CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE DESERT HERDS.
"I tell you what, little un," said Emson some mornings later, "I'm goingto start a crest and motto, and I'll take a doubled fist for the crest,and _Nil desperandum_ for motto."
"And what good will that do you?" said Dyke, hammering away as he knelton the sand with the lion's skull held between his knees.
"What good! Why, I shall always have my motto before me--`Neverdespair,' and the doubled fist to--"
"To show that you are always ready to punch Kaffir Jack's head," criedDyke quickly; and bang went the hammer on the end of the cold chisel theboy held.
"No," said Emson, laughing--"to denote determination."
"`Inasmuch as to which?' as the Yankee said in his book.--Pincers,please. Here, what have you done with those pincers, Joe?"
"Haven't touched them. They're underneath you, stupid."
"Oh, ah! so they are," said Dyke; and picking them up, he took carefulhold of one of the lion's tusks, after loosening it with the hammer andchisel, and dragged it out without having injured the enamel in theleast.
The two sharply-pointed fangs had been extracted from the lower jaw, andDyke was busily operating on the skull, which was, like the bonesscattered here and there, picked quite clean, the work of the jackalsand vultures having been finished off by the ants; and as Dyke held upthe third tusk in triumph, his brother took the piece of curved ivoryand turned it over in his hand, while Duke and the horses seemed to beinterested spectators.
"Magnificent specimen of a canine tooth," said Emson thoughtfully.
Dyke laughed.
"I know better than that. It can't be."
"Can't? But it is," replied Emson. "What do you mean?"
"Canine means dog, doesn't it? Dog's teeth can't grow in a big cat.It's a feline tooth."
"They can grow in human jaws--in yours, for instance. You have fourcanine teeth, as the naturalists call them; so why can't they grow in alion's?"
"Because it's unnatural," said Dyke, beginning to chip away some of thejawbone from around the last tusk. "Canine teeth can grow in my jaws,because you said one day that I was a puppy."
"I say, don't, little un. You're growing too clever, and attempts atjokes like that don't seem to fit out here in this hungry desert. Mindwhat you are about, or you'll spoil the tooth."
"I'm minding; but what did you mean about your _Nil desperandum_?"
"That I'll never despair. When we've tried everything we can out here,and failed, we'll go back home and settle in London. Something alwaysturns up, and you're so handy, that we'll start as dentists, and youshall extract all the teeth."
"All right, Joe. My word! this is a tight one. But people wouldn'thave their teeth taken out with hammer and chisel."
"You could use laughing gas."
"They wouldn't laugh much, gas or no gas," cried Dyke, "if I got hold oftheir teeth with the pincers, like this. I say, this is a tough one.He never had toothache in this. You have a go: your muscles arestronger than mine."
"No; have another try."
"But it makes me so hot."
"Never mind. Remember my crest and motto--doubled fist fordetermination, and `Never despair.'"
"Who's going to despair over a big tooth?" cried Dyke, holding on to thepincers with both hands, giving a good wrench, and tearing out the tusk."That's got him. Phew! it was a job. I say, they'll look well ascuriosities."
"Yes, they're a fine set," said Emson, taking out his little doubleglass, and beginning slowly to sweep the plain.
"See anything?" asked Dyke, as he rose to his feet, and put the hammer,chisel, and pincers in a leather case buckled behind his saddle, andwashed his hands, drily, in sand.
"Not yet."
"Oh, do see something! We must get a buck of some kind to take homewith us."
"Yes, we ought to get something, or Jack will forsake us because we arestarving him; and take away his wife. You'll have to cook then, littleun."
"Won't matter, if there's nothing to cook," said Dyke sharply. "But, Isay, Joe, you do think we are getting on better with the birds? Onlytwo chicks have died since we took home those eggs."
"Only two," said Emson, rather bitterly. "That's one a week. Easilycalculate how long we shall be in getting to the end of our stock."
"I say, what about your motto? Who's looking on the black side?"
"Guilty, my lord. Come along; jump up. We will have something oranother to take back for a roast."
Dyke sprang upon his horse, the dog gave a joyful bark, and theycantered off, Dyke placing his rifle on his rein hand, while herearranged the tusks in his pocket, to keep them from rattling.
