for we could have gone no farther, and could haveoffered no effectual resistance."
CHAPTER EIGHT.
"What is to be our next halting-place?" asked George of Ernest Baylen,as they rode out in the rear of the party on the following morning,having waited behind to see that none of the articles removed from thewaggons on the previous day had been forgotten. "We have a long day'sjourney before us, I expect."
"We shall stop at Colenso," replied Ernest, "rather a neat little town,and growing fast in size and importance. It stands near the LittleTugela. After that our next halting-places will be Helpmakaar, thenDundee, and lastly Newcastle. We might go farther to-day, but I expectwe shall have some trouble in passing the Mooi. It is a good dealswollen by the heavy rain and the overflow of the Tugela. The flood, asyet, has fallen but very little."
He pointed as he spoke to the river, which lay at the distance of a mileor two. George drew his rein for a moment, quite entranced by thevaried features of the landscape before him. There was a stretch ofgreen veldt, reaching almost from the point where they had bivouacked tothe river's banks, which were densely fringed with mimosas andwillow-trees, through which its waters glanced, here and there, brightin the sunshine. To the right and left the ground was broken intodeclivities, clothed in many places with brushwood, in others presentingpicturesque outlines of rock and shrub, while in the far distancetowered the range of the Drakenbergs, the grandest mountains of SouthernAfrica.
"What are those dark objects I see floating about in the water?"inquired George, pointing with his whip to a broad bend in the river,which for some distance in both directions was free from wood on eitherside.
"Sea-cows! what you call hippopotamuses, I declare!" cried Ernest insome surprise. "They are not often to be seen in the Mooi; but Isuppose they have come down from the Tugela. Yes, they arehippopotamuses; I can see them clearly now. If we can spare the time,we may have a hippopotamus hunt; there are few things that are betterfun. It requires caution, though, or there may be an ugly accident."
"What, from an attack of the animals?" suggested George. "I should havethought they were too large and unwieldy for there to be any danger fromthem."
"Ah, but there is. The banks of the river are for the most part coveredvery thickly with reeds or rushes, among which these creatures areaccustomed to lie. When they think that an enemy is at hand, they willrush out suddenly from their covert, and their weight is so great that ablow from them would probably be fatal. Matamo here had a narrow escapefrom one of them once, which I daresay he will relate to you, if youlike to hear it. He speaks very good English, better than you wouldexpect; and there is nothing that he likes better than relating hisadventures, which sometimes border on the marvellous. Shall I callhim?"
"By all means," said George. "He is there, riding on your father's lefthand."
The Bechuana was accordingly summoned, and he at once expressed hisreadiness to gratify George's curiosity.
"A scrimmage with a sea-cow?" he said. "Oh yes, I remember it. It waswhen I was a boy. I went out fishing, and I had no gun, only an assegaywith me. I caught lots of fish, but by and by I was tired, and went tosleep on the long grass. Presently I was woke up by a great noise closeto me, and I saw a big sea-cow coming out of the river with his mouthwide open. I thought perhaps he was going to eat the fish, or perhapshe was going to eat me. I jumped up and ran off, and the sea-cow ranafter me. I was in such a fright that I didn't see where I was runningto, until I found I had got into a swamp, and was sinking in it. Theseswamps are sometimes ever so deep, and there is nothing to hold to, tokeep you from going down. The more you struggle, the faster you godown. I was already up to my ankles, and should soon have been up to myknees, when I heard the sea-cow flounder in after me. _He_ couldn'tstop himself either. He was heavier than I was, and went down faster.I caught him by his great big ear and scrambled on to his back. Hegrunted, but he couldn't help it. Then I stood on his head, gave agreat jump, and just reached the bank. He grunted louder than before,and went down into the swamp. Ho, ho, ho!--I dessay he is still goingdown, and hasn't got to the bottom yet."
"But I suppose," said George, after bestowing due praise on Matamo'sstory, "there is no real danger if care is taken."
"No, sir, no danger if you take care. There are some fine sea-cowsthere. Your father sees them too, Mr Ernest."
