that had awakenedhim. They had been driven from their lairs by the approach of themonsters, and were flying in confusion from them. There were herds ofbuffaloes crowded so close together that it was with difficulty theycould advance, whole legions of boks of every variety, a few jackals,hyenas, wild pigs, even here and there a lion or a rhinoceros, hurryingthrough the forest paths, in terror of being trampled under the feet ofthe elephants, which would have crushed them into atoms, scarcely awareof their presence. Among the runaways were crowds of monkeys, which didnot join the crowd below, but sprang from branch to branch, along thelower parts of the trees immediately over his head, making it impossiblefor him to climb to his former perch. He would have been knocked off,gun and all, before he had mounted a dozen feet.
"It was evident to Robson that he must find some other place of refuge,and that without loss of time, for even he could now see, about ahundred yards off, the heads of the great bull-elephants which alwaysmarched in advance of the others, tearing and forcing their way throughthe dense forest as a man would through a field of standing corn. In afew minutes more they would be close upon him, and the crowd of animalsstill prevented him from escaping. The only chance that presenteditself to him was creeping into the hollow of a huge nowana, close towhich he was standing. The roots of this were above ground, and therewas a huge cleft in them which was at all events large enough to hidehim from sight. He forced his way through the opening in the barkaccordingly, though with great difficulty, and found the hole insidelarger than he had expected, though he could not distinguish how far itextended, for the climbing plants outside almost covered the entrance.But he had not been in his hiding-place five minutes before the leadingelephants came up. On strode the giants, some of them appearing toRobson to be fully fourteen feet high, the large trees giving way beforethem and the very ground trembling under their feet. Just as theleaders came in front of the hole in which he was lying, a shot fromabove struck one of the largest behind the ear and passed into hisbrain. It was instantly fatal. With a loud roar the huge beast felldead, and his head blocked up the lower part of the opening throughwhich Robson had entered. It was impossible for him now to make his wayout; but then, on the other hand, he was now safe from intrusion--so, atleast, he fancied.
"He resolved to wait until the herd had passed, and then to shout to hiscompanions for help. The tremendous noise for the present prevented thepossibility of being heard, if he had shouted ever so loudly. There wasnothing for it but to remain quiet. By and by the light became better,or rather, I should say, Robson's eyes became used to the darkness, andhe perceived that he was not the only occupant of the cave. There wassomething indistinct and shapeless in the farthest corner, a slightquivering motion showing that it was alive. It was probably some wildanimal which in its terror had taken refuge in the hollow of the tree,as he had done. It might be something quite harmless, a stray goat,perhaps, from a herd,--there were plenty kept in the neighbourhood, andunderground caves and hollow trees were favourite places of retreat forthem. It was as well, however, for him to be on his guard. He took uphis rifle and brought it to his shoulder. As he did so, there came arustling sound from the dark corner, and two fiery eyes were visibleagainst the light. Instinctively, rather than with any settled purpose,he drew the trigger, there was a loud hissing noise, the light from theeyes disappeared, a writhing motion which lasted for several minutesfollowed, and then the dark mass, whatever it was, lay motionless.Robson told me that a sickening sensation came over him, and he supposedthat he must have fainted. When he came to, some time afterwards, hewas in the hands of his friends. They had been engaged in cutting outthe tusks of the great bull elephant, and had heard a shot fired insidethe tree. In great surprise they searched the hollow, and draggedRobson out, to all appearance more dead than alive."
"And did they pull out his companion too?" inquired Redgy eagerly.
"Yes, sir, they had pulled it out, and it was the first thing he sawlying on the ground near him when he came to his senses, and it didn'timprove his spirits."
"What was it?" exclaimed several of the party together.
"A cobra, seven feet long, sir," answered Hardy. "It had crept in thereout of the noise, I suppose, and had been as much frightened as theother creatures were; that was no doubt the reason why it did not fly atRobson the first moment he entered. When he levelled his gun, thecreature's instinct probably warned it of its danger, and it had spreadits hood and raised itself for a spring, when the bullet struck itbetween the eyes and killed it on the spot. If the shot had goneanywhere else, Robson would never have told me the story."
