CHAPTER THE THIRD--In a Game-Pit
John felt all the thrilling excitement of a new experience. There wasnothing romantic, it is true, in trudging along at two miles an hourover a decent road, which led at first through the spacious estates ofcolonists who had already settled in the neighbourhood of the town. Buthe knew that before long the caravan would enter a wild, unsettledregion, swarming with game large and small, holding innumerablepossibilities of encounters with strange beasts and men. And thoughthere was nothing novel in the mere exercise of walking, it was both newand amusing to find himself in company with African natives, marchingstolidly along under heavy loads, to a monotonous chant kept up by theirleader, who repeated the same words endlessly. Curious to know what theman was singing, he asked Coja ben Selim, the only man of them that knewEnglish. The Swahili gave him a wide grin and said it was all nonsense,and when John pressed him for the exact meaning he prevaricated andlooked uncomfortable. The song was, in fact, an impromptu one, and thewords, literally translated, meant nothing more than "Two more whitemen; oh, what noses! Oh, what legs!" and if John had known he wouldonly have wondered what amusement the porters could have derived fromthe constant repetition of such an uninspired and uninspiring refrain.He made up his mind to learn the native tongue as soon as possible.
After they had walked for three or four miles it became suddenly dark,but there was no pause, Mr. Gillespie having advised that they shouldtake advantage of the cool hours, and do a good ten miles before campingfor the night. A new moon shed a little light upon the path, which, asthe scattered cultivated districts were left behind, entered a region oflong grass and belts of forest land. Presently they heard the rushingnoise of water, and came to the brink of a deep ravine, whose bottomthey could not see for the trees and dense undergrowth with which it wasclothed. Coja ben Selim was for crossing the ravine; he said he knew ofa fine place for camping a little beyond it; but Mr. Halliday was notinclined to risk a broken leg, and decided to camp in a glade on thenearer bank, and to attempt the crossing by daylight. The loads were setdown, the tent was pitched, and a fire lighted; soon the men werecooking their simple supper, chattering cheerfully; and Said Mohammed,opening up the stores, produced some cocoa, tinned milk and biscuits,and in a few minutes provided his employers with a simple meal. Mr.Halliday discussed the advisability of setting a watch during the night,but Coja said that there were no black men in the neighbourhood, and thefires would keep off wild animals; so the two Englishmen wrapped theirblankets around them, and slept soundly till the dawn.
Mr. Gillespie had given his guests some instruction in the generalconduct of a safari, so that when Mr. Halliday put his head out of thetent and called to the headman to take up the loads, there was a briskmovement among the porters to the pile in which their bundles had beenstacked during the night. They laid them in a row for inspection, firstlashing to them their mats and cooking-pots. When this was done, theysquatted down to eat a few roasted grains of muhindi (maize), and whilethe Swahilis struck the tent and tied up the bedding, the two Englishmenhaving rapidly dressed, Said Mohammed prepared breakfast of tinned meat,biscuits, and tea. Then, to the customary cry of "Safari!" the porterslifted their loads, the utensils were quickly packed, and while the dawnwas still grey the little party left the camp and began the descent ofthe ravine. Looking back as he came to the brink, John saw a hyenaslink out of the undergrowth and steal past the smouldering embers ofthe fires, and birds like kites swoop down with rushing wings, soaringup again with some remnant of food in their talons. He felt now thathis new strange life was beginning indeed.
PART OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA]
The descent was safely made, the river waded, and climbing up thefurther side, the travellers found themselves entering a region of bushand thorns and tall rank grass, in the midst of which they heard attimes a swishing sound as some animal, invisible, darted away frombefore them. They had left the road leading to Fort Hall, the nearestGovernment station, and struck off in a direction north by east. Theleader picked his way steadily, following the track of an animal, theothers close behind him, though after a time some of the porters, weakeror less willing than the rest, began to lag behind. Though it was stillearly morning, John found it already uncomfortably hot, and, taking offhis coat, gave it to Coja. Once or twice he removed his sun-helmetalso, but Said Mohammed, at this, came to his side, and said, veryrespectfully--
"Ten thousand pardons, sir, but a word to the wise: never expose yourmanly brow to the solar luminary. In a brace of shakes you will havesunstroke."
