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

by H. C. Adams

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

  KAFFIR INCREDULITY--THE GREAT KALAHARI--A PRIZE--AN EXCITING CHASE--THEKAFFIR GAME-TRAP--A NATURAL BRIDGE--AN AFRICAN FLOOD.

  Daylight broke at last, and the two watchers were rejoiced to perceivethat their prisoners, though evidently recovered from any injuries whichthey might have sustained, still remained in the same place, indeed inthe same attitude as on the previous night. This, however, appeared tobe mainly due to Lion's vigilance, the latter still keeping the mostjealous watch over them, breaking out into an angry growl, and showing aformidable broadside of teeth, whenever either of them moved hand orfoot. As soon as the morning meal was over, De Walden untied the thongsby which they had been secured, and taking them apart, addressed a longand seemingly an angry remonstrance to them. They replied submissively,and appeared to be entreating pardon, which he was reluctant to grant.At length the conference came to an end. With a low inflection of theirbodies, they turned away, and pursued the path up the kloof, neverturning their heads to look back, till they had vanished from sight.

  Mr De Walden now rejoined his companions. "In what direction is ityour purpose to proceed?" he inquired.

  "We were about to ask your advice," said Lavie. "We have turned out ofour direct way to avoid being followed by the Hottentots among whom wehave been living for several weeks, and now want to make our way asquickly as we can to Cape Town."

  "I will accompany you there," said the missionary, "if it be agreeableto you. Until last night it was my intention to travel into the countryyou have just quitted, and resume my old mission work, which I leftthree years ago. But, singularly enough, I am now in the same strait asyourself. I have been living for the last year or two in the Bechuanacountry; and the idea has latterly taken possession of one of the Kaffirchiefs, named Chuma, that I have the power of controlling the elements,and driving away disease at pleasure."

  "It is not an uncommon one, is it?" asked Lavie.

  "It is common enough for impostors among the Kaffirs themselves, topretend to such power, and they gain a certain amount of credence fromtheir countrymen," answered De Walden; "but they do not often fancy thatEuropeans are so gifted. The fame of a very simple cure of a Bechuanachild, which was suffering from croup, and the circumstance that aseasonable rain, after long drought fell, while I was residing in theBechuana village, are, I believe, the only grounds for the notion. ButChuma was so possessed with it, that he has repeatedly made me the mostsplendid offers, if I will take up my abode in his kraal."

  "I wonder you did not accept it," remarked Lavie.

  "You think it would have been an opening for teaching them betterthings, I suppose. But that would not have been so. I could only havegone as a professed wizard or prophet--under false colours, in fact.And the moment I threw any doubt on the reality of my pretensions, theywould have turned on me as an impostor, and justly too. No, I toldChuma that I would come to him as the servant of the God who sent therain and the sunshine, if he would have me. But that He alone couldcommand these, and I had no power over them, any more than Chuma himselfhad."

  "And he?" pursued Lavie.

  "He did not believe me, and once or twice tried to seize me, and compelme to comply with his wishes. I was very glad when the news of thereoccupation of the Cape by the British, offered an opening for myreturn to Namaqua-land. I thought I had managed my departure so well,that they would not discover it for many days. But I was mistaken.Chuma sent those men yesterday with peremptory orders to seize andconvey me to his village."

  "And you are going to change your route, in consequence?" said Lavie.

  "Yes; I do not believe Chuma will abandon his purpose even now. I shallproceed to Cape Town and thence obtain a passage to Walfisch Bay. Inthat way I shall baffle the chief, but probably in no other. If youthink Frank--that is his name, I believe--if you think him fit totravel, we had better set off for the Gariep as soon as possible. Chumawill be sure to send out a fresh company, as soon as these have returnedto him."

  "Frank is nearly well in my opinion," said Lavie. "The poison seems tohave been driven out by the profuse perspiration. He is a little weak;but with an occasional rest, and an arm to lean on, he can go atolerable day's journey, I have no doubt."

  "Let us set off, then, as soon as possible. We have a long and verydreary tract to traverse before we reach the Gariep--three hundred milesand more, I should think. It will probably take us at least three weeksto accomplish it, even if your young friend quite recovers hisstrength."

  "But you are well acquainted with the way?"

  "Yes, indeed. I have traversed it often enough."

  "We are fortunate to have fallen in with you. I will go and arrangeeverything for starting."