"That was enough to shake a fellow's nerves, certainly," said George.
"Yes, sir; Robson could never endure the sight of even harmless snakes,and used to shake all over when he saw one, like a man with the ague. Iused to joke him about it, and I think he told me his adventure toprevent me from doing so any more. Well, I suppose it is time that wego and lie down, isn't it? We are to set off, I believe, as early, orrather earlier than usual to-morrow."
"Are you going on to Standerton the first thing in the morning?"inquired Mr Prestcott; "and does the Dutch gentleman intend to acceptmy escort? He didn't say positively."
"I have no doubt he will," replied George with some hesitation. "Andyou must accept," he added more confidently, "our thanks for your kindand hospitable reception of us. Mr Vander Heyden is, as you havenoticed, a Boer, and, like some of his countrymen, does not love theEnglish."
Mr Prestcott smiled. "We English settlers here," he said, "understandall about that. This annexation of the Transvaal, though they were gladenough of it at the time, when their country was in the greatest dangerof invasion, to which they could have offered no resistance, is not atall to their mind now. I hear they are trying to induce the newgovernor to get it rescinded; and if they are rebuffed, as probably theywill be, they will get more and more discontented. But it has occurredto me, since speaking to Mr Vander Heyden, that there is an opportunityfor him to travel in safety as far as Heidelberg, at all events. Thereare a number of waggons containing Government stores on their way to thetown which are resting for the night a few miles from this. I have nodoubt he might obtain leave to travel in their company. There is amilitary escort, which of course would make the journey quite secure. Ihave some acquaintance with Lieutenant Evetts, and would give Mr VanderHeyden an introduction to him, if he would condescend to make theacquaintance of a British officer."
"Lieutenant Evetts," repeated Rivers. "What, of the Mounted Volunteers,do you mean, who was present at the attack at Rorke's Drift?"
"Yes, the same, only he now holds a commission in the Natal MountedPolice."
"There is no need of any introduction to him," said George,--"not forme, at all events. We knew one another for some weeks, before theadvance into Zululand. And even if we had had no previous introduction,that night at Rorke's Drift would have been introduction enough."
"Were you there, Mr Rivers?" asked Prestcott eagerly. "And do Iunderstand you that Mr Vander Heyden was there too?"
"Yes, he and I and Evetts were all three there, and saved each other'slives at least half a dozen times during those nine or ten hours offighting."
"I am glad to have had you under my roof, Mr Rivers, and I must forgiveMr Vander Heyden his dislike to the English. No, sir, no introductionto Lieutenant Evetts can be required. I should as soon think ofintroducing one twin brother to another."
"I say, Hardy," said George, as they went off to bed, "that was a prettygood one about the cobra in the hollow tree, wasn't it?"
"I wasn't going to be beaten by him," answered Hardy; "though his wasn'ta bad one about the lion, I must admit that."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
Nearly a week had passed, and the cortege was again setting out fromHeidelberg, where it had arrived three days previously. LieutenantEvetts greeted his old companions in arms with much cordiality, and theyhad travelled in great comfort as well as safety under his escort. Hehad ex
pressed his great regret that he could not accompany them with hismen to Lichtenberg. The distance between these two towns was muchlonger than between Luneberg and Standerton, or between Standerton andHeidelberg. The country, too, was wilder and more sparsely inhabited.His presence, and that of half a dozen of his men, would have madeeverything smooth. But he was under orders to leave immediately forNewcastle, as soon as he had performed his errand. All efforts toengage trustworthy men at Heidelberg had proved vain; and they wereobliged to set out at last with the same party which had started fromLuneberg. It was with equal surprise and satisfaction that theyovertook, a few hours after leaving Heidelberg, some soldiers belongingapparently to the Natal Contingent,