"But there is no sun; I shan't hurt with this mist over the ground,"John protested.
"It is human to err, sir. You cannot see the sun, but he sees you, andlo! in a moment he smites you, and it is no go. The head, sir, is theweaker vessel."
"Put on your hat, John," said Mr. Halliday. "We don't want to run anyrisks."
By and by the mist cleared, and having reached a ridge bare of trees,the travellers suddenly caught sight of Mount Kenya in the distance,rearing itself from the plain by such gentle slopes that it was hard tobelieve that its summit was 14,000 feet above sea-level and covered withsnow. Its peaks were swathed in cloud; indeed, only once or twiceduring many months did the travellers catch a glimpse of them. Then theview was magnificent, and for the first time in his life John felt alonging to climb a mountain.
Every day's programme was the same. They started early. After a marchof two hours a halt was called, to allow the laggards to come up withthe party. Then the march was resumed, and continued until the sun'sheat became unendurable, and the men clamoured for a long rest. One dayat this time Mr. Halliday, selecting a glade shaded by immense trees,bade the men set down their loads, and take a siesta. The resting-placewas not so well chosen as it had appeared to be; a stream ran close by,and the travellers had hardly settled themselves when they were beset byinnumerable red ticks, which clung to the white men's clothing and bittheir skin savagely, sparing the natives. The Hallidays, finding theirattacks intolerable, sprang up and went on, instructing Coja to followthem when the porters were sufficiently rested. They had not gone farwhen they saw a herd of congoni, an animal of the antelope kind, dashingacross the plain, and John fingered his rifle longingly. But Mr.Halliday would not permit him to go in chase of them.
"We shall have plenty of sport by and by," he said, "and we don't wantto heat ourselves or lose touch with the men."
He had scarcely spoken when John caught sight of another safari comingacross a ridge in the distance. Mr. Halliday thought it prudent to haltuntil they were rejoined by the rest of their party, and they threwthemselves down under a baobab to wait for them. It was two hoursbefore they came up, and the march had just been resumed when they heardshots, and saw a number of black men rushing towards them at full speed.Mr. Halliday was a little alarmed, thinking that an attack was imminent;but in a few moments Coja told him that the approaching men were plainlyporters, for they were unarmed, but they bore no loads, and he suggestedthat something had frightened them.
In a few minutes the first of the runaways came up, and began to talkexcitedly to Coja, who informed Mr. Halliday that the men were indeedporters belonging to a safari returning to Nairobi, and that arhinoceros had just charged them, whereupon they had flung down theirloads and bolted.
"Where is their master?" asked Mr. Halliday.
The man, who had been joined by several of his comrades, pointed back inthe direction whence he had come. No white man, however, was in sight,and Mr. Halliday decided to hurry on and see what had become of him,ordering the men to follow, which they were plainly reluctant to do. Hecame within half-a-mile to the scene of the stampede, the loads of theporters strewing the grass; but there was no sign either of therhinoceros or of the young white man who, as the scared natives said,was the master of the safari. Coja declared that the _bwana_ must havebeen gored or trampled by the rhinoceros, and suggested that they shouldhurry on and get out of danger as quickly as possible; but Mr. Halli
daywould not hear of leaving the spot until he had made an effort to findthe unfortunate traveller. He ordered the men to set down their loadsand remain with them while he made a search, and asked whether any ofthem could follow a rhinoceros trail. One and all first denied thatthey had ever seen a rhinoceros; but Mr. Halliday sternly told Coja thatthey would have no supper unless they recovered their memory, and thenCoja himself reluctantly admitted that if the trail was very clear, andif the white men would go one on each side of him with their guns, hewould try to lead them after the animal.
