Perils in the Transvaal and Zululand

precautions being observed during the remainder of the day. Noenemies, however, were sighted, or, indeed, any living creatures at all,except some koodoos, which Haxo and George pursued and were fortunateenough to overtake, killing one and bringing the prime parts home forsupper.

  About five o'clock they reached Elandsberg; which had never been morethan a tolerable-sized village, and had been sacked and burned by theZulus some months before in one of their incursions. It was nowdeserted; and it was fortunate that the koodoo had been killed, or theparty might have had but a slender supper to partake of. But as it was,they soon made themselves comfortable. All the cottages had beenwrecked, and the furniture broken to pieces or carried off; but thewalls of some were still standing, and one of the largest--a farmhouseapparently--had suffered less than the others. The roof, of corrugatediron, over two of the rooms was still almost whole, and even the windowsof one, the principal bedroom, had escaped. This room was got ready forAnnchen and her Hottentot. Her bed and box were brought in, and a rugspread on the floor for the servant. In the other room, which had beenthe kitchen, the men of the party took up their quarters. A fire waslighted on the hearth, at which the koodoo's flesh was roasted; a halfshattered table was rescued from the debris outside and propped up withboxes, and the party presently sat down to an appetising supper. Two ofthe servants were left to keep guard outside, their places being takenby others at midnight. Then the rest of the company wrapped themselvesin their rugs and lay down round the fire.

  The night was undisturbed, and the route resumed with the first glimmerof daylight, Vander Heyden being particularly anxious to reachStanderton that night; where, he believed, his anxieties would be at anend. It was a most delicious day, and everything went smoothly untilafter the halt for the mid-day meal. Then it was arranged that Margettsand Haxo should form the advanced guard, while Matamo and Hardy followedin the rear.

  Redgy rode on, thoroughly enjoying the delicious afternoon. The sky wasbeautifully blue, and for a long time not flecked by a single cloud.

  "How lovely the afternoon is!" he exclaimed half to himself, as theypaced leisurely along. "I wish our halting-place was farther off. Ishall be quite sorry when this comes to an end."

  "It is quite far enough off, sir," replied Haxo, to whom this remarkappeared to be addressed. "It is about half a mile on, and I wish itwasn't a quarter."

  "Why do you wish that, Haxo?" asked Redgy, turning in surprise to hiscompanion, whose presence he had almost forgotten.

  "Because the river is between us and Dolly's Kop, sir," answered Haxo;"and I am not sure whether the waggon will get across."

  "Get across! Why not? I suppose it is like the other rivers we havepassed to-day,--so I understand at least. We have had no difficultyabout crossing them."

  "Just so, Mr Margetts. The rivers about here are nearly all sand, withjust a little water. But after an hour's rain they look different."

  "Rain! Yes, but we've had no rain."

  "We are going to have it, though, and that pretty soon. Do you seethose clouds?" He pointed as he spoke to a thick bank of black vapourwhich was creeping over the sky. "See, they're hurrying on the oxen asfast as they can. They may get across, but I don't think it."

  They turned round and rode up to the waggon, where, indeed, thegiraffe-hide whips were in full requisition, and the waggons proceededat a pace which would soon have brought them up to the river-side had itcontinued. But they were presently obliged to moderate their pace, andbefore long it became difficult to proceed. The sky grew so dark asalmost to obscure the track--indeed, but for the lightning, whichrepeatedly burst forth with a vividness which illuminated the wholescene, they would not have been able to distinguish their way at all.Then there came a cold, biting rush of wind, and suddenly the rain burstforth in torrents, which soon drenched every one to the skin, while theanimals became almost unmanageable. It was well they had experienceddrivers, or some serious disaster must have ensued.