"Which way are we going?" he said.
"Let's try west; we may perhaps see ostriches."
"Oh, don't talk about them," cried Dyke; "I do get so tired of thewretches. I say, that young cock number two showed fight at me thismorning, and kicked. He just missed my leg."
"What? Oh, you must be careful, old chap. I can't afford to have yourleg broken. But, I say, I had a look at the stores this morning beforewe started."
"I saw you, and wondered what you were doing."
"The mealie bag is nearly empty. One of us will have to take the wagonacross to old Morgenstein's and buy stores."
"Why not both go? It would make a change."
"I'll tell you, little un. When we got back, half the birds would bedead, and the other half all over the veldt."
"Oh, bother those old ostriches! they're always in the way," cried Dyke."All right, Joe; I'll stop and mind them, only don't be longer than youcan help."
"I can't see how it can be done in less than ten days, old fellow," saidEmson thoughtfully; "and if the old Boer is away, it may take afortnight."
"All right; I won't mind," said Dyke with a sigh. "I'll take care ofthe place, and I'm going to try some new plans. There shan't be asingle bird die. I say, oughtn't those young birds to be out by now?"
"I've been expecting them every day for a week," said Emson, ratherdolefully. "But, look here, little un: if you took Jack with you, doyou think you could manage the journey yourself?"
Dyke turned on his horse and looked quite startled.
"There's the driving."
"Jack would drive," said Emson hastily.
"And the inspanning and outspanning."
"Which he could see to."
"And camping out in the wagon alone."
"Yes: you'd want good fires every night; but I can't help it, oldfellow. Only one could go, and you'd be happier with the work andexcitement than you would be moping at the house, all alone, andwatching for me to come back."
"But that would be just as bad for you, Joe; and you'd be thinking thatthe lions had got me."
"No, I shouldn't; but I should be trembling for the oxen, my boy.There, I've made up my mind to send you, and you'll go."
"Oh, I'll go," said Dyke sturdily; "but why not go to Oom Schlagen? it'stwenty miles nearer. He has a much better lot of things and is morecivil than Morgenstern."
"Yes, I know all that, little un," said Emson; "but Morgenstern ishonest. He charges well for his corn and meal, but he'll give you justmeasure, and will deal with you as fairly as he would with me. OldUncle Schlagen would, as soon as he saw you--a boy--coming alone, set towork to see if he couldn't rob you of a span of oxen, saying they werehis, and trick you over the stores in every way he could."
"Then I'll go to old Morningstar's."
"You won't mind going?"
"Oh yes, I shall, because it will be so lonely; but I'll go."
"I don't like sending you, little un; and there's another difficulty."
"Oh, never mind that; it's all difficulties out here."
"True; but some are bigger than others."
"Well, what's the big one now?" said Dyke contemptuously, as if he hadgrown so hardened that he could face anything.
"Jack," said Emson laconically.
"What! Jack? Yes, he'd bette
r be," cried Dyke. "If he gives me any ofhis nonsense, he'll have a rap over the head with the barrel of my gun."
"How much of that is honest pluck, old chap, and how much bunkum?" saidEmson, speaking very seriously.
"I don't know," cried Dyke, colouring; "I don't think there's any bouncein it, Joe. I meant it honestly."
"But he is a man, and you are a boy."
"Oh yes, he's a man, and he bullies and threatens Tanta Sal, and makesbelieve that he is going to spear her, and directly she rushes at him,he runs. I don't think I should be afraid of Jack."
"Neither do I, little un," cried Emson warmly. "That will do. I wasnervous about this. I felt that he might begin to show off as soon asyou two were away from me, and if he fancied that you were afraid ofhim, he would be master to the end of the journey."
"But if it came to a row, Joe, and I was horribly afraid of him, Iwouldn't let him see it. Perhaps I should be, but--Oh no, I wouldn'tlet him know."
"That'll do, old fellow," said Emson, looking at his brother proudly."You shall go, and I'll take care of the stock and--Here! Look, look!"
