter, he saw the natives in a state of wild terror. They pointed across the plain, and d.i.c.k, to his astonishment and alarm, saw a great elephant approaching at a rapid trot, with his trunk in the air and his ears extended to the fullest.

He recognised at once the bull which had charged them on the previous day. The natives were now flying in all directions. d.i.c.k shouted to them to stand and get their muskets, but his words were unheeded; he ran to the tent, seized the long-bore gun which he had carried the day before and also that of Tom, and charged them both hastily, but coolly.

"What on earth is it all about?" Tom asked.

"It is the elephant again, Tom; lie quiet, whatever you do; you cannot run away, so lie just as you are."

Then with a gun in each hand d.i.c.k ran out of the tent again. The elephant was now but a hundred yards away. d.i.c.k climbed into a waggon standing in the line on which he was coming, knelt down in the bottom and rested the muzzle on the side, standing up and waving his arm before he did so, so as to attract the attention of the elephant. The great beast saw him, and trumpeting loudly came straight down at him; d.i.c.k knelt, as steady as a rock, with the sight of the gun upon the elephant's forehead.

When he was within twenty yards d.i.c.k drew the trigger, and, without waiting to see the result, s.n.a.t.c.hed up and levelled the second gun. The elephant had staggered as he was. .h.i.t, and then, as with a great effort, he pulled himself together and again moved forward, but with a stumbling and hesitating step; taking steady aim again, d.i.c.k fired when the elephant's trunk was within a yard of the muzzle of his gun, and then springing to his feet, leapt on the opposite side of the waggon and took to his heels.

After running a few steps, he glanced back over his shoulder, and then ceased running; the elephant was no longer in sight above the waggon, but had fallen an inert ma.s.s by its side.

"All right, Tom!" d.i.c.k shouted loudly; "I have done for him."

Before going to look at the fallen elephant d.i.c.k went to the spot where stood the piled muskets of the natives who had fled; dropping a ramrod into them, he found that two were loaded, and taking these in his hands he advanced towards the elephant. The precaution was needless; the great beast lay dead; the two heavy b.a.l.l.s had struck within an inch or two of each other, and penetrated the brain. The first would have been fatal, and the elephant was about to fall when d.i.c.k had fired the second time.

Gradually the drivers and other natives returned to camp with shouts of triumph. These, however, d.i.c.k speedily silenced by a volley of abuse for their cowardice in running away and leaving Tom to his fate. A few minutes later Mr Harvey galloped in at full speed, closely followed by the swift footed Blacking.

"Thank G.o.d, you are safe, my boys," Mr Harvey said, as he leapt from his horse. "I have had a terrible fright. We followed the spoor to the point where they had pa.s.sed the night; here the trackers were much puzzled by the fact that the great elephant, whose tracks were easily distinguished from the others, seemed to have pa.s.sed the night in rushing furiously about. Numbers of young trees had been torn up by the roots, and great branches twisted off the larger trees. They concluded that he must have received some wound which had maddened him with pain.

We took up the track where the herd had moved on, but soon found that he had separated himself from it, and had gone off at full speed by himself. We set off in pursuit, observing a good deal of caution, for if he had turned, as was likely enough, and had come upon us while in such a frantic state, we should have had to bolt for our lives. I was thinking only of this when I saw the hunters talking together and gesticulating. I soon found out what was the matter. They told me that if the elephant kept on in the line he was taking, it would a.s.suredly bring him in sight of the camp, if not straight upon it. As I had no doubt that he would in that case attack it, I put spurs to my horse at once, and dashed on at full speed in hopes of overtaking the elephant, and turning it, before it came within sight of the camp. I became more and more anxious as I neared the camp and found the elephant was still before me; then I heard two shots close together, and I could hear no others, and you may guess how relieved I was when I caught sight of the camp, and saw the natives gathered round something which was, I had no doubt, the elephant. I had feared that I should see the whole place in confusion, the waggons upset, and above all the tent levelled. Thank G.o.d, my dear boy, you are all safe! Now tell me all about it."

d.i.c.k related the circ.u.mstances, and Mr Harvey praised him highly for the promptness, coolness, and courage with which he had acted. Then he roundly abused the natives in their own language for their cowardly conduct.

"Are you not ashamed of yourselves?" he asked; "what do you carry your arms for, if you are afraid to use them? Here are sixteen men, all with muskets, who run away in a panic, and leave one white lad to defend his wounded friend alone."

The reproaches of Mr Harvey were mild by the side of the abuse which the three hunters--for by this time Tony and Jumbo had reached the camp--lavished upon their compatriots.