Hair-Breadth Escapes: The Adventures of Three Boys in South Africa

by H. C. Adams

  CHAPTER SEVEN.

  A GOOD ACTION REWARDED--A RAID ON THE PARROTS--OMATOKO'S STORY--PROPOSEDCHANGE OF ROUTE--BIVOUAC FOR THE NIGHT.

  Nick started back at the unexpected reply. "Who'd have thought that?"he exclaimed. "I should just as soon have expected to have heard Liontalk English."

  "Well, it wasn't very good English," remarked Warley, "but it was asmuch to the purpose as if he had been Lindley Murray himself. I supposethe first thing is to comply with his request. I have got a biscuit inmy pocket, which I brought away from the boat I dare say he can eatthat."

  "Not a doubt of it," said Nick; "and I guess he'll soon dispose of thisslice of steinbok too. The worst of it is, that I had meant it for myown supper. But one can't let the poor wretch starve."

  "We'll all contribute something," said the doctor, "and make him out asufficient supper, I have no doubt. He mustn't eat very much at a time.But the first thing is to carry him to some sheltered place, where wecan make him up a comfortable bed. He must have a long rest before hewill be good for anything."

  "Carry him, hey!" cried Nick doubtfully, as he contemplated theprostrate figure of the Hottentot; who, for one of his race, wasunusually tall and large of frame. "How are we to do that, I wonder?He weighs twelve stone, I'll go bail for it, if he weighs an ounce, andwe don't happen to have a horse and cart convenient."

  "We can manage it easily enough," was the answer; "our guns and thesethongs will make a very tolerable stretcher. Draw the charges first,though. It wouldn't be safe to carry the guns loaded."

  Ernest complied, and then the doctor set about the construction of hislitter. He first fastened a rifle and a gun together, reversing thedirection of the barrels, so as to form a kind of staff out of them,about six feet long, with the stocks at the two ends. The other rifleand gun were then secured after the same manner, and thus the poles ofthe stretcher were formed. They were then tied together, about two feetapart from one another, by half a dozen thongs. The machine was nowplaced on the ground, and the Hottentot laid on the thongs. Then thestocks at one end were raised, and laid on the doctor's shoulders, whobent on one knee and stooped as near to the ground as he could. Theother two ends were next placed in like fashion on the shoulders ofErnest who had put himself into the like attitude. Frank and Nick nowtook their stations in the middle of the litter, each placing oneshoulder under the pole. Then Lavie gave the word and they all rosetogether.

  "Capitally managed!" exclaimed the doctor approvingly. "Now step alltogether, and we'll have him under the shelter of the trees in less thana quarter of an hour."

  They moved off, walking quickly and steadily, and in less than the timenamed by Lavie, approached the friendly cover of the thicket. As theycame near, a steinbok which had been feeding apparently under a tree,bounded out of the covert, passing within twenty yards of them.

  "Alas! alas!" exclaimed Nick, "there goes our supper that should havebeen! That is the worst of doing a good action! One is sure to bepunished for it!"

  "Well, Nick, I don't know about that," said Warley. "If we hadn't goneto look after the Hottentot, I don't think we should have seen anythingof the steinbok. He wouldn't have come anywhere near us, I expect."

  "No, you may be sure of that," observed the doctor, as they loweredtheir burden to the ground, and laid him on some soft grass under theshade of a large mimosa. "And what is more, I doubt whether our goodaction will not be rewarded in this instance. Look here, the steinbokwas feeding on this melon, when we startled him. See the marks of histeeth, and here are the stalks of one or two others which he has eaten.I noticed these melons as I went by, but I was afraid to meddle withthem, as I had never seen any exactly like them, and some melons in thiscountry are more or less poisonous. But the steinbok wouldn't haveeaten them if they hadn't been wholesome food, and so we may venture onthem too. I have no doubt we shall find them very refreshing."

  Frank and Nick accordingly began pulling them up, while the surgeonapplied himself to the restoration of his patient, who was still lyingin a half-conscious state. But the cool air and soft bed, together withthe restoratives, which from time to time were applied, presentlybrought him round, and he was able to eat as much food as was judgedgood for him. After partaking of this and another draught of coldwater, he fell into a sound sleep, which seemed likely to last forseveral hours.

  "It is still early in the afternoon," remarked the doctor, as they satdown to their dinner of steinbok and melons, the latter of which provedmost delicious; "it is still quite early, and I don't suppose we canhave gone more than a dozen miles since breakfast. Nevertheless, Ithink we must remain here. This poor fellow isn't well enough to beleft yet, though he may be to-morrow morning."

  "No, we can't leave the poor wretch," said Warley, "particularly afterwhat he told us about the Bushmen. They may be lurking about somewherein the neighbourhood, and may pounce upon him again, and he wouldn't beable to escape them in his present weak state."