  At length, after a fierce struggle with the elements, the banks of theriver were reached. But it became evident at a glance that all hope ofcrossing it must for a long time to come be abandoned. The narrowstreamlet had risen to a roaring torrent, not only filling its sandybed, but expanding into wide lagoons on either side, and filling uphollows which in some places were fifteen or twenty feet deep.Fortunately for the belated wanderers, the ground at the point whichthey had reached was high and rocky; and they were glad to availthemselves of Matamo's local knowledge, who ordered the oxen to beturned aside from the track, and presently drew the waggons into acavern, running far enough back into the rock to afford a shelter fromboth wind and rain. The horses were now stabled in an adjoining cavern,and the oxen turned out to find what food they could. The condition ofthe party was in some degree improved. But they were sufficientlymiserable nevertheless. The deluge of rain had not only soaked the mento the skin, but had forced its way into the waggons, and Annchen andher maid, and the beds and wraps and every other article inside, exceptthe solid chests, were as completely drenched as though they had beenplunged into the river. Some wood, with which the floor of the cave hadbeen strewn, was heaped together and a fire lighted, but it wouldevidently be hours before anything like warmth or comfort could berestored. Our travellers were greatly relieved when they saw ahorseman, wearing a heavily flapped hat and leggings and boots ofuntanned leather, together with a thick cloak wrapped round his person,suddenly draw up at the mouth of the cave and ask in intelligibleEnglish who they were, and whether they required any help.

  "We are mostly English travellers," replied George. "We have beencaught in the storm, and are almost wet to the skin. The lady who iswith us, in particular, may suffer from the effects of the exposure. Weshould be thankful to you to show us any place where we can obtainwarmth and food and shelter."

  "English!" repeated the stranger; "my countrymen. I do not often comeacross them in these regions, and shall be pleased to offer them suchhospitality as I can. You have horses, I think; you had better mountand ride with me. My house lies at the distance of about a mile fromhere, though the wood lies between it and us."

  All complied without hesitation; even Vander Heyden, though unwilling tobe indebted for any services to an Englishman, felt that, for hissister's sake, it would be impossible for him to refuse. The servantswere left behind under Matamo's and Haxo's charge, there being plenty offood for their wants, as well as accommodation quite as good as theywere used to.

  The party rode off, following a path evidently well known to theirconductor, though indistinguishable by them. The rain had now entirelyceased, though the sky was still clouded. After a quarter of an hour'sride they reached the house; which stood, as well as they could discern,on the edge of a wide, deep hollow, which the floods had converted forthe time into an inland lake. There was light enough to distinguishclearly the outlines of the building. It was externally like the housesof the Dutch; but the internal arrangements were different. The kitchenwas at one end, and there was a sitting-room adjoining it, and two orthree separate bedrooms at the other end. The furniture, too, wasdifferent, the articles being less massive and solid than is usually thecase with the Boers. There was even a bookcase in the parlour,containing it might be thirty or forty books, articles rarely to be seenin the houses of the Dutch.

  Annchen was immediately shown to one of the spare bedrooms, and someclothes brought her by one of the Hottentot women, while her own weretaken out to be dried. The males of the party were similarlyaccommodated, and in an hour's time all the travellers were assembledround the stranger's board, with the exception of Vander Heyden, who,having seen his sister made comfortable, took a courteous farewell ofhis host, and expressed his intention of returning to the cavern, notconsidering it safe, he said, to leave the waggons and cattle entirelyin charge of the natives.

  "You may be right, sir," said the Englishman. "Natives, unless you havehad long experience of them, cannot safely be left in charge of valuableproperty. More particularly
is that the case at the present time."

  "Indeed!" said Vander Heyden, delaying his departure as he heard hishost's words. "To what do you more particularly refer?"

  "The whole country has been for a long time past overrun with ruffiansand outlaws of every description," was the answer. "Zulus and Kaffirs,whom the recent war has driven out of their own country; Hottentots, whowill not work, and live by pillage and pilfering; rogues from thediamond fields, who have been expelled for their knavish tricks, as wellas convicts, who have broken loose from their confinement, have foryears past formed a sort of banditti, against which one has perpetuallyto be on one's guard. After the annexation, our Government almostentirely put them down; but the events of the last half-year