Mr Baylen now rode up and asked George whether he and his friend wouldlike to take part in a hippopotamus hunt. George expressed hisobligations, and presently the necessary preparations were made. Allthe party dismounted, leaving their horses in charge of thewaggon-drivers, and took their rifles, which they carefully loaded.Then they separated into two companies. One of these mounted to the topof a rocky ledge covered with creepers, among which they carefullyconcealed themselves; while the other, consisting of Ernest, George, andone or two followers, crept stealthily through the long weeds and grass,until they had reached a point beyond that at which the animals werelying. Some of these were basking in the sun, some standing in thewater with their heads above it; others were half concealed by the longrushes, which grew thickly on the bank.
"She will be our best mark," whispered Ernest, as he pointed to a hugefemale, whose carcase was half in, half out, of the river. "It will bevery difficult, as she is lying now, to kill her on the spot. But assoon as she feels the shot, she will probably rush away into the reedsor into the water. In either case my father and Matamo, not to speak ofthe others, will get a good aim at her as she rises up, and will bepretty safe to kill her. Any way, you will get your shot at her, andmind you aim at her ear or her eyes."
George promised acquiescence, and he and Ernest gradually crept nearer,until they were within tolerably easy distance. Then George fired, butapparently did not greatly injure the beast. The whole herd sprang upwith loud snortings, and those lying on the edge of the stream plungedinto it. The female whom George had wounded rushed away under cover ofthe rocky ledge, which at that part bordered the stream, encountering,as Ernest had anticipated, the fire of the party stationed above, andthe farmer's ball finished the business. The animal fell dead almostimmediately at the foot of the rock, and Redgy and the others crowded tothe edge to get a sight of the huge carcase. The farmer calmlyreloaded, and it was well that he did so; for almost immediatelyafterwards there came a rushing noise from the bank above, and he caughtsight of a huge male hippopotamus rushing down upon them. It was in alllikelihood the mate of the female that had just been killed, and he wascharging down to avenge its slaughter. With the instinctive readinesswhich long habit had produced, Baylen raised his rifle and fired. Thebullet was happily aimed. It pierced the heart of the monster, and wasinstantly fatal. The muscular force carried it on for a few yards, andit fell dead only just short of the spot where the party was standing.Another moment or two, and its blind fury would have carried it and themover the edge of the precipice, on to the rocky ledge beneath.
"A near thing that!" exclaimed old Baylen coolly. "Lads, you should bealways on the look-out for this kind of thing in hippopotamus-hunting.You are never safe from a charge."
This exciting adventure would naturally have been the topic of a gooddeal of discussion; but so much of the morning had now passed, that thefarmer told them they had no time to bestow on talking. Prime pieceswere cut off from both the slain beasts, and put into the cart, Matamoassuring George that they would be regarded by their friends at Colensoas rare delicacies. The whole party then returned to the waggons, andprepared to cross the river; which, in its present swollen condition, itwould be no easy matter to accomplish. The quantity of sand broughtdown by the flood, it should be remarked, presented a more seriousdifficulty than the depth of the stream, and all the more so because theextremely turbid state of the water made it impossible to see what thedepth of the sand was.
The farmer and his sons, aided by Matamo and the other servants,undertook the convoy of the larger waggon first, arguing that if thatcould be got across without difficulty,
the smaller and slighter one inwhich Mrs Baylen and Clara were located would follow easily enough.Both spans of oxen were fastened to it, one in front of the other; itwas hoped that the line of oxen would thus become so long that theforemost ox would reach the opposite bank before the hindmost yoke hadentered it. But the river was so greatly swollen that this could not beaccomplished. Matamo had to cross, with a long rope tied to the frontbullock's horns, and thus guided the team, nearly all of which wereswimming, to the bank. Then with great difficulty the oxen struggled upthe opposite shore, and the big waggon was safely landed, though itscontents had been completely wetted through.
Men and oxen now returned across the river to undertake the transport ofthe second waggon. But here a terrible misfortune took