  "Eh, what!" exclaimed Gilbert, jumping up in great alarm at thissuggestion. "The Bushmen lurking about! The bloodthirsty savages!They'll be seizing us and burying us up to the chin perhaps, and thenmaking a cockshy of our heads! Are the guns loaded again, Frank?"

  "Long ago, Nick," was the answer. "Ernest loaded them, while you and Iwere gathering melons. I saw him doing it, and I don't think theBushmen are very likely to trouble us. They have a most wholesometerror of European weapons, and more particularly of firearms, if allthat I have heard is true. I think we had better try if we can't killone or two of these grey parrots, as you yourself, if I don't mistake,were suggesting, just before the snake showed itself."

  "I have no objection, Frank," returned Nick, somewhat reassured. "To besure these Bushmen can't very well be as bad as the snakes; and if onemakes up one's mind not to trouble one's self about the one, one neednot trouble one's self about the other."

  "All right, Nick," said Wilmore. "Now then, about these parrots.They're very shy chaps, and will keep out of shot, if they can; and wemustn't throw away powder by firing, unless with a pretty safe prospectof bringing one down. I think I'll creep round, and hide behind thatbig trunk yonder. Then you shy a stone up into the tree in which theyare sitting, and they'll most probably fly out into the open, and giveme a good shot."

  Wilmore and Gilbert conducted their joint manoeuvres with so much skill,that before supper-time, half a dozen good-sized parrots had beenbagged, and their flesh when boiled was pronounced by all to beexcellent. After supper the doctor informed the party that Omatoko, ashe called himself, had now quite recovered his senses, and had held along conversation with him; the particulars of which he was ready tocommunicate, if they wished to hear it. "Hear it? to be sure we do,"said Nick. "I've been longing to learn all about it, and if I had hadany idea that he would have been able to talk, I shouldn't have gone outparrot shooting."

  "You wouldn't have understood what he said," observed Lavie. "He toldhis story in Dutch. His knowledge of English was very small when hecame to try it. He says he belonged to a tribe that formerly lived agood way to the south of this--not far from the mouth of the Gariep, Ifancy, from his description. There were a good many farms belonging toDutch owners in the neighbourhood; but Omatoko's was a powerful tribe,and they seem for a good many years to have lived unmolested by theirEuropean neighbours. But about fourteen or fifteen years ago, someEnglishmen--traders probably sent by some commercial house--landed neartheir village, and offered them more liberal terms for their skins andivory than the Dutch had allowed. Finding the trade profitable, theEnglish returned in the following year, and by-and-by ran up a few huts,where they carried on what promised to be a very lucrative business. Itwas from them that Omatoko picked up the few words of English which heknows, and he appears to have contracted a great liking for them."

  "Of course he did," said Frank, "old England against the world!"

  "With all my heart, Frank," rejoined the doctor, "only the English arenot always remarkable for mak
ing themselves popular. Well, the tradewent on increasing, until it roused the jealousy of the Dutch. Theydidn't fancy not being able to buy hides and tusks at the old prices,and besides, were jealous of the English attempting to settle in thecountry."

  "Ay, to be sure," said Warley, "the time you speak of must have been ayear or two before the conquest of the colony by our troops."

  "Just so, Ernest, and for some years previously to that there had been afeeling of uneasiness in the colony, that the English were meditatingsome attempt upon them. That is one of the things that induces me tobelieve the Hottentot's story. Well, the Dutch in the fourth year afterthe appearance of the strangers, got together what they call a commandoin these parts--"

  "I know what that is," interposed Wilmore. "I heard my uncle talkingabout it with some of the passengers. They get all the Dutchmen in theneighbourhood together, as well as some troops from the government, andmake a raid on some unlucky Hottentot village--kill all the men, makeslaves of the women and children, seize the cattle and goods of thenatives, and burn the houses."

  "That's what you call a clean sweep," observed Nick.

  "Yes, no doubt. But it's shockingly cruel and wicked," exclaimedWarley. "I should think you must be overstating the matter, Frank."

  "I am afraid he is not," said Lavie. "That is very much what they werewont to do at commandos, as I had good grounds for knowing while I wasliving at Cape Town. They had a great deal of provocation, no doubt.The boors' cattle was continually being stolen, and could very seldom berecovered. And it was next to impossible to prove the theft against anytribe in particular--"

  "But that would not justify them in burning and shooting right and left,without any inquiry," rejoined Warley. "I could not have believed thatany Christian people--"

  "Well, Ernest, I am inclined to go a long way with you on this subject,though I differ somewhat," said the doctor, "but we have no time todiscuss it now. Well, the Dutch commando attacked Omatoko's village bynight and burnt it, as Frank says, to the ground. Probably all theother results of which he spoke would have ensued, if the English hadnot heard the firing, and come up to the rescue."

