CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
A DEAD CHECK.
Two pleasant, restful days under the green leaves at old Morgenstern'sfarm and store, and he was pressed to stay another; but Dyke was anxiousto get back to his brother, and with Duke limping about, the horse andbullocks looking quite fresh and well, everything loaded up carefully,and a cask of sweet, pure water slung at the back of the wagon, Dykestood at early dawn ready to start.
The oxen were yoked and hitched on to the dissel-boom and trek tow,breakfast was over, and all was ready, with Jack flourishing his greatlong whip of hippopotamus hide, eager to start.
Just then the hospitable old German signed to the Kaffir to comealongside, and a chirrup brought up the dog as well.
"Now, mein vrient," said the old man, "you gan oondershtand gootEnglisch, if you gannot shpeak him zo vel ash me, zo you listen. I am acreat magistrate, und know a lot. I am going to dalk to dot tog, undyou are to hear.--Now, my goot tog, you are better as effer you vas,heh?"
Duke barked.
"Das ist goot. Now you are going to Kopfontein."
The dog barked loudly.
"Das ist good, too. Now I dell you dis: if Kaffir Jack--you know KaffirJack--dot is him."
He clapped his hand on the black's shoulder, and the dog barkedexcitedly.
"Yaas, you know him; und I dell you dot if he does not work, you are tobide him."
The dog's hair rose up, and Jack made a movement to run, but the big fathand held him fast.
"Und then, mein goot tog, if you do dot, he vill be ferry pad, undperhaps go mad. I mean, if you bide him, hey?"
The dog barked furiously, and Jack's blackish face turned of a horribledirty grey as he stood shivering, having pretty well understood everyword.
"Dot is right; und now Kaffir Jack will drive die oxen, und pe a gootpoy. Now you go. _Trek_!"
The Kaffir sprang away, whip in hand, the willing oxen began to pull,and the wagon went off through the soft sand, Duke hurrying to his placebeneath, just in front of the water cask, while Dyke stood, rein inhand, waiting to shake hands with his host, who laughed softly.
"I dalk all dot nonsense do vrighten him like a shild," he said. "Hevill pe a goot poy now till he begin to forget, und den you mustvrighten him doo. Now goot-pye, und der goot God bless you, mein sohn."
Dyke shook hands warmly with the friendly old man, sprang upon Breezy,and soon overtook the wagon, which was going steadily along the fainttrack.
He glanced back several times, seeing the old trader standing in frontof his house smoking his big pipe, but at last he was invisible, and theboy set himself to achieve his long, slow, five or six days' journey,hopeful, rested, and ready, feeling as if all was going to be right, andmore happy in his mind than he had been for days.
As he went on and on, fresh, light-hearted, and bright, every place madefamiliar by halts as he came, wore a very different aspect, and therewere times when he smiled at some of the petty vexations, though otherswere serious enough. For instance, by this water, where he had had somuch difficulty in getting wood, for the day's journey had been verylong, and it was growing dark when he halted, and a distant roar told ofthe possibility of a visit from lions, and perhaps the loss of one ofthe bullocks. But now all was smooth and pleasant, the evening wasglorious, the oxen not too weary, and Jack soon collected enough woodfor cooking and keeping up a roaring blaze.
The next day, too, was hot and pleasant. Several guinea-fowl fell toDyke's gun, and he shot a dangerous viper which raised its headsluggishly from the sandy track, threatening, with gleaming eyes andvibrating tongue, the barking dog, which kept cautiously beyond strikingdistance. There were lions heard in the night, making the cattleuneasy, but they were not molested.
It was wonderful as a contrast that journey back, and Dyke often askedhimself, as he cantered about, sometimes to the side, sometimes lettingthe wagon go for some distance forward, whether he had not been of poorheart, and had made too much fuss over his troubles; but second thoughtsconvinced him that he had had a terrible task, and he almost wonderedthat he had been able to reach Morgenstern's at all.
Jack was the very perfection of a Kaffir servant now, drivingsplendidly, and taking the greatest care as to the pasturing andwatering of the cattle; his young master never having to find fault witha single thing.
But there was the reason plainly enough; and Dyke smiled to himself ashe thought of how easily the black had been impressed by the big oldGerman, though he felt that Jack's guilty conscience had something to dowith it.
Oddly enough, the dog's behaviour during the return journey helped tokeep Jack in order. For Duke, though his hurts were mending fast, wasstill very weak. He was ready to bark and make plenty of fuss over hismaster, but he did not evince the slightest desire to trot after himwhen he rode away from the wagon. Duke seemed to know his own powers,and went back directly to his place between the two hind wheels of thewagon. There he stayed, keeping step pretty well with the bullocks.But at every halt, when Jack proceeded to gather wood, drive the oxen towater or pasture, the dog followed close at his heels, making nodemonstration of friendliness, never barking, but walking with loweredhead and surly look, just behind, stopping when the black did, going onor returning, and never leaving him for a moment, and ending by goingback to his place under the wagon, and there resting his head upon hispaws.