As a matter of fact, the trail was easily found, the ground being softand the grass heavily trampled. It led them into a dense mass of bush.Mr. Halliday, holding his rifle ready for the least sign of danger,plunged into the jungle with John and Coja, the latter soon declaringthat he saw, together with the great hoof-marks of the animal, formingpaths on both sides of a ridge of grass, the smaller and fainter tracksmade by a white man's boots.
"Him killed dead, sure 'nuff," said Coja solemnly. "No good look nomore."
"We'll make sure of it. Go on," said Mr. Halliday, and the threecontinued to follow the trail.
"What's that?" cried John suddenly, a few minutes later.
"White man call; him no dead yet," said Coja.
"Hallo!" shouted Mr. Halliday, and a faint "Hallo!" came in answer.
Coja turned a little to the right, in the direction of the sound. Mr.Halliday called again, and again the answer came, louder, but stillcuriously muffled. Led by the sound, they now left the trail of therhinoceros, and had proceeded but a few steps farther when Coja suddenlycame to a halt, and bursting into laughter, cried, "Him down there!"
"Where?" said Mr. Halliday in amazement, looking about him. And then hesaw, in the midst of the grass, a deep hole, and at the bottom, nine orten feet below the surface, a young white man sitting cross-legged.
"Hallo!" he said, looking up with a smile. "I thought it was mybrother, though it wasn't like his shout. Can you help me out? I'mafraid I've sprained my ankle."
"Of course we can," said Mr. Halliday, "but I'd like to know what onearth you are doing there."
"Thanking my stars I'm not skewered," said the other. "Let down yourrifle, will you? Perhaps I can manage to scramble out; but don't let medrag you down."
Mr. Halliday lowered his rifle, holding it by the barrel, having firsttaken the precaution of emptying the breech; and the prisoner took it bythe stock, and tried to clamber up the side of the hole. But he wincedas his right foot touched the earth, and after a few moments said--
"I'm afraid I can't manage it. My ankle has got a twist. If you'llshout for my men I'll get one of them to make a sling of rope and haulme out."
"We needn't wait for that," said John. "I'll jump down and give you alift."
"Look out, then. There's a pointed stake in the ground here which Ionly escaped by a hair's breadth. Jump to the left. It's uncommon goodof you."
John leapt down, and making a pick-a-back, got the stranger to mount andthen to stand erect on one foot. His head was now just below the levelof the pit.
"I'm afraid we're not much for'arder," he said, with a smile.
"Can't you get your elbows on the edge and hoist yourself up?" suggestedJohn.
"Can't reach. You'd better let me down."
"I'll tell you what," said John: "cut a notch in the wall for your foot.Then you can hoist yourself up by the rifle until you are high enough toget your elbows on; then it'll be easy. The earth is pretty soft."
Sitting with his legs over John's shoulders, the stranger soon cut anotch with his knife; and in a few minutes he was hauled to the surface.
"I'm much obliged to you. I might have stayed there till I starved forall my men would have troubled."
"How did you manage to fall in?" asked Mr. Halliday.
"A rhinoceros charged us as we were crossing the foot of the kopjeyonder. He sprang out from behind a small mountain of an ant-hill. Mymen instantly flung down their loads and bolted--idiots! and as we'rerather short of meat I thought I'd try to get within shot of the beast.I was following him up when the earth gave way under me, and I foundmyself in this old game-pit, and don't know how I managed to escape theskewer sticking up at the bottom, as long as my arm. I say, you haven'thappened to see anything of my brother, I suppose?"
"We met nobody but your men," said Mr. Halliday. "Has your brother losthimself?"
"Old Joe lost! Not a bit of it," cried the young man. "He'll turn upall right. He left me a couple of hours ago to shoot something forto-night's pot, and I thought you might have come across him. I'mrather a nuisance, I'm afraid; I can't put my left foot to the ground,and our last donkey died four days ago, so that I can't ride. We've haduncommon bad luck with our donkeys. As a rule they're hardy in thisclimate, we were told; but every one of the six we started with hasdied. Really, I am a nuisance, keeping you here."