  "I hope they peppered the Dutchmen properly," cried Nick.

  "Well, they seem to have made a good fight of it; but the Dutchmen wereten to one, and the Hottentots very little good. The upshot was that alarge part of the tribe escaped, and the rest, together with thesurvivors of the English, surrendered themselves at discretion. Omatokowas one of those made prisoners, and he was for eight years in theservice of a boor. He was pretty well treated; for the colony was allthat time in the hands of the English, and they wouldn't allow anycruelties to be exercised against the slaves. But two years ago theCape was given back to the Dutch, and they began the old system again assoon as they were in possession. Omatoko and one or two others madetheir escape some twelve months ago; and he went back to his tribe, whoare living, he says, at no great distance from this. The Dutch, hedeclares, have been trying to seize or kill him ever since--"

  "Whew!" exclaimed Nick. "What, did those Dutch beggars bury him in thewell after that fashion, then? Well, I always thought the Dutch to bebrutes, but I never could have believed--"

  "Stop that, Nick," interposed Frank. "Have you forgotten that theHottentot himself told us that it was the Bushmen who buried him?"

  "Oh, ay, to be sure, I had forgotten that," said Gilbert. "Go on,doctor. Did the Dutch send a commando after him?"

  "Omatoko says that the Dutch had given up their system of commandos forseveral years, and could not easily organise them again, but theyemployed the Bushmen to seize any of the fugitives, and paid a largeprice for every one brought in."

  "But if that is true, what made the Bushmen bury Omatoko in that way,instead of carrying him to the Dutch to claim the reward?" asked Warley."I must say, Charles, that sounds very suspicious."

  "So it did to me, Ernest," said Charles; "but the Hottentot answered me,readily enough, that the Dutch would have paid the same sum for arunaway's head, as they would if he had been brought to them alive. Hedeclared that the Bushmen hated him, for having repeatedly escaped them,and for having several times requited their outrages in kind. He saidthey meant to have left him in the well, to die of cold and hunger;after which they would have cut off his head and carried it to thenearest Dutch village."

  "Well, that might be true, I suppose," said Wilmore.

  "Yes, I think so. The story hung well together. I could detect no flawin it."

  "Did you ask him whether he would act as our guide to Cape Town?"inquired Ernest.

  "Yes, and he said he would; but we could not go the way I had proposed,along the course of the Great Fish or Koanquip rivers. He knew themboth perfectly, so he affirmed; but neither route would be safe. Wemust go still further eastward--into the Kalahari in fact--he told me."

  "What is the Kalahari?" asked Frank.

  "A vast sea of sand," said Lavie, "extending for more than four hundredmiles, from the borders of Namaqua-land to the country of the Bechuanas.There is not, so far as I know, a single river, lake, or even fountain,to be found in the whole region."

  "What on earth are we to go there for?" cried Gilbert. "We should soondie of hunger or thirst, or heat!"

  "Well no, not that," said the surgeon. "A great part of the sand iscovered with dense scrub, which affords something like shade, and thoughthere is neither river nor pool, yet if you dig down a few feet you willgenerally find a supply of water. Life may be sustained there; indeed,tribes of Bushmen and Bechuanas are to be found in most parts of it.But I should think it was the most miserable dwelling-place to be foundon the face of the earth."

  "Well, then, why are we to go there?" repeated Nick, irritably.

  "Omatoko says it will not be safe, for the present at all events, tojourney southward. It seems that the Dutch are expecting a new attemptof our countrymen to seize the colony, and their fear and anger are sogreatly roused, that they would certainly imprison, and probably kill,any Englishman who at the present juncture fell into their hands. Ireally think he is likely to be right in what he says. When I leftEngland two months ago, there was a good deal of talk about takingpossession of the Cape Colony again."

  "But granting that we must not venture south, why need we bury ourselvesin a sandy desert?" persisted Gilbert. "Omatoko proposes to take ussome distance into Kalahari, because his tribe is at present livingthere. When they were driven by the Dutch from their own homes, theyretired some few miles into the desert and built a new village, wherethey have been living ever since. He promises us a friendly welcomefrom his tribe, and advises us to remain with them until we can learnwhat is the precise state of things between the English and Dutch. Ifno attack is made by our government, the hostile feeling will graduallysubside, and we may safely pursue our way as at first proposed. If anattack _is_ made, and the colony again taken possession of by theBritish arms, we can travel to Cape Town, though it would be wise tofollow a different route. That is the substance of what Omatokoadvises."