This last in a tone of intense excitement, for a herd of zebra seemedsuddenly to have risen out of the ground a couple of miles away, wherenothing had been visible before, the beautifully striped, pony-likeanimals frisking and capering about, and pausing from time to time tobrowse on the shoots of the sparsely spread bushes. There were hundredsof them, and the brothers sat watching them for some minutes.
"Not what I should have chosen for food," said Emson at last; "but theysay they are good eating."
"There's something better," said Dyke, pointing. "I know they aregood."
"Yes, we know they are good," said Emson softly, as he slipped out ofthe saddle, Dyke following his example, and both sheltered themselvesbehind their horses.
"They haven't noticed us," said Emson, after a pause. "Mixed us up withthe zebras, perhaps."
"They're coming nearer. Why, there's quite a herd of them!" cried Dykeexcitedly.
They stood watching a little group of springbok playing about beyond theherd of zebra--light, graceful little creatures, that now came careeringdown toward them, playfully leaping over each other's backs, and provingagain and again the appropriate nature of their name.
And now, as if quite a migration of animals was taking place across theplain, where for months the brothers had wandered rarely seeing a head,herd after herd appeared of beautiful deer-like creatures. They cameinto sight from the dim distance--graceful antelopes of different kinds,with straight, curved, or lyre-shaped horns; fierce-looking gnus, withtheirs stumpy and hooked; ugly quaggas; and farthest off of all, buteasily seen from their size, great, well-fed elands, ox-like in girth.
"I never saw anything like this, Joe," said Dyke in a whisper.
"Few people ever have in these days, old fellow," said Emson, as hefeasted his eyes. "This must be like it used to be in the old timesbefore so much hunting took place. It shows what an enormous tract ofunexplored land there must be off to the north-west."
"And will they stay about here now?"
"What for? To starve? Why, Dyke, lad, there is nothing hardly to keepone herd. No; I daresay by this time to-morrow there will hardly be ahoof. They will all have gone off to the north or back to the west. Itis quite a migration."
"I suppose they take us for some kind of six-legged horse, or they wouldnot come so near."
"At present. Be ready; they may take flight at any moment, and we mustnot let our fresh-meat supply get out of range."
"'Tisn't in range yet," said Dyke quietly.
"No, but it soon will be."
"What are you going to shoot at?--the springbok, and then mount andgallop after them and shoot again, like the Boers do?"
"What! with big antelope about? No, boy; we want our larder filling uptoo badly. Look: impalas; and at those grand elands."
"I see them; but they must be a mile away."
"Quite; but they are coming in this direction. Dyke, boy, we must makeup our mind to get one of these."
"But we could never get it home. They're bigger than bullocks."
"Let's shoot one, and then talk of getting it home. What about a spanof oxen and a couple of hurdles! We could drag it back, and it wouldmake biltong, and so last us for weeks."
"Ugh! Leather!" cried Dyke.
"And give us plenty of fresh meat for present eating, and fat to cookfor months."
"Don't make my mouth water too much, Joe."
"Hush! Be quiet now; move close up to your horse's shoulder, rest yourgun across it, and then you will be better hidden. Are you loaded allright?"
"Bullet in each barrel."
"That will do. Now mind, if we do get a chance at one, you will aimjust at the shoulder. Try and don't be flurried."
"All right."
"Give him both barrels, so as to make sure. Try and fire when I do."
Dyke nodded, and they waited for fully two hours, during which timezebras, quaggas, and various kinds of antelopes charged down near them,startled by the sight of the two curious-looking horses, standing sopatiently there in the middle of the plain, and after halting nervously,they careered away again, the trampling of their feet sounding like therush of a storm.
Again and again the hunters had opportunities for bringing down goodly,well-fed antelope, when a herd bounded up, wheeled, halted, and stood atgaze; but there in the background were the great eland, each comingslowly and cautiously on, as if they had also been surprised by theaspect of the horses, and were curious to know what manner of creaturesthese might be.
Dyke wanted to say "Let's shoot;" but his lips did not part, and hestood patiently watching at one time, impatiently at another, feeling ashe did that his brother was letting a magnificent chance go by.