"Nonsense," said Mr. Halliday. "Coja, shout for some of our men."
"No come, master," said Coja. "Berry much 'fraid."
"If he goes and calls our headman a coward I think it will answer," saidthe stranger. "Headmen are very jealous of each other."
Coja entered into the spirit of the suggestion, and ran back over thetracks. In a few minutes the sounds of angry altercation came throughthe bush, and Coja reappeared, in company with a white-clad Somali, eachman abusing the other at the top of his voice. Mr. Halliday silencedthem sternly, and ordered them to construct a litter, promising a fewcents to the man who did the larger share of the work. They set to workat once, weaving strands of creeping plants and stalks of grass withamazing rapidity. In less than twenty minutes a sheet of matting wasfinished and firmly bound to two rifles, and on this extemporized litterthe stranger was carried between the headmen back to the open ground.
On the way he explained that his name was Oliver Browne, "commonlycalled Poll," and that he came from Cape Colony. With his elder brotherhe had been shooting and prospecting in North Kenya and Gallaland, andthey had thoughts of settling in British East Africa, which seemed tooffer better prospects than they could see in South Africa.
"I suppose you're on the same job," he concluded.
"Well, we're going to have a look round," replied Mr. Hallidaycautiously. "We're on a flying visit, you see."
"And I'm a nuisance, hindering you like this. Here are my wretched men;I shall be all right now; and I can't thank you enough. We may meetagain, if we decide to come north. Good-bye. And I say, if you meetthat brother of mine, please tell him to hurry up, for if anotherrhinoceros takes a fancy to charge us, and I can't bring him down, Ishall be a mangled corpse in no time."
"Hadn't we better stay with you till your brother turns up?" said John.
"Not at all. The plain is pretty open here, and a rhinoceros could nottake us unawares. I shall go on slowly, and camp when I come to asuitable place, and my men will rig up a boma in no time. Good-byeagain."
The matting had been transferred to two of the Brownes' rifles, and themen of each party having collected and shouldered their loads, they setoff in opposite directions, the two headmen hurling abuse at each otheras long as they remained in sight. Coja was particularly indignantbecause his rival had received the reward for completing the greaterportion of the litter; but after a little Mr. Halliday consoled him bysaying, casually, that his portion had been the more closely knit, sothat he should receive a reward also.
"Dat oder fella no good, what I say," remarked Coja.
Half-an-hour after they had parted with Oliver Browne, they met a whiteman whom at the first glance they knew to be his brother, so strikingwas the resemblance. He was attended by four porters, each carrying alarge portion of some newly-killed animal. Mr. Halliday halted as theycame up, saying--
"You're Mr. Joe Browne?"
"That I am, but----" He paused, looking puzzled.
"You don't know me," said Mr. Halliday, "so you needn't rack yourmemory. We've just met your brother. He was after a r
hinoceros andtumbled into a game-pit."
"Clumsy ass!" cried Mr. Browne, in the manner of an affectionatebrother. "No bones broke, I hope?"
Mr. Halliday reassured him on that point, and the two stood for a fewminutes exchanging notes. The South African said that he had been muchattracted by what he had seen of the country, and if Mr. Halliday becamea settler, he would in all probability have him for a neighbour.
"But it won't be yet," he added. "We must settle up our affairs at theCape first. Three or four months, perhaps; you'll have grown your firstcrops by then. Don't shoot all the game before I come."
"You have left us some, I hope," said John, eyeing the porters' burdens.
"Oh, that's a couple of water-buck for the pot. You'll find bigger gamethan that. Hippo meat's uncommonly good, but don't try elephant's foot;it's a fraud. Don't believe any one who tells you to the contrary.Good-bye; pleased to have met you; bar rhinoceros or game-pits we'llmeet again."
Settlers and Scouts: A Tale of the African Highlands Page 4