  "And you are inclined to trust him, Charles?" said Warley,interrogatively.

  "I am in two minds about it," replied Charles. "Part of what he says Iknow to be true, and everything is consistent with truth. Still hisanxiety to get back to his own tribe is suspicious. He has let fall,unconsciously, some hints of his burning desire to be avenged forthwithon the enemies who had so nearly put him to a cruel death; and if hewere to conduct us to Cape Town, he would have to put off thegratification of his revenge for many months at the least; and perhapsbefore his return, the tribe he longs to punish will have moved hundredsof miles away."

  "And what do you advise that we should do?"

  "I am inclined to follow his suggestions. If his tale is true, weshould be running into the face of the most imminent peril by followingthe route I had marked out. And even if it is false, we shall probablynot be delayed very long at the Hottentot village. His measures will betaken, I doubt not, promptly enough, and then he wi
ll be at liberty toattend to our affairs."

  "You think, in fact, that he really means friendly by us, though he maycare more for his revenge than our convenience."

  "Just so, Ernest. His gratitude is, I believe, quite sincere."

  "Then I agree with you that we had better do as you advise. What do youtwo say?"

  "I am of your opinion," said Wilmore.

  "And I don't see what else is to be done," added Gilbert.

  "That's agreed, then," said Lavie. "And now, there is another thing.He says it won't be safe for us to sleep under these trees, even thoughwe light a fire, and keep it up all night. It seems that theneighbourhood abounds with beast of prey. Indeed, if Omatoko is to bebelieved there would be a considerable risk of our being devoured by alion or tiger--"

  "Tiger!" repeated Warley. "There are no tigers in this country surely."

  "Not the animal strictly called the tiger," returned the surgeon; "thatis not found in South Africa at all, or indeed anywhere, I believe,except in Bengal. The beast they name the tiger here, is the leopard;but he is quite fierce and savage enough. I should observe that theleopard is not the only animal miscalled in this country. They talk ofthe wild horse, the camel, and the wolf, as abounding here. But none ofthese are to be found. What they mean are properly the zebra, thegiraffe, and the hyena. But to go on, Omatoko says we must either keepwatch, all of us, with our guns all night--"

  "I say, bother that," broke in Nick; "a fellow can't do without sleep."

  "Or else," resumed Charles; "we must climb into trees and sleep there."

  "Well, we can do that," said Frank; "that is, we four can. But howabout this Hottentot? He is in no case to climb a tree, I judge, muchless to stick in one all night."

  "And how about Lion?" added Gilbert. "He is a worse climber still, Iexpect."

  "Omatoko advised us to cut down a lot of young pines that are growing ina thicket close by, and lay them across two of the lower branches of thelargest tree we can find. There are several acacias of immense sizeabout here. A sort of floor will thus be formed, where we can all sleepsafely. The branches would probably be not more than six feet from theground, so that both the Hottentot and Lion might easily be handed up."

  "But these leopards can climb, can't they?" suggested Frank. "We shouldbe safe from lions or rhinoceroses no doubt, but not from leopards, orbears either, if there are any about here."

  "I don't think any bears are to be found hereabouts. No doubt panthersand leopards can climb trees, but remember, they could only get at us bywalking along the bough on the end of which our platform rests, or bydropping down from a higher limb. Lion would be sure to rouse us beforethey could accomplish either feat, and they would be easy victims to ourrifles."

  "That's true," said Wilmore. "Well, then, do you three fall to work onthe job, while I roast some parrots for to-morrow's breakfast."

  They began the task accordingly. The doctor took his axe; and in halfan hour had cut down a great number of stout firs about twenty feetlong, and thicker round than his arm. These were brought up by Warleyand laid across two of the lower branches of one of the giants of theforest, forming a tolerably flat stage some nine feet square. Nofastening was required for the firs, their own weight and the shape ofthe branches, which bent slightly upwards at the ends, rendering themquite secure. Next, armfuls of dry grass and moss were handed up toform beds for the party; and then came the more difficult task ofhoisting Omatoko to his place. This engaged the united strength of thedoctor, Warley, and Wilmore below, while Nick, standing on the platform,received him from their hands. But the strength of the Hottentot was insome measure restored, and he was able to render some help himself,which greatly facilitated the job. As soon as Omatoko had beenconsigned to his bed, Lion was in like manner passed up; but he was byno means so conformable as his predecessor had been, and if anybody butFrank had had charge of his head and shoulders, they might have foundtheir undertaking an unpleasant one.

  However, in process of time he was got up, and secured by a thong to oneof the poles in the centre of the platform. The guns came next, andlastly their owners. It was quite dark before their arrangements werecompleted, and before ten minutes had elapsed, the whole of the partywere fast asleep.