  They were soon on their way, Frank stepping bravely along, and declaringthat the motion and the morning air had driven out whatever megrims theeuphorbia water might have left behind. They soon came into a differentcharacter of country from that which they had recently been traversing.Hitherto they had been moving to and fro on the skirts of the greatKalahari; they were now about to pass through its central solitudes. Asthey advanced, the groups of trees and shrubs grew scantier, and atlength almost wholly disappeared. Interminable flats of sand, variedonly by heaps of stone scattered about in the wildest disorder,succeeded each other as far as the eye could reach. For miles togetherthere was no sign of animal or vegetable life--not the cry of an insect,not the track of a beast, not the pinion of a bird. The red light ofdaybreak, the hot and loaded vapours of noontide, the gorgeous hues ofsunset, the moon and stars hanging like globes of fire in the darkpurple of the sky, succeeded each other with wearying monotony. Therewas no difference between day and day. They depended for theirsubsistence almost entirely on the roots, which De Walden knew where tosearch for, and which relieved the parched lips and burning throat asnothing else could have done. Their resting-place at mid-day, and atnight alike, was either the shadow cast by some huge stone, or a naturalhollow in its side, or more rarely a patch of scrub and grass, growinground some spring, either visible or underground. The cool sunsetbreeze every evening restored something of vigour to their exhaustedframes, and enabled them to toil onward for another, and yet another,day.

  After nearly three weeks of this travel, they found the landscape beginonce more to change. The kameel-doorn and the euphorbia again madetheir appearance, at first in a few comparatively shaded spots; then thealoe and the mimosa began to mingle with them; and in the course of aday's journey afterwards, birds chirped among the boughs, the secretarywas seen stalking over the plain, and the frequent spoor of wild animalsshowed that they had again reached the world of living beings.

  Their guide now told them that they were within two days' journey or soof the Gariep; which he proposed to pass at some point immediately belowone of the great cataracts. The river at this spot ran always, he said,with a rapidity which rendered it almost impossible to ford; but at thetimes when it was at the lowest, after long drought, as was the casenow, it might be crossed by climbing along trunks of trees which hadbeen lodged among the rocks and left there by the subsiding waters of aflood. This required nothing of the traveller beyond a steady foot anda cool head. Where there were several to help one another, the risk wasreduced almost to zero.

  The party woke up gladly enough on the morning of the last day of theirdesert travel. The country was now thickly covered with wood.Immediately before them was a plain very curiously dotted with patchesof thorns, growing at regular intervals about fifty paces apart from oneanother, enclosing a large tract of ground with a kind of rude fence.Nick was so struck with its singular appearance, that he stopped behindhis companions to examine it more closely. While thus engaged, hisattention was attracted by a grunting noise in the bush near him, andpeering cautiously through the bushes, saw what he supposed to be alarge black hog, unwieldy from its fat, lying in a bed of thick grass.Here was a discovery! The party had not tasted the flesh of animals forweeks past, and had not tasted pork sinc
e they left the _Hooghly_. Heshouted as loud as he could, to attract the attention of Lavie and theothers. Failing to do this, he discharged his gun at the hog, intendingat once to kill the animal and induce his fellow-travellers to return.He waited for some minutes, but without hearing anything but a distanthalloo. Resolving not to lose so valuable a booty, he took thecreature, heavy as it was, on his shoulders and set out, as fast as hecould walk, under the burden, in the direction which they had gone.

  He staggered along until he had cleared the thicket, and was moving ontowards the thorn patches, when he heard a voice at some distanceshouting to him. He looked up and saw Lavie running towards him at hisutmost speed. Presently the voice came again.

  "Drop that, and run for your life. There's a rhinoceros chasing you."

  Nick did drop his load, as if it had been red hot iron, and glancedinstinctively round. On the edge of the thicket which he had quitted, alarge black rhinoceros was just breaking cover, snorting with fury, andevidently making straight for him. Nick's gun was empty, and even if ithad been loaded, he would hardly have ventured to risk his life on theaccuracy of his aim. He threw the gun away, and took to his heels, ashe had never done since he left Dr Staines's school. He was swift offoot, and had perhaps a hundred yards start. But the rhinoceros is oneof the fleetest quadrupeds in existence. Notwithstanding the lad's mostdesperate exertions, it continued to gain rapidly on him. Nick feltthat his only chance was to get within gun-shot of his companions, whena fortunate bullet might arrest the course of his enemy. He toreblindly along, until he found himself within twenty yards of the thornbushes, which had so excited his curiosity shortly before. The nextminute he felt himself passing between two of the bushes, the rhinocerosscarcely thrice its own length behind him, its head bent down, and itslong horn ready to impale him.