Twice over the position was startling, when first a herd of quaggas andthen one of gnus charged down upon them, and Dyke felt that the nextminute he would be trampled under foot by the many squadrons ofwild-eyed, shaggy little creatures. But the horses stood fast,comforted and encouraged by the presence of their masters, while thefierce-looking herds halted, stood, stamped, and tossed their heads, andwent off again.
At last, when hundreds upon hundreds of the various antelopes hadpassed, the elands were still browsing about, nearly half a mile away,and seemed not likely to come any nearer. A herd of smaller antelopeswere between them and the hunters, and there appeared to be nolikelihood of their firing a shot.
"I'll give them a few minutes longer, Dyke," whispered Emson, "and thenwe must, if they don't come, go after them."
"Wouldn't it be better to pick off a couple of these?" said Dyke softly.
"No; we must have one of those elands. We shall have to ride one down,and when we get close, leap off and fire. Be ready for when I say`Mount.'"
Dyke nodded smartly, and waited impatiently for a full quarter of anhour, during which they had chance after chance at small fry; but theelands still held aloof.
All at once Emson's voice was heard in a low whisper: "Do you see thatfat young bull with the dark markings on its back and shoulders?"
"Yes."
"That is the one we must ride for.--Ready! Mount, and off."
They sprang into their saddles together, and dashed off to follow theelands, while at their first movements the whole plain was covered withthe startled herds, one communicating its panic to the other. There wasthe rushing noise of a tremendous storm; but Dyke in the excitement sawnothing, heard nothing, but the elands, which went tearing away in theirlong, lumbering gallop, the horses gaining upon them steadily, and theherd gradually scattering, till the young bull was all alone, closelyfollowed by the brothers; Emson dexterously riding on the great brute'snear side, and edging it off more and more so as to turn its head in thedirection of Kopfontein; hunting it homeward, so that, if they weresuccessful at last in shooting it, the poor brute would have beenhelping to convey itself part of the way, no trifling advantage with soweighty a beast.
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On and on at a breakneck gallop, the horses stretching out likegreyhounds in the long race; but the eland, long and lumbering as itwas, kept ahead. Its companions were far behind, and the plain, whichso short a time before had been scattered with herds of various animals,now seemed to have been swept clear once more.
At last the tremendous pace began to tell upon both horses and eland,while the difficulty of driving it in the required direction grow less.But all at once, rendered savage by the persistency of the pursuit, thegreat antelope turned toward the horses and charged straight at Dyke.
The boy was so much astonished at this sudden and unexpected attack thathe would have been overturned, but for the activity of Breezy, whowheeled round, gave one bound, and just carried his rider clear.
It was no light matter, and Dyke wondered that, in the sudden twistgiven to his loins by the cob's spring round, he had not been unhorsed.
But the eland did not attempt to renew the attack, gathering up itsforces and bearing away for the distant herds, with Duke snapping at itsflank; and the chase was again renewed, with Emson's horse beginning tolose ground, while Breezy seemed to have been roused to greater effort.
Emson shouted something to Dyke, who was some distance to the left, butwhat it was the boy did not hear. He had one idea in his mind, and thatwas to secure the game so necessary to their existence, and to this endhe urged his cob on, getting it at last level with the great antelope,which was a few yards to his right.
It was all a chance, he knew, but Emson was beaten, and the antelopeseemed ready to go on for hours; so, waiting his time, he checked hisspeed a little, and let the animal go on while he rode to the other sideand brought it on his left.
There was good reason for the act. He could now let the barrel of hisheavy piece rest upon his left arm, as he held it pistol-wise, and atlast, when well abreast, he levelled it as well as he could, aiming atthe broad shoulder, and fired.
A miss, certainly, and then he galloped on for another hundred yardsbefore he ventured to draw trigger again, this time watchfully, for fearof a sudden turn and charge, and not till he was pretty close andperfectly level.
Breezy was in full stride, and going in the most elastic way in spite ofthe long run, but the eland was labouring heavily, as Dyke drew trigger,felt the sharp, jerking recoil shoot right up his arm to the shoulder;and then to his astonishment, as he dashed on out of the smoke, he wasalone, and the eland lying fifty yards behind, where it had come downwith a tremendous crash.