Diamond Dyke

  CHAPTER TWELVE.

  DYKE IS AGGRIEVED.

  "Fine chance for a lion," said Emson, as at dusk he left the oxen, beingslowly driven by Kaffir Jack, and cantered off to his left to draw reinin front of Dyke, the boy sitting upright with a start.

  "Eh?"

  "I say a fine chance for a lion," cried Emson again.

  "No: couldn't catch,"--_snore_.

  "Here! Hi! Little one. Wake up!" cried Emson.

  "Yes; all right!--What's the matter?"

  "Matter? why, you're asleep, you stupid fellow: a lion might have comeupon you in that state."

  "Lion? Come upon? Did--did you speak to me?" said Dyke thickly.

  "Speak to you? of course. Why, you foolish, careless fellow, what wasthe matter? Afraid to stay by the game?"

  Dyke looked at him drowsily, striving to catch all that had been said,but only partially grasping the meaning.

  "Don't know--what you mean," he said thickly.

  "I mean it was very cowardly of you to forsake your charge, boy," saidEmson sternly. "It's vital for us to save that meat, and I trusted youto watch it. Now you've come away, and it will be horribly mauled bythe jackals; perhaps we shall find half a hundred vultures feeding uponit when we get there. Hang it, Dyke! you might have stayed till I cameback."

  Dyke was too much confused to make any reply. Utterly exhausted as hehad been, his deep sleep seemed to still hold him, and he sat gazingvacantly at his brother, who added in a tone full of contempt:

  "There, don't stare at me in that idiotic way. Come along; let's tryand save something. Look sharp! One of us must ride on, or we shallnot find it before it's dark."

  Dyke rode beside him in silence, for Breezy eagerly joined his stablecompanion, and in a short time they were up to, and then passed Jackwith his plodding oxen, which were drawing a rough sledge, somethingsimilar to that which a farmer at home uses for the conveyance of aplough from field to field.

  The angry look soon passed away from Emson's face, and he turned toDyke.

  "There, look up, old chap," he said; "don't pull a phiz like that."

  Dyke was still half stupefied by sleep, but he had grasped his brother'sformer words, and these were uppermost, rankling still in his mind as hesaid heavily:

  "You talked about the jackals and vultures, Joe."

  "Yes, yes; but I was in a pet, little un--vexed at the idea of losingour stock of good fresh meat. That's all over now, so say no more aboutit. Began to think I was never coming, didn't you? Well, I was long."Emson might just as well have held his tongue, for nothing he now saidwas grasped by Dyke, who could think of nothing else but the formerwords, and he repeated himself:

  "You talked about the jackals and vultures, Joe."

  "Yes, yes, I did; but never mind now, old chap."

  "But you didn't say a word about the lions."

  "What?" cried Emson excitedly. "You have had no lions there, surely?"

  "Yes," said Dyke, bitterly now, for he was waking up, and felt deeplyaggrieved. "Two great beasts."

  "But in open day?"

  Dyke nodded.

  "Then why didn't you fire? A shot or two would have scared them away."

  "Yes," continued the boy in the same bitter tone; "but you can't firewhen your gun's empty, and you have no cartridges."

  "But you had plenty when we started. I filled your pouch."

  "Yes, but it came undone in the ride after the eland. It's lost. Isent Duke to try and find it, and he didn't come back."

  "My poor old chap!" cried Emson, leaning forward to grasp his brother'sshoulder. "I did not know of this."

  "No, you couldn't know of it, but you were precious hard upon me."

  "My dear old chap, I spoke to you like a brute. I ought not to haveleft you, but I was so delighted with the way in which you had broughtdown the game, and, as it were, filled our larder, that I thought youought to have all the honour of keeping guard, while I played drudge andwent to fetch the sledge to carry the meat home. But tell me: the lionscame?"

  "One did," said Dyke, "and gave me turn enough, and when I got away fromhim to try and catch Breezy here, another savage brute hunted me andnearly struck me down. Oh, it was horrid!" he cried, as he ended hisrough narrative of what he had gone through.

  "Dyke, old chap, I shall never forgive myself," said Emson, grasping hisbrother's hand. "I'd do anything to recall my words."

  "Oh, it's all right," cried the boy, clinging to the hand that pressedhis; "I'm better now. I was so exhausted, Joe, that I suppose Icouldn't keep awake. I say, how was it I didn't fall off?"

  "The cob was standing quite still when I came up, and looked half asleephimself."

  "Poor old Breezy! He had such a fright too. I thought I should nevercatch up to him. But I did."

  "Can you forgive me, old fellow?"

  "Can I what? Oh, I say, Joe! Don't say any more, please. Here, giveme some cartridges to put in my pocket. I'm all right now, and thereare sure to be some more lions there. But, I say, I don't think Ishould like to shoot at that first one."

  Emson handed a dozen cartridges, and then shouted to Jack to stop, whichthe Kaffir and his two dumb companions willingly did.

  "What are you going to do, Joe?"

  "Discretion is the better part of valour," said Emson quietly. "Itwould be dark by the time we got there, and on your own showing, thefield is in possession of the enemy. Why, Dyke, old fellow, it would beabout as mad a thing as we could do to drive a couple of bullocks up towhere perhaps half-a-dozen lions are feasting. I ought to have knownbetter, but it did not occur to me. These brutes must have beenfollowing the herds. There's only one thing to do."

  "What's that? Go near and fire to scare them away?"

  "To come back again, after they had left us the mangled remains of theeland. No good, Dyke: we shall be safer in our own beds. It's onlyanother failure, old chap. Never mind: we may get game to-morrow."

  Dyke tried to oppose this plan of giving up, but it was only in ahalf-hearted way, and they rode back slowly towards Kopfontein, pausingfrom time to time for the oxen to catch up, Jack growing more and moreuneasy as the night came on, and running after them and leaving theoxen, if they came to be any distance ahead.

  The result was that he was sent on first with the slow-paced bullocks,and Dyke and his brother formed themselves into a rearguard,necessitated from time to time to come to a full stop, so as to keep inthe rear.

  It was nearly morning when they reached home, and after fastening theircattle safely behind fence and rail, they sought their own beds, whereDyke sank at once into a heavy sleep, waking up when the sun was quitehigh, with some of the previous evening's confusion left; but the wholeof the day's adventure came back in a flash as his eyes lit upon Duke,fast asleep upon a skin, and with the lost cartridge pouch between hispaws.