  He gave himself over for lost, and only continued to dash along from theinstinct of deadly terror. As he rushed between the bushes, he suddenlyfelt the earth shake and give way under him. Staggering forward a fewpaces, he fell flat on his face, tearing up the ground from the force ofthe fall. At the same moment a tremendous crash was heard behind him,followed a minute afterwards by a dull heavy shock. Nick sprung upagain, notwithstanding the cuts and bruises he had received, and glancedhastily round him, expecting to see his terrible antagonist close on hisflank. But, to his amazement, the creature had disappeared! There wasthe open space between the thorn bushes, through which he had justpassed, and there was the long grass through which he had rushed, butwhere was the fierce pursuer, who was scarcely four yards behind him?

  While he was gazing round him in a maze of alarm and wonder, he heardLavie's voice close to him. "You may be thankful for the narrowestescape I ever remember to have witnessed!" he said.

  "Where, where is the rhinoceros?" stammered Nick.

  "Down at the bottom of that pit, into which you would have tumbledyourself, if you hadn't been running like a lamplighter. I'll just seeif the poor brute is alive or not, and if he is, put a charge throughhis brain."

  He peered cautiously down the hole, but all was still there. The animalhad been impaled on the strong stake always placed at the bottoms ofsuch traps, and it had probably penetrated the vitals. Satisfied onthis point, he returned to Gilbert, who had now somewhat recovered hisself-possession.

  "Why didn't you run when we first called to you?"

  "I didn't know you were calling to me. What made the brute attack me?"

  "I don't know. The black rhinoceroses very often attack men without anyapparent reason, though the white seldom do so. But what were youcarrying on your back?"

  "A black hog, which I had shot--famous eating, you know. We had bettergo and fetch it now. It will last us--"

  "A hog!" exclaimed De Walden, who with Warley and Wilmore had now joinedthem. "I don't fancy there are any wild hogs about here; I never heardof any. Is this what you call a hog?" he continued, a minute or twoafterwards, when they had reached the place where Nick had thrown hisload down. "Why this is a young rhinoceros--about a week old, I shouldsay! There is very little mystery now in the mother having chargedafter you. Well, you may indeed thank God for your escape! I would nothave given a penny for your life under such circumstances. However, aswe have the animal, we had better take as much of its flesh as we cancarry. It is very excellent eating."

  "I should like to examine the pitfall, sir, if you have no objection,"said Warley. "I have never seen one, though I have often heard ofthem."

  "I'll cut up the carcass, Mr De Walden," said Lavie, "if you like to gowith the lads."

  The missionary consented, and taking the three boys with him, pointedout to them the ingenious construction of the trap, which had been themeans of preserving Nick's life. He showed them, that the wholeenclosure which had excited Gilbert's wonder, was one network of pits.The thorn bushes were everywhere trained to grow so thick and close,that it was impossible to penetrate them; and in the centre of each ofthe open spaces between them a deep excavation was made, the top ofwhich was skilfully concealed by slight boughs laid over it, and coveredwith tufts of long grass and reeds. At times, he said, the hunterswould assemble in a large body, and drive the game in from every side,towards the enclosure. The frightened animals made for the entrances,and great numbers were thus captured in the pits. Even those which hadpassed safely through the openings, became easy victims to the arrowsand assegais of the pursuers, being, in fact, too much alarmed toattempt to escape from their prison.

  Before they had completed their examination of the ground, Lavie wasready to accompany them. Setting out without further delay, theyreached an hour before sunset the banks of the Gariep. Wearied as theywere with one of the longest day's journeys which they had accomplished,neither Lavie nor Warley could rest till they had taken a full view ofthe magnificent scene which broke upon them, when, after threading thedense thickets and tortuous watercourses which border the great river,they came at last on the main stream itself. The vast mass of water--which had been narrowed in, for a considerable distance by lofty cliffson either side, to a channel hardly more than thirty yards in width--shot downwards over a rocky shelf in an abrupt descent of fully fourhundred feet in height. On either side, the crags, partly bare andrugged, partly clothed with overhanging woods of the richest green;above, the tall mountains rising into broken peaks; and below, theboiling abyss--formed a frame, which was worthy of this splendidpicture. The beams of the setting sun pouring full on the cascade, andproducing a brilliant rainbow which spanned the entire width from sideto side, together with the ceaseless thunder of the falling waters,seemed alike to entrance and overpower the senses of the beholder. Itwas not until they had stood for more than an hour gazing at thisglorious spectacle, that either of the travellers could tear themselvesfrom the spot, to seek the rest which overwearied nature demanded.

  On the following morning they were awakened by De Walden at an earlierhour than usual. "We must lose no time," he said, "in crossing theriver. It is not so high as I expected to find it, and at the point forwhich we must make, we can get over without much difficulty. But it ison one of the channels which just now are almost dry, that I fear we mayencounter difficulty. The sky looked threatening last night, and if ithad not been too late I should have attempted the passage. It looksworse this morning. I am half afraid there must be rain further up thecountry; and if such be the case, the river may suddenly rise sorapidly, that it will be next to impossible to escape it. We have not amoment to lose."