Of course, all this was the sick dog's natural objection to being leftalone; but to Jack it meant a great deal more. That dog had always beenrather unfriendly, and was evidently a very uncanny kind of beast, whichcould understand everything that was said to him, and would fully carryout the old German's instructions. Duke followed him about to see thathe did his work properly, and as Jack walked on, he often felt thesensation in his calves known as pins and needles, which made him winceand tremble; and on one occasion he uttered a yell of horror, for thedog's cold nose touched one of his bare ankles, and made him bound acouple of yards.
For to him there was no doubt about the matter whatever. Duke waswatching everything he did, and the moment he relaxed his efforts, thosewhite teeth would close upon his leg; and if he had been talked to andargued with for a week, he would never have believed that he would notfor a certainty go mad, die, and be thrown out upon the sands to thejackals and vultures which hung about their nightly camps.
The consequence was that, saving a few of the trifling mishaps whichbefall wagon travellers through the South African deserts, Dyke's returnjourney was peaceful and enjoyable, even if slow. He would often haveliked to gallop forward to get nearer home; but the wagon held him as amagnet does its bar, and he thoroughly fulfilled the trust placed in himby his brother.
At last the morning dawned when a steady day's work would bring them toKopfontein, and starting at once, they got on a few miles before haltingfor breakfast. Then went on for three hours; halted again to dine andrest during the hottest part of the day. After which there was thelittle river to ford a couple of miles farther on, and then twelve mileswould bring them home, late in the evening perhaps, but Dyke wasdetermined to finish before he slept.
Hardly had they settled down in the shelter of the wagon for thatmid-day halt, than Dyke found that the wagon-tilt would be useful forsomething else besides keeping off the sun. For some clouds which hadbeen gathering all the morning, centred themselves at last directlyoverhead; there was a succession of terrific peals of thunder followingupon blinding flashes of lightning, which seemed to play all round andabout the wagon, making Breezy stand shivering as he pressed close upalongside, and drew the cattle together with their heads inward, as iffor mutual protection.
Then down came the rain in a perfect deluge, and for a good hour flashand peal seemed to be engaged in trying to tear up the clouds, fromwhich the great drops of rain poured down.
The storm ceased as quickly as it had come on, and the rain having beensucked up by the thirsty, sandy earth, so that when they started again,save that the wagon-cover was soaked, drawn tight, and streaming, therewas
no sign for a while of the storm. There were certainly the cloudsfading in the distance, but the sky overhead was of a glorious blue, thelittle herbage they passed was newly washed and clean, and the dropsleft sparkled in the brilliant sunshine.
What followed, then, came as a surprise.
They had gone on for some distance before it suddenly recurred to Dykethat they had to cross the little river; and now, for the first time, hebecame conscious of a low, soft murmur, as of insects swarming, butthis, though continuous, did not take his attention much, for he set itdown to a cloud of insects, roused from their torpor by the sun, and nowbusily feeding, perhaps, close at hand, though invisible as he rodegently along, breathing in with delight the sweet, cool air.
But at the end of half an hour the murmur had grown louder, and itsounded louder still as he drew rein by some bushes to let Breezy cropthe moist shoots, while he waited for the wagon to come up, it beingabout half a mile behind.
"How slowly and deliberately those beasts do move," thought Dyke, as hewatched the six sleek oxen, not a bit the worse for their journey,plodding gravely along with the wagon lightly laden, as it was, for sixbeasts to draw, bumping and swaying every now and then as a stone or twostood up through the sand, he not being there to point them out to theblack, who sat on the wagon-box, with his chin upon his breast, rousinghimself from time to time to crack his whip and shout out some jargon tothe bullocks. These took not the slightest notice of whip-crack orshout, but plodded slowly along, tossing their heads now and then, andbringing their horns in contact with a loud rap.
At last they came up abreast, and Jack turned his dark face, and grinnedmeaningly.
"What is it?" said Dyke. "Glad you are so near home?"
"No see Tanta Sal night," he said.
"Oh yes, we will," replied Dyke. "I mean to be home before we sleep."
Jack shook his head.
"You'll see, my fine fellow," said Dyke to himself. "If you are goingto begin any games just for a finish off on the last day, you'll findyou'll be startled. I'll set Duke at him, and scare the beggar," hemuttered, as he laughed to himself at the man's genuine belief in, andalarm about, the dog; and in imagination he saw Jack hopping about andyelling, and afraid to come down from the wagon-box in front on accountof Duke, who would be barking and dancing about as if trying to drag himoff.
He let the wagon go on then for a few yards, and hung back so as to saya few cheery words to the dog, who responded with a sharp bark or two,but did not come from beneath the wagon.
And now the noise grew louder and louder, till at last Dyke began todivine the cause. A short distance farther the open plain was crossedby an erratic line of trees and rocks, forming a green and grey zigzagof some three hundred yards wide, and down in a hollow, hidden tillclose up, there was the rivulet-like stream at which he had halted onhis outward way to let the animals drink.
It was from there, then, that the now rapidly increasing murmur arose,and pressing his nag's sides, he rode rapidly on to reach the side ofthe tiny bourn, which now proved to be a fierce torrent nearly a hundredyards wide, raging amongst rocks, tossing up beady spray, and putting anend to all his hopes of reaching home that night, for even as he lookedhe could see that the water was rising still, and any attempt to fordmeant certain death to man and beast.
Dyke's heart sank. He knew now the meaning of the Kaffir's grin. Itwas the first trouble of the homeward way.