  They hurried on under his directions, Lion following, and in an hour'stime had reached a narrow part of the stream, which was there furtherdiminished by an island in mid-channel. The latter was steep andnarrow, having evidently been worn away by the action of successiveages, until scarcely more than ten feet of it remained. Against thecraggy peaks into which it rose, several massive trees had lodged duringsome former flood, and had been left by the subsiding waters at a heightof eight or ten feet above their present level. They forme
d a kind ofrude bridge, which might be safely traversed by any one whose nerveswere firm enough to attempt the feat.

  Calling to Lavie to follow him, De Walden laid down his rifle andclimbed up the mossy roots of one of the largest of these wrecks of theforest, till he had reached the first fork of the branches. Here hestopped, and waited till Lavie was within six feet or so of him, when hesigned him to stop also. Warley followed, and then Frank, and lastlyNick; each taking up his station a few feet off from his nearestcompanion. Nick then passed along the various articles from hand tohand, until they reached De Walden, who secured them by thongs to theupper branch of the fork, and then climbed on till he had reached theisland, when the same process was repeated.

  In this manner, in about an hour's time, they passed safely over thecentral stream, and began descending the bank on the other side, passingwithout difficulty two or three of the narrower channels. But theirprogress through the tangled underwood, which in some places had to becut with the axe before it would yield a passage, was necessarily slow,and it was past noon before they came to the edge of the last andbroadest of the tributary channels--a stream too wide and deep to beforded, even if there had not been fear that the overhanging bankscontained holes in which crocodiles might lurk. "We must fell a tree,"said the missionary. "We shan't get across in any other way. One ofthe longest of these pines will answer our purpose, if it is dropped inthe right place; but we must go to work without delay, for I fear beforenightfall there will be rain. It seldom gives long notice of its comingin this country, and when it does fall, it falls in a perfect deluge.It is lucky we have the axe, or we must have gone back to the other bankagain. Hand it to me, Ernest. I think I can contrive to drop this firexactly into the fork of that large projecting yellow-wood there."

  He took the axe as he spoke, and went to work with a will, the othersrelieving him at intervals, and labouring under his directions. But theedge of the instrument had unfortunately become blunt from use, and madeits way but slowly into the tough wood. It was nearly three hoursbefore the task was accomplished, and the long trunk dropped skilfullyinto the hollow of the tree opposite.

  "Now then, we must not lose a minute," said De Walden. "We arefortunate that the rain has held off so long, but it must come soon."He mounted the trunk as he spoke and crawled along it, observing thesame precautions as before. They had just reached the further end, whensuddenly there came--from a considerable distance it seemed--a dullhollow roar, accompanied by a rush of chilling wind.

  "Quick, quick," he cried; "the flood is close at hand. If it catches ushere, we are lost. Climb the tree. It is our only hope." He sprang onthe nearest branch as he spoke, and mounted up from bough to bough,until he had reached an elevation of twenty or thirty feet above thesurface of the stream. The others followed his example, as well as theywere able, catching at the limbs of the great yellow-wood tree whichchanced to be nearest to them, and scrambling from point to point withthe agility which deadly peril inspires. Nick, who was the hindmost ofthe party, had not mounted more than fifteen or twenty feet, before theyall beheld, not a hundred yards off, a vast cataract of water rollingdown the river gorge, sweeping from side to side, as it advanced, andconverting the whole valley into a roaring torrent. Their temporarybridge was swept away and snapped in pieces like a reed, and for amoment De Walden feared that even the great yellow-wood in which theyhad found refuge, might experience a like fate. It stood firm, however,and the missionary was able to assure his companions that, as the floodwas not likely to rise higher, they were in comparative safety. Butthey would have to pass the night, and possibly the next day, in theirpresent position, as it would be madness to attempt breasting the flood,until its fury had spent itself. They had fortunately taken theirmorning meal on the further bank, and each had some remains of it in hiswallet But it was a dreary prospect at best, and if the rain shouldagain fall there would be the greatest danger lest the cold andweariness should so benumb their limbs, that they would be unable toretain their hold on the branches.

  "What has become of Lion?" Nick managed to ask of Wilmore, who wasniched near him, in a hollow formed by the junction of three boughs inone of the largest limbs of the yellow-wood. "I haven't seen him sincewe got on the tree."

  "Poor old boy," returned Frank, "he was swept down the stream, when thefir was carried away. I tried to catch him by the collar, but couldn't.The last thing I saw of him was his black head in the midst of theboiling waters. I think I would sooner have been drowned myself!"